mollygilbert520

Slow Cooked Chicken Tikka Masala

January 13, 2015 by mollygilbert520 5 Comments

I made us dinner!

It’s in a pot and everything! (And #MadeWithChobani.) I feel like that’s a real accomplishment, today. I’ve been feeling a little bit off my cooking game lately — just lazy in the kitchen, mostly. Too often, dinner these past few weeks has consisted of takeout noodles or, better yet (worse yet?), a bunch of crackers with cheese.

…And then a bunch more cheese.

But that happens, right? Even directly after New Years resolutions are firmly resolved? EVEN to people who write cookbooks about easy and delicious home cooking?

(The correct answer here is, apparently, YEP.)

But then! Then you find yourself with some meaty chicken thighs, a scoop of tangy yogurt and a whole lot of spices, and there you are! Back in the kitchen, chopping and mixing and stirring, and before you know it you’re humming happily and catching yourself saying: “this is going to be GOOD.”

And you know what? It really is.

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I Think Thursday 1.8.15

January 8, 2015 by mollygilbert520 3 Comments

Holy jeez it’s January! AND it’s Thursday! I still haven’t gotten over my wedding (above) (duh), but let’s start this year with a few new thinks:

Sheet Pan Suppers is featured on Today.com! (HI KATHY LEE AND HODA!)
Andrew Knowlton’s Food Predictions for 2015. I can get behind a few of these (tacos + Shake Shake, mostly).
You Can’t Detox Your Body. Take that, juice cleanse.
What are your favorite tips for eating healthfully?
Cartoonists respond to the Charlie Hebdo tragedy.
Where are you most excited to travel this year? The Saveur staff shares their faves.
Is the practice of tipping getting out of hand? I have mixed feelings about this.
White privilege is real. An explanation.
Would you eat salad for breakfast? I would if it looked like Gina’s!
I heart the New Yorker. #BenedictCumberbatch
Ellen & Portia forever.

My Favorite Salads

January 6, 2015 by mollygilbert520 2 Comments

It’s 2015! Let’s let that sink in for a minute.

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HOW has it been over 15 years since N*SYNC’s first album came out? Jeez. My youth. Anyway, how were your holidays, friends? Mine were filled with Maui-style sun and sand and fish tacos and new family, so all in all? GREAT.

I’m back in Seattle now and haven’t had a piña colada in three days, which feels wrong, but that’s New Year’s for you, isn’t it? Fresh starts and resolutions for all! This year, my resolutions are about family (seeing more of mine) and travel (doing more of it) and dental floss (this last one seems self-explanatory, I think). I’ve got a lot I’d like to do this year, but mostly I intend to be a kind, happy, healthy, involved and productive kind of person in 2015. Hooray!

I didn’t mention eating more salad/greens, and that was intentional (because COME ON and also just chocolate), but I know this is the time of year to get into the veggies, and FINE, I’ll comply. But not because you asked me to, internet. …Because I want to.

So here, some of my favorite salads to make this time of year!

1. Citrus Beet Salad with Creamy Poppyseed Dressing

Now’s the time for citrus! This one’s a no brainer.

2. Warm Truffled Mushroom Salad

Is this one really a salad? (You might ask.) What with the truffle oil, gorgonzola and FRIED SHALLOTS on top, it’s hard to say, really. But yes, yes it is.

3. Kale, Coconut & Persimmon Salad

Can’t find persimmons? Try mangoes instead!

4. Pink & Greens Salad

Roasted greens, tangy citrus, fresh herbs and quinoa. Great for a cold and rainy day. (So, like, every day in Seattle?)

5. Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpea Salad

This one comes together in a snap ON A SHEET PAN. Just saying.

There’s plenty more where these came from, both on this site and the interwebs beyond (I’m loving the looks of this salad, this one, this gem and these beans), so I hope you get your health fix this January (and beyond).

Here’s to a bright new year ahead!

Baked Brie & Berries

December 29, 2014 by mollygilbert520 4 Comments

Guys! We are T minus 2 days until the new year. Twenty-fifteen holy smoooookes. Should we, like, eat some cheese or something?

WE SHOULD. And it should be warm.

Here’s one last Holiday Mollygram, the last of 2014, anyway, with a recipe for Baked Cheese & Raspberries! It’s a riff off of a recipe in the appetizer section of my cookbook (in the book it’s Baked Brie & Strawberries, p.9). Whether you use raspberries or strawberries (or pears or blackberries or whatever), it’s a great recipe to ring in the new year.

CHEERS, FRIENDS! LOVE TO YOU!!

Did you get all that? No? Written recipe is below!

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Lemon Meringue Tart

December 25, 2014 by mollygilbert520 2 Comments

It’s Post-Christmas Pie Day Friday! A.k.a Boxing Day, a.k.a let’s just go with the pie because what even is “Boxing Day?” Someone in Britain made it up I think? I just know it has literally nothing to do with boxing. So.

Lemon Meringue Tart! This feels right for today.

(FYI, in the realm of Pie Day Friday, tarts are fair game. Thank goodness).

