Panzella

Panzella is Italian bread salad. It is great for a quick meal but even better if it can set for a few hours. Panzella can be made with fresh bread, but is much better with day old bread. Fresh bread can get too soggy if not eaten immediately. Panzella can be made with an assortment of ingredients but usually includes, bread, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions. Bread salad is dressed with an oil based dressing. Feel free to experiment with different flavors.

Ingredients:

• Cubed day old bread
• Sliced cucumbers
• Cubed deseeded tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
• Sliced scallions
• Fresh basil
• Dried garlic
• Shredded lettuce
• Olive Oil
• Basalmic vinegar
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions:

• Make dressing by combining oil, vinegar, and spices
• Mix bread, lettuce, and veggies
• Pour dressing over salad
• Let marinate for 1/2 or longer

Enjoy!

Light Summer Salad with Fig and Bleu Cheese

When it's super hot out you don't want to keep the oven on. Cold and luke warm foods are the way to go. Here is a quick and easy summer lunch or dinner for those muggy days. I choose figs because I always see fresh ones at the market and never quite know what to do with them but see them paired with cheeses and crackers all the time. I'm not so much a snack person and wanted to make something that can be used as an appetizer to a 3 course meal or in a larger portion as the main entree.

Fresh figs are not as sweet as the dried version but offer a nice subtle sweetness and texture when added to salads. You don't have to cook them if you are in a hurry, they are a fruit and can be eaten raw. This is a good idea if you want to keep the oven completely off. However, I suggest lightly browning them to give them a creamier texture and caramelize the honey.

Ingredients:

• Fresh figs
• Blue cheese
• Mixed greens (arugula also works well)
• Honey
• Olive Oil

Directions:

• Cut off the tips of the figs and then cut them in half
• Thread them on to skewers or chop sticks
• Drizzle with olive oil and place face down in pan
• Flip skewers over and while grilling place a dollop of honey in the center of each fig
• Flip skewer one final time to caramelize honey
• While figs are grilling assemble salad
• Crumble or chop blue cheese and add to salad
• Garnish with fig skewers
• Serve with a drizzle of lemon and olive oil or a light citrus vinaigrette

This literally takes under 5 minutes to make including the grilling time of figs

Enjoy!