Cranberry Orange Pecan Bread

Let's talk about gray, drizzly days, cups of tea and toast. Particularly this toast, from the Grand Central Bakery Cookbook, which is studded with sweet cranberries, crunchy pecans and bright and zippy lemon zest. It's just what you need when you require a little fall morning pick-me-up. 

Pork With Red Wine Shallot Reduction and Three Cheese Polenta

Okay, how on earth haven't I posted a pork recipe yet? I know I've used bacon, but...oh, dear reader, I apologize for neglecting you so. Let's get this situation under control immediately. I love pork because it can either be coaxed into being the star of the show or can take a backseat to be the perfect base for great sauces or sides. Here, courtesy of my beloved Black Dog Cookbook is this stunning recipe, with a pork chop (grilled, or if you're sadly grill-less like me, pan-seared), a red wine shallot reduction that I challenge you to not just eat straight out of the pan, and cheesy, creamy polenta that will blow your sweet mind.

Thanksgiving Plans

Thanksgiving. Let's discuss.

Paris: A Food Diary

This past summer my mother turned to my sister and me. "I have a conference in Paris in November," she said. "You guys want to come?"

Mind you, she phrased this as if it were a question.

Cardamom Rice with Poached Egg

This recipe is a simple weeknight meal that can be thrown together in a jiffy--most of the main ingredients can be found around the home and the rest (spices, for the most part) can be scooped up from your grocery store's bulk section. It's a bit of a variation on the phenomenal chicken and cardamom rice that I was so in love with from Jerusalem, but the idea of a slightly easier, mostly vegetarian version of that rice was immensely appealing.

Oreos

I was something of an Oreo hound in my teenage years. At my best friend Mia's house there was always a large plastic tub filled with them that I exclusively commandeered every time I went over. Once, when Mia's mom found it necessary to ground me, my punishment was, among other things, no more Oreos. The horror!