Strawberry Apricot Cobbler

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Strawberry Apricot Cobbler

We’ve gotten to know each other well enough that I feel I can be completely honest with you.  Want a dose of full-disclosure truthfulness?

I don’t dream in chocolate.  You’re probably never going to find a brownie archive on my site.  Sure, I’ll choke down a chocolate chip cookie from time to time and I’m not above eating nutella by the spoonful, but a really good fresh fruit cobbler or pie is the kind of dessert that actually makes me weak in the knees.

Here’s a good one: warm, just-sweet-enough baked apricots and strawberries, with a rich biscuit topping, dolloped with a spoonful of whipped cream.  Ahhhh…it was my first cobbler of the season and I was taken aback by how much I enjoyed it.  Over the winter, you forget just how good ripe stone fruits and berries are.  Then you encounter a display of fruit you haven’t seen in almost a year, throw together a cobbler, and quickly remember.

This whole cobbler was sort of an accident.  I had thought the apricots were destined for Saturday morning scones, but Saturday morning turned into Saturday afternoon, turned into Sunday evening, turned into OMG–I better do something with these apricots before it’s too late.  I snapped into action and turned them into dessert.

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Tuna & Asparagus Salade Niçoise

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Tuna & Asparagus Niçoise Salad

This month marks 15 years for me in the restaurant biz.  I doubt when I donned my apron and punched my time card for the first time my 14-year-old self would have ever imagined what the future would hold: all of the customers that would make me want to scream, all of the co-workers that would make me want to tear my hair out, all of the late nights, all of the dirty fingernails, and all the dang Niçoise salads.

15 years split between working for a Frenchman and some serious Francophiles, I’ve served more Niçoise salads than I dare estimate.  You’d think I’d be sick of the very sight them, but, shockingly, I’m not. There’s something so satisfying about looking at such a beautiful and abundant plate that when I came into a couple of beautiful tuna steaks over the weekend, I immediately knew I would use them to make the Rolls Royce of Niçoise salads.

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Braised Baby Artichokes with Creamy Polenta

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Braised Baby Artichokes with Creamy PolentaWhen the calendar turns to spring, my mind wanders from braising to grilling and I tend to stop day-dreaming about polenta all together.  But after this dinner, I think that’s going to change.

Spring evenings are actually an ideal time for a bowl of not too heavy polenta with saucy, braised artichokes.  The weather’s nice enough to eat outside, but come dusk, the air gets a bit brisk and a warm bowl of polenta is just what you need to remain al fresco.

Or scratch that theory.  How’s this for the perfect spring braising/polenta scenario?  Lunch on an incredibly gloomy, gray, drizzly Saturday afternoon.  It’s the kind of day when you eat lunch at the kitchen table and it ends up lasting for hours.  You light a candle, sip red wine, and let yourself become hypnotized by the pitter-patter of falling rain.  Dessert after a lunch like this?  Only the most decadent thing imaginable–a nice long nap.

Whatever the circumstances, I can find a way to make this meal work and you should too.  It’s simple, delicious, and the flavors and textures are supremely comforting.  The artichokes aren’t fussed with much, just cooked in white wine with leeks and garlic, brightened up with a handful of parsley and a squeeze of lemon.  The polenta is kept soft and loose, with a spoonful of Mascarpone cheese added for a touch of richness.

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Couscous Salad with Roasted Carrots, Mint & Olives

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Couscous Salad with Carrots, Mint & OlivesExcuse me for a moment while I shamelessly toot my own horn.

I’ve shared some pretty good food with you all in the last few months.  We’ve seen elaborate dishes like a caramelized fennel pork roulade, decadent gingersnap bread pudding, and painstakingly filled cauliflower ravioli.  You must think I always eat like a queen.

Well, I kind of do, but for every over-the-top concoction I share on the website, I make twice as many really easy, simple, big batch meals.  As much as I love to cook, I also love not having to cook.  When I work late and come home famished, sometimes all I want to do is walk through the front door, straight into the kitchen, and grab a bowl of something that’s all ready to go.

I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you feel this way plenty of the time, too.  You want to eat well, you just don’t want to spend a lot of time working in the kitchen after you’ve already put in a full day elsewhere.  You don’t want to fuss, you just want to fill your belly, then kick your feet up and relax.

Making a big salad that will hold up well for a few days will let you do all that.  This couscous salad is packed with roasted carrots and onions, loaded with fresh mint, and jazzed up with olives and orange zest.  It’s supremely satisfying eaten straight out of the fridge on a giant serving spoon at midnight or beneath grilled lamb and eaten at a table like a civilized human.

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Grilled Steak Salad with Italian Salsa Verde

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Grilled Steak Salad with Italian Salsa Verde

When you’re a kid,  spring and summer stretch out endlessly.  Each day is perfection, filled sunshine and free time.  But suddenly, you realize your childhood is long gone and perfect days like these have almost vanished with it.  I’m talking about days when the weather is gorgeous, there’s no where you absolutely have to be, and nothing you can’t put off doing until tomorrow.  When these gems of days (or even just an afternoon or evening) roll around, you’ve got to seize them–head to the backyard, grab a lawn chair, and fully soak up the perfection.

Now, obviously, we have to eat and days like this call for simplicity.  Delicious simplicity–nothing complicated and nothing that’s going to keep us standing in the kitchen when we should be kicking up our feet outside.  We want something inherently good, like a grilled steak.  We can dress it for perfection with a salsa verde that’ll be put together in less than 2 minutes.

Before we go on, I should remind you this an Italian salsa verde and not to be confused with a spicy Mexican green salsa.  No tomatillos or jalepeños, just a green sauce made with a bunch of fresh herbs, garlic, capers, and olive oil.  Think pesto with fewer rules.

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