As summer squash starts to take off, they put off a ton of blossoms (and baby squash), which, if you’ve never had them, are well worth a try. They’re a bit milder and delicate in both texture and flavor compared to their fully matured siblings, but they are still distinct and quite pretty. The easiest way to get a hold of squash blossoms if they’re not at your farmer’s market: plant summer squash/zucchini in your backyard (they simply… click to read more…

1. Butternut Squash and Sausage Lasagna I’m not sure what it is about baked pasta dishes,...
2. Penne with Ragù of Roasted Tomato and Sausage There’s something homey and comforting about a good pasta dish....
3. Mushroom Agnolotti with Peas, Asparagus, Prosciutto, and Goat Cheese Cream Sauce I’ve come to realize that I tend to be most...

The noodle: pappardelle since I wanted something with some bulk for the sauce to cling to. I added some bacon, sautéed onions, fennel, peas, and swiss chard, all tossed in an intriguing mint and balsamic vinaigrette for the sauce (here’s my original inspiration for the sauce).

The total dish is simply delicious. The flavor is not explosive, but it is quite full of more subtle, nuanced flavors. You have a mix of sweet, smoke, and licorice-like anise, with a light tanginess from the balsamic/dijon countered by a touch of brightness from both lemon and mint. A light… click to read more…

1. Smoked Ham, Asparagus, Peas, and Swiss Chard Paella Like I’ve said before, a strongly flavored stock is key...
2. Lamb Steak over Israeli Cous Cous with Cranberry Sherry Mint Sauce When I found myself with a cut of lamb known...
3. Red Grouper with Tomato Braised Fennel I love the produce of summer–for me, the challenge becomes...

If you’ve never heard of green garlic before (or scapes, which are kind of similar but are in fact, different), they’re actually pretty interesting. Unfortunately, you probably won’t find them at your grocery store, but you should have better luck at a farmer’s market. Simply put, green garlic is garlic before it has fully matured… click to read more…

1. Creamy garlic pasta For some of my dishes, I like to have a...
2. Roasted Garlic Chicken Soup Garlic isn’t one of those things that gets the spotlight...
3. Penne with Ragù of Roasted Tomato and Sausage There’s something homey and comforting about a good pasta dish....

Don’t let the simplicity in preparing this dish fool you–the flavor is fantastic and it would fare well if you’re cooking for guests. The chicken is simple–nicely browned, tender on the inside–and the sauce has a rich tang, accentuated by the anisey, spicy notes you get from tarragon (a great foil to completing this sauce). Heck, I could enjoy the sauce straight and could definitely see using it in pasta dishes (if thinned out with a bit of stock). There’s a mix of smooth dijon and the gritty texture you get from coarsely stone… click to read more…

1. Smoked drumsticks in Tarragon Citrus Honey Mustard sauce Sure we’re kind of late into summer, but sloppy fingerfood...
2. Veal Chops with Mustard Cream Sauce Regular readers of this site know I have a taste...
3. Creamy Mustard Pasta When I think pasta, my head usually gets stuck on...

The sauce reminded me a bit of a hearty squash soup I had made last season. It had sweet, smoky, spicy notes that warm you from the inside in the way that you just crave during the autumn months with touches of thyme and anisey flavors. The lasagna treatment for this sauce worked wonderfully and… click to read more…

1. Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with White Beans and Sausage Aside from cinnamony apple desserts, I think there’s another dish...
2. Lasagna Bolognese I love pasta, but there’s a special place in my...
3. Pastitsio Pastitsio is a Greek pasta dish that is both fun...

The foundation of this dish is wild mushroom agnolotti (think criminis, portabello, and cheese stuffed ravioli), tossed with butter sautéed asparagus, peas, and prosciutto, all topped with a goat cheese cream sauce to bring everyone together. The total combination was excellent and very “springy” (yay, just what I wanted). A forkful of everything yielded a complex set of flavors I would best describe… click to read more…

1. Trio of Ravioli–veal, mushrooms, and goat cheese I was very excited about making pasta from scratch and...
2. Fig, Fennel, and Prosciutto Pizza with a Shallot Cream Sauce The rampage of figgy foods continues! As I looked for...
3. Phyllo Tomato Goat Cheese Tart As the summer’s bounty of great, fresh tomatoes slows down,...

The first major difference: tubular pasta instead of big sheets. I couldn’t find the authentic bucatini, so I used ziti. Then, the meat sauce isn’t a traditional bolognese, but a quicker-to-make tomato and meat based sauce highlighted by a very distinct spice blend that sounds odd but works beautifully: cinammon and allspice. This is all married by a very… click to read more…

1. Ragù alla Bolognese (Bolognese Sauce) When I was young, pasta came with one of two...
2. Lasagna Bolognese I love pasta, but there’s a special place in my...
3. Pork Tenderloin with Pomegranate Rosemary Sauce I think pork can be a really fun meat to...

Purists would argue that goulash is not a place for tomatoes or peppers and that all such flavor should come from the paprika (since if you didn’t know, unlike most others, this dish is very much about the paprika). I avoided the former but not so much the latter–I enjoy eating peppers more than I enjoy the approval of purists. I also furthered my love of squash by including some butternut squash in the… click to read more…

1. Butternut Squash Gumbo Creole cooking is a wonderful thing–you’ve got traditional Mediterranean influences...
2. Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Stew in Red Wine) This dish is a French classic: a stew created by...
3. Braised Lamb Shank with Sherry Blackberry Sauce After having enjoyed a rack of lamb and remembering how...

I was inspired by the insights into the history and approaches to this sauce, and couldn’t resist throwing my hat into… click to read more…

1. Lasagna Bolognese I love pasta, but there’s a special place in my...
2. Veal Chops with an Herbed Pan Sauce This dish had everything going for it–its quick to prepare,...
3. Risotto alla Milanese (Saffron Risotto) Risotto is a quick and easy dish to make–it just...

This seemed like a good idea, but I had no idea how good it was going to be. For how simple this seemed, the flavor really blew me away–this was awesome. The sauce was incredibly thick–bordering on macaroni & cheese style thick (granted, I did enrich it with a healthy portion of Parmigiano Reggiano)–and the flavor was surprisingly rich. If I had to describe it in just one word, I would say “autumn” (which means a lot in hot Florida at this time of year–I need all the reminders I can get). Despite the presence of… click to read more…

1. Pumpkin Gnocchi in brown butter herb sauce So it seems that a lot of people know that...
2. Creamy Mustard Pasta When I think pasta, my head usually gets stuck on...
3. Creamy garlic pasta For some of my dishes, I like to have a...