Kalamata Olives

Burrata Pasta Salad: Make it Yours This Summer

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I would have bet my best bottle of red against finding out that there are well over 10 million recipes for burrata salad on google. Ok; I didn’t count them but AI said it did. Do we trust it? Well, maybe for this. Counting is one thing AI does well, I’m thinking. But, actually when you check into it, AI does not, in fact, count well. For grins, let’s just give her a million less or a million more and I’d still be sitting with my eyes stretched wiiiiidely open and my jaw skewed over to the left indicating my surprise. I can’t in my strangest, most massive dreams imagine 10 million of anything. Would I even want 10 million of anything? Yes; you’re right. I’d go for $10 million and so would you. 10 million recipes for a burrata salad? I’ll let you peruse the internet and choose one sometime (many, but not all, are a sort of caprese salad) but, for now, let’s go with mine. Because we can. And because I’ve no doubt you’ll soon make it yours. And anyway, mine is a Burrata Pasta Salad, not just a B-flat burrata salad, right? However you do yours, it will be charming, captivating, and delicious. It will be the sum of summer! Promise. And, here’s the best thing: This is mostly a no-cook meal. What’s better come summer?

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Chickpea-Artichoke Heart Salad for Memorial or Any Day

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Today's recipe is in honor of the newly married Annie Harm and Louis Sigtermans. Eat well! Live well! Love well!!

It isn’t even summer yet. But we should be in planning mode for Memorial Day weekend, shouldn’t we? It’s less than a week away; is that possible? Where did May go? Our deck only got swept today and I’ve planted zero, zip, nada, zilch. (Too big of a chance of a freeze, still.) There are some new plants in their pots patiently waiting their turn out front and I can run them inside should a really cold snap appear, as it nearly always does. But last night, after a warm day, just felt like it was time to begin tossing easy no-cook dishes together — ones that get stuck back in the fridge for lunches or sides for the next night’s chop or fish so you don’t have to start dinner from scratch. (Something that might be good for, say, Memorial Day?!) I am, perhaps like you, a circuitous cook. There’s always something coming round tomorrow from what happened today or yesterday or last week or month. It’s conservative–in a good way, smart, healthy, and gives me more time for other things. I adore cooking but it’s not the only thing in my life.

Checking the pantry, there were lots of chickpeas; we love hummus. Artichoke hearts in a big glass jar from COSTCO jumped out at me, as did a forgotten can of hearts of palm, a Trader Joe grab, I think. My fridge and counter are always chock-full of fresh vegetables and I don’t go a day without olives or pickles somewhere along the way. I began chopping and tossed the ingredients in the bowl so that you could see them easily. I do the “recipe in a photo” for social media occasionally and someday I’ll do a little graphics study to improve my work. In the meantime, isn’t it fun to look at something like this and know you could make it? If you save the photo below, you can print it and put it on your fridge. The internet is full of chickpea or other bean salads, but this one is mine and, soon, yours. I do include a for real recipe; scroll down.

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Summer Vegetable Tart

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If you’re lucky enough to spend a little summertime in Europe, and particularly in France, you might see quite a stunning visual array of savory tarts, quiche, pizza, pissaladiére, Flammkuchen, Zwiebelkuchen, and many other pastries in bakeries, cafes, and restaurants. The pastry or crust fillings may include a little bacon or anchovy here and there, but often as not vegetables and/or cheese are the superstars. Baked before the day gets hot or in a blissful outdoor oven, these tasty light meals are the perfect hot weather treats served warm or at room temperature on their own or with a crisp green salad on the side. A little white wine? But of course.

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Here in the states, we’re typically more into pizza across the board (a few quiches, too, I’ll admit) but lately I’ve been spying — and maybe you have, too –quite a few Tomato Pies showing up here, there, and everywhere while the ruby red tomatoes are coming in hot and heavy. (I will have to make one as they feature tomatoes and mayo–one of my warm weather favorite combos.) My tomatoes here in Colorado are still just barely ripening — and they’re all of the cherry or grape variety given our short growing season. But a slew of sweet Camparis on my counter found me searching for a French-style tomato tart I remembered seeing somewhere. But where? A little google mining brought me to Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa website and a reminder about Anna’s Tomato Tart, which is in Ina’s COOKING FOR JEFFREY book — right on my own shelf! Now I didn’t particularly want a tomato-ONLY tart, but rather had in mind something with a sort Provençal feel that included olives, fennel, mushrooms, peppers, and more. Anna’s tart would definitely serve as my springboard. Scroll down to read up on the late cook-caterer-writer, Anna Pump and her great store on Long Island– Loaves and Fishes. Links to other savory tart recipes included there, too.

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Oven-Roasted Rosemary Halibut with Fresh Tomato-Zucchini Sauce

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Shown here with white beans.
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It’s easy to avoid cooking fish or to cook it as simply as we can possibly figure because we’re unsure of our fish-cooking abilities. Or maybe fresh fish isn’t so available and feels expensive — especially in a land-locked state. Perhaps there’s a fear factor involved or we wonder, “Is fish really good for us?” How fast does it go bad? When is it done? How do I not overcook it? So we go with grilled wild salmon once a month in good weather. Salt, pepper, lemon. Air Fried fish and chips might be a step up. A pound of shrimp for Christmas Eve. Truth to tell, fish is good for us, is readily available nationwide (even if frozen), and is the original fast –and easy — food. Lots of people order fish from restaurant menus, but hesitate to cook much at home. Want to change that at your house?

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Tomato-Chickpea Salad

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If the goal of feeding folks in the summer is to keep the cooking and the heat at a minimum, I’m in. As my friend Jodie says, “I turn into a troll when the temperature gets above 65 degrees F.” Even it it’s not terribly hot outdoors — or is, in fact, lovely — my house seems to turn into a hot box on June 1 every year. Of course that’s just one reason Americans grill (the contemporary version of the separate summer kitchen) and eat outdoors anytime we can. The other is we’re inordinately attached to kicking back for three months every year. Or we say we are anyway.

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FRIDAY FISH: Sole Arrabbiata with Vegetables

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Eight years ago, I blogged a dish I perhaps inadvisedly named, “Saving Your Sole in a Fish Bowl.” I guess I couldn’t help myself. Recently, looking over some of my earlier fish and seafood recipes, it was obvious this recipe –while tasty and a little different –needed updating. Not only did the recipe itself scream for a fresh edit, the photographs were sad. So sad. They didn’t even look like the delicious meal I had made and, well, they were pretty embarrassing. If I were going to use this for the last FRIDAY FISH of the year (Good Friday), I’d better get to work. More about Good Friday?

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