No-Bake Chocolate Cream Pie with Toasted Meringue

Posted by: Nicole Dula on Mar 14 2016

I’ve had this pie bookmarked from Bon Appétit since I first laid heart-eyes on it. It’s a rich chocolate pudding pie in a chocolate cookie crust with a torched meringue topping. Can you even? Marc was out of town for work the week of his birthday, so I schemed to make this for his return. He loves chocolate pudding and his birthday was just the excuse I needed to get out the blow torch. By complete stroke of luck, it also happens to be Pi Day and here I have one of the prettiest pies to come out of my… Continue reading ≻

Olive Oil Banana Nut Bread

Posted by: Nicole Dula on Mar 8 2016

Banana bread is one of my favorite comfort foods, yet, I rarely make it! What’s wrong with me?? It reminds me of childhood church picnics where the older ladies sliced the banana bread thin and smeared each slice with (let’s be real) margarine. I could eat that forever. Eleven years ago now, my sister-in-law suffered a terrible loss. She was still so young at 17 and she needed us. We invited her over to our new apartment and she wanted to bake something together. A quick search of the internet produced an EXTREME banana nut bread recipe and it was… Continue reading ≻

Vegetarian Black Bean, Kale and Quinoa Enchilada Bake

Posted by: Nicole Dula on Feb 23 2016

You’re going to like this one. It’s hearty comfort food made with nutritious ingredients for a cozy meal you can feel good about. I’ve been all about comfort food this winter, but it sadly can’t always be carbs, carbs, carbs. This casserole comes together easily and will impress your vegetarian and non-vegetarian friends alike. It’s a great dish to bring to a friend, new mom or anyone who could use a meal hug. It freezes great, too. Remove the cheddar cheese and you have a full-flavored vegan meal. Marc said this filling would be great on nachos and I say… Continue reading ≻

Quick Diner-Style Cheeseburgers

Posted by: Nicole Dula on Feb 16 2016

We’ve been making these quick burgers for a year now and I’m always impressed with how quickly they come together and with so little effort. Ah, my favorite kind of recipe. Most of us probably have a favorite burger dive or the proximity to a Five Guys, Shake Shack or In-N-Out, but sometimes you just want to eat really good, messy, burgers at home in comfy pants. I first heard about this recipe from Sarah Jessica Parker, of all people, when she tweeted that her family loves them. I don’t follow SJP on Twitter, but someone else mentioned the tweet. SJP… Continue reading ≻

Creamy Black Bean Dip

Posted by: Nicole Dula on Feb 9 2016

I’m just not that into football, but I do love the snacks. If you root for the snacks, you always win. On Sunday we watched the game with Marc’s parents and I brought this dip. I’ve made it several times now and each time I get the look that says we’ll never eat all that. The bowl is always emptied, though! Best of all, it’s so easy, too. My mother-in-law made minestrone with a ton of veggies, a colorful salad with sesame dressing, meatballs, shrimp cocktail and apple crisp. A fun mix! We busted this dip out at half time and I was scooping… Continue reading ≻

Dutch Oven Mississippi Roast

Posted by: Nicole Dula on Feb 2 2016

This Mississippi Roast recipe has become an internet sensation. The original recipe calls for a chuck roast, a stick of butter, pepperoncini and a packet of ranch dressing in a slow cooker. Sam Sifton from The New York Times reworked the recipe to decrease the butter, increase the pepperoncini and make a quick ranch dressing from scratch out of pantry staples. I was drawn to the recipe because my husband loves beef and this recipe only required that I pick up a roast and some pepperoncini. Plus, I really, really love pepperoncini. I planned the meal for last Sunday, cooking away while… Continue reading ≻

Grapefruit Blueberry Scones

Posted by: Nicole Dula on Jan 26 2016

Important news, I pre-ordered my paczki for Feb. 9! I can’t risk not getting the lime-curd cream filled paczki with the raspberry glaze I fell in love with last year. Paczki eating is a pretty big deal around here. I mean, nobody wants the sad ones from the grocery store, right? Also, now that it’s January, I’m craving scones. It happens to me every January. I see all of the pretty winter citrus and right after eating my weight in drippy, pink, cara cara oranges, I start thinking about citrus scones. That tang from the citrus and buttermilk magically balances… Continue reading ≻

Vegan Cashew Milk Hot Chocolate

Posted by: Nicole Dula on Jan 19 2016

In 2015, I made an effort to try new brunch spots in and around Detroit. We did pretty well. One of our favorite places for dinner, Selden Standard, has a simple brunch menu, always choosing quality over quantity. I had hash while Marc had steak and eggs. We also split a side of tater tots and a cinnamon roll with mascarpone icing. It was my birthday after all. They also offer their own housemade cashew milk and as much as I wanted a glass, I felt I was at my threshold for ordering extras. I still wonder how it tastes,… Continue reading ≻

Smashed Crispy Potatoes with Eggs + Lemon Vinaigrette

Posted by: Nicole Dula on Jan 12 2016

Smashed Crispy Potatoes with Eggs and Lemon Vinaigrette Recipe // @nicoledula

Marc says my biggest food pet peeve is under-seasoned potatoes and I guess it’s true. I really do love potatoes, but if they aren’t seasoned, what’s the point? Higher-end brunch or breakfast places usually know how to make good potatoes, but many of the little diners around here will serve me the most perfect-looking and crisp hash browns that are sadly very bland. There’s not much the salt shaker can do for you when the potatoes haven’t seen much salt before they hit your plate. I remember a Serious Eats article where J. Kenzi Lopez-Alt tested whether seasoning as you go… Continue reading ≻

German Christmas Stollen 2015

Posted by: Nicole Dula on Dec 22 2015

This is the 7th (!!) year I’ve made stollen and it’s the 4th year I’ve made a quadruple batch with my friend, Nancy. We call it the stollen workshop and this year I went over to her place after work on Friday, picked up pizzas and we set out our equipment and did some pre-measuring. Marc and I went back on Saturday afternoon after our morning kickboxing class and the last loaf was out of the oven around 6:30 pm. We watched holiday movies while we waited for the last loaves to cool. My Oma used to bring foil-wrapped loaves of stollen… Continue reading ≻

Dula Notes

Seasonal recipes and adventures from Michigan with love

Posts in the category: Recipes