Baked Feta, Tomato, and Spinach Pasta

If you spend even half as much time as I do on the Internet every day, then you’ve probably seen the latest (and most delicious-looking) trend to hit social media: drizzling blocks of feta cheese and loose tomatoes with wonderful, generous glugs of extra virgin olive and baking them at moderately-high heat until the tomatoes have ripened to the point of almost bursting, and the cheese has gotten so soft that when mixed with pasta, it melts like a dream. The original recipe was developed two years ago by Finnish food blogger Jenni Häyrinen, but it wasn’t until this year, thanks to TikTok, that it went super viral. In fact, the recipe got so huge that Finland actually had a brief but significant shortage of feta cheese nationwide! I’ve seen countless videos floating around Youtube and Instagram in the last two weeks, and though I tend to be extremely particular when it comes to jumping on the latest trends, I knew this was one I desperately had to try.

In all the videos I watched, the basic breakdown of the dish was this: drizzle the feta and tomatoes with olive oil, season with black pepper, and sprinkle a liberal amount of oregano (usually fresh) on top. Roast everything in the oven, then mix in cooked pasta. It just doesn’t get any simpler - or more hands-off - than that.

The final product looked amazing every time, but I wanted to take things up a notch. What other seasonings would go well with salty cheese, sweet tomatoes, and earthy olive oil? Then it hit me: za’atar, my favorite Middle Eastern spice blend that consists of sesame, thyme, marjoram, oregano, and sumac! Oregano, a key ingredient in the original recipe, would still be present, and joined by some other stellar spices blended together in perfect harmony. And because I sometimes need to trick myself into eating vegetables: I threw in some spinach, too! When it came to pasta, I wanted to keep things pretty simple. In some videos, I saw cavatappi being used. In others, classic macaroni. But there was something about a small, long pasta shape that appealed to me, so I went with penne rigate.

The result was, and I’m not exaggerating, one of the best pasta dishes I have EVER had. This Baked Feta, Tomato, and Spinach Pasta is earthy from the za’atar, slightly sweet from the roasted tomatoes, and perfectly creamy, briny, and a little tangy from the baked feta. Though the spinach takes a backseat to the other flavors, just a few minutes of being tossed into the still-warm pasta makes it pleasantly tender and a great supporting character to the main act. And the best part is, dinner was ready in 35 minutes, with very little clean-up at the end.

Internet trends come and go at the speed of light, but this Baked Feta, Tomato, and Spinach Pasta was born from a social media moment that I know is here to stay!

Baked Feta, Tomato, and Spinach Pasta

What You’ll Need:

• 1 pint grape tomatoes

• One 8 oz block of feta cheese

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Za’atar

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Salt

• 16 oz penne rigate pasta

• 3 oz baby spinach

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place the feta cheese and tomatoes in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Drizzle the feta and tomatoes liberally with extra-virgin olive oil, za’atar, and freshly ground black pepper. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.

While the feta and tomatoes are in the oven, cook the pasta in a heavy-bottomed pot filled with well-salted boiling water (the water should taste like the ocean). Follow package instructions for al dente. Just before the pasta is done, reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain the pasta.

As soon as the feta and tomatoes are out of the oven, add the pasta, spinach, and 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water to the baking dish and stir until the ingredients are well-combined. Add more freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve warm.

TO STORE: Pasta can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Chocolate Chai Truffles

I’m not that into Valentine’s Day, and I can’t decide if it’s because there’s just way too much pressure to not be single, or because I’ve never had a particularly good one. The worst Valentine’s Day, by far, was the spring semester of my sophomore year of college when a guy I’d been seeing for a while decided for the both of us that we were going to bypass the holiday altogether; it was just going to be a regular Tuesday. The only problem with that? He forgot to fill me in on it. So there I was the night before, burning a CD filled with happy songs (a few of them my own), and carefully cutting out a homemade card with a track listing on the back. We hadn’t been dating that long, so I knew to avoid the “L” word at all costs, but I thought a nice little gift would let him know that he was appreciated.

