Guy’s Fried Green Tomatoes
A neighbor gave us some fresh jalapeños and green Roma tomatoes from his garden, with instructions on letting them ripen on the counter (he picks them while green to beat the squirrels). Guy couldn’t resist the opportunity to make fried green tomatoes, which were easier and more delicious than we expected!
Crispy Sheet Pan Gnocchi & Veggies
Gnocchi is a pillowy potato pasta typically boiled in water like other pastas, but a recent trend in roasting all of the ingredients for a meal on a single sheet pan has inspired a new way to cook them. Shelf-stable or refrigerated gnocchi can be roasted straight out of the package, resulting in a crispy, chewy texture. Bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, red onion, basil, and garlic round out the meal.
Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad
If you’re looking for a mouth-watering salad filling enough for dinner, but still lettuce-based (so it at least seems healthy), this is it. Romaine lettuce is topped with marinated and grilled sliced chicken thighs, bacon, tomatoes, avocado, red onions, boiled eggs, and honey-dijon vinaigrette.
Grilled Corn Salad
Grilled corn with juicy tomatoes, salty feta cheese, basil, and lemon is the perfect side for a backyard barbecue or pool party. We usually bring some spare grilled whole corn to satisfy kids who’d rather eat straight off the cob.
Ribollita
This year for book club, my choice was The Italian Party, a novel set in 1950s Sienna and “teeming with seduction and spycraft.” My menu was inspired by food from the book and centered on this Ribollita, a stew of kale, tomatoes, and beans, thickened with day-old bread. It’s a recipe and style of cooking thought of as “poor cooking” and making the most of what you have, but it was a beautiful dish to serve to friends with wine, Cacio e Pepe, and delightful discussion of a great story.
Lemon Herb Avocado Chicken Salad
A bright lemon juice-based salad dressing, which doubles as a marinade for the chicken, is paired with tangy feta cheese and rich avocados and bacon to make this flavorful Romaine-based salad a weeknight winner.
Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad
This fresh, summery side dish gets even easier if you replace the oil, lemon juice, and cilantro with a little bit of high-quality bottled dressing.
Tortellini Skewers
When you’re squeezed for time and trying to get dinner on the table, your grocery store’s deli will save the day. Prepare any flavor of tortellini from the refrigerator case, and thread onto skewers with antipasti favorites.
Charred Corn Salad with Basil & Tomatoes
When you fire up the grill this summer, char the corn and assemble this fresh salad before you grill the main dish.
Farro, Tomatoes, & Parmesan
This dish was inspired by Martha Stewart’s one-pot pasta dish that creates its own sauce as it cooks. Combine water, farro, thinly sliced onions and garlic, and cherry tomatoes, and cook until the farro is tender and the onions and tomatoes have melted into the perfect sauce.