Tips My Mom Taught Me (and What I Taught Her) & Recipes From Last Week

A Few Things I Learned From My Mom While She Was in Town, Chicken Avocado Sandwich, Panko-Crusted Salmon, Creamy Tomato Burrata Pasta with Basil-Parmesan, Cheesy Chicken Milanese

Hi everyone,

Hope you had a great week! My mom was just in town, and we had the best time together. Every time she’s here, we get so much done (we filmed nine recipes over three days!), plus being around her always breathes new energy into my work. Cooking with her is easily one of my favorite parts of the job.

When we’re in the kitchen, we’re constantly bouncing ideas off each other and analyzing every little detail. During the cookbook shoot, our food stylist Frances was laughing at how much we talk: “Should we add a little more of this?” “Should we do it that way?” “What do you think?” We’re always learning from one another. As many of you know, I first learned to cook from my mom (she taught me all the fundamentals) but now that this is my full-time job (and I’ve written a cookbook!), I feel like I have a few things to teach her, too.

So today, I’m sharing a couple of tips I learned from her on this trip, and a few things I taught her in return.

First, here’s a recipe for the dreamiest panko-crusted salmon! The top gets covered in a delicious cream cheese mixture (with capers, dill, and lemon zest) and toasted panko breadcrumbs. Soft and tender on the inside, crunchy on the outside, it’s the best of all worlds, and I can’t wait to make it again.

What I Cooked Last Week!

Featured recipe ↓

Panko-Crusted Salmon with Cream Cheese, Lemon, and Dill

This salmon looks and tastes super fancy but is actually so quick and easy to make. Crispy on the outside, tender and creamy on the inside!

Panko Crusted Salmon With Cream Cheese, Lemon, And Dill

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You can download the PDF recipe above and watch the video here :)

A Few Things My Mom Taught Me (and What I Taught Her)

Tips my mom taught me:

1. The 10-Minute Tidy

Neatness isn’t exactly my strong suit, especially in the kitchen. I’m not one of those “clean as you go” people. After filming a recipe, there’s usually a mountain of dishes in the sink. My mom’s first tip: use any spare moment while cooking, like when you’re waiting for something to bake or water to boil, to clean up a little. Put things away, load the dishwasher, wipe the counters. It helps keep things manageable and cuts down on the mess at the end.

But her most helpful tip is what she calls the “10-minute tidy” (shoutout to her friend Meredith for this one!). When a space feels overwhelmingly messy, whether it’s the kitchen or any other room, set a timer for 10 minutes and just start cleaning. You’ll be surprised how much you can get done. Mentally, it’s way easier to commit to 10 minutes than to a whole room.

We call her Cinderella when she's at my house 😂🧹

2. Don’t delay when something needs fixing

I noticed during this visit that my mom has a strong bias for action. When something needs to get done, she just does it, no waiting around. One day, the fridge fan started making weird noises. I said we’d deal with it later because we were in the middle of shooting a recipe, but she was like, “No, let’s call the manufacturer now.” We did, and they told us to vacuum the top of the fridge. She immediately pulled out the vacuum and it actually fixed the problem! She’s like that with most things in life, and it was a good reminder for me as I tend to sit on things or delay decisions, and then it can take forever.

Mom vacuuming the top of the fridge lol

3. Basil-Infused Parmesan