January 25, 2012
All season I was rooting for my hometown team, the San Diego Chargers … and then they failed to even make it to the playoffs. I shifted my support to the Denver Broncos and my future husband Tim Tebow … and then they lost in the division playoffs. I finally settled on the 49’ers … only to experience this past Sunday’s crushing overtime defeat.
Now, we are all forced to choose between the Giants and the Patriots. New York or Boston. Cute or sexy. Pizza or clam chowder.
At this point, I could really care less who wins. All I know is that come Super Bowl Sunday, I’ll be settled on my couch with a smorgasbord of snacks, including the world’s easiest recipe for warm, doughy, cheesy pretzels that take all of 20 minutes to prepare. What’s my secret? Packaged puff pastry. After surviving the 48-hour workout that accompanies making the dough from scratch, I’ve decided that there are some foods I’m better off buying from my local supermarket.
This Saturday I’ll be sharing a roundup of a few other fast and fresh favorites, but for now, grab a warm pretzel, slather it with mustard or fig preserves and decide if you’re part of Manning Mania or The Brady Nation.
Posted by Kelly on January 25, 2012
January 18, 2012
Happy (almost) Chinese New Year! I’m ringing in the year of the Dragon with homemade fortune cookies dipped in chocolate and doused in sprinkles. These simple, crispy cookies are a fun and easy way to jazz up any dinner party since you have total freedom when it comes to the wild and wacky messages you include inside. The more personal (read: embarrassing or weird), the better.
I’ve always been a big believer in taking to heart the fortunes I find wrapped inside these post-meal treats. And I may or may not even carry select fortunes around in my wallet for years at a time. Of course proper fortune cookie etiquette states that you should always take and eat the cookie pointing closest in your direction. Call me superstitious, but a destiny-defining dessert isn’t something I take lightly.
Read on for the recipe and complete your Lunar bash with a few more of my favorite Chinese-inspired dishes:
Posted by Kelly on January 18, 2012
January 11, 2012
Remember that blog post about my New Year’s resolution to eat healthier? And how Day 8 is my downfall?
Well, you can change that to Day 6 now because I couldn’t even make it a whole week without being lured into the arms of a Shake Shack concrete, which is two full cups of frozen custard whipped with your choice of mix-ins. I chose chocolate chunks and salted peanuts. Peanuts are protein. Failure tastes good, and apparently so does denial.
I guess I shouldn’t be all that surprised by the Day 6 breakdown. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks with the holidays, plus I had a recent bout with what could only have been some form of the Bubonic plague, and then there’s also the book editing. I tend to intersperse my late nights of editing with desserts and dance parties. I allot myself one 5-minute dance break for every two hours of editing. I live alone. You can laugh. Do you know that saying, “Dance like no one is watching?” I’ve never understood that saying. I dance like I’m appearing in a sold-out performance at Lincoln Center. It may be to the tune of Avicii, and I may be the only person in my apartment, but you better believe I dance like everyone is watching. (And they probably are, given the fact I never close my blinds and live all of 14.78 feet away from the building next door.)
Posted by Kelly on January 11, 2012
January 4, 2012
Simplicity seems to be a common theme among New Year’s resolution makers this year. And chances are if you aren’t vowing to simplify your life, then you’re vowing to slim down, shape up or achieve some combination of the two in 2012.
Every year when January 1 rolls around, I find myself making a mental promise that I’ll eat healthier. I’ll forgo the soda in place of water. I’ll skip the fries in favor of fruit salad. I’ll not eat eat less dessert. And then for one week, I cook and eat like I’m training for the Tour de France.
But then day 8 rolls around. Dang it, day 8. You ruin my resolution faster than I can concede that yes, the greasy, cheesy residue on my fingertips is in fact evidence linking me to a caloric crime involving a ShackBurger, fries and a Diet Coke.
But today is day 4. And I’m still reveling in the glory of eating like an Olympic athlete, which is what led me to this recipe for Lentils with Spinach and Goat Cheese. It checks out with both of my resolutions to not only eat healthier, but to live more simply. Combine lentils, mirepoix (a mix of onions, carrots and celery), a splash of chicken broth, leafy spinach and a few crumbles of goat cheese. Sticking to a New Year’s resolution (for now, at least) has never tasted so good.
Posted by Kelly on January 4, 2012
December 31, 2011
What a year 2011 has been! We’ve laughed, we’ve fried. We’ve obsessed over foods on sticks. We’ve embraced desserts baked in jars. We’ve recreated homemade versions of fruit roll-ups, ice cream drumsticks, candy apples, ice pops, and so much more.
Join me on a trip down memory lane as I countdown to the new year with the Top 10 most popular recipes of 2011…
10. Homemade Barbecue Potato Chips
9. Eggplant Parmesan Sliders
8. Homemade Falafel with Tahini Sauce
7. Quinoa with Corn and Scallions
6. S’more Pie
Posted by Kelly on December 31, 2011
