Asiago Artichoke Dip

My gluten-intolerant friend was having a potluck this past winter and I was in a bit of a pickle. A lot of great ideas were already taken (she made a lasagna using rice noodles!) and everything I could think of had meat in it (the guest list was full of vegetarians!). A cheesy gluten-free vegetarian dip seemed like a good solution, so I tweaked the recipes I found online until they fit!

Macaroons

Important note: these are the North American coconut macaroons, not the swanky French meringue- and almond-based macarons. (The extra ‘O’ makes all the difference…)

Macaroons are incredibly easy to make. They’re one of those recipes where you read the  instructions and think to yourself “That’s it?” I really don’t understand why these aren’t sold at every bake sale or in every Christmas cookie tin. The boys in my family are always so excited about them that I’ve taken to making a double batch every time.

Butternut Squash and Kale Risotto

Some days I have a really hard time getting inspired. I’ll walk around the aisles of the grocery store like a zombie, picking stuff up and putting it back. It’s those days where I end up just buying ingredients then figuring out a use later… which sometimes works out and sometimes just means I have to head back to the store. Luckily, it worked out for me on this day, when I picked up a butternut squash and some kale on my wander around the 3rd grocery store that day. After a quick Google, I settled on tweaking an Epicurious recipe for risotto and using this foodmomiac recipe as guidance.