DINNER AT HOME

Summertime on a plate! Lemony Orzo Salad is a crowd-pleaser, especially good next to anything slathered in balsamic barbecue sauce.  Orzo (Italian for barley) is a tiny rice-shaped pasta made from semolina flour. Despite its similarities in appearance to rice, it is definitively not gluten-free. So, if you're avoiding gluten, substitute  DELALLO gluten free Orzo (made with corn & rice) in place of orzo in this dish. Ingredients 1 pound orzo pasta 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1/4 cup 3 cups fresh arugula, roughly chopped 1 cup cubed fresh mozzarella cheese 1/2 cup dried cherries (or cranberries) 1 large bunch of fresh basil leaves, torn, not chopped 1/2 cup pine nuts The juice and zest of 3 Lemons 1 teaspoon kosher salt 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper Preparation In a small non-stick skillet, toast the pine nuts. Set aside. Over high heat, begin boiling water for the orzo. Add salt. When the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente, stir...

Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies Courtesy of Wayne County Dairy Promoters

Orange Ricotta Cookies Ingredients Cookies 4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar 1 cup fresh ricotta 2 eggs 3 - 4 Fresh Oranges (2/3 cup juice & 3 Tablespoons zest) Glaze whisk together ¼ cup melted butter 2 cups powdered sugar 1 orange (1 Tablespoon zest and 3 Tablespoons Juice) Preparation preheat oven to 375 F In a large bowl, cream together 1 cup sugar and 1 cup butter, add 2 eggs, 1 cup ricotta, and mix well Beat in orange juice and zest.  The mixture will appear somewhat curdled -that's ok! Sift together 4 cups of all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, combine flour mixture with wet ingredients, mix well. Refrigerate cookie dough for 20 minutes Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto parchment-lined cookie sheets Bake at 375 F for 9-11 minutes. (until edges are light golden brown) Immediately transfer cookies to cooling racks. Glaze cookies while still warm makes 4 dozen cookies

Thank you, Dawne, for requesting a Tres Leches Cake. It's  been far too long - So much fun! 🥰 Tres Leches Cake, as the name says, is all about the three milks. We use canned sweetened condensed milk, canned evaporated milk*, and heavy cream.  You might think this cake will never absorb all of the liquid and that there's a soupy mess in your future. Trust me, give it 8 hours in the fridge; it's lovely.  The tres leches mixture  1 1/4 cup heavy cream 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk 12 oz can evaporated milk 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1 teaspoon vanilla extract The name of the game, the key to the cake! Tres leches (three milks) whisk together and set aside ('fridge) until the cake is ready The sponge cake 4 large eggs (room temperature) 1 cup sugar   2 teaspoons vanilla extract  In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light yellow & fluffy (about 10 minutes) Meanwhile, sift together ...

Caramel Flan is my favorite dessert. Sure, Crème brûlée is very nice (who doesn't like working with open flames!), but Flan always wins my heart. Everything about the process appeals to me, and the outcome is so elegant and gratifying. 

An oldie, but a goodie, Cesar Salad, prepared tableside, summons the glamour of 1970's American Suburbia.   It was a simpler time when people dressed in boldly colored polyester frocks and drank Martinis by the pitcher.  So put your old records on, throw a couple of porterhouse steaks on the grill, then get on with the mise en place, and resurrect this classic salad at your next Soiree.

Looking for a stunning salad to appeal to your brilliant, globe-trotting nephew's discerning tastes? This Thai-inspired brown rice noodle salad is gluten-free and vegan, packed with fresh vegetables, and dressed in a kicky peanut sauce. Turn up the volume with some Thai Bird Chilies and a lot of Love!