Impress your friends-Become a Cheese Connoisseur

I don’t know anyone not obsessed with cheese (except those sad lactose intolerant friends, a pity!). There’s just something incredibly satisfying about cheese, whether it be a delicious smattering of varieties on a great cheese platter served with wine or…

Your Perfect Match: NYC Dining Guide for Any Kind of Valentine’s Day

For some, Valentine’s Day is a wonderful day of presents, chocolate, and a romantic evening. For others, it can be a slightly annoying reminder of continued single-ness. No matter whether you’ll be spending Valentine’s Day with a significant other or…

Just Beet It: A Refreshing Winter Salad

Every chef, mom, and just generally healthy person knows that one food group trumps all in the quest for good health: vegetables! However, when it gets cold and snowy outside, I don’t know many people who crave a nice, warm…salad.…

Sushi Made Simple

Beginner Sushi Guide: Making Norimaki Whether you’re hosting a party at your own home, or you’re invited to attend a potluck dinner, you often need to make crowd-pleasing appetizers. One creative hors-d’oeuvre that’s always bound to impress is sushi; however,…

Summer Candy Salad

As a single mother of toddler twins and the owner of a busy catering company I’m obsessed with finding shortcuts to ease the day-to-day pandemonium that is my life. Being a chef you would think I’d have creative solutions to…

For the Love of Donuts

I was lucky to grow up in an Italian family where food was often the highlight of conversation and get-togethers. It was a huge influence on my decision to attend culinary school eight years ago, and even decades later those…

Tips from a Catering Diva

Welcome to Tips From a Catering Diva! As Executive Chef and Creative Director of Sweet Basil Catering & Events, much of my cooking is more formal for catered events, but I also enjoy preparing casual dinners at home when friends…