Dipping crusty bread into a pot of steaming mussels has to be one of my favorite eating experiences. And when a restaurant offers mussels, I’m inclined to order them because, one, I rarely make them at home, and two, they’re so darn good — when they’re good, that is. Why I never make mussels at home confounds me, especially after trying this Balthazar recipe for Moules Marinière. I followed this recipe to a tee (with the exception of the freshly ground white pepper … so French), and was so pleased....

My least favorite part about making breaded cutlets is standing at the stovetop frying them. Even with two large pans going, I can never get away with cooking all of the pieces at once. Stovetop frying demands monitoring — adjusting the temperature here and there, replenishing oil as needed. This is why I love the chicken fingers recipe in A New Way to Dinner , the latest cookbook from Food52’s Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs....

Say hello to my new favorite dish: blistered shishito peppers with avocado crema dipping sauce. This recipe is a snap to throw together. Shishito peppers take well to a broiler’s high heat, which cooks them quickly, but they can also be roasted or grilled if you prefer. This recipe for blistered shishito peppers with avocado crema comes from Susan Spungen’s new cookbook, Open Kitchen , which I wrote about last month....

Rum balls are one of the easiest and most festive cookies to make and gift during the holiday season — they take no time to whip together, require no baking, and are incredibly delicious. Everyone loves them. What’s more? They can be made ahead and frozen, too. Easy, festive, boozy rum balls — what’s not to love? The virtues of rum balls include: short prep time: the batter takes all of about 5 minutes to whip up no-bake, which means short total time: start to finish these will take about 30 minutes to complete high-yield: this recipe will make at least 40 taste: they are delicious, boozy bites of goodness easy: can’t have too many easy recipes around the holidays festive: perfect for holiday entertaining pretty: a perfect gift they can be made ahead of time (and even frozen!...

Containing no flour and leavened by whipped egg whites alone, this flourless chocolate-almond cake is at once light, rich, and moist. Bittersweet chocolate makes it perfectly sweet, and ground almonds give it a wonderful texture throughout. It can stand alone without any garnish, but it’s especially good with a dollop of whipped cream and fresh raspberries. On Christmas Eve my mother served this torta caprese — a flourless, chocolate-almond torte originating from the Isle of Capri — for dessert....

Lemony with subtle almond notes, these melt-in-your-mouth snowball cookies are the perfect holiday cookie. Made with cold butter, the dough comes together in seconds in the food processor, and the recipe yields at least 30, making it perfect for gifting all season long. A few weeks ago, I set out to make Viennese crescents, a buttery, almondy, powdered-sugar-dusted cookie my mother made often at the holidays when I was young....

Shortly after volunteering to bring baked fontina to a casual New Year’s Eve gathering with the neighbors, fear of becoming a one-trick pony sent me back to the drawing board. So I scoured my favorite hors d’oeuvres cookbooks and files and pulled out a recipe — Martha Stewart’s hot crab dip — I have been meaning to make since last February when I read The Wednesday Chef describe it as the “number one most delicious thing [she] made over the holidays....

Anyway, I am excited to share with you this recipe for orecchiette with sausage and greens. The inspiration for this dish came from this Nigella Lawson recipe, which I spotted in an email blast from The Cookstr 10 regarding vegetarian dishes for everyone. I had a little trouble with the recipe the first time around — the one cup of wine and one cup of water turned my greens to mush — so I’ve altered the recipe a tad....

If you’re wondering how you might up your crudité game, here’s a thought: pickle some of the vegetables. For very minimal effort, pickling transforms vegetables from simply being raw to being raw with a bite and a brightness. It softens them ever so slightly, too, rendering them less snappy in texture, but still crisp and fresh. This time of year, I particularly love pickled carrots and cauliflower, but radishes, turnips, and fennel are good options, too....

Last Friday my neighbor Sandra had me over for dinner. When I arrived through the back porch, I followed a whirring sound into the kitchen, where I found her standing by her blender with Julia Turshen’s Small Victories open to the Paloma Slushies recipe beside her. Yes , I thought. But also: Trouble . Long story short, by the end of the night, Sandra and I had polished off the serves-four batch of the tequila cocktail, and at one point, I told her I loved bull dozers , as I pet her bull dog , who sat by my feet....

