A Life in Food by real-life Chef Cheryl Bennett
Miso eggplant is a delicious grilled side dish. The flavors in the sauce are an obvious match made in heaven and the Japanese eggplant makes a perfect canvas to soak them up.
This side is perfect for entertaining, as it is easy to make a big platter in no time. It is a simple dish, but has amazing flavor.
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…Grilled lamb loin chops are a quick and easy dinner. They cook in about 12 minutes, which makes this recipe a winner for weeknight dinners. Most of us are looking for weeknight recipes that are delicious, low effort, quick and easy. This recipe checks all of those boxes.
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This pear gorgonzola and candied pecan salad, or some variation of it, has been around for ages. Usually it’s made with walnuts, but I swapped them out for pecans. Normally, the pears aren’t grilled, but I find that little touch of smokiness from the grill gives the pears great flavor and I’m all about tons of flavor. Why eat something boring when you can eat something super tasty?
Grilled Pear Gorgonzola and Candied Pecan Salad is one of our “go-to” weekend lunches. Sweet, salty, candied pecans are the perfect compliment to sharp gorgonzola. This salad is perfect anytime of the year, but we find ourselves eating a copious amount of salads when the signs are spring are all around us.
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Grilled chicken taco salad with grilled peppers, shredded cheese, avocado and salty, crunchy tortilla strips on a bed of crisp romaine lettuce make this salad completely satisfying.
This chicken taco tortilla salad was our dinner twice last week. It was so good, it garnered a repeat performance. The past week was unseasonably warm here, unlike the rest of the country. While parts of the midwest were getting slammed with winter storms, we were hovering near 90. That called for cooking outside.
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Dinner Divas is back! Can you believe it’s already the second week of June?! I can not. The weeks are FLYING by and I feel like I need to press “pause” so I can catch up. Although it isn’t officially summer, it is in full swing here. Summer in Florida means rain and lots of it. I can’t complain though, because it’s better than three feet of snow in January.
How it works: Every Friday morning, a new meal plan will show up in your email. It will consist of 5 dinner options, plus 2 extras. Those two extras could be side dishes, dessert, drinks, etc. The Dinner Divas weekly menu plans will feature (mostly) healthy, seasonal foods that don’t take all day to prepare. Getting the weekly menu delivered to your inbox on Friday morning gives you the chance to make your shopping list and get organized for the week ahead. We’ve got so much good stuff this week! I’d love to hear from you & see your creations! Post a pic using #DinnerDivas and tag @pookspantry! I hope this weekly menu plan provides inspiration and makes life a little easier… one meal at a time.
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Grilled shrimp skewers are the perfect addition to any summer soirée. It’s quick and easy, it’s a crowd-pleaser and it goes great with a crisp, chilled summer wine.
This is our first summer in our first house and I have dreams of summer parties. Everyone is gathered under twinkly cafe lights, sounds of sultry jazz fill the air dotted with the “clink” of wine glasses and raucous laughter. Obviously, everyone has a wonderful time and the food is fabulous. That goes without saying.
The parties I conjure up in my head are like the pages of a magazine came to life right in my backyard. They do not actually turn out that way, but often it’s even better. Life has a way of doing that, doesn’t it? The imperfect becomes the most perfect and better than we could’ve imagined.
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Grilled Catalan tomato bread rubbed with cloves of garlic is a delicious and easy snack. Drizzled with grassy olive oil and dusted with flaked sea salt, it is best enjoyed outside with a glass of Spanish rioja. A super simple dinner or appetizer, this bread is bursting with flavor.
I had been dreaming about travelling to Spain for nearly a decade, so when I finally landed there back in April of 2000, I cried. The moment my feet touched Spanish soil, I was almost in disbelief.
I was so overwhelmed that I could not contain my pure joy. It felt as if the entire universe lined up and planted me exactly where I was supposed to be for that one perfect moment. I wanted for nothing, except Catalan tomato bread.
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