Sunday

Here it goes again. What you ask? Well we had a big Sunday and I was too tired to type up the meal and the events surrounding it. So I got up Monday and typed the whole thing up. Went to post and found out the internet, phone and cable were down. It came on later in the afternoon and I thought I had posted the write up. I had not. I also discovered today that I sent the wrong Sunday file to the recycle bin. I sure hope this cures my obsessive compulsive bent for order and tossing, but I doubt it.
Sunday was the Rally for the Cure golf tournament at our Club. Saturday afternoon we picked up our friend Annie at the airport. She had graciously agreed to be a volunteer for the event so we could play. I actually got out of bed at 6:00 AM to do this. I discovered that it is light at 6:00 AM; what a waste of sunlight. The club served breakfast. Who can chew that early, but luckily they had some yoghurt. The club was a sea of pink shirts. Only a few pooper men had on other colored shirts. It was supper hot and everyone looked drained when we finished around 2:30 PM. I know for sure that I drank about a gallon of water and never had to use a restroom. My clothes were soaked with sweat.
A wonderful lunch was provided by the Bonefish Grille. The Bonefish and other merchants were outstandingly generous with their donations for both the raffle and the silent auction. I did a painting of the clubhouse to be in the silent auction. I received a lot of compliments but was disappointed to see it only fetched $275. But not many in our club are into art. A lot of member were amazed that I was “artistic”, I guess that they just thought I was a great golfer. Only those who have golfed with me will get the joke. I won 5 rooms of carpet cleaning in the raffle, which I really need, and bid and won a wonderful basket of goodies from Weber Grille. The basket was so wrapped and bedecked with ribbon that I did not understand how grand the item was until I got home. I saw food and only a minimum bid so I upped it. There were 8 different kinds of marinade and a couple rubs. A complete set of grilling tools, Vegetable grilling pan, grilling corn holder, Outdoor placemats, and wine glasses plus matching serving bowl, bamboo skewers, a Fine Cooking Grille Cookbook, Pam Grilling Spray, a lighter, plus it was all in a great basket with a decorative cloth liner.
We used the Teriyaki marinade for the chicken on Sunday. I don’t travel the pre-made aisle often, but thought this was a great thing for campers. The marinade is premade and in a reseal able plastic bag. Put your meat in at home and pack in the cooler. When ready take it out and grille, toss the bag. We marinated the chicken for about an hour. I would say that it was probably as good as the one I had planned to make from scratch. Also with an overload of premade marinades in the pantry now, don’t expect any recipes from scratch this summer. I will however comment on each one as I use it.
I had purchased baby zucchini, baby corn and portabella mushrooms that I was going to wrap in foil packets with a basil sauce for a side. With the new grilling pan, I used a basil EVOO, salt and pepper. They were easy and delicious.
I made, the day before, a Potato Salad with Pancetta, Rosemary, and Lemon from the July Bon Appétit. It is a no mayo approach to potato salad that I found refreshing. The recipe served 8 so I only made half.
5 oz 1/8” thick slices pancetta, about 5 slices
¼ C fresh lemon juice
1T minced fresh rosemary
2t finely grated lemon peel
1 garlic clove, pressed
2/3 C olive oil
3T Yukon Gold potatoes
3 large celery stalks, thinly sliced
2 T chopped fresh parsley
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange pancetta slices on rimmed baking sheet, spacing apart. Bake until golden brown and crisp about 20 minutes. Drain on paper towel and Cool. Coarsely chop. Personally I would cook it less. I thought all the flavor was cooked out.
Meanwhile, whisk lemon juice, rosemary, lemon peel, and garlic in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil. I did the whole thing in my mini food processor and achieved a good emulsion. Add salt and pepper.
Place the potatoes in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover by an inch. Boil with the lid ajar until tender about 18 to 20 minutes. Cool and slice ¼” think. Place in a large bowl and add the celery, parsley, and dressing. Taste and again add salt and pepper to taste. If not serving immediately, refrigerate the salad and the pancetta separately and combine when ready to serve.
Dulce De Leche Cheesecake Bars (the dessert from hell) Serves 24 (Yes really, it is very rich)
I opened up the June Bon Appetite and find this cheesecake recipe that sounds really good. It says that Dulce Leche is popular in Latin American Countries. Annie before going on to being a Principal and now Director of Special Education for the state of IN was a Spanish major and spent time south of the border. Perfect! Bon Appétit says that dulce de leche is available in Latin markets and specialty stores. We have in Manassas a store called Global Markets. It specializes in both oriental food and the other have is south of the border. Well, our SOB people do not request ducle de leche. So unless you live in NYC where apparently the editors were able to obtain it premade, you will have to make it yourself. I had to do a second start, and be forewarned, plan on spending 3-4 hours standing over the stove.
After searching the local stores I went to FoodTV and followed Alton Brown’s Dulce de Leche recipe. Go to FoodTV.com. Go to Alton Browns site and type in Dulce de Leche, 2007. He has a video that is very helpful in case you missed the show. But with my stove I had to constantly change the flame height to keep it from boiling over and simmering. Frankly, if you can find a very good brand of caramel sauce, I think you will achieve the same results.
Crust:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 ¼ C finely ground graham crackers (about 17 whole, I used 18 as they were 9 to a package)
2T sugar
¼ t ground cinnamon
10 T unsalted butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13x9x2” baking pan with the spray. I put the graham crackers, sugar and cinnamon in the food processor and let it rip. When I had fine crumbs I add the butter and pulsed. Press evenly onto the bottom of the pan. Bake about 10 minutes.
Filling:
3 8 oz packages Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature
1 C sugar
3 large eggs
½ C purchased dulce de leche (HA, HA)
2 t vanilla extract
Blend cream cheeps and sugar in processor until smooth and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time and process about 3-5 minutes between additions. Scrape down the sides. Add the dulce and vanilla and blend about 10 seconds. Spread batter over cooled crust. Bake until just set in center and the edges are puffed and slightly cracked about 38 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely.
Glaze:
2/3 C dulce de leche
3T heavy whipping cream
Fleur de sel
Blend the cream and dulce. Mine was still warm, but they suggest using the microwave to blend if it is not. Poor over the cooled cheese cake and spread evenly. Sprinkle with the Fleur de sel. Refrigerate until chilled, about an hour. The glaze will not be firm.
Can be made up to 2 days before, which I did. I did not believe the 24 servings, but it is very rich, so believe it. This would be a very good dessert to make for a large party.
Don’t look for Monday we had leftovers.
Here is my painting that I donated.  This is before matting and framing. 

