I started the Ugly Duckling Bakery blog in 2021 to share the recipes that I make for my family, ranging from 30 minute weeknight meals to more complicated weekend cooking, baking projects made from scratch, and classic cocktail variations. I realized recently that I identify personally with heirloom tomatoes - my goal isn’t to create recipes that are the equivalent of artificially ripened but tasteless tomatoes we get year-round. We’ll get along if you’d rather eat a tomato that is bursting with summertime flavor but perhaps looks misshapen and imperfect. My tiramisu cake doesn’t look like it came from a commercial bakery, but no one complains about how it tastes.
My Favorite Party or Game Night Appetizer
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Hello Reader Happy Friday. Shana Tova for those of you celebrating the new year. And a big welcome if you are new here. It's been a pretty boring week in my world, which is nice, given how much is going on elsewhere. I hope you too are somewhere safe and with a roof over your head, running water, and electricity. If you are, and if you're looking for ways to help out victims of Hurricane Helene, I'd suggest World Central Kitchen, who's been providing food and water to residents and first responders. I have yet to make Rosh Hashanah dinner as I write this email - I'm saving that for this weekend when I have a bit more time. But I have been playing around and testing some new recipes - one for chili and another for meatballs. Yes, I still love meatballs. However, I did manage to post my instructions for making my olive poppers (those little balls in the photo at about noon, 4, and 7). They're made with pimento-stuffed olives wrapped in my cheddar cheese pie crust - the baked cheese pastry wrapped olives are perfect for game nights or as a nosh with your favorite cocktail. Pin the olive poppers recipe Not into that?Here are some of my favorite recipes I made this week:
That's it for me. I hope you find something here that makes your life just a little more delicious. 💜 Joanne p.s. please leave a rating and comment on the blog post when you make my recipes. It really helps me! |
Ugly Duckling Bakery
I started the Ugly Duckling Bakery blog in 2021 to share the recipes that I make for my family, ranging from 30 minute weeknight meals to more complicated weekend cooking, baking projects made from scratch, and classic cocktail variations. I realized recently that I identify personally with heirloom tomatoes - my goal isn’t to create recipes that are the equivalent of artificially ripened but tasteless tomatoes we get year-round. We’ll get along if you’d rather eat a tomato that is bursting with summertime flavor but perhaps looks misshapen and imperfect. My tiramisu cake doesn’t look like it came from a commercial bakery, but no one complains about how it tastes.
Hello Reader I've been continuing to muse this week about why the "what's for dinner?" question is so hard. I'll say again: it's not because there aren't enough recipes. There are so many recipes out there, and I'm not sure you need me to keep creating more. Pointing you towards ones I love? Yes. Absolutely. But I'm coming to believe that part of the solution for all of us is learning a few basic techniques with staples you can vary based on your energy and what's in your pantry and fridge....
Happy Friday, Reader In the nearly 30 years I’ve been a doctor, I’ve had countless patients ask me, “What’s the best diet?” And I’m pretty sure my answer has been the same for all 30 of those years: The best diet is the one you can stick with. For me, that’s often meant keeping a food diary. Partly because it taught me portion sizes. And partly because I don’t snack if I have to log it (i.e. laziness as my weight-loss strategy). But recently I’ve (ahem) joined the ranks of post-menopausal...
Hello Reader Happy Friday I know not all of you are into cocktails. But have you ever wished you could make a great cocktail? Maybe you have a cocktail book or two but they're filled with bottles you don't have. And the last thing any of us need is another liquor bottle we don't drink. Since I started the Ugly Duckling Bakery blog, I've been realizing that I really want to write a cookbook or two. At some point. And I've been thinking about starting with cocktails. One thing I like about...