I first made this Barbecue Pork Roast last summer, while we were packing for the Eternal Move of ‘08. I opened the freezer, expecting an icy plastic tundra of popsicles and edamame, but underneath the boxes and bags, there it was: an eight-pound pork loin. Something to eat that was neither fast food nor peanut butter. So, I thawed it, marinated it overnight and roasted it the next day while we packed. For those two hours, the house smelled like Sunday lunch at Grandma’s, with the tiniest amount of effort from us.

If your schedule starts getting a little hectic, and you need dinner to go on autopilot, give this roast a try. It’s incredibly versatile. I love the slices on their own, but Jeff eats them with biscuits and eggs for breakfast and piles the slices on sandwiches for lunch.

The marinade adds a surprising amount of flavor to the pork, so give it a taste before you add any barbecue sauce. Unless it’s Jack Daniel’s® Barbecue Sauce, because we support the local recipe. Now, let’s roast!

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I love Real Simple’s “New Uses for Old Things,” the monthly article where they give you tips on taking a household item and using it for another new and exciting purpose. Like hanging onions in your pantyhose and using your old toothbrush holder for pens.

I’m also a fan of repurposing food. You wouldn’t believe the things I can do with a rotisserie chicken. So, using yesterday’s Kugelhopf for today’s Spiced Chocolate Bread Pudding was a no-brainer.

For me, Mexican hot chocolate is always a little disappointing, but this pudding brings the right amounts of sweet and heat. My sweet side loves the mixture of chocolates, heavy cream and that sprinkling of raw sugar on top. But my Inner Spice Girl (Posh, definitely) is all about the cinnamon sticks and dried hot chiles. Oh, and that splash of bourbon. I’m not sure whether this dessert is naughty, nice or nicely naughty, but it’s the perfect creamy, chocolaty, spicy antidote for a cold, rainy day.

Or a head cold.

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Kugelhopf, this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie group recipe, takes time. Not just a few hours. Many, many, many hours of beating, mixing, rising, deflating, slapping, chilling, resting, covering, baking uncovered, baking covered, unmolding and soaking the cake in butter and sugar. You won’t find more action on Hollywood Boulevard, but it all takes time. Kugelhopf would give Rachael Ray an aneurysm.

The result is part bread, part cake. Delicious straight out of the oven or toasted the next day. Perfect with coffee. Even better when you draw a line through Dorie’s raisins and substitute twice as many chocolate chips.

And just wait until you see what I’m going to do with this thing tomorrow.

You’ll find Dorie’s recipe for kugelhopf with Yolanda of The All-purpose Girl.

Kids put ketchup on everything: French fries, scrambled eggs, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken fingers. I always wondered why until I read Malcolm Gladwell’s article, “The Ketchup Conundrum.” Basically, ketchup (specifically, Heinz) hits all of our fundamental tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami. It pushes our “primal buttons.” So, when a child is faced with something new to eat, very often he coats it in a food he trusts: ketchup.

When I’m making something new for dinner, I don’t slide a barrel of ketchup next to the table, but I do pair the unfamiliar with something everyone trusts: the infinitely versatile potato (aka “tater”).

I love these Lemon-Scented Potatoes, because the flavor is spicy and surprisingly bright, and they go with everything. No need for butter, cheese or sour cream when you’ve got a cinnamon stick, cumin, lemon juice and cilantro. Great with Indian and Mexican. Responsible for saving me from the Chinese mahogany chicken disaster of February ‘08.

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Since Jeff and I tied the knot last New Year’s Eve, there have been several “OMG, I’m Married” moments. Seeing the new name on my driver’s license. Merging bank accounts. Bleaching every household surface when he got sick last summer. Being asked where his other red sock is. And knowing.

But I have never felt more married than I did last week, because last week, Jeff asked me my weight. We weren’t playing a carnival game; he was filling out health-insurance paperwork. Still. My weight? It’s hard to maintain the mystery when someone knows your debit code, your family, what you eat for breakfast, your dreams, your credit score, your hair care products AND your weight.

