Moveable meals

This week in Newburyport it’s Yankee Homecoming, for my family that means picnic dinners at Waterfront Park while listening to the concerts each night. But it also means that we’re running all day and we don’t want to be tied to the kitchen.

Tonight we’re going to have my friend Sheila’s wonderful, easy, chicken wings. My family devours these! They’re a perfect, very simple Quickie meal, because you start them early, and they're ready when you are.

Sheila’s sumptuous chicken wings

2 lbs. chicken wings (already trimmed “wingettes”)
1 bottle Ken’s Teriyaki Marinade or Ken's Buffalo Chicken Sauce

Place wings and marinade in a baggie in the refrigerator overnight.

Early in the morning, before the house gets too hot, preheat oven to 300°. Line cookie sheets with foil and spray with cooking spray (this makes clean-up a snap). Spread wings on cookie sheets and bake wings for 1-1½ hours. Turn oven to broil for about 20 minutes to get the wings crispy on the outside.

Turn off oven and transfer wings to crock pot. Keep in crock pot on low until ready to serve. They’ll be falling-off-the-bone tender!

Add a salad or some fresh fruit to your wings and they’re dinner! Or take them to a party as an impressive appetizer.

Summertime sippin' (for the grown ups)

I was introduced to the Purcell sisters when my next-door neighbor, Ellen, showed me their book, Straight Up! Cocktail Parties. It was another one of those "How did my sister and I not think of this?! How did we miss that party train?" moments. But since we didn't do it, I'm glad that the Purcell sisters did, their recipes and entertaining tips are fabulous, and their writing style is so entertaining, I actually read the book cover-to-cover. Their mom's margarita recipe is foolproof, it calls for 3/4 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice, 1 1/4 oz triple sec, and 2 oz tequila, I'm not good at remembering exact quantities, so I converted it all to 1/4 ounces so I could remember the proportions instead: It's a 3-5-8 Margarita, starting with the least potent and moving to the most potent, that I can remember. My friends Tom & Dawn always add a little orange juice to their margaritas, and it gives them a little something extra, I'll be honest, I haven't that with these, because they do seem perfect as they are. The sisters caution to use plain ole Jose Cuervo Gold, that an expensive sipping tequila just doesn't work in this recipe. On a final note, Ellen's promised me an introduction to, even a night on the town with, one of the sisters when she visits next weekend, I can't wait!

Summertime sippin', continued

After I talked about making iced coffee ice cubes in yesterday's blog, I was making iced green tea, and decided to make an extra batch for ice cubes ... same principle, don't dilute the beverage. Also, with all the hullabaloo about green tea being good for weight control, I thought I'd throw a few cubes in my water or in my regular iced tea for good measure.

Then, I opened the Boston Globe's Food section and read a great article about Southern sweet tea, and the varieties of iced tea available in Boston's tea houses and coffee shops.

After reading that, I thought I'd look for an authentic sweet tea recipe. I went to foodtv.com to see what Paula Dean had to say -- she seems to be the authority on all things Southern, but alas, no sweet tea recipe from Paula. I modified this 5-star recipe from a viewer (she used sugar straight, and from everything I've read, the magic to sweet tea is using simple syrup so you don't get any granule-y residue. Does anyone have a tried-and-true favorite of their own?

So everything turns out at the same time, start your simple syrup while you're boiling the water for your tea. (Simple syrup can also be used to sweeten iced tea, mint juleps or other alcohol based drinks, fruit salad, as well as a soaking liquid for in between layers of genoise cake.)

Southern Sweet Tea

8 cups water
4 small or 2 family-size tea bags
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
8 cups cold water

In a kettle, boil 8 cups water. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan heat the sugar and water and bring to a boil. When the sugar is completely dissolved remove from heat. Add tea bags to boiling water and remove from heat. Let steep for 5 minutes, or to taste. Strain tea into a gallon-size pitcher and add simple syrup. Add remaining cold water to pitcher and stir. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

With Relish

Ever wonder what açaí is (or how to pronounce it)? How to use chard to it's best advantage? How to cut a mango? If so, Relish magazine (celebrating America's love of food). With features like cookcabulary, personalized video tours of supermarkets with a professional chef (including recipes), blogs, message boards, wine picks, and more, this web site gives a foodie a good deal of fodder.

