Recent Posts

oversized chocolate chip pecan cookie on a platter

Half-Batch Bakery-Style Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

Ready in just 20 minutes, these café-style soft and chewy chocolate chip pecan cookies are for anyone who doesn’t want the temptation of a whole log of cookie dough hanging out in their fridge (begging to be eaten by the spoonful or baked up hot and warm on a whim […]

Chinese baozi pork and chicken bun after breaking it open (green and grey tie dyed bun dough wrapped around a pork and chicken filling)

BBQ Chicken & Pork Bao Buns (Bāozi 包子 Chinese Steamed Pork Buns)

This steamed chicken and pork buns recipe uses a featherlight tangzhong bao bun dough filled with a slightly sweet and savory Chinese BBQ pork and chicken thigh filling. Homemade Chinese pork buns are truly like the ones you’ll find being sold steaming hot from street trolleys in Chengdu, Chinatown, NYC, […]

homemade Sichuan Chili oil with the last of the oil added.

Chef Liu’s Sichuan Chili Crisp Oil Recipe (Xiangla Hongyou 香辣红油)

This is one of the best toasty Sichuan chili oil recipes you will ever make. I learned how to make this Xiangla Hongyou (香辣红油) from Sichuanese Chef Liu while living in Chengdu and it’s still one of my all-time favorite condiments (ever). This highly addictive sesame-flecked red chili oil is […]

An oval serving platter with Yangzhou House special fried rice filled with shrimp, chicken, ham, egg, and vegetables.

Easy Chinese Special Fried Rice 扬州炒饭 (Yangzhou Fried Rice)

This easy house fried rice recipe is what you’ll find at your favorite Chinese restaurant also known as, “Cantonese Fried Rice”, “Special Fried Rice”, “Chicken Fried Rice”, or even “Pork Fried Rice” — and you can make it at home in just 30 minutes. Leftover rice crisped to golden brown […]

Golden brown dark chocolate covered banana bread after just baking in a loaf pan

How to Make the Best Ever Dark Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

This super easy homemade chocolate chip banana bread recipe is so tender it almost eats like cake. One of my most requested recipes on the blog, this is the best of both worlds — high-quality Lindt dark chocolate and my (most tender ever) classic banana bread.  If you’re looking for […]

a pasta bowl full of papperdelle alla Bolognese sprinkled with Grana Padano cheese

Easy Authentic Italian Pappardelle alla Bolognese Recipe

Classic Tagliatelle alla Bolognese (and pappardelle alla Bolognese) is as good as pasta gets and it’s incredibly easy to make! A rich slow-simmered beef, pork, and tomato Italian ragù with extra flavor from soffritto and the addition of white wine, milk, and beef stock tossed together with wide ribbons of […]

pizza fritte with burrata, black olives, sun dried tomatoes, and prosciutto di Parma on top

Authentic Italian Pizza Fritte (Pizzonte Frittelle Abruzzese)

Abruzzo Frittella (or pizz’onta as it’s called in dialect) is the best fried pizza you’ve likely never had. This sneaky good crispy-on-the-outside, super soft, and puffy-on-the-inside fried pizza is delicious. In fact, I can say it’s one of the best breads I’ve probably ever eaten. Golden brown shallow-fried dough sprinkled with […]

beautifully golden brown toasted coconut cream pie with large pieces of hand shaved coconut on meringue topping

Best Ever Triple Coconut Cream Pie with Mile-High Meringue Topping

This homemade diner-style coconut cream pie recipe with mile-high meringue is 100% made from scratch with triple the coconut flavor! A super flaky homemade pie crust filled with perfectly thickened coconut cream custard made with milk and coconut milk, topped with pillowy meringue and freshly shaved coconut that toasts up […]

a pitcher half full milky-looking bright yellow homemade Italian limoncello next to a bottle of homemade limoncello and a fresh lemon on a red and white striped pot holder

How to Make Easy Homemade Limoncello (The Italian Way)

This homemade limoncello recipe is the best of Italian summer in a bottle — it’s smooth and sweet with an intense lemon flavor without a hint of sour or bitter notes. And with just 3 simple ingredients (and a little time and patience), it couldn’t be easier to make at […]

closeup Pecan tassie cheesecake after cooling (with large pecans and crackly brown sugar tassie filling baked right on top.

Easy and Delicious Pecan Tassie Cheesecake with Biscoff Crust

Creamy vanilla bean cheesecake and pecan tassies come together to create a one-of-a-kind pecan pie-like cheesecake that any nut-lover will appreciate. Inspired by my Great Aunt Betty’s pecan tassies I recently posted, this fluffy cheesecake with sweet crunchy crackly pecan topping is baked into a 2-Ingredient Biscoff Cookie Crust. And, it’s […]

A beautifully golden brown and bubbling turkey pot pie right out of the oven

A Better Homemade Turkey Pot Pie (The Ultimate Pot Pie Recipe)

This easy turkey pot pie recipe is the perfect way to use up leftover roast turkey from the holidays. It’s creamy, savory, loaded with tender chunks of dark and white turkey meat, and bursting with vegetables all tucked into a flaky pie crust. And you don’t have to roast an […]

square pasta with sausage and with chopped chives sprinkled on top and grated Grana Padano cheese

Spicy Abruzzo Ventricina & Salsiccia Pasta (w/Gold-Drawn Pasta)

This lightly creamy spicy pasta recipe encompasses everything I want in a comforting bowl of pasta —  chewy artisanal Abruzzese Verrigni gold-drawn pasta (even more porous than delicious bronze-drawn pasta), Italian salsiccia, piquant Abruzzo Ventricina salami, garlic, herbs, onions, carrots, a little wine, and a splash of cream come together […]

closeup baked pecan tassies on parchment paper

Aunt Betty’s Southern Pecan Tassies (Mini Pecan Pie Cookies)

This super easy mini pecan tassies recipe was given to me by my (very dear) Great Aunt Betty♡ — one part flaky buttery cream cheese pastry crust and one part gooey, caramelly, nutty pecan filling. These delicious pecan tarts taste like mini pecan pies that you can eat in just […]