the key to good mussels is in the sauce / broth that you cook them in. these mussels sit in a slightly creamy white wine sauce. first, shallots and garlic are sautéed in butter and evoo. the alcohol in the wine is simmered out leaving only the flavor of the wine. a touch of chicken broth and cream is added to make a richer and creamier broth. then the mussels are added, tossed in the broth, and steamed for about 5 minutes until they open. serve with a lemon wedge + buttery crispy bread for dipping in the broth.
classic blueberry muffins
here’s to a soft and buttery classic blueberry muffin – the BEST muffin out there. mornings are so much better when they start with a freshly baked blueberry muffin slathered with butter and a good cup of coffee. if we’re being honest, I’ll eat a blueberry muffin with my dinner or as dessert—basically, there is no wrong time to have one.
ancho chili coffee spatchcock chicken
spatchcock chicken has become my favorite ways to cook a whole chicken. the backbone is removed and the chicken is flattened allowing for a quicker cook time. I rubbed the chicken in the dry rub and let it marinate for at least 4 hours. the ground coffee I used has hints of chocolate, toffee and dried fruit, but any will work I’m sure. the ancho chili powder adds more heat than your typical chili powder so take note if you’re heavy handed. and lastly spatchcock chicken saves lives. I woke up on a Sunday morning with no plan in mind for any of my meals (happens all the time). I made the dry rub in just a few minutes, covered the chicken, and let it marinate until it was time to cook for dinner. It’s that kind of recipe.
sautéed eggplant with garlic, basil, and mint
I really feel like eggplant is a forgotten vegetable. Like it’s there and we all have had eggplant parmesan at least once in our lives (probably on a meatless Monday), and it gets inadvertently added to things that we like, but it’s rarely at the center of a dish. It’s time to give eggplant the attention it deserves & now that I have a ton of them in my fridge, y’all are going to get these eggplant recipes. To start, I did a simple sauté (with garlic for added flavor) and topping with one of my favorite herb combinations—basil and mint. You can definitely serve this as a side, but I’m actually thinking about making a grain bowl this week and adding this as a topping.
cherry tomato + chive focaccia bread
can you just eat bread for dinner? asking for myself. this bread was technically supposed to be the crust for a flatbread pizza (coming soon, fingers crossed), but work and Netflix happily got the best of me this week and this bread got so much love this week that I figured I’d share the recipe. it’s really just a variation of the rosemary + sea salt focaccia bread. I always love trying different focaccia bread toppings & cherry tomatoes + chives makes everything feel summery even when most of us have spent the last several months baking in the house like it’s December.
cranberry orange scones
I really took my time developing this recipe because I wanted these scones to be extremely flavorful since I think scones can get a bad rep sometimes for being bland. to make sure the orange flavor really comes through, I infused the sugar with the zest before adding it into the dough and I rehydrated the cranberries in water to add some moisture back into the fruit for a juicier texture instead of the tough texture that sometimes results from baking dried fruit.
oven smoked beef brisket
patience is a virtue that I think makes an excellent home cook. this beef brisket will definitely test you. this past weekend, I smoked a 4 pound beef brisket flat in the oven. it marinates in the dry rub overnight (10+ hours) and is then “smoked” in the oven at a very low temperature for nearly 6 hours. turning up the heat to cook it faster will result in an overcooked, dry brisket that even barbecue sauce won’t fix.
soy balsamic portabellas
if you’ve been watching my stories, then you know that I am neck-deep in sourdough starter revival, so easy dinners are on the menu until I can pull my life (read: sourdough) together. i pulled this vegan + healthy-ish dish together in less than 30 minutes. i tossed the portabella mushroom caps in marinade with evoo, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, ginger and garlic then roaster the mushrooms on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 400º F for 15-20 minutes.
fried boneless chicken thighs
I don’t make fried chicken that often, but when I do I make it count. I posted this as a quick dinner with no intention of preparing a recipe, but my plans have changed due to popular demand. I have a go-to brine and breading process for fried chicken, which consist of soaking the chicken in buttermilk, salt, and paprika. Nothing fancy and I wing it just about every time without really measuring, and it’s very easy to adjust to your taste.
sourdough discard sea salt + black pepper crackers
earlier this week, I started a sourdough starter journey, and I’m tired. I don’t know how you home bakers do it—hats off. the process of the feeding and re-feeding and watching and growing and evaluating sourdough starter is very rewarding, but exhausting. this morning, I almost had a panic attack because I forgot to feed the starter. I don’t need that stress, BUT I haven’t given up and at some point, I’ll end up with a beautiful loaf of sourdough bread. for now, I am starting with a simple sourdough discard recipe—sourdough crackers.
vegan spelt flour pancakes.
this weekend I found comfort in these vegan spelt flour pancakes // I started with a vegan buttermilk (combining non-dairy milk + lemon juice) and used spelt flour as the base instead of all purpose. this was my first time using spelt flour—the short and sweet is that spelt flour is an ancient grain in the wheat family. it’s not heavy at all and is naturally low in gluten. And apparently it makes beautiful pancakes.
peach cobbler galette.
two things will always have a special place in my heart and my stomach—french pastries + peach cobbler. french pastries are unmatched, especially galettes—the freeform pie. and, growing up, cobbler was a special occasion dessert. it was at the forefront of church gatherings. here, i’ve combined my affinity for french pastries and cobbler.
