Curd and Cookies

Spring is finally here, friends! With rain and flowers come a whole slew of holidays as well. With Passover drawing to an end and Easter about to begin, you might prefer to shut your eyes and kick your feet up rather than slave in the kitchen, whipping up goodies. Well, you're in luck! Mother's Day is right around the corner too, and if you're a mom, kicking your feet up is the name of the game.

However, before we get pampered and spoiled by OUR families, we need to remember our own mothers and make sure the day is just as special for the women who raised us and put up with our childhood shenanigans year after year.

No matter what you have planned for your Mom this year, a little something sweet always makes any day a bit nicer. And what with the flowers blooming and birds singing, that something sweet is all the better when it's bright and bursting with fresh flavor.

Lemon curd! I know the name isn't glamorous, but the flavor definitely is. Thick and creamy, lemon curd is a basic lemon custard that can be used an a million different ways. It can be the bottom of a lemon meringue pie. You can schmear it on toast or muffins (lemon curd on a blueberry muffin? Get out of town, it's to die for!) Or, of course, there's always my favorite way--just eating it with a spoon.

These cookies and curd are perfect for a ladies' tea, brunch, gift baskets, dessert, you name it! And it doesn't take more than the wink of an eye to get everything put together, which leaves more time for you to sit with those feet up!

Beefauxroni Bake

Hello, friends! Good to see you.

My kids and I were strolling through the grocery store today, buying some staples and ingredients for this weeks' Food Forum ingredient challenge. My son spotted a can of Chef Boyardee Beefaroni and asked if we could have that for dinner. Now, I'm not gonna go all snobby on you and claim that the Chef and I haven't had an on-again-off-again romance most of my teenage and early adult life. I still find myself craving those raviolis now and again.

However, beefaroni is one thing that should just never, ever be eaten from a can. It's too delicious made from scratch! Or even kind-of from scratch. I'm channeling the Horrific-Hanukkah-Cake queen, Sandra Lee, folks. This recipe mostly comes from various packages, with a handful of fresh ingredients, but it's FAR better, even in its semi-homemade state, than any canned beefaroni you'll find on a shelf. Not to mention, it's entirely vegetarian, low fat, and kosher (dairy). And the kid loves it! Win/win!

Just please--let's keep this between us. The Chef doesn't need to know, m'kay?

Brown Sugar Blondies

So I poised over the keyboard for a good 15 minutes, trying to write an interesting opening for these blondies. But really, they speak for themselves and require no introduction.

But they do require some raving.

They absolutely melt in your mouth.
They're studded with melty chocolate chunks and chewy caramel gems.
I brought them to a dear friend's birthday party this past weekend, and one of her guests asked if I'd snuck crack into them. Truly, you cannot have just one.

These are some evil damn blondies.

I made an extra large batch for a party of 20. You can halve this recipe for smaller groups, but really, you shouldn't. They'll disappear quickly.

Elotes Asados con Chile

Is there anything better than food carts? Walkin' down the sidewalk, and those savory aromas come wafting by, promising something hot and tasty, all wrapped up in foil like a happy little snack cocoon... Mm. In Philly, you can count on a rockin' cheesesteak sandwich. In Chicago? A dog loaded with all the fixin's. In New York, everything from falafel to bagels and lox. Even at Six Flags, you can count on a food cart to serve up lemon ices, cotton candy, and those freakishly enormous turkey legs.

Nothing bad ever came from a mobile food vendor.

A hot elote just further supports my position. In Mexico, elotes are common street fare. Sometimes they're served up on the cob, and sometimes the kernels are shucked off and served in a cup with a fork. Either way you serve it, you're guaranteed to get some oohs and aahs if you add this recipe to your Cinco de Mayo fiesta. Elotes and margaritas? Don't mind if I do!

But wait. What is an elote, anyway?

Elote: [el-OH-tay] It's awesome. But besides that, it's grilled corn, brushed in a spicy chili lime sauce and rolled in cotija cheese.

Let that sink in. Fresh, grilled corn. Chili lime sauce. Rolled in cheese. Ohhhh yeah.