Today on the Lady Lair LIVE Podcast, my lady friend Ali Rosen and I blanch asparagus and put eggs on eggs (she loves that!) with both our hand whisked mustard aioli and my soft/hard boiled eggs. We got to talking... some were a little more hard boiled than soft, what can I say it's real life. 

I love spur-of-the-moment recipes. What's great about this is that it's a fast lunch or dinner that feels fancy... because, who ever makes eggplant on-the-fly (that's a restaurant term :)). You do, lady friend. 

This year I am honored to be one of the judges for the AOL Lifestyle Food Awards where me and 14 other food bloggers and lifestyle experts rate and rank their favorite new kitchen toys and provide their signature recipe. 

To celebrate National Sauvignon Day (May 6th!), I hosted a ladies lunch with media and influencers at Maman in NYC where we drank The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc. 

Everyone needs a good meat sauce in his or her back pocket. I know a lot of Italians will have a problem with cream and cheese in this sauce, and it goes just as well without – feel free to differ in your opinion. Like a sweeter sauce? Add 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers (like my Mom!) or 2 diced carrots. My favorite ways to eat this sauce include pasta, M.Y.O.P and best of all – on a crusty loaf of bread.

I'm going to call this the LA version of Avocado Toast - a little more Asian inspired and without the carbs. This is the ideal lunch or dinner for #MeatlessMonday or a great way to fancify leftover takeout rice. 

I love this recipe. To me, the aroma of roast chicken symbolizes home, family and love. What’s even better is that ingredients can be substituted for shallots, lemon and garlic. Or make it a party and invite all the ingredients – and your friends.
 

You’re gonna love me. My mission has been and always will be that cooking dinner can happen in 15 minutes and use one pan… especially for Lady Lair LIVE. Want to save even more time? Skip the store bought pizza dough (although, come on it’s pretty easy) and use naan or pita bread. Don’t want to make labneh, that’s cool, use a high quality ricotta cheese. Best part, dress your own to show your true sense of style. You got this girl.

Cauliflower was the “it” vegetable a few seasons back… so I was sick of it. But now, I can embrace an old favorite again… I’ve never been a joiner. That and an avocado dressing that easily substitutes as a dip – BAM! – sign me up.

This. Is. The. Easiest. Salad. EVER. When I just started freelancing I worked for an Israeli chef who taught me the easiest and most surefire way to make cous cous. There are a lot of theories out there on how to cook grains but here’s the tip on cous cous. Empty as much as you want into a bowl, boil water, season as you would pasta and pour 1” over the cous cous. I add frozen vegetables to the bowl (easy, peasy) and it’s a one bowl dish in less than 10 minutes.

Cod is the Plain Jane white fish of the sea so imagine this is its chance for a makeover. For tonight dinner, confit (which means to cook in fat) filets of cod using extra virgin olive oil, herbs, spices and aromatic lemon slices to create a pantry driven dish that feels elegant and oh-so- French.

I mean, is there any dish sexier (but not sexy looking) than Coq Au Vin? It's like the sexy bed head of culinary world. Its got this element you can't get unless there's a little rough and tumble. Soak this chicken in wine overnight. If you don't want to make your own stock - that's ok, I don't judge. The secret ingredients are mustard and castelvetrano olives. 

This 5-ingredient tart is insanely easy and good. Buy store bought pie crust for an even easier weeknight 'I-just-need-dessert-after-dinner' craving.

A whole new take on nachos with these potatoes. Simple to throw together and extra delicious, spicy and (somewhat) healthy. It’s like putting a salad on cheese fries – BAM!