 The older I get, the less interested I am in serving breakfasts that leave me exhausted before 9:00 a.m. Been there - done that.😅🥐🥞🥓 🧇 These days I'm much more fond of enjoying the people gathered around my table than spend the entire morning trying to impress them with twelve complicated recipes and a sink full of dirty mixing bowls.😩 So I've learned do what all the great cooks do - I prep our breakfast the evening before while the dishes from dinner are drying and the house has settled into that peaceful hush. Cherry Almond Oatmeal bake is the perfect make ahead breakfast. I take a few minutes to stir together old-fashioned oats, juicy cherries, cinnamon, vanilla, maple syrup, creamy milk and a handful of almonds and it's like a little reminder that healthy food can still be downright comforting. Then comes the best part. I cover the baking dish, slide it into the refrigerator and call it a night. Morning arrives and the birds are just beginning their cheerful chatter all that's left to do is preheat the oven and slide in my waiting breakfast.  Cherry Almond Baked Oatmeal comes out of the oven golden around the edges, soft and creamy in the center with little pockets of sweet cherries peeking through like edible jewels. Suddenly breakfast feels both comforting and elegant. It's the kind of meal that invites everyone to slow down. Breakfast doesn't have to be complicated to make people feel cared for. Sometimes the simplest dishes are the ones everyone remembers. A warm spoonful of baked oats. Bursting cherries in every bite. The comforting aroma of cinnamon filling the house. Easy conversation. Second helpings. The kind of morning where no one has to standing over the stove frying bacon for an hour. That's a breakfast worth serving.  Cherry Almond Baked Oatmeal 2 cups milk 2 eggs 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup butter, melted 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 cups old fashioned oats 1 cup dried cherries 1/2 cup slivered almonds
 Cut into squares to serve. Serve with whipped cream, yogurt or milk. 😋
Ciao!
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 Traditional blackberry cobbler is a Southern icon. It's the dessert that arrives at family reunions in well-loved casserole dishes with handwritten names on masking tape. It makes an appearance at church pot lucks, backyard cookouts and Sunday dinners where someone insists they "don't have room for dessert" before helping themselves to a second scoop.😅 Since I wasn't born in the South - I'm not considered to be a true Southerner so I feel like it's perfectly acceptable for me to take the iconic Southern dessert and turn it upside down - quite literally. 🤣 Instead of burying juicy blackberries beneath blankets of biscuit dough, this recipe lets the berries take center stage while a buttery, golden topping bakes underneath and around them. It's a little unexpected, a little rebellious and incredibly delicious. 😋  Blackberries have always seemed wonderfully optimistic to me. They survive scorching summers, stain absolutely everything they touch and somehow convince us that battling flying insects while to pick fresh blackberries is perfectly reasonable life choice. It isn't. Those tiny purple stains are less of a suggestion and more of a lifelong commitment. But that's part of their charm. A reverse blackberry cobbler doesn't ask for perfection. The berries burst. The juices spill over. The crust develops wonderfully uneven golden edges that practically beg for an extra spoonful of vanilla ice cream. In fact, the more rustic it looks, the more compliments it receives. It's one of the few recipes where looking homemade is actually the goal.😅  Reverse Blackberry Cobbler 4 cups fresh or frozen blackberries 2/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons brown sugar 2 Tablespoons butter 1 1/4 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon salt 10 Tablespoons butter, melted 2/3 cup whole milk 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla
 Bake 35-40 minutes at 325. Let stand 20 minutes before slicing into wedges.   Serve with ice cream.
Ciao!  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!  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!
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