Press

FN Dish: Melissa Writes for Food Network’s Blog (Links to All Articles)

Melissa is a contributing writer for FN Dish, Food Network’s blog. Here’s a link to all her FN Dish contributions. And, here’s an overview of all her posts with links to each:

  • A Quick-Fix Breakfast Treat: Smoothies Without the Blender (January 26, 2014): Melissa loves starting off her day with a healthy breakfast, and the smoothie is a go-to favorite. In this blog, Melissa shares how to make a blenderless smoothie and offers a simple chia smoothie recipe to get you started.
  • 5 Tools in My “Supermarket Healthy” Pantry (January 10, 2014): While healthy home cooking doesn’t require special equipment, Melissa shares 5 of the most-used tools in her “Supermarket Healthy” kitchen.
  • DIY Sick Day Chicken Soup (December 27, 2014): The perfect food to nurse us back to health when we’re sick? Simple: chicken soup, of course. Melissa shares her easy, fast, and flexible recipe for DIY sick day chicken soup because, sometimes, even moms are the ones who get sick.
  • Hosting a Holiday Party? The Most-Important Thing to Serve: Yourself (December 13, 2014): For her annual Mother-Daughter Holiday Tea, family-favorite recipes and relaxed planning brought about hopes for the Best. Tea. Ever. But, when some unexpected logistical issues emerged, Melissa nearly let them ruin the very special day…until she re-focused her attention on this idea: “The most-important thing we serve at a party is ourselves — our attention and our hearts.”
  • The Secret to Holiday Bake-Ahead Success: Buttermilk Scones  – Plus, 10 More Recipes! (November 29, 2014): Make-ahead baking is a great way to prepare for the holiday season and a useful strategy for edible gifts (which will be appreciated by anyone on your list). Melissa shares her how-to tips (including how to get the kids involved), her go-to Scones recipes, and 10 more recipes to try.
  • An Ode to Mashed Potatoes (November 17, 2014): Don’t overlook one of the most essential food items that bring together any great dinner plate: mashed potatoes. Melissa shares 6 of her top tips to ensure fantastic mashed potatoes every time plus some of her favorite mashed potato recipes including Classic, Buttermilk, Twice Baked, and Yam Marbled.
  • Mastering the Basics of Braising + 6 Recipes to Try (November 4, 2014): Cozy up this winter with Melissa’s quick primer and 6 easy steps to braising meat like a professional. Braising meat coaxes out naturally rich flavors and decadent aromas. Try half a dozen of Melissa’s mouth-watering recipes that are easy and inexpensive to make.
  • Feeding Souls: My Challenge for You This Week (October 20, 2014): The “Cook Once, Eat Twice” idea takes on new meaning in this blog post. Instead of freezing the second half of your meal, why not give the other half to someone whose day could use a lift? Don’t wait for a big event or the night when you are making an extra fancy meal, try it this week with whatever is on your family’s menu. Anything will work from traditional sharing dishes like Melissa’s lasagna or long-lasting cold quinoa salad. You could also do what she did last week:  load up baking trays with veggies, potatoes and chicken, and roast up an easy meal to share.
  • Cooking with All Those Apples: A Top 10 List (October 4, 2014): Yes, apple season is officially here (truly officially, as October is National Apple Month). Whether you’re picking apples at a nearby orchard or shopping the apple sales at your local market, you may find yourself inundated with apples. So, what to cook with all those juicy apples? Here are Melissa’s top 10 recipes for both savory and sweet ways to enjoy every last one. From her homemade applesauce and Applesauce Empanadas to Sausage-and-Apple-Stuffed Pork Roast and Slow-Cooker Cobbler, these recipes will keep delicious apple dishes on your table for months to come!
  • The Roasted Veggie Plan: Foolproof Prep + 10 Creative Uses (September 22, 2014): In this blog post, Melissa shares a roasted veggie strategy that is both time-saving and healthy.  Vegetables can easily be roasted on the weekend, and then refrigerated to use in recipes all week.  She shares a foolproof prep plan for the veggies and offers 10 creative ways to use those veggies in your meals.
