“Ask Matt Caputo” is a new, ongoing feature where Matt answers commonly asked questions from the market. This week, he clarifies a few misconceptions about nitrates.

Q: I’ve heard that I should avoid nitrates in food, but I noticed that some of Caputo’s meats don’t claim to be nitrate-free. Why not? Are nitrates really that bad for me?

A: Many of our meats are nitrate free, but that doesn’t mean they are any better for you. Even all the “uncured” salami out there uses nitrates—even if it’s not on the label. Nitrates can come from natural sources, such as celery powder, rosemary extract, etc. These natural sources of nitrates convert in your gut to nitrites just like sodium nitrate from pink curing salt. However, they can be listed as “natural flavorings,” even though they contribute nitrate, not flavor. 

Unlike pink salt, these “natural flavorings” and the exact amount of nitrates are not regulated by the USDA or FDA, unfortunately. So in unlabeled salami, the actual dosage of nitrates you are getting is often much, much higher than if you just ate the stuff with sodium nitrate listed on the label. The key is balance. Eat some fresh veggies with a few bites of salami and cheese, and you’ll be fine. Everything in moderation! 

Disclaimer: While Matt Caputo is a Certified Cheese Professional and specialty food fanatic, he is not a medical professional, doctor, or certified nutritionist. Please consult with your doctor or other qualified health care professional before making any healthcare decisions, diagnostics or treatment decisions based on Matt’s answers.

It’s here: the last moments of summer. As we say goodbye to the sunshine-filled days of summer and welcome a new school year, we want to make sure to savor the flavors of the harvest season with the most delicious, new, and craveable treats from Caputo’s. Take a peek at our latest obsessions here:
CHEESE: Mesa Feta

Mesa Farm in Torrey, Utah, is home to a local artisan very near and dear to our hearts. Randy Ramsley is at the helm of Mesa, which is home to about 40 goats near the entrance to Capitol Reef National Park. Here, Randy raises his small herd along the banks of the Fremont River and creates a small collection of world-class cheeses. Our current favorite is his 100-percent local goat’s milk feta. Aged about four month to achieve optimal flavor, Mesa Feta is tangy, briny, and delicious. This cheese is the perfect pair for our local bounty of fruits and vegetables. Toss it into Greek-inspired salads, over seasoned watermelon or stone fruit, and top your grilled burgers, mushrooms, and other veggies with it. You’ll be glad you did, and we’ll be glad to have you in full support of this fantastic local product.

***In 2023, Randy of Mesa Farm entered his beautifully earned retirement. The farm and its singular cheeses will live on in our hearts and stories for years to come.***

SAVORY: Piquillo Peppers

There are many piquillo copycats out there, and for darn good reason. Piquillo peppers, which translate to ‘little beak’ in Spanish, are a cornerstone of Spanish cooking and tapas culture. Piquillo peppers—grown in Northern Spain, near Lodosa—offer a sweet flavor with no spiciness, and a sturdy, meaty texture. Piquillo peppers are roasted, seeded, and de-stemmed before canning. Your piquillos should be whole when they come out of the jar. Stuff them with high quality Spanish tuna, a mixture of cheese and herbs (cough, like the Mesa feta above, cough, cough), or chop and toss into frittatas, casseroles, stews, and more. Use these instead of other roasted peppers for amplified flavor, and they’ll make your dish even tastier.

BAR: Peychaud’s Bitters

We’ve got another traditional cornerstone for you here. This Craving is one part Creole magic and one part cocktail king. Created by New Orleans apothecary Antoine Amédée Peychaud in the 1830s, this bitters has withstood not just the test of time, but it was one of the only bitters to survive Prohibition. Light, sweet, and floral, this is an absolute must-have for home cocktail enthusiasts and professional mixologists alike. You can’t make a proper Sazerac without it, and you deserve a Sazerac after that first week of getting the kids through school.

CHOCOLATE: Pump Street Hacienda Limon 85%

Pump Street has stormed on to the American market after a publicized mention at the Oscars. It has long had a cult-like following for both its baked goods and chocolate alike. Hailing from the almost-too-cute and quaint town of Orford, Suffolk, Pump Street coaxes Heirloom Cacao Preservation cacao beans into some of the most decadent bars we’ve tasted. These bars are complex, perfectly textured, and truly craveable. Pump Street offers beans from Hacienda Limon in three different cacao percentages to explore the full spectrum of flavor from these heirloom beans. The Guantupi region of Ecuador is home to cacao beans used by many artisan chocolate makers across the country, but we just can’t get enough of Pump Street lately—especially the 85% bar. This is the ultimate gift to give the most important person in your life: yourself! Go on, indulge.

My favorite resurgent food theme from the last few years is what I like to call “grandma chic.” While food writers, bloggers, chefs, and amateur food enthusiasts will claim to march to beat of their own drum, we all love to follow and comment on the latest foodie trends.

The trends of 2014 included: the Great Kale Revolution, healthy lunches for kids, all local everything, gluten-free foods, and upscale comfort food. So far, 2015 moved further away from molecular gastronomy and embraced things like biscuits, waffles, poutine, and more obscure culinary traditions.

For me,  it was “grandma chic” above all else. Everyone believes that their grandma or other kitchen matriarch makes at least one dish better than anyone else in the world. We’re all too happy to pit our sweet, shrinking, and wise elderly relatives against each other in hopes of prevailing with the most authentic and tastiest recipe.

Well guess what, both my grandmothers are Kitchen Queens. My paternal grandmother has cornered the market on eggplant parmigiano, lasagna, and peach pie. My maternal grandmother, Nonna, was the authority on fresh pasta, taralli, and seasonal cooking. She left us all too soon, but made a lasting impression on my life and forever changed my perspective in the kitchen.

Rino, of the now-closed Rino’s Italian Ristorante in the Parley’s Canyon area, is my first stop at the Saturday farmers market at Pioneer Park. His produce reminds me of my Nonna’s kitchen table.

A fresh white tablecloth was the base for the summer’s bounty, day in and day out. Tomatoes, peppers, greens, and many other veggies were piled high, tempting us grandchildren with their wafting scents. We’d sneak tomatoes and peppers all summer, but left our favorite veggies alone in hopes they’d be used for our favorite dishes. Mine included fresh orrechiette with veggies from the garden, braised beef with tomato sauce, and fried squash blossoms.

Nonna lightly fried squash blossoms in a big, cast iron pan that filled the kitchen with a sweet scent that tortured me until dinnertime. Our whole family would sit down, and I’d silently pray everyone would help themselves to the main course so I could get my grubby little hands on the blossoms. I loved the crunch at the tip of the blossom that gave way to its tender base filled with deliciousness. Sometimes, she’d fill them with herbed ricotta. Other times, she fried them plain, with no filling. I didn’t care which she chose, so long as there were blossoms to be had.

Rino has had blossoms since the market began this summer. I haven’t missed buying them—not even once. Each one is ready to be used, slightly fragrant, and cut the same way my Nonna cut them from the garden. I fry at least two of the 10 blossoms I buy from him. The others may be fried as well, or sautéed for pasta, added to farro salads, or as a simple topping on fried eggs or a frittata. No matter how they’re used, I silently thank both my Nonna for her delicious, simple way of cooking and Rino for the opportunity to cook her recipes from my childhood.

Make these squash blossoms for the people you love most. Serve them alongside pasta, poultry, or egg dishes, and manipulate this recipe so it becomes your own. Then pass it down as your family grows. Maybe someday, our grandkids will pit our recipes against each other, too.

