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Catastrophic Cook Mom. Wife. Cook

09/22/2026

Salted Caramel should be the designated Fall Flavor.

Salted Caramel Cheesecake

CRUST:
18 whole sheets of graham crackers
6 tbsp sugar
8 tbsp melted butter

CARAMEL:
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
6 tbsp cold butter
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp milk reserved for topping

CHEESECAKE:
2 lbs cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
1 cup caramel
7 oz sour cream
4 eggs

Prepare the crust by crushing the crackers and mixing in sugar and butter. Put a parchment round in a 9 inch springform form. Butter the sides with the leftover melted butter from the crust. Pack the crust tightly into the bottom of the pan. Double wrap it in foil and set it aside.

Preheat oven to 325 F. Boil a kettle of water for the water bath.

Prepare the caramel by melting 1 cup of sugar. Once amber brown add warmed heavy cream. Mix well so it doesn’t seize up. Once smooth add the cold butter and whisk well. Add the salt and mix till smooth. Take out 1 cup for the cheesecake. Add the 2 tbsp of milk to the rest and simmer. Pour into a bowl and set in the fridge. This thinned one will be the topping.

Beat softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla till smooth, scraping the sides multiple times. Add the caramel and mix in. Add the sour cream and mix again. Add the eggs one at a time. Once smooth pour into the pan. Bake on a rack above the hot water bath under a rack lined with foil. Bake for 60-70 min till the sides are firm and center jiggles. Turn off the oven and crack it open. Allow the cheesecake to cool for thirty minutes in the oven. Put on the counter and cool fully for two hours. Refrigerate with a paper towel and foil overnight.

Unclasp mold and flip to remove the bottom. Flip onto a platter and top with the thinned refrigerated caramel and slice with a hot clean knife. Enjoy!

I’M IN D MAGAZINE 🥹🥹🥹I genuinely don’t even know what to say. I’ve read this article so many times and I still can’t bel...
09/17/2026

I’M IN D MAGAZINE 🥹🥹🥹

I genuinely don’t even know what to say. I’ve read this article so many times and I still can’t believe it.

And what a time to get to represent Palestine. 🇵🇸🥹 I don’t think I’ve ever felt more proud to be Palestinian or more grateful for every opportunity I get to share even a tiny piece of who we are—our food, our hospitality, our families and the love around our tables. It makes this whole thing mean that much more to me.

Something that started with a silly Instagram name that I’m honestly embarrassed of now 😂 has somehow turned into THIS. Catastrophic Cook has become so much more than I ever thought it would be. This whole community of people who trust my recipes, make my food, send me pictures, come see me at pop-ups and tell their friends about me. It will never not be crazy to me.

And the CHEESECAKE 😭 The amount of time I spent testing, tweaking and obsessing over every little detail because I refused to share it until I thought it was PERFECT… and now THAT cheesecake is in D Magazine. Like what?! 😂

Thank you to every single person who has supported me and trusted my recipes over the years. And thank you Jess Winni for writing something that felt so genuinely me and for seeing the story beyond just the cheesecake.

Alhamdulillah for all of it. 🥹🤍🇵🇸

I’m really freaking proud of this one.

https://www.dmagazine.com/food-drink/2026/09/nur-ashour-cheesecake/?hero_slideshow_show=true&hero_slideshow_index=0

09/16/2026

Oh and did I mention the recipe is in grams so it’s consistent every dang time?!

Brown Butter CCC
58 grams nonfat milk powder
227 grams salted butter
Water to bring melted butter to 207 grams
223 grams light brown sugar
223 grams granulated sugar
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
320 grams flour
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
260 grams semi sweet chocolate chips
1 oz dark chocolate (optional)

In a dry pan toast your milk powder till golden. Set aside.

In the same pan melt the butter. It’ll melt then foam and brown. Don’t stir it or it’ll foam over and overflow. Start with cold butter not room temp! Once it’s browned, weigh it out. You should have about 187 grams of melted butter. Add enough water to your butter to make it 207 grams. Pour it over your toasted milk powder. Set aside in the fridge to cool fully.

Once it’s cooled add it to the brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla. Mix well. Add the eggs and egg yolk and beat till fluffy and creamy. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Sometimes I microplane an oz of dark chocolate into this. Mix the flour halfway through then add the chocolate chips. Don’t over mix. You want a very soft play-dough consistency. Preheat oven to 375 F. Scoop with a medium cookie scoop and bake on a sheet pan for about 4 minutes. The cookies will be melting down but not cooked yet. Open the oven and lift the cookie sheet and bang it down a couple times. This will flatten them and give them a few ripples. Bake for another 4-6 minutes until they’re barely golden. Remove from the oven and hang down again. Sprinkle with sea salt and adjust the shape with a round glass or cookie cutter. Enjoy!

