Category: Dairy

Pepper Crusted Tuna with Pineapple Guacamole & Herbed Crema

I used to hate raw fish. It make me all squeamish. Raw meat too. I mean why would you want to eat raw food, possibly swimming with parasites, if you could eat it cooked, am I right? I was fine with a runny egg or two. Or three. But not the real proteins. Put a fancy plate of beef tartare with a raw egg in the center in front of me and I was out the door.

But then sometime about a year or two ago, I decided I was done being afraid of food and I wanted to try everything. I’m still not a fan of beef tartare but I’ve come to love raw sushi. It’s so much fun to be able to order off the entire sushi menu now, and not just the cooked rolls! You’ll be surprised just how easy it is to prepare pepper-crusted tuna sashimi at home. Just make sure you get the freshest, best quality tuna out there for this dish.

Related Recipes:

pan seared tuna steak
persimmon guacamole
jalapeno crema

Post a Comment

Blogoversary Funfetti Pecan Turtles

Happy 5th Blogoversary!!!! Will somebody pinch me?! I honestly cannot believe that I have been blogging since my first post back on January 19th, 2011. That is FIVE WHOLE YEARS of posting consistently 1-2 times a week. 260 weeks, 1,825 days of committing myself to this foodie journey. A journey that has taken me to places I never dreamed.

I never imagined this blogging thing would become a life’s passion and so much more than just a hobby. I’m so proud of the progress I have made as a chef (I had some embarrassing moments like these and these) and the strides I have taken as a food photographer (with hands-over-eyes emoji moments like this and this). I’ve thought about updating old recipes with better photos, or removing some posts that didn’t go over well, but the truth is, my blog is not just about the recipes and the photos, it’s about my journey.

I love when I meet up and coming foodies who are thinking about starting a blog. I always tell them to go back to the old days of BIB, and they’re always wowed by my progress. I think it’s such an important lesson for all of us, in whatever stage we find ourselves – as mothers, daughters, teachers, musicians, you name it – we can all get better at what we do, we just have to practice!

This is so true of photography, my photos are constantly evolving as I’m learning to find my photography voice. But as a foodie too – I’ve learned never to say no to anything, and my willingness to try new things has really opened up my palate. I’ve learned to love foods and spices I used to hate (like fresh ginger and brie) and not to be afraid of making my own bread or learning new cooking techniques. I have become quite fearless in the kitchen and for that I am thankful.

I’m so grateful to you, my loyal readers, who encourage me to challenge myself and wow you with fun and original twists on traditional foods, healthy spins on comfort food, and delicious baked creations which I used to detest. It’s all you. {Insert emoji kisses here}

To show my appreciation, I decided to ride the funfetti wave, because you all seemed to love last year’s funfetti cake which was so popular, it went viral! I love the idea of using the same theme for my Blogoversary each year (I wish I had thought of it sooner), so I’m going to stick with the funfetti thing for many more Blogoversaries to come!

These cute little funfetti pecan clusters are made with 5 pecans, to celebrate my 5th year of blogging! They’ve got the most incredible artisan caramel and I hope you give them a try!

In the meantime, as we head into my SIXTH YEAR (ahhhhh!), I’d love to hear from you. What would you like to see on the blog this year? What are some of your favorites from years past? Have there been any BIB kitchen fails? Please share in the comments below!

Happy Blogoversary! Cheers to many more, and hopefully a cookbook too, very soon!

Related Posts:

1st Blogoversary Mulled Wine
2nd Blogoversary BBQ Brisket
4th Blogoversary Funfetti Cake

Post a Comment

Artisan Caramels (NO CORN SYRUP)

New Years may have come and gone, but I’ve still got a lot of foodie resolutions to accomplish. Besides for the typical “I’m finally going to lose those stubborn 20 lbs. I’ve been struggling with” promises, I decided to tackle some things in the kitchen this year, and I don’t just mean cooking diet food.

I meet people all the time and one of the questions I’m often asked is, “Are you a chef?”, and I never quite know what to say. Sure I’m a recipe developer who develops custom recipes for companies, writes for food magazines and teaches cooking classes, but am I a CHEF? To me, being a chef is not about the certificate (although I did go to culinary school) or which restaurant you work in. Being a chef means food is your passion, and you are constantly striving to keep with the times and get better at what you do.

Being a chef, to me, means you watch cooking shows and read food magazines in your free time. It means you experiment with cooking techniques and ingredients and you’re never satisfied with the status quo. It means you must try the latest sous vide machine and keep up with the ever-changing food trends. It means you don’t say “I don’t do pastry” or “Smoking is not my thing”.

So when I thought about my foodie resolutions this year, I decided that I have to try everything at least once. There’s no more “I don’t bake” or “I don’t do dough”. If food is my passion (it is!), then I want to be well versed in all things food. Over the past few months, I’ve been taking this commitment to heart, and I’m happy to say I’ve mastered these things in 2015:

✔️ made my own sourdough bread
✔️ learned to cook sous vide
✔️ made a variety of pickled vegetables
✔️ Used fondant for the first time
✔️ Created my own blend of dukkah
✔️ Cooked with plantains
✔️ Made homemade krembos
✔️ Made bread bowls for soup
✔️ Spiralized everything!
✔️ Learned to tolerate cilantro (this is a real victory for me!)
✔️ Made cauliflower everything (rice, couscous, buns, pizza crust, nachos chips)

Now for 2016, some of my foodie resolutions included:

✔️ Learn to smoke meats
✔️ Make kimchi
✔️ Make homemade soft pretzels
✔️ Make my own laffa and pita
✔️ Experiment with flavored sugars and salts
✔️ Deep fry a poached egg
✔️ Make egg yolk ravioli
✔️ Make caramel
✔️ Bake with kataifi

I’m happy to say that as of this writing, I’ve already made homemade pita, and obviously I’ve mastered the art of homemade caramel!

