Easiest Ever Cheesy Asparagus Risotto—My Latest On Refinery29!

Ladies, we’re no strangers to dinner a la microwave right? I was home alone the other night and zapped up a surprisingly delicious tray of "gourmet" meatballs and I've got to say, I didn't hate it! 

Easy Veggie Fonduta—The Best Way To, Like, Just Eat Cheese For Dinner!

Bleck! What an icky Monday, huh? It's a total wash here in NYC and no matter where you live it's a Monday so that's pretty blahhh, too, right? All I can suggest is tempting yourself to get through the day with the promise of cheese-for-dinner. That's my plan! 

5-Minute Homemade(ish) Wonton Soup—My Latest on Refinery29!

My mother blames my wonton soup addiction on her pregnancy—she slurped quart container, after quart container of the stuff over the months (even in the heat of summer). Unfortunately, no other wonton soup compares to my childhood favorite. You can still get it! There's a little takeout place in the King Kullen shopping center of my hometown...

Simple Supper: One-Pan Salmon Dinner—No Smell, No Clean Up!

Okay, friends. Question: What's your main weeknight dinner hangup–the thing that makes you dread going home and cooking for yourself after work Monday to Friday? 

Simple Supper: Cheesy Bacon-Leek Quiche—My Latest On Refinery29!

Growing up I thought quiche was a health food. Why not! It (for the most part) is a meat-less alternative to a steak dinner, right? Obviously I now realize that piecrust and gooey cheese will only pad my wiggly bits but I really don't care: I love quiche!

Easiest Ever Chicken Noodle Soup For One—My Latest On Refinery29!

This Chicken Noodle Soup is pretty special. Refinery29 asked me to come up with the easiest chicken soup recipe ever and here's what I did: Warm sliced carrots and celery in chicken broth, then stir in shredded rotisserie chicken, lemon juice and noodles for a quickie one-serving meal. You can even cook the noodles right in the broth if you're feeling extra-slothy (just add a little more water). 

Simple Supper: Easy Chicken Cutlets with Tomato-Caper Dressing!

When I was growing up, my favorite thing to eat was mom's Lemon-Butter Chicken. She's famous for it! Now that I'm on my own (and coming up with new recipes is, like, my actual job) I've expanded my poultry horizons. That's why I decided to share my recipe for Chicken Cutlets with Tomato-Caper Dressing with Refinery29. 

Simple Supper: Sausage-Stuffed Maple Apples—My Latest On Refinery29!

Here's the latest recipe from my new 3-Ingredient Dinner recipe column on Refinery29! It's perfect for using up apples after an orchard adventure (or over zealous trip to the farmers' market, in my case). With just the staples in your pantry—salt, pepper and olive oil—plus a few simple ingredients, you can have this sweet-and-savory dinner on the table in fewer than 30 minutes.

Your New Go-To Cozy Dinner Recipe: French Onion Macaroni & Cheese!

In case you're interested, lovely friends, I started a new column over on Refinery29 this week that I'm kind of obsessed with—it's called "Cook Once, Eat Thrice!" The idea is to simplify weeknight eating by giving you big-batch recipes that work fabulously as leftovers a few nights in a row. (If you're going to make the effort to cook, you should be rewarded with multiple nights of dinner, right!?)

Anyway, to kick off the column I whipped up the French Onion Macaroni & Cheese, above. It's loaded with slow-cooked caramelized onions and gruyere cheese. To die for! I made a batch for girls' movie night last weekend and it was such a hit! Serve this with a big green salad and funky French white wine and you'll have quite the treat on your hands. 

Here's a link to the French Onion Macaroni & Cheese recipe over on Refinery29! xo Erin

Summery Sweets: Mixed-Berry Sangria Crisp—My Latest On Refinery29!

To sweeten the end of a fabulous summer, I made 3 transitional Americana desserts for Refinery29: a crisp, crumble and cobbler (all of which can be tweaked as the weather cools down). The idea I was most excited about is this Sangria Crisp! 

French Macaron Milkshake—My Latest Easy, Edible DIY on Refinery29!

Good morning! Happy Monday everyone. Did you have a lovely weekend? I tried my best not to think about Christmas cookies and spent time with friends eating Ukrainian dumplings (slash) drinking cold beer at the boardwalk in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn—so much fun!

Summery Sweets: Easiest Striped Ice Cream Cake Ever—4 Ingredients!

