Raspberry Honeycomb Ice Cream Pie

Recently I bought delicious and BBC Good Food, two UK based food magazines. I thought it would be nice to have some recipes and not have to constantly search for conversion. My oven is in Celsius and everything I buy in the grocery store comes in milliliters or grams. But I’m used to Fahrenheit and ounces and tablespoons. So, I pulled out tons of recipes and the first one I chose to make doesn’t really require too much conversion anyway.

Chorizo Mac & Cheese

Plain old pasta topped with butter and Parmesan cheese is one of my favorite things to eat. Is that embarrassing because it’s so simple? Maybe.  But, pasta and cheese make me a happy girl. 

So, I was elated when my friend Lisa bought me the wonderful cookbook Melt for Christmas. It’s a cookbook entirely about macaroni and cheese recipes. Cheese? Pasta? TOGETHER!?! Let me step up my pasta game. 

Cheddar Ranch Dip

It’s almost Christmas! I’m sure your menu is set, ingredients are in the fridge, and maybe some desserts are already made. If you need one more item to fill out your snack foods and hors d’oeuvres, might I suggest this dip? I’m kind of crazy about it and sort of have a two-decade long love-affair with it.

Years ago, let’s estimate that I was ten-years-old, my Uncle Jose and Titi Lisa lived kind of near a Wegmans. They still live near Wegmans, but when our story begins there weren’t that many Wegmans locations so living kind of near a Wegmans was special. Anyway, one time my family went to visit them, and they served a cheddar ranch dip from Wegmans with some Wheat Thins. It was the best snack ever. I love cheese and crackers, and this just took it up a notch. It’s very cheesy and tangy. It was creamy, but also had a pleasing lumpy texture from the shredded cheese. We devoured it. And every time we visited after that, they bought it. I always looked forward to it. We’d arrive and give our kisses and hugs hello, then go about catching up. All the while, I knew that dip was waiting for us in the door of the fridge. But when would it be taken out?!

Baked Rigatoni

If your Thanksgiving was anything like mine, you might still be feeling stuffed even a few days later. Ryan and I had three Thanksgiving dinners: one with my college friends, one with my family, and one with his family. On Thanksgiving day during dinner with my family, I told them baked rigatoni was my next intended blog post, but then after all the eating I felt wary. Would anyone be interested in such a hearty dish right after Thanksgiving?

But I thought about it and said, why not?! Let’s lean into the holiday season of hearty foods, decadent meals, and rich desserts. Now, don’t get crazy and give up your exercise routine, but let’s wait until January 2nd to worry about our meals. So here’s a great meal that will make you feel cozy on a cold day, that’s great to serve to holiday house guests, and will provide you with workday lunches you’ll eagerly gobble up.

Annabelle’s Breakfast Sandwich

Annabelle is my mom. And when I was a kid, and I saw my mom eating this sandwich I’d say, “Ewwww. That looks weird.”

And she’d look at me, in the smug way parents do when they know better, and she’d say, “yeah, I said the same thing to my mom when I was a kid.”

But then, the other day I had a craving for that very sandwich.

It’s definitely a sign of getting older when you realize you’re like your parents. I mean I’m not exactly like my parents but it’s sort of weird to notice the habits I have because of them. Both my brother and I hoard napkins in the glove compartment of our cars just like our father does. Because you just never know when you’ll need a ton of napkins while driving.  And I see my parents sometimes in the way I say a word, or the way my brother makes a gesture. As I’m saying something or doing something, I get this wave over me of, “whoa, that’s Mom.” or “whoa, that’s Papa.”

Make Your Own Mozzarella

Everyone has dreams. Couples too. And I’m sure, some of the dreams Ryan and I have are pretty common. Buy a house one day, have a kid, maybe a dog or two. But we also have some dreams that are a little unusual. The kind of dreams that could happen, but are more od things we imagine and talk about but won’t actually happen. Like buying a herd of water buffalos and a huge piece of land and starting a cheese empire that introduces America to Italian-style mozzarella di buffala (buffalo mozzarella). No, that’s not your dream? Well it’s something Ryan and I talk about on a regular basis.

Cheese from Rome and a little key chain for scale

Ryan and I have been crazy about mozzarella since we studied abroad in Rome (we were there at different times). What’s crazy fancy and expensive here in the states is all over the place (and not expensive) in Italy. My roommate and I would buy huge balls of mozzarella at the grocery store and then eat it with a fork as an afterschool snack. It was creamy, gooey, salty, and terribly indulgent. Who just eats a ball of cheese for a snack? Answer, cheese lovers and twenty-year-old girls.

French Onion Soup

As I write this, I am staying home sick from work. I hate calling out sick because I always feel like maybe I could have been fine at work. But then, in line at CVS buying soup and orange juice I got dizzy and realized staying home was a good idea. School children visiting the museum don’t need an educator with a drippy nose, hoarse voice, and with a high likelihood of falling asleep during the movie. People don’t go to museums to see that.

Strawberry Ice Cream

I love strawberries! Especially farmer’s market strawberries. Farmer’s market strawberries may cost more and aren’t around all year but they are worth it! They are beautiful, juicy, and when they finally arrive it’s like Christmas. In the winter the farmer’s market has mostly root vegetables. The spring leads to more green vegetables and early fruits. And then the warm summer months come and the berries arrive! It’s so exciting when they are finally there that I buy as much as I can carry. Yes, you can buy strawberries at the grocery store any time of year – but they don’t taste like anything. The anticipation, the beautiful redness, and the juicy explosion of taste makes it hard to go back to grocery store strawberries in December.