What's cooking?

A few days ahead of Memorial Day, we had our first 'summery' dinner last night: sauteed corn with herbs, guacamole, sauteed plantains and hummus.

It was fun because of the change from previous months, and because of what it portends. But ever the critic, I couldn't help remarking how much better the corn, avocados and plantains will be in the upcoming months. I can't wait!

[Jenise]

Us too: sliced tomatoes and basil with olive oil and white wine vinegar with crusty olive baguette, followed by bowls of steaming summer squash. A 98 Faizeau was an odd but not unhappy pairing.

An onion Naan bread shaped into a taco bowl and crisped in the oven. Layers of black beans cooked with fresh tomatoes,onion, garlic, and cumin. Then pulled chicken breasts, crock-pot cooked with a warm spice red sauce. A layer of coleslaw with red and green cabbage, green onions, plus carrots. Topped with avocado slices, and a dollop of thick yogurt.

[Robin Garr]

Kale and arugula walnut pesto with Thai red curry baked tofu. Sounds like an odd match of flavors, but it works. Good with Santa Vicenza 2010 "Ventoso" Morellino di Scansano.

Left over salad plate: a slice of caviar torte- crepes alternately layered with caviar, ramp pesto, hard boiled egg mixed with creme fraiche ; cold shrimp/fennel salad on a bed of fresh garden lettuces with marinated mixed olives, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted red and yellow peppers. All leftovers from a party earlier in the week. Opened a new bottle of Nocellara olive oil and dropped that over everything except the caviar torte to offset all the acidic stuff...worked quite well. I finished with the minted papaya, mango, pineapple fruit salad dressed with lime juice. Husband worked on the chocolate tiramisu lefover with zabaglione. Planned for 45 but with no shows and last minute cancels had only 32. Planning to use the leftover pork tenderloin in tacos tomorrow night . BTW Thank you Cynthia.....the corn tacos are quite simple now that I know to knead the dough ....next batch will be just a bit more moist so the layers separate and puff. Will also use much higher heat in my deBuyer pan on the gas cooktop.

[Jenise]

Inviting some Canadian friends (including Bill Spohn) down for dinner tonight. I'm calling the menu "A Tour of the Southern U.S." I basically came up with the menu by making a list of typical Southern ingredients and working them into my dishes. I'm providing the champagne aperitif and the dessert wine (Sauternes) plus one wine for each course, and my guests (three couples) each chose a course to bring a wine for. The wines will be served blind. Here's what I'm serving:

Amuse: cold peanut soup
First: Shrimp and grits (lima bean garnish)
Second: Terrine of ham hock and mustard greens in the style of a Burgundian Jambon Persille with pickled green tomato and jewels of
tomato aspic on a salad of frissee in a brown butter vinaigrette
Third: Roast Bryan Flannery prime rib cap with red eye gravy, creamed collard greens and corn meal crusted baby okra
Dessert: Pear upside down cake with praline sauce

Pizza made with OO, our Italian tomato sauce, Pecorino Romano, Casio d’Roma, a half tube of Amore pesto, and Penseys’ pasta sprinkle; all on an excellent pre-made crust that come from a bakery in Maine.

I got a 2 pound filet of Copper River Salmon at Costco. Louise is going to broil it and I'll open a very nice CA Pinot Noir. Otherwise probably Yukon Gold potatoes and haricots...

I made a batch of Pizza Princess dough on Friday in anticipation of our block party yesterday. One of the neighbors has a mobile wood-fired pizza oven, so I thought I'd have some stuff ready to throw on it. Turned out that there was more than enough, so mine stayed in the fridge. Therefore, lunch today was a Princess pizza with a thin layer of prosciutto, another thin layer of caramelized leeks, and thin-sliced potatoes on top. There was a little rosemary thrown in as well.

Definitely a very good first experience with the Princess crust. Even in our non-wood-fired oven, the crust came out nicely - thin but not crunchy. I neglected the salt a bit, which would have improved the crust on its own but was not missed at all with the toppings. Good stuff!

Tonight my son Tom and his wife stopped by for dinner. They are "fishatarians" so we warmed up the Copper River Salmon -- and also had sweet corn on the cob and asparagus lasagna. This is a really nice dish. See below. Goat cheese and lemon zest really enhance the flavor of the asparagus. Afterwards, fresh cherries, French vanilla ice cream, and a chocolate sauce made with Caillebaut chocolate and cream... FWIW we had Costco roast chicken plus everything else.

3 pounds medium asparagus, trimmed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 can (12-16 oz) chicken broth, heated
1/2 cup water, heated
8 ounces mild goat cheese, such as Montrachet
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest, or to taste
1 box instant (no-boil) lasagna noodles (12 sheets - enough for 4 layers in 8 x 12 pan)
2 cups freshly grated or shredded Parmesan
1 cup heavy cream

Fired up the grill tonight: spatchcocked and grilled two Cornish hens for later in the week, did hamburger and hot dogs (huge long ones!) for tonight.

