grilled nectarines with gorgonzola and hazelnuts

Listen, I don’t make the rules. These things aren’t rational. But at some point over our vacation inScotland— a time when we mostly consumed fish and chips, more chips, steak pie, also with chips, a detail that I’m sure is unrelated — I began intensely craving the combination of peaches and blue cheese even though I can’t think of a time when they’ve crossed paths in my kitchen. Once we got home, I beelined forSalad FreakbyJess Damuck[Amazon,Bookshop,More Indies], a cookbook that came out this spring, because I had a hunch she’d put the idea in my head and sure enough, she had a combination of stone fruit and blue cheese waiting to fulfill my wayward vacation craving. If you are thinking you don’t need a cookbook for salads, as I might have in the past, I’m here to tell you how wrong we are. We do, if not for exact measurements then for inspiration. For more creative ways to throw together what’s left in your fridge so nothing goes to waste. And to figure out what to eat when you’re in the third heat wave [fourth? fifth? heat waves are just a continuum now, aren’t they?] of the summer and everything you thought you’d want to cook in August no longer makes sense because it’s too hot to cook. Damuck’s book has us covered. There’s a breakfast salad with yogurt, cucumbers, eggs, and toasted seeds. There are soba salads and shredded kale salads and tortellini salads dressings with miso-mayo and horseradish goat cheese and a BBQ chicken cobb beloved by Snoop Dogg and every single thing is just a little bit unexpected and delivering the freshness I need right now. As for the nectarines: I am trying to locate this salad on the meal continuum but I want it everywhere. It’s a dessert salad. Or maybe part of a cheese course. Or maybe a brunch salad. Or maybe just something to have with a very cold glass of white wine in the late afternoon and pretend we’re on vacation in the Riviera. The grilled nectarines take on a pie-like fragrance, even before you put anything on top, but the crumbled blue cheese, honey, mint leaves, toasted hazelnuts, and flaky sea salt coordinate blissfully into something so incredible together, I nearly ate the plate. I hope you put it immediately on your agenda. 6 months ago:Lemon SorbetandSweetheart Sables1 year ago:Baked Farro with Summer Vegetables2 years ago:Dulce de Leche ChocoflanandKachumber Cooler3 years ago:Ultimate Zucchini Bread4 years ago:Marbled Raspberry Pound Cake5 years ago:German Chocolate Cake + A Wedding Cake6 years ago:Blueberry Bread and Butter Pudding7 years ago:Takeout-Style Sesame Noodles with Cucumber8 years ago:Three-Ingredient Summertime SalsaandBlueberry Crumb Cake9 years ago:Banana Nutella and Salted Pistachio Popsicles10 years ago:Zucchini Bread PancakesandZucchini, Tomato and Rice Gratin11 years ago:Corn Buttermilk and Chive Popovers12 years ago:Nectarine Brown Butter BuckleandSweet and Smoky Oven Spare Ribs13 years ago:Peach and Creme Fraiche Pie,Asparagus with Chorizo and CroutonsandSour Cherry Slab Pie14 years ago:Herbed Summer Squash and Potato TorteandGarlic Mustard Glazed Skewers15 years ago:Pearl Couscous with Olives and Roasted Tomatoes