When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, That’s Amore!

Is pesto gorgonzola a thing in your house? If not, it should be! Pesto Gorgonzola is A T.H.I.N.G. in our house. My mom used to make it all the time for parties. It’s the ultimate simple appetizer and if you don’t know about it - here’s a link where I made it for an appetizer. You need to have this in your tool kit.

Is make-your-own pizza the best thing ever? It’s definitely my children’s favorite dinner which is probably why we end up making it for Valentine’s Day almost every year. We shape the dough into hearts if we’re feeling cheeky. The kids like theirs with pepperoni and black olives - but I only like when it’s delivery. If I’m making my own, I want something more interesting. That’s when I thought… Pesto Gorgonzola pizza! It’s amazing. I added bacon (because, bacon) and green onions to spice things up.

I can’t tell you how good this pizza is. It’s a super indulgent dinner - or a delish appetizer.

You can absolutely make your own dough - the one here is a 30 minute dough - or just buy it done already. It’s super simple either way. You do you.

PESTO GORGONZOLA PIZZA

makes four small pizzas

For the pizza dough

1 package active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup very warm water

2 ½ cups flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup pesto

1 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese

4 strips cooked bacon

4 sliced green onions

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine yeast, sugar, and water.  Let sit 10 minutes until foamy.  Stir flour and salt together and add yeast mixture and olive oil to dry ingredients.  Combine until smooth dough has formed.  Let rest for five minutes.

1 package active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup very warm water

2 ½ cups flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

STEP 2

Divide the dough into four equal portions. Shape, gently, into flat circles. Top with pesto, cheese, bacon and green onions. Pop into the oven and bake 10-12 minutes until the crust is brown and the pesto is bubbly.

Bon Appetit!

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SUPERBOWL! In our house it’s literally waiting for the Super Bowl. We are a big football family. It started with college ball. That’s my personal favorite. I started watching Husky football games as a child because my cousin played for them. I had a purple and yellow stripe outfit that I wore to cheer on the team every week. It was hot. It was a sleeveless turtleneck number with matching stretch pants. Welcome to 1988.

Then when my youngest was born, he became obsessed with football. Like as a one year old he watched games and cried when football season was over. He’d watch ‘talk about football’ in the off season (that’s Sportscenter). Nine years later, he’s more obsessed than anyone I’ve ever met. He knows every player and where they’ve gone to college and their stats. He’s ridiculous.

So we spend every weekend watching football games, playing fantasy football, and talking about who’s been traded. SuperBowl is literally the biggest thing in our house.

We’ve been talking about what we are going to eat for Super Bowl for at least a month now. Planning the food has been a paramount decision. Two weeks ago for playoff games we tested out WingStop to make sure they would be up to the task. I usually make my own wings but Jud had seen ads for WingStop and it became mandatory to see if they lived up to the hype. We’re planning a bucket of those to go along with the healthier options like this popcorn. And queso because it’s queso and there is no Super Bowl without queso.

RANCH POPCORN

1/2 cup popcorn kernels

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs butter

2 tbs parmesan cheese

1 package powdered ranch dressing

1 tsp dried chives

1 tsp paprkia

STEP 1

In a pan or a stovetop popcorn popper, pour in olive oil and popcorn kernels. Shake the pan while cooking over high heat for 5-8 minutes until the popcorn stops popping. Let rest for one minute.

STEP 2

In a small bowl, combine all of the topping ingredients except the cheese.

STEP 3

Stir the butter into the hot popcorn to coat evenly. Then pour the seasoning on top and mix well. Add the cheese after all of the kernels are coated with ranch seasoning. Serve warm.

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If I ate a sugar cookie while drinking a Manhattan I would literally go into a sugar coma. I haven’t had that much sugar in a really long time - but I cannot deny it is a dream of mine to eat sugar cookies and drink cocktails. If I had a restaurant, it would serve sugar cookies and boozy drinks - preferably vintage cocktails and champagne. Can you even? Wouldn’t that be the best? What would we name our restaurant? Should we serve charcuterie boards as well? Would that be the most bougie/basic thing ever? Probably.

Until I open my bougie/basic cookie bar (do we name it The Cookie Bar?!?!) I will have to settle for making my own. It’s not that big of a stretch. I make cookies for every holiday and send them around to friends. And there’s no denying I like a good cocktail.