For those who are wondering, açaí (pronounced ah-SAH-ee) is the berry of the açaí palm native to tropical South America, açaí has rocked the health-food world, shooting to the top of the charts of so-called “super-foods.” Açaí can be found in a multitude of forms: concentrate (perfect for making smoothies), juice, sorbet and powder. My boys love it in their favorite Vitamin Water flavor.

Summertime sippin'

31 Days of Blog: Day 15. One of my great joys of summer is iced coffee. I look forward to it as soon as the weather starts to warm. A few years ago, I found this recipe in Better Homes and Garden magazine for spiced iced coffee. It's fabulous!

Really Hot Iced Coffee

1/3 c ground coffee
2 inches stick cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 t crushed red pepper
6 pods cardamom, crushed, or 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Raw sugar or granulated sugar (optional)
Ice cubes
1/2 c whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (optional)
1/2 t ground nutmeg (optional)

Measure coffee into the filter-lined basket of a 10-cup coffeemaker filled with 8 to 10 cups water. Add cinnamon, red pepper, and cardamom. Prepare coffee according to coffeemaker instructions. Chill for at least 1 hour. Stir in sugar, if desired. Pour into an ice-filled pitcher or tall, ice-filled glasses. Top with whipped cream or ice cream and sprinkle with nutmeg, if desired. Makes 10 servings.

(I've only served with the cream on special occasions (book group is the only one that comes to mind). I like my iced coffee very strong, unsweetened, with milk only, so that may be why I like this recipe so much.)

I've adapted the recipe over the years. I only use whole bean coffee, so I often throw in whatever whole spices I have on hand along with the beans. Today I used whole allspice, cloves, and coriander. Two cinnamon sticks and a bit of crushed red pepper is like having a red hot candy in your mouth with coffee. I like to use the spiced coffee to make ice cubes to add subtle flavor to the iced coffee while they melt. You could add your favorite liqueur for an after-dinner drink

However you brew it, enjoy this summertime treat.

Summer desserts

I was bringing a dessert to a friend's poolside gathering yesterday, and it was just too hot to cook (not to mention that there was no time between morning baseball games and afternoon party), so I made a Peach Melba in a Pail. (My husband wasn't so sure about my using the sandpail as a serving vessel, but I assured him, it had only ever been used for food, it's a great way to celebrate the season, it's fun, and it makes an impact.)

Peach melba in a pail

1 half gallon black raspberry ice cream
1 jar Trader Joe's Peach Sauce (or 3-4 sliced peaches)
1 pt of heavy cream, whipped with 1/4 c powdered sugar and 1/2 t vanilla extract (or 2 c Cool Whip)
2 c crushed Oreos
1 pt raspberries
1 clean beach sandpail

Layer ice cream, peach sauce, Oreos, raspberries, whipped cream, until you've used all ingredients. Store in freezer until ready to serve. May be made the day ahead.

Earl of Sandwich

Yum! I just made the tastiest sandwich ... you know how sometimes something simple just hits the spot? What other combinations (and acronyms) can you come up with?The ALT

1/2 Joseph's Flax, Oat Bran, & Whole Wheat Flour Lavash Bread
4 slices pepper-crusted turkey breast
romaine lettuce
2 slices avocado (the creamier the better)
Honeycup mustard

Spread mustard on lavash, layer turkey, lettuce, and avocado, roll, and enjoy. (Make lots and slice them into 2" pieces for a party platter.)

Miracle food: Broccoli?

31 Days of Blog: Day 9.On location in New York.

Last night we arrived at my sister's late (midnight), and I had trouble sleeping so I perused the July issue of SELF magazine. I was very surprised to learn, in two different articles, that broccoli can help shield your eyes from the damage caused by the sun, and that it can also reverse the damage to body tissue and organs caused by age. The luteins in broccoli give it the antioxidant power to protect you from the sun. The sulforaphane in broccoli reverses the aging process (well, perhaps I overstate).