Since our colleges were within walking distance of each other, we had plenty of opportunities to spend time together. Twice a week, we had a standing coffee date at a new shop right downtown, and as luck would have it, that fateful V-Day happened to fall on one of them. I couldn’t wait to see him, and even got my hopes up that maybe, even though we hadn’t talked about how we were going to handle the holiday, he’d surprise me, too. And boy, was I surprised. The look on this guy’s face when I gave him the card and CD would make anyone beg the floor to open up wide and swallow them whole. “I…didn’t think we were doing anything special today,” he said, with a voice filled with gentle caution generally reserved for calming spooked horses. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get you anything.” And because we were freshly an item, I tried with all my might to brush off my utter embarrassment, and act like his gift was just one of MANY I was handing out that day, and that the playlist HADN”T taken me a full hour to curate because I wanted to get the flow just right. I think I mumbled something about how it was totally fine, then tried to finish my piping-hot coffee as quickly as possible without completely eviscerating my taste buds.

So did this incident sour Valentine’s Day for me forever? Not really. I don’t blame him for what happened - we were brand new, young, and in the end, not emotionally mature enough to properly communicate. And in case you’re wondering whatever happened to our dear friend, the Valentine’s Day Dodger, I heard he got married a few years ago and had a kid. So all’s well that ends well.

At any rate, Valentine’s Day isn’t all bad. The new movies and books that come out around this time are usually heartwarming, and It’s one of the biggest days of the year to celebrate everything sweet. I can’t think of anything sweeter than making homemade Chocolate Chai Truffles.

Making truffles might seem intimidating at first. For quite some time, I believed that it took a certain amount of mastery before you could even attempt such a delicious and professional-looking act of confectionery, but it’s just not true! When it all boils down, chocolate truffles consist of just two things: heavy cream, and pure chocolate. Put those two together in the correct ratio, give your mixture plenty of time to set, and you’ve got yourself the perfect, chocolate-y canvas for whatever decorations your heart desires. And while simple chocolate truffles are amazing on their own, why not take it up a notch? I love chocolate, and I love chai, so let’s put them together!

These Chocolate Chai Truffles are by far some of my favorite things to make. They’re incredibly chocolate-forward with floral, spicy notes of star anise, black tea, cardamom, and cinnamon, finished beautifully with just a hint of sea salt. These feel perfectly weighted in the hand, but aren’t so solid that when you bite into them, you break your teeth. Quite the opposite actually! Each bite melts in the mouth into nothing but decadent creaminess, making it totally impossible to have just one.

Whether you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day with a long-term partner, a virtual Zoom date, or just yourself, these Chocolate Chai Truffles guarantee that the day will be nothing but sweet (and a little pleasantly spicy)!

Chocolate Chai Truffles

What You’ll Need:

• 8 oz (two 4 oz bars, NOT chocolate chips) semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

• 10 cardamom pods

• 5 whole star anise pieces

• 2 cinnamon sticks

• 5 chai tea bags

• 2/3 cup heavy cream

• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 1/2 cup unsweetened coca powder

Directions:

Place the chocolate in a medium, heatproof bowl. Set aside.

Using a mortar and pestle, or the side of a knife, gently crush the cardamom pods. Place the cardamom pods, star anise, cinnamon sticks, and heavy cream in a small saucepan. Set the saucepan over medium-low heat, and bring the cream to a simmer (be careful not to burn the cream).

Take the saucepan off the heat, add the tea bags, then cover the saucepan and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Remove the tea bags, then place the saucepan over medium-low heat again and bring the cream back up to a simmer. Remove from heat and strain the cream into the bowl with the chocolate. Discard the spices.

