This is one of those recipes I rarely make just for the family, but I love making when we entertain or I have to bring a potluck dish to a friend's house. Spinach and Artichoke Dip is rich and delicious and is a popular restaurant menu item that can easily be made at home. I keep the preparation of this dip simple by using pre-prepared ingredients. For the artichokes I used canned artichoke hearts, or frozen artichoke hearts that have been thawed and patted dry. Similarly, I

This is another classic Greek recipe I love to make at home. Like many Greek recipes, this one started in the garden. Artichokes grow bountifully in many areas in our country and they inspired this recipe. Their size and shape of globe artichokes lend nicely to being stuffed with a classically flavored Greek beef filling, which is how this recipe for Stuffed Artichokes came to be. People always tell me how intimidated they get by working with artichokes. In this episode for A

I like to share recipes for easy appetizers like this Baked Brie & Fig because I think they're always so useful to have on hand. We love to entertain and I'm always looking for new and interesting foods to serve my friends. I also use a lot of these in my catering business. It keeps it fresh for my clients when they have new and delicious recipes for them to choose from. This is a classic recipe I've given a Mediterranean twist. I take a wheel of fresh brie and top it with fi

I like to film episodes of traditional recipes like this Classic Egg Salad because they're worth knowing. It's stood the test of time for a reason and is popular the world over! I think my first memory of egg salad is my mother making it for us when we were little. I also remember enjoying it from the deli near our house. It's always been a mainstay in my life. These days I make my egg salad in the traditional deli-style. The eggs are hard boiled and flavored with mayonnaise,

Today I'd like to share a recipe for traditional mashed potatoes. There are many delicious, fancier ways to make mashed potatoes than this, but sometimes it's best to dial it back to the basics. This recipe contains all the typical ingredients of mashed potatoes: potatoes, milk, butter, salt, and pepper, and nothing extra! One of the key things to remember about making mashed potatoes is to never put them in the blender or food processor after they're cooked. There is a lot o

Filming this episode for Street Corn Salad was so much fun. We love ordering street corn at Mexican restaurants and my family was thrilled when I made this recipe at home. I used frozen kernels I bought at the store, but I'll definitely use fresh corn when it's available this summer. This is the perfect salad to serve at taco night or even bring to a BBQ. It's creamy, salty, and tangy, with just a hint of lime to round it out. All the ingredients are easy to find and it's ver

This recipe for Greek Orzo with Spinach & Feta is based on a popular recent recipe in The New York Times cooking section. ( Here is the recipe video I filmed for it on Instagram. ) I spotted it one day and realized it is very similar to a Spanakorizo , which I filmed an episode for a while ago. I like the riff ofly c making it with orzo and peas so I wanted to give it a try. This is a great recipe when you're short on time or need something convenient to serve as a side-dish

This is a fun recipe to know because everyone knows there are croutons and then there are Homemade Croutons. The homemade are just better in every single way. I don't know how else to say it, they make all the difference when you're making a salad. The best way to start homemade croutons is with leftover bread. You can even use leftover sandwich bread if it's what you have on hand. The slight staleness of it makes it easier to toast! However, if you don't have any you can eas

Green beans are a great vegetable that can matched with almost any meal. However, when it comes to festive occasions, I like to dress them up a little bit. I think they are a little too bland served on their own when there is lamb or beef as the main course. This is when I make these delicious Garlic String Beans. I always start by blanching the green beans because I like it when they're cooked and have a little crispy crunch. This also helps them hold up against the sauce an

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and I want to share this recipe for Traditional Bread Stuffing in case you’re in need of one. I’ve published a few less traditional stuffing recipes in the past, but sometimes you really just need a classic one. This is the one my children love the most and I think any beginning cook can make. In fact, if this is one of your first Thanksgivings and you’re just getting use to cooking for it you’ll love this recipe. The whole thing start

