In A Nutshell

This salad comes from Food & Wine magazine; you need a flat grill pan with holes in it in order to grill the onions and broccoli. If you don't have that, you can always roast the broccoli in the oven at a high temperature until it's nice and charred along with the onion. This salad is best eaten the same day as the tomatoes do not age well in the refrigerator. You can, however, grill the broccoli and onion the day before to get a head start. 2 large heads of broccoli (about 2 lbs), cut into pieces 1 large red onion, cut crosswise into thick slices 1 lb tomatoes, cut into 1" chunks (I used the brown tomatoes from the store since there are no garden tomatoes yet and these seem to have the most flavor) 2 T extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling over the broccoli and red onion 2 1/2 T red wine vinegar kosher salt and pepper grated or shaved ricotta salata (or any other grated or shaved cheese you like) Heat your grill; drizzle the onions and broccoli w...

The idea for this came from the Rachel Ray magazine in a segment about chicken salads; I roasted 2 chickens the other day and we only ate one so I decided it would be a good time to try out this salad. It was terrific! So far, my favorite chicken salad ever!!! You can eat it on a pita or naan if you want to have it more like a sandwich. white meat from one roasted chicken, diced 6 radishes, halved and sliced thin 2 Persian cucumbers, halved and sliced 1/2 red onion, small diced 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed chopped cilantro 4 T extra-virgin olive oil 4 T lemon juice 1 t honey 1/4 t sumac 1/2 t salt 1/2 t cumin freshly ground pepper Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, sumac, salt, cumin and pepper with a little whisk. Add the red onion and let this sit while you prepare the rest of the salad to mellow out the onion. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour the dressing over the chicken mixture. If you want to have it as a sandwich, heat a large fry...

This is a fresh spring pasta that can easily be made vegetarian by leaving out the pancetta. It comes from Bon Appetit magazine. 12 oz. fettuccine 4 oz. pancetta, chopped 1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1" pieces 2 cups green peas (I used frozen and let them thaw) 1 bunch green onions, chopped 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1/2 cup grated parmesan plus more for serving 1/3 cup heavy cream 3 T EVOO 3 T lemon juice 1 T grated lemon zest chopped parsley crushed red pepper Cook pasta according to package directions, saving 1/2 cup pasta water. While the pasta is cooking, cook pancetta in a large skillet until crisp. Remove with slotted spoon onto a paper-towel lined bowl to drain. Add the olive oil, garlic and a pinch of crushed red pepper to the skillet and saute the asparagus in that mixture for about 5 minutes; add about 1/4 cup water to the pan over high heat and cover to allow the asparagus to steam for a couple of minutes. Add the peas and green onions when the water ha...