Spread | DanaSlatkin.com

Here’s a lovely serving suggestion from chezbettay.com

...adapted from Heirloom Catering. Spring 2013 is sure to be a defining moment in our country’s history. As our Supreme Court grapples with the legal boundaries of marriage, I find myself thinking about my own margins of acceptance. When I was a kid, I gravitated to the familiar. It was comforting to eat the same foods every day, to be with friends who had similar backgrounds and personalities, to cling to routine. But as I get older, I find myself wanting to try the untried. I crave new tastes, new ideas, anyone and anything that’s out of the box. Maybe that explains one of my new infatuations. It’s rich and creamy, part cheese, part spread, with a smoky pep. And it’s just a little unconventional. This quirky vegan recipe … [Read more...]

1-Minute Basil Pesto and Ricotta Cheese with Warm Ciabatta Bread

Basil Pesto with Ricotta Cheese and Ciabatta Bread

This week, my garden is a basil bonanza. The fragrant green and deep purple sprigs dot the sunny patch by my greenhouse, a French Impressionist’s fantasy. They’re pretty enough to adorn a table but, for the next few weeks, they are destined to go into this addictive pesto. There are several types of edible basil — Sweet (the most common), Lemon, Cinnamon, Purple, and Thai. Keep a potted plant in a sunny corner of your kitchen for an instant flavor boost. You can even use it as an outdoor centerpiece to keep the yellow jackets away from your picnic. Mother Nature has programmed the plant to begin flowering once it has six pairs of leaves on a stalk, so pick the leaves well before, harvesting them every three weeks or … [Read more...]