Fried Squash Blossoms
Makes 10 blossoms

• 1 10-inch cast iron frying pan
• Olive oil, for frying
• 1 cup ricotta
• 1 tablespoon fennel pollen
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 ounces beer, lager, or pilsner (I’ve really loved using Squatters Bumper Crop this summer)
• 10 zucchini blossoms, stamens removed
• Fleur de sel sea salt

Add oil to the pan, about 1 to 2 inches deep. Heat on medium-high until oil is fragrant and shimmering. While oil is heating, remove stamens from blossoms. Mix ricotta with fennel pollen and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon or pipe 1-2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture into the center of each blossom. Don’t overfill with ricotta (I know it’s tempting, I still make this mistake. Remember, we want to taste the blossom.) In a medium bowl, whisk beer into flour and salt until only small lumps remain.

Dredge blossoms in batter and shake off any excess before laying them into the oil to fry. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan and fry each side of blossoms for about 4 minutes. Remove to a plate layered with paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with fleur de sel and serve immediately.

This is a public service announcement for all of you dedicated enjoyers of cheese out there.

You see, I have been a cheese monger for a very long time. I love cheese, and not a day passes that I do not enjoy one of the 200 cheeses that I have at my disposal. And yes, before you ask, it’s a tough job, but I make these sacrifices for all of you.
While part of my job is teaching both the cheese and whisky tasting classes and helping with our educational program, my real job—at its most basic level—is to talk with you fine folks about cheese when you meander into Caputo’s. You’re looking for something exciting, and I’m here to help. This is the part of the job that has kept me here and invested the last several years. Frankly, I get paid to talk about cheese. This to me means that I am doing alright.

That being said, I know that most of you don’t spend 60 hours a week in the equivalent of Cheese Candyland, which is why I have set out to share my thoughts on this from the other side of the counter. People frequently ask me how they can expand their cheese palette, and my response is invariably the same, you need to try more cheese. This seems rather self-serving to some as I clearly work at a place that benefits from selling more cheese. Bear in mind, I am not a sales person who makes a commission. I make the same salary whether we sell out of cheese or if we don’t sell an ounce of the stuff for a week (although that would probably not be a very fun week).

Note that I did not say BUY more cheese, I said TRY more cheese.

We have an open sampling policy, which means that of the 200 cheeses I referred to earlier, you can come in and sample about 197 of them in one sitting, if it suits you. You can also pick the brain of the dedicated cheese nerd behind the counter. And it makes no difference to me if you spend a nickel after the sampling, so long as you enjoyed yourself. So please come take advantage of the cheese library that Caputo’s is happy to offer.

I know all of you have real jobs that don’t center around eating cheese all day. I and my fellow cheesemongers, however, have such a job, so take advantage of this. We are people dedicated to finding you the best cheese for your palette, because, for us, this isn’t just what we eat, it’s what we live for and what gives us a sense of accomplishment.
So ask us about our cheeses, and then ask us for a sample. I see no harm in having a favorite cheese that you can go back to time after time and enjoy.  However, if you truly want to expand your cheese repertoire, every time you come in for your favorite cheese, try something that you haven’t before. Challenge yourself a little—it’s only cheese, and who is to say that your new favorite cheese won’t come to you on the next sample spoon.

So during your next trip to Caputo’s, please feel comfortable grabbing your favorite cheese, but never hesitate to ask if you can try our cheese of the week or our new favorite or just that cooool lookin’ one with the crazy mold growing on it. We are always legitimately excited about some new cheese. Let us share that excitement with you, and always remember, if you have the time, we have the samples. Plus, I would always rather talk to you about cheese than do dishes—it’s kind of a no-brainer when you get right down to it.

The Tuesday Farmer’s Market at Pioneer Park is a much anticipated event for many. It signals the beginning of a bountiful harvest and the last weeks of summer. Tuesdays are a smaller, quieter, and food-focused version of the Downtown SLC Farmers Market on Saturdays. I can stroll listlessly through the handful of stalls in the early evening rather than navigating a path, elbows first, through a sea of fellow food lovers in the early hours of Saturday. There’s more time to chat with farmers about different varieties of fruits and vegetables, more time to make a wise choice, and much less traffic or other elbows.

