Broiled Lamb Chops with Balsamic Syrup and Swiss Chard

Lamb, like chard, is underrated ingredient.  However, both can be gloriously sweet and tender when cooked right.  The natural flavors of lamb and chard are also both enhanced by the same ingredients, so pairing them in this dish was a no-brainer.  Here, we highlight the inherent sweetness of these two much-maligned ingredients by using balsamic vinegar to create a syrup, and tie everything together by using the classic pairing of rosemary and garlic.

Cannellini Bean Salad with Tuna and Radicchio

If I were to write a summer blockbuster-esque tagline for this dish it’d be, “This ain’t your granny’s tuna salad!”   All kidding aside, this salad really bears no relation to most tuna salads served across the country throughout the summer months.  So, whether you’re looking for a quick dinner after a long day of work, a nice protein-packed lunch that will keep nicely for a few hours or something new to bring to picnic that is not swimming in mayonnaise, give this surprisingly sophisticated and grown-up version of tuna salad a try.

Arctic Char with Lentils and Herb Butter

Lately, I’ve been craving lentils – or poor man’s caviar, as they say.  Sure, they’re a cheap and quick source of protein, but I find something comforting about a bowl of lentils.  Despite the long, and seemingly daunting ingredient list, this dish is actually very simple, and hopefully will get you to try a different combination of flavors and textures that you never knew went together so famously.

Chilled Shrimp Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

As much as I love to cook, there are times when the kitchen is the last place I want to be, especially when the sun is out and Pliny the Elder is on tap.  That’s why I love having salads like this chilled shrimp salad in the fridge ready to go on a moments notice.  Like most salads, the ingredients in this dish can be prepared ahead of time and quickly thrown together to yield a very satisfying lunch or light dinner.

Lemon Gnocchi with Peas and Spinach

Spring is in the air!  This means breaking away from some of the heavier flavors associated with winter and trying to lighten things up with Spring ingredients that are starting to trickle in to your grocery store.  Here, we’ll use gnocchi again as our canvas that acts as the perfect backdrop to showcase how the sweetness of early spring spinach and peas can be contrasted by minimal use of fresh lemon.