Sure, you could have regular old garlic bread.
Yes, it is warm, garlicky, and of course, buttery.
But why not throw some creamed spinach into the mix, creating a garlic bread with a creamy, spicy base that also gives you a Popeye’s dose of spinach?!
I didn't just get the nickname “Picky Nikki” for no reason at all, no, I gave my mother so many reasons to call me “Picky” that I'm almost surprised that she ever called me anything else.
When I talk about my childhood I sometimes generalize and say that I ate no vegetables.
Sure, you could have regular old garlic bread.
Yes, it is warm, garlicky, and of course, buttery.
But why not throw some creamed spinach into the mix, creating a garlic bread with a creamy, spicy base that also gives you a Popeye’s dose of spinach?!
On my show Junk Food Flip, Bobby Deen and I go around and transform comfort food into delicious dishes that you can actually eat every day.
Ok, time to come clean, everyone has done it, I’m talking about that time that you took a store bought cake, pie or appetizer, gussied it up a bit and passed it off as your own.
Hey, we don’t all have the time to make a 6 layer cake to bring to Thanksgiving! And sometimes, even when you do, your beautiful creation doesn't make it through the cab ride to your in-laws, and by the time it reaches the dessert table it an official #FoodFail (I only cried a little)
The 4th of July is just around the corner and that means fun, frolicking, and most importantly FOOD. Most years I find myself making sweet treats for my niece Lucy, as her birthday falls on the 4th. We all like to gather in Fire Island to celebrate as we sing happy birthday and watch the fire works.
To say Lucy loves dessert is an understatement, so I always try my best to put a smile on her sweet little sugar addicted face and make her some incredible treats. No matter what you are making this July 4th it should be easy, should make people smile and if it happens to also be red white and blue than even better. So here are some of my favorite July 4th recipes that will make your weekend that much more sweet.
Red, White + Blue Sangria by Crista at Peace.Love.Quinoa
Let’s start this 4th of July with fizzy and refreshing white wine sangria's! In this recipe she finishes her sangria off with sparkling water; I think I'm going to skip that part and finish it with some bubbly champagne! The best part about sangria is you can use whatever wine, fruit and juice you like.
I’ve been obsessed with traditional basil pesto for a very long time.
When I first tried it I was at a point in my life when green things still made me feel a little queasy--but once I closed my eyes and took a bite, I realized how crazy flavorful and addicting pesto can be.
I'm a traditionalist when it comes to my Pesto. I like it just the way an old Italian Grandmother would make it. A few simple, fresh, quality ingredients tossed with some hot pasta and call it a day.
If you start using walnuts or almonds or anything besides pinenuts, I start getting angry. Throw in some parsley with the basil and I might just lose it.
I like any sauce with a name that I can’t easily pronounce. Because I'm guaranteed that I will eventually say it to someone else and they will have no idea what I'm talking about and suddenly I will look super smart.
And really my goal in life is to pretend to be smart.
Oh, and make delicious food of course!!
When your child is young you feed them pureed vegetables. This food is nutritious and easy to eat.
And then, without warning, it goes down hill...fast!! You start trying to give them whole broccoli instead of the pureed stuff.
This seems logical enough until the tree like foreign object is promptly rejected and dumped on the floor...
And there it sits, under their chair, next to the scary carrot and every horrifying brussel sprout.
But why give up the simple idea of eating pureed vegetables??
Hate the texture of a vegetable? Puree it!
Think veggies are too bitter or bland?? Add other more tasty pureed stuff to them!
Before you know it you’re eating a whole head of broccoli in a single serving...
Or maybe a whole eggplant...
People change... Times change... Feelings change... And though your Italian grandmother would scold me, I have to confess...My tomato sauce recipe...has changed....
Lucky for me I am still young. (Although the impending “3-0” this month makes me feel like I'm 10 steps away from the nursing home.)
But at 30 I’m pretty sure I am still young enough that I can change my “signature” sauce recipe. And hopefully by the time I'm 70 no one will remember how fickle I used to be with my famous “Sunday gravy."
Tomato sauce was one of the first things I ever made and it was the very first thing my husband and I ever made together.
(The first and the last, there is no room for two cooks in my tiny kitchen ;)
