This summertime stunner tastes as good as it looks! I had a feeling my Burrata with Tomatoes and Basil would be good with peaches instead of tomatoes, and wow, it’s great. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

The recipe features sliced peaches, fresh arugula and basil, creamy burrata, and toasted pistachios, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It’s a vibrant sweet-and-savory combination that you can serve as a salad or an appetizer.

I love fresh, simple summer recipes like these because they look and taste gourmet but require no cooking at all. This beautiful recipe is ready in 15 minutes!

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Now introducing… the wintery side dish or vegetarian main dish that you didn’t know you needed! You’ll love how it comes together with one pot on the stove and one pan in the oven.

This festive green and red dish features roasted Brussels sprouts cooked to crisp-tender perfection with fresh cranberries, which become so lovely as they bake on the same pan alongside the sprouts. Add chopped pecans to the pan toward the end of baking to toast them.

Once your components are done cooking, combine them in a bowl over cooked wild rice blend. Finish it off with crumbled goat cheese, plus a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and maple syrup. The flavors remind me of my popular Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries & Pecans, but you can eat this one as a standalone meal. It’s a winner.

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Ketchup fans will love this recipe. It offers a thick, dippable texture, with classic yet grown-up ketchup flavor. It tastes nicely balanced, but leans a little more savory than sweet. The recipe calls for a whole container of tomato paste—choose the best you can find for deep, rich tomato flavor.

Beyond the tomato paste, you’ll need balsamic vinegar for some sweetness and tang, dried spices for complex flavor (garlic powder, mustard powder, cinnamon and black pepper), salt to enhance the rest, and water to thin it out. That’s it! No corn syrup or added sugar here.

I always assumed that making ketchup would be too tricky, but I was wrong. This recipe is so easy to make. You can whisk it together by hand in just a few minutes. It tastes best after an hour’s rest.

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Let’s hear it for burrata cheese! I always order burrata when I find it on restaurant menus, and we’ve had some stellar combinations this summer. I can’t resist burrata’s contrasting textures—it’s like fresh mozzarella on the outside, but lusciously soft and creamy on the inside.

For this recipe, I designed a quintessential summertime burrata salad with fresh tomatoes. Serve it with crostini or a loaf of crusty bread to make it an appetizer. This burrata dish comes together in 15 minutes, believe it or not, and it’s a real showstopper.

I wanted to keep it simple but make it taste special, so I drew reference from my Easy Tomato Salad and Tomato Basil Bruschetta. I landed on a combination of cherry tomatoes and sun-dried tomatoes for depth, plus freshly toasted pine nuts for a savory note. It’s not complete without a drizzle of rich olive oil, tangy balsamic vinegar, and a sprinkle of fresh basil. I hope it becomes one of your go-to recipes!

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Make this spinach salad recipe to serve with your favorite main dishes! This fresh spinach salad features seasonal fruit, creamy goat cheese, toasted pecans, just enough red onion, and the perfect amount of vinaigrette. It’s finished with a drizzle of thick balsamic vinegar or balsamic glaze.

This spinach salad is beautiful, absolutely delicious, and holiday worthy. It’s also easily adjusted to the changing seasons, and simple enough to make on a weeknight. Hooray!

You’ll see raspberries in these photos, which are wonderful. You’re not limited to raspberries, though—this spinach salad would be equally great with apples, pears, strawberries and more. You’ll find a full list of options below.

I’ve created quite a few green salad recipes over the years, but not a lot of spinach salad recipes. Arugula, kale, romaine and spring greens are usually my fresh greens of choice. The other day, I tried a spinach salad at a local French restaurant that inspired me to give fresh spinach in salads another chance. Let me tell you, this spinach salad is worth making! I love it and hope you do, too.

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Did you know that you can turn basic balsamic vinegar into pure magic? Balsamic glaze is condensed balsamic vinegar that yields a beautiful dark, glossy drizzle with a bold, complex flavor. It’s also know as balsamic reduction… or as I like to say, balsamic magic.

It has a dark, almost honey-like sweetness and complexity, with a hint of residual tartness. By reducing the balsamic vinegar, you decrease the sourness and make the sugars even more pronounced. The flavor is difficult to describe because it is uniquely its own.

Balsamic glaze is marvelous drizzled over ripe summer produce, like perfect red tomatoes, peaches or melon. Add some olive oil, flaky salt, and basil for a beautiful summer salad. I also love it over greens, roasted vegetables and homemade pizzas. You’ll find even more uses below, but the possibilities are up to your own creativity.

