Summer Cocktail and Dessert in One?

Hey Eileen, Look at this!

It could be a summer cocktail and dessert in one REALLY easy recipe.
I am totally making this this summer -- Lime Sorbet Margaritas

Citrus-Marinated Shrimp

Thanks to my friend Kathleen, we discovered a great shrimp ceviche this past summer that we all really enjoyed. Holland and I decided to recreate that recipe for a cooler-weather dinner, we marinated jumbo shrimp in olive oil, garlic, lemon and lime juice and cilantro. We sauteed this and served over orzo or rice. I served it with a salad, bread (great for sopping), and a side of roasted tomatoes and spinach (which George and I mixed into our shrimp, but the kids don't all like the spinach).

I wanted to take a picture of the dish because it looks so beautiful, but I forgot before dinner and this is what was left the two times I've made it for my family. The kids practically licked the dish clean (I think Holland actually did!).

Easy summer Risotto

I have made this before, but had to post this Fresh Tomato Risotto Recipe from The New Basics Cookbook. With summer ripe tomatoes and the microwave what more could one ask for?

1 T olive oil
1 C Arborio rice
3 C Chicken Stock or canned broth
1/2 C water
1/3 C dry white wine
6 small ripe plum tomatoes, halved, cored and chopped
2-3 T chopped, fresh basil leaves
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
Grated aged hard chevre, for garnish

1. Heat the oil in a deep 2 1/2 quart microwave-safe casserole, uncovered, for 1 minute on full power (650 to 700 watts)
2. Stir in the rice. Cook 1 minute.
3. Stir in 2 Cups of the stock, the water, and the wine. Cook 12 minutes, uncovered. Stir in the remaining 1 Cup of stock, the chopped tomatoes, and the basil. Cook 8 minutes.
4. Season with pepper and nutmeg, sprinkle with cheese, and serve immediately.

Serves: 2 portions

If your micro is less powerful you may need to add coooking time, if you don't have a carousel, you may have to rotate the dish while it is cooking.

Notes: (1) I have also done it with canned fire roasted tomatoes and it was equally delicious! (2) It served the four of us and there was a little leftover.

HOT Dinners!

Heat wave here, and across much of the country, this week. What are you making for dinner to beat the heat?

Tonight, we are having chicken salad, tomato, mozzarella & basil salad, green salad and watermelon. Tomorrow my kids have a 1/2 day because of the predicted temps and no AC in the schools -- it may well be ice pops for dinner then!

Kathy's Baked Beans

1/2 pound bacon, browned and crumpled
1 medium onion, chopped and browned in bacon fat
2 large cans of B&M Baked Beans
1 can Kidney beans (I sometimes also add a can of Garbanzo beans)
1 can Butter beans

After browning bacon and onion add to crockpot along with the cans of beans. Add in 1/2 C ketchup, 1/2 C molasses and 1 t powdered mustard (I use Coleman's). The orginal recipe also calls for 1/2 pound of ground beef of turkey. (I have never used this as I always serve meat alongside the beans). Heat in Crockpot about 4 hours on low.

The Steak EVERYONE loves!

This summer we were lucky enough to visit Brendan & Sarah and enjoy Sarah's Korean Flank Steak. Since we returned, it has been a big request in our house, and one recipe that EVERYONE enjoys (YEAH!). Tonight, I am serving it with a peanutbutter noodles with shredded carrots and cucumbers. Can't wait!

Korean BBQ

Korean Marinade for Flank Steak

3 lb flank steak (while we love this with flank steak, we have used it with other cuts of meat as well and it works great) 1/2 c soy 1/2 c white sugar 1/2 c water 1/4 c sesame oil 1/4 c sake or I use whatever wine I have left over in the fridge 2 T chopped garlic (or more if you like it more garlicky) 1 T sesame seeds 1 t black pepper 1 bunch of scallions, washed and rinsed well. (If you don't have scallions, feel free to throw in some white onion wedges in with the beef after marinating.) Set aside scallions and meat. Mix everything else together in a large bowl (marinade ingredients.) Layer in green onions as you place in the flank. Continue until all flank is marinated. Pour remaining marinade on top. Marinate at least 8 hours or overnight if possible. I personally have found that a 24 hour soak yields the best flavor. If you are planning to freeze, you can allow it to soak and then portion off what you want into ziploc bags OR immediately put into bags and freeze. Try and put a bit of marinade into each bag when freezing. You can grill it on the bbq (our family favorite) or broil it in the oven for about 12-15 minutes, depending on your preference for rare, medium or well. *You can boil the marinade and serve with the steak for added yumminess.

