We are squarely in the height of Dungeness Crab season, and it would be a crying shame not to take full advantage of that beautiful bounty. While many people prefer to dine straight from the shell, I do not possess the patience for that endeavor, and so I buy shelled crab and make Crab Cakes. This recipe makes about one dozen, and in my experience four adults easily polished them off. However, I eat like a horse and so do my friends, so this may not be a completely accurate assessment of portions. Tons of crab, and just enough other ingredients to bind it all together and provide some color and texture. To top it all off, there’s a tartar sauce that is vibrant with lemon, briny with caper juice, and chocked full of fresh dill to round it all off. Makes me think about a day at the beach…
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It is often said that ingredients from the same region naturally go well together. Such is definitely the case with salmon and blackberries. In this recipe, we season fresh salmon filets with salt and white pepper, then drizzle with olive oil and either grill or oven roast. When ready to serve, we drizzle with a rich and savory blackberry sauce that has been infused with fresh lime and ginger, and add a nice scoop of Garlic Dill Compound Butter….just think about that melting all over the salmon OH MY! Grab a napkin!!
FINALLY!!! Our tomato harvest is in full swing, bushes are loaded, and they are demanding attention. If you are in the same boat as I am, here is an answer to your dilemma. I have canned tomatoes for nearly forty years, and was desperate to find an easier, less messy and time consuming way to deal with them. Enter our two ingredient, slow cooker tomato sauce – truly the easiest and most delicious tomato sauce I’ve ever eaten. Throw it into a crockpot, and after it’s cooked down by half, blend the living daylights out of it, and freeze. No seeding, no peeling – just pure tomato.
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Quiche is kind of a lost recipe, and I’m not sure exactly why that is. For sure, it’s a rich indulgence you probably won’t want to eat every day, but there are times when it’s a perfect remedy to right what is wrong in our worlds. Here’s my attempt to make it summery, and to lighten it up quite a bit. You will notice the standard piecrust that is traditional in these matters is missing – its just not my thing and makes me feel like too big of a food sinner if I eat it. In its place is a fairly thin, savory bottom crust made of grated Parmesan cheese and panko breadcrumbs. The inside is creamy with farm fresh eggs, half&half, and more herbs than you can shake a stick at. There is also a treasure trove of roasted zucchini and sautéed peppers and green onions. I’ve thrown in enough Jarlsberg and Mozzarella cheese to add that gooey element that is necessary in these matters. Finally, there’s an herb garden pesto you can drizzle on right before you dive in that give just the right amount of fresh, lemony kick to make every element sing at the top of its lungs together. I’m diggin’ it. 
I’ll let you in on a little secret…of all the tons of appetizers I have made in my day; this is hands down the favorite of everybody. A lot of other smoked salmon recipes call for both a brine and a rub before smoking, but that just seemed like way too much work, so I just decided to combine the brine and the rub ingredients into one easy step. And here you have it. Don’t have a Smoker? No problem. You can easily turn your charcoal or gas grill into a smoker that will work beautifully, and I’ve included some ‘how-to’ links so you can check it out. You might want to make twice as much as you think you’ll need. If your guests are anything like mine, this will be gone within minutes of setting it out – my guests have no shame.
As I sit writing this, I cannot believe that I haven’t shared this recipe with you before. It’s my absolute favorite marinade for grilling chicken, and I usually triple the recipe and freeze for whenever the mood strikes. When my niece Ari was little, this was just about the only chicken she would eat (except for chicken strips from what she called ‘Burr-Burr Ville). We made it for her every year during our annual sister’s beach getaway, and it still brings smiles to everyone who tries it. She named it ‘
I am an enchilada lover, and generally the saucier and the cheesier the better. On occasion (like now), the mood strikes for something just a little bit lighter. These Chicken & Corn Enchiladas do the trick. Not too rich, but with plenty of big chunks of chicken, not to mention lots of corn, Mexican spices and just the right amount of cheese to bind everything together. Let’s top it off with some Grilled Tomatillo Salsa, a nice, bright accompaniment to any number of dishes. For serving, how about a generous dollop of sour cream (um…and guacamole of course) and we’ve got a winner. This recipe makes a generous dozen and a half enchiladas, because a crowd usually assembles when the word ‘enchilada’ is spoken. Feel free to cut it in half for your less ravenous crowds. 
Dick was down with a bad cold, and that usually means homemade soup in our household. Translation: he needs me to get out of his ‘territory’ so he can rest, so I end up puttering away in the kitchen, which to me is a win-win. On that particular day, the soup depended on what was available in the pantry and fridge, and this soup is the result. It’s hearty….super hearty, and one of those you can pack in a thermos for a special treat after a day of digging in a soon-to-be garden, an early spring hike, or any other activity that requires you to warm up from being out in the elements. Big hunks of colorful vegetables are the base, and then we load on a lot of healthful cannellini beans, a fair amount of carbs with big elbow macaroni, and enough crushed tomatoes and chicken broth to round everything out. We won’t forget to add big dollops of pesto to the top of our bowls for freshness, and let’s not skimp on the butter on those crackers – we earned it.