Caprese Pasta Salad

This Caprese pasta salad recipe is perfect for summer picnics! It's super bright and fresh, filled with tomatoes, basil, and a light balsamic dressing.

This Caprese pasta salad recipe is practically summer in a bowl! As you can probably tell from its name, it’s a delicious fusion of two summer favorites: pasta salad and Italian Caprese salad. If you ask me, it’s a match made in heaven. A classic Caprese salad is bursting with fresh summer flavor, thanks to the famous combination of creamy mozzarella, juicy tomatoes, and aromatic basil. But it isn’t as packable as pasta salad, a staple at picnics and potlucks. This easy Caprese pasta salad recipe combines the best of both. You get all the fresh flavor of a Caprese…

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Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream

Love chocolate? Love ice cream? You HAVE to try this homemade chocolate ice cream recipe! It has a smooth, creamy texture and rich chocolate flavor.

Warning: this chocolate ice cream recipe is insanely delicious. If you try it once, there’s a good chance you’ll have it on repeat all summer long! I shared this vanilla ice cream recipe a few years ago, and it’s become SO popular that I knew I had to share a chocolate version too. After lots of testing and tweaking (read: eating lots of chocolate ice cream), I’m happy to report that this recipe makes some of the best chocolate ice cream I’ve ever tasted, homemade or otherwise. It’s luxuriously creamy and super chocolatey. I’ve eaten it straight out of my ice…

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How to Make Iced Coffee

Learn how to make iced coffee at home! Easy to customize with any milk or sweetener, this recipe is just as delicious as iced coffee from a coffee shop.

Iced coffee is my favorite way to start a warm spring or summer day. Sorry, hot coffee—when the temps are high enough, only the iced stuff will do. In the last few years, iced coffee drinks have exploded in popularity. But I find that people often get them at coffee shops instead of making them at home. This iced coffee recipe is here to change that! It’s SO simple, you can customize it with your favorite milk or sweetener, and it’s more affordable than ordering iced coffee out. If you’re an iced coffee fan, give it a try. I think you’ll…

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Easy Fruit Dip

This fruit dip is creamy, flavorful, and lightly sweet. Easy to make with 5 ingredients, it's perfect for parties, picnics, and as a healthy snack!

Meet our new favorite fruit dip recipe! I’m firmly of the mind that there are very few ways to improve fresh fruit (it’s already delicious!), but this fruit dip might be one of them. I first started making it for my son Ollie, but it didn’t take long for me to start making it for myself too. I think it’s a perfect healthy snack. It’s fairly satisfying, thanks to a base of Greek yogurt and peanut butter, and it’s also delicious, with a smooth, creamy texture and sweet, nutty flavor. Since we’re heading into summer, I’ll also mention that this…

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35 Easy Memorial Day Recipes

Our best Memorial Day recipes! We've rounded up summer salads, sides, dips, desserts, and more—everything you need for a delicious cookout.

The unofficial start of summer is just a few days away—it’s time to plan your Memorial Day menu! I’ve rounded up our best Memorial Day recipes below. They include fresh appetizers, salads, side dishes, drinks, desserts, and more. They’d all be perfect for a Memorial Day cookout…and cookouts all summer long. I know I’ll have many of these recipes on repeat this summer. I hope you also find some you love! Memorial Day Appetizer Recipes Antipasto Platter Bring an Italian vacation to your own backyard with this aperitivo-inspired platter! It’s loaded with marinated mozzarella balls, gigante beans, olives, and more.…

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Easy Bruschetta

Learn how to make bruschetta! This classic Italian appetizer is simple and delicious. Fresh tomatoes and basil top crisp slices of toasted bread.

