You might think that pita bread is difficult to make, but really, it’s super simple! Do you want to know how I know? I made the dough and left one of my high school students in charge of shaping the dough during an afternoon of baking. I figured that if a high school student who lives on Taco Bell and Gatorade can form delicious pita pockets, anyone can! And look at those big, pillowy puffs of bread! Perfect!

You can use this pita bread to make a pita-pocket sandwiches or simply tear off pieces of the pita bread and dip them in homemade hummus.

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When someone recommended I check out Nick Malgieri’s cookbook to get a recipe for chocolate cupcakes that surpasses all others, I had no idea that I would also find a host of other amazing recipes that I would come to love. Obviously, I love his cupcake recipe and his crescent roll recipe. Could his other recipes continue to impress? Today I did a “Nick Malgieri Bake-a-Thon” and made three more of his recipes. His dinner rolls and blueberry muffins turned out fabulously, so I am excited for the opportunity to share those with you!

These dinner rolls were super easy to make. I know some of you are intimidated by yeast. Fear not! This requires no kneading! Just toss the ingredients in a food processor, pour into a bowl, let rise and voila! It’s time to shape those rolls. If you don’t want to tie them in knots, just leave the balls of dough as spheres and they will still make very elegant dinner rolls. Serve slathered with a pad of cold butter and some of your favorite jam.

P.S. Who says you can’t serve these rolls as hamburger buns? Or cut them into slices for some decadent French toast? Or use them in any other number of ways instead of as dinner rolls? The sky is the limit!

If it’s good enough for Annie, it’s good enough for me. Annie’s Eats is one of  my favorite food blogs and I love almost everything she makes. She wrote in a recent post that she had put off trying these corn cakes for a loooooong time (something we food bloggers are wont to do given that we have so many recipe ideas flying at us every day!) and that her only regret was not making them sooner. I decided at the last minute to add this recipe to my appetizer list for my birthday dinner. They were an absolute hit (everyone especially loved the salsa that went on top) and the leftovers reheated nicely in the toaster oven for my lunch the following day. I highly recommend serving these as an appetizer or side dish. They’re delicious!

These are awesome. It took me a while to perfect the recipe, but now that I’ve done so, I want to serve them at every gathering we host. What better way to eat veggies than wrapped in bacon!?

The first time I made these, I followed the directions exactly and immediately could see room for improvement. The original recipe called for cooking the bundles on a jelly roll pan, which was fine until you served them and realized that the bacon tops were crisp but the bottoms were soggy and floating in grease. Gross. Additionally, the green beans were dried out from 40 minutes in the oven, making them overly chewy and difficult to eat.

The next time I baked these, I cooked them on a cookie rack to keep the bundles from floating in grease, and I turned and basted them half way through cooking to allow the bacon to brown evenly on all sides. And to solve the problem of the bacon and green beans cooking at different rates, I blanched the green beans for 4 minutes in boiling water and pre-cooked the bacon for a couple of minutes on the stove until it was just beginning to cook and yet still very pliable. This halved the cooking time and resulted in much more evenly cooked bundles. My only problem was the sauce; I had doubled it, which was a great decision, but the brown sugar kept caramelizing into a solid mass. That would not work very well for basting! I decided that the brown sugar should be added to the sauce last, off the heat, and simply stirred until dissolved. The result? Green bean bacon bundle perfection.

green bean bacon bundles
recipe adapted from How Sweet It Is and cooking methods developed by Dishing the Divine

1 pound fresh green beans
10-12 slices of thick-cut bacon (I used applewood smoked bacon and loved it)
4 tablespoons butter
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400F. Place a cookie rack on top of a large baking sheet.

Boil a large pot of water. While the water is boiling, cut the ends off the green beans. Blanch in the boiling water for 3-4 minutes, until the beans are bright green and tender crisp. Drain in a colander and rinse immediately with cold water. Set aside.

Cook bacon in batches on the stove for 2-3 minutes or until the meat is just starting to cook but is still very pliable. (It should not be crisp or else you won’t be able to wrap it around the green beans!)

Gather the green beans in bunches of 6-8 beans, wrap with a piece of bacon, and place on the cookie rack. Secure with a toothpick if you desire. Repeat the process for the remaining green beans and bacon.

