If you’re a dairy slut like me, the more things you can make with cheese, the better. However my least favorite cheeses are of the blue moldy variety but Johnathan always eats those first on a cheese plate. I do appreciate blue cheeses incorporated into dishes, and here are 3 of my favorites. All of these could come from about one container - pre crumbled (which I like) serving 2 people.

My Dad’s homemade Blue Cheese Dressing (AMAZING on wings!)

- 2/3 cup Mayo (using regular, not lite is best)

- 1/2 cup Sour Cream

- 1/3 cup blue cheese

- 1 tbs lemon juice

- couple dashes of worcestershire

- salt & pepper

* Combine all ingredients and adjust to your taste

Jamie Oliver’s Cheese and Onion Salad w/ Creamy Herb Dressing (great winter salad)

- Mixed salad greens (for as many servings as you need)

- Blue Cheese crumbles

- handful of walnuts - toasted if you want

- 4-5 small shallots peeled and finely sliced.

For Dressing:

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- 2 tbs creme fraiche

- 1 tbs red wine vinegar

1. Place shallots in a small bowl with a generous pinch of salt and pour over just enough white wine vinegar (I used red) to cover. Let the onions pickle for about 10 minutes and squeeze out excess vinegar when you’re ready to dress the salad.

2. For the dressing: combine 4 tablespoons of olive oil with the creme fraiche and vinegar. Whisk together and season to taste

3. Combine your salad, blue cheese, shallots, walnuts and dressing.

Oozy Blue Cheese (or Gorgonzola) sauce - great with gnocchi or homemade pasta, very simple and rich.

Proportions: 1 part whipping cream to 3 parts cheese.

1. Bring whipping cream to a simmer. Turn heat down and add cheese and whisk until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Tip: adding walnuts to this adds a great bite and sweetness to pasta!

This is a great entree salad. The pumpkin is super hearty and the polenta adds a nice creaminess. I found this recipe on Epicurious. I did change some of what they did. First, there is so much instant polenta around I didn’t bother with the cornmeal bit, and I actually just used the pre-made polenta already in a roll and sliced it and fried it which cuts down on a lot of the time. I also didn’t have any pomegranate juice or sherry vinegar, but I did pick up some pomegranate seeds at Trader Joe’s this week so that added a great sweetness. For the dressing, I just used my own balsamic vinaigrette. The candied pumpkin seeds are great, and you can only make them if you’re using a pumpkin rather than a butternut squash. While the seeds were great, I do prefer butternut squash roasted rather than pumpkin. This recipe, I feel, is a nice suggestion and can be changed a lot of ways.

I thought this would be a different, lighter way to use pumpkin this week. You can either use canned pumpkin purée that doesn’t have anything added, or roast a pumpkin and purée it in a blender - minus skin of course. These cakes make a pretty orange color and look really nice and fall-y when you cut into them. The pumpkin gives the dish a nice nutty flavor that’s not overly sweet and balances the sweetness of the crab. I think I’ll be doing some more refining on this recipe, but Johnathan and I were really happy with it. You can make these smaller for appetizers or serve 1 per person as a first course or light lunch. I just served them over mixed greens with balsamic vinaigrette. Here’s how I did it:

Serves 2-4

1 - 7oz package lump crab meat (frozen or fresh)

1/3 cup pumpkin purée - canned or homemade

2 tablespoons mayo

1 tablespoon chives

1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence

1 clove crushed garlic

1 cup panko bread crumbs - I bought some chive panko bread crumbs from Whole Foods

salt and pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl until well mixed. Score mixture with your hands, into 4 parts. Form each quarter into a patty. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours, covered.

2. Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large fry pan. Cook each patty about 2 minutes per side. Serve hot.

I haven’t eaten a baked potato in a really long time. It’s not a comfort food I crave when it gets cold. It was however something really easy to make and I needed to use up some veggies and toppings before they went off. I also baked the bacon in the oven, and it tastes so much better - crispy, flat, and the fat drips below, so it’s not cooking in it. The salad is all from the farmer’s market, and was a nice warm compliment to the potato, rather than a cold salad. Here’s how it happened:

Serves 4 (or 2, then 2 for lunch the next day)

4 Large Russet Potatoes

4 strips of bacon

1 shallot, minced

1/2 lb green beans

1 bunch of spinach

1/4 lb of Shitake mushrooms

salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 375. Wash potatoes, and puncture with a fork so they don’t explode. Rub with salt and olive oil. Place on a foiled cookie sheet in the oven for 1 - 2 hours. They’re done when you can stick your fork easily through the skin.

2. Place bacon on a roasting pan, with slats, and bake in the oven with the potatoes for about 20 minutes.

3. In a large sauté pan, over medium heat add couple tablespoons of olive oil and add the shallots. Let them cook for about 2 minutes. Add the green beans and cook for another couple minutes. Add mushrooms, cook for a minute, and then add spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted. Salt and Pepper to taste.

4. Slice open potatoes and fill with your favorite stuff - I used creme fraiche, bacon, raw onions, and chives. Johnathan had cheddar cheese on his rather than the creme fraiche. Use whatever you have on hand!

This was a great hearty meal that made us feel great when we were stuffed full of veggies. I had seen the dressing recipe on Tyler’s Ultimate this past weekend and thought it would be a great fall flavor over some roasted veggies. I also used half of one of the last tomatoes of the season, without roasting. The lettuce is a red leaf and a bibb lettuce from the farmer’s market. Actually, this entire meal, minus the maple syrup is from the farmer’s market. I roasted sliced eggplant, parsnips, and carrots at 400F for about 20 minutes. Just drizzle the dressing, add whatever veggies move you that day, a slice of good bread and you have an amazing flavorful salad - and I don’t usually buy the whole salad thing unless it’s covered with cheese.

OK, I’m going to admit it - the mac&cheese is from a box - gasp! We all do it - and it was a Whole Foods $.99 special from my pantry - so definitely a step up from Easy Mac. It was also tasty, I might add….. The ribs were divine - my first local pork experience, and I’ll be going back for more. I was reading in the Food&Wine article about local butchers that when you have fresh organic meat, not to dress it up too much, or drench it with sauce. Here’s how I did these Pork Spare Ribs:

Preheat oven to 350F

1. trim off excess fat from the meat. Generously salt and pepper both sides of the ribs. I used a great Grey salt that’s super fragrant and great on meat.

2. Add about 2 tablespoons olive oil to an oven proof sauté pan. Let the pan heat up to medium-high and add your ribs. Let it sear on both sides, about 5 minutes each side. Put the pan in the oven for about 25-35 minutes or until the meat starts to pull away from the bone.

As you can see from the pic, I also made an Arugula salad. I went right to Tyler Florence for a dressing idea - I really feel he’s one of the best at making and dressing salads, at least for my taste. This dressing was sweet and you could still taste the shallots, a great flavor combo. Another homey fall meal - Johnathan is loving this week!