Polenta Squares with Sun-Dried Tomato & Walnut Tapenade

This past weekend my sister-in-law, her hubs & my sweet little niece came over for a visit. I channeled my inner mother, went out on a limb & tried a new recipe that I had never tried to serve our guests.  I tried this recipe for polenta squares with sun-dried tomato & walnut tapenade.

I think it came out pretty tasty, although now looking back at my photos & the photo they show on food52.com, my polenta squares look a little thin (note to self: next time I’ll make them a bit thicker). I have to admit I was a bit spastic at making my squares or rectangles as I now see that’s really what shape they were. I’ll note where I spazed out in the directions in hopes you'll learn from my mistakes.

PS: happy birthday to my cool-little-dude nephew, Chris! I love you!

Simple Herb-Roasted Tilapia

Summer nights call for light but satisfying dinners.  I like to try to cook  and eat as much fish as I can, especially in the summer. Maybe it's a mental thing but it doesn't leave me feeling sleepy or overly stuffed after I eat it - but completely satisfied.  You can make this recipe on the grill or bake it in your oven. You can prepare it early and cook (and eat) it later.

Provençal Cherry Tomato Gratin

I've really never met a tomato that I don't like. Ok that's a little bit of a lie, canned stewed tomatoes gross me out but I love all the others.

I came across this recipe in my new go-to cookbook (Barefoot Contessa's FoolProof Cookbook) for provençal cherry tomato gratin. It is a great side dish & if i didn't have to share I'm pretty sure I'd eat the entire casserole dish myself.

Try it yourself & let me know what you think. Read on for the recipe.

PS: there were no leftovers at our house.

Scallops Provencal

This recipe surprised me.  It was much easier than I anticipated. I've never been impressed when I've cooked scallops, until now.  I finally got a nice sear of these suckers.
As an added bonus, this recipe calls for wine & we all know what that means... One splash for the dish & one for me, or two for me.

I didn't have parsley that the original recipe called for so I used thyme instead. I served these tasty scallops over some rice with peas & asparagus.

Click through for the full recipe.

Chipotle & Apple Turkey Burgers

If you follow me on instagram, twitter or just visit me here, you know that I've been digging into some scrumptious cookbooks, like the Sprouted Kitchen.

I wish I was organized enough to make a list every time I go to the super market so that I can make recipes exactly as I see them in cookbooks.  This past weekend I really thought I had everything on the list to make Sprouted Kitchen's chipotle & apple turkey burgers, I even brought the book in the car with me.  Per usual I was missing some items, so I had to get creative. 

Click through for my rendition of Sara Forte's recipe with what I had on hand in my fridge.