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A few months ago, a reader said she was going to send me some ideas for this column space here and she just got around to sending them!

I was thinking it was going to include specific recipes, but it was more general ideas, and I love it! I try to keep things fresh in the column, but sometimes I feel myself becoming repetitive, so I always welcome ideas from readers, and am excited to explore some of the different stuff she sent.

So here’s some of her ideas that I’ll be sprinkling in the column over the next few months! This week’s theme is going to be simple recipes that take five or fewer ingredients. (One of them has six, but two of them are salt and pepper, which I think anyone reading this column has in their kitchen!)

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MONKEY BREAD

3 cans buttermilk biscuits (the non-flaky ones)

1 cup granulated sugar

2 to 3 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Open up all 3 cans of biscuits and cut each biscuit into quarters.

Combine the white sugar with 2 to 3 teaspoons of cinnamon. (3 teaspoons of cinnamon gives it a fairly strong cinnamon flavor. If you're not so hot on cinnamon, cut it back to 2 teaspoons.) Dump these into a 1 gallon zip-top bag and shake to combine.

Drop all of the biscuit quarters into the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Once all the biscuit quarters are in the bag, seal it and give it a vigorous shake. This will get all those pieces unstuck from one another and nicely coated with cinnamon-sugar. Spread these nuggets out evenly in the Bundt pan.

At this point, you're going to want to melt the butter together with 1/2 cup of brown sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. This can be light or dark brown sugar. Cook butter-sugar mixture, stirring for a few minutes until the two become one. Once the brown sugar butter has become one color, you can pour it over the biscuits.

Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes until the crust is a deep dark brown on top. When it's finished cooking, remove it from the oven. If you have the willpower, allow it to cool for about 15 to 30 minutes before turning it over onto a plate.

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EASY 

ARTICHOKE DIP

1/2 cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts, plus 1 tablespoon jar marinating oil

2 cups loosely packed baby spinach, chopped (about 2 ounces)

1 cup store-bought or homemade queso blanco dip 

Tortilla chips or pita chips, for serving

Heat the artichoke marinating oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the spinach and sauté until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. 

Stir in the artichoke hearts and cook until lightly golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the queso blanco dip and cook until steaming hot. 

Pour into a small bowl and serve with tortilla chips or pita chips.

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QUICK & EASY APPLE TART

1 package puff pastry sheets, thawed, each cut in half or into thirds 

3 apples, cored, halved, and sliced very thin

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 pinch salt

Powdered sugar, caramel sauce, and/or whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Place the puff pastry rectangles onto 2 baking pans that have been sprayed with nonstick spray. Add sugar and salt to the apples. Stir to combine. Allow to sit for a few minutes.

Arrange the apple slices on the pastry rectangles in a straight line, overlapping as you go. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden brown.

Remove from the pan immediately and place on a serving platter. Serve plain or with caramel topping, whipped cream, and/or a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

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FRESH CORN 

CASSEROLE

8 ears corn, still in the husk

2/3 cup heavy cream

3 Tbsp. butter (salted)

1/2 tsp. salt, to taste

Ground pepper, to taste

Remove the corn from the husks. In a large, deep bowl, slice off the kernels of corn. With the dull side of the knife (or a regular dinner knife), press and scrape the cob all the way down to remove all the bits of kernel and creamy milk inside.

Add heavy cream, salt to taste, a generous amount of ground pepper and butter; mix well. Pour kernel mixture into a baking dish. Bake at 350Fº for 30 to 45 minutes or until thoroughly warmed through.

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CACIO É PEPE 

RAVIOLI

Kosher salt, to taste

2 10-ounce packages refrigerated cheese or mushroom ravioli (or a combination)

3/4 tsp. whole black peppercorns

1 Tbsp. salted butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese, plus more for topping

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the ravioli and cook according to the package instructions. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain the ravioli. 

Meanwhile, place the peppercorns in a resealable plastic bag on a cutting board and crush with the bottom of a skillet until coarse. 

Heat the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until melted. Add the crushed pepper and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted, 1 minute. 

Add the heavy cream and ½ cup of the reserved cooking water and bring the sauce to a simmer. 

Add the ravioli to the sauce and cook, tossing gently, until the sauce thickens slightly and the ravioli is lightly coated, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the pecorino. Toss well until the cheese is melted, adding more cooking water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if the sauce is too thick. Serve topped with more pecorino. 

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CAPRESE SALAD

2 cups balsamic vinegar

3 ripe tomatoes, sliced thickly

12 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, thick-sliced 

Fresh whole basil leaves

Olive oil, for drizzling

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a small saucepan, bring the balsamic vinegar to a boil over medium-low heat. Cook until the balsamic has reduced to a thicker glaze, 10 to 20 minutes. Remove it from the heat and transfer to a bowl or cruet. Allow to cool.

When you're ready to serve, arrange tomato and mozzarella slices on a platter. Arrange basil leaves between the slices. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the salad, getting a little bit on each slice. Do the same with the balsamic reduction, making designs if you want. 

Store extra balsamic reduction in fridge for a later use.

End with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Serve as a lunch, with crusty bread, or serve alongside a main course for dinner.

TFD: "Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination" - Mae Jemison

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