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Penne with Cherry Tomatoes, Garlic, and Basil
For a year-round fresh tomato sauce recipe with summertime flavor, we started with cherry tomatoes and then added more flavor by tossing them with a little sugar as well as salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, vinegar, and garlic slivers. We then roasted them in a single layer, which cooked off excess liquid and produced sweet and concentrated results in just 35 minutes. With our final touches of basil and cheese, we had produced a fresh tomato sauce you can make any time of year.
Penne with Cherry Tomatoes, Garlic, and Basil recipe
Wilted Spinach Salad with Oranges, Radishes, and Vinaigrette
For a wilted spinach salad recipe that would give us a not-too-greasy dressing and spinach with a slight but satisfying crunch, we cut back on the usual 4:1 ratio of oil to acid and added the lemon juice once the oil and other ingredients had been heated to maintain brightness. To avoid overly wilted spinach, we used a mere ¼ cup of dressing for 6 cups of greens.
Wilted Spinach Salad with Oranges, Radishes, and Vinaigrette recipe
Classic American Garlic Bread
For our best garlic bread recipe, we toasted a generous amount of whole garlic cloves to mellow the harshness and highlight the rich, sweet, nutty flavor. We used butter sparingly to give the bread ample richness without marring its texture with overwhelming greasiness. And we added a sparing amount of cheese for depth and complexity without interfering with the garlic flavor.
Classic American Garlic Bread recipe
Almond Biscotti
We wanted biscotti that were hard and crunchy, but not hard to eat, and bold in flavor. To keep the crumb hard, we used just a small amount of butter (4 tablespoons), and to keep the biscotti from being too hard, we ground some of the nuts to a fine meal, which helped minimize gluten development in the crumb. To ensure bold flavor in a biscuit that gets baked twice, we increased the quantities of aromatic ingredients.
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