Saturday potluck

I knew that our host wanted to make smoked meat. They have an amazing smoker. I was watching The Barefoot Contessa and thought that her Greek Panzanella would go with smoked meat. This recipe serves 6.  We had so much food I knew I did not need to increase it.  The wonderful thing about this recipe is that the bread never got soft. 
Ingredients:
EVOO
1 small French boule, cut into 1” cubes, about 6 C.
Kosher Salt
1cucumber, unpeeled, seeded and sliced ¼ “thick
1 red bell pepper, large diced
1 yellow bell pepper, large diced
1 pt. cherry tomatoes, halved
½ red onion, sliced in half rounds
½# feta cheese, cut into ½ “cubes
1/2C calamata olives, pitted
For the vinaigrette:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1t dried oregano
½ t Dijon mustard
¼ C red wine vinegar
1 t salt
½ t freshly ground black pepper
½ C EVOO
Directions:
Heat 3 T EVOO in a large sauté pan. Add the bread cubes and sprinkle with salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently for 5-10 minutes, until nicely browned.
Place cucumber, red and yellow pepper, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl. Whisk the first 6 ingredients for the vinaigrette in a mini food processor. Add the EVOO slowly to make an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta, olives and bread cubes and mix lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.
Everyone liked the Greek Panzanella but there was so much food. The smoked turkey and smoked beef was great. Great evening, but we all have to get up early tomorrow for the Breast Cancer tournament and everyone there was playing tomorrow.

