Grilling vegetables and dressing them with a rich dressing is a revelation. Use as many colors and varieties of vegetables as possible.
olive oil
Porchetta-Style Pork Kebabs with White Beans
These pretty kebabs made with pork tenderloin and rosemary branches create similar flavors to traditional Italian porchetta in a fraction of the time.
Giada De Laurentiis’ Grilled Scallops with Prosciutto and Basil
Pink peppercorns make these grilled scallop skewers beautiful and summery—as if you’re eating a spicy rose petal. You could serve this with (or atop) an arugula salad. Add a squeeze of juice from a grilled lemon half if you like.
Baked Peppers with Feta and Bread Crumbs
Sweet peppers seem destined for stuffing, given their shape and hollow interior. There are all kinds of delightful sweet peppers available, in every color and size. I found some diminutive, colorful Gypsy peppers at the market one day and came up with this dish, which actually qualifies as dainty and delicate.
Faith’s Hearty Curried Lentil Vegetable Soup
This is one of Faith’s favorite go-to soup-as-a-meal recipes. She prefers red lentils, simply because she finds them beautiful, but you could use brown lentils if that’s what you have or what you like. As a last step, she uses an immersion blender to thicken the soup, but you don’t have to if you like the texture of the plump cooked lentils as they are.
Pan-Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Rosemary and Fig and Balsamic Agrodolce
Chris Prosperi made this pork tenderloin for us as our pre-show meal, and it was outstanding. We wholeheartedly recommend you try it for a weeknight dinner or the next time guests come for dinner.