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BMI Family Recipes

October 21, 2025 | Categories: General

Poetry is often treated with the delicacy and mystery of fine dining, but in the poetry kitchen, the poet is more like a home cook than a Michelin-star chef. And just as a home-cooked meal tastes best in a community, we wanted to pull out our recipe box and share some of our favorite dishes, family secrets, party-pleasers, and hearty acts of service. We’re excited to showcase favorite recipes that have held our chaos together and prove that food can come in the form of love.

Made-in-the-Pan Chocolate Cake 

Colette LaBouff (Executive Director)

From the NYT – Mollie Katzen recipe, adapted by Margaux Laskey, and shortened here by me.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions:
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a square glass baking dish. Add water, oil, vanilla and vinegar. Stir with fork/whisk until fully mixed. Sprinkle optional chocolate chips on top. Wipe the edges of the baking dish with a paper towel. Bake for 28 to 33 minutes. Cut in squares and serve!

This is a cake that I almost always make on a Sunday and bring to work on Monday. Though it is a frosting-less vegan cake, I love to make chocolate frosting for it. At BMI, we have shared many Monday chocolate cakes, and it is a sweet way to start a week, knowing that, when 3pm comes around, there is a dessert for all of us in the kitchen.

Smitten Kitchen’s Mushroom Bourguignon – Vegetarian Version

Charlotte Wyatt (Associate Director, Programs)

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened, divided
  • 2 pounds portobello mushrooms, in 1/4-inch slices (caps only, and while you can sub in other mushroom types, portobello/baby bello are best)
  • 1/2 carrot, finely diced
  • 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic (at least), minced
  • 1 cup full-bodied red wine (or whatever you’ve got – I used to work in a winery, so I had a lot of wine lying around — BUT it should be red)
  • 2 cups vegetable broth (this is not a time for low-sodium)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed
  • Egg noodles, for serving

Instructions:

  1. Heat 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large, heavy pan on medium-high or high heat (lower if you’re using stainless — it took me a long time to figure that out). Sear the mushrooms until they begin to darken, but stop before they release any liquid — about three or four minutes. Remove them from the pan.
  2. Lower the flame to medium and add the second tablespoon of olive oil. Toss the carrots, onions, thyme, a few good pinches of salt and a several grinds of black pepper into the pan and cook for 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for just one more minute.
  3. Add the wine to the pot, scraping any stuck bits off the bottom, then turn the heat all the way up and reduce by half. Stir in the tomato paste and the broth. Add back the mushrooms with any juices that have collected and once the liquid has boiled, reduce the temperature so it simmers for 20 minutes, or until the mushrooms are very tender. Add the pearl onions and simmer for five minutes more (or until they are fully heated through, because if you’re like me, you forgot to thaw them and they’re still half-frozen).
  4. Combine remaining butter and the flour with a fork until combined; stir it into the stew. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 more minutes. If the sauce is too thin, boil it down to reduce to the right consistency. Season to taste.
  5. To serve, spoon the stew over a bowl of egg noodles (which you have already made … or now scramble to make during that final simmer), dollop with sour cream (if you’re feeling fancy) and sprinkle with chives or parsley (if you remembered/could afford to buy garnish).

This is something I used to make a lot in the years I spent in wine country. It’s comforting, great for winter (the rainy season there), and feels really indulgent but isn’t all that heavy. This is a cozy dish for me, something I want to eat from a bowl while curled up on the couch alongside loved ones, where we can enjoy being out of the rain and cold. This recipe supposedly serves 4, but regardless of how many people I am feeding, there have never been leftovers.

A not-so-fishy dishy (Stuffing with Anchovies)

Kellen Braddock (Associate Director, Administration)

Ingredients:

  • 1 fresh sausage
  • 1 cup minced onions
  • Turkey liver minced
  • 1 fresh mushrooms washed, “directed in corner of towel,” and diced
  • 1 cup pitted black olives, diced
  • 2 tablespoons capers, squeezed dry, minced
  • 2 large eggs lightly beaten
  • 1 small clove garlic pureed
  • 1/2 tsp ground thyme
  • 1/2 “imported” bay leaf, pulverized (spice Islands)
  • 4 cups croutons (from homemade type bread white, cut into 1/2 inch
  • dice, dried in oven
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

  1. Break up sausage meat, saute slowly in frying pan
  2. Remove to big bowl, pour fat into another bowl
  3. Return 2 tablespoon fat to pan
  4. Saute onions 6-8 minutes until lightly browned
  5. Add minced liver and saute with onion 1 minute to stiffen
  6. Scrape into mixing bowl
  7. Twist mushrooms in corner of towel
  8. Saute until pieces begin to separate
  9. Scrape into mixing bowl
  10. Beat in olives, anchovies, capers, eggs, garlic, herbs
  11. Fold in croutons
  12. Add salt and pepper to taste.

A staple of our holiday family dinners—but you can enjoy this stuffing year-round. It’ll make your = whole home smell good and comforting—and you’ll sleep like a baby!

Engagement Roast Chicken 

Kim Treviño-Kiraly (Associate Director, Development)

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 (4 to 5 pound) roasting chicken
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 lemons
  • 1 whole head garlic, cut in 1/2 crosswise
  • Good olive oil
  • 2 Spanish onions, peeled and thickly sliced
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Remove and discard the chicken giblets. Pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Cut the lemons in quarters, place 2 quarters in the chicken along with the garlic and reserve the rest of the lemons. Brush the outside of the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the chicken in a small (11 by 14-inch) roasting pan. (If the pan is too large, the onions will burn.) Place the reserved lemons and the sliced onions in a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Pour the mixture around the chicken in the pan.
  3. Roast the chicken for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and a thigh. Remove the chicken to a platter, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the sauce, leaving the lemons and onions in the pan.
  4. Place the pan on top of the stove and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the wine and stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits. Add the stock and sprinkle on the flour, stirring constantly for a minute, until the sauce thickens. Add any juices that collect under the chicken. Carve the chicken onto a platter and serve with the lemons, onions, and warm sauce.

