Spring has sprung, evident in my corner of Texas by the fine layer of yellow-green pollen covering just about everything. But we can’t complain, this is the one brief respite of good weather we get. We’re ready for al fresco dinners, evenings in the Little League stands and weekends at the farm (not that I…
Wine Pick: Pedras 2016 Rosé
It’s Friday! That means we made it through another week of work deadlines, carpool lines, errands, workouts, sports practices and homework. That’s right, it’s time to treat yourself! Today is the kick-off of an exciting new endeavor for Smart In The Kitchen. And lucky for you, it happens to involve something crisp and refreshing to sip….
The Ultimate Cheese Board
My husband’s favorite couple days of the year are right around the corner. I’m sure followed closely by our anniversary and my birthday, right? The Masters starts Thursday, and we will be watching closely from home – I for one will be rooting for a certain young Texan. The weather in Houston is about as good…
Weeknight Dinners: April 3-7, 2017
Our weeknight dinners are super simple this week, and most of our meals can be put together in about 15 minutes. During the day, I’ll be in the kitchen developing new recipes for spring menus (think peas, leeks, asparagus) and photographing recipes to post on the site. I have a couple fun collaborations with other food writers…
Weeknight Dinners: March 27-31, 2017
Can someone please tell me where March went? We seem to have missed it. Between spring break, teaching cooking classes and driving carpool, I’m not sure where an entire month went. I’m having the tiniest bit of anxiety about getting summer plans lined up (I already missed the boat on one sports camp for my…
Weeknight Dinners: March 6-10, 2017
MONDAY Whole chicken in the Crock Pot. This is such an easy way to cook a whole chicken, especially if you need to cook it around 2pm before heading to carpool and doing afternoon sports-tutoring-nutritionist appointment carpool. You can crisp up the chicken skin under the broiler before you serve it, or just dish up…
Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad
Just in time! Right before kale and Brussels sprout season is over, I need you to get your hands on this recipe for my favorite kale salad. (And just to clarify, yes kale is available all year, but it’s really a winter crop.) It all started at the end of last summer when we made a quick trip to…
Super Simple Salad Dressing
There’s a simple way to amp up your dinner game: Make your own salad dressing. You heard me, right? Just checking. It takes five minutes to make a super simple salad dressing, which uses only four ingredients that you should have stocked in your pantry or fridge. The return on flavor, not to mention the…
Weeknight Dinners: February 27-March 3
Our menus have been very “clean” lately, because we aren’t cooking with wheat, soy, corn, dairy or beef (and a long list of other items). I don’t want my family to really notice a huge change in our dinner routine, so I’ve been scouring the internet for flavorful, allergy-free family meals. I’ve also been tweaking some of our family…
Weeknight Dinners: February 20-25, 2017
It’s a short week, which means a shorter weekly meal plan for some of you. If you can’t quite pull yourself out of the relaxation after the long weekend, just brainstorm three easy meals for mid-week. Friday can either be a pantry meal, like spaghetti and Rao’s marinara, or a big pot of “clean out the crisper”…