cards and dinner
Last night, we had George and Julie over for cards and dinner. You may remember George and Julie as the “side vs. salad” couple from the 4th of July party. That’s George sitting on the cool deck and Julie in the blue top on the far right.
We’ve always been a big “cards family.” We play either Hearts, Spades, Rummy 500, Pinochle, or Gin Rummy with my dad nearly every Sunday. So “cards and dinner” is nothing new at our house, but having another couple over for that explicit reason is.
I had family obligations all morning and into the early afternoon, so dinner had to be fast and easy. I made a quick cocktail by whizzing a few frozen mixed berries in the blender with about a cup of purchased lemonade. I strained out the seeds and put the mixture in a pitcher and then added the rest of the bottled lemonade and popped that in the fridge to chill. When it was time to serve, I poured the berry lemonade and an ounce of vodka over ice and topped it off with a splash of homemade limoncello. Cocktail Done!
When Dave got home from work, I asked him to scour the refrigerator for olives and the pantry for smoked fish and pâté and arrange it on a platter with some crackers and grissini breadsticks. Snacks Done!
Below is the recipe for one of the two salads I made, the other will follow in a day or so.
August 2, 2014 1 Comment
zucchini melts
What does this plate say to you?
To me – it screams SUMMER! All those bright and colorful veggies, grilled to perfection!
You can use your outdoor grill or a grill pan to make it. I chose the grill pan … for obvious reasons.
After looking over the post, you almost don’t need a recipe. I took so many photos of each step – so as long as you know that you need enough olive oil, salt, and pepper to coat everything, you might want to skip the reading and just use this as pictorial instructions. Enjoy.
July 26, 2014 3 Comments
salad color
If you can find Easter egg radishes and colorful heirloom cherry tomatoes at your grocery store or farmer’s market, this perfect colorful summer salad!
If not, I’m sorry for you but it will still taste fantastic without the “fancy” vegetables.
Isn’t it pretty?
July 12, 2014 No Comments
colorful summer salad and a tomato tip
I’ve seen this cool tip for cutting a bunch of cherry tomatoes at one time all over the internet and on Pinterest. I’ve used it for some time now, but keep forgetting to share it with you. It not only comes in handy for this salad but is especially fabulous for THIS RECIPE and any other recipes calling for roasted cherry tomatoes.
Summer Squash and Salmon Salad
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds zucchini, ends trimmed and then thinly sliced
2 tablespoons pepper jelly
3-pound salmon fillet, skin on
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
6 cups fresh spinach leaves
1/2 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 avocados, diced
1 cup chopped pecans
In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Add the zucchini, toss to coat and let marinate at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.
Spread the pepper jelly on the flesh side of the salmon. Heat a grill or broiler to high.
June 30, 2014 4 Comments
Meatless Monday
After visiting The Simple Farm last week, I was inspired to make a meatless meal.
This meal is “Connor Approved!”
June 9, 2014 2 Comments
Connor’s Summer Salad
Connor did not request this salad for his birthday dinner, but I needed something cool, refreshing, colorful, and healthy to add to the menu that was heavy with ribs and BBQ sauce.
I’d be happy eating this all summer long! Add some feta or goat cheese if you’d like. I left it out because those aren’t Connor’s favorite things, and on your birthday, you should never have to eat something you don’t like!
Summer Corn, Cucumber & Tomato Salad
Cilantro Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Salad
16-ounce package frozen corn, thawed
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 English cucumber, diced
1/2 red onion, peeled and diced
2 avocados, diced
May 28, 2014 2 Comments
not just any old gazpacho
This was the “main course” for my Pool Party class at Les Gourmettes. It’s a bit chunky, a sorta soupy, kinda spicy, and really good!
Fire-Roasted Gazpacho
1 large onion, peeled and cut into 3 thick rounds
2 zucchini, trimmed and cut in half lengthwise
1 each red, yellow, orange bell peppers
2/3 cup olive oil
3 thick slices fresh sourdough bread
4 garlic cloves; 1 of the cloves peeled and cut in half and the 3 remaining cloves peeled and minced
8 large tomatoes, cored, seeded, and diced
2 English cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and diced
1/2 cup Sherry or red wine vinegar
2 cups tomato juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Garnish
2 green onions, green tops only; thinly sliced on the bias
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
1 avocado, diced
Preheat the grill to high heat.
May 12, 2014 No Comments
what to do with leftover mussels
I don’t know if you noticed just how big that bag of mussels was in yesterday’s post. There were more than 140 mussels in it! I steamed them all on Sunday and then made another meal out of the leftover 60 or so mussels for dinner on Monday. I’ll get to the recipe shortly, but first I want to share a new favorite ingredient of mine with you – capers packed in sea salt.
Most capers we see in the U.S. are packed in vinegar brine after curing. Often the brine overpowers the wonderful fresh caper flavor. Capers packed in sea salt are more flowery, more like flower buds, which is of course what capers are. The caper plant, Capparis spinosa, can be found all around the Mediterranean Sea and spreads its long, spiny branches over rocks and open into beautiful white flowers with long purple stamens.
I used the capers directly from the jar, with the salt clinging to them, for this recipe. I didn’t use additional salt for the dish, just the salt that was already present on the capers. For a salad or another dish where not as much salt is needed, the capers need to be cleaned of their salt. To do so; cover the salt-packed capers with water. Swish to remove any clinging salt and let stand a minute to let it settle to the bottom. Lift out capers with a sieve, and taste. If still too salty, repeat the process.
I bought the capers while I was in Canada last summer and have looked for them here, but haven’t run across any yet. You can find them easily on Amazon.
April 3, 2014 6 Comments
sausage and mussels
Here is the second recipe I made on Sunday night with a portion of that huge package of sausage I’d purchased at Costco. I bought a huge bag of live mussels to go along with it.
Remember, I made the Corn, Potato & Sausage Chowder? We had steamed mussels too.
It’s important to do two things with live mussels. First, pull out and discard any and all cracked or broken mussels.
The second thing; just before cooking, pour a 1/2 cup or so of cornmeal into a large bowl.
Add cold water and stir. Then add the mussels and let sit for about 20 minutes. As the mussels breathe, they take in the cornmeal and fresh water and expel sand and grit.
Lift the mussels out of the water with a slotted spoon or spider and leave the sandy water behind.
April 2, 2014 2 Comments
pasta and lamb
Yesterday it was pasta and beef – today it’s pasta and lamb.
What’s going on? Honestly, it’s just a coincidence. This was my Valentine’s dinner gift to my guys. After dinner we went to see The Lego Movie – loved it!
The beef and pasta dinner was a couple of days later. Sometimes we all crave pasta.
The pasta used here is pappardelle which is a large, very broad, flat pasta noodle, similar to wide fettuccine. Pappardelle can be difficult to find in the grocery store. I found mine at Whole Foods.
Tip: This recipe calls for canned diced tomatoes. If you only have canned whole tomatoes, an easy way to dice them is by using kitchen shears and cut the tomatoes right in the can.
This particular recipe is one that I adapted from a recipe I found in Food & Wine magazine.
February 18, 2014 6 Comments
