For this simple salad, heirloom tomatoes (choose red, green, yellow, deep purple, whatever your markets and farm stands have on hand) are marinated in a vinaigrette dressing and arranged on a platter or on individual plates. Mixed greens tossed in more of the dressing are added next. Crumbled blue cheese and bits of bacon are sprinkled over the salad as final flourishes. Offer this salad as a first course for a summer supper or use it as a side dish for a backyard barbecue. Or, pair it with some crusty bread and a chilled soup for a light luncheon entree. This BLT variation is as good as the sandwiches and just as addictive.
Sometimes a dish is so good that it remains in my memory long after I’ve tasted it. That’s the case with the special dessert featured here. Several years ago at Telepan on New York’s Upper West Side, I sampled a confection that grabbed my taste buds and wouldn’t let go. Scoops of quince sorbet, softly whipped cream, and toasted almonds were alternately layered in glasses, and then topped with a generous pouring of Prosecco. Later in the year, I returned to the restaurant and had a delicious variation prepared with lemon sorbet. Continue reading
Hungry Ghost Bread 62 State Street, Northampton, MA
Although there are many bakeries that offer fine breads in Western Massachusetts where I live, one in particular stands out for its excellent artisanal loaves. Hungry Ghost Bread is not a fancy place. It is housed in a small brick bungalow set atop a hill with vines covering most of the façade including a sign with the shop’s name. Inside much of the space is given over to a large, dome-shaped oven with the remaining area modestly set up for sales. But, what comes out of that oven is outstanding. The organic breads, shaped by hand and baked in small batches in a wood-fired brick oven, have beautiful crusts and textures. Continue reading
The creator of the awarding-winning blog, “101 Cookbooks,” as well as the James Beard award-nominated Super Natural Cooking, Heidi Swanson is a multi-talented member of the food community. For her latest work, Super Natural Every Day, she developed the delectable recipes that feature natural, healthy ingredients and snapped the striking photos that accompany them as well. She’s also a gifted writer whose enthusiasm for cooking naturally makes you want to rush into the kitchen and try every dish. After leafing through this collection, I had a sizable number of recipes tagged. I’ve already made Hard-Cooked Eggs with Dukkah (the latter is an Egyptian spice blend) and Continue reading
For my latest version of this all-American classic, I baked these shortcakes with a hearty amount of cream instead of butter or shortening for a rich taste, and used cake rather than all-purpose flour to make the texture extra tender. Orange zest lends a fresh citrus accent to these little cakes, and orange juice is used to season the berries. The whipped cream topping is also scented with a hint of grated orange peel. The shortcakes, the berries, and the cream can all be prepared several hours ahead, so that all you need to do at serving time is to assemble these scrumptious summer confections.
