Bruschetta

I love flip flops, shorts, and tank tops as much as the next girl, but my true summer passion is tomatoes. I literally jump for joy when the heirlooms arrive. The gnarled edges and beautiful colors scream summer in my eyes. Nothing beats a perfect heirloom tomato. Add some salt, olive oil, and a thick slice of sourdough bread, and I call that lunch. And as embarrassing as it is, I professed my love for a home grown tomato on my first date with Ryan. Only later did I realize how awkward that conversation probably was.

Guacamole

Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner, and what better way to celebrate than with some delicious, creamy guacamole. I have had a long love affair with guacamole. It is like a forbidden fruit, but surprisingly healthy. Hello, WINNER!

Now I feel like guacamole might also be one of those foods like peanut butter where people are either avid creamy fans or avid crunchy/chunky fans. I am a chunky fan. The perfect bite is when you get all of the little chunks on your tortilla chip.

Eggplant Risotto

When I smell risotto it brings me back to Italy. When I eat risotto I feel luxurious. When I make risotto I feel like I can master anything. Well, that may not be true, but I do feel rather accomplished. It is a tedious, loving journey to take a pot of rice to a creamy, delicious dinner, but it is well worth it.

This is one of my favorite risottos. Yotam Ottolenghi masterfully pairs both burnt and fried eggplant to create a perfect dish. And as I have said before in my Chicken Stock post, Mr. Ottolenghi believes stock “will make it or break it.” It holds especially true when it comes to risotto. You don’t want to spend all of this time on your risotto only to have it ruined by store-bought vegetable stock. So, please, trust me, make a stock this one time. You will by super stoked.

"Potholes" Sundae

Inspired by the best sundae I have ever had....

Now, I usually don't get so excited for ice cream sundaes. They are usually too big and end up being ice cream soup. But this sundae changed it for me. It was just the right size and the right blend of all of the best sundae yumminess.

The Baked Brownie

Every time I have made brownies from scratch, they have been crumbly, cakey, and dry. Brownies are not supposed to be crumbly, caky, and dry. That’s not how they come out of the box. Out of the box, they are fudgy, chewy, and chocolately.