A bright lemon zucchini pasta, a creamy caesar salad dressing, an update on our bank guarantee, and a mid- June mix.

Plus, a bit of This & That.

Lemon Zucchini Pasta

As our friend Lourdes said the other day, "You like lemon!" Yes, we do, Lourdes! I love that tangy, bright acidity in a summer dish and this fusilli pasta that Andre made us the other day hit all the right notes for a warm-weather day. You just need a few ingredients, which, in my opinion, makes it even better.

LEMON ZUCCHINI FUSILLI

Serves 4-6

• 1 lb dried fusilli pasta

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil + more for finishing

• 1 small yellow onion, finely diced

• 3 cups baby zucchini cut into circles or regular zucchini cut into half moons

• A small pinch of chili flakes

• 10 strips of lemon peel, cut into super thin strips or ribbons

• Juice from 1 lemon

• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

• Sea salt

• Black pepper

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil for your pasta.

While the pasta water is coming to a boil, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it softens, about 4-5 minutes. Next, add the zucchini and a generous pinch of sea salt. Cook until tender, about 7-8 minutes.

When your zucchini has been cooking for a few minutes, start your pasta. Season the boiling water with a generous amount of sea salt. Add your fusilli to the pasta water and cook for 4 minutes. We'll finish the pasta in the pan with the zucchini, so it's important to keep it slightly undercooked at this stage.

When you are ready to add your super al dente pasta to the pan with the zucchini, first add a pinch of chili flakes, 2/3 of the thinly sliced lemon peel, and a ladle of pasta water to the zucchini. Then, scoop the pasta into the saucepan and swirl to combine. Add more pasta water as needed, swirling the pasta around in the sauce, and cooking it until it is al dente.

Once the pasta is finished, remove the pan from the heat. Squeeze in the juice from 1 lemon and add a generous drizzle of olive oil. Stir to coat and release a little bit of the heat. Check that things have been nicely emulsified. Sprinkle in the Parmigiano Reggiano and emulsify further. Taste. Add more sea salt and black pepper if needed.

Divide the pasta between individual bowls and top with the remaining lemon peel and some freshly ground black pepper.

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Caesar Salad Dressing

As I've mentioned before, one of the biggest things I miss at restaurants here is salads, especially those with a great dressing or vinaigrette. If you order a salad, you usually get a bowl with arugula, a few tomato slices, and maybe a little carrot. Then, they plop down some olive oil and vinegar, and you dress it yourself. So, this forces me to make lots of salads and dressings at home, which isn't so bad because I do love making salads. The other day, Andre brought home some excellent anchovies a local wine shop owner gave him as a little gift, so I decided to make a Caesar Salad for lunch with our new anchovies and some day-old bread sitting on the counter. It was delicious, and we've been eating different versions of Caesar salad all week, sometimes just with lettuce and others topped with rotisserie chicken, breadcrumbs, and lots of freshly grated parm. It's one of my absolute favorite salad dressings.