08/26/2026

If you make sourdough, you’ll understand what kind of joy this is 😬

08/25/2026

Noodlewave inspired Crispy Chicken Green Curry

Curry
2 13.66 oz cans coconut milk
1 4 oz jar Green Curry Paste
3 1/2 cups water
12 ounces eggplant (I used 3 small ones)
1/2 cup Thai basil
5 garlic cloves minced
3 carrots chopped into small cubes
1 cup peas
1-2 limes

Chicken
3 chicken breast sliced thinly
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 eggs
Breadcrumbs

Rice
2 cups jasmine rice
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp oil
3 1/2 cups water

Bring one can of coconut milk to a simmer till it separates. Add the curry paste and mix well. Add 1/2 of the basil and the other can of coconut milk and the water. Peel and chop the eggplant and add in. Add 1 tbsp curry powder. Bring to a simmer and cook till the eggplant is soft. Add the other half of the basil and some salt and blend using an immersion blender. Add lime and salt to taste. Finally add in the chopped carrots and peas. Cook for a couple minutes and serve with rice and chicken!

For the chicken, I slice it thinly then mix it in with spices and eggs. Then dip it into the breadcrumbs or panko and fry till crispy and golden.

For the rice I rinse it and add it with the salt and water. Bring to a boil. Once the water is no longer covering the rice I mix in the oil and drop to the lowest heat and cover for 20 minutes.

* I air fried the chicken for my husband to make it healthier. Just drizzle with a little oil or spray and air fry at 400 for about 15-20 minutes or until internal temp is 165 F. Enjoy!

08/16/2026

Sourdough can be very intimidating, but once you get a feel for it I promise you it’s just more time consuming than anything else. I’m going to post a series on feeding ratios and dough expectations so keep a lookout!

Simple Sourdough (2 loaves):

Prepare your starter the night before. I feed my starter a 1:10:10 ratio.

14 grams starter
140 grams flour
140 grams water. Cover and set aside for 12-16 hours.

The next morning, add 700 grams of water and mix it till frothy. Now add 1000 grams flour. Mix till it’s all incorporated and you have a shaggy dough. Set aside covered for 1 hour.

1 hour later you add 20 grams of salt and just pinch it in. Set aside for ten minutes to rest. Now do stretch and folds till dough is rougher to work with. About 2-5 minutes. Cover and set aside for an hour.

1 hour later do 4 stretch and folds and if you want you can also do a coil fold. Cover and set aside for another hour.

If your dough is bubbly, jiggly and pulling from the sides it’s time to cut it. If not repeat the stretch and fold and set aside for an hour.

Allow your dough to fall out of the bowl on its own. You don’t want to deflate it. Cut into to loaves and roughly shape and rest for 10 minutes. Flatten and stretch rested dough. Shape and pinch seams and place in a floured basket. Cover and allow to rise in the fridge for 12 hours.

Preheat your oven to 450 F with your Dutch oven in it. Flip your dough into parchment or on a silicone sling. Score it and place in the Dutch oven. I put a handful of rice underneath to prevent burning and a few ice cubes to help it steam. Cover and bake at 450 for 35 min. Uncover and lower heat to 400 and bake 20-30 min until nice and golden. Cool for at least thirty minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

08/06/2026

Probably the best banana pudding I’ve ever had!

CUSTARD:
113 grams butter, unsalted
2 tablespoons non-fat milk powder
150 grams brown sugar
600 grams whole milk
1 teaspoon salt
100 grams granulated sugar
33 grams cornstarch
160 grams egg yolks (approx 8 large yolks)
2 tablespoons vanilla bean paste

CREAM:
250 g mascarpone cheese
200 g sour cream
100 g brown sugar
450 g heavy cream

5 bananas
1 bag Nila wafers

Start by browning butter with milk powder. Set aside. In the same pan put in the white sugar and allow it to melt till it’s amber in color. Add the milk. It’ll seize but will melt again. Bring this almost to a boil then remove. In a bowl mix brown sugar, egg yolks, salt, vanilla, and cornstarch. Slowly add milk caramel to temper. Pour into a pan and mix on medium low till thickened and bubbly. Add the brown butter and blend with an immersion blender. Cover with plastic wrap touching and refrigerate till cool. Once ready, mix all the cream ingredients and whip to soft peaks. Slowly add in caramel pastry cream. Once fully whipped and incorporated add bananas and cookies. Mix well and refrigerate for at least six hours. Enjoy!
Recipe from kassie mendieta || ibakemistakes I did a combo of her brown butter brown sugar and caramel one.

I’ve been trying to show up more here because I know I thrive on connection and not just a bunch of random recipes. My w...
08/03/2026

I’ve been trying to show up more here because I know I thrive on connection and not just a bunch of random recipes.
My week was a little rough with a really sick toddler and still getting over a sinus infection. After many many sinus rinses and a round of antibiotics for my youngest I feel like we’re on the mend. That being said, not much was done this week. The best part of my week was drooling over the photo I took of my cheesecake. I can’t get over it. What was the best part of your week?

07/31/2026

Brown Butter, Brown Sugar, Caramel Banana Pudding Matcha. And don’t worry, we drank it off the counter. 😂
Pudding recipe from kassie mendieta || ibakemistakes
Everything matcha linked in my bio

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