Tailgating Recipes

I know it's real last minute, but we just found out that we have baseball games at 5pm and 8 pm tomorrow night. What are your favorite Tailgating recipes? Thanks for sharing!

Polka Dot Ice Cream Pie

My daughter Holland turned 10 yesterday! We can't believe she is double digits! We are big chocolate lovers here and often have some form of chocolate for birthdays, but Holland is also a sherbet/sorbet lover and this year asked me to surprise her with some kind of ice cream cake/pie. I have been saving this recipe for years and been meaning to try it -- Holland's birthday seemed like a perfect time and it was a HUGE hit.

Scoop balls of 3 different flavored sherbets, whatever your preference is (we used lemon, raspberry & blood orange) and freeze.

Soften 2 pts of vanilla ice cream and spread 1 pt. in a graham cracker crust. Push frozen sherbet balls into ice cream. Spread another pt of ice cream on top. Refreeze. Top with additional sherbet balls before serving.

Summer Pasta Salad Twists

I think I may have to try these 2 recipes this summer.
Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/BUFFALO-CHICKEN-PASTA-SALAD-1231059

Antipasto Pasta Salad
http://www.bullz-eye.com/grub_for_guys/2010/pasta_salad_trio.htm

Shrimp Cocktail

Check out this twist on Shrimp cocktail! I think I'll try it!
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/appetizers-snacks/mediterranean-shrimp/

Let me know if you try it!

Summer Salads

Katie posted on her former in home cooking blog (now moved here) about summer salads yesterday. I laughed, because I made two salads to go with dinner last night, and was looking for some more for this week.

First, I tossed blanched green beans with halved cherry tomatoes, basil and balsamic vinegar. Simple and delicious.

For my second salad, I made a thai cucumber salad. I also added shredded carrots. Delish. I have included the cucumber recipe below. Both of these salads are likely to be new go-tos for me this summer. So easy, and so great!

Ingredients

• 3 large cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts

Directions

1. Toss the cucumbers with the salt in a colander, and leave in the sink to drain for 30 minutes. Rinse with cold water, then drain and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Whisk together the sugar and vinegar in a mixing bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Add the cucumbers, jalapeno peppers, and cilantro; toss to combine. Sprinkle chopped peanuts on top before serving.

Chargrilled Vegetable Terrine

After wanting to make this recipe for years, I finaly did and it was easier than I originally thought. We enjoyed this last week and Regina asked for the recipe, so I thought I'd share it with all.

Chargrilled Vegetable Terrine
11 oz ricotta cheese
2 cloves garlic, crushed
8 large slices chargrilled eggplant, drained
10 slices chargrilled red pepper, drained
8 slices chargrilled zucchini, drained
1 1/2 rocket leaves ( I used Boston lettuce, fresh Basil would also be delicious)
3 marinated artichokes, drained and sliced
3 oz semi dried tomatoes (I used sun dried), drained and chopped
3 1/2 oz marinated mushrooms, drained and halved

1. Beat together ricotta and garlic until smooth. Season well and set aside. Line a 9 X 5 X 2 1/2 inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving a generous amount hanging over the sides.

2. Line the base of the pan with half of the eggplant, cutting and fitting to cover the base. Top with a layer of half the red pepper, then all of the zucchini. Spread evenly with the ricotta mixture and press down firmly. Place the Lettuce leaves on top of the ricotta. Arrange the artichoke, tomato and mushrooms in three rows lengthwise on top of ricota.

3. Top with the remaining red peppers and finish with eggplant. Cover securely with the overhanging plastic wrap. Put a piece of cardboard on top and weigh it down with weights or small food cans. Refigerate overnight.

4. To serve, peel back the plastic wrap and turn the terrine onto a plate. Remove the plastic wrap and cut into thick slices and serve.

Summer Recipes

Now that summer vacation is here -- regardless of what the weather is saying -- I want light, fresh food. What are your favorite summer recipes?

Waffle Cones

Waffle Cones! While at the ice cream shop today, Erin asked could we make waffle cones at home? I found a recipe on-line and thought we might try it but first wanted to check if anyone has tried it? If so any tips or suggestions?  If not here is what I found if you are interested.

http://www.waffle-recipe.com/recipes/waffle-cone-recipe/

We had a big weekend of football (son, Evan scored 2 touchdowns toward his team's 24-20 win), but also baseball (Red Sox, ugh).

What says Autumn to you? But before you answer, it's also Indian Summer, so it's actually more like Summer tha July was here in Newburyport. Again, the contradiction that October in New England usually is.

SO, to observe the Red Sox despicable loss this evening, we had some friends over and combined Autumn and Summer: Sangria, burgers and dogs on the grill, guacamole, caramelized onions, blue cheese.

