Like BLTs? Here’s a BLT Pasta Salad. Photo
courtesy QVC.

It deconstructs a BLT sandwich, using baby arugula for the lettuce and adding cheese and chicken so it has the protein to serve as a luncheon or dinner salad.

But, you can leave out the cheese and chicken and serve it as a side salad.

David advises, “If you want to serve it as a side salad, this recipe is a flavor-packed side dish that would pair perfectly with anything from ribs to grilled salmon.”

Add optional croutons for a fully deconstructed BLT sandwich.

Ingredients For 6 Servings

 
Preparation

1. COOK the pasta according to the package directions. Drain well.

2. TRANSFER the pasta to a large serving bowl. Add the bacon, green onions, cherry tomatoes, and arugula to the warm pasta. Add feta cheese and optional chicken and toss.

3. WHISK together the balsamic vinegar, lemon rind and mustard in a small bowl. Gradually add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking until blended. Whisk in the salt and pepper, to taste.

4. POUR the vinaigrette into the pasta salad and toss until well coated. Serve warm.

 
Find more of David Venable’s recipes at QVC.com.
 
  

We worshipped Parisian pâtissier Pierre Hermé, a fourth generation pastry chef from Alsace, even before we saw these ice cream sandwiches. As his Star Chefs bio says, “Pierre Hermé didn’t just carry on the family tradition; he rocketed it into the stratosphere.”

Hermé began his career at age 14 as an apprentice to Gaston Lenôtre, was a full-fledged pastry chef by 20 at Fauchon, and established Pierre Hermé Paris since 1996.

Unable to get to Paris, we set to work recreating the ice cream sandwiches.

Hermé, the master of macarons, makes rectangular meringue cookies to sandwich his ice cream sandwiches. By all means, try it if you’re up to the challenge. Unschooled in the technique, we couldn’t get ours out of the pan and evenly sliced without a lot of breakage; but the pieces tasted fine.

Otherwise, you can use any base, from cookies to cake slices. We really liked pound cake, pre-toasted and cooled before the ice cream was added.

The prettiest ice cream sandwiches, on meringues. Photo courtesy Pierre Hermé.

PIERRE HERMÉ ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

Ingredients

 
While all combinations we tried were delicious, we especially loved vanilla ice cream with raspberry sorbet or passionfruit sorbet.

Preparation

1. LINE a loaf pan with plastic wrap, allowing a border of wrap to hang over the sides so you can pull out the frozen loaf of ice cream.

2. LAYER the two flavors of ice cream/sorbet, one on top of the other. Sprinkle any inclusions over the first layer.

3. LET the ice cream soften until you can take a firm spatula or the handle of a wooden spoon and swirl it through the layers. This will create the marbled design. Freeze until hard.

4. ASSEMBLE by removing the loaf of ice cream, slicing it and adding the sandwich component.
 
If you want to drool over desserts that are an ocean away, head to PierreHerme.com.

And if you’re inspired to fly to Paris to enjoy them firsthand, remember: There’s always a line at the shop at 72 rue Bonaparte, in the Saint Germain des Prés district.

We wonder if the people who approved the name “Breakfast In Paris” for lavender tea have been to France.

If they had, they’d know that lavender-accented foods do not abound in Paris. You’ll find them way south in Provence, where the lavender is grown.

Perhaps the namers knew that, but felt that “Breakfast in Provence” wasn’t as fetching a title?

Folks, it’s better to be accurate than slapdash.

But that doesn’t stop us from liking Stash’s new Breakfast In Paris, subtly accented with lavender. We have often steeped dried lavender* into tea for iced tea. We love both the lavender aroma and the alluring flavor.

Breakfast In Paris simplifies the process. There’s no need to strain out and toss dripping springs of lavender.

Stash blends black tea with aromatic, floral lavender and a touch of citrusy bergamot oil. The result is pleasurable with or without milk, hot or iced. The ingredients are all natural; the line is certified kosher by KOF-K.

Stash calls it a breakfast tea†, but you can enjoy it anytime.

 
Our recommendation: Buy the six-pack. It takes four bags to brew a quart of iced tea, and you can always give extra boxes as gifts.

 
FUN FACT FROM STASH

In earlier centuries, tea was a valuable commodity, transported all the way form China by clipper ship. The ship’s captain often was presented with some of the finest teas for his personal use.

This supply was his private reserve, or stash, a term that still denote anything put away carefully because of its preciousness.
 
*Only cook with culinary-grade lavender, roses, etc. They’re grown without chemical pesticides.

†Breakfast teas are strong black tea blends made to accompany a hearty, English-style morning meal and to go well with milk. Examples include Chai (flavored with Indian spices), Earl Grey (flavored with bergamot orange), English Breakfast (Keemun and other black teas), Irish Breakfast (a malty Assam blend) and Orange Pekoe (Ceylon black tea). Breakfast teas are more robust than afternoon tea blends. However, these distinctions descend from an old British tea-drinking tradition. Feel free to enjoy whatever tea you like, whatever time of the day.

Sea Salt Caramel, an inspired flavor. Photo
courtesy Yasso.

Yasso’s new yogurt pop flavors are more exciting than the original crop, and we’ve been enjoying every one:

 
The Peanut Butter Cup and Sea Salt Caramel yogurt pops are standouts, given the rarity of such flavors in frozen treats. They are beautifully executed.

Nor could we tear ourselves away from the Dark Chocolate Raspberry and Mint Chocolate Chip. Amazingly, the product developers at Yasso managed to pick our favorite flavors!

The original flavors—Blueberry, Coconut, Mango, Strawberry, Vanilla Bean—weighed in at 70 or 80 calories. With the new flavors the count has been upped a bit, but so has the flavor. You can’t find a better 100-calorie treat or everyday snack (add an extra 10 calories for the chocolate-dipped and 30 calories for the peanut butter).

Made of Greek yogurt and other natural ingredients, the pops are available at retailers nationwide. The line is certified kosher by OU.

Learn more at Yasso.com.
 
  

We’ve got watermelon left over from July 4th, so today we’re juicing it and transforming it into ice pops—with tequila, thanks to this recipe from Love And Olive Oil.

Here’s the whole story. Check out the site’s many beautiful recipes.
 
 
RECIPE: TEQUILA WATERMELON ICE POPS

Ingredients For 6 Pops

 
For a red, white and blue theme, toss in some blueberries.

Frosty, beautiful and spiked with tequila. Photo courtesy Love And Olive Oil.

1. COMBINE the water and sugar in a microwave safe container or glass measuring cup. Heat on high for 30 seconds to 1 minute and stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is clear. Set aside to cool.

2. MAKE the watermelon juice: Roughly chop the watermelon. You’ll need about 3 cups of chopped melon to produce about a cup of juice. Run the melon through a food mill if you have one, or crush and then strain through a fine mesh sieve.

3. COMBINE the watermelon juice, sugar syrup, lime juice and zest, and tequila in a small bowl or pitcher. Pour into ice pop molds. Insert sticks and freeze until solid.
 
 
MORE GOURMET ICE POP RECIPES

Beyond the simple treats of childhood, ice pops have been elevated to gourmet treats. Consider adding some of these recipe books to your repertoire: