morsels & sauces

Stop what you're doing. Fire up your oven. Boil a pot of water. Grate a ripe tomato. You won't be sorry.  Mostly because there are tomatoes--lots of them--in this new take on that old summer standby of a pasta salad with raw tomatoes. As you may have noticed, I have been on a salad kick (see here  and  here . Oh, and here .). It's summer. Produce is at its peak (or getting close to it), and all I want are tomatoes. And more tomatoes. Lucky for me, there are a plethora of tomato salads out there, and this one from    Food52    is a hit because this summer-time staple of pasta salad with tomatoes brings you tomatoes three ways. Well, actually it technically brings it to you only two ways, but I made some adjustments to the original recipe.  Let me detail all of my modifications below, including that additional hit of tomatoes: (1) I got inspired by another salad in the Mighty Salads cookbook: Corn-Barley Salad with Tomato Vinaigrett...

I love a cold soup. Mostly because I love soup, since it is reminiscent of my beloved sauces. I like how a bit of effort pays off in a pot of something delicious that can be extended for a few days, and is usually even better on the last day than the first. I love the hearty warmth of chowder in the winter and the light freshness of a clear broth in summer. And a cold soup in summer is like eating dessert for dinner. You know, I haven't declared  Soup Week  in a while. Uh-oh. The husband had best be on high alert. Oh, and if you're interested in Jacques Pepin's version, please see here . We did not grow up on gazpacho (mostly because it did not come in a box, and my feminist, Midwestern mother was going to spend as little time in the kitchen as necessary, thank you very much). But I don't remember when this divine summer soup came into my life, and I am pleased that it did.  Mostly because I love tomatoes. So much that, should I ever find myself with the...

Can I confess: I don't particularly care for salad. I find lettuces, for the most part, boring. I get tired of carrots and radishes and cucumbers. I just don't think I would do well on a raw diet. So I was delighted when I received this latest cookbook from Food 52 because I am always looking for ways to up my salad game. And so I begin my foray into Mighty Salads with a fantastic grilled bread salad chock-full of grilled veggies and spectacular dressing made from the mayonnaise marinade. Yes, you heard me right. Mayonnaise m arinade. Okay, maybe this salad is not the healthy-eating alternative I was longing for, as we kick off summer. But I still consumed about 729% more vegetables in this salad alone than I did the entire month of May.  It's summer, and lordy, people, I have got to get this diet back to salads and soups and smoothies and healthy eating. Because lately it's been cheetos and chocolate. And this is just the cookbook to do it. Befor...

Do you need a super easy go-to appetizer? Are you stressing about your pre-dinner bites? Are you sick of cheese and crackers (okay, that's blasphemy)?   I gotta say, it's as simple as having some frozen puff pastry on hand, because Martha Stewart is to the rescue. Again. We would expect no less from the queen of entertaining. While this would be the perfect appetizer for a Mexico - Italy soccer match up in the World Cup, I can also vouch for its viability in an American Superbowl game this past February. Since I don't particularly care about the Superbowl (and somehow do decidedly care more about the World Cup), I do try to ensure that the food is fantastic on that wintry Sunday evening. Enter Puff Pastry Tart Three Ways. Sure, you could make just one, but this is perfect as a combination piece because everyone can have a little of everything. And it really does look quite striking all together. And if you cut it into even smaller bites, you can spre...

Okay, people.  This salad hardly needs a recipe. The title of the salad pretty much says it all. But I am still handing this one over to you because of what  Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich (chefs and cookbook writers extraordinaire) do to the goat cheese. They mix it with heavy cream.   Yes,  more  dairy. And in doing so, they get to create these little clouds of cheesiness goodness that when added to the sweet figs, the acidic lemon, the crisp lettuce, the crunchy pistachios, and the thick honey--well, this salad becomes much, much more than the sum of its parts.  My mouth is watering now as I type this. Perfect for a crisp autumn day, this salad makes a satisfying lunch or a sweet starter to a great meal. These figs are part of the plethora of fruit that one of the parents at my school has been bringing to the faculty lounge. From pears to plums, from apples to figs, we are luxuriating in the plenty of the orchards...

My affinity for bookclub is strong. These three other women and one man are truly fabulous people, and I am not just saying that because one of them is related to me (Hi, Father-in-Law!).  No, I am saying that because they are smart readers who push me, after two hours of snacking and drinking very good wine, to reconsider whatever bogus theory I have had about a book, and who push me to see far more deeply into books. Even if I haven't finished reading them. But I swear, I actually finished this one. So, when bookclub rolled around this July, I mixed up this perfect grain salad. And it's a delightful summer salad. It is nutty and savory and a perfect mate for all of the morsels and sauces that inevitably--and delightfully--make up the bookclub table fare. From pakoras to olives, cheeses to almonds, our table boasts eclectic and inclusive food--much like the eclectic and and inclusive members of the book club, given th...