My first Tuesday purchases were huge, heavy heirloom tomatoes, a small basket of cherry tomatoes, a perfectly ripe watermelon, bread, and greens. Greens, bread, and heirloom tomatoes were bought for specific purposes. The cherry tomatoes and watermelon were for halloumi, but I wasn’t quite sure how they’d all come together, or if one would be chosen over the other. Bon Appetit’s recipe inspired me to create an easy, fresh way to incorporate both components with what Evan has dubbed “the cheese that grills.”

As previously mentioned this month, Halloumi has the uncanny ability to grill or brown, without ever melting. It always feels strange to lay pieces of cheese down on a fiery hot cast iron pan and see it sizzle and brown rather than melt into a cheesy, goopy mess. The salty, sheep’s milk cheese mingles perfectly with fresh, sweet watermelon and warm, charred tomatoes. A sprinkling of chopped mint and basil elevate the aroma and fresh factor, while a decent dousing of Viola EVOO is the perfect finish, because duhhhhh, Viola. Note: I finish everything with Viola, because it makes everything infinitely more delicious…and because I can.

This a lovely, plated salad for two to four people, but also a lovely addition to a large barbecue. Lay components in clean lines for a fancy-schmancy buffet-worthy dish. Either way, these ingredients are all in season, and you deserve a delicious salad in your life. Go on, enjoy.

Watermelon and Halloumi Salad 
Serves 2-4

• 1/2 pound rindless watermelon slices, cut into triangles
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, for cooking
• 8 slices  Halloumi Cheese
• 12-16 cherry tomatoes
• Chiffonade of 6 basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
• Viola olive oil, or another condiment grade olive oil for drizzling
• Kosher salt

Heat a small cast iron pan over medium heat. Lay watermelon slices on a plate in a whimsical pattern (or in a uniform one if you like that). Season with kosher salt. Add oil and tomatoes to the cast iron; roll tomatoes around the pan every two minutes or so until sides begin to brown and skins burst. Remove to a small bowl to cool slightly. While tomatoes are cooling, lay 4 slices of Halloumi Cheese on the cast iron pan, letting brown for about one minute before flipping. Remove halloumi, and lay over watermelon slices. Scatter cherry tomatoes across the plate, sprinkle with basil and mint. Add more salt if desired, and finish with a good drizzle of condiment oil. Serve immediately.

It’s one of the original matches made in food heaven, and it’s a part of mornings all over the world. Coffee is the jumpstart to the day, a delicious welcome to the day ahead. Milk softens the blow of pure black coffee for some, and adds texture or flavor for others. Either way, we all sure do love it.

OmNom took a necessary part of my daily beverage intake and turned it into something innovative, exciting, and entirely delicious, the Coffee + Milk Bar. These chocolate makers took lightly-roasted coffee and processed it in the exact same way they do with cacao beans to make a bar of chocolate. Sugar, milk powder, and cacao butter are added for sweetness and texture. The result is a creamy, delicious bar that tastes exactly like we’d expect, milk and coffee.

I’ve kept a sneaky stash of this in my office since we received our first shipment. I’ve been trying to cut down on my caffeine intake lately. Somehow, I’ve justified the C+M bar as a chocolate-like treat rather than a coffee break. It’s working out splendidly. It’s working out so well, in fact, that this has become my new go-to gift for little “thank you”s and birthday treats.

Stash this bar away for yourself, give it as a fun gift, or use it as a groovy substitute for milk chocolate in your favorite recipes. The coffee flavor will come through in a fun and tasty way.

August is an exciting time for us at Caputo’s, because our favorite local and seasonal produce pairs perfectly with our favorite crave-able market finds. Barbecues, warm nights, and fun events are still plentiful, and what’s a fun summer evening without delicious goodies to share with your pals? Get these Cravings in your life to enhance your August foodie fun.

