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    Miranda Levenstein

    Miranda Levenstein

  • User post: People-Pleasing Maple Apple Upside-Down Cake

    The other day when I was in line at Chipotle (their chips and salsa are the best deal in town) I overheard the woman ahead of me grilling the girl behind the counter about the presence of cilantro in their fresh salsas. After the customer was told all the salsas contained cilantro she asked if she c

  • User post: Bad mommy chocolate pizza

    I've been thinking a lot about the weightiness of motherhood given the combustible reactions received recently by two controversial mommies. As if most mothers didn't already question their competence on a daily basis leave it to Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and Gwyneth Paltrow's GOOP

  • User post: Clean Start Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

    I've never been big on New Year's resolutions, probably because they are almost impossible to keep. Sure, I can manage to watch my expenses, read more New Yorker and less In Style, and throw away the take-out menus for awhile. But ultimately, I slip into old, comfortable habits and I'm back where I

  • User post: Beyond Easy Minty White Chocolate Dipped Cookies

    On one of the final episodes of Top Chef Just Desserts Judge Johnny Iuzzini, bad-boy but really nice-guy pastry chef, sneered as one of the contestants presented him with a petit four. Johnny dismissed it and proclaimed it tasted like something found on a cruise ship. Apparently that was a bad thing

  • User post: Better to Give Chocolate Dipped Almond Stuffed Dates

    Gift giving is the bully of the holiday season. Everywhere you look there seems to be someone you need to thank or an offering you need to reciprocate (or one-up). Not only is it exhausting and annoying, it is also bank breaking. These presents have nothing to do with the gifts you actually want to

  • User post: New Thanksgiving Tradition Butternut Squash Lasagna

    Whenever my food magazines arrive in the mail I am always happy to see them and this time of year is the best. Each November and December issue is chock full of holiday sweets for me to pore over, sift through and ultimately tackle. As I read a column about readers' favorite holiday memories I was s

  • User post: My First Date with Date Bars

    Growing up in New York I always assumed everyone I saw on the streets grew up here too. When I learned that the majority of grown-ups had moved to my city from other places I was completely surprised. That kind of myopia informs a lot of New Yorkers.There's the swagger that comes from living in "the

  • User post: Team Spirit Soft Chocolate Pretzels

    Sports fans are at their annual crossroads again, the intersection of baseball and football. It's that time of year when DVRs threaten to overload, team loyalties are tested and I feel totally left out.The fact is I am devoid of athletic prowess and have no real interest in professional sports. I go

  • User post: Golden Girls and Boys One Bite Cheescakes

    I've never been one to enjoy hanging out with large groups of women. I feel completely separate from those members of my sex who like to travel in gaggles. I'm not entirely sure why I feel this way, especially since I had an all female secondary school education which was a largely positive experien

  • Welcome Trader Joe's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

    It is hard to explain the place food shopping has in the hearts of most New Yorkers. It is both a loathsome, frustrating experience and a wholly satisfying one due to the incredible offerings at some of the more inventive markets. And so it was with great anticipation that my neighborhood welcomed t

  • Worth Fasting For Rugelach

    Every year I wrestle with whether or not to fast on Yom Kippur. On the one hand the answer should be a no-brainer, "yes." I am Jewish and attend services at temple on the High Holy days. But on the other hand, that's really all I do. I don't have Shabbat dinners, I don't keep Kosher, and I don't eve

  • User post: Nosy Neighbor Zucchini Parmesan Bread

    I spent last Saturday channeling Gladys Kravitz. Remember her? She was the annoying neighbor on Bewitched who was the thorn in Samantha's side, always just about to catch her doing something witchy. The day had started promisingly enough. I went running, felt virtuous and planned on sitting outside

  • User post: Cleaning Out the Freezer Ice Cream Terrine

    So, here we are again; the end of another summer where I just never quite got the hang of it. I'm cranky because traditionally summer is my favorite season-which is a little like saying New Year's Eve is my favorite eve (it isn't), because in addition to warm nights and peaches summer brings lots of

  • No Regrets Tomato Tarte Tatin

    Years ago the New Yorker ran a cartoon that is still one of my favorites: a psychiatrist sits behind his patient who is lying on "the couch," the doctor's mouth is open, and the caption reads, "Shoulda, woulda, coulda. Next!" Isn't that great? If only it were that easy to think that way, to really b

  • User post: Summer Lovin' S'mores Bars

    The other day a story on the front page of the Times caught my attention. No, it wasn't about BP's history of being horribly irresponsible or Spain's World Cup triumph or the spread of the Shabab; it was about the release of "Grease: Sing-A-Long," a karaoke version of the 1978 smash film. What could

  • Family Favorite Birthday Cake

    I have hated my birthday ever since I was a child and I have no idea why. I had birthday parties, friends, cake and presents but somehow year after year I was disappointed. And even now I dread the big day weeks before its arrival. But one way I have found to cope is to bake my own cake every year.

  • When Life Hands You Lemons Loaf Cakes

    I have a new pet peeve which, although I think it's completely valid, is really annoying because I already have so many pet peeves to begin with. (I wonder what it would be like to be peeve-free?) The newest addition to the list of things that makes me go "argh" is when people take the misfortune of

  • North Meets South Coconut Layer Cake

    Despite being from New York, I have always loved Southern desserts. From pecan pie to red velvet cake nothing is too sweet for me which is in stark contrast to my dyed in the Shetland wool Yankee of a father. A few years ago, when I first gave myself the assignment of family birthday cake baker and

  • User post: Pushing Summer Strawberry Shortcakes

    Summer is my favorite season and I'm not completely sure why because, like birthdays, the expectations run high and the disappointments can take you down low. But I can't help myself. Every year I look forward to the weather warming up and the sun delivering its shiny dose of happiness. S.A.D., be g

  • User post: Not Just for Kids Make Your Own Sundaes

    In the past month I have been to three Bar Mitzvahs, thus doubling the number I have attended in my life time. For someone who grew up in New York City, is Jewish, and is in her 40's that is a pretty pitiful record. But it's actually not that surprising; I went to an all-girls school and, back in my