Gourmet Meals for Your Unique Tastes
For this tasty side dish or hearty vegetarian main dish, sweet bell peppers are stuffed with creamy Arborio rice risotto flavored with a touch of basil pesto sauce. This dish can also easily be made with hollowed out tomatoes or even zucchini if you wish. A dramatic presentation, and a dramatic delight for your taste buds.
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Recipe Courtesy of Fine Cooking Magazine
The beauty of this recipe lies in its cooking method. Roasting the sliced fennel and tomatoes in a hot oven not only tenderizes the vegetables, but caramelizes them as well (which is just a fancy way of saying that their natural sweetness is revealed.) By roasting the veggies and not sautéing them, this also makes for a relatively hands-off pasta dish as well.
The veggies are tossed together with al dente short pasta (any variety works just fine), hot chili paste, fresh herbs, sliced salami and both Parmesan and mozzarella cheese. If you are feeling extra fancy, I would recommend using torn pieces of burrata instead of fresh mozzarella—I think the creaminess of the burrata paired with the spicy chili paste would be simply grand.
It’s fun to take your favorite combination of flavorings from a classic dish and transfer those flavors over to another dish. For example, are you a fan of pasta Puttanesca? Well try using the classic ingredients from that dish (tomatoes, anchovies, capers, olives, herbs) on your favorite grilled fish instead of pasta. Or do you just adore veal or chicken Piccata? Use those same flavorings in a compound butter perhaps to melt over a grilled steak of your choosing.
I decided to get creative with the classic Italian pasta dish called Cacio e Pepe. A simple, go-to pasta idea made with olive oil, black peppercorns, and grated Pecorino Romano cheese. But this time, over roasted potatoes not pasta. This simple combination of ingredients is also wonderful mixed in with soft scrambled eggs, or even a fluffy white rice pilaf.
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Recipe Courtesy of Bake from Scratch Magazine
A traditional pound cake was named just that because it typically contained a pound each of flour, eggs, butter and sugar. This recipe contains not only those four ingredients but also orange zest, vanilla, whole milk, a pinch of nutmeg and a pinch of salt. The results are amazing—a moist crumb and a rich flavor. Not to mention that you finish off the cooked cake with a homemade bourbon glaze which just makes this cake even more decadent! So as you begin enjoying cooler weather, and as you plan your Holiday menus, dog-ear this recipe for a festive treat.
(To view this recipe, click on the following link: http://www.bakefromscratch.com/bourbon-glazed-pound-cake/)
Recipe Courtesy of Southern Living Magazine
When I think of ‘crowd-pleasing’ dishes, crispy coated chicken quickly appears at the top of the list. (Especially crispy coated chicken cutlets for their quick cooking time and minimal use of oil needed for the pan.)
You simply season the chicken cutlets and then follow the traditional 3-step breading method: first a dip in flour, then beaten eggs, then (preferably whole wheat) Panko breadcrumbs. Cooked in hot olive oil until browned and crispy on each side, this particular summertime recipe pairs the chicken with lemon and white wine-flavored cherry tomatoes cooked with scallions, briny capers and some chopped, fresh herbs.
Recipe Courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine
I think the current vegetable ‘noodle’ craze is just fabulous. Such a wonderful way to lighten up a menu and also, to use the season’s best veggies in new and interesting ways. This recipe uses thinly sliced zucchini and fresh fennel as the faux noodle base of the salad, which is flavored with a homemade citrus vinaigrette and fresh dill.
You don’t need a spiralizer for this salad either; simply an everyday vegetable peeler will do just fine. On top of the crunchy salad are pan-seared or grilled salmon filets that have been coated with a light dusting of brown sugar which caramelizes very nicely when cooked. Healthy, fresh and delicious!
Recipe Courtesy of Martha Stewart Living Magazine
This quick-and-easy weeknight dinner comes together with minimal effort, but delivers a meal with maximum flavor. Pork chops are coated in grated Parmesan cheese and a touch of flour and are cooked until a lovely brown crust is formed; the caramelized pork is served over rounds of seared, store-bought polenta and is served with steamed asparagus tips. (I added a touch more color to the plate with some roasted cherry tomatoes and mushrooms, and since I had a hard time finding pork cutlets, I opted for a bone-in chop instead.) Healthy, simple and delicious; three words we all love to hear when dinner time rolls around!
(To view this recipe, click on the following link: https://www.marthastewart.com/1528530/parmesan-pork-polenta-and-asparagus)
These decadent lamb meatballs are flavored with fresh rosemary, Pecorino cheese, chopped olives and golden raisins. Baked until tender and cooked through, they are served simply over cooked pasta coated with your favorite marinara sauce. Store-bought or homemade, the slight sweetness of the tomatoes in the pasta sauce compliment the Mediterranean-inspired meatballs inherent richness. Not a lamb fan? No prob–try using grass-fed beef, veal or pork instead.
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Another tasty idea for leftover bread! Toast cubes of it with a touch of olive oil until crispy, and make a classic Tuscan panzanella salad. Traditionally a mixture of tomatoes and toasted bread, I upped the ante by also adding in sliced sweet peppers, crunchy cucumber slices, fresh basil, oil-cured olives and tender shredded Swiss chard. I recommend using the stems and the leaves of colorful Rainbow chard here, the combination of colors is fantastic! Dress it all simply with a lemon vinaigrette and come cubes of salty ricotta salata or feta cheese. Bellissimo!
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Recipe Courtesy of FineCooking.com
Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. And did I mention yum? Anyone for wild salmon fillets baked or grilled until flaky, and topped with a lovely tomato vinaigrette? The vinaigrette is a wonderful way to use those ripe tomatoes from the garden or the CSA; they are diced and tossed with a briny mixture of capers, Kalamata olives, chopped anchovies, fresh herbs, garlic and lemon juice. I recommend making the vinaigrette about 30 minutes before you plan to eat, that way to tomatoes macerate a bit and all of the vinaigrette’s ingredients have time to meld.