Alexandra cooks

An easy Sourdough Bread recipe that rises overnight and bakes in the morning. A simple flexible recipe made with sourdough starter, that can be adapted to your needs. View the 3 instructional videos above for more details. If you don't see the videos, make sure your ad blocker is off.

Adapted from Jim Lahey's book, My Pizza If you buy this Tipo 00 flour, this recipe comes together in seconds — each bag conveniently weighs 1000g, which is what the recipe calls for. If you use the Lahey pizza dough, you need to plan ahead: the dough sits at room temperature for 18 hours before it can be used. Moreover, after the 18 hours, it benefits from some cold fermentation in the fridge. The 6 rounds of dough can be used over the course of three days. Equipment: Baking Steel, pizza…

From my cookbook Pizza Night, this classic Italian dressing is perfect for all of your chopped salad needs. It takes no time to whisk together and yields enough for at least 3 large salads. Don't be afraid to double it, too. If you'd like to make the chopped salad pictured in the post above, you'll need: 1 head romaine lettuce, finely sliced ½ head radicchio, optional, finely sliced 1½ cups cooked or canned chickpeas (from a 16-ounce can), drained and rinsed 2-3 ounces salami, thinly sliced…

Cold, refrigerated dough is the secret to making delicious focaccia! Allowing the dough to rest 18 to 24 hours in the fridge will yield extra-pillowy and airy focaccia, though if you are pressed for time, you can make this start-to-finish in 3 hours. This 4-ingredient recipe requires only 5 minutes of hands-on time. Video guidance below! Adapted from the focaccia recipe in Bread Toast Crumbs. A few notes: Plan ahead: While you certainly could make this more quickly, it turns out especially…

From my cookbook Pizza Night, this classic Italian dressing is perfect for all of your chopped salad needs. It takes no time to whisk together and yields enough for at least 3 large salads. Don't be afraid to double it, too. If you'd like to make the chopped salad pictured in the post above, you'll need: 1 head romaine lettuce, finely sliced ½ head radicchio, optional, finely sliced 1½ cups cooked or canned chickpeas (from a 16-ounce can), drained and rinsed 2-3 ounces salami, thinly sliced…

Notes: This recipe is essentially the Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake recipe but with cranberries swapped for the blueberries. I've increased the sugar to 1 cup (from 7/8 cup) b/c cranberries are a bit tart and substituted orange zest for the lemon zest. If you don't like cranberries, many people have had luck with frozen blueberries. Also, this batter can be prepared the night before. Don't store it in the pan you plan on baking it in — store it in tupperware of some sort, then transfer…

Here’s a super simple but super flavorful summer pasta recipe: sautéed fresh cherry tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, basil, mozzarella, parmesan and orecchiette pasta. It’s a classic combination, and it couldn’t be more delicious If you are looking to bulk it up with some meat, a natural addition would be some browned, hot or sweet Italian sauce. Notes: I love a short pasta for this recipe (as opposed to spaghetti or linguini), and I particularly like the Barilla orecchiette. Conveniently, the…

Notes: Egg steaming method adapted from J. Kenji Lopez Alt's The Food Lab. I steam my eggs for 10 minutes as opposed to 12, and I find that to be perfect. It may take some trial and error to get the timing right for you. If you like to use your Instant Pot, here is my Instant Pot hard-boiled egg recipe. I find 1 large celery stalk yields about a heaping 1/3 cup of diced celery. I use all of it. I like celery. Use more or less to taste. Pickle Juice: This is a recent discovery and…

This is my Great Aunt Phyllis's Greek salad dressing recipe. My extended family has used it for years to dress — wait for it — Greek salad, but not a traditional horiatiki salad, which is a non-lettuce salad composed of largely chopped peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and feta, all dressed with a light drizzle of olive oil and vinegar. This Greek salad includes mustard and is a thicker, emulsified dressing. If you'd like to make the Greek salad pictured above, you'll need: For the Greek Salad: …