Happy Monday, all! Before you get all serious and Monday-y, let's talk about ice cream for a minute okay? Personally, I plan on eating/serving it as much as I can while summer is still here. I know ice cream is a year-round treat but I rarely go for it unless the weather's warm—what about you? 

Easy Entertaining: Stuffed Roasted Peaches—My lastest on Refinery29!

Good morning, lovely friends! How is everyone? My apologies for disappearing without notice. Boyfriend and I took a short trip to Michigan to visit his family. The plan was to write a goodbye post but I was hustling to finish a story for Refinery29 and simply ran out of time—alas! (I think time speeds up right before a trip, don't you? There's never enough of it.)

Anyway, the Refinery29 story in question was published yesterday, if you're interested: Roasted Summer Peaches, 5 ways! Roasted peaches are one of my favorite late-summer desserts—they're so easy and chic. All you need are a few simple ingredients, like pistachios, dark chocolate, fresh ricotta cheese and/or amaretti cookies. You can see all 5 methods over on the Refinery29 site but here's a little preview to wet your whistle (my favorite!) Raspberry Cheesecake Stuffed Peaches...


RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE STUFFED PEACHES
SERVES: 4

4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Kosher salt
4 ripe peaches
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup raspberries

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Put the cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla, and a pinch of salt in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and pulse until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl, as needed.
2. Halve the peaches: For each peach, run your knife along the natural crease of the peach, pressing down to the pit. Hold the peach in your hands — one hand on each half — and twist in opposite directions to release and pull apart. Remove the pit; scoop out center of each half using a melon baller or small spoon. (Slice small piece off rounded side, so the peaches sit flat, if desired.)
3. Arrange peaches in the prepared baking pan. Brush cut edges with melted butter; drizzle with lemon juice. Fill each peach center with the cheesecake mixture and top with a few raspberries. Bake until peaches are golden and soft and the filling just sets — about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving. 

There are 4 more Stuffed Peach recipes over on Refinery29—Crunchy Pistachio, Lemon-Ricotta, Orange-Amaretti and Bourbon-Praline (above)! Head on over there for the recipes xo Erin

Simple Supper: Quickie Heirloom Tomato Tart—My Latest on Refinery29!

Hi-ya, friends! Just popping in to share a quick recipe with you. I love, love, love that amazing summer tomatoes are starting to pop up everywhere in New York! What's the tomato situation like where you are? Anyway, Refinery29 (who got an awesome makeover this weekend, if you're interested) just posted my 3 Scrumptious Tomato recipes on the site. There's a tomato recipe for each meal of the day, so you can have 'em at their finest for breakfast, lunch and dinner if you—like me—can't get enough summer tomato action. Since it's meatless monday, I'll give you a little preview of the dinner recipe. Head over to Refinery29 for breakfast and lunch, Soft Scrambled Egg BLT and Spicy Watermelon-Tomato Gazpacho. 

QUICKIE TOMATO TART
SERVES: 4

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed 
All-purpose flour, for sprinkling 
1 cup goat milk ricotta cheese, such as Coach Farm brand
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 shallot, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup torn basil leaves
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling (optional)
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400˚. Unfold one sheet puff pastry on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper and gently roll out to a 10-inch square. Lift up parchment and transfer to a baking sheet. 
2. Spread ricotta on pastry, leaving a one-inch border on all sides. Sprinkle parmesan over the ricotta. Layer the tomatoes, overlapping slightly, on top of the cheese. Sprinkle with the shallot and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
3. Fold the pastry edges in to make a square-shaped tart. Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden. Top with basil leaves, olive oil, and flaky sea salt to taste, if desired.

The funny thing is, I hated tomatoes when I was young—didn't really enjoy eating them until college, actually! Did any of you have a similar aversion? My mom convinced me a cherry tomato was a grape, once, when I was super tiny so I'd try it. I think that's what did me in. Thanks, mom :) xox Erin

Hit The Bottle, Ladies: Host a Rosé Wine Tasting with Treats and Friends!

Happy Friday, lovely friends! We made it through the week—amen, right? Not sure what your plans are this weekend but if you're in the mood to play the casual-chic hostess, why not host a last-minute rosé tasting party? It's super easy (and deliciously educational, too)!

Italian-Style Ice Cream Sandwich Party—Easy Summer Party Theme Idea!

I'm so excited to finally share the summer party series I created for Refinery29 with you! July 4th may be over but there's still so much to celebrate—click through all 6 summer party themes over on Refinery29's website.

