Seeing as frigid, rainy winter weather is just starting to renew itself after a dry heat spell here in San Francisco, I can't believe any of those could possibly be out of season just yet.

... Read the rest of zucchini, onion and potato latkes on BatterLicker.com!

... Jay and I prepared to exchange rings and formalize what we had already felt in our hearts since moving to San Francisco together in 2005.

... we arrived at the Julia Morgan Ballroom quite early, and spent a few hours snooping around while everything got set up; ordering two insanely large platters of Mediterranean salads, hummus, falafel, gyros, and shawarma wraps for friends and family who intended to stop by; running around downtown San Francisco in search of pita bread once we realized it had been omitted from our order by mistake; and spending a wonderfully private lunchtime together.

... I kicked Jay out once my mom arrived with my dress in tow, and sent him back to his parents and grandmother at the Omni Hotel across the street.

... the scene was set with flickering candlelight, plush couches, roaring fireplaces, and a colorful assortment of fall elements, ranging from purple and green artichokes to fiery calla lilies to Brussels sprouts, gourds, squashes, chili peppers, pumpkins, and berries.

Yes, those are artichokes in my bouquet; it was utterly fabulous.

... Read the rest of we do on BatterLicker.com!

And have you ever had roasted cabbage before? It's heavenly. You should try it. Especially if you think you don't like cabbage. The sweet cabbage develops this nutty, charred flavor and crispy edges that drive me so absolutely bonkers that I make brilliant decisions. Like roasting an entire, giant cabbage for just two people's dinner. Operation Super Awesome Lunch Leftovers: Complete.

... Read the rest of roasted chicken, cabbage and bosc pear on BatterLicker.com!

So in some weird way, it made sense to include this snack - which stood by my side in my mouth during some of my more miserable moments - in the dessert bar I created for family and friends to enjoy on an evening celebrating one of the consistent sources of happiness during the past decade of my life: my relationship with Jay. But the inclusion of chickpeas also made sense from another perspective.

In retrospect, I realized that the desserts I chose to serve at my wedding very much reflected a sugary timeline of my life and development.

... Read the rest of project wedding dessert bar: part 14 (moroccan-spiced crispy chickpeas) on BatterLicker.com!

... Read the rest of bacon fat-roasted fingerling potatoes stuffed with beet horseradish ricotta on BatterLicker.com!

I justified it by arguing - in my head, of course - that I wouldn't have gotten around to eating those last few candy canes anyway; the vodka would have sat untouched for another 6 months; the jar needed to serve a practical function or else get tossed into the recycling bin; and a candy cane vodka would really just be peppermint vodka, which wasn't too bizarre (ahem, candy corn vodka) had to taste great in some sort of cocktail.

And it did taste fantastic in this one. Like a grownup peppermint milkshake of sorts. Except then I had to go and name it a "snowtini," which sounds so frou-frou I'm not sure I'd ever order it off a cocktail menu.

... Read the rest of candy cane snowtini on BatterLicker.com!

Sausage. Greens. Bacon. Cheese. Bread crumbs. Whatever you have on hand or know your friends and family love to eat generally works as a stuffing.

/p>

My favorite thing about stuffing mushrooms, besides the endless flexibility with stuffing ingredients, is that the natural size of mushrooms is appetizer-friendly: one or two bites' worth of food. No time-consuming prep required, as it often is when I'm trying to convert something larger to small, bite-sized, nibble-appropriate portions.

I also love that the mushrooms themselves are naturally shaped as cups, which allows them to act as fairly mess-free, self-contained vessels. This makes them easy to serve with or sans toothpicks, which is key because I often forget to pick up toothpicks anyway.

... Read the rest of sausage and spinach stuffed mushrooms on BatterLicker.com!

Jay loves chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, as it was present at all his childhood birthdays and celebrations. Somehow I baked, chilled, frosted, hid, and transported it without Jay finding out, even though he tried to ruin the surprise - TWICE.

First, after driving back from a morning client meeting, he came up to our apartment to check in on me and my dessert bar baking shenanigans instead of dropping the car in the garage and going straight to work like he usually does.

Photo by Dana Hargitay of enLuce Photography

Then, when my mom and sister Cassie helped me transport the desserts to the venue a day before the wedding, he took an early lunch break - without giving me advance notice - and walked over the venue to help us unload everything. Thank goodness the cake was on a covered stand and Cassie had a jacket to throw over the top of it. While we unloaded everything else, we hid the cake on the passenger side floor of the car. When we dropped everything off in the venue director's office, I awkwardly hesitated to leave, even though she had another bride and groom in her office. The look on my face must have indicated I was on the verge of a meltdown (I wasn't; worst case, the surprise would be ruined, which would not be the end of the world but hopefully would be avoided); she immediately came up and gave me a concerned look and a hug. I whispered that there was one more load coming up, then ran down the hall to catch up before Jay noticed. But how would my mom and Cassie get the cake upstairs without Jay noticing??

... Read the rest of project wedding dessert bar: part 13 (jay's secret chocolate cake) on BatterLicker.com!

Anyone else think sore throats are the absolute worst? Even cough drops aren't helping me out this time around. To feel any relief whatsoever, I have to keep pumping hot herbal tea down my throat.

Normally, that would mean quite a few bags of tea - not to mention trips to the restroom. But as I sucked down my initial mugful this morning, I boiled up a potful of homebrewed tea.

It might sound complicated, but it's not. For me, uncomplicated is key when I'm sick.

I had some cinnamon sticks and a leftover nub of ginger on hand, so I just boiled them with a lot of water while marking up a licensing agreement during the first 45 minutes of work this morning. And I've been going back to refill my mug ever since.

... Read the rest of ginger cinnamon tea on BatterLicker.com!