  • How to Shop Your Pantry, Plus 3 Weeknight Dinners to Master (September 6, 2014): The start of school means that Melissa can no longer begin thinking about dinner at 5pm – “in September, 5 p.m. without a dinner plan wreaks havoc on the delicate soccer-school-homework-ballet ecosphere of our home.” She shares her strategy to make weeknight dinners a breeze and offers 3 easy recipes you can master, plus a list of ingredients to always keep in stock.
  • Looking Back on One Year of Progress: The Picky Eaters Project (August 21, 2014): Melissa looks back over her time working on The Picky Eaters Project, from researching the causes of picky eating to developing and filming the project.  And, she shares how a family vacation helped her realize just how far her family has come in the past year.
  • How to Up Your Grill Game with Your Slow Cooker (August 2, 2014): Learn how to use your slow cooker to easily cook larger quantities of accompaniments that go well with whatever you have on the grill (think garlic mushrooms for a burger party or onions and peppers to top grilled sausages or fajitas) + get Melissa’s recipe for Slow-Cooker Peppers and Onions for Fajitas.
  • Slow Cooker + Outdoor Grill = True Love (July 26, 2014): Learn how and why to precook bone-in or tougher meats for better (and easier!) grilling results + get Melissa’s perfect Baby Back Ribs recipe.
  • How to Bake Without Heating up the House (July 19, 2014): Learn the strategy to baking in your slow cooker + get Melissa’s simple Summer Slow-Cooker Cobbler recipe.
  • Fourth of July Dips and Why I Love Them (June 28, 2014): Melissa reveals her ultimate cooking failure: a complete and utter failure from last Fourth of July – including fire and smoke and ruined burgers and a backyard full of hungry guests. Plus, as the title suggests, the dip recipes that saved her – perfect to add to your backyard BBQ spread this summer.
  • What a Rodent Taught Us About Dads (June 13, 2014): Melissa shares a recent story about an unwelcome backyard visitor and how her husband saved the day. In honor of Father’s Day, she goes on to talk about some of the many reasons she and the girls adore him. PLus, of course, the food: Melissa shares some of the families favorite recipes for a Father’s Day cookout.
  • The Magical All-Purpose Broth (May 29, 2014): Melissa shares her easy recipe for a fast, healthy and flavorful meal in just about no time. It all starts with her fool-proof All-Purpose Broth. The star ingredient? Miso paste. Find out what it is, how to use to it, and her favorite variations on a brothy and delicious meal.
  • 5 Must-Haves for a Healthy Summer Fridge (May 15, 2014): Melissa shares 5 of her favorite items to stock in her fridge (and freezer!) to keep things lean, light and healthier in the summer. Plus, she tells you why she loves them and how she likes to use them in her kitchen.
  • My #1 Tip for Navigating a New Gluten-Free Lifestyle (May 1, 2014): New to gluten free? Melissa’s been navigating the gluten-free world for almost a year now. And while she started out by adjusting some of her go-to recipes to make them gluten free, she soon realized that she was ignoring an obvious solution. Now she shares her #1 tip for gluten-free neophytes: start out making foods that are just naturally gluten-free! Find out how and why in this blog along with recipes for gluten-free meals to try today!
  • Post-Easter Guide to Using Up All Those Hard-Boiled Eggs (April 19, 2014): Feeling overwhelmed by copious amounts of hard-boiled Easter eggs in your kitchen? Melissa provides plenty of smart (and delicious!) strategies and recipes to use up all those leftover holiday eggs. Enjoy eggs for days whether you’re whipping together creative deviled eggs, spicing up egg salad with curry powder, or simply smashing a yolk into dijon mustard for a tangy homemade salad dressing.
  • Crepe Night: Gluten-Free Edition (April 3, 2014): Crepes are a favorite tradition in the d’Arabian home! Since one of her four daughters is gluten-intolerant, Melissa shares her journey to making the perfect gluten-free crepe — a recipe her whole family can enjoy (including her French husband whose mother makes the best crepes!). In addition to sharing the winning recipe, she talks through the issues with flour, the trials and tribulations through testing, the tips and tricks she learned, and ideas for both sweet and savory crepes. Bon appétit!
