Welcome back!  Today, we have a fun festive recipe: Gingerbread Cookies! Gingerbread cookies are a staple for the holiday season, featuring an iconic blend of spices mixed with the smooth richness of molasses. Plus, they're super fun to make with cookie cutters and then decorate with candies or icing. It makes for a great holiday activity that also gives you a delicious treat afterwards! Gingerbread Cookies Makes about 20 large cookies Ingredients: 3 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon ground ginger 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup molasses 1 egg Directions: Cream the butter and brown sugar in a bowl using a hand mixer. Add the molasses in and mix. Crack the egg in and mix until smooth. Sift in the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix everything together with the hand mixer until the dough st...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a delicious Cajun-Creole dish: Langoustine Etouffee! Etouffee (or with accents, Étouffée) is a stew-like rice dish featuring shellfish, typically crawfish, in addition to all the typical Cajun or Creole seasonings. Our version uses langoustine, which is another shellfish that is frequently used as a cheaper substitute for lobster. It's still a great ingredient that really gets highlighted in the etouffee. Langoustine Etouffee Ingredients: 1 1/2 pound langoustine 4 tablespoons olive oil 4 tablespoons flour 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup) 3 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 cup) 1 green bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup) 3 tomato, diced (about 1 cup) 2 sprigs thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme) 2 bay leaves 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1/2 cup white wine 3 cups seafood stock Salt and pepper to taste Parsley to garnish Cooked rice Directions: If using frozen langoustine, thaw them in the fridge the n...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a delicious Thanksgiving treat: Pumpkin Cheesecake! Pumpkin is a wonderful seasonal ingredient that works well in many contexts, and since we had already made a Pumpkin Basque Cheesecake , we decided to incorporate pumpkin in a more traditional-style cheesecake this year. This cheesecake features a spiced, nutty crust in addition to the smooth, creamy filling for a rich blend of flavors and textures. Pumpkin Cheesecake Makes a 7" cheesecake Ingredients: Crust: 30 grams pecans 70 grams cookies such as Biscoff or Speculoos 3 tablespoons melted butter 1/4 teaspoon salt Filling: 2 boxes (16 ounces) cream cheese, softened 300 grams steamed pumpkin (we used a kabocha pumpkin) 2 eggs 40 grams Greek yogurt 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon corn starch 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt Directions: Prepare the crust: Add the pecans and cookies into a large food processor or...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a delicious noodle recipe: Dandan Noodles! There are many variations on this dish, but its origin comes from the Sichuan Province in China. It's originally made with a spicy meat sauce and pickled vegetables, and with no soup. However, variations on the recipe can include soup, and many versions, including this one, include peanut butter, which we find to be a unique ingredient that works surprisingly well. Overall, it's very simple because it was originally sold by street vendors carrying the noodles with a pole, but it's still very enjoyable! Home-Style Dandan Noodles Makes 4 servings Ingredients: About 8-12 ounces noodles, depending on how much you want 1/2 pound ground pork 2-3 tablespoons salted mustard green, chopped (optional) 3 tablespoons green onion 1 tablespoon garlic, minced 1 teaspoon ginger, minced 1 tablespoon cooking rice wine 4 tablespoons sesame sauce 4 tablespoons peanut butter 1/2 cup + 1 cup water 1 tablespoon crisp chili o...

Welcome back!  Today, we have another recipe in our pesto journey: Pesto Calabrese! This variation also hails from Calabria in Southern Italy - in fact, it is the same region that produced the Nduja Pasta. This pesto deviates from the typical Genovese Pesto much more significantly than the Sicilian Pesto, with two main notable differences. The Pesto Calabrese incorporates cooked ingredients to provide an additional dimension of flavor as well as ricotta cheese to thicken up the texture. And because it is a Calabrian dish, you can always add an extra kick of spice with some extra Calabrian chili flakes. Pesto Calabrese Makes 4 servings Ingredients: 12 ounces pasta 4 tablespoons olive oil 1 small red onion or 2 shallots, chopped (about 1 cup) 1 large red bell pepper, charred, peeled, and diced* 12 ounces tomatoes, chopped 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 teaspoon dried oregano 20 grams basil (about 1/4 cup packed) 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt to taste 200 grams ricotta cheese 50 grams Peco...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a recipe for one of the most classic American breakfast dishes: Pancakes! Pancakes come in all shapes and sizes across different cultures, but the American pancake is iconic for its thin-but-slightly-fluffy texture that's conducive to all sorts of variations, including pancake art, and being topped with a small slab of butter and/or maple syrup. Plus, they're a quick and fun dish to make (something that the kids will love!) and you can experiment with all sorts of different fillings. Pancakes Makes about 8 medium-sized pancakes Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 1 egg 1 1/4 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 tablespoons melted butter (optional) Directions: Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add in the salt and sugar and mix. Beat an egg and pour it into the dry mixture. Pour in the milk, vanilla extract, and butter (if you want to use it). Mix until the ingr...

Welcome back!  Today, we have an fresh and easy Italian dish: Caprese Salad! Caprese salad is possibly the most iconic Italian dish that isn't also loaded with carbs: it's really just cheese, tomatoes, and basil. These are also the three colors that make up the Italian flag, as well as the three ingredients that you find on the classic margherita pizza. There's just something refreshing about eating the juicy tomato with the creamy mozzarella together; plus, it's super healthy! Caprese Salad Ingredients: Fresh mozzarella cheese Tomato Basil leaves Extra virgin olive oil Balsamic vinegar Directions: Slice the mozzarella and tomato into similar sized slices. Aim for about a quarter of an inch. Pick and wash some basil leaves. Arrange the ingredients in the pattern of tomato, cheese, and then basil. Drizzle some olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top. Balsamic vinegar isn't always a necessary addition, but we found it to be a nice flavor contrast with the rest of the in...