Author: YINANDYOLK

  • Brown Butter & Parmesan Mushroom Pasta

    Greetings from London!

    I am currently sitting in a tiny bustling coffee house filled with locals sharing communal tables. As I sit here, listening to ’60s music and enjoying a London fog, I can’t help but feel like I’m in someone else’s dream.

    I’ve only been here for a few days, and I’m already totally smitten. When I get back next week, you’re all going to get an earful – or eyeful, rather – about everything I’ve been doing and eating. Until then, I’ve got a bangin’ pasta recipe for you guys, which also just happens to be perfect for the final weeks of the winter doldrums. (more…)

  • Chocolate Banana Cake

    Like most other things in life, this blog mostly consists of happy little accidents.

    And as much as I am against the consumer-driven holiday that is Valentine’s Day, I’ve made it my mission to create something actually worth celebrating. Even if you’re anti-hallmark-holiday like I am, you cannot deny chocolate. (more…)

  • Top 5 Super Bowl Snacks

    sweet savory pita chips

    I marched with my mother and millions of other wonderful, strong women last weekend in Boston. I have never been in such a large and lively crowd in my life.

    The atmosphere was full of positive energy, and plenty of hope that our voices would be heard – and they were. But there is still way more that needs to be done, because now innocent people are also having their lives turned upside down when they’ve done absolutely nothing wrong.

    I’m doing my best to channel my frustration into something useful, but outside of bugging our representatives, protesting, or donating to civil rights organizations, there’s not much else any of us can do but take deep breaths and keep doing our best to spread the love.

    cheesy sun dried tomato pesto monkey pull-apart bread

    When the world is upside down and backwards, it’s important to keep enjoying the little things.

    The Super Bowl is just around the corner, which means beer and outrageous dips will likely abound. These are the little things worth taking pleasure in when there’s not much else to celebrate.  (more…)

  • Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies {Levain Copycat Recipe}

    Levain Copycat Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie Stack

    Stop what you’re doing and listen up.

    This hunk of chocolatey butter needs to be in your life. More specifically, it needs to be in your mouth.

    Cooling chocolate walnut cookies

    I know I’m not the first (or even the hundredth) to recreate the Levain Bakery chocolate chip cookies. But, I have been making cookies for a long time. My mom’s been baking cookies for a long time. And I’m sorry, but her cookies are better than Levain’s.

    Yeah. I said it. (more…)

  • Butternut Squash Cavatelli & Balsamic Caramelized Onion Pesto

    Butternut-Cavatelli

    Boston got hit with a big ol’ blizzard yesterday, leaving us all a little bit buried. And as I stare out of my bedroom window onto the adjacent roof tops all covered in a hefty helping of heavy snow, I can’t help but think about what it means to feel stuck.

    Butternut-Cavatelli-Close-Up

    I’m pretty sure there is no such thing as “stuck”. We make it up so we feel better about not being able to decide what to do with ourselves. When we’re surrounded by a feeling of heavy wetness that prevents us from even leaving the house, it’s easy to feel as if we have no choice but to stay put. We forget how we used to stomp around when we were kids, bundled up to our eyeballs in snow gear, having snowball fights and building igloos with any other kids that happened to be nearby.

    We forget how to unstick ourselves.

    Creamy-Caramelized-Onion-Pesto (more…)

  • Best Chocolate Fudge Brownie Cookies


    Hey y’all.

    Welcome back from all the holiday madness. Now we’ve got less than a week before 2017 is upon us. Are you ready?

    I’m certainly not. That’s why this year, I’m going to try something new and totally out of character.

    I’ve decided not to make any goals for the year whatsoever. (more…)

  • Blog News + New York City, Part II

    Hey guys, Leili here. We’ve got big changes happening around here that you ought to know about, so keep on readin’ for a full update!

    I just got back from spending a few days in New York City with some family. The city at this time of year is always the most magical, and gives me all kinds of warm and fuzzies. Our plan was to finish up our Christmas shopping, but unsurprisingly, we were too disorganized to make that happen. (And let’s be real – I’ll just end up running to the mall the day before Christmas like I do every year anyway.)

    Instead of shopping, we mostly focused on filling our stomachs with good food and plenty of hot chocolate.

    Some of the food I had was out-of-this-world-amazing, so I really wanted to share it with you. These are places we didn’t cover in last summer’s New York City post, but they should be on your list for your next visit. (more…)

  • Intense Brown Butter Shortbread Cookies

    baked-brown-butter-christmas-cookies-cooling-yinandyolk-com

    The Dr. Frankenstein in me is going crazy with glee since it came up with the secret ingredient to these cookies.

    Maybe I’m not exactly Frankenstein. Thankfully. But my inner mad scientist always comes out when food is involved. Like when I made chocolate mousse with no dairy, or creamy ice cream without cream, or everything-free chocolate chip cookies. Unlike all those other times, though, I’ve altered this recipe to be even more gluttonous and dairy-full. And I have no regrets.

    jar-of-extra-brown-brown-butter (more…)

  • Copenhagen, Denmark

    nyhavn-christmas-boats

    Hello, friends!

    I’m back in Boston after a week in Copenhagen, where my boyfriend and I ate 24/7 and tried our best not to get hit by bicyclists channeling their ancestral viking spirits.

    bike-bridges-copenhagen

    I survived, and now I’m going to share my experiences with all of you lovely people. If you’re planning a trip to Denmark in the near future (or even in your daydreams), I hope I can provide you with part of the answer to “where should I eat in Copenhagen?”. And if you’ve never considered Denmark to be a place worthy of your travel time and budget, I hope I can show you just how wonderful it truly is. (more…)

  • Hash Brown with Turkey Gravy

    hash-brown-turkey-breakfast

    We hope you had some time to rest and some time to spend with loved ones and we hope it was spent with amazing food.

    hash-brown-with-gravy

    I’ve currently got a bit of the post Thanksgiving blues. Soon it won’t be acceptable to spend my day in sweatpants and eat plates of turkey and pies. My favorite holiday is over and my stash of leftovers is quickly diminishing. Before I gobble everything up, I want to share a quick breakfast recipe with you that involves Thanksgiving leftovers. (more…)