Arnaboldi Recipes
Family favorites & culinary adventures

Lobster Pasta With Yellow Tomatoes and Basil
This is an uncomplicated dish for warm weather and sunny days. Olive oil, garlic, hot pepper, barely warmed tomatoes and tons of fresh basil are the only ingredients besides lobster and dried pasta, preferably a variety with a bit of texture, like frilly edged reginette, cooked perfectly al dente. The only real work is cooking the lobsters and chopping the meat. Once that’s done, go out and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts.

Irish Trifle
I call this Irish trifle because it was my Irish ex-in-laws who introduced me to this wonderful dish. It is one of the most irresistible desserts I make. I love to have leftovers because the cake just keeps soaking up that amazing custard sauce, which is spiked with sherry. I use up a few of the egg whites left over from making the crème anglaise in the cake, opting for a biscuit, in which the egg whites are beaten to a meringue, over a richer sponge cake. Although jam is traditional in this trifle, you could always top the cake with a berry compote instead.

Best Gazpacho
More of a drink than a soup, served in frosted glasses or chilled tumblers, gazpacho is perfect when it is too hot to eat but you need cold, salt and lunch all at the same time. Gazpacho is everywhere in Seville, Spain, where this recipe comes from, but it's not the watered-down salsa or grainy vegetable purée often served in the United States. This version has no bread and is a creamy orange-pink rather than a lipstick red. That is because a large quantity of olive oil is required for making delicious gazpacho, rather than take-it-or-leave it gazpacho. The emulsion of red tomato juice, palest green cucumber juice and golden olive oil produces the right color and a smooth, almost fluffy texture.

Grapefruit-Herb Salad With Coconut and Crispy Shallots
This grapefruit and herb salad puts citrus front and center. It’s based on yum som-o, a pomelo salad from Thailand, where the fruit is abundant. Grapefruits are used here, but if you happen on pomelos, grab a few: They are much easier to peel and loosen from the protective piths. Fragrant toasted coconut, salty peanuts and crunchy shallots all create layers of texture. The dried shrimp adds a saltiness that greets your tongue in little bursts, and the fresh chile a lingering spice. This is a refreshing, vibrant side to accompany any rich meal.

Spicy Ginger Sesame Crusted Salmon Bowls
I’ve got a great new go-to weeknight dinner for everyone – Spicy Ginger Sesame Crusted Salmon Bowls. Slightly spicy and crispy roasted salmon, breaded in nutty flavored toasted sesame seeds, and drizzled with a ginger soy sauce. Serve the salmon over bowls of steamed rice with a fresh avocado herb salad, and finish with a creamy spicy mayo. These colorful and fresh salmon bowls might seem involved, but they’re actually simple to make and full of so much flavor.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
You may have memorized the foolproof gem on the back of the Toll House bag, given to the world by Ruth Graves Wakefield in the 1930s. But this may become your new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. It’s a little more complicated, and you’ll have to plan ahead: After assembling the dough, you must chill it for at least 24 hours before baking it, and preferably up to 36. This allows the dry ingredients time to soak up the wet ones, which results in a firmer dough. It leads to a marvelously chewy, chocolate-rich cookie. Don’t skimp on good chocolate, and the sea salt is not an option — it’s the beacon at the top of this gorgeous treat. (You can certainly put this recipe together by hand, but a stand mixer makes it easy work. If you’re in the market for one, our colleagues at The Wirecutter have tested quite a few, and they've put together an excellent guide to the best.)

Apple Cider Doughnut Cookies
Apple Cider Doughnut Cookies, all the flavors we love most in apple cider, but in a yummy cookie instead! Homemade chocolate chip cookies made with browned butter, a mix of warming autumn spices, sweet brown sugar, apple butter, and oats. A classic cookie made better with the addition of apples, spices, and, of course, plenty of melty chocolate. These cookies are finished off with a light dusting of cinnamon-sugar for a sweet cinnamony bite. The perfect fall apple cider cookie.

Oat Milk Chocolate Pudding
Chocolate pudding is equal parts comfort and romance, which means it’s great accompanied by sweatpants, candlelight or both. This 15-minute version is inspired by a recipe from Alice Medrich, the cookbook author, in which she uses both cocoa powder and chocolate, and cornstarch instead of eggs for a pure chocolate flavor (eggs can dilute the subtle notes). Here, nondairy milk is swapped in for the milk and the cream with equally wonderful results. When developing this recipe, we found that oat milk created a pudding with the plushest texture. Soy, almond and coconut milks work, too, although they might impart their own flavor and the pudding texture may vary.

