Hot girl summer? Check. Done. We’re hot. You know what I’ve got my eye on for the coming months? BLT SUMMER. Sourdough bread, extra mayonnaise, seasoned fresh perfect sun-ripened tomatoes, bibb lettuce, and thick crisp bacon cooked with a tiny bit of brown sugar. An absolute dream but that day isn’t here yet. In these…
Greetings fellow weary friends. Are you tired? I’m tired. This current news cycle is… a lot. Plus, it has already hit 90º in Nashville and can I just say, no, thank you. My cat is out of sorts, there are two armadillos in my backyard (true story), and the community cat, aka Porch Cat, that…
I haven’t felt like making meals at all this week. I don’t even seem to have the energy to cobble together my usual lazy stand-bys: scrambled eggs and a carb, toasted. Strangely, I’m also not allowing myself to order any expensive (and everything is expensive right now) takeout so… well, I’ll be eating bananas smeared…
One of my cushiest jobs of all time was being a reader for the Hallmark Channel. Every week, I’d drive down the 101 to the Valley to pick up a stack of books to review. The stories came in waves depending on what themes the producers were interested in, ranging from autism to cancer, and—of…
Since it’s Mother’s Day, let me tell you one of my most treasured memories with my mom. A few years back, in the spring of 2017 Mom and I flew to New York City so I could be on the actual Today Show promoting my last book Over Easy. It was my first time on…
Rice is my preferred starch. Wait… does banana bread count as a starch? If not I choose rice – it’s more versatile when it comes to dinner anyhow. Today we’re taking the most elegant of Italian rice dishes and making it more of a one-pot-wonder than a labor of love. There’s surely still love (read:…
I hope we’ve built enough trust between us for you to believe what I’m about to tell you. It’s a secret that professional bakers have been keeping from you for too long. The truth is BOX BROWNIES ARE BETTER THAN BROWNIES MADE FROM SCRATCH. I know… criminal, really but facts are facts. I think it’s…
Hello, friends! I’ve been alone with the fact that I hadn’t ticked off all the tasks on last year’s Summer Bucket List. My guilt was assuaged by the fact that my Summer Bucket Lists are far more low stakes than the work to-do lists or the ever present endless list of house chores. Summer Buckets…
Have you ever been someplace your soul immediately responded to? That’s Chicago for me. Not everyone understands it and I genuinely like it that way. Chicago isn’t for everyone. It’s where my roots are, where my grandparents rest peacefully. The food in Chicago is the best in the world to me, and I will argue…
Hello, friends! I promised I’d give you an update on my work as a substitute teacher so, let me tell you, elementary school classrooms are a whole production. And I’m just the understudy dropping in during the third act, scrambling to learn my scenes. It makes me feel like the dude from Quantum Leap. My…
I’ve got 30 solid minutes of your weekend planned out for you. You’re going to be standing in the kitchen, but I promise it won’t be long. Pour a cup of coffee – that’ll help with everything. Within your 30 minutes you’re going to pull bakery-quality ham and cheese croissants out of the oven. I’m…
Okay, there’s something I haven’t told you about Louisiana. It’s not about the best jazz at Preservation Hall or the sazeracs at The Roosevelt. The secret is that Louisiana not only grows the best strawberries I’ve ever had, but Louisiana harvests those berries TWICE a year. It’s an embarrassment of riches, honestly. That’s probably why…
Hello friends! Happy Sunday turned Monday. This springtime soft sun, breezy days, and Easter gatherings beckoned me this week. I shut my laptop and went out to live a happy life. I hope you took a bit of a spring break one way or another this month. It’s just too good not to. I said…
What if I told you there’s a cake that tastes like buttery baked cake AND cake batter at the same time? These are dreams appropriately named Gooey Butter Cake. I didn’t have nearly enough early exposure to the concept of a Gooey Butter Cake save for all the batches of blondie brownies I under-baked due…
Easter holds incredibly distinctive memories for me. The night before was always filled with tears as my mother pressed my hair with an iron comb hot from the stove. Every year I was sure she was going to burn me. My mother guaranteed I wouldn’t get burned if I didn’t move. Every year I got…