Now, if you’re already buying true aged balsamic vinegar that’s thick and syrupy, there’s no need to make balsamic glaze. It’s already there. My favorite affordable, thick balsamic vinegar is this one by Napa Valley Naturals (affiliate link/look for the bottle with “25 stars” on it).

If you have a bottle of basic runny balsamic vinegar—the kind that I grew up with—you can turn it into balsamic glaze in under 20 minutes. It keeps well in the pantry nearly indefinitely, so it’s a worthwhile little project. You’ll be glad to have it!

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This balsamic vinaigrette recipe deserves a moment in the spotlight. When you’re improvising a seasonal salad, no matter how simple or elaborate, balsamic vinaigrette is always an excellent choice. It’s a classic for a reason, and I love the lightly figgy flavor that balsamic vinegar imparts.

This balsamic dressing strikes a delicate balance between tangy and sweet. It’s just right.

This homemade balsamic vinaigrette calls for basic pantry ingredients, yet tastes far superior to any store-bought dressing. This is true for all homemade salad dressings, even when they’re made exclusively with pantry ingredients like this one.

I can’t entirely explain why freshly-combined basic ingredients taste so much better than pre-made dressing from the same pantry shelf, but the difference is undeniable. It’ll smack you right over the head.

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Picnic season is here! We’re enjoying a lovely spring here in Kansas City. Our homegrown tomatoes won’t be ready for a while, but I’m sharing my favorite picnic sandwich with you since I can find great tomatoes at the store now.

This Caprese sandwich recipe is inspired by the classic Caprese salad. It features ripe red tomatoes and sliced fresh mozzarella with the most irresistible creamy basil sauce. For extra flavor, I also added a little drizzle of balsamic vinegar and a small handful of arugula.

Sandwich all of that inside a crusty loaf of French baguette, and you will have a perfectly portable sandwich for picnics or road trips. Or, enjoy it at home for a quick meal from now through the end of tomato season this fall.

This tomato and mozzarella sandwich is a terrific vegetarian sandwich that offers a surprising amount of protein, thanks to the cheese. This recipe is my homemade rendition of my go-to sandwich at our local French café. They’ve just added it back to the menu, so I’m excited that I can order it there or make one at home. Now you can, too.

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Meet my go-to side salad recipe. I hope it becomes yours, too. This simple salad features fresh arugula and the world’s easiest homemade balsamic salad dressing.

This salad truly could not be more easy to make. In fact, it’s so easy that I’ve hesitated to share it with you. It’s hardly a recipe, but one that I make constantly. It’s about time that I bring this method to your attention, you say?

Side salads should be easy to prepare, and this one is so delicious that it doesn’t taste like an afterthought. It goes with just about everything—think Italian entrées like lasagna, sandwiches, scrambled eggs, and even holiday meals.

You can use this salad formula with any type of leafy green, but arugula is my favorite. You’ll eat more healthy greens if you keep this recipe in your back pocket. Here we go!

Watch How to Make Simple Arugula Salad

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Have you made this salad before, by chance? I pulled this recipe from the archives and updated the photos to catch your eye. This stunner just might steal the show at your Thanksgiving feast, and for good reason. Glittering pomegranate arils and golden roasted delicata squash taste just as good as they look.

Delicata squash is a lovely winter squash. It’s unique because its skin is so, well, delicate that you don’t need to peel it before roasting. The balsamic dressing, arugula, pomegranate and goat cheese go great with the squash, of course, but also with apples and pears. If your oven is full, try sliced fruit instead, or simply roast the squash the day before.

Watch How to Make This Salad

When I revisit older blog posts, I’m always amazed by the parallels in my life over the years and the seasons. When I originally shared this post seven years ago, I was dreaming of a better living/work space. Since that time, I’ve upgraded from my tiny apartment to a little rent house where I made the cookbook, then to a new apartment with a functional kitchen. Then we got married and I moved into my husband’s cozy home, which we’ve outgrown.

We’re actually in the process of purchasing our dream home now. It’s everything we could ever hope for, including a recently renovated kitchen that’s so pretty, I can hardly stand it. We’ll move in time for Christmas and I’m looking forward to setting up our tree and sitting by the fireplace.

To be honest, all I really care about now is keeping Cookie healthy, but our new home is a bright ending to an acutely difficult year. I’ve left my original sentiments below just to show the hard work it took to get here. I hope you are staying well and cozy out there.

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