I recently had dinner with my cousin, Annie and her family. Often when we eat together I make a tiramisu. Tiramisu is her husband Lukas’s favorite dessert, so he has been my #1 tester for this tiramisu recipe. Tiramisu means ‘pick me up’ in Italian.…
When I travel, I find some of the most memorable moments (and meals) are the ones that are unexpected. This was the case when my friends and I went to Lake Como. I ate lots of delicious pasta while I was there. But, the pasta…
This salad is also a great way to use a favorite new ingredient that I discovered on my recent trip to Italy: balsamic glaze*. Yes, balsamic glaze can be made by simmering balsamic vinegar to reduce it – making it syrupy and sweet. However, now that they’ve started selling it as a condiment, it is much easier to use it to add extra yumminess to salads and sauces.
The recipe below is for 1 salad, but the dressing makes enough for 3 or 4 salads. As with any salad, you can switch up which cheese or nuts you use based on your preference or what you have on hand. I like to substitute burrata, fresh mozzeralla, or feta for the goat cheese and sometimes use walnuts or pistachios instead of pecans.
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I asked my sister what she wanted for her birthday dinner and she did not hesitate. Her immediate response was “ham and cheese pie”. In our family, ham and cheese pie is the ultimate comfort food. With so much ham and cheese, how could you…
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but who has time to make a healthy, tasty breakfast during the week? Since I don’t, this egg cup recipe has become my go-to weekday breakfast. I make them on the weekend and store them in…
With all the rich Thanksgiving foods last week, I’ve been craving salads this week. In the Fall when the pears are ripe, this spinach, pear & Manghego salad with maple balsamic dressing is one of my go-tos. The secret is to use a perfectly ripe pear. Pears are rarely ripe when you get them at the store, so buy a few and let them sit on the counter until they are ripe. If you are in a hurry, Harry & David recommends putting the pears in a paper bag with a banana or apple to speed up the process.
The maple balsamic salad dressing for this salad is from an old Bon Appetit salad recipe. (For some crazy reason, it is no longer on their website.) I’ve found this dressing works well with spinach and a variety of combinations of fruit, cheese, and nuts, so I always keep some on hand. You can keep it in a jar on the counter for a few days. Just re-whisk it prior to using to reblend it. If you plan to keep it longer than a few days, store it in the fridge. Remove the dressing from the fridge a few hours before you plan to serve it so that the olive oil can come back to room temperature before your rewhisk it. (The olive oil will solidify in the fridge.)
Try this salad with Spaghetti Carbonara or Marinated Flank Steak.
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Today is National Pasta Day! I love pasta, so I thought I would post my Spaghetti Carbonara recipe. It is one of my go to recipes for three reasons: 1) it is easy to make, 2) it uses ingredients I usually have on hand, and…
Since things are starting to open in up a bit, my friend Pete and I decide to head out of town for a long weekend in Asheville, NC. We somehow managed to time our trip for the first weekend they had fall weather. Between the…
My friend, Ed, has been asking me to post this recipe since I started this blog. It is my grandmother’s Roquefort salad dressing recipe. She always kept a jar of this in the fridge and a salad with Roquefort dressing was on the table every Sunday dinner.
This is not your typical blue cheese dressing. It is a blue cheese vinaigrette. The vinegar and Worcestershire balance out the blue cheese so that even people who are not huge blue cheese fans (like me) will still be crazy about this salad dressing.
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BQ always served this with a simple green salad (preferably with lettuce fresh from the garden). Some of my favorite variations are pictured below.
Mash together crumbled blue cheese in vinegar with a fork. There shouldn’t be any big chunks, but small chunks are fine. The original recipe called for Roquefort, but you can use any blue cheese. Using pre-crumbled saves a little time.
In a separate bowl or jar, mix together oil, salt, pepper, & Worcestershire sauce. A 2-cup (1 pint) glass jar just fits.
Note: I use table salt for this dressing. If you use kosher salt, you may need to adjust the amount.
Combine blue cheese mixture in with oil mixture. Mix well – either whisk them together in a bowl or put them in a jar and shake it vigorously.
Store in refrigerator. Shake well or re-whisk before serving. The blue cheese tends to sink to the bottom of the jar, so sometimes I use a spoon or small gravy ladle to make sure I get the good stuff from the bottom of the jar.
If you’ve seen my roasted tomato & shallot ravioli recipe, you know I get lots of cherry tomatoes from my garden. This cherry tomato pasta recipe is one of my favorite to make with them. It is SO quick and easy! In the time it…
I always plant cherry tomatoes in my garden. A few plants can produce LOTS of cherry tomatoes. As a result, I have some great cherry tomato recipes. This roasted tomato ravioli is one of my favorites. It is quick, easy, and delicious. Pair it with…
Ever since I had my first Caprese salad, I have been a huge fan of fresh mozzarella cheese. And then on a fateful trip to the East Atlanta Farmers Market, the cheese guy there introduced me to burrata. It was a revelation: fresh mozzarella on the outside and creamy deliciousness on the inside. What!? I was hooked after the first bite. Now, any time I see burrata on the menu I have to order it. This recipe for burrata with prosciutto and grilled peaches is my favorite version to make at home. Top it with some really good aged Balsamic vinegar and it is heaven on a plate.
A note on aged balsamic vinegar: This is a dish where splurging and using a really good aged (10+ years) balsamic vinegar makes a big difference. To know you are getting the good stuff look for balsamic vinegar with the Modena DOP. Modena, Italy is where Balsamic Vinegar was created and the DOP designation tells you the product you are buying is the authentic good stuff. Places like Acetaia di Gorgio, which I visited on my trip to Modena, have been making balsamic vinegar for generations using the traditional methods. If you ever visit Modena you should stop by their house for a tour and a tasting. (The Acetaia is literally in the attic of their family home.) The tasting will blow your mind. Their balsamic vinegar is amazing.
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Step 0. Preheat the grill. Slice the peaches.
Step 1. Grill the peaches cut side down for 5-7 minutes over medium high heat. Grill the sliced bread for 4-5 minutes turning once half way thru. (You don’t need to turn the peaches – keep them facing down the whole time.) The peaches and the bread should have well define grill marks.
Step 2. Toss the arugula with olive oil and salt to taste. Divide evenly between 4 salad plates.
Step 3. Top each salad with 1 grilled peach half, 1 slice of prosciutto, 1/4 of the burrata (~2 oz.), and 1 slice of grilled bread. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and serve. If you are using good aged balsamic vinegar you don’t need to drizzle a lot to get a lot of flavor.
My dad loved cheese. This is our first Father’s Day without him. I’ve been missing him a lot lately, so to feel closer to him this week I’m made one if his favorite foods: macaroni & cheese. Mac & cheese was a regular in the…