Friday dinner

I have been cooking since the moment I woke up. That was about 10:00AM. I was working on our dinner tonight, preparing for our Pot Luck group tomorrow night and doing a few things ahead for dinner after the tournament on Sunday. We also had our computer guru here to once again try to get Jim wireless in his office. Jim has worked on it for weeks since the last time he was here and told him he had the wrong equipment and told him what to buy. Well, it took him 4 hours. Luckily Jim did a lot of cleaning while I was at the club last night. I was cooking the whole time our guru was here and we are now in good shape for the weekend.
Red Wine T-Bone Steaks (Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Grilling 2)
I only made half as it is just the two of us tonight
4 ¾” thick beef T-bone steaks
1 ½ C red wine (we used Zinfandel)
4 ½ salt-free garlic-herb seasoning, McCormick (I rarely use these “semi-homemade” things, I mixed dried garlic powder and Fine Herbs)
1 T Montreal steak seasoning from McCormick Grill Mates (I used my Penzeys Chicago steak seasoning)
For Red Wine Butter:
1C red wine
1/3C finely chopped shallots
1T frozen orange juice concentrate
1t crushed garlic, finely chopped
1 stick butter, softened
1. Place steaks in large zip-top bag. Add the wine and seasonings. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours.
2. For the butter, in a saucepan, combine the wine, shallots, OJ concentrate and garlic. Reduce mixture over med-high heat to ¼ cup, cool completely. Work the reduction into the butter with a fork; form into a log. Wrap in wax paper and chill until firm.
3. Set the grill for direct cooking over high heat. Oil grate when ready to start cooking. Let steaks stand at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. Remove steaks from marinade; discard marinade. Place on hot, oiled grill and cook for 5-7 minutes per side for medium. Transfer to a platter and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve topped with red wine butter.
I served this with Roasted Fingerling Potato Salad and a small Romaine lettuce salad. The potatoes served 6 so I cut in half, and are from Bon Appetite, June.
2T plus 2 t EVOO
3 # fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
2 green onions, thinly sliced
¼ C fresh Italian Parsley leaves
2 T fresh tarragon leaves
1 ½ T red wine vinegar
1T coarse-grained Dijon mustard
2 hard boiled eggs, peeled, chopped
Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Brush heavy large rimmed baking sheet with oil. I lined the pan with non stick aluminum foil instead. Place potatoes and 2 T of oil in large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss. Arrange potatoes, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Roast 23 minutes. Using tongs, turn potatoes over. Roast an additional 12 minutes. Set aside in a serving bowl. Stir the remaining ingredients except the boiled egg together, spoon over the potatoes. Top with the egg.
This meal was really good. The non-traditional potato salad is now my favorite. Jim loved the steak. I have to say it really was good.
Jim served a 1996 Rosenblum Sonoma Valley Zinfandel. He said we bought it when we lived in ca. It was superb.

Thursday Dinner

Thursday was a super busy day. I had to sort through the refrigerator and figure out what we still had. I needed to use up and then go to the store for the remaining products, plus plan for this weekend of events and company. Luckily I had made the following dish for dinner the day before as it had to marinate to reach supreme flavor. We had lunch late and dinner even later as I was at our club stuffing and alphabetizing the registration envelopes for the breast cancer golf tournament on Sunday. This says 6-8 servings as a side dish. We used it as dinner.  Everyone should have a bean night. 
Dilled White Bean and Grape Tomato Salad
2 15 oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
12 oz halved grape tomatoes
2/3 C diced red onion
¼ C chopped fresh dill
1/4C EVOO
3 T fresh lemon juice
1 T balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, pressed
Toss all ingredients in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper; cover and chill. Make one day ahead for flavors to meld.

Wednesday and I am back

I came home Tuesday late. My neighbor, Jim and I had dinner at a local restaurant. Jim picked me up at the airport and immediately showed me his severed thumb from cooking. I have warned everyone who enters my kitchen that my knives are kept in restaurant quality sharpness. When all hell broke loose in IN, we had just returned from shopping. There were things that would not keep or could not be frozen. I went over the recipes and marked in red how he could make them simpler in order to keep the food from going bad. He started with the prosciutto-wrapped scallops, p. 74 Bon Appétit, June. Cutting into his thumb to divide the scallops created the wound. I have told him over and over to cut into the board. He said, “I knew you would say that and could hear you as I bleed all over.” He did not make the sauce, but called to say it is really time consuming, but good tasting. Next he had to make the grilled Asian Chicken with bok choy, shitake mushrooms and radishes. He did not again make the sauce and this only took about 4 phone calls. Tonight we had the remaining grilled bok choy, radishes and red pepper as I had to either use it or toss. After that, while I was gone, he went out to our club or was invited to dinner by friends that took pity on him. Tonight I was praised for Costco salmon burgers and Chilled Avocado Soup with spicy breadcrumbs.
After writing about the disappointing salmon sliders from Wegman’s a follower wrote to say the salmon burgers from Costco are delicious, and they are! I topped mine tonight with lettuce and pickled ginger. These are a winner on the grille. We had grilled the bok choy, radishes and red pepper. I sprinkled with a little lemon olive oil, salt and pepper. Grilled for about 4 minutes. The soup is as follows:

Soup
1 large ripe avocado, 11-12 oz, halved, pitted, peeled, diced (forget the diced, it goes in the blender)
1 ½ C vegetable broth or more later
¼ C heavy cream
2T fresh lime juice (I whole lime)
Generous pinch of kosher salt
Put all in a blender and puree until smooth. Transfer to a 4C measuring cup and add more broth by ¼ C at a time tothin soup as desired. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.
Breadcrumbs
1 slice of soft white bread with crust
1T butter
¾ t paprika
¼ t coarse kosher salt
¼ t cayenne pepper
Using a 6” pan melt the butter. I put all the rest of the ingredients in a small blender and ground fine. Add all to the butter and cook stirring until crumbs are crisp. It took mine about 4 minutes. I put in a bowl to cool. This was to serve 8-1/3 C servings as an appetizer. I served it in quarters and Jim ate three.
This meal was so simple and I was praised to the high heavens. Jim said that what I consider simple and fast took him hours.  I think the reason we've been married for 45 years may be the saying, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach."
Just to follow up my sudden departure and stay in IN. My Aunt passed away Sunday night. She and my Uncle have been a great source of comfort as my Mother has passed into her own world. I will miss her dearly. My Mother had a great deal of difficulty recovering in the hospital from her surgery and is now in rehab at a nursing facility. Only time will tell whether rehab, or continued nursing, will be her life from this day forward. My two remaining aunts came from Chicago to visit their two sister-in-laws. My cousin Rita drove them down. I have the most beautiful photo of my mom smiling up at her two sister-in-laws taken by my cousin. Aunt Fran was right; she knew exactly who you were. I could tell on her face.
Jim lived. He even made Max’s meatballs while I was gone. Max ate Jim’s prized tomatoes off the vine one day from perfection while I was gone. Yes, I got a call about that also. We also got hit by a golf ball for the first time and a window shattered.  A young man hit the ball 400 yards off the blue tees, but unfortunately he sliced it. They are replacing the window and Jim congratulated the young man. If it had gone straight, he could be on the PGA tour. It wasn’t just a grounder, as it had to clear my neighbors screened in poach with a very tall roof.

July 4th before and after

I had planned tonight to write about our wonderful weekend in PA for the 4th and I still will.
We left on Friday and drove to PA. The drive was slow, but we finally arrived and were treated to a wonderful lunch of salad with Jicama and chicken among other treats by Jane. Bryce served 3, yes 3 rose wines. Jane said she got the recipe from Cooking Light. I honestly can’t remember the rest of the afternoon. Dinner was whole lobsters (what a treat!) and the best Cole slaw which Jane said is sold in the fish department of Giant. Many bottles of wine later, we all went to downtown fireworks in their friend’s yard on the river. The temperature was delightful and I got to once again sleep with a cat at the foot of the bed.
The next morning we were a little slow, but were able to get our acts together to get to Jakes in NJ by noon for a visit with Jim’s cousin Susan and Jim. We then went wine shopping and came home to prepare for a picnic and fireworks. The fireworks are in Tinicum Park in Erwinna, PA and they include music all evening by the Riverside Symphonia. Jane made a fabulous picnic of chicken salad, carrot salad and Chinese green salad. Others brought fabulous appetizers. For dessert we had the best chocolate cookies I have ever tasted and a wonderful blueberry cake. Jane had also fixed a delicious peach cake for our lunch on Friday. For Sunday breakfast, I had both cakes instead of the usual breakfast. Life is short, eat dessert first. Bryce did a spectacular job of our set up at the park. We had a long table with linen table cloths and plastic dishes and wine glasses that looked like china and crystal. We even had flowers on the table. This is my kind of picnic. We had a lovely evening. The weather was again delightful when the sun went over the hill. I am going to post our photo.
On the 4th we went to our friends Carole and Dick. We had a fabulous meal and I will have to post later as Carole and Dick are great cooks and I am sure you will want the recipes. Time is short tonight as I will explain at the end.
We drove home Monday and picked up Max the wonder dog at the end of the day. I had nothing planned but had shrimp in the freezer. I used a Creole dry rub and we grilled the shrimp. We dipped them in Wegman’s chipotle lime butter. They were delicious. I made a impromptu salad of iceberg lettuce, drained and rinsed black beans, chopped zucchini, celery and cilantro. I used Vidalia onion dressing. Pretty good.
Tonight we had Bon Appétit, June, Halibut Fish sticks with dill-caper tartar sauce and Israeli couscous with Asparagus, peas, and sugar snaps. I will have to ask you to go on line to look them up as I am running out of time.  They were very good.  Best fish sticks I have ever tasted. 
You may not hear from me for a while. This has been one of those days. My mother fell and broke her hip. She is almost 90 and has severe dementia. She will be operated on tomorrow AM. We are not sure how well she will recover. My wonderful Aunt Maureen fell ill and had emergency surgery yesterday and it did not go well. I am flying to IN to maybe say goodbye to both.  All has been unfolding all day. My brother just called from the hospital. Said did not look good.

Bad dinner, sorry

I did not like tonight’s dinner at all. Last week or so I bought the Greek turkey sliders at Wegman’s and they were great. I saw in their flyer the Salmon sliders with Asian fruit slaw and decided this would be great. It was not. I am not even going to repeat the recipes.