Labor Day is a friendly reminder of those fleeting summer moments, so I took it upon myself this weekend to make sure I got in as much summer flavor as I could. That meant pizza on the beach, ice cream from our local ice cream shop, and any recipe I could think of that was chock-full of summer corn and juicy end of summer tomatoes. This pasta dish is a new weeknight dinner favorite in the summer, it takes about 15 minutes to make. The base of the dish is based on a traditional Cacio E Pepe, a super simple Italian pasta that combines butter, pasta water, parmesan cheese, and tons of fresh cracked pepper. I gave the classic a summer-spin by folding in the sweet flavors of corn and tomatoes, which are a perfect balance for that bite of all of the cracked pepper. Full recipe below:
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Do you have a go-to warm weather recipe? The one you default to when it’s just too hot out to cook? I think this is my new heat-wave dinner default, a summery panzanella salad packed with local, fresh ingredients that would make any farmer’s market wanderer proud. Panzanella always reminds me of Ina Garten, she’d say to use “good” olive oil and sprinkle giant sea salt flakes on top, so I like to channel her when tossing this together. What makes this panzanella different? Lots of sweet fresh corn — it’s the best this time of year and adds so much flavor and color! I served it with a few pieces of rotisserie chicken (didn’t even make it, I cheated and snagged one from the grocery store! Another great way to beat the heat!) and drizzled it with olive oil and salt and pepper to dress it up the flavors. I know this dish is going to be on repeat all the way through Labor Day.
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Sometimes I’m a blog slacker… like this past week, I slacked so hard. But I have some pretty pictures of what I’ve been working on to prove that I was doing more than just catching up on my Netflix (but PS: I’ve been watching lots of Netflix too — Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, people — watch it!). I spent the whole weekend prepping and the last few days working on a really fun project with Backyard Farms styling some of their tomato-packed recipes. It was tons of fun and I’m feeling so ready for some warm-weather cooking after being inspired by the bright colors and flavors. Now my next task: what to make with all of my leftover tomatoes?
There’s something a bit funny about me posting a recipe for a fish dish because I never really had a taste of seafood until a few years ago. My husband loves fish and slowly got me to taste it when we would go out to eat at restaurants. Now I’m a seafood lover –I’m thankful he broke me of that picky-eating-habit — but cooking fish at home has been intimidating for me! I’ve experimented though and finally cracked a good basic recipe of baked cod that I then mix up with different toppings (kalamata olives and tomatoes is a favorite!). We saw some sweet yellow corn at the market this weekend and I decided to experiment with a baked cod dish that has a summer spin: corn, tomatoes, shallots and thyme — full recipe below!
Ingredients:
- 1lb of fresh cod
- 2 tbsp of white wine
- 2 tbsp of parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
- 3 thinly sliced small shallots
- 2 ears of corn
- Fresh thyme
- Lemon
- 1 tbsp butter, melted
- Salt & Pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and in a shallow baking dish arrange the pieces of cod. On top of the fish, pour 2 tbsp of white wine, and then sprinkle 2 tbsp of grated Parmesean cheese. Next, arrange 1/2 cup of quartered grape tomatoes, 3 thinly sliced small shallots, and corn kernels from two ears of corn. Top all of the ingredients with a generous amount of salt and pepper, 6-8 fresh thyme sprigs, the juice of one lemon and 1 tbsp of melted butter. Pop that tasty summer dish into the oven and let it bake for 15-20 minutes, until the fish is cooked through. Serve over rice with fresh thyme.
