I’m a self-taught home-cook sharing my passion for eating, cooking, and all things food.
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Friday night at the Stage House Tavern in Somerset provided a delicious trio of appetizers and desserts. My sister and I sampled several dishes from their menu — all unique, homemade, and plated well. Read my thoughts about the menu, location, and service.
My first time visiting Korean hot pot and BBQ brought me to K-Pot East Brunswick. My team and I were having our monthly team lunch. Spending the afternoon cooking my own meat and veggies, building my own sauces, and grilling fresh protein was a few of the highlights from the meal.
My first impression of a Friday evening dinner at Vanillamore, Montclair. A modern restaurant known for its dessert selections, who is killing it on the savory options. Read about my three course meal and drink selections at this beautiful local spot!
Inspired by New Year’s Eve catered sandwiches, I decided to try and make my own version of an elevated rotisserie chicken salad sandwich. Served on a croissant, modeled by The Whole Cook’s recipe, this easy recipe has almonds, grapes, celery, and juicy rotisserie chicken, served on a fresh croissant!
Inspired by Greek Spanakopita and Albanian Byrek, I decided to blend my favorite elements of the two dishes to make this delicious phyllo meat pie. Crispy golden phyllo dough with layers of cheesy meat filling, see how you can make this entree!
Recreating my favorite hot chocolate from Jacques Torres — which I used to visit in New York City with my dad for “bring-your-kid-to-work” day. This homemade hot chocolate recipe is an easy holiday drink. Add my homemade marshmallows (without corn syrup), or fresh whipped cream to a rich, decadent drink!
My first time making homemade marshmallows without corn syrup! These thick vanilla-flavored marshmallows are perfect for the holidays. Make custom shapes using holiday cookie cutters for thin or thick marshmallows. Switch the vanilla extract for almond or other flavors to compliment your holiday recipes.
Crispy fried Crab Rangoon, with a sweet and sour pineapple dipping sauce. A homemade appetizer perfect for the upcoming Christmas parties and New Year Celebrations. This large holiday appetizer will impress your friends and offer a delicious and elegant looking appetizer.
My visit to the new restaurant — The Cheese Bar — in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey. A small modern space with a menu celebrating everything cheese. From cheese boards and mac n’ cheese bites, to Italian dishes and unique grilled cheese. BYOB to this minimalist and modern space serving fresh, delicious food.
With the holidays approaching, I decided to help my sister with her college cooking assignment. The plan was to have a cookie-baking party to make holiday care packages for 70 service members overseas. For my cookies, I decided to make a honey butter cookie recipe I found on Pinterest. This recipe uses everyday ingredients, for a delicious buttery cookie.
Celebrating over 35 years of business in Clifton, New Jersey, La Riviera Trattoria is an Italian restaurant delivering homemade recipes with high quality ingredients. Offering Gluten-free and other allergy accommodations, you’ll need a reservation if you plan on visiting La Riviera on the weekend!
Inspired by Autumn ingredients like apple cider, apple donuts, and pumpkins — I decided to use fresh Granny Smith apples and make caramel apples! Rather than the clunky apples on a stick, I decided to make sliced chocolate caramel dipped apples with peanuts. Easy to dip and carry, these tasty treats are customizable and great for any age. Plus, they’re homemade.
Five days in New Orleans — meeting industry partners and attending parties — meant that I visited a decent number of bars and restaurants. Here are the top 7 bars to visit in New Orleans. Known for their beautiful brands, traditions, and atmosphere, they’ll be your next stop when you visit NOLA.
A work trip for a conference brought me to New Orleans, Louisiana. From Bourbon Street to the French Quarter, read about my Sunday adventures in New Orleans. A delicious brunch at the Court of Two Sisters and a sunny afternoon in Jackson Square, had me falling in love with the art and architecture.
Fudgy double chocolate crackle cookies — the best of chocolate lava cake meets chocolate chip cookies. This recipe is flourless and doesn't use butter. You will have a decadent, crackle-top cookie with powdered sugar marbling. Visit the blog at kmartinelli.com to get the full recipe card.
The 2019 Hudson Valley Garlic Festival was my first visit to Saugerties, New York. This beautiful fall festival features miles of garlic vendors, farmers, creative foodie entrepreneurs, craft vendors, and live music. This week’s blog shares the amazing vendors I visited, the food I tried, and overall the amazing, sunny Saturday we spent surrounded by garlic (my favorite!)
One of my favorite desserts from this time of year, are the Polish jam-filled cookies called kolaczki. We usually have these cookies for Thanksgiving breakfast with our coffee, or for Christmas dessert. So when I found an easy Pinterest recipe recreating this classic holiday dessert, I decided to try it. These Raspberry and Fig Thumbprint cookies are easy, delicious, and a festive fall treat.
This week I made Gimme Some Oven’s original wild rice soup recipe with my own changes. This hearty Autumn Vegetable Rice Soup is perfect for a one-pot meal. With sweet potato, kale, mushrooms, rice, and rich seasoning, you’ll warm up with cool autumn weather over a bowl of this soup.
The weather in New Jersey finally broke into Autumn. Evenings and mornings are crisp enough for cardigans and jeans (my favorite). With two PSL’s under my belt for the season, I decided to start my Autumn recipes, starting with these Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting. These cookies are easy and festive. Click to watch the recipe video and download the recipe card.
Inspired by a fellow blogger’s list of lifestyle accounts to follow, I decided to create a blog post that shares my Top 7 Food Instagram’s to Follow. These accounts range from art and travel, to recipes and video content. Some are personal blog accounts and other are large-scale brands. See the countdown to my number one, favorite food Instagram, which you should follow for all the foodie inspiration.