For Valentines’s Day I paired up this natural (?) duo with a Manhattan and sugar cookies. My sugar cookies have become famous in the neighborhood. When everyone else “boo-s” with candy at Halloween, my kids “boo” with sugar cookies. The truth of my sugar cookies is that they are really a quick knock off of Jenny Cookies recipe. Her recipe has things like “refrigerate the dough” and “add the flour a little at a time.” I don’t have the patience for either of those things. Because her recipe is so easy to remember, it’s become mine too.

SUGAR COOKIES

makes 2 dozen

1 cup sugar

1 cup butter (room temperature or slightly warmer)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

STEP 1

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine the flour and the baking powder. Set aside.

STEP 2

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until soft and totally incorporated. It’s important you don’t see ‘chunks’ of butter.

STEP 3

Add the eggs and vanilla and combine totally.

STEP 4

Add the flour mixture and combine on low speed until it looks ‘crumbly.’ Then turn up the mixer speed and beat until the dough forms a ball. It legitimately will form a ball and you’ll panic for a minute that you’ve ruined everything and why is it so crumbly, and then it just works.

STEP 5

Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch depth. I use rolling pin with guides on it so I know I’m at the same depth all the way around. If the cookies end up being different depths, you will end up with some cooked and some still raw.

STEP 6

Bake 6-8 minutes until just set. Let cool on the cookie sheet 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before frosting.

The perfect Manhattan is not super hard. But there are lots of opinions on how to make the perfect Manhattan - even saying that is a problem because there’s a variation of Manhattan called “Perfect Manhattan.” {eyeroll}

I turned to my own personal cocktail expert - my friend Eric - who has strong opinions on the subject of cocktails for his opinion on what we would call the perfect Manhattan - the history of the drink seemed like a good place to start.

There’s no exact place the cocktail was invented - the only thing the stories all agree with is that it was developed in the 1880’s in NYC. One story is that it was created for the mother of Winston Churchill before he was born (the timeline doesn’t work) but I’m here for that story. It’s great.

The original drink was made with “American whiskey”, French vermouth and 3-4 dashes of bitters. The “American whiskey” is the critical part. That’s what we would call rye today. It’s not bourbon. You can make this with bourbon, but it’s a different drink. Eric says it sweeter, I say “it’s not as delicious.” Some early versions have a few dashes of gum syrup as well. Gum syrup (or gimme syrup) is basically a simple syrup but with gum arabic dissolved in it as well as sugar. Since that’s just a thickener/stabilizer, we can assume it had nothing to do with adding flavor so really, just a few dashes of simple syrup.

The recipe gets slightly more complicated during prohibition when American whiskey becomes a challenge to get in NYC but Canadian whiskey isn’t the same challenge (geography). Some recipes still use Canadian whiskey because of this hiccup in history.

Before I give you the recipe for a perfect (not Perfect) Manhattan, let me first say that Eric is dying right now that I made my Manhattans on the rocks. He would make them up. Only. And he’s going to call me for sure when he sees these pictures and tell me how wrong it is. So let me say - the correct way is served up like a Martini. But if you’re like me and you drink a neat drink WWAAAYYY too fast, then on the rocks is a liver saver.

Don’t worry, I didn’t shake it - I still stirred it which is the proper way to serve a Manhattan. It’s another controversy, but it’s not to be debated here. Stir it. Don’t shake it.

A PERFECT MANHATTAN

2 ounces Pikesville Rye

1 ounce Carpano Antica sweet vermouth

2-3 dashes Angostura bitters

luxardo cherries

In a cocktail pitcher filled with ice, combine the ingredients. Stir gently with a swizzle or bougie glass stir stick. Strain into glasses immediately (so it doesn’t dilute) and serve with a cherry for garnish.

While I wait to open my bougie/basic Cookie Bar, I made these for girlfriends this holiday since we can’t see each other. It’s a “happy hour” I can deliver and I’m wrapping the whole thing in the “That’s Amore” dishtowel. Aren’t they fun? I made them. If you want one, let me know. I’ll send you one too.

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Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays. It’s cheesy and ridiculous and totally unnecessary - which is why it’s the best! I do this one up big - a fun breakfast, a big family dinner, and themed lunches that are totally quirky. I cut the kids sandwiches into hearts, I draw on mandarin oranges, and I cut hearts out of colored paper and stuff their lunch boxes so they literally explode when they open their lunch.

You can’t celebrate all day if you don’t start early in the morning! This is a super simple breakfast that you can pull off on a school day - swap out waffle mix if you don’t want to make them from scratch - the secret is in adding freeze dried strawberries to the batter. They’ll soften slightly in the batter and totally soften when they are cooked.