Ultimately, I wanted a big burger bar, and I had it. A hamburger with guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, and goat cheese says Summer. One with blue cheese and caramelized onions says Autumn. I had both myself, thank you very much.

But the two biggest hits of the evening were the sangria (Summer) and the caramelized onions (Fall, which also made their way into a fabulous dip for potato chips). The sangria recipe comes from a friend I worked with years ago, and it's been a staple in my house and my sister's since then.

Jenn's sangria

1 lemon
1 orange
¼ c sugar
¼ c brandy
¼ c triple sec
1.5 l red wine
12 oz ginger ale

Slice lemon and orange and place them in the bottom of a pitcher. Add sugar, brandy, triple sec, and let sit in fridge for a few hours, or overnight. About an hour before serving, add red wine, and chill. Add ginger ale just before serving.

Caramelized onions
For this recipe, I use any mixture of onions I have, it makes the flavors more interesting: shallots, Vidalias, Bermudas, whatever you have.

1 lb onions, sliced
¼ c salted butter
¼ c olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ t ground cayenne pepper
1 t kosher salt
½ t freshly ground black pepper
¼ c sugar

Add butter and oil to skillet and heat. As you slice the onions, add them to the skillet and cover them to sweat them. Once all the onions are sliced, add the garlic, salt, and pepper, and continue to sweat. Once all the onions are tender and translucent, add sugar, and remove lid to caramelize them. Once they're a nice caramel brown, remove from heat. Use hot or refrigerate for later use.

My sister, Bridget, makes her caramelized onions in a crockpot while she's working and uses them to make a great pizza with smoked gouda.

Don't labor on Labor Day

My sister, Bridget, is having my parents and aunts to dinner over the holiday weekend, and she wanted the food to be ready so that she could visit, and not spend the day in the kitchen. She wanted to make use of the seasonal vegetables (she usually has some great garden offerings, either her own or from friends), and grilling.

I told her that lately my do-ahead meal has been fajitas. You can do the chicken and steak and leave them slightly rare, and keep them warm in the oven on low or in the crockpot on warm until you're ready to eat. They don't have to be hot, hot, when you serve them, just warm, then you can make all the fixin’s: salsa, guacamole, cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream, flour tortillas, tomatoes, lettuce, jalapeños, ...

If you aren’t in the mood for Mexican, you can do a nice salad and top it with the steak and/or chicken. You could do some other nice seasonal treats to go along with the salad, almost like a salad bar (nice tomatoes, cucumbers, marinated zucchini), and some corn on the cob on the side.

These are also great meals for those crazy back-to-school nights when we don’t know if we’re coming or going.

What do you think? What do you serve when you don’t want to miss all the fun while you work in the kitchen?

It's that easy?!

I don’t make everything from scratch, despite that my husband teases me that I’m like Martha Stewart. I do make some things from scratch: Last week I made taco seasoning mix, to me it just seems wasteful to buy another spice when I have all the necessary ingredients in my pantry already. I also made marshmallows, a la Martha Stewart and Ina Garten, I thought the kids would get a kick out of them, but they weren’t as excited as I thought they’d be. I may make them again, to go with my homemade cocoa mix around the holidays (cute hostess and client gifts), but I won’t make them for my family until my daughter Grace is old enough, but still young enough (I may have missed the boat with the boys, they’re too old) to enjoy them.

I’ve always been intimidated by jams and jellies and canning, but canning seems like such a great idea when you make a large batch of something that you only eat in small bits. So, last week I made blueberry jam and canned (jarred, actually) it. I could not believe how easy it was!

I used a recipe from Martha Stewart's Kids magazine (May/June 2004) which had been kicking around the house.

Basic Blueberry Jam

4 c blueberries
3½ c sugar

Preheat oven to 250°. Put a plate in the freezer. With a potato masher or spoon, crush 1 cup of blueberries in a medium heavy-bottom nonreactive saucepan.

Add remaining 3 cups blueberries and ½ cup water; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to break up berries, until berries are soft, about 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, spread sugar on a rimmed baking sheet. Heat in oven until warm, about 5 minutes.

Slowly stir sugar into saucepan; return mixture to a simmer, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook at a slow boil until thickened, 45 minutes to 1 hour. To test for doneness, drop a small amount of jam onto the chilled plate; it should wrinkle when pressed with your finger. Refrigerate jam in an airtight container up to 2 weeks, or can in sealed, sterilized jars up to 6 months.