This bruschetta recipe is simple and classic. Topped with juicy tomatoes, ribbons of basil, garlic, and a touch of balsamic, it’s a delicious reminder that the best way to enjoy peak-season produce is often the simplest. It’s one of my favorite appetizers to make when I’m entertaining in the summer. It’s SO easy, so flavorful, and so fresh. If bruschetta isn’t already in your summer rotation, it should be! Keep reading to learn how to make it. Tomato Bruschetta Ingredients You only need a handful of ingredients to make this bruschetta recipe, so quality counts. You’ll really taste each one! Good…

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Blondies Recipe

We can't get enough of this easy blondie recipe! Made with brown butter, the blondies have a rich, caramel-like taste and perfect chewy texture.

This blondie recipe is one of my new favorite desserts! No offense to brownies, but I might like these blondies…better? They have a dense and chewy texture and a warm, butterscotch-y flavor from brown butter, brown sugar, and a generous splash of vanilla. White chocolate chips give them creamy pockets of sweetness, and walnuts add delicious crunch. These blondies are super simple to make (1 bowl! 8 ingredients!), so they’re a great dessert to whip up whenever you’re in the mood for something sweet. I’m also planning to make them for picnics and potlucks throughout the summer. They’re nice and…

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Dutch Baby

This Dutch baby recipe starts with a simple batter that's easy to make in the blender. It bakes into a big, puffy, golden brown pancake in the oven!

This Dutch baby pancake is for you if 1) you love popovers, 2) you love crepes, and/or 3) you want making brunch to be as easy as possible. This recipe couldn’t be simpler! Unlike stovetop pancakes, a Dutch baby bakes in a hot skillet in the oven. As it cooks, its eggy batter puffs up (think popovers) and turns a gorgeous golden brown. The custardy slices taste a lot like crepes, and they’re a delicious vehicle for toppings like fresh fruit. I shared a raspberry lemon Dutch baby recipe in my first cookbook, but I’ve never shared one here. With…

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Red Potato Salad

This red potato salad recipe is a picnic-perfect side dish! Tossed in a tangy mustard dressing and loaded with fresh herbs, it's bright and flavorful.

Potato salad skeptics, get ready—this red potato salad might win you over! Unlike a classic creamy potato salad, it doesn’t feature a mayo-forward dressing or hard boiled eggs. Instead, this red potato salad is ultra-bright and fresh, tossed in a zingy mustard dressing and loaded with savory herbs and crunchy celery. Bring it to your next picnic, and you’ll bring home an empty bowl (I promise!). I love this salad because it actually gets better as it sits, making it a perfect make-ahead side dish for potlucks and picnics. I’m looking forward to making it on repeat this summer. I hope…

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Easy Scones

Learn how to make perfect scones! My recipe is easy to customize with your favorite add-ins, and it yields buttery, flaky, flavorful scones every time.

The best scones are buttery, flaky, and moist inside. They’re crisp and crumbly around the edges, perfect for pairing with a cup of coffee or tea. Scones can get a bad rap for being bland or dry (my husband Jack swore he didn’t like them for years), but when they’re prepared well, they shouldn’t be either of those things. I’m sharing my favorite scone recipe below. It’s easy to make with 10 basic ingredients, and you can customize it with your favorite sweet or savory mix-ins. No matter which ones you pick, it yields tender, flavorful, bakery-worthy scones every time.…

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Easy Tostadas

This easy tostada recipe is a fast, fresh dinner! I pile crispy tortillas with flavorful toppings like refried beans, avocado, veggies, and cheese.

This tostada recipe is a fun, fresh, and FAST weeknight dinner. Just load up crunchy tostadas with toppings like refried beans, crisp lettuce and cabbage, tomatoes, cheese, and avocado. Squeeze with lime juice, and dig in! This recipe has become a great family meal for us lately…because it’s not a true “recipe” at all. It’s more of a suggestion—the toppings here are flexible, and in our house, everyone chooses their own. I take my tostadas with extra avocado and spicy peppers, Jack skips the avocado and piles on extra cheese, and Ollie goes for whatever he’s in the mood for that…

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A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.