strawberry basil macarons at the Portland Farmer’s Market
My husband and I love supporting farmers’ markets as much as we can. The produce, meats, and eggs are always so much fresher and tastier, and we feel good knowing that more of our money is going directly into the pockets of the hardworking men and women who [...]

Hood strawberries and pea sorbet
I do not know what to say except this: The desserts at Portland’s Fenouil are works of art, and the pastry chef, Kristen Murray, is a superstar. Seriously, these are not sweets you come across everyday.

cornmeal crepe with local ricotta, dehydrated and fresh Muscats, heather honey, bitter almond

strawberry and Meyer lemon [...]

smoked tri-tip steak with prawns, fried eggs, potatoes, roasted broccoli and caramelized onions
Last Sunday, my husband and I met up with two friends down in Portland. In the weeks leading up to our Portland getaway, Jay and I had an email chain going with our restaurant picks. We both had the legendary brunch at Simpatica [...]

Photo taken at last week’s Woodmark Hotel event
Just a quick note that I’ll be at the Queen Anne Farmer’s market doing a cooking demo/book signing this afternoon at 4pm. I’ll be making crostini with the romesco sauce in The Newlywed Kitchen, topped with whatever lovely grilled veggies, bacon, and/or cheese I find at the market.
Also [...]

kusshi oysters with kimchi shaved ice
This past weekend, my husband and I drove down to Portland for a quick 2 ½ day getaway. (I was there for a cooking demo on KATU’s AM Northwest—and will post a link to the video tomorrow.) Of course, we spent our 2 ½ days eating: We revisited some of [...]


kabocha squash simmered in sweetened soy sauce
A few months ago, I had the good fortune of meeting a girl who lived down the street from me. She had just moved into town. Soon, we were eating at one another’s houses and dropping off baked goods for each other during the week. A few days ago, [...]

The Newlywed Kitchen’s Award-winning Four Cheese Mac n Cheese
A little over a month ago, my friend Ashley Rodriguez of NotWithoutSalt asked me to dinner. The catch? It would be a potluck featuring recipes from The Newlywed Kitchen. “A bunch of food bloggers and I thought it’d be fun to start a cookbook club, and yours [...]

coffee chiffon cake
As a new cookbook author (and food writer with a cooking column), the question I get asked most often is: “Where did you learn how to cook?”
My answer has always been: “From my mom.” At a Thanksgiving dinner a few years ago, my mom overheard me telling a friend I attribute my love [...]

This week was filled with extraordinarily tasty things, much of which I didn’t get a chance to phtograph. Our neighbors (and good friends) Charlotte and Aaron invited us over for dinner one night. It was an evening filled with caviar, champagne, wine, and tenderloin steaks with shaved truffles and truffle butter–we were celebrating their purchase [...]

This is what happens when three local women decide to get together one rainy afternoon for Red Velvet cake and cookbooks in the cutest little art studio in Capitol Hill.

Way back when I started blogging on The Cookbook Chronicles, mostly about developing recipes for The Newlywed Kitchen, a local photographer named Jackie Baisa wrote me [...]