Memorial Day family picnic yesterday. I grilled a whole 15 lb. strip loin and marinated chicken thighs, made Sicilian style pizza, Jo Ann Henderson's watermelon salad, baked beans and deviled eggs and other family member brought munchoids and desserts. I bought the strip loin in December planning to cook it on New Years Eve, but I got sick and had to cancel that party and put it in the freezer, so this was the first opportunity I've had since.

Red and orange bell peppers stuffed with orzo, zucchini, garlic, tomatoes, pecorino cheese, and fresh herbs. Fresh green beans, cooked with shallot, garlic, roasted Piquillo Peppers with a few Mama Lil's peppers thrown in for some nice heat,thyme and a bit of rosemary.

By the way I picked up a can of tomatoes at Safeway last week. The label read, "Safeway Kitchens Diced Italian Style Tomatoes". They are very tasty with a wonderful aroma.

[Jenise]

Red and orange bell peppers stuffed with orzo, zucchini, garlic, tomatoes, pecorino cheese, and fresh herbs. Fresh green beans, cooked with shallot, garlic, roasted Piquillo Peppers with a few Mama Lil's peppers thrown in for some nice heat,thyme and a bit of rosemary.

By the way I picked up a can of tomatoes at Safeway last week. The label read, "Safeway Kitchens Diced Italian Style Tomatoes". They are very tasty with a wonderful aroma.

So you found Mama Lil's peppers down there; great, aren't they? Your stuffed peppers sound great, I'd probably ditch my plans for tonight in favor or copying you if I wasn't in such a hurry to make the foods go away that will go into tonight's bread pudding.

So that's our dinner: bread pudding with a lot of sage-y Thanksgiving flavors and a bunch of shredded chicken thrown in, after a healthy green salad. I've never done a bread pudding as an all-in-one meal before, and am curious to how it will turn out. (No recipe, just me free-wheeling.)

So you found Mama Lil's peppers down there; great, aren't they?

I didn't look Jenise...just a feeling when I know something won't be available here, I go to Amazon. They are really nice peppers. I love the balance of heat to flavor. I've used them in sandwiches, pasta, omelets, green beans, a stir fry of sugar snap peas and broccoli, and a few other things I cannot recall just now. Oh, they are also good in tuna salad sandwiches with fresh sorrel.

For Memorial Day after marching in the Rochester NH parade in KOC regalia, I grilled 20 burgers (w/o pink slim) and 9 franks for 9 adults and 3 children. Consumed with an assortment of sides included two pounds of deli German potato salad.

[Robin Garr]

Tarragon omelet and broccoli sautéed with onions and garlic.

[Robin Garr]

The quest for delicious main-dish recipes using kale from the garden continues with Gomen Wat, a fiery Ethiopian stew of greens with onions, garlic, ginger ... and a single early-arriving pod of okra.

A small, boneless leg of lamb, marinated in a red wine and rosemary concoction. then grilled. Risotto with butternut squash and sage. I freeze cubed butternut in the fall to have the rest of the year. Fresh broccoli rounded out the meal.

[Jenise]

This afternoon friends will be passing by on their way home to Vancouver from a road trip that took them south to Northern California to see the eclipse and back home the slow way through Eastern Washington. We said, "time it around dinner time and we'll feed you". For them, I'll be serving a cold peanut soup (I'm going to post the recipe shortly), green salad with peas and fried chevre, and a roasted whole filet of copper river salmon with sauce bearnaise, broccolini and herb rice.

For them, I'll be serving a cold peanut soup (I'm going to post the recipe shortly), green salad with peas and fried chevre, and a roasted whole filet of copper river salmon with sauce bearnaise, broccolini and herb rice.

Jenise, do you use shelled peas, raw? I like to pick them when young, and use those sweet babies raw in salads, or just to eat for a snack. Nice dinner!

[Robin Garr]

More farmers' market dining: Gobi Mattar Masala, Indian spicy cauliflower and peas.

Put some olive oil in a pan and heated it up. Dropped some chunks of garlic in and let them saute for a while. Pulled them out and dropped a bunch of supermarket cherry tomatoes in the pan (specifically from the supermarket because I wanted to test this with the kind of tomatoes you can get anytime). Let them saute until they split and then crushed them with the back of a spoon. Added some chopped basil, salt, and pepper and then tossed it all with penne. Served it in bowls topped with reggiano.

Quick and very good.

Mike, Lidia Bastianich has an almost identical recipe in one of the cookbooks I own. I should give it a try, ridiculously simple and probably really delicious. Thanks for reminding me of it!