An easy, healthy weeknight dinner recipe for Thai-style lettuce wraps with turkey, ginger, garlic, chilis, cilantro, and scallions.
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Pretty. Easy.
Pretty. Easy. Poached Egg with Crunchy Quinoa and Balsamic-Brown Butter Asparagus
by Aida Mollenkamp — Share
A Pretty. Easy. recipe inspired by Nomad NYC and Eleven Madison Park’s chef Daniel Humm’s poached egg dish. Made with a poached egg, crunchy quinoa, roasted asparagus, and a balsamic-brown butter sauce, this is an elegant yet easy dish.
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Pretty. Easy. Lemongrass-Chili Mussels
by Aida Mollenkamp — Share
An easy, healthy recipe for basic mussels with lemongrass, chili, beer, lime, and mint.
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Pretty. Easy. Almond-Vanilla Baked French Toast
by Aida Mollenkamp — Share
French toast is one of those dishes everyone should master for, say, a brunch when you want to cook for a crowd or a decadent breakfast-in-bed for Valentine’s Day. Either way, this recipe is the perfect place to start. It’s a departure from tradition because it’s baked rather than pan-fried, so you can put the focus on your guests or significant other rather than tending to a hot pan.
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Pretty. Easy. Spiced Boiled Peanuts
by Aida Mollenkamp — Share
It’s pretty much impossible to spend any real time in Hawaii without coming across boiled peanuts. Along with poke, boiled peanuts are a classic happy hour pupu (appetizer) and I can never seem to get enough of them. When I’m on Oahu, I stop by Tamura’s where there’s an awesome selection of booze, poke, and boiled peanuts. But I started getting annoyed that I was spending money on boiled peanuts since they require nothing more than a few ingredients and a few hours.
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Pretty. Easy. Bresaola Hand Rolls
by Aida Mollenkamp — Share
If you’re like me, you’ll take all the help you can get during the holidays. In the spirit of entertaining, here’s an hors d’oeuvres that’s so simple to put together, it doesn’t really need a recipe. It’s a Mediterranean take on a sushi hand roll where the seaweed is replaced by Bresaola (an air-dried beef) that’s filled with an assortment of flavors. These are gorgeous little bundles that are a sure thing at a cocktail party though I’ve been making them as a little snack break between all the party prep that I’ve been up to.
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Pretty. Easy. Kale Salad
by Aida Mollenkamp — Share
It’s the countdown to the biggest cooking day of the year and, in the whirlwind of inviting, planning, shopping, and prepping, you just might forget to eat before you eat — know what I mean? While some like to starve before they dive into the Thanksgiving meal, I’m of a different camp: the one that eats a healthy, hearty salad. Here’s a kale salad that fits that bill and is pretty easy to make.
Speaking of which, Pretty. Easy. is also the name of a new series on the site where I’ll be sharing recipes that are seriously simple and easy on the eyes. But, back to the salad at hand: it’s quick enough to throw together whenever hunger strikes, yet festive enough to bring out for Thanksgiving, assuming you haven’t already eaten it all beforehand.
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Pretty. Easy. Toffee-Espresso Chocolate Clusters
by Aida Mollenkamp — Share
Any kid will tell you: October is just one long countdown to Halloween. The whole month revolves around first choosing a costume and then, of course, concocting a plan for cashing in on as many sweets as possible.
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Pretty. Easy. Herbed Roasted Cheese
by Aida Mollenkamp — Share
Like a moth to a flame, when the weather starts cools off, I start craving comfort food.
Coming from an Italian-American family, the foods I find most cozy takes shape in the form of cheese or pasta. Over the years I’ve gone from eating mozzarella at nearly every meal to exercising a bit more restraint, but when the cold weather hits, the craving is still there. The ultimate is when it’s melty and gooey cheese like in this herbed roasted cheese.
This recipe is a riff on baked Brie (a familiar holiday appetizer) that I turn to when time is short but comfort food is in high demand. It’s such a simple concept but it’s highly versatile and can be used as an indulgent appetizer, a salad centerpiece, or an impromptu take on mac-and-cheese. In my dream world, it would be kosher to throw the melty hunk of cheese inside a whole loaf of bread to make a behemoth version of a grilled cheese, but I haven’t gone there. At least not yet.
Pretty. Easy. Pimientos de Padron
by Aida Mollenkamp — Share
I’m not much of a gambler. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever even played roulette. But every June through September, when Padron peppers are in season, I try my luck. The age-old Galician adage (where this chile pepper originated) says it all: “Padron peppers, some are hot and some are not.” You see, Padron peppers are generally a mild, fruity chile pepper but approximately 1 of every 5 has a fiery heat — hence the reason eating them has been coined playing pepper roulette.
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