Recently in The New York Times Cooking app and several times in my Facebook feed, a recipe appeared  by Yossy Arefi for Chocolate Doughnut Muffins. I finally gave in and purchased the ingredients to make them. I figured my husband and I would try them, then give the rest to our grandchildren. The best thing about these doughnuts is they don’t require a doughnut pan or deep frying, just a 12-cup muffin pan. As I was mainly making these for my granddaughters as a school snack, I used mini muffin pans for the perfect two bite snack.
 
For the recipe you’ll need unsalted butter, eggs, granulated sugar, sour cream, vegetable or canola oil, freshly grated nutmeg, kosher salt, Dutch-process cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, all-purpose flour and ground cinnamon.

Yes, twice this week my poor husband had to suffer through eating a new pasta dish and pizza that didn’t include red sauce. Fear not, he eats well, in fact, he really enjoyed the Creamy One-Pot Mushroom and Leek Pasta and Flatbread Pizza with Ricotta, Marinated Artichokes and Herbs.
 
The pasta recipe is from Hetty Lui McKinnon of The New York Times and the ingredients aside from the ones mentioned in the title are olive oil, fresh garlic, mixed mushrooms (cremini, shiitake or oyster), a lemon, short pasta (orecchiette , cavatappi, gemelli or penne), vegetable stock, unsalted butter, fresh parsley, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, whole-milk ricotta and red pepper flakes. I purchased pre-packaged assorted mushrooms that included white, shiitake and baby Bella mushrooms and for the pasta, cavatappi.

​Our family recently returned from a week on the Outer Banks. The weather was delightful, so much in fact, my grandchildren made it to the beach a few times. However, towards the end of our stay, the sun was out, but the wind was blowing strong. Even on Saturday as I sat in my kitchen, I can hear the wind blowing lending a chill to the air.
 
However, I’m trying to bring some springtime into my cooking and did that this week with two one pan meals. The recipes are from “Southern Living Magazine,” One-Pan Chicken with Lemon, Olives and Artichokes and the other Skillet Pork Tenderloin with Apples. 

​This year my husband wanted to have a family reunion with his two sisters and their families on the Outer Banks, North Carolina. We haven’t seen some of our relatives for several years since a last wedding or funeral and selected Easter week for our reunion.
 
On Easter Sunday, my husband’s sister, Karen, and husband hosted a gathering of 17. Karen prepared a seafood bake using shrimp, smoked sausage, corn, potatoes and onions seasoned with both Old Bay and Chesapeake Bay seasoning. I didn’t get a picture of this, but take my word, it was absolutely delicious. She made it in the oven, but if her grill was large enough for the pan she used, it would have been done outside. She prepped the potatoes and onions ahead of time, then on Easter Sunday added the shrimp (clams can be added too), sausage, corn and baked covered in the oven. (Recipe is coming soon.)