Let the cream and chocolate sit in the bowl for three minutes until the chocolate has softened, then slowly begin to whisk the chocolate and cream together, starting in the center and working your way to the edges of the bowl. Whisk until completely smooth. Add the sea salt, then whisk to combine. You’ve just made ganache!

Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on top of the ganache, making sure no air can come through, then chill the ganache in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours until it has set.

Just before you’re ready to roll your truffles, place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and set aside. Next, fill a small bowl with the unsweetened cocoa powder.

Remove the plastic wrap from on top of your ganache and discard. Using a melon baller the size of a teaspoon, a teaspoon cookie scoop, or an actual teaspoon measuring spoon, roll two teaspoons of the ganache at a time, then mold, shape, and roll them together until you have a smooth truffle. Roll the truffle in the coca powder, then place on the cookie sheet. Repeat this process until you have run out of ganache. You should have about 20 truffles at the end.

Transfer the cookie sheet to the refrigerator and let the truffles set for at least 1 hour.

TO STORE: Truffles can be kept in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for one week.

Everything Bagel Soft Pretzels (2 Ways!)

There was a brief moment in time when I cared very deeply about football. It was my sophomore year of college, and I was thousands of miles away from Wisconsin and anyone who would even remotely care about the Dairy State. Feeling homesick and finding it hard to relate to people whose hometowns never saw temperatures dip below 60 degrees Fahrenheit, I turned to football. I longed to catch a glimpse of people in the stands wearing foam rectangular hats shaped like cheese, and shirtless men whose naked chests were yellow and green from body paint, and bright red from the negative wind chill. There/s just no place like home.

And so, right at the start of the 2010s, I sat alone in my shared dorm room every Sunday to watch a Green Bay Packers game, regardless of the fact that I didn’t yet know all the rules. When Packer fans cheered, I cheered. When booing started, I’d find myself quietly chiming in. As the season progressed and hopes of making it to the playoffs rose, I managed to pick up a few friends along the way who would fill me in on what I still didn’t understand and celebrate wins with me, especially as their favorite teams failed to deliver. At the end of 2010 I considered myself a full-on football fan, even going so far as to order gear for when the Packers, in a game that was quite unforgettable, clinched the NFC title and became eligible for the Super Bowl for the first time in 14 years. It certainly felt incredible to be backing a winning team, and I finally understood why people were so fervent about sports. When you win, directly or indirectly, you feel like you’re part of something bigger than yourself. And when you lose, you have a million shoulders to cry on. Plus, trash-talking can be kind of fun (and useful if you’re trying to flirt with a guy in your media class who’s cheering for the other team…but that’s a story for another day). Long story short, the Packers won the Super Bowl that year, and with every celebratory status update I saw on Facebook, I felt closer to home.

Though my interest in football lasted only a few years after that, switching from professional to collegiate along the way, it didn’t hold the same power for me when I moved back home. Football and following the Packers had been my way of staying connected, but once my feet hit frozen soil again, I no longer needed it. And I still don’t to this day, despite the fact that I find myself away from home anew. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t occasionally tune in to a game now and then when I’m channel surfing. And I always, ALWAYS, watch the Super Bowl. Sure, I could say that I actively participate in Super Bowl Sunday because I love the game, but that just wouldn’t be telling the truth. I love watching the Super Bowl for one reason and one reason only: the SNACKS!

I won’t lie, I kind of miss going to live sporting events because the snacks are always on point: nachos covered in creamy, melted cheese, hot dogs/bratwurst with all the fixings, cotton candy the size of a human head, and, of course, soft pretzels, a personal favorite of mine. A few years ago, around this time, I tried my hand at making mini soft pretzels. They were pretty good for a first attempt, and would definitely fit in on any party table, but this year, I wanted to up the ante a little bit. The only thing better than a perfectly-salted soft pretzel? One with everything on it. Or, well, Everything Bagel Seasoning, anyway.