This lemon number is extra tart and creamy, with a sweet cap of smooth, torched meringue. (It’s the torched meringue that gets people ooh-ing and ahh-ing, yknow?)

OOOOOH.

AHHHHHHHH.

There are three main components/steps to get this thing up and running (into my/your mouth): crust, curd, and the aforementioned meringue. Crust is easy (and, if you want to, you can use store-bought — I won’t tell). Lemon curd is simply a matter of gentle heat, steady stirring, and then straining through a fine sieve. And meringue? A hearty whip whip whip and we’re pretty much there!

Can’t you see this beauty going down smooth with a little bubbly, and wow-ing everyone on New Year’s Eve? I can see it. The end of 2014 is going to be tart and sweet and great. Cheers to 2015!

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I Think CHRISTMAS Thursday

December 25, 2014 by mollygilbert520 Leave a Comment

It’s CHRISTMAS! Merry day!! Since you’ve finished opening presents/eating pancakes/doing dishes, probably, I thought you might want some fun thinking links to check out (it’s still Thursday, after all)!

DIY peppermint lip balm! I want to try this.
An amazing/hysterical piece on an Emotional Support Alpaca (among other things).
Did you watch Love Actually this holiday season? I did (I always do, it’s a gem), but I can’t stop laughing/agreeing with this commentary. (ps: I hate Uncle Jamie!)
Ileana’s espresso panna cotta looks like it would be SO GOOD on New Year’s Eve, no?
What Serial Really Taught Us.
Also, Serial + Christmas + SNL = Yes.
This is fun to watch, and I’m not even a dog/cat/pet person.
Is Chinese takeout really more popular on Christmas?
Did you make Christmas Gingerbread this year? There’s still time!
The history of roasted vegetables? (#sheetpans)

MERRY MERRY!!

Eggnog Marshmallows

December 23, 2014 by mollygilbert520 4 Comments

Make your own mallows! Plain vanilla is an option, but we can make ones that smack of eggnog so WHY NOT?

Nogmallows? It’s just two days until Christmas, after all.

Are you ready? I am READY. We spent last week doing all manner of Seattle Christmas things; we trimmed our little tree, baked (and then ate, but mostly that was just me) all of the cookies, saw the last showing of the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s classic Nutcracker (made famous by Maurice Sendak-designed sets), and were lucky enough to gather with family and friends a few nights in a row for general merriment and reverie.

But today it’s off to Hawaii we go! For sunshine, surf and sand. And poke. YES!

Will it be weird to spend Christmas in 80-degree weather? Maybe. Will it be kind of great? Probably. Can we still make marshmallows and drown them in hot chocolate?

YEP!

I’ll be back with a few nuggets of ~~wisdom~~ things and some recipes soon, so check back on Thursday, but in the meantime you can find cookies here, and also: HAPPY ALMOST MARSHMALLOW CHRISTMASTIME! I’m thankful for you and hope you have the merriest of the merry this holiday.

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Spicy Brown Sugar-Rosemary Cashews

December 19, 2014 by mollygilbert520 3 Comments

I know, I know. It’s supposed to be Pie Day Friday! Where is our pie???

Well, let me tell you. I made a pie this week, and it was no good. It was a bad pie. (Lest you think bad pie didn’t even exist, I am here to tell you that it does, it really does.)

BUT! I made you a new Holiday Mollygram! It’s got cashews and brown sugar and some terrible singing, too. Enjoy, friends!!

Catch all that? You can find the actual recipe, from Sheet Pan Suppers, below!

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I Think Thursday 12.18.14

December 17, 2014 by mollygilbert520 6 Comments

Happy Thursday, friends! Here, your easy-to-digest Thursday thinklings (lots of videos this week!):

Want the recipe for those Coconutty Ganache Thumbprints up there? Grab a copy of Sheet Pan Suppers! (p.266 yo)
Have you seen the 31 Days of Pie over on Matt Bites? This Double Chocolate Malted Tart looks insane.
Newest trailer for Pixar’s next movie, Inside Out! Can’t wait to see this one.
The cutest, most edible menorah you ever did see.
More a capella, this time mixed with some Johnny Cash. SO GOOD. I loved these guys on The Sing-Off. Did anyone else watch that show? #NickLachey
More MORE a capella, and possibly the best parody of T. Swift’s “Shake It Off” I’ve seen yet… bonus points for the helpful explanation of how to actually play dreidel.
Remember these Chewy Gingerbread Chocolate Chunk Cookies? I want one.
These British kids are adorable, even when they don’t get the presents they’re expecting.
Did you catch yesterday’s holiday Mollygram? It’s for YOU!

Thanks for popping by today. Enjoy the (almost) weekend!!

Chocolate Candy Bark

December 17, 2014 by mollygilbert520 8 Comments

It’s just over a week until Christmas, so I wanted to personally deliver this holiday Mollygram directly to you! Let’s make some chocolate bark together:

Did you get all that? Here’s the recipe (from #sheetpansuppers!), just in case.

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