• Now, I have always known that it is high in calcium. One serving of broccoli doesn't quite equal the calcium in one glass of milk, but it's a great boost to the calcium in your daily diet. For your own reference, calcium not only builds strong bones and staves off osteoporosis, it also helps keep blood pressure lower, and is connected with a healthy, cancer-free colon.
  
• Broccoli is also one of those "dark, leafy greens" always extolled for being rich in beta-carotene. Beta-carotene (Vitamin A) and Vitamin C (also abundant in these green "trees") have been linked to the reduction of cataracts and heart disease.
  
• Broccoli is also contains folic acid, especially important in pregnant women. I remember craving it when I was pregnant with my third son, Jude, and the doctor definitely encouraged my indulging my craving. It has been linked to helping create healthy fetuses, it also seems to prevent cervical cancer and can reduce osteoporosis. In both men and women, it helps combat heart disease. It also releases serotonin, which makes it act as a mild antidepressant.
  
• The fiber in broccoli is half soluble and half insoluble, both of which a body needs.
  
• Broccoli is also a member of the cabbage, or crucifer, family. Crucifers are thought to reduce the risk of bladder cancer.
  
• In addition, broccoli provides kaempferol, also found in green tea and onions, which has been found to lower a woman's risk of ovarian cancer.

This is no light list. I think I'll up my intake of this veggie!

Broccoli is basically a cool-weather vegetable, though through refrigeration and trucking it is available year-round, its flavor is best from late fall through early spring.

Often broccoli (both raw and cooked) suffers from the smell of sulfur. Often times, you can avoid this by eating the broccoli before it begins to wilt in your refrigerator. When cooking, avoid this smell of sulfur by just steaming the broccoli until bright green, then running it under cold water or immersing it in an ice-water bath to stop the cooking process. Cooked broccoli tastes best when cooked al dente; it looks most appetizing (bright green) that way too. Raw broccoli, while tasty, repeats on you more than cooked broccoli does.

When my boys were young, my husband always called broccoli "trees" to make them laugh, and try one more bite. We usually served broccoli with something for the kids to dip it in: ranch dressing, cheese sauce, ketchup, marinara sauce, you name it, if those boys could dip it, they would usually eat it, eventually. I love white pizza with broccoli and pasta with broccoli and chicken; my husband doesn't think broccoli belongs on pizza or in pasta, so those don't often get prepared at Chez Habib. We do, however, pile it on stuffed baked potatoes, usually with generous helpings of cheddar cheese and sour cream.

The most commented on salad I've ever served is Broccoli-Bacon Salad. It's something my mom would've served in the '60s and '70s. No one in health-conscious 2008 would have developed this recipe, but it is the #1 hit at every party I've ever served it. My recipe comes from a collaborative cookbook put together by the PTO at my boys' school when my oldest (now a sophomore in high school) was in 1st grade. My friend, Nancy, submitted the recipe, her daughter was in my son's class at the time. Our paths don't cross as often anymore, but I love thinking of her each time I make this salad.

Broccoli-Bacon salad

1 head broccoli
10 slices bacon
1/4 c pecans
1/2 c cheddar cheese, finely shredded
1/2 c raisins
1/2 c sugar
1 c mayonnaise
2 T white vinegar

Cook bacon until crisp; cool, then crumble. Place raisins in 2 c very hot water to plump. Cut broccoli heat into very small bite-size pieces. Mix broccoli with nuts, cheese, and raisins. Combine sugar, mayo, and vinegar to make dressing. Store in refrigerator. Just before serving, dress and toss.

Brunch, continued

Yesterday I included my Sweet French Toast Strata, but I actually prefer a savory breakfast myself, so I'd serve Bloody Marys or Ruby Red Mimosas, Strawberry-Spinach Salad, and this Prosciutto and Goat Cheese Strata.

Prosciutto and goat cheese strata

18 white bread slices, firm, such as English muffin bread, crusts removed
6 ozs prosciutto, thinly sliced
8 ozs Goat cheese, crumbled
4 ozs Provolone cheese, grated, about 1½ c
¼ c green onion, chopped
1 T dried basil
5 large eggs
2 c milk
1 T Dijon mustard
½ t salt
3 T butter, melted

Line bottom of 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish completely with 1 layer of bread, cutting some slices to fit. Arrange half of prosciutto evenly over bread. Sprinkle half of goat cheese and half of provolone over. Sprinkle with half of green onions and half of basil. Top with second layer of bread. Layer remaining prosciutto, goat cheese, provolone, green onions, and basil atop bread. Cut remaining bread into ¼-inch cubes. Sprinkle over top.

