When Nick revealed the seasonal ingredient of our first Challenge, I immediately thought of pizza. Not pepperoni or mushroom or Margherita, but … pear pizza! Over the Christmas holiday, we dined at a wine bar in Escondido, California. We ordered glasses of local red wine and no less than five pizzas for the group, including [...]

This is not your typical chili. Yes, it has chili powder and cumin, but it also has cinnamon, cloves, and chocolate. Because who doesn’t want to eat chocolate for dinner? Cincinnati chili is a regional favorite of Pennsylvania’s neighboring state. We first tasted it with our friends, the Nelsons (incidentally not Ohio natives), while watching [...]

I’m not surprised that two different people asked this week for our favorite chili recipe (and that we made a big pot of it on Sunday). ‘Tis the season when the nights seem colder and darker without the warm glow of a Christmas tree. There’s no better cure for the January blues than with a [...]

This weekend I channeled my inner Julia Child and tackled a dish from my must make list. Mastering the Art of French Cooking has been sitting pretty on our shelf for almost a year, and while I have thumbed through it, this is the first recipe I’ve made from the classic cookbook. Why? Because Julia [...]

Yesterday brought the first snowfall of the season. But we didn’t mind! We had our Christmas tree and holiday music, NFL, hot chocolate from festive mugs, and chicken and dumplings. This is the first time I’ve made chicken and dumplings, but I think my mother and Aunt Esther would be proud. It’s a classic dish [...]

There are probably hundreds of regional varieties of Wursts (sausages) in Germany. We were limited by what is available here in central Pennsylvania, but we were able to find a few of the more common versions to serve at our party. Weisswurst (white sausage): A true Bavarian Wurst composed of minced veal, pork, and seasonings. [...]

Wiener Schnitzel is a classic German dish that originated in Wien or Vienna, Austria. Although it’s not typical fare at Oktoberfest, it certainly has its place on every German table. We decided to do a bite size variation so that our guests could enjoy it without filling up on the real deal. Traditionally …

My brother moved from New York City to London in January. We moved from State College to Duncansville in February. His new digs (and old, for that matter) are more travel-worthy than ours, but he was still anxious to visit our humble home on Sunday during his two-week return to the U.S. While Andrew sipped [...]

Have you watched Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution? It premiered on primetime television earlier this year, and Nick and I were totally engrossed. The series follows world-renowned chef Jamie Oliver on his quest to bring healthier food choices into public schools. (It’s an issue that’s very close to the First Lady’s heart, as well.) Jamie …