  • Spring Into Spring With 4 Seasonal Ingredients (March 20, 2014): With the arrival of Spring, Melissa looks forward to enjoying some of her favorite seasonal ingredients – asparagus, lamb, fennel, and fresh berries – while they’re at a flavor peak and price low! Melissa shares why she loves these tasty ingredients and some of her favorite ways to use them in simple, affordable, fresh recipes everyone can enjoy.
  • 5 Steps to a Family-Friendly St. Patrick’s Day (March 6, 2014): Melissa shares how her family celebrates the holiday from decor and music to festive holiday eats. Whether green foods like smoothies and muffins to traditional recipes like Corned Beef and Cabbage or Shepherd’s Pie, it’s easy to get in the spirit.
  • In Defense of Bean Night: Save Big and Eat Well – Plus Six Ways to Get Started (February 27, 2014): Melissa created “Bean Night”, a once weekly meal featuring inexpensive protein-rich foods, 10 years ago when she and her husband were on a very tight budget (with business school tuition to pay and a baby on the way). Here, Melissa shares the secrets to “Bean Night” success (which is not only about beans, although delicious in their own right!) but rather on creating nutritious dinners using simple (and cheap!) ingredients like eggs, whole grain pasta and canned fish while also learning tricks to stretch and elevate ingredients.
  • Chili for a New Jersey Winter (February 8, 2014): Comforted by a warm bowl of chili and a cozy pair of pajamas, Melissa checks in from cold and snowy New Jersey with fond (and chilly!) memories of her Vermont college years and the privilege of joining her mom on wintery outdoor photography adventures. Melissa then shares a few of her favorite cold weather recipes – from White Chili with Quick-Roasted Garlic to Pot Roast Carbonnade – that will warm your soul from the inside out.
  • Marking the Joy of Another Year: How the d’Aarabians Do Birthday Season (January 24, 2014): The new year means lots of birthday celebrations in the d’Arabian home. Melissa shares her thoughts on birthdays including the family’s favorite traditions and her recipes to make them extra special!
  • Starting a New Habit in 2014: Eat a Salad a Day (January 9, 2014): Melissa commits to a new habit for 2014: eating a salad a day. Here, she shares why this resolution works and offers 12 “dressed up” salad recipes that are as easy to prepare as they are on the wallet.
  • 3 Surprising New Year’s Celebration Ideas (December 27, 2013): Melissa loves ringing in the New Year, but admittedly likes to hit the hay before midnight. So, she highlights her three simple strategies for “celebrating the New Year with gusto, within the confines of a reasonable bedtime” – perfect also if you have young kids, like Melissa. Of course, she also includes delicious and family-friendly recipe ideas whether for snacks on New Year’s Eve or breakfast on the 1st.
  • 4 Mistakes You Don’t Have to Make This Holiday Season (December 5, 2013): In effort to help maintain some sanity amidst the excitement and chaos of the holiday season, Melissa highlights four of the biggest mistakes people make in the holiday kitchen – from edible gifts and house guests to entertaining woes and sweets overload. For each situation, Melissa offers a simple and strategic fix, along with recipes, like her homemade scones and granola, that will help you keep your head during the holidays.
  • 5 Ways to Include the Kids in Holiday Meals (November 21, 2013): It’s officially the holiday season, so in response to reader questions, Melissa shares her top five tips on how to include kids in holiday cooking (and eating!), along with some extra meal-time pointers for picky eaters. From kid-friendly Thanksgiving menu tasks, to recipes for signature mocktails/cocktails, these ideas make kids feel like an important part of the holiday preparation.
  • Celebrating My Favorite Fall Ingredient: Coconut Oil (November, 7, 2013): Melissa shares why “coconut oil is perhaps one of the most purchased and used oils in my house.” Used for both cooking and beauty applications, there are endless possibilities but Melissa highlights a few of her favorite ways to use the versatile oil—from replacing butter with coconut oil in crusts, to making a chocolate coconut shell for ice cream, to using it as all-over body oil and even hair serum!
