Stacey Ballis

“...truly amazing cooking isn't really so much about technique, it's about heart and soul...”

— Stacey Ballis

“My friend Alana comes over with her husband RJ, and they both kiss me simultaneously on my cheeks. They live in the…

— Stacey Ballis

“After escargots swimming in garlic butter, steak with the crispiest, thinnest fries imaginable, and simple salads of butter lettuce in a peppery…

— Stacey Ballis

“There is nothing wrong with believing in yourself, in your heart. It always knows the path you should take, and often, the…

— Stacey Ballis

“We shared deep passions. John Hughes movies, the New Romantics, the Chicago Bears. We both loved chicken-flavor Ramen and hated the shrimp…

— Stacey Ballis

“Chicken and vegetable pakoras, chickpea fritters with delicate spices. Aloo samosas filled with spicy potatoes, peas, and cilantro, with a fiery green…

— Stacey Ballis

“Naomi at TipsyCake is doing the cake, and it should be amazing." "Mmm, cake. What kind of cake?" "Almond cake with a…

— Stacey Ballis

“I'm making lunch. Who wants pasta?" "We have leftover caramelized cauliflower and some cannellini beans soaking," Lois says. "There's a chunk of…

— Stacey Ballis

“Going to the gym...all those people who always told me that you get addicted to it, that endorphins kick in, that eventually…

— Stacey Ballis

“This year I am doing praline pecans, an old favorite family favorite, easy and addictive. And a festive holiday dark chocolate loaf…

— Stacey Ballis

“I love the caraway seeds in the classic rye bread, but I wonder if the rich dough might not also hold up…

— Stacey Ballis

“We wanted to do French toast for the brunch, but acknowledged that it is a dangerous item for a special event where…

— Stacey Ballis

“Thursday night is pasta night," I say. "I left you guys a lasagna Bolognese, garlic knots, and roasted broccolini. Ian is going…

— Stacey Ballis

“I've been developing killer updated versions of things like Black Forest cake, now with bittersweet devil's food cake, a dried-cherry conserve, and…

— Stacey Ballis

“Brian orders us both Grandpa's Turtle Sundaes, a classic with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, caramel sauce, whipped cream and nuts, topped…

— Stacey Ballis

“I'm going to explode," my dad says, rubbing his stomach gleefully. He's just put down a massive sandwich piled with corned beef,…

— Stacey Ballis

“Elliot, that was amazing." The meal has been spectacular. We started with a salad of fennel, golden beets, and grapefruit. He did…

— Stacey Ballis

“I think back to the parties Aimee and I planned, and how all those tuxedos and ball gowns weren't really that much…

— Stacey Ballis

“I sliced the chicken with my fingers and put it into a small skillet to warm, separate a couple of eggs, and…

— Stacey Ballis

“You have to come for dinner soon. Alana seems to have perfected this insane braised chicken with chorizo and chickpeas that is…

— Stacey Ballis

“Life is also about balance, just the way recipes are about balance. When your recipe isn't balanced, it doesn't taste right. Too…

— Stacey Ballis

“I invested in a fifteen-dollar handheld mandoline, knowing that my knife skills would never be good enough to get the potatoes thin…

— Stacey Ballis

“A chilled pea soup of insane simplicity, garnished with creme fraiche and celery leaves. Roasted beet salad with poached pears and goat…

— Stacey Ballis

“In the center of the table is a classic deli platter of lox and tuna salad with all the fixings, bagels, and…

— Stacey Ballis

“Volnay is prancing, head up proudly; her squat little bowlegs producing a smooth gait that would make the dog show people preen.…

— Stacey Ballis

“I have been all over the world cooking and eating and training under extraordinary chefs. And the two food guys I would…

— Stacey Ballis

“The menu is spectacular. Passed hors d'oeuvres include caramelized shallot tartlets topped with Gorgonzola, cubes of crispy pork belly skewered with fresh…

— Stacey Ballis

“But every once in a great while, the pull of her heritage would hit her, and Grand-mere would cook something real. I…

— Stacey Ballis

“Caroline has laid out a beautiful spread, which is a combination of some of my favorite things that she has cooked, and…

— Stacey Ballis

“Most tourists, having done some research on Chicago delicacies, order their Italian beef sandwiches "wet," meaning that a slosh of extra meat…

— Stacey Ballis

“There are food stations around the room, each representing one of the main characters. The Black Widow station is all Russian themed,…

— Stacey Ballis

“I cooked with so many of the greats: Tom Colicchio, Eric Ripert, Wylie Dufresne, Grant Achatz. Rick Bayless taught me not one…

— Stacey Ballis

“That's too bad, Anneliese, the house is really spectacular. Anneke is a true talent." "It will be a new standard-bearer for the…

— Stacey Ballis

“I make the creamed spinach, as close as I can get to the memories I have of eating it at Lawry's Steak…

— Stacey Ballis

“Don't knock homespun. All comfort food is homespun, and according to you and my cooking magazines, comfort food is the trend. You…

— Stacey Ballis

“darling Eloise. You own the space you take up in this world. Abraham Lincoln said, ‘You have to do your own growing,…

— Stacey Ballis

“Deciding that he was essentially useless, I made him a large glass of sangre del tigre- "blood of the tiger"- a lethal…

— Stacey Ballis

“So tonight we are just seven. Seven people, and twelve pounds of pork. I pick a piece of the insanely delicious crispy…

— Stacey Ballis

“Liam's hash brown casserole can only be described as so over-the-top ridiculous I fear Paula Deen is sitting somewhere cackling about it.…

— Stacey Ballis

“Zucchini pasta with chicken and lemon," Melanie says. "I'm using whole-grain linguini, and the zucchini is shredded in long strips the same…

— Stacey Ballis