Can we turn the clock back a few months to the beginning of cherry season and pretend that I haven’t been hiding this perfectly good brunch recipe from you all summer?  Ok, thanks.  People, I know the calendar says September but, in a very grown-up fashion,  I’m refusing to acknowledge that this summer is rapidly coming to an end.  It’s over 90 degrees in New York.  The beaches are packed.  And, thanks to that whole “being a responsible adult” thing, I haven’t had a chance to wear my new swimsuit even once.  So, no, summer I hereby declare that you are not over yet and this bright, summery cornbread proves it.

This cherry cornbread is a perfect way to make use of those last remaining fresh cherries haunting the markets.  The mild sweetness of the cornbread pairs with the sweet, tangy cherries in a flavorful twist on a classic.  Perfect for a summer brunch, this cornbread is widly moist from the cherries and made with healthy whole wheat flour.  Consider your summer plans extended.

Keep reading …

Earlier this year I received an email from an adoring fan asking where she could find my favorite zucchini bread recipe on A Dash of Sass.  I went to the recipe index with the intention of sending her to the appropriate link only to discover (gasp!) … I’ve never posted my favorite zucchini bread recipe!  Oh, the horror!  How can this be!  A zucchini-lovin’ fool like myself must have a favorite, stand-by recipe to share with my readers, right?  Fear not dear friends, I do have a favorite recipe … I’ve just been too consumed with scarfing down this season favorite that I never got around to posting it for your gazing eyes.

Who remembers the Zucchini Walnut Muffins that used to grace the plexiglass bakery cases of that infamous coffee chain whose name rhymes with Arbucks?  I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t have a rather large crush on those muffins back in the day.  They don’t carry them anymore, but they still haunt my dreams.  Spicy yet light, tinged with flecks of zucchini and topped with loads of crunchy walnuts.  This recipe is my slightly healthier, recreation of those hauntingly good muffins.

Keep reading …

Do you remember the Mark Peel cherry ice cream sauce that I told you made me cry at the Silver Spoons event?  That sauce was so incredible that I found myself daydreaming about it a week later.  A dish that sticks in your mind like that must be recreated.  Now, I’m no Mark Peel, but I figured I should be able to jimmy up a home-style version that would appease my craving.  Oh people, I wish I could send each of you a little jar of this divine sauce so you believe me when I say that it may be the best thing I’ve ever made.

At the event, I actually had the nerve (ahem, cajones) to ask Mark what was in his cherry sauce.  Wine.  Vanilla.  Star anise.  Cherries.  Working from that rough outline, I came up with a respectable tribute to his other-worldly original.  A good red wine reduction sauce paired with juicy, fresh Bing cherries, freshly scraped vanilla beans and spooned over vanilla ice cream.  Say hello to your new Grown Up Ice Cream Sundae.

Keep reading …

Ever try something that is so perfectly ready for adaptation that you instantly begin dreaming of ways to make it better?  A chocolate chip cookie leads you to a dark chocolate cherry cookie.  Or a piece of pumpkin pie leads you to spiced sweet potato pie.  Well, that was my experience with zucchini boats.  So versatile.  So healthy.  So easy.  So many possibilities!

Zucchini makes a perfect vessel for a variety of fillings.  The insides of the zucchini are easy to scoop out, leaving a sturdy shell that is just asking to be heaped full of delicious goodness.  Choose from an Italian filling with tomato sauce, peppers and topped with mozzarella cheese or a Southwestern filling with black beans, green chilies and topped with cheddar cheese (and sour cream!).  With all these flavor combos, you will never again be screaming “What can I do with all this zucchini?!?!”

Keep reading …

Every once in awhile, you get the opportunity to participate in something so astronomically awesome that you think that the organizers must have invited you by accident. You are not this cool. You have never been this cool. You may never be this cool again. Be careful not to trip or they may notice that you never should have been invited in the first place. And so went my evening at the Citymeals-on-Wheels Silver Spoons benefit honoring 25 years of James Beard award winning chefs.

The lovely folks at Foodbuzz and Nature’s Pride Bread invited me to attend a once-in-a-lifetime event and I couldn’t have been more thrilled. Surrounding what usually is the ice rink at Rockafeller Plaza were individual booths serving up the dishes of nearly 60 name dropping-worthy celebrity chefs. Waxman. Palmer. Puck. Boulud. Georges. English. Nobu. Need I say more?

Keep reading …

Meet my new favorite side dish.  In case I haven’t mentioned it lately, I’ve been a little short on time these days.  An elaborate side dish that requires lots of dicing and chopping and stewing is beyond my realm of thinking at the moment.  Give me something fast, deliciously creamy and oh, can it please be relatively healthy too?  Awesome.

A simple side dish that is packed with protein, fiber and happens to be incredibly flavorful, this will quickly become a staple in your recipe arsenal.  The sauteed garlic and rosemary paired with the smooth, creamy white beans create a dish that will rival plain ol’ mashed potatoes any day.  I hate to say it, but this may be the mistress that breaks up the eternal marriage of Steak and Potatoes! Gasp! Oh, the horror!

Keep reading …

People, I have a confession to make.  Being a responsible grown-up is way harder than it looks!  I know this is old news to you amazing folks that have been pulling it off flawlessly for years, but for a newbie to the Grown Up World, I’m still a bit in shock.  Between working a full-time, crazy stressful job, grocery shopping, planning and making relatively nutritious meals, exercising, laundry, ironing and keeping an apartment in semi-presentable shape, how do you find time to do anything else (ahem, keeping up with a blog)?  This specific blog post has been interrupted by at least three of the above mentioned items on five separate occasions.

And I don’t even have kids!  I don’t know how all you Mommies out there do it.  Consider me amazed.  Now, don’t misunderstand me, I’m not complaining … merely explaining my too-long-to-mention absence from your email inbox and feed readers.  Let me make it up to you, please?  Will these adorable summery cupcakes do?  These lemon bottomed cupcakes topped with creamy raspberry cheesecake are the summer version of the popular Black Bottom Cupcakes.  Tangy, light and with a perfectly moist crumb these pink and yellow lovelies are a party in your mouth.

Keep reading …