On the stove over medium high heat, heat the butter until melted. Add the garlic, salt and pepper and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat, add the brown sugar, and stir until dissolved. Baste the tops of the bundles with half of this mixture.

Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully rotate all the bundles so that the tops become the bottoms. Baste again with the remaining sauce. Cook for another 10 minutes or until the bacon is crispy brown. Serve immediately, adding more salt to taste.

mixed greens with grapes, goat cheese, avocado & candied pecans
inspired by Joylicious, as featured on www.6bittersweets.com

(please note… this is a *salad* folks… add as much or little of any particular ingredient as you want!)

1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup white or brown sugar
1 tbsp butter
several handfuls of mixed spring greens
red grapes (I used a small bunch for our two salads)
goat cheese (I used about 1 tbsp per salad)
1 medium avocado, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/4″ slices (I used about 4-5 slices per salad)
1 tbsp good quality olive oil per person
1/2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar per person (we used a cranberry pear infused white balsamic, but I think it would be fine with a regular white balsamic as well)
sea salt and pepper for sprinkling on top

In a sautee pan over medium heat, add the pecans, brown sugar and butter and stir until caramelized. Remove and place on a sheet of wax paper in a single layer. Let cool while you assemble the rest of the salad.

Place a layer of greens on each plate. Add some grapes, crumble some goat cheese, and layer with some slices of avocado. Place several candied pecans on each salad. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil and vinegar. Pour over individual salads, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

The story of these raviolis begins once upon a time in Italy. (Don’t all great stories begin once upon a time in Italy? I do think so…) I was traveling with my husband and we went to a tiny region called Cinque Terra. Cinque Terra is Italian for Five Lands, named after the five adjacent and gorgeous towns built into the hillsides overlooking the ocean.

This region is not just renowned for its beauty. It’s also the birthplace of pesto, and believe me… their pesto is amazing. I made it my goal to eat pesto for every meal except breakfast. In one of the towns I ordered ravioli with pesto at the recommendation of the person seated next to me and it was the best meal I ate during my entire three weeks in Europe. I have always served ravioli with tomato sauce. Why had I not thought to try it with pesto?

As I served ravioli with pesto for dinner the other night, I thought it needed a little something extra to brighten the flavors. Our garden is overflowing with tomatoes, so I chopped up some cherry tomatoes and added that. And then it hit me: party appetizer perfection! Simply serve raviolis with a little dollop of pesto and a half of a cherry tomato on top! Easy to make, easy to serve, easy to eat. Perfect.

I served a hundred dishes at my husband’s birthday party including mojito watermelon, garbanzo bean salad, and dilled cucumbers, and yet everyone’s absolute favorite was these little ravioli appetizers. One of my friends exclaimed, “Even I could make this!” Yes, it’s true. Even *you* can make this!

ravioli bites
a Dishing the Divine original

*note: usually I add Parmesan cheese as the last step in making my pesto. Since these are being served on cheese ravioli, you could omit this extra cheese.

to serve 8 people:

32 cheese raviolis
2 batches of pesto
16 cherry tomatoes

Cook the raviolis according to package directions. Place one teaspoon of pesto on each ravioli. Top with a cherry tomato. Serve.

A few notes on the recipe:

- I hate angel hair pasta, so I made this with a very thin fettuccine noodle. It was fantastic. I made it again another day with a thick fettuccine noodle. It was not fantastic. Go with a light noodle for this pasta – angel hair if you like that, or  something else that won’t be too overbearing when cooked.

- The second time I made this I omitted the lemon zest because I did not have any. I like it better with the zest, so be sure to include that.

- If you’re making this for kids, you may want to half the garlic. Or, better yet, just teach your kids to like copious amounts of garlic.

- Lastly, we tossed the pasta and sauce with some of this leftover shrimp. I highly recommend that. If not shrimp, try adding some of this chicken.

quick corn pasta sauce
recipe adapted from www.bakedbree.com

1 pound angel hair or other thin pasta (see note)
2 cups cooked sweet corn kernels (fresh is best, but frozen will work in a pinch)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 crushed garlic cloves
1 tbsp lemon zest
Parmesan cheese for serving
grilled shrimp or chicken, if desired (see note)

In a medium saute pan, toast the corn over medium heat just until it starts to brown and is fragrant. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients except the cheese. Add the corn kernels to this mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss with hot pasta and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

When my hubby invited a slew of men over to the house the other night, I knew I had to get out or get swallowed up in the testosterone. I posted a plea on facebook asking for someone to shelter me for the evening. My sweet friend Laura invited me for dinner at her house and I was able to hold her new 3 week old baby for hours. It was an amazing time of food and chatting. And baby holding. Did I mention I got to hold her baby? Because I did. And she’s cute.

