Author: cheznousdinners

Daria is an artist living and working in Baltimore. She has been painting and cooking all of her life and has been serving communal style dinnners at her home with Nicolas for the past two years.

Melon with Smoked Salmon and Lavender Infused Olive Oil

I was walking in the market and smelled this amazing melon, I decided I had to buy it! It turned out to be an Orange Flesh Chair Orange Honeydew. It is amazing! I highly recommend buying this melon if you see it. It has a thin exterior, and an amazing scent, kind of like honeysuckle. Once it is sliced, it looks like a standard melon, but tastes so much better!

Roast Eggplant Caprese with Herb Lemon Vinaigrette

I was thrilled to find that my garden was gloriously producing dozens of tomatoes, so it was time to harvest them! I was missing my caprese salads in Hawaii (well not too much, since I was feasting on poke and fresh mango daily). I decided to add a bit more intricacy to the dish by roasting up some eggplant to make a bed for the sliced tomatoes and torn mozzarella. I marinated them in a bit of salt and pepper while the eggplant roasted, and drizzled the whole situation with a simple lemon herb vinaigrette. It was glorious. I am sure this portion was meant for at least four people, but Nico and I almost ate the entire dish!

Ricotta Pizza with Grilled Zucchini and Sun-dried Tomatoes

I was having some friends over for a lunch and had some ingredients that needed to be used up. I made way too much Ricotta, so I have been slowly using it up! Need ideas for Ricotta recipes? Try out my Swiss Chard, Ricotta, and Soppressata Ravioli or Egg Yolk Ravioli with Ricotta. Have too…

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Uova da Raviolo – Egg Yolk Ravioli

It might be the tomatoes growing in my garden…or maybe its the summer heat, but I have been really into cooking Italian food recently. I have been making Mozzarella to pair with tomatoes, and chopping up my freshly grown chard to make Chard, Ricotta, and Soppressata Ravioli. I wanted to step up my Ravioli game…

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Baltimore’s Crab Cakes

This is my third year in Baltimore, so for Fourth of July, along with a beautiful platter of Grilled Steak, Duck, Fennel, and Peaches, I wanted to serve some mini Crab cakes. I buy crabmeat whenever it is on sale and keep it in my freezer for anytime a friend comes to visit us. Baltimore…

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Caprese with Homemade Mozzarella

There is no better accompaniment to homegrown tomatoes than a fresh cheese! For our first little harvest of tomatoes, we made some homemade Ricotta for an Herbed Ricotta and Tomato Salad. Today, I wanted to share with you my recipe for Fresh Mozzarella! Mozzarella is a bit tricky, but if you are patient and pay…

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Swiss Chard, Ricotta, and Soppressata Ravioli in Wine sauce

I have been on an Italian food kick recently and purchased an awesome adjustable, double fluted pastry wheel…and I have been itching to use it! I decided to pick some chard from my garden and use up the whey from making mozzarella to make some ricotta filling. I found some soppressata in the back of…

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