Garlic Tart

I will happily admit that Erik made this one with very little of my help (I grated the cheese!), but I wanted to post it, terrible picture notwithstanding, because it was delicious! From Plenty, of course, and full of whole garlic cloves poached in balsamic vinegar and olive oil, two kinds of cheese, cream, and eggs. We had it with a green salad and devoured the whole thing easily. Next time I think we'd try using a short crust instead of puff pastry (actually, we used filo this time, but the recipe calls for puff), and making it in a deeper pie pan for an even more custardy effect.

Charentais Melon, Buffala Mozzarella, Basil, Sea Salt, Olive Oil

I guess this is just a fancier version of cantaloupe and cottage cheese, but boy is it good...

Roasted Plums with Baked Ricotta

My dad has an abundance of Satsuma plums and has been offloading them onto me regularly. I baked these with some honey and spices (vanilla bean, cloves, cardamom), and had them for breakfast. They were a bit tart (the skin can be very sour on this variety of plum and that comes out when they are cooked) so next time I would add a good handful of brown sugar as well.

Roasted Sweet Potato and Cranberry Beans with Ricotta

This is a River Cafe dish that's become a staple in my kitchen. I love making it with fresh cranberry or Borlotti beans when they are in season because it speeds up the cooking process, but it's just as good with dried beans soaked overnight. The beans are cooked with sage, garlic and a tomato, and the sweet potato is cut into chunks, tossed with olive oil, marjoram, and chili flakes, and roasted at 400 degrees for about a half hour. Fresh mozzarella is amazing with this dish but I didn't have any... to be honest, the ricotta just wasn't the same.

Ricotta with Peaches and Acacia Honey

Green Salad and Buffala Mozzarella

I just got back from a week of food frivolry in New York and as I was driving home from the airport all I could think about was a big, leafy salad and a ball of fresh mozzarella di buffala. I dressed these beautiful baby gem lettuces with a balsamic and mustard vinaigrette, and drizzled a little good olive oil over the mozza- so simple, but so satisfying!

Broccoli Manchego Melts on Seeded Wheat Bread

Cauliflower and Caramelized Onion Tart, Reprise

We made this tart again. You have no idea how good it is!

Leftovers

Spicy, roasted squash and hand-pulled mozzarella from our party the other night, served with lentils.

Homemade Mozzarella with Tomatoes and Basil From the Garden

Treviso with Gorgonzola, Walnuts, and Shaved Parmesan

Manchego, French Mustard, and Homemade Pickles

Arugula, Homemade Ricotta, Olives and Chilies

Made with leftovers from our bruschetta last week.

Bruschetta!

with homemade ricotta, arugula, olives and chilies


with smashed chickpeas and sauteed chard

Mel i Mato

This is one of my favorite Catalan desserts (or breakfast). I made my own "mato" using homemade, unsalted ricotta that I ran through the food processor and molded overnight. I served it with some beautiful acacia honey drizzled on top.

Herbed Lentil Salad with Homemade Ricotta

I cooked the lentils with garlic and then dressed them in olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and chopped basil, thyme, marjoram and rosemary.

Scrambled Eggs with Sweet Corn, Fennel, Basil, Spring Onions, Chili and Goat Cheese

Gemelli with Homemade Ricotta and Tomatoes From the Garden

Made with Samin's amazing pasta.

Pizza with Onion Confit, Sweet Corn, Homemade Mozzarella and Arugula Salad

Erik and I took a mozzarella pulling class yesterday and have a bag full of cheese to use. We made this with Cheeseboard dough.

Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables, Harissa and Feta Cheese

From here.