Monday, March 11, 2013

banana cream pie


So there's this little dessert shop in New York - Magnolia Bakery. Maybe you've heard of it?!

People go on and on about their cupcakes. But, I'll let you in on a little secret. The banana cream pie is where it's at.


They mix in fluffy whipped cream with their banana pudding so every bite is light and creamy and decadent. It's that sort of dessert where you have to close your eyes and enjoy every. single. bite.

We made a slight variation on the traditional recipe. Instead of vanilla wafer cookies, we used a salted chocolate cookie crust. The crust really complements the sweetness of the pudding.

The result was just as good as Magnolia's. It's helping me get through my winter blues - when will the snow and rain stop?

We used this recipe from the Momofuku cookbook - another dessert shop I adore in NYC. Try their corn cookies. Trust me.

Monday, March 4, 2013

creamy lemon pasta with spinach and chickpeas


My absolute favorite recipes are the most forgiving. The sort of recipes that you can leave the kitchen half way through, watch part of Homeland, and then get back to the cooking. These recipes never require a ton of ingredients and are reliably tasty.

Life is busy around these parts. I've been whipping up massive portions of pastas like this one, so I have dinner for a couple of days.

The citrus and goat cheese are bright and creamy and the spinach and chickpeas offer a bit of veggies and protein to get you through the day. This dish heats up beautifully, so you won't be dreading your leftovers.

creamy lemon pasta with spinach and chickpeas

12 oz dried pasta (I used a combination of pastas I had in the cupboard. Any short pasta will work).
1 can chickpeas
3 cups spinach
6 oz goat cheese
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper

Bring a pot of water up to boil. Generously salt the pepper. Boil your pasta according to the directions on the packaging.

On medium high heat, place the spinach in a pan with 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and let spinach wilt, about 3-5 minutes. Stir spinach and season with salt and pepper. Mix in goat cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, and chickpeas. Season to taste.

Drain pasta and mix with sauce.