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Pasta

Bucatini with Roasted Eggplant and Cherry Tomato Sauce

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Bucatini with Roasted Eggplant and Cherry Tomato Sauce turns fresh summer produce into a hearty dish that’s perfect for the transition to fall. 

bucatini with roasted eggplant and cherry tomato sauce recipe

Yet again, I went a little crazy at the farm market and bought all the things. Much like the squirrels, who seem to know that summer is reaching its end, I’m running around stocking up on my fill of the season’s best; in my case, heirloom tomatoes and Fairy Tale eggplants.

We’ve had some chilly days over the past week here in New Jersey. I wore long sleeves and closed-toed shoes for most of Labor Day weekend! The cool evenings have begged for comforting dinners. How better to warm up than with a bowl of bucatini?

In this late-summer pasta dish, I make an heirloom cherry tomato sauce by sautéing the tomatoes with garlic until they burst. Tossed with roasted eggplant cubes, fresh herbs, and a grating of Ricotta Salata, this pasta is some of the best flavors of summer, wrapped up in a dish that’s comforting for fall….

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Creamy Gorgonzola Macaroni and Cheese

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Creamy Gorgonzola Macaroni and Cheese with sweet caramelized leeks, salty pancetta, and a blend of three rich cheeses is an elegant twist on a comfort food classic. Don’t forget the cheesy, crunchy, buttery bread crumbs on top!

Creamy Gorgonzola Macaroni and Cheese recipe

Back in the 80’s, Macaroni and Cheese and I had an unfortunate encounter.

I spent an afternoon at my friend’s house, and, with the best of intentions, her older sister made us lunch with a boxed mix. Looking back on it, it was probably a stovetop mix, but she popped it in the microwave instead for about a minute.

As young as I was, I still remember chewing the crunchy, uncooked noodles!

Through the years, I’ve gotten to taste many different types of macaroni and cheese (fortunately, all with fully-cooked pasta) and have developed something of a love affair with the dish.

It’s the ultimate winter comfort food in my house. It’s decadent, it’s warming, and while it isn’t exactly health food in all of it’s buttery, cheesy glory, it’s a dish that’s so worth the occasional splurge.

Gorgonzola Mac and Cheese Ingredients

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Mediterranean Pearled Couscous Salad

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This couscous salad is a bright and fresh side dish or meatless main dish that’s perfect for a weeknight dinner or easy summer entertaining.

Mediterranean Pearled Couscous Salad recipe


Late last summer, I came home from a long day of appointments had no clue what I was going to make for dinner. I hadn’t made the grocery stop I’d planned and found myself staring down a whole bunch of nothing in the dinner department when I opened the fridge. Bordering on “hangry,” I decided to make a bowl of my favorite Chickpea and Feta Salad for a quick meal. With no bread on hand for dipping (I was batting zero, I tell you!), I spied a box of pearled couscous in the pantry and decided to throw it into the salad. Rummaging around my refrigerator, one thing led to another, and in went the leftover cherry tomatoes and Kalamata olives from a mezze platter I’d made for friends over the weekend, a few leaves of basil, a shallot, and a handful of baby arugula (tender, peppery arugula leaves make everything better in my book!). Within half an hour, I was sitting down to a beautiful and filling Mediterranean Pearled Couscous Salad that I’ve made at least ten times since. Don’t you love when off-the-cuff meals become favorites?

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Labrador Lounge Lobster Mac and Cheese & The Jersey Shore Cookbook

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Disclosure: I received a copy of The Jersey Shore Cookbook from Quirk Books to review.
As always, all opinions expressed are my own.

Labrador Lounge Lobster Mac and Cheese #sponsored

As a Jersey Girl born and raised, there are few summer traditions I love more than heading “down the shore.”

This in mind, you can imagine my excitement when I received a copy of Deborah Smith’s new book, The Jersey Shore Cookbook: Fresh Summer Flavors from the Boardwalk and Beyond (Quirk Books, 2016), to review. Smith, founder and executive editor of the online food magazine, JerseyBites.com (to which I am a contributor), has compiled a collection of 50 recipes from some of our state’s best shore restaurants, bakeries, and chefs.

As I turned to the recipe for Lobster Mac and Cheese from Labrador Lounge in Normandy Beach, there was no question as to what I’d be making first from the book. When dreaming of a Jersey summer, who can resist a good Lobster Mac?
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