Cuban Salad with Pineapple and Avocado and Orange Sherry Vinaigrette
Amigas, this week, we’re going to Cuba. Bueno? Over the weekend, my dear friend Margarita and I hosted a Cuban fiesta for 14 parents/friends to benefit our school. The evening was a smashing success...
View ArticleGuava and Cream Cheese Mini Pop-Tarts
As Margarita and I were brainstorming about the finale to our Cuban dinner party (more about that here), she mentioned that perhaps we should offer guava paste and cream cheese, as that was a typical...
View ArticleCuban Beef Picadillo Empanadas
Though these awesome empanadas were the first dish served at our Cuban Fiesta last week, they will be the last recipe I’ll share. Because I saved the best for last. I adore a good empanada, and these...
View ArticleButtermilk Brown Butter Cornbread with Bourbon-Maple Pecan Butter
For years I experimented with cornbread recipes but could never seem to find perfection. Not even close. My efforts ranged from raw-in-the-middle (I have come a long way from that particular...
View ArticleS’more Meringue Pie
This pie. Isn’t it gorgeous? Let me be perfectly honest. I didn’t make it myself. But I want to. And I suspect you do too. I promise, it’s easier to make than it looks. While I love to cook and bake...
View ArticleRoasted Cauliflower with Brown Butter, Golden Raisins and Toasted Hazelnuts
After years of playing the understudy, it seems cauliflower is having it’s turn in the spotlight. Doesn’t it seem that everyone is crushing on cauliflower at the moment? And for good reason. I’ve...
View ArticleDulce de Leche Magic Cookie Bars
I have guilt about a lot of things. Some are rational, many are not. I’m Catholic, you see… I’ve come to understand guilt is just part of the way I’m wired. One of the items at the top of the guilt...
View ArticleSalted Chocolate Chip Cookies
Please know, I understand the blogosphere likely doesn’t need another chocolate chip cookie recipe. But my friends need this one. They’ve been pestering me for quite some time. You might need it...
View ArticleAwesome Summer Reading Lists of 2016
Ever since I was a small child, obsessed with Little House on the Prairie and A Wrinkle in Time, summer has meant having the time to read my way through a towering stack of wonderful books. Now that...
View ArticleSouffléd Manchego, Pancetta, and Carmelized Onion Quiche
Let’s talk quiche, my friends. I felt the need to whip up some sunny comfort food to welcome the holiday weekend. It’s been a rough week. (No worries, all better now, mostly. It’s the weekend.) As...
View ArticleFour Great Summer Cocktails
It’s the first week of summer vacation, and I’ve managed to fracture my ankle. It somehow seems fitting that I sustained the injury while entertaining. Seriously. The ankle rolled and popped quite...
View ArticleSummer Ice Cream!
Summer + Ice Cream = Happiness. It’s elementary. I’m exuding happiness at this very moment my friends. I visited the orthopedic doc yesterday, and the broken ankle isn’t as bad as we initially...
View ArticleFour Awesome Empanada Recipes
Happy July all! I’ve been off romping around Italy for a few weeks. It was a magical, wonderful “best vacation ever” filled with amazing meals, explorations, hikes, and simply perfect weather. I...
View ArticleCoco Snowcone Cocktail
This icy wonder has become our signature cocktail of the summer at House Morell. I’d been dreaming of sharing this breezy beachy wonder since sampling it at Chicago’s La Sirena Clandestina in May. It...
View ArticleM&M Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
Last night, we hosted for dinner a family which has just returned from three years overseas. As their boys are elementary school-age, we had the perfect excuse to pull out the legos, nerf guns and...
View Article10 Reasons to Love Rome
To me, Rome will always be magical. Chaotic, fascinating, exasperating, and steeped in history, it never ceases to amaze. I first visited as a wide-eyed teenager on my first European holiday,...
View ArticleCorn and Barley Salad with Walnuts, Feta Cheese, and Basil
At the local farmer’s market last weekend, I loaded up my bags with a ridiculous amount of produce. Peaches and berries and peppers and onions and greens and melons and lots and lots of corn. Really,...
View ArticleChocolate Kissed Strawberry Shortcakes
Oh Hello. It’s been a huge couple of weeks of hosting at House Morell – I think we’ve had friends here for dinner every other day for two weeks straight. SO much fun! While I’ve been cooking away...
View ArticleMint Basil Pesto
In my book, summer means pesto and lots of it. Of course, the classic pesto features lots of gorgeous summer basil… but I have a long history of tinkering with the classics. As I mentioned the other...
View ArticleMB’s Menus: A Casual Summer Dinner
Happy Tuesday, friends! I’d like to introduce a new feature of Bourbon & Brown Sugar – I think I’ll call it MB’s Menus. I’ve always loved the challenge of puzzling together menus… especially for...
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