Cathy Thomas

Employ the soft, creamy cheese to make a pasta dish, an appetizer or two, or even soup.

Serve a pitcher of the fruity wine concoction accompanied by salted almonds or candied pecans.

The usual recipe for this dish calls for a whole chicken, but it also can be made with skin-on thighs.

The dish, which can be made with sweet or spicy sausages, yields leftovers that can be used as sandwich filling or cooked with eggs.

Orecchiette with Tuna, Red Onion, Dill, and Toasted Panko is a delicious and versatile entree.

Here's how to make Onion Flatbread, Grilled Chocolate Sandwiches, Salmon Rillette and Smashed Baby Dutch Yellow Potato Dippers.

Besides goat cheese, this spread is made with cheddar cheese and heavy whipping cream.

This Independence Day, serve your guests Grilled Lemon-Garlic Chicken with Potatoes, a Summer Tomato Salad and Grilled Peaches with Ice Cream.

Use a food processor to combine cheese, carraway seeds, cornstarch and spices, then slice the dough into thin 'coins.'

Later in the year you might try making the dish with stone fruit such as apricot or plum.