 The older I get, the more convinced I become that dinner has never really been about the food. The recipes simply give us a reason to stop. To put the phones down. To hear the story about someone's day that would have otherwise been reduced to "Fine." Some of my favorite memories aren't attached to elaborate holiday feasts. They're tied to ordinary weeknight dinners. The table wasn't perfectly set. The napkins weren't neatly folded. We took it upon ourselves to refill our own water glasses. The dog patiently waited beneath the table for gravity to work in her favor and yet those dinners somehow became the ones I remember most fondly. Because conversation happened. Stories were shared. Plans were made. Comfort was offered and life happened in between bites. Some days I need the gentle reminder that gathering around a table isn't about perfection. It isn't about impressing anyone with complicated recipes or magazine-worthy place settings. It's about making room. Room for laughter. Room for stories. Room for second helpings. Room for the friend who unexpectedly drops by. Room for the child or spouse who choses that moment to tell you everything about their day.  So today - make the dinner that no one will remember. Because what they will remember is who was sitting across from them. The stories that made everyone laugh so hard they nearly spit their food across the table. The feeling of being welcomed and the comfort of sharing a meal. I realize that this seems like an odd place to share a recipe but it's the food that brings us all to the table so we all need simple, delicious Wednesday night dinners that we can make in between soccer practice and homework help. This Mediterranean Baked Halibut is just that. It's incredibly tasty, it doesn't take a dozen different ingredients to prepare and it's such a healthy option that you can feel good about feeding it to your family. So make this yummy dish and remember that the greatest gift any recipe can offer isn't what's on the plate at all.😉  Mediterranean Baked Halibut 1 pound fresh halibut, cut into 2 fillets 3 Tablespoons sun dried tomatoes, chopped 3 Tablespoons light mayonnaise 1 garlic clove, minced 1 teaspoon fresh oregano 1 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped salt and fresh pepper, to taste
 Sprinkle with fresh basil before serving.
Ciao!
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 There are two universal truths in my life. The first is that someone will always ask "What's for dinner?" approximately five minutes after lunch is served and the second is that if I announce that tacos are on the menu people suddenly appear in the kitchen as if summoned by an invisible dinner bell.🔔😅 I've come to believe that tacos are less of a meal and more of a social event disguised as dinner.🌮  Mexican Street Tacos are colorful, fresh, a little messy and absolutely impossible to eat without smiling. Sweet roasted corn tossed with a creamy sauce, crumbled cotija cheese, fresh cilantro, a squeeze of lime and just enough chili powder to remind you that life is meant to have a little kick. Pile all of that onto a warm tortilla and suddenly an ordinary Tuesday feels suspiciously like a summer fiesta.🪅 My favorite part of this meal is putting out all of the ingredients and then watching everyone carefully craft their taco. Each taco is reflective of the personality of its creator. One person builds an bulging masterpiece that requires advanced engineering skills to hold and eat. Another carefully arranges every ingredient with the precision of an architect. No two tacos look alike - which feels a lot like families. We're all built a little differently. We all have our favorite ingredients. Some of us bring the spice. Some bring the sweetness. Some are wonderfully predictable. Others are delightfully unexpected. And somehow, when we gather around the same table, it all works.  Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos Mexican Grilled Chicken 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1/3 cup canola oil 3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice 1 teaspoon chili powder 1 teaspoon cumin 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder Street Corn 2 cups cooked corn 1 Tablespoons mayonnaise 1 Tablespoon lime juice 1/4 teaspoon chili powder 1/4 cup cilantro 1/2 jalapeno, diced 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder Garnish 6 to 8 flour or corn street tortillas 1 avocado, sliced 1/2 cup cotija cheese fresh cilantro, chopped Mexican Crema 1 cup Crema 2 Tablespoons taco seasoning
 Stir together Mexican crema ingredients and drizzle over tacos.  Ciao!
 Imagine if a sourdough loaf and a croissant met at a charming little French café, fell hopelessly in love over an espresso and decided to raise tiny chocolate chips baguettes together. That's essentially what's happening here. This is a loaf so unapologetically buttery, flaky, chocolate-studded and gloriously over-the-top that it deserves to be highlighted in the very best cooking magazine. This unconventional loaf features the signature tang and chewy personality of traditional sourdough and just when you think things couldn't possibly get any better - chocolate chips appear like tiny edible confetti scattered throughout every flaky fold. It's the culinary equivalent of wearing high heels to the grocery store. Entirely unnecessary. Completely delightful.😂  When I make this Chocolate Chip Sourdough, breakfast becomes an event. Coffee feels fancier. Conversations become quieter because everyone's too busy chewing. Even the dog started hanging around the kitchen with suspicious optimism. I'm not a French trained pastry chef but I feel like one when I serve this buttery, flaky loaf.👩🏻🍳 This isn't a recipe you make when you're in a hurry. It's a recipe you make because slow baking has a way of reminding us that some things are worth waiting for. Between the stretches and folds, the overnight rest, and all those buttery layers tucked into the dough, there's plenty of time to ponder lifes big questions. So tie on your apron, dust the counter with flour - Good things take time and the very best recipes often ask us to slow down long enough to enjoy the process. This one happens to arrive wrapped in flaky, golden layers, studded with chocolate and carrying enough butter to make Julia Child smile.  Chocolate Chip Sourdough Croissant Bread 120 grams active sourdough starter 340 grams water 2 Tablespoons brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/4 teaspoons salt 500 grams bread flour 8 Tablespoons butter, frozen and grated 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
If making mini loaves: Roll the dough into a log and slice into 6 equal portions. Roll each into a ball and place in mini banneton baskets.
