Snappy, small, fragrant, vanilla wafer cookies made with a whole vanilla pod. The entire thing!

A heads up about a recipe I've done for Nikole Herriott's new For the Love of Pie series. My contribution: Blueberry Lemon Verbena Pie.

A few more Rome pics & a simple pasta dish made from ricotta-stuffed tortelli tossed with brown butter balsamic sauce, arugula, pecorino cheese, and lemon zest.

A nice way to use up a good amount of summer squash. This soup is a soft, pastel shade of yellow, and aside from a hint of tang from the buttermilk, is quite mild in flavor. I finish it with a cumin brown butter drizzle that punches right through the creaminess, and plenty of chopped chives.

Maple syrup scones sweetened with a hint of maple syrup. Big flakes of sugar meld into a sweet, crackly top crust, and the whole wheat pastry flour makes them beautifully tender.

Fresh popcorn is tossed with melted butter, lime juice, jalapeno peppers, red pepper flakes, cumin and a splash of tequila.

My friend Sante shared his hermit recipe with me - a simple, drop-style, spice cookie loaded with tiny currants, chopped walnuts, and finished with a bit of icing.

Powder-kissed and pretty, these Swedish Rye cookies are perfect for holiday cookie enthusiasts who are after a not-too-sweet, shortbread-style butter cookie.

My take on the classic fantasy fudge recipe - made with Scharffen Berger chocolate, butter (not margarine) , and organic cane sugar.

Chocolate stuffed sandwich cookie recipe made with a poppy-flecked brown sugar dough.

A quartet of vibrant, colorful, and unique compound butter recipes - Smoked Paprika, Dry Desert Lime, Raw Serrano, and Dehydrated Strawberry.