I’m a romantic at heart and read about this recipe years ago. I wanted to impress the man I was seeing at the time (who is my now husband), and thought what better way of showing him I cared, then by making a really lovely dish. The name of the recipe comes from several people making this for their partners and then shortly after, getting proposed to. Whether or not that’s true, I thought, nothing shows you love someone better than making a meal from the heart. 

Vegan One Pot Quinoa Taco Skillet

Lynn Marine (Administrative Assistant IV)

Healthy and filling so in no time, you can be chillin’!

Ingredients:

  • ½ Sweet Onion, chopped
  • 1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
  • 2 Garlic Cloves, minced (more if you live near Vampires)
  • 1 Cup of Quinoa, rinsed
  • 1 Cup of Frozen Corn
  • 1 (15 oz) Diced Tomatoes
  • 2 tsp Chili Powder
  • 1 tsp Cumin
  • 2 Cups of Vegetable Broth
  • Salt & Pepper

Instructions:

  1. Sauté onion, pepper, and garlic in oil (or for a healthier version sauté in additional vegetable broth)
  2. Add all remaining ingredients.
  3. Simmer covered for 20 to 25 minutes until quinoa is cooked.
  4. Top with avocado, sour cream, cilantro, lime and cheese, as you please!

As a poet paints their words into fine verses of poetry which may touch many, this recipe embodies color, nutrition, and taste into a beautiful meal that will warm your heart and soul. A little poem I came up with about eating the Whole Food Plant Based Way (WFPB):

Filling my tummy does not have to be scary

I avoid processed food with NO meat, and NO dairy

I can fill up with produce, nuts, and some beans

Which, I believe, helps me fit nicely in my jeans.

I Know a Baby, a Brown Butter Dutch Baby

Joshua Chévere Cohen (Marketing & Communications Manager)

Ingredients:

  • 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
  • 3 large eggs
  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup whole milk
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Melt the butter in a medium cast-iron skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until butter browns into a deep, autumnal tone, about 5 minutes. Swirl butter in skillet to coat sides of pan, then transfer half to a small bowl.
  2. Blend eggs, flour, milk, salt, and ¼ cup sugar in a blender until the batter is like the sea, pale and full of wandering foam, about 1 minute. Pour batter into the hot skillet, then transfer to the oven and bake until puffed and lightly browned, 15–20 minutes. Ponder the narrow bar that divides birth and death.
  3. Drizzle with reserved brown butter and sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp. sugar. Cut into wedges and serve. Sweet joy befall thee.

Lemon Posset

Shayla Felix (Program Assistant Live Events)

Ingredients:

  • 16 ounces heavy whipping cream or double cream
  • 2/3 cup sugar (4 2/3 ounces)
  • 6 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice and lemon zest from about one large lemon or
  • two medium lemons

Instructions:

  1. First zest one or two lemons. You should get about 3 teaspoons. Next, juice the lemon. You should get about 6 Tablespoons of lemon juice.
  2. Combine cream and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over a medium high heat. 
  3. Reduce the heat to a gentle boil, and continue stirring until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens, about 8 minutes. Watch the heat and lower if needed, to avoid the cream boiling over.
  4. Remove cream mixture from heat.  
  5. Stir in lemon juice and zest and let sit for 10-15 minutes to cool. 
  6. Strain out lemon zest before pouring into a ramekin or serving glass.
  7. Optional: serve in a halved lemon and garnish with a mint leaf.

Nigerian Vegetable Soup in the United States

Izuchukwu Udokwu (Program Assistant Live Events)

Ingredients:

  • Big bowl of thinly sliced Spinach
  • Big bowl of thinly sliced Kale
  • 1KG or 35 Ounces of Goat meat or any meat of choice
  • 1 cup crayfish
  • 6 scotch bonnet peppers
  • 400ml Palm oil
  • 2 seasoning cubes (Knorr or Maggi)
  • Salt to taste

P.S: you can get some of these ingredients in an African/Nigerian store near you.

Instructions:

  • Thinly slice your properly washed spinach and kale with a kitchen knife. Transfer into a sieve to strain excess water. You don’t want too much water in your vegetable soup. The vegetables produce their own water when cooked.
  • Wash your goat meat or any meat of your choice. Season the meat with a teaspoon of salt, sliced onions and two seasoning cubes. Allow the meat to boil (without water, the meat will produce its own water for the steaming on low heat), and then add two cups of water and let the meat cook until it becomes tender and easy to chew. Blend the scotch bonnet (peppers) and 1 cup of crayfish together.
  • Boil the meat till the water is almost dried to avoid excess water in your vegetable.
  • When the meat is cooked and the water is almost completely dried, add the palm oil,
    400ml.
  • Add the vegetables, the kale should come first. It should fill the pot, it will go down in 3 minutes as you continue to stir. You can add the leaves little by little, so it doesn’t fill the pot and becomes too difficult to stir. After adding the kale, allow it to simmer for 2-4 minutes while you stir occasionally.
  • Add the grounded crayfish and peppers. Stir all together and taste for salt. Add salt to your taste. You don’t want too much salt.
  • Add spinach at this point. Stir all together and allow the vegetable soup to simmer for three minutes.

That is how to make vegetable soup the Nigerian way. You can eat it with rice or pounded yam (poundo yam) or fufu.

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