F O O D !
Get inspired to try something new, make something better or upgrade your kitchen with these tasty bits. Or heck, throw a whole dinner party and order my cookbook “The Dinner Party Project” out now!
Spicy Sweet Brisket Sandwich
This is one of my favorite sandwiches of all time. Nothing beats the combination of sweet, tender brisket, spicy mustard, and creamy coleslaw stacked between two thick slices of sourdough. I’ve made a whole brisket JUST because I wanted this sandwich.
BYOB (be your own bubbe) Jewish Brisket
Horseradish and Arugula Salad
I love to serve a great crisp and simple green salad with a zingy dressing to balance the unctuousness (my husband’s favorite word) of a dish like short ribs or beef bourguignon. If you wanna chat about horseradish let me know. I always love to turn new people on to one of my favorite roots!
Brown Rice That Doesn’t Suck (Really)
So some of us love brown rice and some of us just endure it cause it’s healthy. I’ll admit that it can be a bland, gummy disaster but by following the recipe below you’ll end up with the perfect rice 98% of the time.
Chewy Udon With Mushrooms
This is a slight modification to the Chewy Udon Stir Fry from the blogger Drive Me Hungry. I love her recipes and this is one I’ve been slightly modifying throughout all of quarantine because it’s an ideal combination of everything comforting in life. It’s carby, it’s chewy, it’s fatty, it’s a little sweet, and it’s a great way to use up all the weird vegetables in your fridge at the end of the week. This recipe is the third recipe in a series of recipes all about using leftover portobello mushrooms. If you want the original recipe for the shrooms you can find it HERE, but you can also use raw mushrooms or sub a protein if you like!
Leftover Brisket Pasta With Parm And Black Pepper
I believe the first time I made brisket pasta was about three years ago when I was trying to clear out my fridge. I had some mushrooms, kale, an onion, a lemon, some Parmesan, and three-day-old brisket. I didn’t realize tossing together these seemingly random ingredients would turn into one of my best-loved pasta recipes!
Herby Chopped Salad a.k.a The Perfect Instagram Salad
This title is only kind of sort of a joke. You know you’ve thought about your plating for an insta pic before… Turns out your stomach and instagram like the same thing, lots of color, varied texture and large bowls. This salad is a winner because you can basically throw anything in it that you’ve got going on in your fridge, the more vegetables and the more color the better. Use your vegetables before they go bad! If you’re not into chickpeas and you want to make this salad to take to work feel free to throw on any protein you feel like.
Everything Breakfast Hash
Crispy roasted potatoes and onions, garlicky spinach, and eggs your way. What could be a better way to start the day? Got some extra cherry tomatoes hanging around? Add ‘em! Want to substitute sautéed kale for the spinach? Why not! I mean you don’t even have to eat this breakfast hash for breakfast — have it for dinner. The potatoes can be roasted ahead and you can throw the hash together at your leisure.
Kofta Pita Sandwiches
Kofta is a Middle Eastern, and other areas surrounding, staple. In its most basic form, it’s ground meat (most likely lamb or beef) mixed with spices and onion, though the variations/names for the dish are practically endless. In my travels I’ve had versions cooked slowly in a tagine, fried and stuffed in a pita, grilled and served with rice, and simmered in tomato sauce. So far, I haven’t experienced one that I haven’t loved. Flavorwise this version is most similar to the version I had in Morocco; though it being seared and cooked through, rather than finished in a sauce, makes it more similar to the Palestinian or Lebanese version.
Big Fresh Summery (Fattoush) Salad With Garlic Pita Croutons
I live on the westside of Los Angeles, which is home to countless delicious Lebanese restaurants; all of which serve Fattoush. It’s a salad featuring a combination of fresh veggies, herbs, spices, and toasty khubz (flatbread). It’s the perfect dish to enjoy on a warm summer night.
Asian-Inspired Crispy Pork Lettuce Wraps
This recipe is part of a series about leftovers! The pork in the image is leftover pork shoulder from an easy, totally tender, and crazy flavorful roasted pork shoulder. I bring this up because, if you haven’t already made the pork shoulder, then this recipe isn’t super useful. If you want to make something like this right away, you can do it with thinly sliced pork, beef, chicken, or tofu! But I would encourage you to make the pork shoulder and then turn it into these lettuce wraps because the transformation of turning a giant hunk of meat into something healthy and delicate is magical.
Ribs and Ranch Salad
Literally nothing makes me happier than bbq sauce and ranch living harmoniously on top of a salad. You might say this salad is my personal version of heaven. I hope it brings you 1/16th of the joy it brings me!
Baked Butternut Squash Mac And Cheese
Converting one dish into another is one of my favorite creative kitchen projects. This recipe uses a “Creamy” Butternut Squash Soup as a base and by simply adding a few more ingredients turns it into something totally new. This idea can be extrapolated using lots of different kinds of pureed soups. This happens to be one of my favorites since the yellow from the squash gives it a good Kraft mac color and adds a little bit of sugar which plays really nicely with the mustard we add!
Chicken-Soup-Esque Beef Stew
Two of my favorite things are a matzo ball soup doused in fresh herbs and a hearty mega-comforting beef stew, so why not combine them into one perfect stew? This recipe uses leftover Wine Drunk Short Ribs, but any slow-cooked and tender meat will do!
Mushroomy Farro Salad
This is a perfect grain salad to keep in your fridge and munch on during the week or serve warm as a side with dinner. It’s super flavorful, easy to adapt based on whatever ingredients you have lying around, and is fun to munch on.
Portobello Mushroom Burgers
Listen, if you’re looking for the best veggie burger that will satisfy any and all humans (that don’t hate mushrooms) THIS IS YOUR BURGER. The mushroom turns out soft and tender but also meaty and the special sauce really makes you feel like you’re eating a legit diner burger. I hope you love these as much as I do!
Short Rib Quesadilla
One of my favorite kitchen sink lunches is turning last night’s dinner leftovers into a creative (and sometimes bizarre) quesadilla. Living in LA I’ve got access to fresh tortillas 24/7 from Northgate Market, but pretty good tortillas can be found almost anywhere. Look for ones that are soft and pliable, they’ll give you a great texture and not dry out in the pan.
Serial Kaler Salad
If you’ve enjoyed a kale salad at a restaurant but your homemade salad makes you feel like you’re grazing in a bitter pasture, the secret is the kale massage. Kale only tastes good in a salad if you give it a massage first. Simply remove those nasty kale ribs, cut up the kale, then take bunches of kale and rub the heck out of them with a bit of dressing. They should start to look darker and taste less bitter.
Matzo Ballin'
Here is the thing about making chicken soup, it isn’t a fast process. Maybe your mom used to basically add a few bouillon cubes to water, dump in some veggies and noodles and make instant soup, which honestly tastes pretty good- but that isn’t what we are going for here. We’re going for your great-great-grandma's version. You have to be patient and just let this happen slowwwlllyyyyy. So make it on a cold day, start it early, go about your business.
Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder With Herby Crispy Potatoes
Nothing makes me happier than cooking a protein that’s incredibly crisp on the outside, totally tender on the inside, and, and big enough for leftovers. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this triple threat is by using this recipe right here. It does take lots of time to cook, but it’s not active time. You can set it and forget it!
