My friends and I like to have a pre-Thanksgiving dinner with one another so we can enjoy each other’s company and that of our families. It is also a great excuse to have two separate Thanksgiving dinners and prolong the delightful leftovers twice as...

Life has been busy lately. I made the mistake of painting my entire bathroom myself this past weekend (save for the tippy top corners which I had Jeremy fill in since my 5-foot frame couldn’t reach them even on my step ladder) which left...

The fall season has arrived in true southern California fashion here in North Hollywood, and by that I mean that it’s come irritatingly late. The time has come where I can no longer shower comfortably without shivering, and where I dread walking across the...

I have slowly been building a little bar cabinet of sorts over the past couple years, and while we have most of the basic liquors needed to make most mixed drinks, we do not have any bitters. Bitters are very concentrated liquor flavorings that...

    Something about the fall makes me want to indulge in a conflicting mix of both comforting and creepy beverages. I always look forward to coming up with eerie punches and cocktails to serve around Halloween time, but the cold autumn chill also...

I can’t recall what conversation I was having or with whom, but somehow the topic of bread pudding came up and a little thought bubble of realization popped into in my head: It had been over a year since I’d had bread pudding, and...

While I was home last weekend I decided to take advantage of one of the northwest’s seasonal fruits, the sweet and juicy pear. Rather than make traditional caramel apples for my family and friends, I decided to use bosc pears because their coloring blends...

I was home in Oregon this past weekend (got me & Jeremy’s engagement photos taken, so excited to see how they came out!) and had an Oktoberfest get-together with some friends and family. I made some more “intense” dishes for the party (homemade ravioli!),...

Yes, there is a bonus post this weekend. But this is a post-in-progress, or pip!™ as I lovingly refer to it. (Just kidding! I did not trademark it. How do people even trademark things? Is it different from copyrighting?? So many questions!!) Last weekend...

Early fall is prime apple-picking season here in southern California, so yesterday Jeremy & I headed back over to Oak Glen to enjoy the scenic apple orchards and tasty foods that come along with them. I didn’t eat breakfast because I was planning on...

The crispy, well-seasoned skin of a roast chicken is one of life’s finer things. And that smell…Lord, don’t even get me started on that smell. Savory and piquant, a smell that reminds me of my mother’s giddy laugh and the sensation of hot air...

  The cool air of fall is returning like an old friend, tickling the nose and making me long for a warm, comforting dish that will wrap its solace around me like a blanket. I know it hasn’t been that long since I posted...