I may have mentioned once or a hundred times that //Distrito// is one of my favorite restaurants in Philadelphia.  They used to have this dish on their menu that was so good it legit brought tears to my eyes – arroz con crema.  It was a rice side dish that was cheesy, creamy, warm, andRead more

Y’all know who Tyler Florence is, right?  I mean really, who doesn’t.  ?  He makes some pretty amazing food.  I have a bunch of his cookbooks, and in one of those cookbooks he posted a recipe for the ultimate garlic bread.  I tried it a few times and tweaked it a little bit, and IRead more

I’m sure this sounds kind of strange to you, right?  Balsamic potatoes?  But I assure you – they are so good.  I haven’t made these in years, and when I thought about them recently and how I should make them for the blog, my mouth immediately started watering. But!  I warn, they are not healthy.Read more

Two years ago, a dear friend of ours, Lyle, came to visit at Christmas time and brought a beautiful jar of bourbon pecans, and I scoffed, because I hate pecans. Or… so I thought… Cuz then I ate one of these and I couldn’t stop eating them, and I insisted on getting the recipe fromRead more

It is no secret that I looooove //smitten kitchen//.  Love her.  LOVE.  HER.  She was probably one of the first blogs I’ve ever followed, and I found so much inspiration in her photography.  She has taken some really mouthwatering pictures, famously, with only a single window in her NYC apartment kitchen to light the food.Read more

Since making my very first risotto a few months back and discovering exactly how not hard it was, I have sort of been on a risotto kick.  This is the third one I’ve made, and I can’t wait to try more.  I especially love this one because it’s a good way for me to getRead more

Holy cow! Let me just start by saying that I don’t think I can say enough good things about this cornbread.  This buttermilk cornbread was absolutely amazing.  I love cornbread but I don’t often make it at home because it can be dry, crumbly, and just kind of generally unsatisfying.  BUT NO MORE! This recipeRead more

Earlier this week I gave you a romantic steak dinner menu to serve to your special someone on Valentine’s Day.  But maybe you don’t like steak.  Or red wine.  Or broccoli (I don’t blame you, I eat it very begrudgingly).  This would be my next pick to serve to someone on Valentine’s Day.  Chicken piccataRead more

Once I perfected my homemade //macaroni and cheese//, I started noticing that my husband was desecrating his plate of perfectly creamy mac and cheese with hot sauce.  ?  The nerve! Originally it was Tabasco.  I couldn’t believe such things.  Who dare muddle my perfectly perfected cheese sauce with Tabasco?  No!  No no no. But thenRead more

With Cinco de Mayo behind us, summer is fast on its way.  And after this winter in Philly, I can-not-wait-for-warmer-weather ! This winter really hung on for dear life.  It did NOT want to move on.  Today it’s 85 and sunny and I am heading down to Atlantic City with my sister for the night.Read more

It is finally here – it is finally upon us – one of my most favorite food holidays of the year! – THANKSGIVING. Thanksgiving wasn’t always one of my favorite food holidays of the year.  There was a time once when I couldn’t have cared less about turkey, it was really just another day offRead more

Guys!  It’s my 3-year blogaversary! Yes, yes, yes, I can hardly believe it, but three years ago today, I started this little bloggity blog as a creative outlet for my writing, food photography, and enthusiasm for food.  My first post was (DUH) a nachos recipe inspired by one of my favorite food bloggers, Pinch ofRead more

This dish popped my zoodle cherry. I have been wanting to try zoodles for a while now, but I hadn’t quite found the right recipe until I found this one. I love alfredo sauce too much to cover zoodles with it. I might try a Bolognese sauce on zoodles, but for this month, we needRead more

As an “Irish” girl, I LOVE potatoes.  I mean, L O V E them.  I could eat them with every meal of every day.  Potatoes all the ways.  Hot, fried, boiled, baked, smothered in butter, smothered in sauces, //smothered in balsamic//; Cold, covered in mayo, mixed with bacon and scallions…  Potatoes.  All.  The.  Ways. SoRead more

When I was a kid my mom used to make the most buttery, salty garlic bread.  I am not entirely sure how she made it, I should probably ask her.  But one day while scrolling through Pinterest, I found //this recipe for Garlic Bread Spread// and it sounded so much like what my mom made,Read more

Several years ago, I went to visit my friend Sara in Kansas City with some girlfriends, and we went out to dinner at this Italian place called Garozzo’s.  On the way there, Sara raved about the bread dipping oil.  WAIT TILL YOU DIP YOUR BREAD IN THAT OIL… OMG.  And I chuckled a little, thinking,Read more

This is my favoritest Spanish rice recipe of all time.  It has become a true staple in my house, especially for me when I make lunches for work for the week.  It has evolved a lot over the past year, and I think I finally have a version that is both totally healthy and totallyRead more

So like.  I just want to know when the heck I turned 35.  When did this happen, and why do I not feel 35?  I don’t believe that I’m 35.  No, not me.  I’m 26.  At heart. It’s a funny thing to come to terms with your age.  Before long I’ll be 40.  I rememberRead more

Hey guys! Long time no talk.  I know.  I’m sorry.  My bad.  My job is extremely demanding and it’s been completely wiping me out lately.  Like, going-to-bed-at-8pm wiped out.  It’s a busy life.  I wish that all I had to do in life was cook and eat and blog about it.  And be a mom.Read more

I mentioned in my post for Mexican Street Corn Tostadas a couple weeks back that I was pretty inspired by that recipe and made a corn dip….thing. Is it weird that I think the words “corn dip” just don’t jive together?  I don’t know why.  It sounds pretty redneck.  Y’ALL COME FETCH YA SOME CORNRead more

It should come as no surprise to any of you that I’ve been a huge fan of Grilled Cheese Social since the day I found her many years ago.  She is known for coming up with some of the most epic grilled cheese combinations.  I actually haven’t tried too many of her recipes, because theyRead more

I may lose my foodie card today, because I have to tell you that there is one food I have yet to master on a consistent basis – and that is mashed potatoes. Most of the time when I make mashed potatoes, they are just ok.  They aren’t terrible, but they don’t knock your socksRead more

If there’s one vegetable I could eat for the rest of my life, it would be the potato.  (Shut up, they are too vegetables.)  I love potatoes.  I could literally eat them with every meal.  So when I was flipping through a recent edition of Bon Appetit, and saw this new method for roasting potatoes,Read more

Risotto is one of those dishes that intimidates people, and I am not even really sure why.  A few months back, I tried my hand at risotto by making The Pioneer Woman’s //sun-dried tomato risotto//, and it was FABULOUS.  And it was amazingly NOT HARD. I don’t know if you guys know me?  Or ifRead more

Back when I lived in Spokane, there was a restaurant there called the Sawtooth Grill.  I heard it has since closed, but when we lived there it was one of our favorite places to frequent for cheeseburgers.  They had GREAT burgers.  And they had an appetizer on their menu which was skinny French fries dousedRead more

A long, long time ago, in a West Philly apartment far, far away, there lived a girl who did not know how to cook. And, wanting a marriage proposal so terribly, having been with her boyfriend for several years, she started to wonder if he saw her as non-marriage material due to her lack ofRead more

My husband and I got married in a small seminary just outside of West Philadelphia, and had our reception at Morton’s Steakhouse downtown.  We reserved their private boardroom for the event, which was small at less than 45 people, and we treated everyone to an amazing steak dinner.  It was a lovely, memorable evening, andRead more