Beautiful roast chicken salad in a jar.

This recipe is an old favorite, clipped from a Williams-Sonoma catalog a bajillion years ago. We’ve made it for dinner a number of times, and then I hacked it as a salad-in-a-jar, which is perfectly lunch-able. The roast chicken and tart apple play beautifully with the spicy pecan dressing. Get the recipe!

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Beautiful winter panzanella salad.

Typically, panzanella is a summertime salad of toasted bread, tomatoes, cucumbers and olives. But here’s a perfectly wintery spin on this Italian favorite, with hearty multigrain bread, roasted butternut squash, walnuts and a kiss of sherry vinaigrette. Perfect with roast chicken or grilled pork. Get the recipe!

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Hearty barley and vegetable salad.

I love recipes that do double-duty, like this hearty barley and vegetable salad, which makes a great side dish for roasted chicken tonight and a happy and satisfying lunchtime salad tomorrow. This whole-grain recipe makes a ton, so you can feast on it all week. Get the recipe!

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hearty vegetable bolognese recipe | writes4food.com

Hearty vegetable bolognese.

This vegetable-laden take on the traditional Italian Bolognese pasta sauce is extraordinarily satisfying. Don’t be put off by the list of ingredients: ALL the chopping happens in the food processor, and within an hour you’ll have an incredible meal. Leftover sauce freezes well, so make a big batch! Get the recipe!

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Clean-out-the-larder minestrone.

I call this ‘clean-out-the-larder’ minestrone, because you can make it with whatever leftover or not-enough-for-a-meal vegetables, fresh or frozen, that you have on hand. Dump everything in a pot, simmer, and voila! Soup! Get the recipe (plus 2 secrets for excellent soup).

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late summer cheddar and tomato gratin | writes4food.com

Tomato-cheddar gratin.

Tomatoes are still in season. Get yourself 3 nice, ripe ones, a pile of cheddar cheese and some cracker crumbs. Boom! The best tomato dish you’ll have all year, no doubt. It’s an oldie but goodie. Get the recipe.

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recipe for summer corn and tomato pie

Sharing a summer favorite: tomato and corn pie.

We’ll still enjoy red, ripe tomatoes for several weeks yet, but summer corn is on its way out at farmers’ markets around here. So make this summer favorite tomato and corn pie in a no-roll cornmeal crust — while you still can! Get the recipe.

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Upcoming cooking class: Pesto!

Join me on Tuesday, September 22, for a fun class at The Cooking School at Jungle Jim’s in Fairfield — we’ll be exploring pesto and talking about its cousins (including romesco, chermoula, pistou and more variations). Get the scoop!

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