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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