I’m going to level with you for a second: shaping baked goods is not yet my forte. Give me a mold and I’m golden, but if I have to do it freehand? Well, let’s just say some of the first pretzels I attempted to roll and twist and fold into their classic shape came out looking a little…off. That’s why I’m offering you not one, but TWO ways to make these pretzels. If you, like me, struggle with the decoration aspect of baking, consider abandoning the pretzel shape altogether and instead, make pretzel bites! It’s much easier, requires less shaping, and if you’ve got a larger immediate family, there’s plenty more to go around! You just can’t go wrong either way.

Here’s what I love about these Everything Bagel Soft Pretzels: they’re delightfully yeasty and chewy, and with every bite, you get the perfect hits of salt, garlic, onion, and sesame, with the extra crunch of poppy seeds. Best served warm, these pretzels will be gobbled up by halftime!

Everything Bagel Soft Pretzels

What You’ll Need:

• 1 and 1/2 cups lukewarm water

• 1 package active dry yeast

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

• 3 cups flour, plus 3/4 cups more, and more for dusting the work surface

• 1/2 cup baking soda

• 9 cups water

• Everything Bagel Seasoning (store-bought, or you can make your own!)

Directions:

Place oven racks in the middle and lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the yeast and lukewarm water. Let sit for five minutes until foamy and bubbles are on the surface. Whisk in the salt, dark brown sugar, and melted butter.

Working with one cup at a time, add 3 cups of flour to the bowl, mixing thoroughly after each addition with a wooden spoon (the best way to measure flour is by carefully spooning flour into a measuring cup and leveling off the excess with a knife). At this point, the dough will be very sticky. Add more flour to the dough one tablespoon at a time (up to 3/4 cups) and mix well until the dough is no longer sticky to the touch). The dough is ready to be kneaded when it becomes bouncy to the touch.

Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface that has been floured. Using lightly floured fingers, knead the dough for 5 minutes, then shape it into a ball. Let the dough rest, covered with a clean cloth or paper towel, for 10 minutes.

While the dough is resting, fill a heavy-bottomed pot with nine cups of water and add the baking soda. Stir well, then bring the mixture to a boil.

After 10 minutes, uncover the dough and carefully shape it into a 12-inch log with your hands. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the log into 12 equal pieces.

For Traditional Pretzels:

Roll out a piece of dough into a long rope (about 20 inches long). Take each end of the rope and bring them together so they form a ring, then twist the ends together. Next, bring the ends down so they are touching the inner center of the bottom of the circle, ensuring that everything is attached securely. (Depending on how it goes, you may have to use your fingers to more clearly define the pretzel shape. There’s no shame in it!) Repeat the steps until you have twelve pretzels of equal-ish size.

For Pretzel Bites:

Roll out a piece of dough into a long rope (about 20 inches long). Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the rope into small, bite-sized pieces. Roll each cut piece into a ball. Repeat until all the pieces have been rolled into balls.

When You’re Ready

Once your pretzels or pretzel bites are shaped and ready, drop 1-2 pretzels, or 2-4 pretzel bites, into the pot of boiling baking soda water for 20 seconds. Remove immediately using a slotted spoon or spatula and let excess water drip back into the pot. Gently set the pretzels on one of the prepared baking sheets with parchment paper, spacing them a half-inch apart. Once all pretzels or pretzel bites have been taken out of the water and placed onto the baking sheets, generously sprinkle each with the Everything Bagel Seasoning.

Bake the pretzels in the oven for 12-15 minutes, switching the baking sheets from top to bottom halfway through, until the pretzels are golden brown.

Serve pretzels warm with your preferred dipping sauce (though I eat mine as-is!)

TO STORE: Allows pretzels to cool, then place them in an airtight storage container for up to 3 days. When ready to serve, warm the pretzels in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 5-10 minutes.

SOURCE: Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

Conchiglie with Sweet Chicken Sausage, Parmesan, and Spinach

I live for two things now that I’m in my late twenties: quick meals, and abundant leftovers.