Dinner was quesadillas. I had read about an interesting quesadilla twist on 101cookbooks.com. Unlike about 99% of the US population, I don’t love cheese. A little melted here and there is fine, but do I need it oozing out of every meal? No siree. Quesadillas are a quick and easy snack for you cheese lovers, but if you don’t stuff them with a ton of cheese, they really don’t fill you up. 101cookbooks suggests forming the quesadilla around a cooked egg. The egg provides substance and protein and helps make the quesadilla “fuller.” And for you cheese lovers, have no fear. There’s still plenty of room for lots of cheese. Laura had already grated some cheese and combined it with beans and corn for her quesadilla filling. I married her idea with the 101 cookbooks idea and added a handful of cilantro and here it is: quesadillas with a twist.

quesadillas with a twist

with the help of 101cookbooks.com and my friend Laura Dahl

cheese mixture (this makes lots – refrigerate the leftovers):

1 tsp bacon grease, lard, or butter
1 cup corn (thawed if frozen, rinsed if from a can)
4 cups of shredded cheese (I prefer a mixture of sharp cheddar and something that melts well like Jarlsberg or Monterey Jack)
1 cup black beans, rinsed
1/4 cup cilantro (optional)

eggy quesadilla mixture – if you are serving a group, simply repeat the steps below until everyone is satisfied)

1 egg
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp bacon grease, lard, or buter
1 corn tortilla

garnish

guacamole, salsa, and lime to taste

In a skillet over medium heat, cook bacon grease until hot. Add corn and toast, stirring often, until kernels start to turn golden brown. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl, combine the cheese, beans, cilantro, and cooled corn. Set aside.

Scramble one egg in a medium bowl. Add salt to scrambled egg mixture and stir well. Heat bacon grease in a non-stick griddle or cast iron pan over medium heat until melted. Add scrambled egg mixture, let cook for 15 seconds. Place tortilla on top of the egg. Continue to cook for about 15 more seconds, or until the egg is lightly browned on the bottom. Flip the egg and tortilla all at once so that the egg is on top of the tortilla.

Immediately place a few tablespoons of the cheese mixture on one side of the tortilla and fold the tortilla in half. Cook for about 30-60 seconds, until cheese mixture starts to melt. Flip the quesadilla and cook on the second side for 30-60 seconds until the cheese is completely melted. Continue to cook longer if you prefer a browned quesadilla.

Serve with guacamole, salsa, and lime to taste.

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I did not make many changes to the original recipe. I did swap out the peas for fresh asparagus. Because it’s added toward the end of cooking time, it maintains a refreshing crunch. Also, I had originally tried sauteeing the vegetables in leftover bacon grease but I found that it made the soup unpleasantly salty. Instead, I highly recommend reserving the excess bacon grease for another recipe and using vegetable oil or butter for the vegetables. The bacon itself will add plenty of salt to the soup.

This soup serves four people. It’s fabulous served with a slab of crusty bread that’s been smeared with butter and a fruity jam.

spring mushroom soup with aromatic vegetables
adapted from www.oneperfectbite.blogspot.com

6 slices bacon
2 tbsp butter or vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 lb quartered cremini mushrooms
2 tsp minced garlic
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken stock or canned chicken broth
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
5 stalks fresh asparagus, ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup heavy cream

In a large cast iron or other deep skillet, cook bacon until browned on both sides. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and let cool. Remove excess bacon grease and reserve for another purpose.

Add butter or vegetable oil to the skillet and cook until hot. Add onions, celery, and carrots and cook, stirring continuously, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms release their liquid and have begun to brown around edges, about 5 minutes. Cut the bacon into small pieces and add to the mixture.

Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add flour and stir until it makes a paste, about 1 minute. Add the stock, thyme and pepper and stir to combine.

Bring the soup to a full boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a separate skillet, cook the asparagus in some of the reserved bacon grease or vegetable oil until browned and slightly softened. Add the asparagus to the soup and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat and add the cream. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.