Here are some things I made for our BBQ on Saturday.

Tomato Basil Torta
When I lived in San Diego, a friend of mine would take a chunk of goat cheese and dump some basil or red pepper pesto on it for an instant party dip. I was Googling these ingredients online and found this recipe. It was really easy to make and produced A TON of dip. Great for a big party.

3 8-ounce packages cream cheese
4 ounces prepared pesto sauce
4 ounces goat cheese
1/2 cup Sun-Dried Tomato Spread

Set out three mixing bowls. In the first bowl combine 8 ounces cream cheese with pesto sauce. In second bowl, combine 8 ounces cream cheese with the goat cheese. In third bowl, combine 8 ounces cream cheese with 1/2 cup Sun-Dried Tomato Spread. Line a medium bowl with plastic wrap, allowing extra to hang over sides of bowl. Spread cream cheese pesto mixture in an even layer over the plastic wrap. Spread goat cheese mixture over pesto layer. Top with sun-dried tomato mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. To serve, remove plastic wrap from bottom of Torta. Place serving plate over bowl and turn upside down. Remove bowl and carefully remove plastic wrap from torta. Serve with croutons or bagel chips. Makes 25 servings.

Brie with Preserves and Nuts
When I was at preview night for Sunflower Market, one of the samples was a huge chunk of brie with fig preserves and some kind of chopped almonds on the top. It was so good that I went back and had it 3 times! I tried to buy everything to make it exactly while I was there, but it wasn’t all available in the store yet, so I had to do the best I could at Jewel. I used preserves made of 4 different fruits and slivered almonds. YUM!

Pasta Salad with Tomatoes and Corn
I got this recipe from Jeannette several years ago when I lived in New York. She got it from Epicurious. It’s one of my “go-to” pasta salads, the other being this crab and pasta salad. Obvs, I didn’t use penne this time, but I usually do.

5 tablespoons olive oil
5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from 3 ears) or frozen, thawed
1 1/4 pounds plum tomatoes, chopped
8 ounces penne pasta, freshly cooked
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Whisk 4 tablespoons oil, vinegar, basil and garlic in large bowl to blend. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add corn; saute
 3 minutes. Add corn to dressing in bowl. Add tomatoes, pasta and cheese to bowl and toss to blend. Season salad with salt and pepper. 4 to 6 servings.

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