When I was a kid, I hated leftovers, but never really understood why. The food usually looked and tasted the same, and was always on the table by 7:00 PM. I think maybe it was because at school, hot lunch options were always rotated, so you felt like you were getting a different meal every day. And as a sweet but very naive child with no comprehension of how long it might take a working mother to throw together a meal from scratch after a full day, I thought something new and different (or, at least different for the day) would be placed in front of me at home as well. Now, as an adult who’s had hectic workdays and super long commutes, I not only like leftovers, I cherish them.

This Conchiglie with Sweet Chicken Sausage, Parmesan, and Spinach, a new weeknight favorite, comes together so fast, and is the perfect two-pot meal to make for big and small families alike. If you’ve got a bigger family, there’s plenty of pasta, protein, and veggies for everyone. Or, if your family’s like mine and on the smaller side, you’ll have leftovers for days!

What I love about this pasta dish is the rich meatiness of the chicken sausage (the kind I get is beautifully pre-seasoned with sweet red peppers and fennel seeds), spiciness of the garlic, deep herbaceous flavor of the spinach, and just a hint of saltiness and cheesiness from the Parmesan cheese, which is generously sprinkled on top at the end.

Just 30 minutes is all you need to make this magical pasta dish happen. And if you don’t have conchiglie (better known as seashell pasta) in the pantry, don’t fret - boil whatever small pasta you’ve got on-hand and I promise you it’ll be golden!

Conchiglie with Sweet Chicken Sausage, Parmesan, and Spinach

What You’ll Need:

• 16 oz conchiglie

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1.5 ibs sweet (or mild) chicken sausage

• 4 tablespoons salted butter

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 9 ounces (1 bag) fresh spinach

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• Coarse kosher salt

• Freshly-ground black pepper

Directions:

Cook the conchiglie according to the package instructions for al dente. Just before the timer goes off, reserve about 1 cup of pasta water. Once finished cooking, drain the conchiglie.

While the conchiglie is cooking, carefully cut the chicken sausage into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

Set a large-bottomed pot such as a dutch oven over medium heat and add the olive oil. Next, add the sausage and cook until the pieces have started to brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the butter and minced garlic and stir frequently to ensure the butter melts fully and the garlic does not burn, about 1-2 minutes.

Turn the heat to medium-low, then add the spinach and 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta water and stir frequently until the spinach has shrunken significantly in size, about 2 minutes.

Turn off the heat and add the conchiglie, stirring continuously to release any steam from the spinach and to make sure the ingredients in the pot are thoroughly combined. Season with kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste.

After about five minutes, sprinkle the Parmesan over the top and serve warm.

TO STORE: Once cool, pasta can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

SOURCE Adapted from Budget Bytes.

One-Pot Chicken Burrito Bowl

Burritos and I have a passionate, long-standing relationship that spans decades. They were a go-to meal on weeknights after late theater rehearsals in high school, a no-mess lunch to wolf down between classes in college, and the perfect dinner companion to eat in bed when a day at my first professional job had been long and I just wanted to switch on Netflix and turn off my brain. That deliciously warm tortilla. filled to the brim and seasoned to perfection, was all I needed. Then, I got older and that lightning-fast metabolism that only teenagers and young adults are blessed with stopped processing the calories as well as it once did. I know it happens to all of us, but dang, doesn’t it feel like it just switches overnight??

There was no way that I could quit eating my favorite food cold turkey, especially since the filling was still healthy-ish, so I sought out an alternative. I started ordering burrito bowls at my favorite fast-casual establishments and discovered that, apart from the fact that now I needed cutlery, I wasn’t really missing the tortilla. It was a pleasant surprise and, if I’m honest, a relief! Of course, dining out gets expensive over time, and though I relished the delicious convenience of it all, I wasn’t enjoying the rather sizeable hit to my wallet. But I knew the ingredients like the back of my hand. Why not try to recreate the burrito bowl at home?

