Recipe Index

Appetizers
Cheddar-Stuffed Mushrooms
Roasted figs with prosciutto
Thai Peanut Maki
Zucchini rolls with roasted garlic ricotta

Sauces and Condiments
Blood Orange Marmalade
Bourbon cranberry sauce
Cross Bronx Barbecue Sauce
Herb Butter (for Turkey)
Killer Porcini Mushroom Tomato Sauce
Lemony Feta Sauce
Maida Heatter's Applesauce
Slightly Salty Dulce de Leche
Sticky onion relish

Soup
Chipotle Tortilla Soup
French Onion Soup
Lab Party Chili with All the Ways
Mom's Christmas Eve Cioppino
Slow Cooker Lamb and Lentil Soup
Triple garlic chickpea soup

Salads
Blood Orange Grain Salad
Giant Duck Salad
Island Pork Tenderloin Salad
Seriously simple beet salad

Vegetables
Cauliflower Gratin
Cheddar-Stuffed Mushrooms
Chickpeas and Greens Simmered in Yogurt (Chana Saag)
Green Curry Stir Fry
Momofuku Ssam Bar Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Pomegranate Spiced Carrots
Pumpkin Orzo with Sage
Seriously simple beet salad
Spicy maple-glazed roast carrots
Sweet Chili Sauce Lettuce Wraps
Sweet potato casserole
Vegetarian Pa Jeon
Zucchini rolls with roasted garlic ricotta

Beans and Legumes
Lab Party Chili with All the Ways
Orzo with Garlicky White Beans and Chicken Sausage
Slow Cooker Lamb and Lentil Soup

Pasta/Noodles/Rice
Bucatini with Quick Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce
Cavatelli with Brown Butter, Sage, and Hot Sausage
Four Cheese Macaroni
Killer Porcini Mushroom Tomato Sauce (for pasta)
Meyer Lemon Pasta with Seared Scallops
Mushroom risotto
Orzo with Garlicky White Beans and Chicken Sausage
Pumpkin Orzo with Sage
Penne al Fiorentino, sort of
Pesto lasagna with Spinach and Artichokes
Quick Baked Ziti with Greens and Hot Salami
Soba noodles with peanut sauce
Spicy Corn and Roasted Red Pepper Risotto

Fish/Seafood
Buffalo Salmon
Baked tilapia with slow-roasted tomatoes
Honey Mustard Salmon
Meyer Lemon Pasta with Seared Scallops
Miso-glazed cod
Mom's Christmas Eve Cioppino
Salmon with Soy-Honey and Wasabi Sauces
Seared Tuna with Multi-Mushroom Ragout
Tequila-Lime Shrimp

Poultry
Chicken and mushroom casserole
Chicken marsala, fear-of-poultry style
Giant Duck Salad
Herbed tzatsiki chicken
Open Faced Turkey Meatball Sandwiches
Pretzel-Crusted Chicken
Roast Cherryaki Duck
Sweet Chili Sauce Lettuce Wraps
Turkey Meatballs for the Masses
Walk Away Roast Chicken

Pork
Cavatelli with Brown Butter, Sage, and Hot Sausage
Island Pork Tenderloin Salad
Pulled Pork
Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs

Beef
Horseradish Brisket
Ricotta Meatballs in Mushroom Pecorino Broth
Spicy Steak with Wilted Peppers

Lamb
Port-Braised Lamb Shanks with Coriander, Fennel, and Star Anise
Ricotta Meatballs in Mushroom Pecorino Broth
Slow Cooker Lamb and Lentil Soup
Yogurt Marinated Lamb Kabobs with Lemony Feta Sauce

Bread, Muffins, Pancakes
Artisan Bread
Easy! Delicious! Basic! Bread!
Fall Banana Muffins
Gingered half wheat pancakes
Pumpkin-Cranberry Bread
Spicy pumpkin bread
Vegetarian Pa Jeon

Fruit
Blood Orange Marmalade
Maida Heatter's Applesauce
Roasted figs with prosciutto

Eggs and Quiche
Holiday Quiche
Kitchen-Sink Frittata
Mushroom Baked Eggs with Slow Cooker Grits
Quiche with mushrooms, shallot, and fontina cheese
Spanish Tortilla

Desserts—Pudding, Uncategorizables
Marshmallows
Spiced Hot Cocoa Rice Pudding
Slightly Salty Dulce de Leche

Desserts—Cookies
Black Forest Cookies
Chewy amaretti cookies
Dark chocolate and ginger crinkles
Famous New York Times Cookies
Secret Ingredient Oatmeal Cookies

Desserts—Pies, Cakes, Crumbles, Crisps
Bailey's White Chocolate Cheesecake
Bourbon-orange pecan pie
Fresh Plum Tart with Goat Cheese and Walnut-Thyme Streusel
40-proof pumpkin pie
Lemon Goat Cheese Cake
Malted milk cake
Meyer Lemon Poppyseed Loaf
Mint Julep Pie
Pear Crumble with Crystallized Ginger
Pie Crusts (both regular and graham cracker)
Spicy Molasses Gingerbread Cake

About Us

Maggie and Shiv are a pair of New York-based designers who share a love of design and a passion for cooking. We haunt farmer's markets and specialty food stores; we love a gorgeous font and a beautiful picture. We eat brunch.

We started the blog because we love to discuss the delicious things we cook almost as much as we like making them (though probably not as much as we enjoy eating them. Sorry.)

We hope you enjoy your visit, and come back again!

You can reach us at pithyandcleaver [at] gmail [dot] com

A few additional details...

Maggie is a book designer from Oregon who thoroughly enjoys living and working in Manhattan. She likes: pretty kitchenware, cooking to music, watercolor pencils, free wine tastings, wirehaired dachshunds, bad television, piles of magazines, catching up with friends over coffee and lemon ricotta pancakes, and exploring the city.

She dislikes: when you poke fun at her former life as an a cappella singer. It was totally a cool thing to do in college. Also laundry and garbage, but her fiancé Matt is in charge of that area of her life now.



Shiv is a photographer, a musician, and an intermittent redhead. She's from California by way of the UK, and is notorious for changing her hair and losing her sunglasses.

She likes: bourbon, fresh cherries, mint malted milk balls, pushing daisies, boots, autumn, steampunk, comic books, kickboxing, red lipstick, running, and sushi. She is also mighty fond of a gentleman by the name of Thelonious Bench.

She doesn't like: the subway during rushhour, airplanes, scorpions, being cold, doing the dishes.

You can hear her at www.lucysnowe.net, and see some of her work at Etsy.