Cooking: Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Brown Butter Icing

Coffee Cake is a recipe that deserves a revival. I hadn't made one in years but I remember my husband enjoying it the last time I did, so for his birthday breakfast I scoured recipes and came up with my own ultimate coffee cake recipe.

It's beautiful baked in a bundt pan or a tube pan. A bit more dressed up and so perfect for a holiday brunch or dessert. We aren't coffee drinkers but it doesn't stop us from enjoying this traditional accompaniment. I served hot cider with this cake and it was delicious.

The sour cream in this recipe ensures that the cake is moist, the brown sugar cinnamon struesel creates a sweet crust, and the brown butter icing really puts this over the top! Yum.

Click through for the recipe.

Cooking: Asian Marinated Steak Pasta Salad (Recipe)

You know me, I have a thing for pasta salads. Especially in the summer. Because they involve lots of good vegetable, they are an easy one-dish meal, and because it seems like you are eating well when you pull out the leftovers the next day or two.

This week I was craving steak so I decided to come up with a steak pasta salad with Asian flavors. It turned out so umami! I love it. This combination of marinated steak and vegetables is great in a green salad, or a pasta salad (same dressing), or you can throw a bunch of spinach in with the pasta salad to reduce the proportion of the noodles and have something in-between.

This steak marinade is the best! I altered a marinade recipe from my good friend JoAnn, who is a fantastic cook. This recipe is one you'll want to keep around for any grilled steak, whether you add it to a salad or eat it with something else on the side.

The pasta salad is great chilled so I recommend making it ahead or even the day before. You could also marinate the grilled steak and all the vegetables in the dressing overnight and then toss it with some greens for a green salad. The flavors are so deep and earthy, and with the steak, I think the men in your life would enjoy it too.  Marinated steak salad for Father's Day? Why not?

Click to view the recipe.

Cooking: Chicken Tortilla Soup (Recipe)

Memorial weekend is the kickoff to summer but for many of us it still feels like early Spring! We've had lots of rainy afternoons and chilly evenings with a blanket of clouds, which for me is the perfect soup weather. So I've been making it! 

I thought I'd share one of my favorites: Chicken Tortilla Soup made with cumin and lime and green chiles and avocado to give it that great, green, Mexican flavor. I love it!  It's a "Tortilla Soup," but truth be told I usually skip the tortilla strips. However, my girls love dipping chips in the broth. 

This soup is healthy and filling and simple to prepare so if you're are looking for something to bridge the summer weather this is for you!

Click through for the recipe.

Cooking: Spanish Springtime Brunch for Book Club (Recipes & Printables)

It's teasing of Spring around here, which makes me want to celebrate it. What better way than with a brunch of delicious foods? Brunch is my favorite meal because it combines all of them. The menu can include breakfast foods, a salad on the side, and dessert of course. And brunch usually accompanies a special occasion. In this case it was a gathering of friends to discuss one of my favorite books: The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway.

I have loved Hemingway's writing since I studied it in high school. I find his economy of words and tight prose invigorating. And his stories have such romance. The Lost Generation and wars and romance and heartbreak. All set in beautiful European cities and rural landscapes. If you haven't read this book you should pick it up. (We read The Paris Wife along with it, which is a fictionalized account of Hemingway's first marriage and the time period in which he wrote The Sun Also Rises.) And then host your girlfriends for a discussion with brunch! I've got invites and a menu you can edit with your details, and all the recipes below.

You can find The Sun Also Rises Art Deco/1920s-inspired printable invitation file here (yes, it's a re-imagining of this Roaring 20s invitation.) It is a PDF, which prints two invitations per 8.5"x11" page, designed to fit in a #10 envelope (such as these metallic silver envelopes). Download it, edit it with Adobe reader, and then I recommend printing on bright white cardstock. There is a fan pattern for the back if you'd like to print double-sided. (Please note that "The Sun Also Rises" graphic cannot be edited.)

Because this novel is set in Paris and Pamplona I decided on a Spanish-inspired menu for our brunch. My husband and I took a trip to Spain a couple years ago this Spring and I loved all the delicious food! He had spent a couple years in Sevilla years before and had talked of their Tortillas and I became a big fan on our trip. So the headliner for this brunch was a Tortilla Espanola. It requires a good investment in olive oil and some tricky flipping in the pan but it's so worth it!

I served this with steamed asparagus and a rich Spanish aioli (lots of garlic). I was a little timid about the aioli but loved it on the asparagus as well as the Tortilla--yum!

I brightened these indulgences with a Spring Greens salad tossed with slivered almonds and my favorite Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette, and a Citrus Salad with Cinnamon-Cayenne dressing (trust me on this--so good!).

