Take three simple things — ripe avocado, soft goat cheese, and lemon juice — and whirl them together to create the creamiest, dreamiest dip you’ve ever imagined. It’s sweet and a bit green-tasting from the avocado and tangy from the cheese, both of which are balanced by the big squeeze of lemon. Serve it with tortilla or pita chips, crackers, or crudité and it will be gone before you blink.
If you’re considering a new refrigerator, chances are the first things you’ll consider are price and size. These are critical! But, as you’ll find out once you start to do some research, there are many (many) more factors to take into consideration. One of those is freezer placement. No, it’s not sexy, but it is a question you should ask yourself: Do you want a freezer on the top or a freezer on the bottom? There are advantages (and disadvantages) to both. Here, we break them down.
I’m sorry, I know I have a broccoli rubble problem. But you see, broccoli rubble in itself was a solution to another problem and perhaps we’ve created a monster, but it’s a delicious monster. We are going to keep it.
Let me rewind and explain. Problem: Two children (not the aforementioned monsters, or at least not yet today) who do eat different vegetables at different times but really only reliably both eat broccoli each time. Plus two parents who are growing bored with eating steamed (because they haven’t yet seen the light of crispy roasted broccoli, although they are wrong and we tell them this often) broccoli all the time. Solution: Give it a fine chop (rubble it, if you will) and sauté it in olive oil with a heap of garlic, as many red pepper flakes as we can get away with, lemon zest, salt, and black pepper and then finish it with fresh lemon juice and a fistful of grated pecorino romano (particularly excellent here for its pungent saltiness) for a mixture that’s zinging with enough flavor you’d eat it from a fork with nothing else.
But it’s so good, we prefer to stretch it into dinner as often as possible. We’ve finished it with these pangrattato crumbs and a crispy egg, or when at room temperature, a ball of burrata. (Which is becoming the new #putaneggonit, at least when we find it for a reasonable price.) We’ve tucked it between a piece of toast and slice of provolone for broccoli melts. We’ve put it on top of a slick of garlicky béchamel with torn mozzarella on top for broccoli pizzas. And now there’s this: a farro salad that’s as good warm as it is at room temperature, which means it can be ready for all the weekend picnics and potlucks to come, or for dinner any night of the week. Such as this one.
(Image credit: Maria Siriano)
If you’re looking to take your macaroni salad game up just a notch, look no further than one of my favorite ready-to-eat ingredients: smoked trout. When smoke is added to this mild-mannered fish, exciting things happen to everything it’s served with, including good ol’ fashioned creamy macaroni salad. Throw in a few handfuls of crunchy celery, tart apple, and some chives for good measure, and you’ve got the next backyard potluck, barbecue, or picnic covered.
(Image credit: Maria Siriano)
As many variations of potato salad as there are out there, it’s hard to beat the classic combination of smoky bacon and tender potatoes. In this tangy German-inspired potato salad, there’s bacon-y goodness infused into every single bite. For all you bacon-lovers out there, this recipe should be at the top of your list the next time a side of potato salad is needed to go next to some fried chicken, burgers, hot dogs, or barbecued ribs.
I am a big believer in cookies of all shapes, sizes, and flavors. But ugly cookies (which are sometimes the tastiest cookies) aren’t right for every occasion. If your spring season is scheduled with gatherings that require sweet treats that are as festive and pretty as they are delicious, these cookies definitely fit the bill. You don’t need a special occasion on the calendar to bake them, though — in my opinion, the warm, balmy days of spring are reason enough to celebrate with cookies.
(Image credit: Alana Jones Mann)
From Apartment Therapy → Unexpected Wedding Trends Any Interior Design Lover Needs to See
Are fruit flies a plague in your kitchen? With the summer heat coming (and kinda already here in some parts of the country!), plus ripe stone fruit, juicy tomatoes, and sticky cherries and grapes, tiny fruit flies can be an issue. Fortunately there are many ways to banish them from your kitchen — even before the first frost arrives. Here are our best tips and tricks to go fruit fly-free!
