After a long week, there's nothing like heading home to a delicious dinner and a glass of good wine. When I'm stressed out, I find cooking relaxing — especially if I'm making something like a roasted garlic white pizza.
Instead of a classic tomato sauce, this pizza is slathered with a paste made from roasted garlic. It's then topped with spinach, bacon, ricotta, and mozzarella. Talk about a scrumptious pie! To kick-start your weekend with this dish, get the recipe and read more
I am falling for figs and can't resist trying just about every recipe! After enjoying the figs in a blanket, it was time for something sweet rather than savory. Something like caramelized figs with ricotta mousse.
The simple, light, orange-infused ricotta mousse can be made ahead of time, and caramelizing the figs only takes about 15 minutes. When adding the balsamic vinegar to the syrup — be careful! — I suggest having the pan's lid handy to avoid any splatter.
Once the mousse is topped with warm balsamic caramel and sweet figs, it's the perfect dessert to finish a Fall dinner. If you are short on time and can't make the smooth creamy ricotta mousse, the caramelized figs would be equally tasty served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. To get started caramelizing your own figs, keep reading.
Traditionally, ratatouille is a slow-cooked vegetable dish that can simmer on the stove for hours. However, this recipe takes the basic elements and makes them accessible to the busy home cook. Instead of combining the zucchini, eggplant, and bell peppers in a large pot, the vegetables are individually charred on the grill. A generous shaving of salty cheese and a chunk of toasted bread slathered with chopped olives makes this a hearty, yet healthy vegetarian meal. For the recipe, keep reading.
Treat your family tonight to a creative meal that is satisfying in texture and flavor. The flatbread is crunchy, the soft meatballs are filled with a juicy grape in the center, and the cheese is creamy.
Honey provides a sweet counterpart to the peppery arugula. With so many different elements, this dish is sure to be a crowd-pleasing success. Check out the recipe when you read more
No meal inspired by the farmers market is complete without a juicy fruit dessert. Since strawberries are at their peak now, take advantage of their natural sweetness and incorporate them into a light treat.
The recipe shown here is an updated version of strawberry shortcake. A quick, lemony shortbread stands in for the traditional biscuit, while a fluffy ricotta cheese replaces the heavy whipping cream. This dessert is a welcome conclusion to any backyard dinner, so check out the recipe and read more
You can't go wrong with a cheesy baked appetizer dish. They must be prepared in advance, are easy to make, vegetarian friendly, and crowd pleasing. What's not to like about melted cheese?? While baked feta with marinara is one of my favorites, I recently experimented with a ricotta slather. According to the Best Casserole Cookbook Ever, a slather is "something you spread generously on crisp croutons or toasted slices of French bread." 
This recipes highlights the pure creaminess of ricotta cheese and is studded with garlic, cracked black pepper, and fresh chopped herbs. Although it's incredibly simple and uncomplicated to make, don't be afraid to serve this to guests — it's elegant and delicious. Leftovers make a scrumptious sauce when tossed with cooked pasta. Whether you make your own ricotta or not, you'll need the recipe so read more
A classic pesto sauce consists of fresh basil and pine nuts, but when basil is not in season, the thick fragrant sauce can easily be made with other herbs and greens. In this recipe the pesto is a blended mixture of spinach, arugula, parsley, and walnuts.
It's tossed with whole wheat pasta to create a dish that is healthful and filling. A heaping dollop of ricotta cheese laced with honey adds a touch of creamy sweetness to the pasta. For the recipe to this creative vegetarian dinner, read more
One of my New Year's resolutions was to learn more about cheese, and now that it's almost March, I decided I better get on it! Don't worry readers, I'm taking you along for the ride: allow me to introduce my new feature devoted to the wonderful world of cheese. Each week, I'll pick a different type of cheese and use it in a delectable recipe. First up: homemade fresh ricotta. To learn more about this creamy cheese and check out the surprisingly easy recipe, read more
In the January issue of Bon Appétit magazine there's a recipe for homemade, fresh ricotta that I'm dying to try. Although the recipe only calls for three simple ingredients, it requires several cooking utensils. One of them is a good slotted spoon. I know this may be hard to believe, but I don't own a good slotted spoon, I don't even own a bad one! Can you help me find this essential tool so I can finally make the ricotta? Head off to market in search of a reliable slotted spoon. Bookmark the spoons in the Yum Market on TeamSugar with the keyword tag Slotted Spoon.
Geeksugar has put together a post that explains how to bookmark. Check it out for more details. Not sure where to start looking? Be inspired by some of my favorite online stores when you read more
A couple weeks ago my dad surprised me with a gift of delicious Spanish chorizo. When he gave it to me, I knew exactly what dish I had to make: a crostini appetizer I saw in a recent issue of Food & Wine magazine. In the appetizer, a thick, crisp piece of sourdough is topped with pillows of creamy ricotta, spicy sautéed chorizo, and tangy balsamic red onion slices. 
Their version tops the hearty dish with frisee, but my local market didn't have any. No matter, it was still to die for! The recipe has you drain the ricotta overnight, but I didn't do that either. I simply drained it while I assembled the rest of the appetizer. The final dish is insanely good, next time I have to make it for dad! To take a look at how it's done, read more