CHEESE: Halloumi

Halloumi is an unique cheese in many ways. There’s almost no melting point to speak of, so a quick and hot sear or grill will give slices of halloumi a really delicious, caramelized exterior and firm center. You won’t experience this with any other cheese, and we totally dig that. Try grilling this with some kosher salt and drizzling it with honey. If you really want to get fancy, throw in some charred cherry tomatoes, basil chiffonade, and condiment olive oil. Drooling? Yeah, thought so.

SAVORY: Biellese Finocchiona

This may or not be my very favorite salami—like, ever. Coarsely-ground pork is seasoned primarily with fennel seed, and boy do I have a soft spot for fennel flavors. Cured meat can often feel heavy and overly savory, but Biellese has created a salami that is delicate, sweet, and perfect for snacking on with your favorite summer white wine or beer. Ask your deli monger for thin slices to eat solo or wrap slices around seasoned ricotta and roasted farmers market veggies. Did I mention this is a favorite product from Slow Food USA? Not only is it delicious, but it also embodies all the values we so adore from the Slow Food movement. Three cheers for this salami!

CHOCOLATE: Solstice Limited Edition Solstice Gran Couva (SOLD OUT!)

It’s a chocolate so nice, so well balanced, and so tasty that of course there won’t be enough to go around. Our friends at Solstice have taken these extremely limited cacao beans from Trinidad and coaxed the most fantastic flavors from them. Fresh spice notes and a silky texture make this the ideal chocolate for midnight snacking, or for hiding in your desk. Make sure to get these bars soon, they won’t last long.

Creminelli Fine Meats are a staple in our meat counter for a reason. These precious pieces of meat gold are made in the Old World Italian style, hand-tied, and cured to perfection. The recipes are produced here in Salt Lake by salumi royalty and use pork from family farms that operate on a small scale and raise their pigs the way pigs should live: with pasture access (pigs are creatures of comfort and like to be warm when it’s cold, cool when it’s hot, so they like shelter), in proper social structures (i.e. with their families and social groups), good vegetarian feed (not industrial detritus); and never ever treated with antibiotics.

These great sticks of joy can be used as a centerpiece on any artisan charcuterie board, tossed quickly on top of Neapolitan style pizza, or diced up in a ten minute pasta like my Aglio E Olio recipe. Truth be told I was going to make pizza, had the dough all beautiful and plump, sauce balling out. Then my oven broke. No lie. Game-changing anger. Two choices boiled in my brainstomach: Eat the salami all sad and alone on a cutting board, or open the pantry doors and dig for a meal. Super simple, easy and affordable.

Aglio E Olio with Creminelli Salumi 

• 1 lb. of pasta (any kind, but longer cut is the classic Campanian approach)
• 4-6 cloves of minced garlic
• 1/2 a cup of extra virgin olive oil
• A grip of parsley (1/4 cup minced up)
• 1/2-1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper for tasting
• 1 stick of Creminelli Campania salami (any Creminelli salami will do, I just like the juxtaposition of spice and smoke with this style)
• 1 cup of grated 2-year Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly-salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked al dente, about 10-12 minutes. Drain and transfer to a pasta bowl when ready. While pasta is boiling, combine garlic and olive oil in a skillet. Cook over medium heat to slowly toast garlic for about 10 minutes. Lower heat to medium-low when olive oil begins to bubble. Cook and stir until garlic is slightly brown, about another 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Peel the salami from it’s natural casing and cut into small pieces. Stir the salami, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and salt into the pasta. Pour in olive oil and garlic, and sprinkle on Italian parsley and half of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Stir and toss, and stir and toss. Serve pasta topped with the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

There are a lot of Italian-American rockstars. Kids who at one point said, “Hey, I’ve got a real talent for this; I’m special; I’m beautiful.” To name some of my favorites: Tony Bennett (Anthony Benedetto), Sonny Bono (Salvatore Phillip Bono), and Lady Gaga (Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta).

Cristiano Creminelli never changed his name, nor is he a true rockstar to the musical masses. Cristiano is a humble man who ventured out of Italy to live the American Dream—just like your grandparents and mine. He has, however, become a rockstar in our culinary world, and if this blog was the cover page of Rolling Stone there would be fireworks bursting in the background, tigers lounging, and maybe an eagle perched on Cristiano’s shoulder.

