Hi folks! While it’s not time yet to go on and on about tomatoes and pesto I thought I would throw out a few recipes we have tried lately that will now stay in the rotation! The basil plants aren’t ready for quarts of pesto we are tossing basil and fresh herbs into just about everything these days!  I would love to have more pictures to share but since I am just now back into cooking again I am not in my cooking/picture groove.  Since I don’t have many new pics I’ll toss in some from my day trip to Italy last May.

Giada’s Tri Color Orzo Pasta Salad This one is light and fresh! I subbed spinach for arugula thinking the kids might like it more but really the adults were the ones that ate it! My mom turned me on to this when my cousin made it and it was all the rage. Unlike lots of pasta salads this one is light and lemony without a heavy sauce!

Grilled Marinated Flat Steak This is the best marinade I have found in a while. I found some sirloin flap steak at Costco a couple of months ago and had never used “flap steak” before so I did a quick searcharoo. Up popped this recipe and it has been great every time we use it! *Just to clarify, the link takes you to a blog that has both a rub and a marinade. I used the marinade but my mom tried out the rub. The rub looks spicy, the marinade has lots of flavor but no spice which is nice with a crowd!

Any season appetizer…Baked Fontina  . This is delish! You literally cut up fontina, toss it into a small cast iron skillet and top it with fresh herbs, olive oil and garlic. Broil it and serve it with baguette! Thanks, Ina! It’s not for an outdoor summer gathering like a bbq but we had a chilly afternoon a few weeks ago when we had family over and it was a great preview to the above steak. To make it more summery you could toss sun-dried tomatoes on top and then when it comes out top it with fresh chopped basil or drizzle with pesto. Or even be really adventurous and in season and try it with one of those raspberry chipotle sauces or sliced peaches.

Mini potatoes- once it gets hot we are not in the mood for heavy potato meals but I am not always in the mood for all cold salads as sides. We have used the mini potatoes from Trader Joe’s before for fondue but I picked up a bag last week and they were a perfect summer dinner side. I boiled them for 15 or 20 minutes or so until they were tender. I then heated a cast iron skillet and added a little bit of butter, olive oil, garlic and a small shallot sliced. I tossed in the potatoes for a quick saute. When they were looking nice and golden I turned off the heat and tossed them with a tablespoon of fresh herbs. I used parsley, thyme and rosemary since we had those handy.

Don’t despair….tomatoes and pesto are on their way! Tomato basil pie will be here before you know it!