To can the jam, pour warm jam into warm jars (you can boil the jars or run them through the dishwasher). Wipe the rims of the jars with a dishtowel or paper towel. Place lids on jars and hand-tighten them. Place filled jars on the rack of a pressure cooker. Process according to the pressure cooker's directions (for mine, I fill the pressure cooker with enough water to cover the jars, bring the cooker to full pressure for 10 minutes, and then let cool until pressure is released). If you don’t have a pressure cooker, there are several sites that can help you get started canning, try www.canningusa.com, Canning 101, homecanning.com and Home canning at about.com. Let the jars rest for 24 hours, and remove the rings to be sure the lids are still in place (nudge them gently with your finger to make sure they don’t move). If they do move, you can re-process them. If they don't move, you’re good to go, label your jam, and store it in a cool, dry place.

It really is easy! Give it a try. Next up, I’ll be doing my New York-style hot dog onions and that killer barbecue sauce.

Birthday cakes galore

In our family, June, July, and August are lousy with birthdays and anniversaries. I think my sister, Bridget counted 24, but that doesn't include my husband's side of the family, and we've got 8, I think. Anyway, we make a lot of birthday cakes in the summer.

My sister, Eileen, is planning for her hubby's 40th birthday tomorrow. Brad eats the craziest, sweetest things you can imaging, and he is the thinnest man I've ever met. Mind you, he never stops moving, biking, running, hiking, boating; he coaches track and skiing at the high school where he teaches. Funny that he married the least outdoors-y sister, but I digress (and she's adapted quite nicely BTW) ...

Brad is famous for his breakfast of oatmeal with peanut butter and chocolate chips mixed right in. So, Eileen found a recipe for a peanut butter ice cream cake at http://www.recipes4cakes.com/icecream/peanut_recipe.htm, but she wanted to add chocolate to the recipe. I had just made a great, dense chocolate cake with chocolate icing for my son, Jude's 10th birthday, so I suggested adding that layer. I made the cake today (for Jude's 2nd birthday celebration, because really, you're not 10 if you don't have more than one birthday party, are you?), here's the recipe I ended up with after making some modifications from the original.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Ice-Cream Cake

2 cellophane packages of graham crackers
3/4 c salted peanuts
1 stick butter
4 t sugar
1 qt vanilla ice cream, softened (Have you noticed that "half-gallon containers" no longer contain 2 quarts of ice cream? The Hood New England Homemade Vanilla ice cream I have contains 1.75 quarts, so you'll need a little more than a half of a "half gallon.")
1/2 c peanut butter
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
8 oz heavy cream
1/2 c salted peanuts, chopped, for garnish

Preheat oven to 375°. Process crackers and peanuts in a food processor or blender. Melt butter in 8" x 11" baking dish. Combine cracker crumbs, nuts, sugar and butter into baking pan, mix and press down for crust. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool, place in refrigerator to chill.

Meanwhile, in a Pyrex bowl over simmering water, melt chocolate. When chocolate is melted, combine heavy cream, let sit to cool slightly. Combine softened ice cream with peanut butter until blended.

Spread ice cream over chilled crust. Top with chocolate, and sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Freeze 6 hours or until firm.

This will be delightful when we come in from a hot August day at the beach today to celebrate Jude's birthday and my in law's 44th wedding anniversary.

Happy birthday, Jude. Happy birthday, Brad. Happy anniversary, Nonni & Nanno.

HOT! HOT! HOT!

Not! How ‘bout Rainy! Rainy! Rainy! — and at the worst possible point in the summer for me and mine. We went to Hampton Beach for 4 days, rain. We were trying to end the baseball season, rain. We went to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Foxboro Stadium, rain. We went camping at Old Orchard Beach, rain. But I’m not complaining, in fact, I’m turning it to inspiration ... that, combined with the National Blog Posting Month topic of “Hot,” has turned me to “hot” recipes — some new ones and some tried-and-true.

This is one I’ve always loved at a party. They take a little time, so make them up ahead of time, then just heat them at the last minute, and enjoy your guests. Beware, they’re hot!

Cheesy Chicken Pepper Poppers

1 jar hot cherry peppers in vinegar, stems and seeds removed
2 chicken breasts, poached and shredded
6 green onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
12 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2 eggs
3 T heavy cream
1 c Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 T cumin
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine chicken, onions, garlic, cream cheese, eggs, cream, cheese, cumin, salt, and pepper; mix well. Stuff each pepper and place on a baking sheet. (Peppers can be covered and refrigerated at this point, or packaged in an airtight container and frozen for later use.)

When ready to serve, preheat oven to 350°. Place peppers on baking sheet in preheated oven. Bake until filling is puffed and peppers are soft, about 45 minutes. Serve hot.

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.