A Life in Food by real-life Chef Cheryl Bennett
Most recent update: 7/8/19
Cherry hand pies. The perfect, portable summer treat. Pack them in lunches, take them to potluck dinners, freeze them for the cold months when you need a burst of summer. Just make them! Made from scratch, these mini pies are a hand held remake of a childhood classic.
If you make a purchase through one of the affiliate links, I make a few pennies at no extra cost to you. Questions? Please see disclosure for info.
…
Sandwiches are the focus this week. They are a lunchbox staple and the ultimate “to-go” food, but they don’t need to be boring. The Dinner Divas have 5 incredible sandwiches from an open-faced tartine of wine-poached pears and gorgonzola to gorgeous layers of vegetables on hearty bread.
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.
We begin the week with these adorable Mini Crab Rolls from The Chef Next Door. A little light prep on Sunday makes these even easier to get on the table at the start of the week.
Next up this week are my tartines. A tartine is a fancy open-faced sandwich. I have two recipes in one post, so you really get a bonus here! Wine-Poached Pear with Gorgonzola Dolce and Prosciutto, Fig Jam and Parmesan Tartines
Our third sandwich this week is Chicken Salad with Lemon Dill Yogurt Dressing from Comfortably Domestic. Swap the mayo for this zingy yogurt dressing and make a batch of this chicken salad tonight.
Pastry Chef Online has made a Gourmet BLT with Avocado and it is one of my all time favorite combos. If you have never put avocado on a BLT, friends, you are missing out on something delicious.
The last sandwich this week is Girl in the Little Red Kitchen’s Summer Vegetable Sandwich Bar. There is nothing boring about this and the Bulgarian feta?! Yes, please.
Now, it’s time for the extras! We have 2 different desserts this week for you that use the best of summer fruits.
First are these Cherry Hand Pies from Pook’s Pantry (me!). They are small and portable, so they are perfect for little hands and portion controlled for bigger hands, because I need that. Fresh cherry filling and a homemade crust make these the perfect summer treat.
Last up this week is this beautiful Blueberry Galette from The Chef Next Door. Rustic and filled with fresh blueberries, it’s a perfect weekend dessert.
That’s all for this week friends. Thank you for spending a part of your day with us, join us next week as we do breakfast for dinner!
Blueberry Mini Pies are the epitome of summer. Ripe, juicy blueberries fill delicious buttery dough for the perfect hand-held pie. Perfect for lunch bags, afternoon treats or beach day picnics, these mini pies are small enough for little hands and great portion control for big hands.
…
Key Lime Pie. These three little words make me sit on the edge of my seat in anticipation. In my book, it is one of the most perfect desserts. The fact that it is ridiculously easy gives it major bonus points.
Growing up, I don’t think I’d even heard of key lime pie. We had apple, peach, strawberry-rhubarb, blueberry, pecan, pumpkin, lemon meringue, chocolate cream, but never key lime.
…
.JPG)
Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like every year summer goes by even quicker than it did the year before.
I wait and wait all winter for stone fruit season to arrive, daydreaming about all of the amazing things I’ll make… fantasizing about juicy peaches, ripe plums and perfect nectarines.
Awaiting that first taste of summer, sinking my teeth into the perfect bite, juice dribbling down my chin…
and then it’s August.
When did that happen?! I realize I barely had a chance to make any of the delectable things I spent so many hours, days, weeks thinking about. And here we are again, summer more than halfway gone.
So, upon this rather startling revelation I decided I had better get it in gear if I was going to accomplish at least a few of the things I had set out to do.
…