This recipe for a one-pot chicken burrito bowl has been carefully honed over the last five years and is a family favorite at my house. The tender chicken, combined with warm spices, fresh tomatoes and onion, and creamy black beans, topped with a healthy amount of just-melted cheddar jack cheese and crushed tortilla chips (I know, I know, but they add a good crunch!) makes for a super simple weeknight meal that comes together in just under an hour. Throw in a playlist of trendy indie-pop songs at max-volume and dim the lights, and your at-home dining experience just might mimic the real thing!

One-Pot Chicken Burrito Bowl

What You’ll Need:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• Coarse kosher salt

• Freshly-ground black pepper

• 1 sweet yellow onion, diced

• 1.5 lbs chicken tenderloins, diced and seasoned with coarse kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper

• 1 cup long grain white rice

• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

• 1 pint fresh cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered

• 1 15 oz can black beans, drained

• 1 heaping teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 heaping teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 heaping teaspoon chili powder

• 2 cups cheddar jack cheese

  Optional:

• 1 avocado, sliced

• 1 bunch scallions, chopped

• Tortilla chips

• Sour cream

Directions:

In the bottom of heavy-bottomed pot such as a dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the diced onion and cook until it has started to soften and become translucent, about 3 minutes.

Turn the heat up to medium and add the chicken, stirring occasionally until it has started to brown, about 2-3 minutes.

Move the onions and chicken to one side of the pot and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the other side; heat for 30 seconds. Add the rice, moving it around occasionally so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom, but does start to toast, about 1 minute.

Next, add the chicken broth, tomatoes, black beans, cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder and stir so that all the ingredients in the pot are well combined. Season with coarse kosher salt.

Let the mixture come to a boil, then turn the heat to low and let simmer with the lid on until all the liquid has been absorbed, about 30-35 minutes.

Turn off the heat, then add the cheese. Put the lid back on and let the cheese begin to melt for 1 minute. Season once more with kosher salt.

Serve in bowls and top with more cheese, avocado, tortilla chips, and/or scallions.

TO STORE: Leftovers can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for up to one week.

Elote at Home

It’s September, can you believe that!? Where oh where has this year gone, and more importantly, where has SUMMER gone? Living in quarantine has led to all the months post-February smooshing together into one giant month at this point. It feels like only yesterday that we were wearing our winter coats and trudging through the snow, and now, we’re taking the first steps to pack our summer attire away in favor of cardigans, chunky sweaters, and cozy scarves. Don’t get me wrong, fall is without a doubt my favorite season of them all, but I feel like I’ve only just gotten used to celebrating summer! Nonetheless, Labor Day is fast approaching, giving us all one last hurrah before it’s time to lean into the PSL (pumpkin spice latte) life for good.

Corn is one of my favorite things about summer. It was a true staple in my diet growing up in the Midwest where you could find it everywhere. Pop it to make popcorn on the stovetop, bake it in breads, eat it fresh on the cob with a healthy slathering-on of local butter; there’s no wrong way to enjoy it. But no other way to prepare and eat corn brings me more joy than elote, a traditional Mexican grilled corn. It's smokey, tangy, salty, and slightly spicy all rolled into one.

What I think makes elote so popular, besides an incredibly short and easy preparation process, is how few ingredients it takes to completely maximize the corn’s flavor. In just 30-ish minutes you can take a plain ear of corn and transform it into a magical side dish smothered in cayenne pepper and lime-infused mayonnaise, with a heavy sprinkling of salty, crumbly, cheese on top. I’m telling you, it’s a crowd-pleaser every single time.

It must be noted that traditionally, elote would be topped with cotija, a special Mexican cow’s milk cheese, but since it can be fairly hard to come by in Southern New England, I’ve substituted it with feta cheese.

Looking for the perfect side dish for your end-of-summer, socially-distanced, Labor Day bash? This quick, easy, and insanely delicious elote recipe has you covered!