Whisk eggs, milk, mustard, and salt in bowl. Season with pepper. Pour egg mixture over strata; press down on bread with spatula. Drizzle melted butter over strata. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, preheat oven to 350°F. Uncover strata and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Bake until center is set, about 1 hour. Remove from oven. Cut into large squares and serve.

Brunch, the perfect meal

This week the Dunican clan is reconnoitering in Sleepy Hollow, NY, to celebrate Mom & Dad’s 45th wedding anniversary. On the menu for Sunday is brunch, and we like brunch BIG (in part to satisfy our numbers — 14 adults and 17 kids ages 15 to 1; and in part to satify our disparate appetites — picky and not, choco-files and never-ever chocolate-eaters, the sweet breakfast and the savory breakfast). Here’s the menu my sisters and father came up with:

Sweet French Toast Strata
Spiral ham
Baked eggs in ham cups
Hard rolls (that you can only get in greater NYC)
Pastries
Quiche
Cheese plate and rolls
Fruit Salad
Shrimp, Mango, and Apple salad
Blueberry cake or muffins
Sour Cream chocolate chip coffee cake
Anniversary strawberry shortcake
Chocolate mousse cups
Mimosas
OJ
Bloody Marys
V8
Coffee
Tea

For the perfect brunch, I personally think stratas are the perfect brunch food. You prepare them the night before, then just pop them in the oven the day of. Stratas can be sweet or savory. Round out the sweet strata with savory selections hickory smoked bacon and a Caesar salad; or serve the savory strata with sweet maple-cured bacon and Spinach-Strawberry salad.

Here are the two recipes my dad requested of me for this weekend’s celebration.

Sweet French toast strata

2 small loaves raisin bread
1 dozen eggs
1 quart milk
8 oz cream cheese
1 T vanilla extract
1 T cinnamon

Grease 13×9×2-inch glass baking dish. Cube one loaf of bread in the bottom of the baking dish. Slice cream cheese over the bread cubes. Cube the other loaf of bread over the top. Mix together eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour egg mixture over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, preheat oven to 350°. Uncover strata and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Bake until center is set, about 1 hour. Remove from oven. Cut into large squares and serve.

Baked Eggs in Ham Cups

12 slices Black Forest ham
12 large eggs
½ c shredded Asiago cheese
½ t salt
¼ t black pepper

Preheat oven to 400°. Fit 1 slice of ham into 12 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray (ends will stick up and hang over edges of cups). Divide Asiago cheese among cups, then crack 1 egg into each. Bake in middle of oven until whites are cooked but yokes are still runny, about 15 minutes. Season eggs with salt and pepper and remove (with ham) from muffin cups carefully, using two spoons or small spatulas to a platter.

The best BBQ sauce

31 Days to Blog: Day 6. I'm always looking for a good barbecue sauce ... I've never really found a bottled one that does it for me (and my choosier son, Evan), and frankly, I feel a little bit like a cheat if I use a bottled sauce when I'm cooking for clients. I feel like I should at least doctor it a little, a la Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade. Today we had ribs and sirloin tips and I tried a recipe from allrecipes.com. It met all my criteria:

• It was fabulous (Evan gave it the thumb's up)
• It was easy

I recommend you try it! (If you're a friend, family, or client, you may be receiving it as a gift sometime soon. I plan to make a big batch and can it.) Don't be intimidated by the number of ingredients, with the exception of liquid smoke, I bet you have everything in the house.

Big Al's K.C. BBQ sauce

2 cups ketchup
2 cups tomato sauce
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 1/4 cups red wine vinegar
1/2 cup unsulfured* molasses
4 teaspoons hickory-flavored liquid smoke
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

In a large saucepan over medium heat, mix together the ketchup, tomato sauce, brown sugar, wine vinegar, molasses, liquid smoke and butter. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, celery seed, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to low, and simmer for up to 20 minutes. For thicker sauce, simmer longer, and for thinner, less time is needed. Sauce can also be thinned using a bit of water if necessary. Brush sauce onto any kind of meat during the last 10 minutes of cooking.

