First, I can not believe that it has taken 6+ Months of Besotted’s existence for me to put up this Shrimp Scampi recipe. It’s one of my favorites (more so than my other favorites), is a consistent crowd pleaser, and is easy enough to make for a Weeknight Dinner, and it’s just butter-heavenly delicious.

It also has the added, though unintended, benefit of vindicating my slightly-neurotic frugality. I have to me a few confessions – I buy in bulk…. A LOT, I buy meat on sale and freeze it, I scan my grocer’s circulars for special deals, and I am adamant that they give me my $.10 off for using my own carrier bag. I know that I should be more focused on letting my culinary creativity guide me, and I do often, but, the fact is, I love to penny pinch.

I remember when I threw my first BBQ… I was so eager to have a few (ahem, 15-20) friends over, serve them my fried chicken, watermelon salad, and homemade desserts, and see a happy late summer day unfold before my gracious, hospitable eyes. It all seemed so convivial…. that is, until my mantra (borrowed from Nigella) of ‘never knowingly under-catered’ turned my party budget into something that more closely resembled my rent.

It was a hard lesson and sad reality…. as much fun as it is to throw a party for our nearest and dearest, it takes an awful lot of money to do it well. And, the fact is, none of us want to host an event and serve our guests Dollar Store crackers and factory farm chicken. We want to do as Ina does and serve Lobster Potpie, Capellini with Caviar, or have an enormous Kitchen Clambake, but these menus are generally far outside of a reasonable budget.

PK, I took your advice from way back when and finally came out with a salsa recipe….

As much as I love baking, its precision and the inability to taste-test the recipe as I go stifles my…. creative flair. I love recipes that have a very basic base to which I can add anything that happens to cross my mind. That, coupled with the fact that Boston will be hitting 90° today (!) made it imperative that I start my Summer Salsa Experiments a bit early.

Salsa is a great dish for experimentation and for the novice cook, as it is very nearly impossible to mess up. I was about to write that as long as you have a base of tomatoes and onions, adding the rest of the ingredients is just a matter of personal preference, but, in fact, this recipe contains no tomatoes, so even that element is subject to change.

Brunch is undoubtedly my favorite meal, and while I have a pretty exclusive relationship with Bacon & Eggs, I do stray from time to time, but only for a really spectacular alternative, and I have it here with these Apple & Crème Fraîche Pancakes.

This pancake recipe evolved out of a recipe by the inimitable Ina Garten, Banana Sour Cream Pancakes in her Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook. However, a little tweaking, a missing ingredient or two (which, I’m convinced, is the impetus of most recipe evolution), and a desire to rid myself of a few soon-to-be-dated items yielded this fantastic recipe.

It is a composition of stunning contrasts, which tend to make the most interesting dishes. The lemon and crème fraiche add a tang to what is generally a very mild, peaceful dish. The heavy dairy component gives a velvety weight to what is still a very fluffy pancake (the pictures don’t do justice to the pancakes but do illustrate how high they rise).