You can use fresh berries, but I found that the freeze dried berries keep their flavor better when the waffles are cooked. The fresh berries mush and cook more quickly which adds a cool pink color, but lacks the punch I’m going for here.

STRAWBERRY WAFFLES WITH BERRY SAUCE

2 cups milk

1/2 cup melted butter

2 eggs

1 cup freeze dried strawberries

2 cups flour

2 tbs sugar

1 tbs baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine together dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl, which together milk, melted butter and eggs. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined - there will be a few lumps.

Then add the strawberries and stir until they are incorporated into the batter. Let the batter rest 3-5 minutes while the waffle maker heats up.

BERRY SAUCE

1/2 cup strawberries

1/2 cup raspberries

2 tbs orange juice

1 tbs sugar

1 tbs cointreau (optional)

In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring the a boil. As soon as it boils, turn the heat down and let it simmer until it begins to thicken up. Smash the berries with a fork to push out the juices and break them down. Serve warm over the waffles.

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For Cinco de Mayo, Lars and I made these phenomenal watermelon cocktails that I know you will love too. Lars made one sans tequila since he’s a child - and mine was filled with a delightful splash of tequila. Lars said his was amazing and mine smelled bad. So it’s working. I’m still a good parent.

Watermelon Margarita

3-4 cups chopped watermelon

1/4 cup lime juice

zest of 1 lime

Blanco tequila

STEP 1

In a blender, turn the watermelon into juice. Add in the lime zest and blend another second.

STEP 2

Pour 2 ounces Blanco Tequila into a glass full of ice. Top with 3-4 ounces of watermelon. Drizzle a teaspoon (or so) of lime juice onto the top of the drink. Garnish with wedges of lime and watermelon.

It seems the history of the chocolate chip cookie is very similar to the current state of the chocolate chip cookie recipe.  We can all agree on the basics, but the details are subject to interpretation.  

Some sources claim that Ruth Wakefield, owner and chef at the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts, invented the cookies when she was looking for a way to jazz up her butter drop cookies.  Another source claims she expected the chocolate pieces to melt into the cookie completely and turn it into more of a chocolate cookie.  Another source claims she knew what she was doing the whole time.  

 Whatever Ms. Wakefield’s intention, the cookie invention is firmly set at the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Mass sometime between 1936 and 1938.  Ms. Wakefield and her husband opened the inn in 1930.  According to the forward in her own cookbook, the sight had originally been at the location of a toll house where passengers ate and horses “were changed” on the way from Boston to New Bedford.  The house was a halfway point on the road and the point where the toll was collected for traveling the road.  Wikipedia disagrees, so we’ll leave it alone.   Whatever the origin of the name, the Wakefield’s purchased the home in 1930 and used their mutual dream of owning an ‘eating place’ into the Inn.  

Ms. Wakefield had been a home economics teacher at the high school before marrying and turned her interest in cooking into serving meals at the Inn.  Her cooking was so popular, her cookbook, originally published in 1930, went through 39 publishings.  The 1938 version of Toll House Tried and True Recipes is the first copy to feature the Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookie.  Let’s assume the recipe had been created the same year.  

It wasn’t until World War II that the cookie gained national fame.  During the war, care packages were sent abroad to soldiers.  The care packages from the state of Massachusetts must have carried an inordinate amount of Toll House Cookies because soon soldiers from other parts of the country were writing home and asking for the cookies.  Ms. Wakefield became overrun with letters asking for the recipe.  Nestle also saw a spike in sales and worked with Ms. Wakefield to publish the recipe on the package – her payment?  Chocolate for life.  The recipe is still on the chocolate chip package to this day.

The original recipe is not EXACLTY what you see on the modern package.  Who knows when it changed, but the OG recipe includes a splash of hot water.  As copied from the Toll House Cookbook: 

Ruth Wakefield’s Chocolate Crunch Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, plus more for baking sheets

3/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved into 1 teaspoon hot water

2 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon table salt

2 bars Nestle’s yellow label chocolate, semi-sweet, which has been cut into pieces the size of peas

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 375°.

Cream the butter and sugars. Add the beaten eggs. Add the baking soda dissolved in hot water.

Sift together the flour and salt and add to the butter mixture. Then stir in the nuts, chocolate chips, and vanilla.

Chill the dough

Drop by the tablespoonful onto lightly greased cookie sheets and bake until browned at the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. 

Here’s what’s interesting to me – the vanilla is added last!  And the baking soda is dissolved into hot water?  Both felt very confusing before starting baking, and I will admit that these quirks made me want to try this recipe.  I physically had to restrain myself from adding the vanilla to the egg step and even adding at the end felt weird and like it would not be incorporated.  But it seemed to?  Dissolving the baking soda was a new step for me too.  So I had to look it up.