*According to epicurious.com, "whether or not molasses is sulphured or unsulphured, depends on whether sulphur was used in the processing. In general, unsulphured molasses is lighter and has a cleaner sugar-cane flavor." I use Granma's brand molasses, and the only ingredient listed is molasses, it says nothing about sulphered or unsulphered. I'll keep you posted if I find out more.

Anyway, this barbecue sauce is worth making! Enjoy!

Who thought, with doing a blog a day for a month that I’d actually post twice on the holiday weekend (speaks volumes about the lousy weather we’re having this weekend!)? This arrived from my sister, Bridget, this morning. I’m sharing it here because we’d love any good ideas you’ve got!

Ladies,
I need help, I cut tons of recipes out of magazines and print them from online, some I try right away, others I hope to get to one day. My clippings and recipe boxes are overflowing ... Anyone have suggestions for organizing them? I really don’t want to copy them all over onto recipe cards, some I can cut and paste onto cards. Do you have a efficient system that you use?
Thanks,
Bridget

I responded:

I save alot on my computer. If you read them in a magazine or newspaper you can usually find them online. I save them (I don’t have any better method for “getting around to them” either). If you can’t find them online, I scan them into my computer. I like having them online because it's much easier to do an online search than it is to comb through hundreds of paper copies to find one scrap.

My sister, Maureen, responded:

I don’t have an effiicient system that I use, but I always intend to set one up. I know a couple of years ago Jenner set up a binder system that she categorized by type of recipe and then had odds and ends like “make in the morning cook at dinner”, 30-minute meals, etc. I believe she printed them all on the same size paper and put in a recipe book. I think you could keep them all on whatever they are on and put into a binder. If you got page sleeves you could just slip whatever size paper you have into it. Let me know what works!

We’d love to hear your ideas, please post comments!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

31 Days of Blog: Day 5. When my husband and I met 23 (yikes! how did that happen?!) years ago, the first thing we found that we had in common was our devotion to Bruce Springsteen (we’ll attend our 20th (I think) show together this August); the second was that we had worked our teenage years in ice cream stores — mine in Baskin-Robbins in Tarrytown, NY, his at his father’s seasonal ice cream stand, Super Swirl in Methuen, MA. I guess it was kismet.

This morning in the Boston Globe, there was a great article about small ice cream stands and how they are so much a part of summer. The article seems to say that we’re luckier here in the northeast than in other parts of the country: We have more ice cream stands. Anyway, this article touched me, and I thought I’d share it with you.

