Smitten Kitchen's apple tart: Something special

I am not the kind of person who looks at many recipes and thinks, "let's make that exactly as it's written!"I either eyeball amounts, change the spices, change some ratios, taste and edit as I go. When I find a recipe that is an exception to this, I know I've found something special I have to share with you.

Ready for my close-up, darling

I am the only person in my immediate family who loves pumpkin pie. As such, I am always in support of inviting others to our Thanksgiving celebration, because it means I can justify baking this traditional dessert, for the sake of our guests you know. Still, there has to be another dessert, and my mother asked for an apple pie.

Want to know a secret?

Light & creamy mashed potatoes: Classic comfort food dinner pt 3

Similar to the meatloaf I grew up with, I learned to make mashed potatoes differently than I do now. My mom taught me to "whip" the potatoes, breaking them apart and mixing them with cold milk and margarine with a hand mixer. Then, for several years I was a hand-mash devotee, heating my milk and butter together first then mashing the potatoes into a paradox of chunky smoothness.

Over those years, I've seen and read about using a Potato Ricer for mashed potatoes, and generally never tried it because 1) I liked my hand mashed potatoes so much, and 2) I didn't really feel like buying a ricer. Recently though, I realized I could push the soft cooked potatoes through a metal sieve with the same effect as a ricer, and haven't looked back since. This yields a fluffy, creamy texture that other methods don't produce. (Basically, a "ricer" extrudes the potato through small holes, similar to a garlic press if you are familiar with those, or heck, the Play-Doh Fun Factory. The potatoes come out in small pieces resembling rice).

Now, in my trials and errors, there is more to perfect mashed potatoes than ricing.

Lemony green beans w/ crispy shallots: Classic comfort food dinner pt 2

I LOVE vegetables--I realize thus far looking at this blog you'd think I only love baked goods and pasta, but I really truly love vegetables. Except for green beans. I don't hate them, but they just don't make my heart flutter the way butternut squash and spinach and onions and brussels sprouts do, or the plethora of other vegetables I'll eat every which way I can.

That is, until recently.

Loaded Meatloaf: Classic comfort food dinner pt 1

My friend Sam over at RiggedUp! asked me to share my meatloaf recipe with him, so since I was typing it up, I'm sharing it with all of you too. I've decided to make a theme out of it, and this week, I'll be posting my takes on recipes for a classic comfort food dinner.

What's the meatloaf you remember from childhood? For me, it was basically a giant baked meatball, ground beef mixed with little more than some egg and breadcrumbs, overly meaty and greasy from being baked in a loaf pan.