caprese orzo salad

+ s'more ice cream sandwiches !!

I am 100% usually the person that’s blasting fall content before it even hits mid september - but this year something truly different has hit the air. I could not hold on to the last days of summer tight enough!! maybe it’s because for the first time all season I’m actually tan and I’m not ready for it to fade before the winter uglies come back. or perhaps I just didn’t get to eat and cook enough summer recipes. all I know is I will respectfully be waiting for the last warm days to roll out before going full crazy pumpkin spice mode on these hoes.

which speaking of, like yes I did make italian wedding soup last night because even though I’m still standing on business for summer - I am a soup slut to my core and one whisper of cool air in the morning is enough for me to take my dutch oven out.

actually, I’d also like to mention s’mores are peak september activity (I mean all year round tbh) but arguably the best enjoyed late summer til early fall when you can wear a thick ass sweater around the fire. and no one said you have to stop eating ice cream sandwiches either so that’s just the perfect recipe for s’more ice cream sandwiches you know what i’m sayiiiiin.

so rest assured soup slays will be back in no time but in the meantime……

caprese orzo salad:

• 1 cup orzo cooked, drained and rinsed

• 1 package bocconcini mozzarella, halved

• 12 oz cherry tomatoes, halved

• 2 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped

• fresh basil to garnish

• shaved parm to garnish

• lemon zest to garnish

no-nut pesto:

• 1 cup fresh basil, loosely packed

• 1 large garlic clove

• 2 heaping tbsp grated parm

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• Salt + pepper to taste

• juice and zest of half a lemon

1. for the pesto: add the basil and garlic to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. slowly add in the olive oil, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper. pulse until incorporated, then add in the cheese before pulsing once more. taste for salt + pepper.

2. to serve: mix together orzo, both tomatoes and mozzarella together in a large bowl. add a few spoonfuls of pesto, just enough to lightly coat the pasta. garnish with more dollops of the pesto, lemon zest, parm shavings and fresh basil.

s’more ice cream sandwiches:

9” square pan

• about 12 full graham cracker sheets

• 6 tbsp salted butter, melted

• 2 quarts vanilla bean ice cream, just very lightly softened

• 16 large marshmallows, torn in quarters and divided

• 1 cup dark chocolate almond/peanut butter cups, cut into small bite sized pieces (I used UNREAL almond butter cups - goat)

soft fudge:

• 3 oz dark chocolate, roughly chopped

• 3 oz semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 3 tbsp honey

• 1 tsp vanilla

• pinch of salt

1. for the soft fudge layer: in a heatproof bowl, combine both chocolates. heat the heavy cream, honey, and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan until just steaming, not boiling. pour the cream over the chocolate, let sit 1 min, then stir until smooth. allow to cool until room temp.

2. for the base: preheat oven to 350°F. line a 9-inch square pan with plastic wrap then parchment, leaving plenty of overhang on all 4 sides. arrange graham crackers to snugly cover the bottom of the pan, gently cutting them to fit the pan where needed. repeat this process for the top layer of crackers too.

3. line a baking sheet with with parchment, and brush both sides of the crackers with melted butter then bake 5–7 min until fragrant and golden. let them cool completely - they will re-crisp up as they continue to cool. remove from the sheet once cooled.

4. for the marshmallows: spread 12 of the marshmallow halves on the same parchment-lined baking sheet you used for the graham crackers. broil on high for 30–60 sec until deeply golden brown - watch them closely!! remove them from the oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes. while still warm, gently brush the remaining melted butter to coat them, as well as the remaining 4 regular marshmallow halves. this helps them stay soft once frozen. **do this step just before being ready to assemble everything - you want to use the cooked marshallows as soon as possible**

5. to assemble: once all your components are ready - remove the ice cream from the freezer. depending how cold your freezer runs, let it sit for about 5 minutes or so. I like the ice cream to be on the harder side so as to not affect its texture once refreezing. it should scoop easily enough - without it being melty or anywhere near soupy.

6. snugly place the first 6 graham crackers into the bottom of the 9” pan, with the dotted part face down, breaking a sheet or two as needed to fill the pan. scoop half of the ice cream in small mounds over the surface and gently press down with a piece of plastic wrap to flatten it over the surface. be gentle as to not break the cookies underneath. it’s okay if the layer is not fully smooth - this allows for more nooks and crannies for the fudge and marshmallow to land!

7. drizzle half of the fudge across the ice cream. scatter the toasted marshmallows, regular marshmallows and pb/almond cups evenly over the fudge layer. gently pressing them in, then drizzle the remaining fudge on top. repeat covering this layer with the remaining ice cream, gently pressing down and smoothing the surface. top with the remaining graham crackers.

8. fold the parchment and plastic wrap overhand on to the top, wrapping with more plastic wrap to seal the pan. refrigerate overnight.

9. once ready to enjoy, remove from the freezer, wait a minute or two and run a knife along the edge of the pan to release the entire brick. you can also cut inside the pan but it may be a little harder to get the pieces out. transfer the block to a cutting board and working quickly, carefully cut out squares just in between the graham cracker sheets and along the dotted lines. the cookie will have softened, so it’s relatively easy to cut through them but you still want to be careful to preserve the tops as much as you can!

10. you can either cut all the squares immediately or leave the block in the freezer and cut when you want them! I like to cut squares and wrap them in parchment paper then store in a large ziplock bag!

hope you try it + tag me if you doooooo :*

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xoxo katie