Yesterday I whipped up this Today Original Recipe with Willie and Natalie... Caramel Pumpkin Bread Pudding. I made it over the weekend, too, and it's truly ridiculous. Perfect Thanksgiving dessert turned into Black Friday Breakfast. I mean, if you're going to participate in that madness, it's probably best you carb-load that morning, am I right?
If you missed the segment or want the recipe you can check it out
here.
Yesterday I was honored to help launch the
TODAY Food Club. If you're still unfamiliar with it, it's an online community where people can share recipes and connect with on-air talent, chefs and Today Show staff. It includes monthly challenges, weekly tips and meal-plan ideas (lord knows I need that), and the chance to win prizes and be featured on air! Instead of just an online place to find recipes, it will be a place to have a conversation and receive feedback. Food is my favorite thing to talk about (duh), so I couldn't be more excited about this!
Yesterday, I made the infamous
Spaghetti Pie (which was Today.com's number one recipe for 2015), and Today Food Stylist, the lovely Alli Simpson, made her family's
Ultimate Banana Bread (truly the best I've ever had). It was a treat to be there for such a special event. Go join the club, share your recipes, get your friends to vote for you, and maybe I'll see you on the Today Show someday soon :)
Alli and I (top) and some of the fabulous Today Food team (below)...
Hello Internet People. I'm sorry I've been a little absent, but this has been a busy and emotional week. Therefore, I present to you this scatterbrained post of odds and ends...
Many of you have been curious about the infamous "cookie stacking"
Instagram post (infamous, really Siri?). The origin of this layered dough can be found in this recipe for
Peanut Butter Honey Cookies. I was instantly intrigued to see if by stacking two blobs of dough on top of each other, the result would be a cookie that spread less, as suggested. Well, perhaps I did something wrong, but my cookies just ended up looking like butts, so... delicious recipe, however. Honey? Peanut Butter? Yes.
Last Thursday I was all set to appear on the Today Show, and you may have caught a glimpse of me even, however, breaking news about the Pope's whereabouts interrupted my segment. Of course, I didn't mind in the slightest, and it was actually very exciting to witness... yet another reminder of how surreal it is to be a small part of a news institution like Today. If you're interested in the recipes I was planning on preparing, you may click here:
Buffalo Chicken Dip and Ultimate Queso Dip.
Last night, I was very honored to be a part of the launch of
Keurig Kold, a revolutionary new drinkmaker that brews perfectly chilled beverages like Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and so, SO much more. It is available for purchase today
on their website... check it out!
And finally, I wanted to repost
this recipe in honor of a great woman, Lucy. If you've been following my blog for awhile then you probably know this sandwich, but to have known the woman behind it was something else. The heavens above gained a beautiful soul. Team Lucy forever!
Friendly friends! I am back from vacation. I am officially home, being an official, productive mom. I am putting my kids to bed before 8pm (after lots and LOTS of nighttime reading), we are eating only the healthiest of foods, and I've stopped drinking wine! Except for all of this is a lie.
Ok not all of it. I AM home. Vacation IS over. I am ATTEMPTING to be productive.
I even cooked up a Today Original pasta dish this morning, and if you missed it you can check out the segment and view the recipe
here. Baby steps to waking up early.
But GUESS WHAT?! I am going to post a recipe every, single, day this week. So take THAT you lazy, indulgent, carefree, delicious summer. Take that.
I've been trying to write this post for a day and a half. A day and a half! Trying to balance life is a daily struggle of mine, and I'm sure you can all relate. I have so much I want to cook, so much I want to share with you, and yet I'm trying to actually put my swimsuit on this summer and go UNDERWATER with my kids. As in, who cares about how cold the water feels or what my hair looks like or having to shower after (or not). I'm trying to play with my kids!! And so my to-do list grows and grows and grows... WHY IS BALANCE SO HARD.
Back to trying to share with you, my virtual friends. Yesterday I had so much fun baking mini blueberry pies with my friend Savannah on
Today. It was a Today Original recipe, and they were simple and delicious. Yes, yes, I may have made a few mistake during the segment, but I think you know that I embrace errors in the kitchen and I certainly try not to take cooking too SIRIously.
You can check out the segment and view the Today Original recipe
here.
Well, "veggie week" at the Today Show has come and gone, and I may have converted Carson (and Savannah) a teeny, tiny bit with my greek yogurt eggplant dip (however it's true, eggplant is technically a fruit... whatevs). If you missed yesterday's segment, or want the recipes (plus a delicious bonus stuffed eggplant recipe), check everything out
here!
AND, I'll be back on TODAY on Monday, baking up something summery and sweet.
Have great weekends!
If you're unfamiliar with my
"TODAY tonight" series, it's when Carson won't stop talking about something he ate at work, so I make it at home to shut him up. However, this time around, I didn't even have to wait to hear him rave. I was watching
Aarti Sequeira on the show and I instantly wanted everything she cooked. She made cauliflower three ways, and I could practically taste the vibrant, Indian flavors through my TV screen.
It was the "cauliflower steak" with a lime yogurt sauce that made me run to the store for the vegetable. I cook cauliflower a lot, but something as simple as cutting it differently and marinating it with different spices completely transformed it for me. I am obsessed. Even my son loved it! I will make this again, and again, and again. Recipe
here.
And speaking of Today Food and vegetables, I will be there tomorrow trying to get Carson to eat a particular one he doesn't like... wish me luck!
We served it with a version of
this salad because we just can't get enough.
Yesterday was a humbling, overwhelming and surreal day. It was
announced that I will be joining the Today Show family as a Today Food Contributor! Every time I'm there, I feel like making a bedazzled poster and joining the energetic plaza crowd... and then someone comes to put a microphone on me and I'm like, oh, you want me to be on TV? Are you sure????? Pinch me.
What I'm even more excited about (if that's possible) is the launch of the new TODAY Food (check out
this video if you haven't already). It's a redesigned website with easy-to-follow recipes, tips, meal plans and videos... it's real, healthy, affordable and SIMPLE meals... it's finding your comfort-zone in the kitchen... it's Today.com/food. HA! I'm a commercial! But seriously - no SIRIiously - my goal all along with this blog has been to make cooking FUN. If a recipe freaks you out, change it, if you can't find a weird ingredient, skip it. Cooking does not have to be intimidating!
To answer one big question I got yesterday... NO, this new gig does not mean I will give up blogging. In fact, I'll probably blog more! I seem to be more productive when I'm busier, is that weird? This blog is my happy place, and you virtual people are my virtual family.
So in case you didn't see my segments yesterday, you can view them (and find the recipes) here:
Thanks for all the well wishes, you guys are THE BEST!
Luckily for me, Carson often comes home with the best recipes (as seen in
this series). It's easy to get in a rut when you have a food blog, so I always welcome new ideas, especially if they have to do with peanut butter, banana and chocolate. OBVIOUSLY. Now you know I'm not overly concerned with nutritional facts, especially when it comes to desserts, but these little guys are only 155 calories each. I was Math Student of the Month once in Middle School so I know that means you can eat like 17 of them all at once. No really! Dark chocolate with a whipped peanut butter banana center, gah. I've kept mine in the freezer, because they're delicious that way.
*Tip: when putting the first layer of chocolate down, use a spoon to push it up on the sides, which will help your "cup" shape take form.
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