He wasn’t thinking about any of that. He just wrote down the number and moved on to the next question. Maybe mystery is overrated. Then again, I didn’t tell him what he’d done to earn this awesome Greek Potato, Spinach and Feta Omelet. Read More…

It’s been years since I was a vegetarian, but I still plan plenty of meatless meals.

I get the worst cravings for this stuff: Couscous with Roasted Veggies and Feta. You don’t eat it thinking, This would be so much better if it only had some bacon/sausage/prime beef. It’s a vegetarian trifecta. First, there’s the couscous. Fluffy, filling, and faster to prepare than rice or dried pasta. Then, you’ve got the roasted vegetables, which you can customize to your own taste. And finally, the tangy little punches of feta.

It’s also ridiculously versatile. Besides switching up the vegetables, you can try different instant couscous mixes, types of feta, herbs and spices. Toss in some pine nuts. Substitute the olive oil and lemon juice for your favorite Greek or Italian salad dressing. Eat it on its own as a meatless meal, stuff it into a tomato or pita or serve it as a side dish. Great warm, cold or at room temperature. You just can’t say that about hamburger.

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Tonight, I was walking into the house, saw my reflection, screamed like a banshee and walked directly into the sliding glass. I thought my reflection was someone standing INSIDE my house. And I walked TOWARD it. Screaming. Now, I know what it feels like to be a horror movie bimbo.

My head hurts.

So, it’s a good night to curl up on the couch and finally get down to the business of drinking chocolate. Read More…

Last autumn, Jeff took me out for brunch at Café Margot, and I fell in love with their pear crumb cake. So sweet and buttery. The quiche was good, but what I really wanted was another bite of that cake. So, when I got home, I started looking for a recipe and found … nothing.

If necessity is the mother of invention, a midnight craving is the daddy.

This is my Pear Crumb Cake with Candied Ginger Streusel. You know those crumb cakes you can eat in the car? This isn’t one of them. You’ll need a nice big spatula to lift it out of the pan. And a spoon to eat it. It’s a gooey cake, full of sweet shredded pears warmed with fall spices and flashes of crystallized ginger in those buttery crumbs. Dusted with confectioners’ sugar. But if you really want to take it over the top, warm your slice, and add a dollop of whipped cream and a little freshly grated nutmeg. You’ll fall in love with autumn all over again. Read More…

Last weekend, we helped my parents move furniture. Large furniture made of wood. Why? Because of the promise of Mom’s homemade chili with all the fixings: cheddar cheese, sour cream and – be still my heart – Fritos. She sent us home with a container of chili. I don’t know about you, but after two bowls of chili, I’m done with chili. So, we decided to use it up on Twice-Baked Potatoes with Chili and Cheese.

When I met Jeff, he was not a fan of the baked potato. Not until he tried my mom’s. Most artists work in oil or marble. She works in tater.

The secret to Mom’s twice-baked potatoes is that she rubs them with extra-virgin olive oil and pats on some Kosher salt before they go into the oven. The skin is so good, Jeff digs out the filling and eats the rest like a taco. No flavor wasted.

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Can a bowl of soup compare with history in the making? No. But at some point in the very near future, the election coverage will end, and you might be hungry.

Lately, I’ve been making this Thai Chicken Noodle Soup. Imagine a bowl piled high with noodles, chicken and a broth flavored with ginger, chilies, garlic, lemongrass, lime and soy sauce. Topped with cilantro and sliced chilies. Something that will fill your stomach, wake your tastebuds and clear your sinuses faster than Dr. Oz wielding a neti pot.

And, you know, this is a democracy, so feel free to play around with the recipe. Add some mushrooms or a can of unsweetened coconut milk. Use angel hair or udon. Trade the Thai chilies for serrano, jalapeno or habanero peppers. Leave them in instead of straining them out.

Just promise me you’ll do one thing: slurp. Read More…