Tomatermelon Goat Cheese Salad with Avocado

I had some leftover goat cheese from my pizza and wanted to use it up in something easy and tasty. I decided to make a summery salad with a tangy dressing and a surprise element. The avocado in this dish may sound a little weird but the creaminess balances out the acid in the tomato and the sharp tang of the goat cheese. The slightly salty dressing makes the watermelon extra sweet and juicy. There are a million ways you could play with this salad to adjust it to your tastes (try basil or fresh mint instead of chives) but it's pretty fantastic as is (if I do say so myself)

For Dressing

- 3-4 oz goat cheese (reserve a bit of goat cheese to put on top of the salad)
- 4 tbsp buttermilk
- 3 tsp. white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp. dijon mustard
- 1-2 tsp. sugar to taste
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- 2 stalks fresh chives, snipped into teeny tiny pieces
- splash of white wine

For Salad

- 3-4 large Heirloom tomatoes, cut into sections
- 4-5 Cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/2" - 1" chunks of watermelon (as much as you like, I used about 2 cups)
- 1 avocado cut into small chunks
- 1-2 tbsp goat cheese

Mix veggies and fruit together in a large bowl.

Whisk together dressing ingredients.

Plop a few dollops of goat cheese on top.

Pour dressing over salad and enjoy!

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Springtime Pizza

I had some leftover asparagus from my Asparagus Risotto (recipe forthcoming) and I thought it'd be perfect with some prosciutto. I came across gluten free frozen pizza crusts at Whole Foods and inspiration struck. This was my first time trying crusts like these. They were not traditional pizza crusts, more on the crispy/chewy side but after going pizza free for 6 months, they really hit the spot. This recipe was super simple because most of the stuff I used was pre-made. You could make any of the pre-made bits from scratch if you were feeling ambitious. I was just feeling hungry.

There are no real measurements here, just do what works for you, it's hard to mess up pizza.

- Frozen Pizza Crust (I used Nature's Highlights brand from Whole Foods. If you use a different one, follow directions on box)
- Pre-made Pesto
- Buffalo Mozzarella cut into slices
- Chevre (crumbled)
- Asparagus (about 5 thick stalks or 8 thin cut into 1"-1 1/2" pieces)
- Toasted Pine Nuts
- Prosciutto
- Parmigiano-Reggiano

Let the pizza crust thaw and pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees.

Cook the plain, un-topped crust right on the oven rack for 4-5 minutes.

Remove the crust and let it cool for a minute then top with the pesto, mozzarella slices, crumbled goat cheese, asparagus, pine nuts, prosciutto and then sprinkle with parm.

Reduce the heat in the oven to 425 then put the pizza back on the rack. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until cheese melts and starts to bubble. Remove from the oven, let sit for two minutes then cut and DEVOUR!

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