It’s that magical time of year when tomatoes come into their own. They are so juicy, sweet and flavorful they trigger a sort of high. Well, they do in me anyway, I tend to get giddy in a ripe tomato’s presence. I think what I find so striking about in-season tomatoes is how different they are from the hothouse duds I eat the rest of the year. These vine-ripened, sunshine-rich tomatoes taste almost like a different species. They have a sweetness and a grassiness that you never find in a mid-November beefsteak. In-season tomatoes are never mealy and watery. And every inch of them screams “Tomato!” at full volume in surround sound. So what do you do with these supersonic tomatoes? As little as possible. So, allow me to introduce you to my Ricotta Gnocchi with Raw Tomato Sauce.
Oh, hey! How’s it going? Are you still firing up the BBQ and wearing your bikini on repeat? Are you tearing into a watermelon and soaking up the sun the way Sheryl Crow intended? You are?! Well, good! Because contrary to what the candy aisle in my grocery store thinks, it’s still summer for, like, another whole month. Hey! Grocery store! We don’t want to see your Halloween candy. Let August be August, a hot, humid summer month. I don’t want to be reminded of pumpkins and cable knit sweaters. There will be plenty of time for that in October. But for now, there is this *seasonally appropriate* Tropical Cream Cake. It tastes like summer, it looks like summer, it is summer.
No, your eyes do not deceive you. These Sake Cured Salmon Blinis are topped with itty bitty seasoned quail eggs. And yes, they are marinated in the same marinade I used for the season chicken eggs in my 
