Fancy Leaves

Making creative salads is one of my favorite things to do in the kitchen. The combinations are endless, and I typically feel really good about my decision to make and/or eat a salad. That said, making salads can be one of the most time consuming dishes to make in the kitchen. Each element of the salad usually requires some sort of preparation, whether it's roasting, chopping, mixing, seasoning, etc. But the pay off sure is worth it. One of my new favorite salad ingredients is roasted beets that have been slightly pickled. I love the combination of beets and apples, so I created this show stopping salad and have been serving it at parties and catering events ever since. It's got all the things a salad needs: acid, fat, crunch, sweetness, leaves and salt. I got the winning "Yum" of approval from none other than my mom, a cook's toughest critic, so you should feel confident in this salad choice!

RecipesMichelle StrobelJune 6, 2017salad, light salad, roasted beets, walnut dressing, spinach salad, summer salad, entree salad, walnuts, goat cheese, applesComment

Tomato & Onion Tarts with Herbed Goat Cheese

Brunch Hero

These tomato and onion tarts have been part of my recipe arsenal since my dad sent a similar recipe to me in 2010. I had graduated college and secured a big girl job in Northern VA. Having lived with my parents for about a year after college, they really started to understand my passion for food. I think I even inspired them, because I started coming home to coq au vin and chicken with mushroom cream sauce -- things that were a far cry from the hamburger helper and spaghetti my brothers and I grew up on. When Dad sent me the tomato and onion tart recipe I thought two things: 1. I absolutely HAVE to make them, because he has never sent me a recipe before and he must have faith in my abilities now; and 2. Dad HATES tomatoes, so challenge accepted. I made them for Easter brunch and watched from afar as Dad ate not one, but TWO glorious tomato puffs and I smiled to myself and kept right on cooking. Keep reading to find out how you can be the brunch hero of your family.

RecipesMichelle StrobelAugust 22, 2016tomato, tomato onion tarts, tarts, brunch, tomato tarts, summer tarts, tart, goat cheese, puff pastryComment