Preparing for House Guests

House guests are coming! Here are some ways to stay sane.

The Best Homemade Popcorn

It's time to watch a movie. Any movie will do. The main attraction is the popcorn.

Eat Your Leftovers: Stale Bread

My two favorite things to do with stale bread.

Vodka + Lemonade

The easiest of cocktails.

Cream Cheese Spiderweb Brownies

This is lazy baking at its best.

The Perfect Hosts

One memorable evening in California taught me about the four most important tenets of entertaining.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Finally, after years of failure, I've made the tall, dark chocolate cake of my dreams—and its peanut butter filling makes it even yummier.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

August's Favorite Exception is the perfect after-school snack: make-ahead coconut oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!

Blueberry Pie: July’s Exception

OK, all you Fourth of July barbeque-ers, I give you my favorite exception for July: a super yummy blueberry pie. I was in a debate recently about whether it was more traditional to serve blueberry pie or apple pie for Independence Day. I know apple pie is all-American, but apples are for winter when nothing… Continue reading Blueberry Pie: July’s Exception

New Feature: My Favorite Exceptions

Now that I'm almost 40, eating desserts has an immediate effect on my midsection. So I made a rule. But every good rule about desserts is going to need some major exceptions.

My Son, the Vegetarian Who Hates Vegetables

Tonight at bedtime, my youngest son, who is three, looked up at me with big saucer eyes over his Chick fil-A Kids Meal book and said, "Why us eat chickens?" "Why do we eat chickens?" I repeated, stalling for time. This was going to be difficult. The truth is, I have been struggling with this… Continue reading My Son, the Vegetarian Who Hates Vegetables

Food Good

I'd like to start posting more often than I do now, which is probably a long shot given that summer has just begun and no babysitting fairies have nested in my attic. But I'm just going to put it out there in the hopes that my public declaration will help with the follow through. (Oh,… Continue reading Food Good

Chocolate Chip and Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins

Leftover pumpkin? Let me help you out. In college I was friends with a girl named Kim, whom I shall forever remember fondly for two things: 1) facing an angry Italian train conductor together when we accidentally slept through our Florence stop and found ourselves Rome-bound with nary a lira between us to pay for… Continue reading Chocolate Chip and Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins