Rachael Ray

I drink a lot of water - a few years ago I started drinking it with lemon after I heard an interview with Denise Austin (remember her of the exercise videos of the 80’s?) and she said she starts every day with a room temperature glass of water with lemon - before coffee - to get things going. Sounded good to me and I have been doing it ever since. Then a few years ago I dabbled in the Flat Belly Diet which has its patented “sassy water” as a core part of the program. It’s a refreshing blend of ginger, cucumber, mint, and lemon and while the diet didn’t last very long, I still make a pitcher of old [...]...

My mom has always loved coconut cream pie. Her birthday was last week and we met for lunch at a local deli and lo and behold, there was coconut cream pie in the dessert case. We talked about getting a slice for dessert in honor of her bday, but ran out of time. I decided to take a stab at it for Mother’s Day and it was delicious, even though there was no chocolate involved. Anything that is a vehicle for whipped cream is worth having in my book. I happened to have a refrigerated pie crust dough in the fridge so I used it and no one noticed it wasn’t homemade (at least no one said anything - what good guests:-)). Coconut Cream [...]...

I hate to admit that my kids are huge fans of the refrigerated cinnamon rolls in the biscuit-type tube. So easy, so fun to whack the tube and open it up, full of ingredients I can’t pronounce with lots of consonants. That said, I’ve stopped buying them but that doesn’t mean my kids have stopped asking for them. I wanted to make some quickly last weekend which means I needed a recipe without yeast so I could avoid rising time (and yeast - I am a yeast-a-phobe). I had all the ingredients on hand, plus the recipe was super quick and took no time to whip up. The dough was veeeery soft however and required a ton of flour while rolling it [...]...

I didn’t grow up with paprika.  I am Italian, so I never saw it make an appearance except when sprinkled on Deviled Eggs, which I was told was done “for color” but that paprika had no flavor.  This was probably true, because at the time, the only paprika I ever saw was sitting in my mom’s spice cabinet for decades and therefore void of all flavor.  But that didn’t matter, because it was used “for color.” I continued to ignore this spice, even as I got older and became a very interested and adventurous home cook.  It wasn’t until Rachael used this product one day when we were shooting some web videos: Pimenton de la Vera, which from what I can tell [...]...

I am usually all about making dishes completely from scratch, but last week did me in, and some corners needed to be cut. The stomach bug hit all three kids in succession over the course of five days, starting with my son who needed to be picked up from a slumber party at 2 am, and ending with my daughter who was sick in bed on her 12th birthday, while the family party in her honor continued downstairs. My daughter’s favorite meal is from a much loved local restaurant - Chef’s - and she always orders spaghetti parm. I decided to try and make it at home in her honor, while she battled through the stomach flu upstairs. It took no [...]...

On Mother’s Day I think most moms would agree that time spent with their children is their ultimate gift, but let’s be honest here, a little pampering never hurts either. There’s nothing more special than honoring the women in our lives. After all, they not only raised us, they continue to hold us up every day. Spa treatments, flowers and fancy dinners are all lovely ways to show you care, but I much prefer celebrating at home with a delicious brunch. Since there are many moms in mine and my husbands family, it’s a great way to celebrate with all of them without having to split ourselves in two. Entertaining casually in my home is a great way for everyone [...]...

This week I started my apprenticeship with Chef Hemant Mathur, co-founder of Tulsi NYC. For those of you familiar with New York City’s Indian food scene, Chef Hemant’s name needs no introduction. An envoy of the finest Indian fare, Chef Hemant is blessed with hard core culinary training from India and a ‘natural hand in cooking’ – a trait that is very hard to mimic. Since my husband and I have been stalking him for 12 years now, it is of no surprise that I was filled with gratitude when he agreed to train me in his kitchen. I showed up, thinking I knew most of the fundamentals and was here to enhance my skills whilst learn a few bonus dishes. [...]...

I am always on the lookout for a new muffin recipe - I came across this newest one that looked somewhat healthy but delicious and decided to give it a try. They are chock-full of fruit - strawberries, blueberries, and banana - but I am sure they would work well swapping in any fruit you want. You could switch raspberries for the strawberries, fold in chopped apple for the blueberries - there are tons of possibilities depending on what you have on hand. As with all recipes that call for nuts, feel free to leave them out. Sunny Morning Muffins (from a recipe by Sunny Anderson, foodnetwork.com) (click here for printable recipe) Ingredients 1 cup strawberries, chopped 1 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons 1 1/2 [...]...

If you’ve been to a farmer’s market lately-or taken a stroll by a hillside or stream-you may have noticed an edible plant with leaves that look like Lilly of the Valley and bulbs that smell like garlic on steroids. These are wild leeks, also known as ramps, and they are the pride of chefs and home cooks who know how to harness their powerful funk. Ramps start to appear throughout most of the country (they don’t grow in arid climates) as soon as the frost and snow disappear at the start of spring. They have bright green leaves, pink stems, and white bulbs that look much like scallion bulbs. The leaves can be chopped and cooked briefly, while the white bulbs [...]...