Laura Rebecca's Kitchen

To be honest, I was initially disappointed with this cake. The day I made it — Valentines’ Day, a Thursday — the topping struck me as too bitter, despite all the caramel encapsulating the pineapple. But by Saturday, the bitterness had given way to a gentle tartness, pairing well with the dense and lovely vanilla-flavored […]

I am so sick of winter. I’m tired of the snow. I’m tired of being cold. I’m tired of it getting dark before dinner time. And just when I thought that we were out of the woods (“Hey! There are buds on those trees!”), we get hit with a snow storm. The only thing to […]

Here I am, finally posting about our Valentines Day dinner. We (well, me) decided to stay in as we’ve had bad luck with restaurants lately, with our spending a lot of money on less-than-spectacular dishes. So, I figured that we could save some money by cooking at home, and still have a great meal. I […]

Photo courtesy of CooksIllustrated.com I really love chicken tikka masala, mainly because my favorite Indian restaurant, Thali of Inda, makes it so well. (But all of their food is amazing — mmmm.) Admittedly, this version from Cook’s Illustrated is not as divine as Thali’s. But it’s still delicious, and I’m thrilled to have found a […]

Moist, chewy brownies can be made – and eaten – without throwing one’s healthy diet under an oncoming bus. I made the recipe two ways – first using dutch processed cocoa, and then with traditional baking cocoa. The traditional cocoa yielded a reddish brownie with a detectable coffee flavor, while the dutch-processed turned out a […]

Back in December, I visited a new doctor (or, as I like to call him, “hot doctor” because, well, look at him), an MD with an acupunturist’s license and a holistic approach to medicine. His practice is radically different from traditional practices: he’s the only person there, the number of patients admitted into the practice […]

I’ve thinking a lot about donuts lately. My beloved Krispy Kreme – just a stone’s throw from work – closed down, leaving me bereft of my favorite flavor: glazed kreme filled. Now, my only local options are Dunkin’ Donuts (serviceable), the bakery department at Wegmans (pretty good) or Timmy Ho’s (where I seem to get […]

Ohhhh, Parsnip. I love you. Sure, you’re supposed to be the side complementing a roast chicken breast but, let’s be honest: you’re the star. You made me eat each and every piece of you, sliced in thin strips, tossed in olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. The high temperature of the oven softened […]

Photo courtesy of Light & Tasty. As a flavor, lemon has been on my mind a lot lately. Naturally, it took center stage in January’s Daring Baker challenge, but I think there’s more to it than that. When I was in London, though the calendar said “January,” the air felt like early spring. The days […]

PHOTO TK? The camera still isn’t taking a charge. Sigh… Not Eating Out in NY is Cathy’s journal of, well, not eating out in NY. She’s committed to not eating at ANY restaurants in the city in which she lives, instead creating her own recipes. The results are pretty fantastic, and if you haven’t checked […]