Bliss arrives in icy, creamy scoops

By Tania deLuzuriaga / July 5, 2008
At Jay Gee’s in Methuen, it was straight coffee. Across town at Findeisen’s, it was cookie dough. And at Benson’s in West Boxford, black raspberry.
But my favorite, the ice cream I dreamed about all winter and drooled over all summer, was the coffee cookies ‘on’ cream at Hodgie’s Ice Cream in Amesbury. Always in a cup. Always with a sugar cone on top.
Forget Memorial Day, shorts weather, or the end of the school year. Summer starts in New England when the ice cream stands open.
After the desolate days of winter, that first cone is a sweet promise of balmy, carefree days to come.
It doesn’t matter that you might need a jacket while standing in line or have to turn on the heat in the car as you eat it. Ice cream is summer.
“That first cone of the year? That’s heaven,” said Joyce Wright, a grandmother from Plaistow, N.H., who’s been enjoying Hodgie’s ice cream for more than two decades.
For a child in New England, the mom-and-pop ice cream stand is bliss after a winter of franchised frozen milk.
During the winter, my sister and I would have to agree on a flavor and commit to a half-gallon at the supermarket. In the summer, I could have my pick of 40 flavors.
And while my mother rationed out the treats into a Dixie cup in the winter, Hodgie’s and the like had far more generous hands that precariously piled scoop upon scoop, even for the “¼-kiddie” size.
“Don’t order a small, it’s huge,” I have advised more than one boyfriend uninitiated in the nuances of local ice cream.
Growing up in Methuen, I made it my business to know every mom-and-pop stand within 20 miles of my house; I knew which place was on the way home from the beach and which was on the way to my grandparents’ place. In the summer, I tried to eat ice cream at least once a day. On a good day, I would have it twice.This apparently isn’t uncommon. Hodgie’s owner Jason Regis said he eats ice cream every day in the summer, and many of his customers do, too.
“It’s a staple of my diet,” the father of two said with a sheepish smile.
I took this all for granted until I went to college in the Midwest, where ice cream was called “custard” and was too soft, too smooth, and too boring. Most places had only a couple of flavors, and they were rarely something you’d want to eat. Pecan turtle? Banana? No thanks.
When I moved to Florida, I thought my ice cream prospects would improve in the land of endless summer. Sadly, ice cream there is like much else in the Sunshine State: franchised in a strip mall. Most places don’t make their own ice cream or have handmade signs advertising frappes. None ever offer a lime rickey.As I stood in line at some air-conditioned chain waiting for an overpriced scoop (literally, a scoop), I longed for Hodgie’s squat red-and-white building with the wood-planked porch and order window. Where Florida had parking lots, Hodgie’s has a pine grove in the back with picnic tables.
“It’s not the most glamorous place, but it’s got character and those places are few and far between,” said Scott Laing, who said he's been frequenting Hodgie’s with his wife, Karen, for at least 20 years.
That’s just the way Regis wants it. He fell in love with the place in high school when he worked as a scooper there and set his sights on buying it one day.
“It's just a great job,” he said. “People who come up to get ice cream usually have a smile on their face.”
When former owner Peter Hodge was ready to sell three years ago, he called Regis and his wife, Kelly, also a former Hodgie’s scooper. The couple vowed not to change a thing.
And they haven’t. A lot has changed in the years since I started eating Hodgie's ice cream. I’ve moved eight times, had three different jobs, and lived in four different states.
But the coffee cookies ’n cream is always the same. Always in a cup. Always with a sugar cone on top.

After fireworks tonight, I’ll be stopping at Hodgie’s for a ¼-kiddie Peanut Butter Cup (chocolate ice cream with peanut butter ribbon, Baskin-Robbins calls it “Peanut Butter and Chocolate”) in a sugar cone. Yum!

Happy 4th of July!

31 Days of Blog: Day 4. Our fireworks got rained out last night, and it’s too cold for the beach day we had planned, so we’re watching old videos of the kids when they were little, thinking we might call some of the friends we usually meet at the beach to have an impromptu cookout.

Last year this fabulous burger reared its lovely head at my friend, Lynne’s 4th of July extravaganza at Lake Winnepesaukee. Lynne’s parents live on an island in Lake Winnepesaukee. Her dad, Frank, and her son, Matt, both have birthdays over 4th of July weekend, and they always have a big family gathering. Last year Frank treated the family to these burgers. Lynne brought them to me via our weekly dinner group (we cook together and test out new recipes on our guinea pigs, I mean, families). These were one huge hit!

Stuffed bacon cheeseburgers

½ c cheddar cheese, shredded
4 slices
1 lb ground chuck
2 medium onions, divided use
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
1 clove garlic
1 T sugar
Barbecue sauce
4 large hamburger buns, split

Cook bacon in skillet until crisp. Let cool, crumble. Dice one onion and sauté in bacon drippings until translucent. Let cool. Combine cheese, bacon, and onion in a bowl. Season ground beef with salt and pepper. Create 8 flat patties from the meat mixture. Squeeze together 4 balls of the cheese mixture. Place the ball of cheese mixture between two ground beef patties; bring up the sides of the patty over the filling, making sure the cheese is completely covered by the meat. Flatten slightly for a nice patty shape. Refrigerate.

Heat grill to medium-high heat. Brush burgers with barbecue sauce and place sauce-side-down on grill. Brush top-side of burger with barbecue sauce. Grill the burgers for 7 minutes per side for medium.

Meanwhile, heat second sauté pan. Add olive oil and butter to pan. Slice second onion and sauté until translucent. Add garlic, salt, pepper, and sugar, continue to cook until caramelized. Combine onions with remaining barbecue sauce.

