Testaroli one of Italy’ hidden treasures! It’s one of the oldest pastas known to man, made in the most unusual way! Once enrobed in homemade pesto, you will be transported back to ancient Tuscany! Watch Queen Creek Olive Mill owner Perry Rea help make and then devour this incredible dish!
fresh lemon juice
Crab Toast with Lemon Aioli
I absolutely love appetizers! Do you? If so, Crab Toast with Lemon Aioli will be a big hit on your evening buffet. In fact, they are sort of addicting! The homemade Aioli is divine and is such a wonderful paring with the crab toast. This particular recipe calls for fennel fronds. I know that most people either bypass fennel all together or when used in cooking it is usually braised. But fresh fennel, sliced in thin strips with a little sea salt is a wonderful appetizer as well! You can choose to omit, but it really does add a fresh bright note to the toasts. Canned crab meat is perfect for this recipe and doesn’t take away anything from the flavor of this tasty dish! It’s been a great year of sharing stories and dishes with you.
Party Salad in Parmesan Cheese Cups
It’s the time of the year to jazz up everything we love for the holidays! If you’re serving salad for the family or a festive gathering, this is a spectacular and delicious way to serve it up! These parmesan cups (also called Frico cups) are so incredibly easy to make. All you need is a sheet pan and two types of cheeses. (The parmesan is for flavor and the jack cheese is what glues or holds the cheese together.) The tricky part is the short window of time you have in lifting the parmesan rounds from the sheet pan to the muffin tin. Once you drape the cheese over the bottom of the tin, it will set up and harden pretty quickly. You want the cheese rounds to be golden and bubbly in the oven, but take care not to burn the cheese. Once you’ve mastered the technique, you will have created a gorgeous edible cup for any salad you like. Let the holidays begin!
Tuscan Farro, Cannellini Bean and Kale Salad
I love salads that can hold up for several days in the fridge. This Tuscan Farro Salad is so satisfyingly delicious and packed with nutrients that you don’t want to toss out any leftovers!
First the vinaigrette. So simple and yet perfect for penetrating the heartiness of both the kale and the farro. Second, you won’t find a healthier grain than farro. This ancient wonder is packed with protein, fiber and is rich in nutrients, minerals, and antioxidants. And while there are two camps—those who love kale and those who don’t, the kale, if massaged properly and cut into thin strips make this salad sturdy and so healthful!
To do that, strip the kale from the stems and place in a bowl. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a squeeze of half a lemon ( this in addition to the vinaigrette ingredients) into the bowl with the kale, and with your hands, massage and squeeze the kale until if feels soft in your hands. Now you’re ready to add the rest of the wonderful ingredients like brandy soaked dried cherries, shallots and Castelvetrano olives. Grab some crusty bread and enjoy this end of summer salad!
Strawberry Fool
Don’t let the name fool you. This perfect-for-summer treat is luscious looking, rich tasting and as simple as a dessert gets. Strawberry Fool should be Arizona’s official summertime treasure!
If you love having recipes that are so simple and yet produce the most stunning results, I can guarantee that if you make this light, fluffy mousse-like dish, folks will wonder how you found time to make such an exotic dessert. Well, they have just been Fooled! Yes, think fruit fool may be a new favorite for you and your family, whether it’s strawberry, raspberry, gooseberry or any one of your favorite fruits. Actually, we should rename this delight The Four Ingredient Wonder. That’s all it takes to create Summertime Strawberry Fool, and it couldn’t be easier to whip up!
What gives this strawberry mixture a wonderful texture is straining out the grainy strawberry seeds. You’re left with a perfect puree that will easily blend into the whipped cream.
I’m pretty obsessed with this dessert and I plan on trying it with fresh peaches, pineapple and mango. I love the name, too! In doing research on this centuries-old British dessert, many accounts claim the word “fool” is most likely derived from the French verb “fouler” which means “to press” and it’s been around for centuries. One thing’s for sure. I’d be a fool not to make this for my dessert-loving family members!
Watch my how to video for Strawberry Fool here!
Lemon Zested Olive Oil Cake
I always get a kick out of it, when classic best loved recipes that have been given the quiet treatment all of sudden become a trend. I’ve seen it with so many recipes lately. Cobb salads, Burnt Spaghetti (Pasta All’Assina), Steak Diane and Brandy Alexander’s and Olive Oil cakes are having quite a renaissance on social media these days. People just can’t seem to get enough of them, and I’m delighted! (I also discovered that Tomato Aspic may be trending, but I don’t believe it. Maybe I just don’t want to believe it!) We get requests at the cooking school for Olive Oil cake daily. It’s elegant in its simplicity and is incredible easy to make. With spring here, Olive Oil cake seems to be the perfect color and flavor of the season. As always, the better the ingredients, the better the dish, so if you have a really nice extra virgin olive oil on hand, this is the recipe for it!
