What’s Cookin?

Grub:

Restaurants:
- First he swooped in to help those in Puerto Rico affected by Hurricane Maria. Now he’s serving food to those affected by the wildfires in California. José Andrés is a model citizen, and I will definitely place his restaurants high on my list (not that they weren’t there already).
- I’m digging this concept of “fast-fine dining”. I can think of a couple restaurants in NYC that operate this (Made Nice comes to mind) and I think it’s a great hybrid. There’s no need to sacrifice chill guide (and your whole paycheck) to enjoy nicer food.
Cooking:
- I’m looking forward to trying this 20-minute, no bacon, heavy-on-the-greens carbonara. It’s still pasta, so it’s not necessarily healthy, but it seems much better for you than the standard recipe. Served as the side dish to a simple protein like salmon and we’re in business!
- I first saw this dessert hummus on an episode of Shark Tank and need to try it asap. I love that the company offers ideas on how to serve it up.
- I recently discovered how easy and great it is to make skillet pizza (see here and here) and can’t wait to try out some of these fun pizza combos.

If you’re looking for a gift for your favorite bookworm, this eyeglass necklace is an adorable, subtle nod to her love of reading.
Yes, I’m a fan of YA. I don’t read all of it, but a great YA book is a great book, period. This roundup of The 17 Best YA Novels of 2017 is great because the books look awesome, but also because it shows how diversity is – and needs to be – front and center.

We don’t really have room to do much decorating this holiday season, but I intend to try this out next year. For an interfaith household, like ours, it can be nice to decorate in a way that’s purely festive rather than denominational. Even if we wind up going traditional for the holidays, I still think I’ll try this decor look out for a party sometime soon.
I’m so bummed I don’t live in LA because it means I can’t go to the Pan Am Experience. How cool would it be to step back in time like this?!
I love learning about Meskerem Gebreyohannes’ African spin on Chanukah. It’s always cool to see the traditions different families uphold.