I’m such a firm believer that you should never go out to dinner on Valentine’s Day. There’s so much pressure and the restaurants are always crowded with dates and most times they only offer a pre-fix menu and the whole experience isn’t as fun or as romantic as movies make it out to be. That’s why I always suggest to anyone who will listen that you should just stay home and make something together. You might not like to cook or even be that great at it, but at the end of the day if you both do it together it can actually be a lot of fun. Set yourself up with success and do something simple. A dinner for two like this roasted tomato caprese ravioli can be so simple and delicious. If you’re feeling up to a bit more of a challenge, this chicken roulade would be something great to tackle with your special someone. Perhaps meatballs, mashed potatoes and roasted kale is more your speed? At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter what you make, it’s more about the concept of getting in the kitchen and just enjoying the process together. And if you save room for dessert (which you most definitely should on this day), then this Butterscotch Cake for Two is the perfect sweet treat to end the night. Top it with ice cream and homemade butterscotch sauce (recipe below) and you won’t need anything else. Ever. So take the stress out of Valentine’s Day this year, stay home and just create some memories in the kitchen with that special someone. You won’t regret it.
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Every year I try to share a new and exciting cookie recipe for you for the holiday season. This year, I wanted to take the classic babka recipe, that we all know and love, and turn it into the ultimate cookie. That’s where these Babka Cookies come into the picture. Instead of spending hours making a yeasted dough and filling it and twisting and baking and glazing and waiting, why not just make a batch of these cookies? The flavors are all there and the best part is that it’s in cookie form! You can’t ever go wrong with cookies. If you’re still planning out your cookie exchange recipe this year, you don’t need to plan anymore because this one is it. This is the way to go. It’s a brown butter brown sugar cookie base, swirls with a chocolate spread and topped with a delicious streusel. If you close your eyes and eat these cookies, you’d think you were eating babka…a thin chewy, slightly crisp piece of babka. 
Now that Thanksgiving is officially over and we’ve moved on from all talks of turkey and pumpkin, I think it’s the right time to start talking about Christmas desserts. Usually around this time of year it’s the cookies that get all of the spotlight, and while this will inevitably happen here soon, I think it’s a good time to talk about these Chocolate Hazelnut Tarts. I’ve partnered with my friends over at 
We’re right in the full swing of pumpkin appreciation month over on Instagram and on this blog. Things got started earlier in the week with these 
What do you get when you combine everyone’s favorite pumpkin pie with my all-time favorite rice pudding? These Mini Arroz Con Leche Pumpkin Pies! That’s Spanish for a super fancy pumpkin rice pudding, in case you were wondering. This recipe is a riff off of this 
I’ve recently been rewatching The Great British Bake-Off (or The Great British Baking Show as it is named here in the US), and although I’ve already seen what has been available here in the states before and even though I’m rewatching it for the third time, I still love it! I still cry and laugh and get excited as I’ve never seen it before even on this third viewing. The contestants are so lovable and my favorite part is that they’re all friendly and willing to help each other, and do so on several occasions. I find that kind of camaraderie doesn’t really happen in American reality shows. I just wish that there was a way to watch some of the earlier seasons that aren’t available here in the US (mainly the very first season where 