Finally, I served Garlic Marinated Shrimp. Not only is it pretty to look at but it tastes fresh and good too.

Such a pretty Spring plate. This would be a beautiful menu for an Easter Brunch. I may have to repeat it! Especially now that I have a tablecloth to go with it. (My tablecloth was sewn with IKEA Rosemarie fabric in grey.)

You can download the printable Spring Brunch Menu File here. It can be edited with Adobe Reader to match your own menu and then printed two-per-page on letter sized paper. You can also add the fan pattern to the second side of this printable to match your invitation.

I decorated with a "snake vase" I purchased at the Takashimaya Manhattan store years ago (when it still existed) to use for our wedding. I don't bring it out often enough. It's perfect for a long table.

I also printed photographs of Hemingway and his friends on their Pamplona trip to see the bullfights. I found these via his Wikipedia page. Fun to have them sitting in frames like some distant relatives looking over our dessert buffet. Hemingway was a handsome devil.

Speaking of dessert, I served Chocolate Croissants, Almond Croissants and Almond Horn cookies from Trader Joes (I always purchase part of my menu to give myself a little break in the prep) alongside a rich Drinking Chocolate. This recipe came from my wonderful friend, Lynda, who knows a good recipe! But it's incredibly easy (you make it in a crock pot!).

Now that your mouth is watering, you can click through for all the recipes. Welcome Spring and throw a brunch! It's such a luxury in a busy life to relax midday with good friends and good food. I'm still thinking about it...

Cooking: Green Chile Breakfast Casserole

I'm a big fan of recipes that work for any meal. Such as my mother's "Puffy Oven Pancake" (good for breakfast, lunch or dinner!). It's great to have something in the repertoire to serve the family when you need a sure thing. Or when you are too tired, or busy, to think of something more appropriate for dinner but have a bunch of eggs on hand!

That is not to say this Green Chile Breakfast Casserole is just for times when you are in a pinch. It's definitely guests-for-brunch caliber. It's full of green chiles, and cheese and has a tiny kick to it. It's great with salsa. My husband also likes it rolled in a fresh tortilla. It rewarms nicely too (if you have any leftover) so you can serve it for an after-school snack. I love it!

I love it especially because of it's origin. One of our dear family friends, Sally, made this for us a couple years ago when we were visiting her for brunch. She is one of those women whose creativity and great style is equaled by her generous heart. I'm so grateful to have her in our lives. 

So now when enjoy this dish she calls "Chile Cheese" I can also enjoy warm memories of her.

She prepares this and lets it stand in the refrigerator overnight but I was pressed for dinner so I made it, set it in the refrigerator while I took my girls to swimming lessons, and then baked it when I got home and it was great. So this can be prepared the night before a brunch, or an hour before everyone in your home is asking for dinner. It would even work baked immediately--it just may bake a bit faster as it wouldn't be chilled to start. You can't go wrong!

Click through for this recipe.

Cooking: Orange-Almond Buttermilk Cake with Almond Buttercream (Recipe)

Doesn't the title say it all? If you like almond, along with moist, dense cake and creamy frosting, this is your cake! I made this for my sister-in-law to celebrate her birthday but it would have fit in nicely with our Frozen Princess Tea Party, if I'd had the time. There is something so delightful about 7" cakes stacked on this small milk glass pedestal. It just looks precious.

It's hard for me to choose between a chocolate buttermilk cake and one like this with a hint of citrus, so I recommend adding both kinds to your rotation!  This buttermilk cake has my tried-and-true buttercream frosting, which can be spread smoothly, swirled or piped (or piped like this), so it's perfect for birthdays and other celebrations.

The recipe is after the jump.

Cooking: Shredded Beef Tacos (Slow Cooker Recipe)

We were in charge of a meal on a recent trip we took with extended family. The task was to come up with something easy to prepare for about twenty people with "local" grocery stores about forty five minutes away. We were staying in rustic cabins with indoor cook tops and also had the option of cooking on the coals. But the most important thing was after long days outdoors it had to taste delicious!

I'm not super experienced when it comes to camping meals (something I'd like to remedy), and initially considered marinating steaks and bringing them in a cooler. But grilling steaks for twenty with little equipment seemed too daunting. So I landed on something I could prepare ahead and freeze: slow cooked beef for making tacos.

My recipe for slow-cooked shredded chicken is one of my favorites. Super easy and flavorful. I came up with a great equivalent when you are in the mood for beef. We made both shredded chicken and shredded beef to suit different preferences but most of our crowd had one or two of each. It was a big success. So colorful and flavorful and so much fun to eat outdoors on a beautiful summer evening.