I like to mix classic recipes with more modern dishes at my holiday tables. Creamy Scalloped Potatoes are one example of this. It’s a classic recipe I’ve been eating since I was a child and remains popular at holidays to this day. The premise is so simple. A creamy cheese sauce is layered with thinly sliced potatoes and popped in the oven. It’s decadent and delicious in every way. One of the tips I like to give people when making this is to make sure the potato slices and b

Sweet potatoes are so delicious, but I find I become limited in what I make with them sometimes. Most of the time I have them in my kitchen I make bake sweet potato fries or mashed sweet potatoes or sweet potato casserole. They are all excellent, but it can get a little repetitive. This is why I started making Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds with Honey & Feta. They are delicious baked sweet potato sounds with a drizzle of sweet honey and topped with savory feta. I bake these in

I love this Greek Potato with Celery and Tomato Paste because it takes me back to my childhood. This bears all the marks of a traditional Mediterranean vegetable dish. The ingredients are readily available in many backyard gardens, and it’s made on the stovetop with water or broth. My mother-in-law remembers eating this dish for dinner with fresh feta on top when she was growing up! I like to serve it as a hearty side dish with protein and a green salad alongside. I don’t h

As we get closer to the holidays, I like to try out new dishes I might want to serve on the side this year. I’ve always enjoyed the combination of Brussel sprouts and bacon, but this year I’m adding apples to make Sautéed Apples with Brussel Sprouts and Bacon. Oh my, this is truly one of the most delicious side dishes you’ve ever tasted. The sweet apple adds a whole new dimension to the savory sprouts and salty, crunchy bacon. The key to making this dish sing is cooking the

I love a simple dinner that uses up leftovers in the fridge and in our house that’s Vegetable Fried Rice. Like most families, we started making this with the leftover rice we’d had from dinner or take-out the night before. We warmed it back up and added it to a skillet with egg, vegetables, and flavorings. It was so easy and it has remained popular in our family ever since. The cool thing about this dish is that it can really hold almost any leftover vegetable you have in yo

I always make sure I have a few good side dish recipes on hand that are delicious and versatile. This is the beauty of Cilantro Lime Rice. It’s super easy to make and can be paired with a lot of different, delicious meals. It even works well to be packed for lunches at work or school. I like to serve this rice dish on a weeknight with grilled pork or chicken. It also works well in burrito bowls, tacos, or with a baked fish on top. The nice thing about rice is that it’s a bla

There’s nothing I love more than a simple, elegant recipe that comes together with ease and makes everyone at the table do a little happy dance. That’s exactly what this Roasted Tomato & Goat Cheese Dip is. It’s bright, creamy, full of garden-fresh flavor, and it looks beautiful with very little effort — which, let’s be honest, is the dream when you’re entertaining in spring or summer. I make this dip all the time for brunches, casual gatherings, and those spontaneous backya

You know when two favorites collide and the result is just chef’s kiss ? That’s exactly what happened the day I mashed up spanakopita with baked potatoes and created what I now lovingly call Spanakopatata . 😍 This little invention came about on a cozy afternoon when I was craving all the creamy, herby vibes of spanakopita—but I didn’t feel like working with phyllo (shocking, I know). Enter: the humble baked potato. It’s like the perfect blank canvas, and once I loaded it up

In recent years I’ve gotten more into high protein snacks. I like to serve them at my restaurants, patrons are always looking for a light meal or heavy appetizer that’s protein heavy, and I also make them at home. These Stuffed Avocados totally fit the bill and have become really popular lately. I find a perfectly ripe avocado and stuffed it with a protein heavy quinoa, chickpea, and yogurt mixture and it’s ready. No oven needed! The only tricky part of this recipe is findin

One of the things I love about Mediterranean cuisine is the prolific use of vegetables and all the ways they are used in cooking. While a good Greek salad always hits the spot, we use vegetables as side dishes, main courses, and snacks and there’s often no lettuce involved. This is because vegetables are typically grown in someone’s backyard so they are easy to access and very inexpensive. This recipe for Carrots & Chickpeas is one of these very cool recipes. Carrots, I thin