The first time I made these fried shrimp I was cooking them in the galley of a boat in the Caribbean. Many of these tiny islands lack fresh produce, so I served the shrimp in warm corn tortillas with smashed avocado, sour cream and a squeeze of lime. The Chinese Five-Spice is so flavorful, it

A couple weeks ago we went on an incredible sailing trip with six friends in the British Virgin Islands. And for me, what is most memorable is not the beautiful sunsets, the free-flowing Pina Coladas, or the listerine-colored water. The highlight of the trip is that I did not have my phone or the internet

I saw the first local strawberries at the grocery store the other day. There would have been a time when I would have immediately thought of making a strawberry pie or shortcake. Although I still make rich desserts like this for the big holidays, I tend to keep it simpler and lighter these days. White

I’ve never been big on beef, so when Mom started making these salmon burgers last spring, they were immediately my favorite thing on the grill. What’s different about this salmon burger is that it’s not just a whole piece of marinated salmon or salmon obliterated in the food processor, Mom takes the time to finely

A few weeks back I was pleasantly stunned to read that meat consumption is down 12% since 2007. No one’s sure if it’s just the economy or whether Meatless Mondays is starting to have an impact, but meat consumption is clearly down. I’d like to think it’s all the meatless delicious recipes we’re starting to

Here’s our last KitchenAid “Cook for Mom” brunch recipe, a festive drink inspired by the raspberry ice colored stand mixer we’re giving away. Bubbly is the perfect celebratory drink for Mother’s Day. Rather than flavor it with the usual orange juice, we decided on fresh raspberries, doused with Chambord (raspberry liqueur) and then frozen into

Last year we ran a version of this tart entitled Summer Fruit Galettes. Since then I can vouch this tart works equally well with fall and winter fruits like apples and pears. Now that spring’s here, I’m happy to report it’s extraordinary with the classic strawberry-rhubarb combo. When the tart last ran I suggested using refrigerated

Last summer Sharon posted a recipe for zucchini and yellow squash “ribbon” salad. Since then I’ve started shaving all sorts of vegetables–Brussels sprouts just a few weeks ago, carrots, mushrooms. And now that we’re in spring, it occurred to me that asparagus was perfect for ribboning too. I first envisioned this salad as a mound

Obligatory old school photo of mom, Sharon, and me. I don’t care what my future children look like so long as they have Sharon’s legs.  Please pardon our delay in announcing a winner. Maggy’s been on vacation and I’ve been in FL helping my parents move from their home of 35 years to a retirement

Cornmeal-Scallion Waffles with Caramel Corn and Maple Syrup I developed this waffle recipe for my third book, CookSmart, back in 2002. My perfect waffle was light, flavorful and crisp.  And since waffles can only be made one at a time, I also wanted to figure out a way for everyone to enjoy them together. The

These cookies have many names. Besides Melting Moments, they’re also known as Mexican Wedding Cookies or Lime Coolers. Add walnuts to the mix, and you’ve got Snowballs. Whatever you call them, I love them–their sweet-tart, melt-in-your-mouth texture; the powdered sugar residue you get to lick from your lips after the cookie’s gone; that they’re small

I’ve never been big on pasta. In retrospect, I think younger me thought it was relatively boring, an empty starch. But as I’ve grown and evolved as a cook over the last several years, as I have traveled and dined at the table of many pasta-lovers, my mind has been opened. I have abandoned the notion

Pardon our delay in announcing a winner. Maggy’s been on vacation, and I’ve been helping my parents move to a retirement facility from their home of 35 years. Our winner is Yvonne D. Congrats! Last Friday I was invited to visit Redwood Hill Farm, a family-owned and operated goat farm in Western Sonoma County, California.

I met Katie Workman—first at The Roger Smith Cookbook Conference in New York back in February when she told me about her upcoming book—The Mom 100 Cookbook–and then again at the International Association of Culinary Professionals earlier this month when she actually handed me a copy. Since then it’s been sitting on my kitchen counter,