Rice Bowls with Baked Vietnamese-Style Meatballs

Vietnamese Meatball Rice Bowls

Equally delicious made with pork or turkey, these baked Vietnamese-style meatballs are packed with our favorite flavors: salty, funky fish sauce, tart lime juice, verdant cilantro and touch of sugar for sweetness.

Gingery Chicken and Rice Noodle Soup with Crispy Garlic

Chicken Ginger Noodle Soup

Take chicken soup, and give it a healthy thump of warming ginger, caramelized shallots, hoisin and lime. Gingery chicken and rice noodle soup is like a big hug from an old friend.

Creamy Cheddar Polenta with Sausage and Charred Ramps

Polenta with Charred Ramps and Sausage

Polenta with Charred Ramps and SausageCreamy, cheesy Cheddar polenta with charred ramps (wild garlic) and grilled sausages: a dish made for Spring. The sweetness in the corn pairs beautifully with extra-sharp cheddar cheese, and a topping of garlicky grilled ramps is as delicious as it is simple. If ramps are not available, scallions make a great substitute. The addition of good quality sausages turns it into a meal. 

There comes a time for most people when they experience a food in a totally different way from how they’ve been used to. For us, that revelation was stone-ground polenta. For the longest time, we’d stuck to the packaged tubes of pre-cooked polenta that you slice up and grill. Now, there’s nothing wrong with them, and we still cook with that variety from time to time, but can we tell you, the first time we had really good, slow-cooked traditional polenta, it was like night and day.

Of course we, along with the rest of the world, have been stuck inside our home so we’ve been craving something warm and comforting even more than usual. When we found a bag of really good polenta, we knew exactly what we wanted to do with it — combine it with our favorite extra-sharp cheddar cheese from our friends at Cabot Creamery.

This cheddar polenta is a sponsored recipe in partnership with Cabot Cheese.

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Spinach and Basil Stuffed Shells with Creamy Fontina Sauce

Stuffed Shells with Fontina Sauce

Pasta shells stuffed with a delicious mix of Swiss chard, fresh basil and ricotta cheese, nestled under a blanket of bubbling, creamy fontina sauce. This is a rich and decadent dish that also happens to be packed with our favorite early summer vegetables. Best eaten outside, with simple roasted tomatoes and crisp white wine.