It's My Party....

I wanted to have friends over and it's just impossible in summer to have a weekend when everyone is in town, so I used my birthday to just pick a date and throw a party!  The beauty of throwing your own party?  Well if you love to cook it means, you can be totally controlling and turn down offers of "what to bring" and make everything yourself. 

I had inspiration for my food - Paris!  I'd come away from Paris with a fascination for simple, and yet, flavorful foods.  My party menu combined this desire for simple foods with my love of local and organic foods. Everything was homemade or locally made from artisan foodies in the Salt Lake City area.

Party Menu:
Flatbreads and Crackers

• Smoked Fish Dip
• Olive Tapenade
• Bruschetta

Tartines

• Roasted Tomato and Herb Chevre
• Pea and Herb Cream Cheese
• Butter, Radish, and Black Salt

Salads

• Quinoa, Swiss Chard, and Pine Nut
• Roasted Beet and Goat Feta

Meat Platter
Cheese Platter
Desserts

• Vanilla Cream and Berry Tarts
• Lemon Curd Tarts

Drinks

• Beer from Epic and Uinta Brewing Company in Salt Lake City
• Wines
• Bourbon Slushes

Getting ready for a party takes preparation.  I had my menu broken down for the three days before the party into which pieces I could do ahead of time.  For example, I was able to roast the pretty beets below a day ahead.  Check out those pretty white and pink beets!

I made the crackers and flatbreads the night before also.

The Crackers were very fun to make, it takes a little time, but they are simple. I used the Rosemary Flatbread and Multi-Seed Crackerbread recipes from King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking cookbook.

I was able to make the Olive Tapenade and Smoked Fish dip the day before and keep them in the fridge.  The Smoked Fish Dip used fish caught and smoked by my dear husband.  The Bruschetta I chopped up that morning.  Using both yellow and red tomatoes, really make it pretty.

Tartines are something I took away from Paris.  I do dearly hope these would make the Parisian's proud.  They were good!  Tartines are one piece of bread with a spread of some kind and a single layer of meat or vegetable.  I am sure this is an oversimplified definition!

I used some loaves of Ciabatta and Mixed Seed bread from our farmers market.  The first one layers an Herb Chevre from Drake Family Farms, in Utah, with Roasted Tomatoes and thinly sliced basil.

The second, tartine used an herbed cream cheese, topped with pea shoots, and fresh shelled peas.

And the third, was inspired by a wonderful tartine I was served at Caffe Niche in Salt Lake City. This tartine had thinly sliced radishes, on top of creamy salted butter, and topped with black salt.

The star of my salads was the roasted beet.  How could it not have been wonderful with those beautiful beets? The Goat Feta cheese was also from Drake Family Farms.  They have a stand at the downtown farmers market in Salt Lake City and the flavor was perfect, not too strong to overpower the beets.

What a summer party without BBQ?  But really, it's as summer party, this nice cool menu was perfect and everyone loved this plate of local artisan sausages from Creminelli.  This plate consisted of the Capicola, Tartufo Italian Salami, and the Barolo Italian Salami.  This plate was gone at the end of the night!

The cheese plate was equally wonderful.  This plate consisted of the Snow Canyon Edam and Zwitser Gouda from Rockhill Creamery in Richmond, Utah; the Seahive cheese from Beehive in Uintah, Utah; and a 3 year aged cheddar from our trip to Wisconsin!

Does that bring us to the tarts! I definitely came from Paris with a love for beautiful desserts that weren't quite as sweet as their American counterparts.  The tarts were done over many days.  I made the Vanilla Cream and Lemon Curd on Wednesday; the tart shells, Thursday night, and I put the tarts together Friday afternoon before the party, with enough time to chill and set for a couple hours.

I used the Vanilla Pastry Cream, Lemon Curd, and Pate Sucree (tart shell dough) recipes from Martha Stewart's Pies & Tarts cookbook.  The berries were from the Salt Lake City farmers market the previous weekend and the organic edible snapdragons were from Colorado, by way of Whole Foods.

This menu was perfect, because when the last guest arrived the final plate was prepped and set out.  All I had to do all night was visit with my wonderful friends and remember where I'd set my drink down!

Thanks to my Mother-in-Law and BFF Teresa for the flowers that were perfect for my party!  And, thanks to my friends who honored my wish to make everything and just came to help assemble plates or brought wine, the perfect gift!

Savory Tarts

With summer upon us, I believe one of the best ways to highlight the fresh flavors of our vegetables is in a savory tart!

I was reminded of this by Martha Stewart the other day as I made my lunch and I used her recipe as a guide to create my own tart that very night.

I watched her make the Tomato Tarte you can find on her website, here.  Of course being me, I thought "Well I would like to add Swiss Chard and fresh corn to that dish." and "I don't want to go to the store for Comte cheese.  Yes, I think it will work!"  You can find Martha's recipe at the link above, but I want to provide some thoughts on how you can use this recipe as a guide for your own creation - although it is hard to improve on Martha!

Knowing this, I didn't even mess with the roasted garlic base.  Really, there isn't anything better than roasted garlic.  If you grow garlic, or have access to heads of it from your farmers market, you should be roasting some!

Now I believe this tart really can open itself up to many vegetables.  I had a beautiful head of Swiss chard in the fridge so I chopped that up and sauteed it.  I also had the first fresh corn of the season.  I took one ear and grilled it lightly before cutting the kernels off the corn.  But, I'm pretty sure there would be room for kale and possibly peppers in this tart.

I used white cheddar because that is what I had, be creative with your cheese.  A simple feta topping would have been perfect also.

