Leafy Herb Salad

---

Ingredients

•  4 cups spicy greens, such as arugula, mizuna or torn mustard greens

• 1 bunch parsley, leaves and tender stems  

•  1 bunch cilantro, leaves and tender stems

• 1 bunch chives, coarsely chopped

• 1 to 2 cups fresh mint (or dill leaves)

• 1 lemon

•  Flaky salt and freshly ground black pepper

•  Olive oil

Recipe

1. Combine greens in a large bowl, along with parsley, cilantro and chives. Add mint or dill leaves.

2. Zest lemon over the greens, then halve and squeeze lemon juice all over everything. Season with flaky salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper, and finish with a good drizzle of olive oil. The salad should be lightly oiled, and heavy on the flaky salt and lemon juice.

     Recipe by Alison Roman
   

Brown Butter Mashed Sweet Potatoes

---

Ingredients

• 39 oz. sweet potatoes ( about 2 ½ lbs) , peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

• Salt & pepper

• 1 stick salted butter

• ½ cup whole milk

• 4 - 6 leaves fresh sage

Recipe

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add sweet potatoes and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 15 to 20 minutes, until very tender when pierced with a fork.

2. Drain the cooked potatoes and add them to a food processor. Add the milk, season with salt and pepper and pulse until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Taste to adjust any seasoning.

3. Meanwhile, melt the stick of butter and the sage leaves over medium heat until just browned. The butter will melt, foam and froth, then begin to brown along the bottom. Stir the browned bits off of the bottom of the pan. 

4. Pour the potatoes in a serving bowl. Top the potatoes with the brown butter sauce, and sage leaves.

Cauliflower Gratin

---

Ingredients

•  1 large head cauliflower ( 3 lb ) , cored and cut into florets

• ½ stick  unsalted butter, divided, more for pan 

• 2 cups hot milk

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• Salt & pepper

• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

• ¾ cup grated gruyere cheese

• 1/2  cup parmesan, finely grated, divided

• ¾ cup panko Japanese breadcrumbs

• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 375º. 

2. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add panko and cook until crumbs are golden brown, keep a watchful eye as they burn quickly. Transfer the panko to a small bowl and toss ¼ cup parmesan, and ¼ cup of gruyere cheese, thyme leaves, and season with salt & pepper. Set aside.

3. While you prepare the cauliflower, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the cauliflower until tender, but still firm, about 6-7 minutes. Drain the cauliflower, and set aside.

4. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the rest of the 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir in the flour and cook until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, don't let it brown. Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring it to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more. 

5. Off the heat, add nutmeg, and the remaining of gruyere and parmesan cheese.

6. Pour 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of an 8 by 11 by 2-inch baking dish. Place the drained cauliflower on top and then spread the rest of the sauce evenly on top. Pour the rest of the sauce over the cauliflower. Sprinkle the herbed panko  bread crumbs and cheese over the top. 

7. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Macaroni & Cheese

What is more comforting than a bowl of warm mac & cheese! NOTHING.

This recipe is perfect for a weeknight meal because of how simple it is to make, and also, it can easily be doubled for any holiday like Thanksgiving or just a family dinner.

Before jumping straight to the recipe, let's breakdown the important qualities to the perfect mac & cheese.

1. Pasta - Look for a pasta with a lot of nooks and crannies. I love to use cavatappi, but other popular shapes are elbow pasta, shells, or pipette.

2. At least 2 Cheeses - When it comes to choosing your cheese, remember to use at least 2 in your recipe, 1 sharp, and 1 creamy. Using at least two will give your mac and cheese creaminess while the other will give a flavor punch. My favorite cheeses to use are Gruyere and Cheddar! But any mix of sharp and creamy cheese will do like these:

   • Sharp Cheese - Parmesan, Pecorino, aged Asiago,

   • Creamy Cheese - Gouda, Monterey Jack, and Fontina, cream cheese

3. Grate your cheese! - Picking up pre-shredded bag and cheese is tempting; however, I urge you to think twice! The pre-shredded cheese bags have stabilizers and anti-caking agents, lessen the flavor of the cheese, and it won't melt properly. BUT, if you are tight on time, I advise you to pick only one pre-shredded cheese!

4. Spices - this recipe has mustard powder and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Adding a pinch of spice really makes all the difference! The mustard goes really well with the cheese, and the pepper just adds that extra kick.