  • Besides Winter, 6 Reasons to Love Soup (October 24, 2013): Soup is an all-year affair in the d’Arabian household, but everyone (even in San Diego) especially loves soup this time of year. Melissa offers six more reasons to love soup from losing weight to entertaining company along with six of her favorite soup recipes perfect for the whole family.
  • 5 (More) Reasons to Love Dessert (October 10, 2013): Dessert can be a great strategic player in helping picky eaters become more adventurous, so Melissa offers five dessert strategies she uses to combat picky eating in her household, as well as some of her favorite dessert ideas.
  • My Love Affair With Pumpkin (September 26, 2013): With fall in full swing, Melissa shares her passion for all things pumpkin! She outlines three of her favorite (and simple!) using pumpkin puree: Pumpkin-Date Smoothie, Pumpkin-Pecan Yogurt Parfait, Iced Pumpkin Soy Vanilla Latte.
  • How Ground Meat Can Save the Day (September 12, 2013): As life seems to get busy for everyone in the fall, Melissa offers two time-saving tools to get dinner on the table quickly: a value pack of ground meat and the freezer. She breaks down the steps to easily turn ingredients you buy at the grocery store into menus-waiting-to-happen as she partially preps ground beef into six menu ideas like an easy taco night and a simple chili —in less than 30 minutes!
  • Back-to-School Breakfasts (August 29, 2013): With fall approaching, Melissa recounts some of her fond back-to-school memories. She shares a school morning breakfast menu of nutritious recipes that can be fit into busy morning routines like her Magic Fruit and Veggie Cupcakes, Dutch Baby, Berry Smoothie, and Chocolate and Banana Smoothie.
  • The College Crusade: 3 Recipes to Pack Along with Your Laptop (August 15, 2013): Melissa reflects on her college days and various cooking experience throughout. She offers those heading to college a few easy and inexpensive recipes that punctuate the spaces between delivered pizzas. Melissa suggests her Green Morning Smoothie for a go-to starter recipe, her 4-Step Chicken for a “real” meal, and her Crisper Drawer Pasta instead of ramen noodles.
  • Bending the Rules on Summer Vacation (August 1, 2013): Melissa offers a glimpse inside her family vacation in Balboa Island (pictures included!), her childhood memories there, and indulging in frozen bananas (the star of the Balboa Island culinary scene)—it’s vacation time so rules can be bent!
  • Summertime, and the Sipping Is Easy (July 18, 2013): Melissa combines her love for sun tea from her childhood in Tucson and spa water into a new drink perfect for a hot summer day: spa tea. She offers refreshing ideas for DIY spa tea and water with 4 simple steps, flavor combination ideas and personal pics from her at-home creations.
  • Food, Family and the Fourth (July 4, 2013): Melissa shares how Independence Day became one of her favorite holidays (it wasn’t always!). During her first July 4th living away from the United States, Melissa’s experience of singing “America the Beautiful” with fellow Americans onboard a cruise ship in Greece strengthened the celebration of her heritage and love of the holiday. She offers tasty recipe suggestions and fun grilling ideas for this July 4th (or any barbecue!): Grilled Two-Cheese Burgers, Grilled Potato Salad, Grilled Crunchy Colelsaw, and Grilled Tomato Salsa.
  • Picnic Perfection (June 20, 2013): Picnics are full of challenges—packing healthy, delicious food kids will actually eat, while keeping the food in a temperature safe-zone, without spending too much time. Melissa offers four helpful tips, along with  five recipes to create perfect summer picnics: Quinoa Tabouli, Black Bean Brownies, Fruit and Veggie Mini Muffins, Picnic in a Jar, and Tuna Panzanella.
  • Piccata, Paella and Other Secrets to 10 Years of Marriage (June 6, 2013): In celebration of her 10-year wedding anniversary, Melissa shares stories and photos from her wedding, plus a fun announcement and some special recipes: 4-Step Chicken Piccata, the first dish she cooked for her husband, and Paella, a d’Arabian family tradition and the meal served at their rehearsal dinner.
  • How France Has Inspired Me (May 23, 2013): In her first blog post for FN Dish, Melissa answers fan questions about the impact her time in France has had on her life, and shares her own experiences as a working mom raising four young girls.