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There’s a lot to love about cooking in the summer, from the smell of burgers and barbecued chicken sizzling on the grill to the excitement of making homemade ice cream for dessert. But the best part about cooking in the summer is making sure the ingredients are of the highest quality. From ripe, juicy tomatoes to crisp, fresh lettuce and crunchy cucumbers, this is the time of year to enjoy incorporating veggies into your meals. So how do you make summer’s fresh bounty dinner-worthy? Leave it to author Ina Garten to help. Modern Comfort FoodFind out the answer. To bring summer veggies to the forefront, she creates a creamy, cheesy, and rich dressing: Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing that turns any summer vegetable into a meal worth celebrating.
Making a summer salad can seem a bit daunting, especially if you’re used to seeing the colorful bowls filled with dozens of ingredients that pop up all over TikTok. Sure, they look great, but we’d rather be enjoying the sunshine than holed up in the kitchen chopping heaps of veggies and toasting nuts.
That’s why Ina Garten’s Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing is a summer staple. Mix it up and use it on any raw veggies. Garten pairs the dressing with a simple salad of fresh green lettuce and heirloom tomatoes. The produce is so good this time of year, there’s no need to complicate it. You can add whatever you want to the salad: cucumbers, fresh corn, sliced bell peppers, chopped parsley, roasted beets, or whatever you like. Garten’s creamy dressing makes everything even better.
Thankfully, this homemade blue cheese dressing recipe is easy to make. A food processor does most of the work (though you can also use a whisk or spoon if you don’t want to take it out to the countertop). Garten adds Roquefort cheese, mayonnaise, cream, vinegar, salt, and pepper, then runs the food processor until the ingredients are combined but the cheese is still in chunks. Want more cheesy flavor? Garten tops her salad with Roquefort crumbles to bring out their unique flavor.
Cool, creamy, and tangy, blue cheese dressing is an irresistible combination with fresh veggies. Don’t want a salad? Blue cheese dressing pairs well with veggies or is delicious as a topping on burgers. Make a big batch of Ina Garten’s Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing and you’ll be snacking on veggies all summer long.
Looking for more summer recipes? Giada De Laurentiis has loads:

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