Sweet Potato Kale Salad with Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing
This Sweet Potato Kale Salad with Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing is anything but boring. Sweet potatoes and chickpeas tossed with a mix of spices, then roasted until lightly charred, crispy, and delicious. Everything is tossed together with a creamy, honey mustard dressing, kale, herbs, and avocado. This salad is easy to throw together, colorful, healthy, and filling. Enjoy for dinner and save the leftovers for lunch. It’s the perfect vibrant salad that’s hearty enough to call a real meal.

Salmon & Melting Cherry Tomatoes

Louise cake with plum and coconut
This is inspired by (but completely different to!) the ‘Louise’ cake: a hugely popular tea time treat in New Zealand. More of a slice than a cake, it’s traditionally made with a thin cakey bottom, a spread of raspberry jam in the middle and a thin layer of coconut meringue on top. We’ve kept the layers theme but rung a lot of changes.

Quick Chile Sauce
This sauce is a fridge staple you can spoon over anything savory, from cooked vegetables or eggs, to salads, grains, meat and fish. It’s spicy but not overtly so. You can bolster the heat by adding dried chile flakes or reduce it by using fewer fresh chiles. (Look for fresh red chiles as they amplify the color of the sauce.) You can add half a teaspoon of sugar, if you like, or make it your own by adding chopped garlic or ginger, and a handful of your favorite herb.

Chili Crisp Salmon Bowl with Avocado Mango Salsa
This colorful Chili Crisp Salmon Bowl with Avocado Mango Salsa is full of Thai flavors and made so simply. Made with flavorful Thai curry paste and doused in a homemade chili onion crisp butter sauce. The salmon is cooked until caramelized around the edges then added to bowls of rice. A fresh, bright mango-avocado herb salsa is spooned overtop for a balance of spicy, sweet, tangy, and savory flavor. Altogether, it’s so delicious and made in about 30 minutes. The perfect spring and summer dinner bowl!

Sheet Pan Hawaiian Pineapple Shrimp Tacos with Creamy Jalapeño Special Sauce
My new go-to weeknight tacos, Sheet Pan Hawaiian Pineapple Shrimp Tacos with Creamy Jalapeño Special Sauce. The sweet, tangy, and spicy taco that takes no time at all to make. Spicy garlic roasted shrimp and sweet pineapple stuffed into warmed tortillas to make the best “Hawaiian” inspired shrimp tacos. Serve each taco with a creamy, roasted jalapeño special sauce, fresh corn, and plenty of herbs. The perfect weeknight taco that’s made entirely on just one sheet pan and in just about 30 minutes too. These are quick, simple, healthy, and so delicious.

Grilled Chicken Margherita
This super easy, Grilled Chicken Margherita is incredibly tasty and is ready in less than 30 minutes! Start with savory herb chicken and top it with with melty mozzarella cheese, pesto, and tomato basil garnish for a rave-worthy, quick and simple weeknight dinner.

Challah French Toast With Cinnamon-Sugar Glaze
Thick slices of soft challah bread make for superior French toast, with a plush, custardy center and golden, crisp edges. This version has extra egg yolks for added richness, and a dash of cardamom for spice. Cinnamon-sugar is sprinkled on top of the challah slices as they cook, caramelizing and glazing them (though you can skip this step, if you want). If you want to work ahead, soak the challah slices in the custard mixture the night before, storing everything in the fridge, then add a few extra minutes onto the cooking time to make sure the centers are cooked through.

Chard Cakes With Sorrel Sauce

Pork Satay With Thai Spices and Peanut Sauce
Throughout Southeast Asia, little skewers of marinated meat, grilled over coals, are sold as street snacks. Sweetly fragrant with coconut milk and spices, they are perfect for barbecue parties served with steamed rice, or on their own with drinks, whether grilled indoors or out. You may use pork loin or tenderloin, but marbled sirloin or shoulder is more succulent.

Beatty's Chocolate Cake

Walnut, Cinnamon and Halloumi Baklava
The texture of the crispy phyllo and the crunchy filling are perfect here with the warm halloumi. Most phyllo is sold frozen; defrost it slowly in the fridge, and handle with care. Serve the baklava warm if you can — so that the cheese remains soft — straight out of the oven with some ice cream and a drizzle of the syrup. It also works at room temperature, with a coffee, but once it has cooled don’t be tempted to reheat it in the oven.