I made the shredded chicken and shredded beef in crock pots and froze them in ziploc bags the night before our trip. Packed in a cooler with ice they stayed frozen on the drive and then I thawed them in a refrigerator the night before the meal. It took less time than I had planned to warm up the meat, which we did in dutch ovens. We warmed taco sized corn and flour tortillas, chopped tomatoes and avocado, shredded lettuce and cooked some black beans with a bit of spicy salsa.  We didn't forget shredded cheese and two kinds of salsa (Herdez Tomatillo and Salsa Casera Medium) Then we laid out the spread and let everyone make their own tacos.

I wish I were eating these again for dinner tonight! I know this will be a recipe we'll return to again and again.

Click through for the recipe.

Cooking: Classic Lemon Poundcake (Recipe)

My brother's wife comes from a family of amazing cooks. And they really know how to cook for entertaining. They have a wealth of recipes fit for a crowd and I am sure they are constantly asked to share them. Fortunately they've shared a few with me.

I was fortunate to eat with them recently and enjoy this amazing pound cake. It's such a classic. And they had the recipe memorized so I could go home with it. I baked it about a week later!

This cake has the density you would expect of a pound cake, a hint of lemon, and really yummy crust on the outside. It's pretty amazing to eat plain, but I love it with whipped cream and berries. I'm fantasizing about topping it with sweetened ricotta and grilled peaches. And my sister-in-law toasted it and topped it with ice cream. Even better, it travels well on a picnic and keeps for over a week in the refrigerator. It's the perfect summer cake! I understand why my father-in-law was such a fan of pound cake. I wish I'd had this recipe to make it for him.

Click through to get this classic recipe.

Cooking: Greek Pasta Salad with Lemon Feta Vinaigrette (Recipe)

It's summer, which for me, means it's pasta salad time! I love eating pasta salads this time of year because they are simple, one bowl, meals to make; they typically include lots of veggies so it's easier to get your daily allotment; and leftovers store nicely for snacking or lunching on the next day.

Here are some of my favorite pasta salad recipes:

Asian Pasta Salad

Pasta Salad with Peas, Salame and Feta

Italian Picnic Pasta Salad

Orzo Pasta with Tarragon, Chicken, Artichoke Hearts and Parmesan

I was in the mood for something lemon-y so I came up with a greek pasta salad, and I love the vinaigrette! I will definitely be trying it on a green salad too.

Click through for the recipe.

Cooking: Roasted Salmon with Mustard and Dill (Recipe)

Now that we've officially kicked off the summer season (did you pull out your white linen?) I thought I'd share one of my favorite recipes for summer entertaining: Roasted Salmon with Mustard and Dill. Cooking a big salmon fillet (or two or three) is such a great way to feed a crowd. It's easy, it looks beautiful, and I always get requests for the recipe. 

Even better, this salmon can be prepared ahead and served chilled. It's actually my favorite way to eat it.

Click through for the details.

Cooking: Rainbow Number Birthday Cake (Tutorial)

Scarlett's Rainbow Art Birthday Party wouldn't be a rainbow party without a rainbow cake! I love the rainbow and ombre layered cakes with tinted batter and frosting but I opted for colored candies in rainbow stripes. I used Sixlets purchased in bulk from a local party store and Scarlett was super thrilled about it! She told me over and over again how much she loved her cake!

The cake itself is an almond buttermilk cake with almond flavored buttercream frosting. Definitely over the top and yummy in a rather mind-blowing way, if you are into almond, which I am! I formed the number "5" on top It was definitely a highlight of the party. 

I'm not sure you need it, but I've got a bit of a how-to for making a rainbow cake, and the recipes, after the jump.

You can view Scarlett's Rainbow Birthday party here.

Cooking: Blood Orange, Feta and Spinach Salad with Pine Nuts (Recipe)

How do blood oranges create so much drama? Oranges, like apples, seem the most common of fruits--a bit boring really, compared to something like a blackberry. But cut open an orange to find blood red flesh and you are suddenly holding something entirely different! They are shocking, really. Maybe because they are scarce. 

When we travel in Europe (which isn't often enough) we love having blood orange juice instead of regular OJ. It's so plentiful over there. I remember buying bottles of it at the grocery store for our girls when we were in Italy. And it didn't seem like a splurge.

Maybe the blood oranges will become more common here too, if Target is any indicator. I've been picking up bags of them in their produce section this Winter. Which brings me to this salad.  It's spinach, feta, pine nuts, blood oranges and a pink champagne vinaigrette. Sounds pretty dressy doesn't it? I made it for some girl friends and it was so simple to put together.

Click through for the recipe and tips for cutting the blood oranges.