I take serious PRIDE in these dishes!

It's June and that means Pride Month! These pride-inspired recipes are as flavorful as they are colorful, and you can whip them up in no time.

One of my favorite summer salads is Panzanella. Originally from Tuscany, Panzanella typically consists of fresh vegetables and chewy stale bread croutons all tossed in a zesty vinaigrette. The problem for me is that once it sits too long, the bread just becomes too soggy. I reimagined this into my new Panzanella Bruschetta and it is the perfect summer appetizer, not to mention gorgeous and full of pride colors!

As is typical in most Panzanella salads, I included fresh vegetables such as red and yellow bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, fresh basil, and capers. I chopped them all fairly small since they needed to fit on toasted baguette slices.

The dressing is a basic mustard vinaigrette but I kicked up the flavor by infusing extra virgin olive oil (one half cup) with two minced garlic cloves. (I combined the oil and garlic in a small pot over medium heat and once the garlic began to sizzle, I turned off the heat and allowed it to cool.) I whisked the infused oil with three tablespoons of red wine vinegar, one teaspoon of Dijon mustard, and seasoned with salt and pepper.

I tossed with the vegetables (minus the basil) and allowed it to sit at room temperature for the flavors to marry.

I toasted the baguette slices, spooned on the salad, and finished with fresh Parmesan cheese and the torn basil leaves. Summer on a plate!

And now for the perfect summer side dish, and perfect for parties or cookouts - my new Deluxe Pizza Pasta Salad. All of the toppings that you would expect to see on a deluxe pizza mixed with tricolor rotini and tossed together with a tomato vinaigrette. I started with one small diced red onion, one diced red bell pepper, and one can of sliced black olives.

The tomato vinaigrette was made in the blender by combining one cup of cherry tomatoes which I slightly charred in a hot skillet, one quarter cup extra virgin olive oil, three tablespoons of red wine vinegar, two teaspoons of honey, one small chopped shallot, two cloves of garlic, salt, and pepper to taste.

I combined the cooked rotini with the vegetables, vinaigrette, plus one pack of pepperoni that I chopped, two cups of mozzarella pearls, one half cup of Parmesan cheese, and a handful of fresh basil leaves.

Serve up alongside a spread of cheeseburgers and hot dogs for the perfect summer party.

And for something sweet, I made a batch of Rainbow Sugar Cookies. I creamed one cup of softened butter with one and a half cup of sugar until smooth in the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and then added one egg, one teaspoon of vanilla extract, and one half teaspoon of almond extract. With the machine on low speed, I slowly added the dry ingredients which included two and three quarters cup of flour, one teaspoon of baking soda, one half teaspoon of baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Once the dough came together, I added a few tablespoons of buttermilk to ensure that the dough was moist, but not overly wet.

I formed rounded teaspoons of cookie dough into balls, placed them on my cookie sheets, flattened slightly, and added rainbow sprinkles. I baked at 375 degrees for nine minutes, removed the cookie sheets, allowed them to cool for ten minutes, and then transferred the cookies to a cooling rack to finish. The recipe makes approximately three dozen cookies.

To go along with the cookies, I also made Pride Cups. I prepared a 3.4 ounce box of instant vanilla pudding according to package instructions and I added several drops of red and blue food coloring to achieve the purple layer. I divided the pudding evenly between the cups, allowed it to set for several minutes, and then repeated the whole process again with the different colors. Homemade whipped cream and more rainbow sprinkles, and they were ready!

Happy Pride Y'all!