5 Iced Coffee Hacks To Improve Your Morning—My Latest on Refinery29!

Happy Monday morning, friends! I know, I'm right there with you. Figured this would be a good time to post about a little pick-me-up and I think I have just the thing...

As you may know, I've been contributing to Refinery29's food section and they just posted my 5 favorite Iced Coffee Hacks (read: time and stress saving tricks). I'm always looking for ways to streamline my coffee routine and these ideas have been my greatest successes so far:

• Make the perfect overnight cold brewed coffee
• DIY Mason Jar To-Go Cup in under 3 minutes (above) The secret is a hole punch!
• Vanilla Bean Milk Ice Cubes
• Up-Cycled Simple Syrup Dispenser 
• Homemade Flavored Coffee Creamer 

If you're interested, you can find all 5 tips, trick and recipes on Refinery29. Do you change up your coffee routine during the summer? I'd love to know. Oo! And keep an eye out for some weekend photos later this morning. I'd love to share, if you're interested! xo Erin

[Photograph by Alice Gao for Refinery29]

Summer Hostess Gifts, Like Olive Oil Granola—My Latest On Refinery29!

Good morning, all! Quick question for you: Do you have any big summer plans? I feel like summer always slips away before I can plan anything! Does that happen to you, too? Or do you already have some incredible trips, events, adventures lined up—I'd love to know! 

4 Easy Spring Sandwich Recipes That'll Change Your Lunch Forever!

Good morning, lovely friends! A post I wrote for Refinery29 just went live—all about spring sandwiches!—and I'd love to share the link with you, if you're interested. They challenged me to come up with 4 easy-but-elegant sandwich recipes to quickly improve one's lunch hour (including a diet-friendly classic). With boyfriend as my testee, I developed my ultimate spring sandwich lineup: a skinnier Croque Madame, Wedge Salad Sub, Pickled Veggie Focaccia Sandwich and a Chocolate-Olive Oil Baguette.  

The chocolate-olive oil baguette is actually a secret dinner party–trick of mine: When I run out of time to bake dessert, this super-simple combo of baguette, chocolate, olive oil and sea salt is how I like to end a meal. It's such a no brainer! Easy as making toast. Here's how you make it...CHOCOLATE–OLIVE OIL BAGUETTE WITH SEA SALT
SERVES: 4
1 baguette, cut into 4 pieces
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
Maldon sea salt, for sprinkling

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚. Slice the baguette pieces in half; brush the insides with olive oil and arrange, cut-side up, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Toast until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, put the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring, until melted.
3. Spread melted chocolate on the bottom halves of the baguette. Drizzle each with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil. Sprinkle with Maldon sea salt.
Head over to Refinery29 for the other recipes! They couldn't be simpler to make and the payoff is fabulous—hope you enjoy 'em!

How-To Make: The Perfect NYC Deli Breakfast Sandwich At Home!

Good morning, lovely friends. I hope your week's off to a fabulous start—I missed you! You know, one thing I'm already pining after from our trip is eating breakfast with boyfriend every day. It's silly but eating together really does rose-tint the rest of the day for me. Back home I usually have breakfast at the test kitchen (and he usually skips it all together).

Anyway, this means I'm already thinking about what's for breakfast Saturday morning and I think this is it: The Perfect Deli-Style Breakfast Sandwich, which I developed for this post on Refinery29 last week! The mega-order (bacon, egg and cheese, sausage, hash browns, ketchup and hot sauce) was a staple for my friends and I growing up. It's still pretty perfect but so much better when you make it at home. Here's how you do it...

THE PERFECT BREAKFAST SANDWICH

SERVES: 1

3 strips bacon
1 sausage, halved lengthwise
1 frozen potato patty
1 large egg
1 tbsp ketchup
1 roll, split
1 tbsp minced chives
3 to 4 dashes hot sauce
1 to 2 slices American cheese

1. Put the bacon in a skillet (cast-iron if you have it) and cook on medium heat, flipping once, until crisp, about six minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel–lined plate to drain; reserve drippings in the skillet. 2. Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the sausage, flipping once until browned and heated through, about five minutes; transfer to plate. Add the potato patty to the skillet and cook as the label directs; set aside.
3. Heat one teaspoon remaining drippings or olive oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Crack the egg into a small cup, then slide into the skillet and cook until whites begin to set, about one minute. Cover and cook until whites are firm, about two more minutes. 
4. Spread the ketchup on the bottom roll half. Top with the cooked potato patty, chives, fried egg, hot sauce, sausage, bacon, American cheese, and the top roll half. Serve immediately.