It turns out that by dissolving the baking soda into water before incorporating you are actually ensuring that the chemical is evenly distributed and begin the chemical reaction early. Since cookies typically don’t have a lot of moisture in them, the baking soda isn’t usually activated until the butter melts in the oven. When it’s been activated earlier, the CO2 can release as soon as the cookies hit the oven, rather than partially through the baking process.  

The job of baking soda is to leaven the cookies and making them soft and fluffy.  I imagine that’s why these cookies turned out much fluffier and taller than the cookies I regularly make?  It led to my sister and I wondering if our grandmother dissolved her baking soda in her cookies because her oatmeal/chocolate chip/coconut cookies were always very puffy.  It appears quite regularly in old fashioned cookie recipes which makes me wonder why we abandoned the practice?

After trying several versions now, I think I can confirm that a chocolate chip cookie is good, no matter what.  If you want to try MY version of this classic recipe, I think it’s pretty decent.

 Ali Hedin’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 35

1 cup butter, room temperature

½ cup sugar

1 ½ cups brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups chocolate chips

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and sugars until creamy and lightened in color.

STEP 2

Add eggs and vanilla and whip until light and fluffy.  In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients.

STEP 3

Add in dry ingredients until just barely incorporated.  Then add in the chocolate chips and mix well.  It’s great if they break up a little bit.

STEP 4

Scoop dough onto a cookie sheet and bake 8-10 minutes until the edges are browned but the center is still light brown.  Let rest 5 minutes on a cookie sheet then transfer to a cooling rack.

Store in an airtight container for up to a week – but no longer!

Bottom line is there are enough chocolate chip cookie recipes out there for every person in America to have their own version of this popular cookie.  This super subjective topic means that “the best” chocolate chip cookies are probably just the ones your mom made.  If you’re looking for a new recipe to try, give mine a shot.  I’m no Ruth Wakefield – but they’re still pretty good.  You can’t lose.  

Do you still have one lingering question? Is it “What is a Butter Drop Cookie?” Because that’s the lingering question I had after reading pages and pages about Ruth Wakefield. There are also a million recipes for Butter Drop Cookies but basically it’s a Chocolate Chip Cookie without the chocolate and adding in almond extract along with the vanilla. Believe me when I tell you that’s the next batch of cookies I’m making. Stay tuned.

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Lunar New Year is one of my favorite times to celebrate. For most of us, it’s a random occasion to celebrate something really fun. It’s an unexpected reason to invite people over too. For ours this year I’m making something super familiar - because there’s no better way to get kids to try food than to make it look like something super familiar - Noodles + Meatballs!

These Asian influenced meatballs are basically the filling of a potsticker. It’s so ridiculously delicious. I am addicted to these meatballs. Served on top of soba noodles or rice noodles, they are an easy weeknight dinner.

AND one that kids will eat!

ASIAN MEATBALLS + SAUCY NOODLES

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients and mix completely.  I use my hands but you can use a wooden spoon if you’re squeamish. 

STEP 2

Form meatballs into rounds and pop them on a baking sheet.  Bake 15 minutes until they are cooked through (no more pink on the inside)

STEP 3

Bring a pot of water to a boil.

In a small bowl combine remaining soy sauce, fish sauce, rice vinegar, sriracha, honey, and lime juice.  

STEP 4

Cook the noodles to the package directions.  Drain and toss with the honey/ soy sauce mixture.

STEP 5

Serve noodles with hot meatballs on top.  Sprinkle with chopped green onions and extra sriracha. 

2 lb ground pork

2 eggs

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons freshly ground ginger

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon soy sauce

2 scallions, chopped

1 carrot, grated

1/2 zucchini grated

1/2 jalapeno, grated

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

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In our quest to eat healthier, breakfast has been the most challenging. For so many reasons. In the mornings we are usually scrambling over packing lunches, getting kids breakfast pulled together, and racing off to three different schools with three different start times. Adult breakfast has been mostly leftover dinner from the night before so we can get enough protein to not die in a work out. While Sesame Beef is delightful for dinner, it’s not my favorite breakfast.

Breakfasts have been my goal. And honestly, if I start my day off with a better breakfast I am so much more likely to eat better the rest of the day too. When I eat leftover eggs off the kids plates, the day goes a bit down hill from there.