Anyway, this story begins about 400 years ago, in the region that is now Piedmont, Italy. Sandwiched between Milan and Turin sits a town named Biella. Northern Italy is notorious for amazing culinary traditions, such as its wines, cheeses and, of course, the salamis that saturate our palates with rich and classic flavors.

Cristiano’s family has been producing salami in the Biella area for 400 years, and they have gotten really, really good at it. Cristiano’s grandfather, Ugo Creminelli, was the personal chef for General Pietro Badoglio, who was also Italy’s Prime Minister for a year before things got a little weird in the mid-1940s. Cristiano’s father, Umberto Creminelli, (some killer names in this family) later took over the family business, Salumificio di Vigliano. Cristiano began making salami when he was a young teenager under the teachings of his father. And in 1996, this young artisan began running day-to-day operations at the salumeria.

Cristiano immigrated to America in 2006 to bring his Old World Italian culinary traditions to a new—and wanting—clientele. He yearned to produce salami just like his family had for centuries, so he left Salumificio di Vigliano, leaving his younger brother, Andrea, to run the company. Cristiano found Utah to be a great location to start Creminelli Fine Meats because of a specific bread of pig, named Duroc, found here. Durocs are similar to the style of pig used in northern Italy and are a long-standing American farmer favorite due to their fast growth rates, lean and rich fat marbling, and high moisture levels in the meat, which yields larger amounts of usable cuts. Their advantage in muscle quality combined with their well-established ability to grow fast was what Cristiano needed and valued.

Creminelli uses family farms that operate on a small scale and raise pigs the way pigs should be raised: with pasture access (pigs are creatures of comfort and like to be warm when it’s cold and cool when it’s hot, so they like shelter), in proper social structures (i.e. with their families and social groups), good vegetarian feed (not industrial detritus), and never treated with antibiotics. Some of the Creminelli meat is also sourced from Iowa now, because Creminelli found a group of farmers who follow the same standards as the farms in Utah. Not many companies go the extra mile that Creminelli does when selecting and producing meats. When you mix that with generations of Italian salami mastery, you get the same artisan product that you would in Biella, Piedmont.

Now comes the fun part of Cristiano’s American salami dream. He found an area to begin production and farms to work with, so the next step was figuring out where to make the salami. This is where the legendary Tony Caputo comes crashing into the Rolling Stones story. Tony has always been heavily involved in the Italian-American community in Utah, and he invited Cristiano to produce in the basement of the downtown store. Ten years ago, Caputo’s looked dramatically different from what it is now. The sandwich shop was on the corner of the street, the market was where the deli is now and our basement was empty enough to race up and down on pallet jacks (think Ben-Hur meets Mario Kart). I remember meeting Cristiano about a year after I started working for Matt and Tony. His English was decent, but raw. His demeanor was cordial, but stoic. His smile was tremendous. We cornered off a piece of the basement for Cristiano to work his magic. This was a sacred area where not even the most epic pallet jack race could enter (if you’re still having trouble imagining this style of race just picture teenagers wearing aprons peddling giant medal scooters that are intended to move literal tons of canned tomatoes…sorry, Tony).

Cristiano worked relentlessly for the first months of production. At one point, he wanted to make sure the baby salamis were beginning their lives perfectly, so he put a cot in the basement near the curing cell to sleep on during the night, every few hours waking to make sure the humidity and temperature levels were accurately accounted for. The salami came out of their cell weeks later, gentle to the touch and rich with flavor. Originally the salami was sold out of a specialty cooler by the unit. Later came fancy butcher paper with colored labels; then, came atmospheric controlled bags that I swear you can shoot into space. Over time, as more and more Utahns caught wind of the amazingness of the meat magician Cristiano Creminelli, the salami production and sales grew and grew. Cristiano could no longer produce the amount necessary to keep up demand in our basement, and he moved to a much larger facility by the airport.

