There is quite a bit that goes into a recipe. Unless I’m baking, I like to think of them more as guidelines, rather than a set of definite rules. Every once in a while, you come across a recipe that is to be enjoyed at it’s finest, you need to follow it exactly. Enter the seventeen-minute salmon! Not sixteen-minute salmon, nor eighteen-minute salmon. Seventeen-minute salmon! Covered in minced garlic, olive oil, lemon slices and fresh dill, it comes out of the oven in this incredible sweet-spot between buttery/velvety and poke-style.

In my family, food is a love language. We have many traditional dishes that we make on holidays and special occasions. A favorite of ours is my mothers breakfast casserole. It is really quite nice, with pepper jack cheese and ham and chives. Classic flavor combinations. However, this year I wanted to put a fresh spin on it. While it at its core it is very similar I found my version to be an improvement on the original! They both start with frozen hash browns, seasoned and brushed with butter as the base. Let that brown in the oven for 30 minutes. This is creates such a delicious crust that pairs so nicely with the eggs and cheese. Instead of ham, I cooked some breakfast sausage links on the griddle and diced them to add to the casserole. There is that word again, casserole! I much prefer the term breakfast bake, don’t you?

Few things transport me like a delicious bowl of poke. The smooth texture of the ahi, the sweetness of the mango and the crisp crunch of the cucumber. A few bites in and I feel like I’m on the coast of Honolulu. I love the blend of cultures that poke creates. It’s a beautiful marriage between Japan and the islands. A vessel for flavor, poke can go many different directions.

One of my favorite herbs to use in the kitchen is cilantro. It lends itself very well to many different cuisines. I’ve found that it can help create the perfect side dish to any Mexican or Asian meal. Enter cilantro lime rice. This recipe comes out tasting very similar to Chipotle’s rice but with more flavor. I love the fragrance of the cilantro and the acidity of the lime.

Sometimes you come across a recipe that you are immediately skeptical of. Whether it’s through the list of ingredients, or the steps of preparation, something seems off. When I came across this spicy pasta recipe, originally from America’s Test Kitchen, I wondered how all this was going to work in one pot.

I recently became a huge fan of ground pork! One of the most overlooked options at your local butcher. Of course, I use it when making my Italian meatballs and bolognese, but it is this fragrant and delicious Asian inspired preparation that I’ve fallen in love with!

When you hear roast chicken, you typically think of a whole bird, stuffed with something and covered with extravagant seasonings and herbs! While I love a traditional whole-bird roasted chicken, I have a different preparation that is much more time efficient and is packed with flavor.