Being in New York has made me realize that pretty much everyone in the city has a holiday party two to three nights a week, wow! People are certainly entertaining this year, and I love that so much! Between the Christmas plays that are happening, the holiday markets, and all of the lights, New York is incredibly festive. I have not made it over to see the tree or the store-front windows on 5th Avenue yet....

Before I made these cupcakes I had never had toasted coconut! I now know that was just plain stupid. I mean like whoa. Toasted coconut is awesome! This whole no coconut thing? Yeah, you can totally blame this on my mom, who is a chocoholic and would choose the dark stuff over anything white anytime, any day, any meal. But that is only because she does not know what she is missing…until now....

Especially mine! He is the greatest and words can not describe how much I look up to this guy and how much I appreciate all that he has done for our family and I over the years. He has been doing the dad thing since he was twenty-one and sure, he was probably a little better with the boys at first, but trust me I whooped his butt into shape....

When it’s Thanksgiving time, there are a few necessities for the big meal. Everyone must have a flavorful and juicy roasted turkey, creamy mashed potatoes, slow cooker cranberry sauce, and of course, plenty of gravy to pour over everything. Turkey Gravy Ingredients For this turkey gravy recipe you will need butter, flour, turkey drippings, chicken or turkey broth, parsley, salt and black pepper. When you make this delicious gravy you want to have the very best turkey....

Agua fresca is cool and refreshing drink with plenty of fruit flavor. Some other cool drinks that have great fruit flavors are strawberry lemonade and pineapple punch. Summer is in full swing and the weather here in California has been just beautiful. We’ve had a few insanely hot days, but for the most part it’s been moderate temperatures, cool breezes and plenty of blue sunny skies. I’ve been doing a lot of outdoor entertaining to fully take advantage of the season, and one of my favorite things to do is invite family and friends over for appetizers and drinks, including this watermelon agua fresca....

If there’s one thing I love doing, it’s taking something kind of boring, like chicken meatballs, and reinventing the dish to be exciting and extra delicious. Why? I guess I love a good challenge. So much so that I’ve made this a game I play with myself to help keep things fresh and creative. I get bored of things incredibly fast, especially when it comes to food. So challenging myself to reinvent dishes helps to keep things refreshing and fun for me....

I hate to talk about the weather…but I’m going to talk about the weather…for just a second. Because it’s one of the reasons this recipe came to be. It’s been COLD here, I’m talking well below zero at night. Clear sunny skies during the day, bring cold, bone-chilling, temperatures at night. The only thing I’ve been wanting to make is soup. I’ve had wonton soup on my “to make” recipe list now for months....

Like this 4-Ingredient Buttery Chocolate Covered Ritz Bark… or toffee, or crack, or whatever the heck you want to call it (because I clearly cannot decide) is dangerously good. Stopping at just one piece is so not possible. I’ve seen versions of this made with saltines, and maybe you have too, but I just keep thinking, saltines?? really?? Don’t get me wrong, I like saltines, but I don’t LOVE saltines....

I made some crispy Ajwain Poori to go with my Dhaba Style Aloo Matar. Ajwain Poori is puffed Indian flat bread made with whole wheat flour, flavored with carom seeds and other spices. I usually don’t make Pooris at home, that quite often. In fact, I make them so occasionally just twice or thrice in a year that it is almost equivalent to festive food at our house-hold. So when I mentioned that I was going to make Ajwain Poori to go with Aloo Matar, the husband was super happy 😀...

My Bhindi Aloo Recipe Simple & quick one pot sabzi. Add potatoes to oil, cook them till fork tender. Add onions, spices and okra and cook together. Aloo bhindi is ready. It takes barely 20 minutes to make this sabzi. No shallow or deep frying potatoes and okra. It is cooked in less oil. You can make it for everyday meals. A good make ahead dish- You can pack it in lunch boxes for make wraps with paratha while traveling....

Ambrosia salad might just happen to be my favorite fruit salad of all time. Even though I love berry fruit salad in the summer and winter fruit salad when its cold, ambrosia salad is a perfect year round salad! Have you ever had ambrosia salad before? It’s something I remember being drawn to as a kid. I mean, as a kid I loved the creamy fruit, but my favorite thing was all the marshmallows....

Today I am sharing a quintessential Andhra breakfast dish that’s most humble and basic - Andhra Idli recipe, made with Idli Rava. Idli is made across South India and it is one of the healthiest breakfast recipes. While it is made with parboiled rice and urad dal in most parts, in Andhra however Idli is made using Idli Rava and Urad Dal. Traditionally, Andhra Style Idli is served with karam podi and kobbari chutney or palli chutney....

Better known in my mind as the most perfect, cozy, comforting, chicken dinner of fall. I’m hoping you’re not tiring of all my cozy eats because I have so many more planned. Sorry not sorry. OKAY. Before I dive into this recipe, a couple of things to share. We had a wildfire break out on Monday afternoon that was way too close for comfort. I’m talking a little more than a stones throw a way....

Bang bang shrimp tacos have been on my to-make list for a while now, but something was holding me back. They just didn’t feel quite special enough. Something felt like it was missing. We all know I love to recreate restaurant-style favorites at home, so I knew these had potential. And that sweet, spicy, and creamy bang bang sauce sounded pretty darn delicious. It has sweet Thai chili sauce, which is always a favorite....

As most of you are already aware, I made my Sourdough Starter successfully. Immediately after having a ripe starter, I was too excited to try out baking a bread and began looking for ways. I am still learning my ways with using sourdough starter. I wanted to try something very simple to begin with and made this Basic Sourdough Bread. As I started looking for recipes, the next confusion awaited me....

Oh, I am excited about this one. I’ve been wanting to share this Piña Colada with you guys for well over a month now. I first had the idea to make a basil-infused Piña Colada all the way back in February, just when I started back up with Cocktail Saturdays. The timing wasn’t right for a Piña Colada, so I held off. And held off some more, until the days warmed up and summer was within sight....

One of my earliest memories of Bisibelebath is from my friend’s mom. They were the only Kannadigas in our area and our good friends. Sometimes when we went over to her place to play, Amma used to come with us too. Auntie then gave us a thick gravy that was sweet, spicy and tangy. Often we heard about bisibelebath which was prepared using the gravy. Amma used to prepare it at home, especially when there is red pumpkin for its mainly used in this recipe....

Another week and another Friday to be thankful for. There is a lot of uncertainty around us, chaos around us and being locked down, it is not the best time of our lives. But to put to perspective, we have a roof over our head, food on the table, loved ones safe and reachable and a working internet connection. If anything, this covid situation has made me appreciate every single small thing in my life and before I bring myself to complain, I think of the plight of many others who are not as privileged....

How about something fun and sweet to make your Tuesday a little more exciting? I don’t know about guys, but I’m all about making Tuesday a little sweeter. Especially today, since it’s a travel day for me and I hate days spent at the airport and the car. Finally heading back home today, and while I am happy to be going home, I’m sad to be leaving NYC behind. I had an amazing event with Anthropologie on Sunday, it was so fun talking summer tablescapes with you guys....

Growing up, Friday and Saturday nights were always reserved for pasta or pizza dinners. Most Friday nights my dad would make his Friday night pasta dish, which to this day is one of my favorite dishes. It could be due to the fact that it’s my dad’s recipe, but regardless it’s a delicious pasta dinner that I really love. When dad wasn’t making his pasta dish on Friday night, he was making his Fettuccine Alfredo pasta....