Over the years, Creminelli Fine Meats has changed its packaging on its meats and continues to grow the brand and salami styles to extraordinary heights. But the company’s product quality and integrity to sustain Italian culinary traditions has remained true. The company now has more than 50 employees and is growing steadily.

Cristiano came to America a humble salami maker wanting to bring his family’s traditions to a new world, and he’s still is living that dream to this day—one stick of cured, delicious, meat magic at a time.

That point in the summer has arrived. IT’S TOO HOT. My legs stick to any surface I sit on, I’ve melted numerous lip balms and plastic cups left in my car, and I have to keep a close eye on my roommate’s air conditioning habits, that power isn’t gonna pay itself.

Oppressive heat calls for icy luxury. This week, that luxury comes to us by way of Luxardo cherries and you nearest freezer. You may recall a recent fennel pollen semifreddo and my argument for making this every day. But really, semifreddo is the ultimate easy dessert.

Whip cream, whisk eggs with additional ingredients, combine, and freeze. There, done. It’s almost too easy.

My pal and fellow class instructor, Evan, and I decided it was high time we rally the Caputo’s troops from all locations for a fun, food-oriented gathering. We love these monthly Cravings and wanted to share that with our fellow cheesemongers and deli co-workers, so we pulled a few cocktails and cheese samples together to learn about, discuss, and enjoy.

I wanted to make something special to add to the lineup. Luxardo semifreddo, duhhhhh.

I couldn’t stop there. I wanted to incorporate a fun play on neapolitan ice cream by adding a chocolate and mascarpone component as well. The Luxardo semifreddo was fantastic, but sandwiching it between two other semifreddi made it even more so.

We nibbled and snacked. We sipped and laughed. And then we ate semifreddo. LOTS of semifreddo.

You can make yours and keep them frozen for up to a week without compromising flavor. So I say make a giant batch to cool off and keep your heat-induced impatience in check. It’s worked for me all season. Enjoy!

Luxardo Cherry Semifreddo
Serves 10

• 1 egg
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup Luxardo Cherries, roughly chopped
• 3 tablespoons Luxardo cherry syrup, poured off from the whole Luxardo cherries
• 1 ½ cups cream

Line a medium loaf tin with plastic film. Beat the cherry syrup, egg, and egg yolks with the honey in a bowl until pale and thick. Whip the cream until it has thickened and doubled in volume. Fold in the egg and cherry juice mixture and pour into the loaf tin. Wrap in plastic and freeze for 3 hours. Remove the semifreddo and fold in the chopped cherries. Cover again and continue to freeze for an additional 2 hours or overnight.

When ready to serve, invert the semifreddo onto a serving platter and drizzle with extra Luxardo syrup or more cherries. Serve slices immediately.

(For chocolate or mascarpone semifreddo, substitute cherry components for melted dark chocolate or mascarpone. You’ll also want to add 1/4 cup sugar when mixing with the egg yolks.)

The heat is upon us. Such a heat wave calls something to get us out of that stinky, sweaty funk and into the world of poolside icy drinks, patriotic fireworks, and memorable meals with friends. And of course, treats. We need treats.

For our monthly Cravings, we’ve brought in some fantastic new products and somewhat of an old faithful that we’ve never been able to get enough of. We think these products will make your July a bit cooler. They’re downright perfect additions for any summer occasion, whether it’s the family barbecue, poolside shenanigans, or an air-conditioned escape from the outdoors.

