Nora Ephron once joked that whenever you went to a dinner party in New York in the 80s, Chicken Marbella was on the menu. Originally published in the Silver Palate Cookbook, it was chicken roasted with prunes, brown sugar, olives, capers, and garlic. I decided to update the classic recipe with even more garlic and a little less brown sugar, and now happily it's one of my favorite make-ahead recipes for a dinner party. I assemble the whole thing the night before and just pop it in the oven before dinner! That's my kind of recipe!  Click here for my recipe for Chicken Marbella, Updated. 

The first thing I do when I start cooking is crank up the tunes - it really gets my creative juices flowing! Today I'm sharing one of my go-to cooking playlists that I call "Women Who Rock" - it's a compilation of lots of my favorite songs by female artists. I hope you love it!  The playlist is available on Apple Music and Spotify.  (photo: Brigitte Lacombe)

Now that it’s September and everyone is back to school and back to work, couldn’t we all use a new foolproof weeknight dinner? My recipe for Chicken Thighs with Creamy Mustard Sauce might just do the trick. I sear chicken thighs in a cast iron skillet and then set them aside to rest while I make a quick mustard sauce right in the skillet with the delicious juices from the chicken. Dinner is on the table in a half hour  - you just need a green salad and bread to mop up the sauce!