Elote

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

• 4 ears of corn in the husk

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise

• Cayenne pepper to taste

• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving

• 1 cup grated feta cheese

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the grill so that it reaches at least 450-500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fill a large bowl with cold water and soak the ears of corn for at least 10 minutes. When the grill is ready, drain the soaking ears of corn and grill on a rack closest to the coals, leaving at least 5 inches of space between each ear. Grill until the husks are charred, at least 10 minutes.

Remove the ears of corn from the grill, wait a moment or two for them to be cool enough to handle, then shuck each ear. Do not remove the leaves entirely as they can be used as a handle later on when they’re ready to be served. Fold the leaves all the way down, like you’re peeling a banana. Place the corn back on the rack and grill until kernels are browned in spots throughout. This should take about 10-15 minutes depending on how hot the grill is.

While the corn is grilling, whisk together the mayonnaise, cayenne pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon lime juice in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Place the grated feta cheese in a separate small bowl.

Once the corn is ready, take it off the grill and immediately brush a generous amount of the mayonnaise mixture on each, then sprinkle liberally with cheese.

Serve corn on the cob with the additional lime wedges while it’s still warm.

SOURCE: Adapted from the Epicurious Cookbook

Weekly Links I Love (Feb. 1)

I come across a LOT of articles and recipes throughout the week that I inevitably end up posting on Facebook, and clogging up everyone's news feeds. And while one posting of delicious food is appreciated by the masses, twelve by the end of the day doesn't always go over so well.

I believe that in order to be a good blogger and build a community, you have to share the love. There are so many people and things that inspire me, just as I hope to inspire at least one other person.

So here we go, the links I loved this week:

1. Potter Frances Palmer's 5 Kitchen Essentials from the Hand and Heart

I love everything on The Kitchn, but this particular article spoke to me this week. Frances Palmer is a really well known ceramist (her pieces are unbelievably gorgeous, and I want them all) who truly believes in the beauty of handmade products. In this article, she talks about the importance of finding good kitchen/studio tools, and sticking with them. You don't always need the latest and the greatest when you have tools that you cherish and keep coming back to.

2. Tuesday was National Pancake Day, so in honor of NPD (The nickname will catch on, just wait.) here's a recipe for Buckwheat Blueberry Pancakes. They're healthy, so you can use as much maple syrup as you want. (Right? That's how that works, right?)

3. Joy the Baker (aka Joy Wilson) is one of my favorite bloggers of all time. This week she took a trip to Uganda, and wrote a series of posts about her work there. This particular one, What it Means to Boil Water, really stuck out. It's a must-read for sure.

4. While I could lie and say that I spend my days reading really complex pieces in the Economist, the truth is, I spend an unhealthy amount of my day on Buzzfeed. What can I say? Most articles are short and sweet, and a daily dose of "Laugh out Loud" laughter is good for the soul. I'm really missing my best friend Emily, and Ways Long Distance Bffs Survive is perfect.

5. Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is an online series hosted by Jerry Seinfeld. It is clever, funny, and SO entertaining. Plus, he's introduced me to some really great places to both get a cup of coffee, and delicious pastries. I can't believe I hadn't started watching this sooner. This week Jerry met up with Tina Fey, a personal funny lady hero of mine. This show makes you feel like you're there with them, and I just can't say enough good things about it. Here's a great article to go along with it from  Gothamist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHiCOIjpp-4

What're you up to this weekend?

Baking 101: Secrets of a Home Baker (Joy the Baker)

Joy the Baker has done a series of baking posts, and this is by far the best, so I just had to share! If you're like me, you started baking sort of blindly. I didn't know the secrets, I didn't have nearly enough mixing bowls, and I thought I was the only baker in the world with the most inadequate kitchen. But every kitchen has its limitations, unless you're a professional bakery (but sometimes limitations apply there as well!). What makes a good baker is recognizing those limitations, and working around them to succeed.

