While this pasta salad has evolved over the years, it started as a means of using up leftover ingredients from a charcuterie plate. If I had to request a last meal, it would be a charcuterie plate with a bottle of Napa Cabernet. I just love a meat and cheese plate for dinner. It allows me to concoct several different permutations of meat, cheese, jam, honey, nuts, and fruit all in the same meal. The specialty crackers take it to the next level – with the charcoal, rosemary, and nut-laden crackers being among my favorites.
Browsing Category Vegetarian
Truffle Potato Salad
My husband loves anything truffle. Truffle butter, truffle salt, truffle eggs, and my truffle potato salad. He also doesn’t discriminate with his truffles. He loves all truffles equally, even gleefully claiming that he would bath in anything truffle. Two of our favorite people, Marina and Dave, used to live on the same block as Urbani Truffles in New York City. When we visited one December, during white truffle season, we made the oh-so-easy pilgrimage to Urbani. We opened the doors and were immersed in truffle. Everything smelled of truffle. I think my husband’s glasses fogged over with truffle shavings. It was his food heaven.
Roasted Beet and Herbed Goat Cheese Salad
The first meal my husband made for me was roasted root vegetables with goat cheese. He peeled beets, parsnips, and carrots, which he cut into bite sized chunks before coating in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. A few hours in the oven were an ingenious way for him to lure me into conversation. He can talk to anyone – meaning we never have an uncomfortably quiet uber ride. The vegetables finished roasting as we laughed and exchanged stories of our childhood swim teams. He topped the warm vegetables with crumbled goat cheese and reassured me that it would taste good, despite my hesitation at the thought of eating beets. I was beyond pleasantly surprised at the flavors, of which the beet was the star.
Butternut Squash and Tomato Soup
This is my lovingly adapted butternut squash soup. My father, mother, and husband ask for this soup every September. Recipes that are made year-after-year at the same time of year carry a level of nostalgia that just improves with time. I can no longer make this soup without thinking of my then two-year-old son licking the balsamic vinegar and olive oil from every unroasted tomato. The taste of the soup might be marvelous, but the memories are transcendent and priceless.
Creamed Corn
This creamed corn is a perfect side dish for a picnic or backyard cookout or BBQ. I struggle to find side dishes for BBQ chicken or pulled pork, aside from the traditional baked beans and coleslaw. Why not try creamed corn? Or why not serve the creamed corn alongside grilled head on shrimp? The flavors are reminiscent of shrimp and grits without the tedious “tending to the grits”. When you find the perfect square of grass to spread your picnic blanket on, I hope this creamed corn is in your picnic basket.
Heirloom Tomato Soup
This recipe made me fall in love with heirloom tomatoes, which are often less acidic than their more traditional counterparts. The soup is more subtle in flavor than your traditional tomato soup and leaves you questioning the true ingredients. It is beautiful accompanied by a grilled cheese sandwich and glass of chardonnay.
Vegetable Lasagna
There is no better time than August to open a cold beer and cozy up by the grill to enjoy the last days of summer. My husband enjoys grilling anything and especially loves grilling vegetables. Which is great for me because by August I am floundering for a creative dinner to use the abundance of zucchini and squash that I have purchased at the local farmer’s market.
Vegan Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry
This red curry with sweet potato and chickpeas is one of my go-to recipes for Meatless Monday. It is a quick weeknight dinner that is delicious and will not only keep in the refrigerator for several days after but tastes better the next day.