Remove the burgers to a clean side plate while you toast the buns, if desired.

Entertaining 911, continued

31 Days of Blog: Day 3. There is a certain wisdom to getting the necessities out of the way first thing in the day to make sure they get done. I always apply this to the dreaded cleaning of the house, if it doesn’t get done by noon, it seldom gets done, I either run out of steam or I lose focus. The same is true for blogging once a day during this National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) of July/Food, yesterday is a great example, I only wrote an 80-word post, half of which was done before 7 am, when I got distracted (toilet-training a two-year-old is a wonderful thing), and I didn’t actually post until the rest of my family was breathing down my back looking for dinner. Today, I’m trying to get it done early again.

I’m still in the 4th of July mode, and I want appetizers galore this weekend (we actually had nachos for dinner last night, and we had so much fun making them as a family — that almost never happens in my house, cooking as a family). At a recent dinner party, I made an upscale version of Chile con Queso. It was a nice change. The goat cheese adds tang, and the green salsa adds heat, a really nice complement. You can serve the dip with your favorite bagged chips, or you can make your own adobo chips from the recipe below, it’s easy and tasty, uses up leftover corn tortillas (you know me and my using up leftovers), and doesn’t have a lot of extra sodium.

Warm goat cheese and cilantro salsa

1 jar Mrs. Renfro’s green salsa
½ c cilantro
½ c low-fat cream cheese, softened (½ block)
¼ c goat cheese

Preheat oven to 350°. To prepare salsa, combine salsa and cilantro, cover and set aside.

To prepare cheese, combine cream cheese and goat cheese in a small bowl; stir until blended. Spread cheese mixture into a shallow ramekin or baking dish; cover with foil. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or just until warm. Remove from oven, top with salsa, and serve with chips.

Adobo Chips

½ t paprika
¼ t cumin
2½ t fresh lime juice
8 6-inch white corn tortillas
1 t canola oil
1 t adobo sauce

Preheat oven to 375°. Combine 2½ teaspoons lime juice, canola oil, adobo sauce, paprika, and cumin in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Brush 1 tortilla with about ¼ teaspoon juice mixture, spreading to edge. Top with another tortilla; repeat procedure with juice mixture. Repeat procedure 6 more times (you will have 1 stack of 8 tortillas). Using a sharp knife, cut tortilla stack into 6 wedges. Place wedges in a single layer on baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes; turn wedges. Bake an additional 10 minutes.

We’ll be sharing this new Con Queso tonight with friends while we watch fireworks at Salisbury Beach. Enjoy!

Entertaining 911, continued

31 Days of Blog: Day 2. It’s only Wednesday, but the 4th of July weekend is upon us. We’ve got alot of beach and baseball and quick changes between the two. We’ll be looking for the quick fix again this weekend. My friend, Nadine, gave me what may be the easiest appetizer idea ever! (And I thought Lisa’s Garlic-Feta Dip was easy.)

Pretzels and mustard

Honeycup mustard
Mini pretzels

Just put ‘em out in pretty bowls and you're good!

Entertaining 911

With summer here, I'm always looking for something I can pull out at the last minute, whether it's for dinner for the family, or when friends drop in, since schedules are looser in the summer.

My friend, Lisa, has made this little dip for years, and I love it! I had tried it several times and never got it quite right. The trick really is using the already minced garlic you can find in a jar in the produce section of the supermarket, freshly minced garlic just is not the same. Unlike so many spreads and dips that need to sit to allow the flavors to mingle or mellow, this dip benefits from being made at the last minute.

Garlic-feta spread

Equal parts jarred, minced garlic and crumbled Feta cheese
Balsamic vinegar
Wheat thins

Place garlic and Feta in a small, shallow bowl or ramekin. Add just enough Balsamic vinegar to moisten, too much will give it too much bite, so go slowly, you can always add more, but you can't take it out. Serve with wheat thins.

This is my first blog as a member of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), the July theme is Food blogging. I'm making an effort to post every day in July, so keep checking me out, and send me your ideas for Emergency summer entertaining, getting dinner on the table for your family, and other topics and recipes you'd like to see.