Tropical "Grillswith": Grilled donuts with the best caramel sauce you'll ever make

Yeah, that's right. I just did that to you. There you were minding your own business at your computer, you probably thought "what the heck is a grillswith?" and now you are drooling all over your keyboard like a drunken sailor. You might even be babbling a bit. It's okay. The grillswith does that to me too.

I just couldn't resist sharing this photo with you all. It is probably the best example

Chamomile Kumquat Tart

I am bashfully enamored of kumquats. They are like that popular girl in high school who is small, sassy and a little bit of a rebel. You couldn't necessarily hang out with them all the time, but in small doses they knock your socks off.I was munching (skin and all of course) these tart little darlings while contemplating what to make for a nice dinner I was cooking for friends. I had some

Cookie Lovers and Homesick New Yorkers Rejoice: Venetian (Rainbow) Cookies

You can spot a homesick New Yorker from a mile away. No matter where they live, when they refer to going to "the city" they mean a flight to Manhattan, not a trip to the nearest metro center. Mentioning the words "bagel" or "deli" provokes at least a 15 minute diatribe about how those things don't really exist outside of New York. But recently I was introduced to one of New York's better kept

Double Chocolate Biscotti

It is finally that time of year where the weather forecaster has started to use the dreaded four letter word: snow. I can enjoy the winter just as well as the next gal, but for me the key component to snuggling down in cold weather is a cup of steaming cocoa. And what goes better with that steamy drink that a delicious double chocolate biscotti? True to the balance between taste and health that

Apricot Ginger Cream Scones

Let these memorable apricot ginger cream scones rescue you from the monotony of blueberry scones. Come take a walk on the wild side.If you are a regular reader, it probably is no big secret that in the last four months I've become an absolute scone fanatic. But this time, the scones aren't for me, I swear. I'm putting together a little food care package for a couple we are friends with who just

Healthier Fruit Crisp Topping (with a hint of ginger!)

There is perhaps no dessert more perfect for summer than a seasonal fresh fruit cobbler or pie. My husband is a fresh fruit dessert fanatic. There is no quicker way to that man's heart than to surprise him with a pie or cobbler made from fresh seasonal fruit. And if you buy seasonal fruits at the peak of their ripeness, the fruit itself has almost all the succulent sweetness you need, with very

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (and they're healthy too!)

Lately I have been craving oatmeal raisin cookies like they were a force of nature. But the idea of nibbling at tempting cookies was not exactly in line with my summer "shape-up" plan. Or so I thought. Then I found this recipe by David Lebovitz for all natural, chewy oatmeal raisin cookies. Folks, I may never try another oatmeal raisin cookie recipe again. I'm willing to believe there may be

Mexican Chocolate Meringues

There is something about summer that draws me to the airy, cloud-like delight of meringues. They are a wonderfully satisfying sweet treat that stands up well to the summer heat. They can be rich and satisfying, like this recipe, or the perfect light foundation for the natural sweetness of summer fruit. Every kitchen should have one go-to meringue recipe to show off during the summer.Last summer

Orange Anise Biscotti with White Chocolate

I'll let you in on a little secret: biscotti is actually absurdly easy to make. This was a dangerous revelation for me because going to the store to buy them was the only thing standing between me and regular delightful biscotti consumption. But now I carry that heavy knowledge with me. With just a little bit of time and a little bit of effort, and a tiny touch of knife skills, I can whip up

Kumquat Madeleines

You should, under no circumstances, make these madeleines. Put down the scalloped pan and step away from the stove. Why? Because they are good. They are good in that "oooh, can't I have just a little bit more?" kind of way that can be very dangerous. For me, this is dangerous because, while I have made some health improvements, they aren't exactly super healthy. And because if they are within

Souffle Confessions: How I lost my kitchen virginity to a French madame

It all started with the sort of daring that borders on hubris: I've never made souffle, I've never even (gasp) had souffle, so probably a smart thing to do is to have a friend over on a Saturday morning and just try to make it, right? So there we were, two souffle virgins, two aprons, and a world of food blogs to fuel the fire. A little poking around lead me, like a lamb to the slaughter,

Balsamic Baked Apples

I love balsamic with cherries, and balsamic with strawberries, so why not apples? This is a sort of deconstructed apple pie that gives the tartness of apples a little punch with some acidic, earthy yet sweet balsamic vinegar. This all came about because I am participating in Taste and Create a wonderful food blogger exchange hosted by For the Love of Food. It is something like the food blogger

Lemon Tart for LiveSTRONG: A Taste of Yellow

Finding out my mother had cancer was an experience that forever changed my life. Today, as we gratefully count off the years of her survivorship, our always close relationship has grown even closer. Now, I am filled with thankfulness, but I can still remember what it was like to first find out. For the first time in my life I understood what it meant to say that you literally could not stand up.

Caramel Popcorn Balls

As the holidays in Accra drew near, I found myself fixating on the idea of making popcorn balls. And so I began my nearly anthropological foray into the weird and wonderful world of strategically heating sugar. As a novice sugar-heater I learned to decode (perhaps a bit too late) the secret language of expert sugar-heaters. I develop techniques for shaping popcorn balls (again, perhaps a tad too

Christmas Cinnamon Rolls

Let’s just get one thing straight. Is there anything more delightfully, sinfully, homey than warm home-made cinnamon rolls? I think not. They are, perhaps, the perfect vehicle for food-induced nostalgia (and are my contribution to Food for Thought). In fact, I had been doing a lot of thinking about cinnamon rolls in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Growing up, my mom often made cinnamon rolls

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies for My Father

Yesterday I went to great lengths to bake peanut butter kiss cookies to reminisce. Sometimes the weight of what we remember seems to dictate and equally weighty act of commemoration. But memories don’t always conform to this neat little formula. More often than not the most absurdly mundane things get embodied with special significance in the stuff of memories. My father died two and a half years

Papaya Faux-Custard with Pistachio, Honey and Pomegranate

Papaya isn't your typical holiday dish, but then again, who wants to be typical? A flurry of parties and entertaining usually accompany the coming of the holiday season. And whether a dinner party at home or an office party, these occasions usually demand some menu creativity. I say this as one who has a deep emotional attachment to classic shrimp cocktail, but one can have too much of the same

The Best Carrot Cake in Chicago(and a recipe of my own)

Cake is a troublesome thing. On one hand it is powerfully nostalgic: we remember a grandmother's cake, we mark each birthday with...cake. Yet recently I had decided that cake rarely satisfied relative to all of its fat and calories. For me, it wasn't a wise indulgence. I believe that desserts are perfectly compatible with a healthy lifestyle, but that means I seek desserts that have a huge taste

The Great Zabaglione Caper

It’s late, a little after eleven in the evening. The alleyway is soaked in shadows as I move in. My trench coat rustles against my feet. I have my collar turned up against the drizzle. The film noir scene is complete. “Is that the victim?” I gruffly ask an officer. “Yes, ma’am.” I click my tongue. What a sad sad way to end up. I lean in closer, too hard-boiled a detective to be shocked by the

Blueberry Kuchen

At the Farmers Market in Evanston, IL nearly every booth from Michigan featured some variety of plump, sweet blueberry. My husband, who loves blueberries, simply could not resist. With our newly acquired blueberries in hand, I decided to try to update my husband's favorite dish from his mother's kitchen: blueberry kuchen. The resulting recipe heightens the natural taste of the blueberries, with