In the past, I have publicly expressed my dislike of bread and butter pickles. Honestly, I just don’t love sweet pickles. Usually. But maybe I think I don’t because so many are overly sweet and lacking in flavor. So, it was with a bit of trepidation that I tried this recipe for zucchini pickles from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. My friend Sandra was the first to recommend the recipe, and she is a very trustworthy source. Judy Rodgers ain’t bad either.

Time for something savory.

This recipe comes from a really beautiful book, Cooking in the Moment: A Year of Seasonal Recipes by Andrea Reusing. Just when I thought I had enough of seasonal cookbooks, Reusing created something fresh. The book manages to keep one foot in the professional kitchen (she is the James Beard Award-winning chef behind Chapel Hill’s Lantern) and one foot in the home kitchen. The resulting recipes are home cooking inspired by professional experience and a real love of ingredients. It is a charming read and one of those cookbooks that I actually sit down and read from front to back. I have about ten recipes bookmarked to try.

Sometimes a recipe stops you in your tracks.

A few weeks ago Bryan and I attended a dinner party for my friend Amber’s new business, Las Manas Tamales (more on that in a minute). The first course was described as a spring vegetable escabeche with savory granola. I didn’t really know what to expect and certainly had no idea I would be so moved by the dish.

Now is the time when we Midwesterners get desperate. We’re about as far as we can get from fresh fruits and vegetables. Storage apples, onions, and root vegetables have all but disappeared. I just want some variety in the produce I can buy! This is when I inevitably think it is a good idea to buy a plastic carton of cherry tomatoes, which are almost always a disappointment.

[What better day to share something I love? A COLLECTION OF (ACO) is one of the most beautiful, creative, and inspiring sites on the web. It is produced by two very special artists, Stefani Greenwood and Gilda Davidian, who live in Southern California. I am one of their biggest fans and am so glad they agreed to be guests here. And I am also super excited for the giveaway that they are offering!]

Hello, friends! We are so very excited to be guests on Lottie + Doof. We have been fans since the start of the blog and when we started A COLLECTION OF, Tim was one of the first people we interviewed (see it/read it HERE). Today we are making muhammara, a middle eastern dip with walnuts, bread crumbs, pomegranate molasses and red peppers. I learned to make this dip from my grandmother who lived in Lebanon for most of her life, and learned it from her mom when she was young. The dip is complex – a bit nutty and chock full of flavor. The pomegranate molasses is the only tricky ingredient. You can find it at your local middle eastern store or order it online. One bottle goes a long way, so don’t let it keep you from trying it out. The dip is really easy to make and can be served with pita bread, crackers, cucumbers (or whatever you’d like, really).

There isn’t a lot to say about this salsa. It will remind you that sometimes the best things are also the simplest. Chiles, garlic, lime and oil. Apply heat and then a blender. They are transformed into one of the best salsas I have ever eaten. The garlic allows this to emulsify into a surprisingly creamy sauce. Dribbled on tacos or scooped up with chips, (or even spread on a grilled cheese sandwich) –you won’t have any trouble eating it. Period.

I don’t really know how or when Ina Garten became a cultural icon, but somewhere along the way she became Camp. I guess it was her television show that introduced Garten and her Hamptons world to everyone.  A recent episode of 30 Rock poked fun at her relationship with her husband, Jeffrey, confirming (for me) that she is different than the other celebrity cooks. It is all sort of amusing and confusing to me.

Like many of you, I’ve been cooking with Ina Garten for years. Some of my favorite recipes come from her cookbooks (including my all-time favorite lasagna). She adds to her collection of books this month with the release of How Easy is That? (see!, she even has a catchphrase!).

Melissa Clark is one of the food writers that I just trust. I have been cooking her recipes for years, and they are always excellent. She co-wrote many of my favorite cookbooks including the The Last Course with Claudia Fleming, which remains one of my all-time favorite books. Her new book, In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite (named after her excellent column in the New York Times) is as appealing, fresh and wonderful to read as you might imagine. Clark really excels at recipes that are both familiar and somehow special. These are the recipes that I find myself wanting to cook, and the book is full of them.

A tiny little post and a final recipe from Bryan’s party.

The new issue of Saveur features a cover story on the food of Rome. I’ve been experiencing some pretty serious wanderlust in recent weeks and so dreaming about Rome came pretty naturally. Since I have no real hopes of a trip to Italy in the near future, I decided to try a couple of the recipes. I started with the gnocchi and the milk-braised fennel. Luckily, they were both great, relatively easy to make, and perfect for this moment where many of us are anxiously waiting the arrival of warmer days and adventure.