Last Saturday our town’s annual “Niska-Day” parade, postponed for two years due to the pandemic, returned in full force with floats, dancers, singers, and more. Due to construction on the main road, a re-routing put my house right on the parade’s path, and as a result, I found myself with a front yard full of friends. We ate bagels, sipped mimosas, and watched as what felt like the entire town marched by....

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://alexandracooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/saladplatedUpclose_alexandraskitchen.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“A plate of “grilled” Romaine salad with anchovy dressing. - 1”> Susan Spungen, renowned food stylist, original Martha Stewart editor, and wildly creative cookie crafter , has a new book out: Open Kitchen: Inspired Food for Casual Gatherings. In addition to offering elegant but simple recipes, it’s all about Susan’s “get-ahead” and “stress-free” cooking philosophy. To this end, each recipe includes a “timing tips” box with bulleted action items, steps you can do in advance....

This is the eggplant recipe that made me realize eggplant is not so fussy after all: it need not be salted and drained; it need not be breaded and fried. A simple brush of olive oil mixed with balsamic vinegar followed by 20 minutes in a hot oven, and it’s good to go. I wrote about this recipe nearly three years ago for Food52 , but I made it again recently and was just as wowed by how simple and good it is....

These chocolate sugar cookies are heaven: super chocolaty, perfectly sweet, and nicely balanced with salt. When they bake, they rise; when they cool, they fall, giving them that beautiful, sugar-crusted crackly surface. Simple and delicious! This classic rise-and-fall chocolate sugar cookie recipe comes from Melissa Weller’s A Good Bake , and to me, they are perfection: deeply chocolatey, nicely sweet and salty, and perfectly chewy, thanks to the inclusion of dark brown sugar....

Last week, for about point five seconds, I entertained the idea of making petits fours for a baby shower. I’m so glad I came to my senses. In fact I’m so glad I tossed out all of my grand ideas: stork-shaped frosted cookies, a baby-buggy cake, mini baby brownie pops. Instead, I made one batch of my favorite brownie recipe and one batch of lemon bars, a recipe I have been making for years....

This is the cauliflower recipe I make on repeat all winter. The cauliflower emerges tender and golden, shrouded with caramelized onions and salty, crisp parmesan. The best part? The whole unpeeled cloves of roasted garlic, which can be spread across bread like butter — heaven. This recipe takes five minutes (maybe less) to prep: cut a head of cauliflower into florets, toss with a sliced onion, a few sprigs of thyme, whole unpeeled garlic cloves, olive oil, salt, and pepper....

Here’s another classic combination that works so well: endive + avocado + citrus. Flavorwise, it’s bitter + sweet + tart. Texturewise, it’s crisp + creamy + cool. All of the elements play so nicely together. This is the kind of salad you don’t need a recipe for, as the seasonings are minimal: olive oil, vinegar, fresh citrus juice, salt, and pepper. But I do think it’s worth sharing a few tips:...

If you are baking a ham this holiday, you must make this mustard sauce, too. It is so delicious and so simple to prepare — it’s a matter of bringing a few ingredients to a boil and then passing the mixture through a strainer. It’s fantastic for leftover ham sandwiches. In my family, this mustard sauce is as essential as the ham on the holiday table. It takes no time to whisk together, and it is so nice to have on hand for leftover ham sandwiches....

Skip to Recipe I can’t promise this will be my last peach post, but I’m definitely reaching peak peach capacity. My literary mother sent me this poem, “From Blossoms,” which is in Li-Young Lee’sfirst book of poems Rose (Boa editions, Ltd., 1986). I thought it was so lovely, so I’m sharing it with you, too. From blossoms comes this brown paper bag of peaches we bought from the boy at the bend in the road where we turned toward signs painted Peaches ....

Made with whole wheat flour, wheat germ, and rolled oats, this simple Irish brown bread comes together in no time and yields a hearty, super-tasty loaf, perfect for toasting and slathering with good Irish butter. Break out the Kerrygold! If you Google “brown bread,” search results pull recipes ranging from black-hued breads baked in cans to light-hued brioche-like loaves baked in Pullman pans. This traditional Irish brown recipe includes rolled oats and comes from Reader Michael in Ireland....