---

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish

• ¾ cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

• ¼ cup Parmesan, finely grated 

• 2 teaspoons fresh sage leaves

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided, plus more

• 8 oz. cavatappi 

• 2 ½ cups whole milk

• 2 shallot, grated

• 1 garlic clove, finely grated

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 4 oz. Gruyère, grated 

• 8 oz. mild white cheddar, grated 

• ½ teaspoon English mustard powder

• Pinch of cayenne pepper

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 2 qt. Baking dish. 

2. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add panko and cook, stirring, until crumbs are golden brown, 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and toss with Parmesan, thyme leaves, and ¼ tsp. salt.

3. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente (the noodles will continue to cook in the cheese sauce, so take them out a minute or two before you think they’re actually done). Drain pasta; let cool while you make the sauce.

4. Bring milk to a bare simmer in a small saucepan; keep warm. Melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until onions are fragrant and beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle flour over and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture starts to stick to bottom of saucepan, about 1 minute. Add warm milk in a few additions, whisking to combine after each addition.

5. Bring béchamel sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring, until sauce is thickened and doesn’t feel grainy when a little bit is rubbed between your fingers, 6–8 minutes.  Add the grated cheese, mustard powder, cayenne, and ¾ tsp. salt and stir until cheeses are melted and sauce is smooth. Remove from heat and mix in pasta; transfer to the buttered baking dish.

6. Bake 10 minutes. Top with Parmesan breadcrumbs and bake until sauce is bubbling around the edges, 8–10 minutes longer. Let cool in pan 15 minutes before serving.

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Pumpkin Meringue Cheesecake

Less than a week away from Thanksgiving, and I can barely hold in my excitement. Once it hits November, I get filled with so much joy because there is so much to celebrate!

I started the month by celebrating my birthday with my close friends and family. I went to cocktail making class with my boyfriend which was tons of fun and also a ploy for the best sunrise ever!

After grabbing a $1 slice pizza ( nothing better) , we headed to Korea town where all my friends surprised me. It was truly the best birthday ever!

Once my birthday is over, the holiday planning starts!

In my family, we all have our roles, my mom is to prepare her famous corn pudding and apple tart, my aunt handles pretty much everything else and I am in charge of desserts.

Considering that our dinner is the same every year, I love looking at old and recent newspapers and magazines to gather up as much inspiration I can for what dessert I want to make that year!

This year I decided to use a classic Thanksgiving ingredient, pumpkin! There is no secret that I love cheesecake, so this year I decided to do a meringue pumpkin cheesecake, with a gingersnap crust, instead of a regular pumpkin pie! The spice from the crust really gives this dessert a kick, and the meringue on top is the perfect sweetness and lightness that helps balance the whole cake.

Try it – it is a simple and easy delicious dessert to make.

Happy Thanksgiving!

---

Ingredients 

Crust

• 3/4 cup finely ground graham cracker crumbs, 5 1/2 cookie sheets

• 3/4 cup finely ground gingersnap crumbs, 6-8 small cookies

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 6 tbsp unsalted butter melted 

Filling

• Two 8oz. pkgs. cream cheese, room temperature

• 1 cup pumpkin puree

• 2/3 granulated sugar

• 2 eggs, room temperature

• ¼ cup flour

• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon ginger

• salt

Meringue Topping

• 3 egg-whites

• 3/4 cup of granulated sugar

• Pinch of kosher salt

Recipe

Crust 

1. Preheat your oven to 350° F. In a food processor, pulse the graham crackers, gingersnap cookies, and sugar until they are fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse to combine.

2. Press the crumb mixture into a 9-inch springform pan. Bake the crust 10-12 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Once it's done, take it out of the oven and allow to cool. 

Filling

1. While the crust cools, prepare the filling. 

2. In a clean, the food processor, pulse the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and pumpkin puree, pulse for 30 seconds. Add the eggs and pulse again. Lastly, add the flour, spices, and a pinch of salt and pulse until the filling is smooth and all combined. 

3. Pour the filling into the springform pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until its set and slightly jiggly. 

4. Once it is cooked, allow it to cool completely, then refrigerate it for at least 4 hours or overnight. 

Meringue Topping

1. Before serving, prepare the meringue. 

2. In an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites, sugar, and salt in the bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk the mixture until the sugar has dissolved and is hot. 

3.  Transfer the bowl to the standing mixer and beat at medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, then increase speed to high and beat until mixture is stiff.

4. Using a spatula mound meringue either on one half or in the middle, and spread it to the edges. Using a spoon, create mountains and swoops of meringue around the surface. Be creative - you can’t go wrong~

5. Using a culinary torch, hold the torch about a few inches away from the tart, brown the meringue lightly. Alternatively, place the pie in a preheated broiler, watching it carefully, as it will brown very quickly.