Though we love a good dinner freestyle, there is nothing more fun than exploring a new cookbook or diving into a recipe for a dish we’ve never tried. A well-written recipe should be easy to follow, but there are a few things to keep in mind that can help ensure […]
If you’re still a member of the work-from-home club, we suspect you’re running out of practical lunch ideas. And, if you’re anything like us, that might mean your take-out burrito average may be higher than usual. We’ve been looking to our favorite plant-forward lunch recipes these days, especially ones that […]
You may already have a New Year food tradition: black-eyed peas? Noodles? Lentils? But because this year is less than typical, you may be in the mood to try something new. If, like most of us, you have no special plans for the day, you might be looking for a […]
You may know what you’re cooking for Christmas dinner, but have you thought yet about what you and your family will enjoy that morning? Whether you love sweet, savory, or a little bit of both, we have a few ideas you might like to try. Some can be made the […]
If there has ever been a time to embrace the Scandinavian concept of “hygge,” now is certainly it. Hygge, pronounced hue-gah, is a Danish word that generally means cozy, intimate, or special, and it is used to identify small moments of comfort and contentment in the everyday. It can’t be […]
A person’s Christmas cookie plate is very personal, but we believe the perfect plate of holiday cookies contains representatives from all of the major cookie groups: chocolate, fruity, nutty, shortbread, and spice. These categories are broad with plenty of room for interpretation, but if you hit each one, you’re sure […]
Where I grew up in New Jersey, there was a local candy shop that sold macadamia nut brittle that was a prized possession in my house. It was, as you can expect, expensive as kids candy went, and my parents/Santa only got it once a year to sneak into our […]
Royal icing is a decorative icing made from egg whites and confectioners’ sugar. In professional bakeshops, it is used to decorate cakes, pastries, and candies, but at home, it is primarily used to decorate rolled out sugar or gingerbread cookies. We explain how to make and use traditional royal icing […]
One of the most frequently asked questions from guests at our CIA campuses is: “Can I freeze this?” And it’s a good question! After all, no matter how much you like to cook, there are some days that having a back-up dinner ready to go can be a life-saver. You’ll […]
An often overlooked element of Thanksgiving Day is lunch. Yes, you may be eating a big dinner, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be hungry until 7pm. If you are one of the many families who eat Thanksgiving dinner at 3pm, ignore this and go peruse our pie recipes. But […]
One of the best and easiest Thanksgiving side dishes is a platter of simple roasted vegetables. We’ve talked about the basics of roasting veggies, but let’s talk about how to dress them up for the holidays. For a typical weeknight dinner, you most likely roast your vegetables in olive oil […]
If you’ve been following along with our To-Do list, you probably don’t have much cooking to do this weekend. Way to go! If you still have some projects to check off, this is a great weekend to make broth, pie dough, cranberry sauce, and gravy (check out the CIA’s free […]
