Chocolate white chocolate chip cookies.

Anyone who knows me knows I can't resist a good cookie. If there are cookies in the house, I'm not satisfied until they're gone. Yes, I am a longstanding member of the "clean plate club". Well these cookies, from the Barefoot Contessa Parties! cookbook, are especially tempting. Every bite is full of chocolatey goodness amplified by the sweet and silky chips of white chocolate. It's a cookie that is worth every single calorie. I love them!

Pasta with goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil

My partner John's sister, Merilee, makes a pasta very similar to this and I have always loved it. This is my version of it. I started by briefly sauteing chopped garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil. To this I added the cooked pasta along with a little of the pasta cooking water. I then threw in some of the goat cheese and the sun-dried tomatoes, stirred everything, and allowed it to sit for a minute so the pasta could soak up the flavours and the goat cheese could melt and form a sauce. Right before serving, I stirred in the fresh basil and toasted pine nuts. I then topped the plates with a little more goat cheese and pine nuts. The finished dish was exploding with bold flavours and tasted exceptionally rich, thanks to the goat cheese melting and mixing with the pasta water to form the sauce. I can't wait to have it again...

Grilled peaches with balsamic-blueberry sauce

I love making desserts with the fruit that is so beautiful this time of year, and this past week I couldn't help myself with the gorgeous peaches and blueberries I found at the market. The peaches were such a bright color and extremely fragrant. Perfect. Before I moved to California six years ago, I lived in Holland, Michigan. That area grew a lot of blueberries and peaches. Though I never picked my own blueberries, I did go to the peach orchards on more than one occasion to pick the ripe peaches. My mom and my sister make amazing peach pies and blueberry pies. I wanted to try something a little different though, so I went to the grill. I brushed some melted butter on the peach halves and put them on the grill for just a couple minutes, just long enough to heat through and become a little bit tender. For the sauce, I combined blueberries, sugar, and a bit of balsamic vinegar and heated just to boiling. The result was a sweet sauce, but with just a bit of tang from the vinegar. The balsamic-blueberry sauce was perfect over the peaches and with a bit of vanilla ice cream, I was in heaven...

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Shrimp scampi with tomato-basil linguine

For a simple, but special dinner, this is fantastic. The whole dish comes together in less than half an hour, about the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta. The shrimp is sauteed in olive oil and butter with garlic and red pepper flakes. When the shrimp is almost done, I add lemon zest and juice. I then toss the shrimp mixture with the cooked linguine and add chopped tomatoes and fresh basil. The final dish is bursting with flavour from the garlic, basil, and red pepper flakes. The tomatoes add freshness and cut the richness of the olive oil and butter. A perfectly balanced dish. Perfectly delicious...

Grilled portobello mushroom caps with tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad

This is a great first course for a dinner party or a great meatless lunch entre. The mushroom caps are drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper and then grilled for just a few minutes. Meanwhile, the salad of tomato, fresh mozzarella, and basil is prepared with just a little olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. The ingredients may be simple, but the flavours are huge for this showstopping starter. I couldn't stop eating until it was gone....

Grilled salmon, eggplant, and baby bok choy with Korean barbecue sauce

I recently grilled myself a piece of salmon with eggplant and baby bok choy. I enjoy cooking with vegetables such as eggplant and bok choy because growing up in a small midwestern town, they weren't a part of my world. The Korean-style barbecue sauce consisted of garlic, a serrano chile, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Combined, the sauce was tangy, slightly sweet , and with heat in the background. The sauce complimented but did not overpower the salmon. The eggplant soaked up the sauce like a sponge and was especially flavourful. I really liked the contrast in textures between the very tender eggplant and the baby bok choy which retained a bit of crispness. Though it was a substantial amount of food, it didn't feel "heavy", and was a perfect dinner on a warm summer evening.