Check out the full post here.

Happy baking!

Adventures in Recipe Testing: The Beginning of a New Baking Chapter

There comes a time in every young baker's life when he or she has watched enough food-related shows on television and Netflix and decides that maybe it's time to start creating recipes of their very own...

...That time for me came nine months ago, but for the sake of this post, we'll say that it didn't officially start until this weekend.

We've got brand new neighbors upstairs that just moved in about a week and a half ago. In our building, there aren't a ton of units, so for me, it's important that I get to know everyone. The last time I made an introduction with new neighbors, I made doughnuts. Those seemed to be a crowd-pleaser then, so I decided, "You know what? Why break what isn't broken? Doughnuts again it is!" But I didn't want to just make the same doughnuts that I made last time because that makes it a little less special. Instead, I tried to think of things that would compliment the vanilla base, yet still allow it to be unique and creative. I also wanted to dye the glaze a different color, but I'm not always so keen on using food coloring. Then it hit me: what about a strawberry glaze? You get the strawberry flavor, and when mixed with the white glaze, a great color! So I set to work.

It's always such a breeze putting these babies together. I love that I didn't even have to use my mixer. Clean-up is never fun, so the less I use, the better it is.

Twelve of these round rings of deliciousness later, it was time to start working on a glaze from scratch. No help from other recipes, just pure experimentation.

Initially, I tried to think of a way to get the strawberry juice, but none of the pulp. (I suppose you could call it pulp, right?) So I thought about putting the frozen strawberries into a colander, then mashing them up with something to get the juice, and nothing but the juice. But that didn't work out so well at all. The colander's holes were a little too big for such an experiment, and I ended up just straining through mashed strawberry. Then I decided to strain it through a paper towel to at least TRY to get some of the juice, but that was worse. Finally, I decided that the glaze was the exact color that I wanted, so, so what? It's a glaze infused with fruit, and I should just own it.

And "own it" I did! I dipped each doughnut into the glaze, then let it sit for about thirty minutes in the refrigerator. 

And I have to say it: It was a pretty great success!

Looking back, there just a few things I would change. For starters, in the doughnut recipe, I was afraid that if I added nutmeg, it might compete with the strawberry flavor. But as I bit into it, I realized that it needed something. So next time, maybe just a little nutmeg. Secondly, I needed WAY more strawberries. The flavor was more subtle that I would've liked. In my opinion, if you're going to say it's a strawberry glaze, it better deliver that strawberry with a punch. And third, maybe add some decoration. I added red sprinkles afterwards which seemed like a good idea at the time, until I realized that when red sprinkles get a little moist, they start to bleed. It messed up my colors!

But my neighbors loved the gesture, and brought us "Thank You" brownies the very next day, special-delivered by THE CUTEST DOG EVER, Piper!

This is the start of a beautiful friendship.

And a beautiful adventure, making my own recipes.

Happy Tuesday, guys!

P.S. It's snowing and sleeting today. What's going on in your neck of the woods?

OFFICIALLY BAKING SEASON

Finally that time of year where it's getting a little too cold to be outside for long stretches of time, but not too cold to play in the leaves...and eventually snow. Did I hear correctly that Vermont is getting their first snowfall of the year this weekend? If so, good luck, Vermont! We've got a little warmth left here in Boston.  

But as the cold starts to unpack it's belongings for the 4+ months ahead, now is a good time to start making a list of every single thing that I want to bake. You would not believe the amount of recipes I save to my "Bookmarks" everyday, and that's where most of them stay. I save so many that I forget they exist! Well, that's all about to change. And I need your help!

Are there any recipes that you just can't live without?? I'd love to know! Then, we can make it together and giggle a bunch while we pretend that we're not going to have another piece, cookie, bite, etc, but we totally do!

NEW RECIPES. ANNNNDDDDDD....GO!