Every time I get a new Cook’s Illustrated there is at least one thing that I must make immediately. This month it was Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. These cookies were amazing!!! A perfect balance between chocolate sugar cookies and brownies. I used Dutch-processed cocoa powder, so they...

I like to entertain and to have something for my guests to snack on. My go-to is this super easy, very impressive recipe for cinnamon sugar almonds. They taste great and make the house smell amazing!! I serve them alone or with cheese and crackers. I always have them on hand at home (in an...

It is finally starting to feel like fall around here. The temperature has dropped to the 60s, the air is crisp and the leaves run the whole gamut from red to yellow. Thus, not only is it soup weather, it’s chili weather!!! I like a meaty chili with simple flavors, a nice background of...

My dad moved to Israel just when it declared its independence. He had (and still has) a huge sweet tooth and the developing country did not have any candy stores, thus his mother would make candied orange peel from the orange grove in the front yard. Every year I try to make him this delicacy...

I had some friends over late in the summer and was looking for an easy and fun dessert. Earlier that week my Cooking Light magazine came and it had the perfect thing: Pina Colada Skewers!!! It’s a dessert and cocktail in one! They were a huge hit! They take some time because you...

I am lucky enough to work in a hospital filled with great nurses (some who grow amazing produce). One such specimen is this 4 lbs, 6 oz zucchini given to me late this summer.   The obvious thing to do was make Zucchini Pizza. This is not zucchini placed as a topping on your traditional...

Every summer my father plants gorgeous eggplants. While he doesn’t care for them, my mom and I go crazy. I love eggplant parm and am still searching for the perfect eggplant parm sub in Cambridge (let me know if you have a favorite place). The eggplant is either undercooked and bitter or...

Rosh Hashannah is the Jewish New Year. We celebrate by getting together with friends and family and sharing apples dipped in honey. The apples signify health and honey is sweet – symbolically wishing everyone a healthy and sweet new year. This year, I decided to combine the traditional...

In August 2014, we embarked on a Pacific Northwest trip, visiting Portland, Seattle and, finally, Vancouver. Getting from Seattle to Vancouver was super easy. We took the Amtrak train, making sure to sit on the left side of the train. The train travels up the coast, and you get gorgeous views...

One of the best places to have dinner in Vancouver is down an alley, where a small restuarant sits, unassuming, yet amazing serving cheese and charcuterie – Salt Tasting Room   We started with some drinks while we looked over their extensive cheese, meat and accoutrement...

  In August 2014 we went to the Pacific Northwest for 10 days. We started in Portland to visit my sister and brother-in-law. Portland We got in early on a Thursday and decided to go to the Japanese Garden and the Rose Garden until my family was done with work. The Japanese Garden was...

  I want to become a bit more healthy and broaden my go-to recipes for dinner, so I have decided to cook 1 fish meal and 1 vegetarian meal a week. A few weeks ago, I picked up some amazing looking catfish fillets and decided to do the obvious – blackened spice. But since it was so...

Shiro’s Sushi If you’ve ever seen the movie “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” and have wanted to go to Tokyo but then realized you can’t, go to Shiro’s! He knows what he is doing! He was trained in Japan and moved to Seattle. We sat at the sushi bar and each ordered...

    A few weeks ago we went camping in the White Mountains in NH. The campsite was right off of the Kancamagus Highway, a beautifully scenic highway across the White Mountains. There are multiple campsites along the highway, only one of which takes reservations, but since we were...

  It’s strawberry season!!! I love making this treat in the summer. This dessert always wows my guests and they never know how ridiculously easy it is to make! You’ll be surprised how well the vinegar works with the sweet, slightly tart strawberries. If you are skeptical,...

  My friend was kind enough to send me a free week of Blue Apron meals. Each week consists of 3 meals for 2 people (one meal is usually vegetarian) and costs $60. They send you everything you need, except olive oil, salt and pepper and everything is premeasured and ready to go. The menu...

  I love Asian food – all Asian food. I know that each country (and locations around the countries) have their own style, spices and flavors, but I love all of them! Even if you don’t own most of the products in an Asian market (like I do), you are likely to have all the...