  Place loaf in Dutch oven. Reduce temperature to 425 and bake 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake another 15 minutes. For mini loaves: Bake 20 minutes with the lid on and then 15 minutes without the lid.    Ciao!
 There are certain foods that unite people. Chocolate. 🍫 Fresh bread. 🥖 Homemade pie. 🥧 And then there's seafood pizza—the culinary equivalent of inviting both the beach crowd and the pizza crowd to the same party and hoping everyone gets along. Some people hear Seafood Pizza and immediately picture a gourmet Italian bistro overlooking the Mediterranean. Others look slightly concerned and ask, "Wait...are we putting shrimp on pizza now?" 🍤🍕To which I confidently reply, "Yes. And you're going to want seconds."😅 Life has taught me that some of the very best meals happen when you stop worrying about what should go together and start celebrating what does. After all, someone looked at pineapple and pizza one day and thought, "Let's see what happens." The rest is dinner-table history.😂  My seafood pizza's got a crust that's crisp around the edges but still tender enough to fold ever so slightly. It's topped with creamy mozzarella, fresh mushrooms, fragrant garlic and the real stars of this dish: the seafood. Sweet shrimp, tender scallops and a little lump crabmeat if you're feeling especially fancy. Pizza has always been one of those meals that slows life down in the best possible way. Nobody politely nibbles pizza with a salad fork while discussing quarterly reports. Pizza is laughter around the table. It's reaching for one more slice while insisting you're completely full. It's someone stealing the last piece and pretending they thought no one wanted it. Seafood simply adds a touch of celebration to this family favorite.  Seafood Pizza 1 pizza dough 3 Tablespoons olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced 3 shallots, sliced 8 ounces mushrooms, quartered 3/4 pound bay scallops 2/3 pound small shrimp 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning 1 can crabmeat ½ cup heavy cream ½ cup pizza sauce 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
 Add crab and cream.
 Sprinkle cheese over pizza.  Cook on grill or bake in a 450 degree oven until browned and cooked through.  Garnish with fresh parsley before serving. Ciao!
 There are vacations... and then there are Davis family vacations. 😂 Believe it or not, I started this vacation with the best of intentions to "just relax for the week" but somehow I that quickly turned into kayaking at sunset, salsa dancing after dark, logging miles of speed walking before 8 am, eating enough ice cream to qualify for dairy sponsorship and participating in frozen T-shirts competitions like there were gold medals at stake.🥇 That pretty much sums up my "relaxing" week at my parents little island home on Lake Erie last month.
I love our trips to Lake Erie. Afternoons become a blur of boating, water skiing, swimming and enthusiastic attempts to prove that adults can still do everything they did twenty-five years ago. Spoiler alert: We cannot.🤣 We had such a fun week on this little island paradise in the middle of the Sandusky Bay but what was even better than our crazy summer adventures was the time that we all got to spend together. I'm so grateful for the memories that I was able to make with family and friends that week.
Lake Erie is where I grew up and it's a blessing to be able to go back and spend time with my family every year in this special place. We have our traditions when we visit like stopping by the Dairy Dock as often as possible. Homemade biscotti has also become a tradition when I visit. My parents absolutely love it. Perhaps it's because biscotti is meant to be savored slowly—just like time together. Sometimes I arrive with a giant bag filled to the top with all different types of biscotti and other times I take over my parents kitchen for an afternoon and I have a British baking show style biscotti baking day.👩🏻🍳 Either way, I don't feel like I can leave until I know that they have enough biscotti to fill their freezer until my next visit.😉 Twice-baked until perfectly crisp, biscotti is ideal alongside a steaming cup of morning coffee while watching sailboats drift across the lake or sharing conversation on the porch. The best vacations aren't necessarily the quietest. They're the ones where the days are full, the laughter is loud, the competition is questionable, the dancing is fearless and the people around the table adore a simple biscotti because it's the sweetest tradition of all.  Chocolate, Cherry, Pistachio Biscotti 4 cups flour 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 cup cocoa powder 1 Tablespoon baking powder 6 eggs 1 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla 1 1/2 cups dried cherries 1 cup pistachios 2 Tablespoons cocoa nibs 1/4 cup strong espresso
 Arrange on baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes. Flip and bake another 10 minutes.  Ciao!
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