CHEESE: Vegetale

The flavor of this goat’s milk cheese is sweet, mild, and approachable. I couldn’t figure out why I gravitated toward this cheese so quickly until I began reading about it. Vegetale is made an hour away from the town my maternal family is from in Basilicata, Italy. Basilicata is Calabria’s neighbor to east in Italy, when I describe the region to friends, I reference the arch of the boot that is Italy. Vegetale is made in Gorgoglione, almost the center of Basilicata. I grew up with this cheese and this flavor—my senses remembered it long before I was even consciously aware of what I had been eating. My Nonno ate cheese like this by the pool with either cold beer or white wine while I jumped off the diving board and paddled around like a loon with my cousins. We’d take a break from our summer tomfoolery to inhale the cheese, fruit from our family’s trees, and Capri Sun nestled into the cooler next to Nonno’s wine. I miss those kinds of summer day—I can’t say I miss the Capri Sun though. You don’t have to be from Italy to love this cheese. It’s simply the perfect poolside snack. Just ask my Nonno.

CHOCOLATE: OmNom Coffee+Milk

Yep, we definitely eat chocolate during summer, especially this one. Matt and Yelena let me tag along to a dinner with the owners and makers of OmNom a few months ago in Seattle. They gave us the smallest taste of this bar, and I’ve been awaiting its release ever since. We are putting this in as our chocolate pick; however, there’s not really any cocoa solids to speak of in this bar. Shocking! You see, this bar is made entirely from coffee beans. Nope, no cacao mass at all. There is some cocoa butter for texture’s sake, but this is truly a coffee bar. Given that, it’s the ultimate midday pick-me-up, the treat hidden in your desk, the snack you really should keep away from the kids, the heaven-on-earth kind of bar. You get the idea, right?

SWEET: Luxardo Maraschino Cherries

If you read “maraschino cherries” and immediately thought of the acid-red type of cherries often accompanying dance-club drinks, which taste of preservatives and sugar, I understand. But please, come join us in the world of Luxardo Maraschino Cherries. Sour Marasca cherries are candied in a syrup that let’s us taste both cherry and liqueur. Fantastic does not begin to describe them. They’re the perfect finishing touch to your cocktails and I’ve had many successful evenings combining them with pork as an entree. You’ll hear about these many times in the coming weeks, we can’t help ourselves.

Remember how I said I usually buy too much from the farmers markets on Saturdays? Yeah, I did it again. It all just looks too tasty, am I right?!

I arrived home this week with an overstuffed canvas bag…or two. This week’s bounty included lots of different greens, blueberries, raspberries, figs, garlic scapes, hummus, peas, lavender, fava beans, and ginger beer. After happy dancing all over my kitchen, I began creating menus for myself and my friends. When there are so many greens to choose from, I like to make the almighty market salad. I can throw just about everything in there, and it’s delicious everytime. The secret? Seasoned greens and sherry vinaigrette.

I think it’s the Italian matriarch hiding deep in my soul who feels the need to accompany any meal with some sort of starch. I don’t mind just a salad for myself any night, but I always feel the need to provide a bread of sorts to sit alongside a salad when I have company. There was a decent sized chunk of Red Leicester sitting pretty in the fridge, so I had no choice but to make cheesy popovers.

I love popovers for their texture and easy preparation. Light, airy, hollowed rolls rise straight up out of their individual tins in the oven and maintain their shape after cooling. Its simple batter lends itself to both sweet and savory options, and the additions are infinite. Don’t bother buying dedicated popover tins, especially if this is your first try. Muffin tins are perfectly fine.

This is a great recipe to keep in your back pocket as they come together quickly and sit well next to any sort of combination of foods. I love bringing these along to barebecues and potlucks.

Red Leicester Popovers
Makes 8-10

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• Olive oil
• 3/4 cups grated Red Leicester cheese

Preheat a 12-cup muffin pan in the oven at 350 degrees. Heat milk over medium heat until it reaches about 120 degrees.

Stir flour, salt, and thyme together in a medium bowl. Once milk is heated, whisk milk into the eggs in a small bowl. Stir milk mixture into the flour slowly, leaving small lumps at the end.

Working quickly, remove hot muffin pan and swipe each cup with a paper towel doused with olive oil. Add about 1/4 cup of batter to muffin cups and top each with a generous sprinkling of grated cheese. Bake until deep, golden brown, about 45 minutes. Remove from muffin tins while still warm.