I have to hand it all to my dear foodie friend Melinda Strauss of kitchen-tested, the caramel queen! ‘Mels are even part of Melinda’s name, that’s just how much caramel runs through her veins. She used to sell the most incredible nondairy caramels, aptly named caraMELS, and when I decided to take on the caramel challenge, I knew just who to turn to!

The truth is, this dedicated caramel post was never supposed to happen. Instead, I was working on a special PECAN TURTLE recipe for next week’s blogoversary post, and when I posted pics of the caramel making process, everyone went gaga with requests. And since the caramel making process was a journey in itself (it took three tries to get it right), I decided it deserved a dedicated post.

Melinda gave me a basic recipe to work with, and she really held my hand through the process. Mel and I both have a passion for health-minded recipes, and we both decided that pulling off a corn-syrup-free caramel would be an amazing feat. Most homemade caramel recipes call for corn syrup, and they are a lot easier to make, but I was up for the challenge. After my second batch burnt though, I was feel frustrated and almost ready to give up. But I persevered and boy was it worth it!

The best part about working on three batches of these babies was being able to play around with the ratios to make the perfect combination of chewiness and buttery flavor. Mel was kind of worried when I wanted to add more cream and butter but the proportions worked out perfectly in the end. #thirdtimesacharm.

Stay tuned for a special blogoversary post next week featuring this caramel!


Related Recipes:

s’mores toffee bark
speculoos toffee party mix

Post a Comment

Banana Nut Greek Yogurt Bowl

Bowls are all the rage right now, at least that’s what everyone’s calling them! They’ve got grain bowls, smoothie bowls, salad bowls and soup bowls. Of course these are foods that have gone into bowls before, but now instead of mixing stuff together, the food is neatly organized on a base of smoothie batter, grains, greens or broth. It’s prettier and we all love seeing so many different options on our plates, right?

I’m not a big fan of smoothies, and the idea of topping off a fruit soup with more fruit just doesn’t do it for me, but yogurt I can take. I love to start with a base of plain tangy Greek yogurt. I almost feel like I’m indulging in soft serve (if I dream a little, ok?) and topping it off with some of my favorite toppings makes it feel like a treat. And since muffins or pancakes or scones are not happening around here, I’ll take it!

OK I may have just said that I don’t like smoothies, but the truth is, there is one smoothie that I love and that’s what inspired this yogurt bowl. So if you are into smoothies, give it a try too!

Related Recipes:

banana, date, almond milk & honey smoothie
blueberry sweet potato granola salad with strawberry yogurt dressing
banana oat pancakes
strawberry banana yogurt parfait with homemade granola

Post a Comment

Parmesan Lasagna Chips with Pizza Hummus

I can’t believe I’m about to say this but I’m gonna say it. I CAN’T LOOK AT ANOTHER DONUT.

Everywhere I turn there seems to be another donut flavor, each outdoing the next, and while they all look appealing, they all start to taste the same at some point.

It’s only Light #3 but I’m D.O.N.E. I’ve tasted crazy flavors like creme brulee, pistacho, banana nut, Irish cream and Oreo, thanks to my local coffee shop, Chocolatte. Then, my foodie buddy Sarah Chana sent me her homemade cronuts in flavors like lemon curd, cheesecake & fig, dulce de leche and chocolate bourbon. Of course there were the classic jelly and custard donuts from my local supermarket, and who can forget my JELLY RING donuts, which I tested in three batches! Are you getting my DONUT HANGOVER NOW?!

Ok, to be honest, I did not exactly EAT all of those donuts, but I definitely tasted each and every flavor and that itself is enough to make the scale point it’s finger at me in rebuke. Has your scale ever pointed it’s finger at you? I’m hallucinating from all the donuts!

Now while I may be over the donut trend, we’ve still got plenty days left to Chanukah, and I’ve got to get frying! Savory is the only way to go from here, so I came up with a fun and exciting pizza-inspired dish that’s the perfect appetizer for your Chanukah party!

Now I know the thought of frying pasta in oil with parmesan cheese has my scale freaking out, but it’s my birthday, and calories don’t count on my birthday, right? RIGHT?


I mean, common, we’ve got only a few days left to the holidays, and we can diet after that. Purim is not for a few months, so I’ll be hopping on the Paleo train as soon as I finish this batch of chips *GULP*

If you’re feeling the donut overload too, I’ve got plenty of savory fried goodness on the blog for your to enjoy! Parmesan zucchini chips are a must-have, and the zucchini help deguiltify the whole breaded and fried thing. If you want to go full-on Israeli, try my baked eggplant chips with harissa whipped feta. And if you really want to go healthy, my cauliflower chip nachos with harissa cheddar sauce are to die for! Told you I got you covered.

Speaking of healthy, lets talk about this pizza hummus for a sec, k? You can’t have drool worthy lasagna chips without having something to dip it into, can you? I decided to put a pizza spin on classic hummus, by adding some tomato paste, herbs, garlic and of course, parmesan. The fusion is simply delicious – creamy garbanzo beans that are reminiscent of classic hummus, with the flavor of pizza. Win win.

So get your frying pans ready and whip up a batch of this deliciousness. You can thank me later. And hate me next week. Just don’t tell your scale that I put you up to it!



This post was sponsored by Natural & Kosher Cheese. Follow them on FacebookTwitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, or via their Blog

Related Recipes:

parmesan zucchini chips
harissa whipped feta with zaatar eggplant chips
chestnut hummus with Thanksgiving pita chips
roasted garlic hummus with everything pita chips
cauliflower nachos with harissa cheddar sauce

Post a Comment