Once Upon A Chef

Coming Soon: New Website!

Hi All, Just a quick note to let you know that my site may go down for a few days starting tonight while I migrate all of my content over to my new website. I'm looking forward to sharing it with you next week (lots of bells and whistles and much better search capabilities!) but in the meantime, print out any recipes you may need over the next week since I'm not exactly sure when I'll be back online. Thanks for your patience while I muddle through all the technical stuff. ~Jenn

Black Bean Soup

All the signs of winter are here. Little hats and mittens are scattered around the mudroom, tissue boxes are on night tables, I'm wearing yoga pants and Uggs morning til night, and the poor dog hasn't had a real walk in days.  On Wednesday, it was so cold and windy, all I could imagine for dinner was a bowl of hot soup. A trip to the store was out of the question, so a quick search of the kitchen led to a few cans of black beans and some vegetables just waiting to be transformed. Within thirty minutes, we had a big pot of Southwestern-flavored black bean soup at the ready to warm our bones.

Winter Citrus and Pomegranate Fruit Salad

This salad of oranges, grapefruits and juicy pomegranate seeds is the perfect antidote to all the overindulgence of the holidays. I made it for dessert for friends over the weekend and it made me so happy to watch everyone help themselves to seconds and thirds without feeling like they really shouldn't. 

Chocolate Banana Bread

I usually think of banana bread as something to eat for breakfast (or, let's be honest, something to cut a tiny slice from every time you walk through the kitchen) but this one is so decadent, you could really top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and call it dessert.  Chocolate chips and cocoa powder give it deep chocolate flavor, and sour cream makes it rich, tender and ultra-moist.

Nutty Jam Thumbprints

These Nutty Jam Thumbprints could win a cookie contest on looks alone, but they're just as delicious as they are pretty. The cookie is actually a Mexican Wedding Cake, also known as a Russian Tea Cake, Viennese Crescent or Snowball. Delicate, nutty and not-too-sweet, these cookies make the perfect shortbread-like base for a dollop of luscious fruit preserves. The recipe is adapted from Alice Medrich's award-winning cookie book Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy.  

Oven-Fried Potato Latkes

Latkes, or crisp onion-scented potato pancakes, are a traditional Jewish holiday dish. Go to any Hanukah party and you'll find an apron-clad Jewish mother or grandmother standing at the stove frying and doling them out – a tradition I loved and cherished until I became the poor mother who had to make them. Cooking short-order style, hot oil splattering all over the kitchen, children running underfoot – no thank you! Enter these oven-fried latkes. They're no healthier, mind you, but just as good, half the mess and so much easier.

Donut Hole Cookies

These adorable little cookies are adapted from one of my most dog-eared cookbooks, How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson. Nigella calls them Snickerdoodles (the classic sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon-sugar) but since they taste and look so much like donut holes, my kids have renamed them Donut Hole cookies. I know they look plain, but I guarantee you can't eat just one.

Fettuccine Bolognese & Cuisinart Food Processor Giveaway

Fettucine Bolognese – pasta in a meltingly tender and richly flavored meat sauce – is one of my favorite Sunday night family meals. The sauce simmers on the stove for several hours, making the house smell delicious and inviting, and the end result is a comforting yet elegant dish...I'd even serve it to company.

Cranberry Nut Bread

Sweet, orange-scented and chock-full of cranberries and walnuts, this bread is perfect for the holidays.  I came up with the recipe over the weekend because I had a ton of fresh cranberries leftover from Thanksgiving.  There was a Cranberry Nut Bread recipe on the back of the Ocean Spray bag and I figured, "How bad could it be?"  Well, I should have known better. It was dry, tough and sunken in the middle.  A pound of butter, five loaves and one very messy kitchen later, I arrived at this version.

Pecan Shortbread Squares

If you're a fan of Pecan Pie, you're going to love these Pecan Squares. A buttery shortbread crust and rich caramel-pecan topping make them truly over-the-top...the perfect hostess gift, treat for your co-workers or potluck dessert this time of year.

Roasted Green Beans with Cranberries and Walnuts

If you’ve never tried roasted green beans, you’re in for a treat. Unlike boiled beans – which are bland and squeaky when you bite into them – roasted green beans are tender, caramelized and full of flavor. Cranberries and walnuts dress them up and make them a perfect side dish for the holidays.

Oranges, Caramelized Red Onions and Baby Spinach in Balsamic Vinaigrette

One of my all-time favorite restaurants is the legendary Inn at Little Washington in Washington, VA. I’ve only been there a few times – once for my college graduation and a few milestone birthdays – but I’ve had the cookbook, The Inn at Little Washington: A Consuming Passion by Patrick O’Connell, on my coffee table for over a decade. It’s one of those gorgeous cookbooks full of stories and photos that you can just slip away into.

Potato Leek Soup

It rained, sleeted and snowed all day last Saturday, and I loved it every minute of it. The kids stayed in their pajamas and watched movies all day, my husband made a roaring fire (and filled our house with smoke, but that's another story) and I made a big pot of Potato Leek Soup. What better way to spend a blustery October day?

Chocolate Chip Scones

Sweet, tender and buttery with morsels of melted chocolate within – children (and let's not forget husbands) absolutely love these scones. They're wonderful served warm out of the oven, especially on a lazy weekend morning when you feel like spoiling everyone.

Light and Tender Cream Scones

A good scone is light, tender and buttery -- almost biscuit like. So why is it so hard to come by? After many trials, I finally found the answer and it all boils down to one simple ingredient. Cake flour. I've got two recipes for you: this traditional one, which is delicious slathered with butter and jam, and a kid-friendly chocolate chip version coming next week.