Banana bread is a classic “quick breakfast” option - but it’s loaded with sugar. LOADED. Do you know how much sugar is in bananas? It’s absurd. Then most recipes include white sugar too. It’s too much for the morning. For my version, I eliminated cane sugar and hacked my baked oatmeal recipe to create a banana bread that’s literally a few ingredients - although I did sweeten it up with some maple syrup.

CLEAN BANANA BREAD

1 cup quick oats
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 ripe bananas
2 eggs 
1/4 cup maple syrup

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine oats, baking powder and baking soda.  

STEP 2

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine bananas, eggs, and maple syrup.  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture.  Blend until just combined.  

STEP 3
Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake 40-45 minutes.  When the bread no longer 'jiggles' and a toothpick comes out totally clean, remove from the oven.  Let cool before serving.

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Not everyone has or wants to have a giant crowd at Thanksgiving. Or if you’re going to someone else’s house and you won’t have left overs then a turkey breast is the perfect solution. You can buy a breast at any grocery store. If your grocer doesn’t have just a turkey breast, you can ask the butcher at the counter to take the breast off for you. And it either can come with or without the bone.

It’s actually an easy way to create ‘thanksgiving’ any time of the year. With roasted vegetables on the side, it becomes a full meal that’s actually incredibly simple to prepare.

CITRUS TURKEY BREAST

serves 4

4 lb bone in turkey breast

1 grapefruit, sliced

1 orange, sliced

2 lemons, sliced

½ cup white wine

¼ cup fresh thyme, chopped

¼ cup fresh rosemary, chopped

1 clove garlic

1/3 cup olive oil, divided

1 lb small potatoes, chopped

6 carrots, sliced

1 onion, sliced

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 450 degees. Chop together rosemary, thyme, and garlic mix with olive oil and rub on the turkey breast.  

STEP 2

Heat a large pot and place turkey breast, herbed side down, and cook until brown.  (5 mins)

STEP 3

Flip turkey over so the browned side is facing up.  Pour white wine in the bottom of the pan.  Arrange citrus around the turkey. Cover with a lid and pop into the oven.

STEP 4

Toss potatoes and carrots with ¼ cup olive oil.  Spread in one layer on a baking sheet and pop in the oven next to the turkey.  

STEP 5

Cook turkey 25 minutes until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees and potatoes are brown and crispy. Slice turkey and serve with potatoes and carrots. 

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The only thing more challenging than eating clean and healthy on a regular day is eating clean on Thanksgiving! The aggressive amount of butter, cream, and white foods makes everything harder. There’s also a significant lack of green - and when there is green it’s usually soaked in the above mentioned butter, cream, and salt. Or some kind of canned soup.

Millet is an ancient grain filled with iron, B vitamins, and is naturally gluten free. It’s the perfect grain for Thanksgiving because of it’s mild corn flavor with a little bit of crunch. Paired with sautéed brussel sprouts and onions and the sweetness of craisins, millet becomes an unexpected side dish that’s actually healthy. Obviously a dash of parmesan cheese is needed.

STEP 1

Bring a very large pot of water to a boil.  There must be at least four cups of water in the pan – eight is ideal.  Pour in millet and cook 15 minutes until tender.  Strain and set aside.

STEP 2

Sauté onion and garlic together in a pan with 2 tbs olive oil until onions are softened.  Add shredded brussels sprouts and cook, stirring often until wilted.  Season with salt and pepper.  

STEP 3

Toss brussels sprouts mixture with cooked millet, craisins and parmesan cheese.  

1 ½ cups millet

2 tbs olive oil

2 cl garlic

1 onion, sliced

1 lb Brussels sprouts

½ cup parmesan cheese

1 cup craisins

Because I know there will be questions:

Q: Why millet? Can I use something else?

Millet is great because it’s gluten free, petite, and has a tiny bit of crunch. You can substitute quinoa or barley. If you use quinoa, combine 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water in a microwaveable bowl. Cover and microwave five minutes. Fluff with a fork then resume the recipe from step 2. You can also use orzo if you’re looking for a pasta substitute.

Q: Brussel Sprouts are the worst! What else can I use??

Brussel sprouts are the worst when they are cooked wrong. These are sautéed and cooked with garlic and onions which make them delicious. It’s a similar to the flavor of cauliflower which everyone is loving right now so I say, give it a try.

Q: If I’m dairy free can I skip the parmesan?

Of course! There are several vegan options that you can swap out parmesan cheese for made with things like cashews and nutritional yeast.

You can make a complete clean Thanksgiving pretty easily - if you just think outside of the box (of butter). But don’t forget that it’s important to have a little balance so have a drink or a little cheese spread with your millet.