I’m not sure if it’s the “heat”, the lazy lull of summer, or years of actually living somewhere hot and humid that makes me want to kick back and nosh on something simple for dinner. This time of year I’m very apt to make a meal out of caprese salad or proscuitto and melon. No cooking, no oven, just a couple of ingredients sliced and plated, and best served with a glass of wine.

To that end, when someone suggested bruschetta to me late last week, it immediately grabbed hold of that place in my brain that stores my cravings and didn’t let go. What could be simpler? While I did have to fire up the grill (gas, this time, to keep things simple), there wasn’t much more effort needed. (more…)

Filed under:
Cooking outdoors, Dairy free, Dinner, In the Garden, Italian, Quick and Easy, Vegetarian by Courtney

One of my favorite quick meals in the summer is a stuffed piquillo pepper. Piquillo peppers are a roasted, red Spanish pepper. They’re not too spicy and have a hint of sweetness about them. You can stuff them with any number of things, such as cheese, seafood, meat, rice. While one of my favorite ways to enjoy them is stuffed with a goat cheese (more on that another day), I had eyed this shrimp salad recipe from Martha Stewart for a long time and decided it must be tried. One super-simple summer meal coming up! (more…)

Filed under:
Appetizers, Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Lunch, Quick and Easy, Spanish by Courtney

For the past few months I’ve had a craving for pimento cheese. While I’ve found it in the grocery here in the past, I wanted a homemade pimento cheese, because I remember it being so much better than something out of a plastic tub.

A friend had posted about pimento cheese a while back, so I asked for his recipe. I have to say while it sounded wonderful, it missed on one main note for me — it called for scallions, the green parts. I didn’t remember any green in my pimento cheese, so no matter how tasty (or how may scallions I have in my garden right now), it wouldn’t do. So his recipe was my jumping off point, and I started tasting, adding, and came up with this recipe. (more…)

Filed under:
Appetizers, Comfort food, Gluten free, Lunch, Quick and Easy, Sandwiches, Southern, Vegetarian by Courtney

It’s that time of year again! When tomatoes start ripening, and the basil grows big and bushy. Of course, I’ve killed my basil and I only have one ripe San Marzano thus far, but that isn’t holding me back. My CSA was full of Roma tomatoes and basil this week, and what better to make than the classic combo — tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella — a Caprese salad.

During summer I eat these every chance I get. Breakfast, snack, lunch, appetizer, between two slices of bread if I need more sustenance. While you could simply throw the three ingredients together and it would taste wonderful, there are a couple of additions that I like to add to take this over the top. Want to know what they are? (more…)

Filed under:
Appetizers, Gluten free, In the Garden, Italian, Quick and Easy, Salad, Vegetarian by Courtney

I’ve waxed poetic about Limerick Lane’s wines many a time on this blog already, but they really just put out such wonderful wines. This bottle of furmint is no exception, though I was a little puzzled as to what I should do with it once I received it. Such an odd sounding wine — “fur… mint” I kept saying to myself. It came in a small bottle, so it must be sweet, I thought. So I decided to do a little investigation before opening.

I consulted my What to Drink book first, which has a handy reverse lookup (basically, what to eat). (more…)

Filed under:
Appetizers, Dessert, Drink Time, Wine pairings by Courtney