Ratatouille is a French Provencal Vegetable dish that is usually made in the summer with onions, eggplant, peppers, zucchini, and herbs. It’s a great way to use that abundance of veggies you may have in your garden, or that you bought at the farmer’s market. It takes a little while for it to cook, but you will be so rewarded! It’s a dish that is good the day it is made but only improves with time, giving all the flavors have a chance to mellow. It is so versatile because of the many ways you can serve it. It’s the perfect side dish served warm alongside grilled meats and fish. Or, you can serve it cold as a salad or add it to a sandwich. You can top a crostini with it and you have a quick appetizer. I love it so much that I double the recipe! I put some in my freezer for later in the season and have a container of it in my fridge all summer long. 

Nothing says summer like a steak on the grill! These beautiful New York steaks are perfectly grilled, then topped with bleu cheese butter that, once it is placed on top of the hot steaks, melts and creates this beautiful, cheesy buttery sauce. The combination of the bleu cheese and the grilled meat is just heavenly. The butter can be made ahead and kept at the ready and can be used on a variety of other dishes. Slice a piece and put it on top of the chicken, fish, or in a baked potato. It freezes well too.

A galette is a French term for a free-form dessert in which the pastry is rolled out into a large circle, then it is topped with fruits, and the edges of the pastry are gathered around the fruit giving it an elegant, but rustic appearance, making each galette unique and special, The Italian’s call this dessert a crostata. The pastry is foolproof, easy to make, and freezes well. Today we’re filling the galette with apricots that are then tucked into that beautiful pastry, topped with a little sugar, and baked until brown and bubbling. The pastry is crisp and flaky, and the apricots are sweet caramelized gems. Topped with ice cream, this is a sublime way to end a summer day!