One last hint, don't be afraid of the crust.  Use the food processor and even spice it up by adding some herbs.  I used Whole Wheat Pastry flour and added some thyme to my crust. 

This made a great dinner and the next day it still made a special lunch, sided with some fruit.  Treat yourself to a special dinner and lunch over and over again through the summer with this fresh vegetable tart. 

Memories and Strawberries

From a young age, I knew from where my food originated. I helped my maternal grandmother plant potatoes and pick rhubarb and apples. I picked strawberries with my paternal grandmother. I weeded and planted gardens with my Mom. We fished for pan fish, trout and salmon on Lake Michigan, smelt and sucker’s during their runs. I was a part of animals being raised for food, whether it was chickens, pigs, cows, or rabbits. Both my grandparents were dairy farmers, I knew what real milk tasted like as I grew up and how early farmers were up and "at ‘em".

I recently visited my parents for a lovely long weekend in June, and all those memories came rushing back as I went to pick two buckets of fresh strawberries the morning after arriving. The best thing about picking strawberries is eating every sixth berry or so. We gorged on those strawberries and ate them all in the next 4 days! We used them on cereal or with yogurt for breakfast, snacked on them, and made desserts out of them.

This simple activity of picking strawberries clarified for me the main reason we are putting our efforts this spring and summer into moving to a different community. It is possible to grow things in the high desert, but it is hard. There are no lush strawberry fields, no apple or peach orchards, or farm stands from local farmers, or CSA’s. Also, the organic produce if found is iffy. Did you know strawberries are in the top 10 fruits and vegetables that have the most pesticides in them? I believe in quality food and I need to be in an area where food is grown, harvested, and enjoyed, all locally.

The first dessert we made with our strawberries was this Cold Strawberry Pie. This pie is a favorite of my husbands. This is a Cooking Light recipe that I make almost every year, and you can find the recipe by clicking on the above Cold Strawberry Pie link.

I’ll leave you with the recipe for the second desert we made, of which I did not get a picture. This cake would be perfect for your Fourth of July celebration, it was very good and easy!

Frozen Strawberry Layer Cake

• 1 ½ pounds, hulled and sliced strawberries (about six cups)
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 T. lemon juice
• ½ t. salt
• 2 store bought angel food cakes cut into ¼ inch slices (the recipe called for one, but that would not have been enough for my layering!)
• 4 cups fat-free vanilla frozen yogurt or vanilla ice cream

 Directions

Strawberry sauce: combine strawberries through salt (I added a bit of orange rind and some almond extract at the end), stir until sugar melts and it comes to a simmer. Simmer 15 minutes, mashing about half the berries when done. Cool to room temperature.

In a 9” springform pan, layer 1/3 cake, ½ frozen yogurt, ½ strawberries. Layer again and top with final third of cake. Cover in plastic wrap and freeze at least 6 hours or up to 3 days. Let the cake stand at room temperature 5-10 minutes before unmolding.

Note: If you don’t have a spring form pan, an angel food pan would work. My Mom cut this recipe out of one of her WI papers, probably either the Manitowac Herald Times or Country Today.

The night before I picked strawberries it rained. The smell of that moist, sweet, warm strawberry field was intoxicating and full of smiles as I remembered my childhood, and particularly picking strawberries and then watching while my grandmother made strawberry jam. I knew how good that jam was going to taste in winter as I put, yet another, fresh picked strawberry in my own mouth.

For the Love of Beets

You may think, it's not beet season... but, it is beet green season!  Who doesn't love a vegetable that is two-in-one?  I know, I know, many people aren't beet lovers, as crazy as it sounds, but it's true.  In this post I am talking to the beet lovers among us.

This could be called "Taking Requests Two", since a review of good ways to use beets was requested along with the kale request.  So here goes, you'll be ready for the whole beet season, from greens to roots.

I adore beets, they just make me happy!  But, I fear you'll find my use of beets boring.  I use them pretty simply, not much of a recipe required.  I welcome those of you that have other beet recipes to share them with us in the comments.

 

This picture was taken from the Tucson Community Supported Agriculture newsletter from January 9, 2012.

Beet Greens

• Saute w/eggs- In a previous post I talked about my favorite lunch.  It's basically a saute of vegetables and an egg or two, maybe some feta cheese sprinkled on top.  This would be great with beet greens.  I simply use whatever vegetables I have in the fridge, it's often just onion, celery, and arugula, spinach, kale, or beet greens.  The constant is some form of green!
• Saute 2 - This is not a recipe, but my favorite dinner, when my husband is gone and it's just me is a very simple Roasted Potato and Beet dish.  I simply dice and roast a couple beets and one potato.  Then I throw it in a saute pan with some garlic and a whole bunch of beet greens on top.  The beet greens melt and I have a wonderful savory meal.  Don't forget the course salt to taste!
• Quiche - I haven't done this, but I think a quiche with beet greens, fennel, and mushrooms would be perfect, perhaps with a cheese combination of feta and provolone.  I would probably go with the rye pie crust I found for this!

The Beet Root

• Slaw - Back in May I posted a beet slaw recipe for you.  This is a great way to use raw beets.

• Pickled - I've also previously posted my favorite recipe for quick and easy pickled beets.

• Pizza - Yes, pizza!  I posted this recipe for a Roasted Beet pizza last year.

• Salad - I have had versions of the following salad in restaurants and enjoy it.  Arugula, roasted beets, and goat cheese.

As you can tell, I love roasted beets in a variety of ways.  I like to use raw beets for salads and my preferred way to do greens is to just quickly melt them with some olive oil, garlic and salt.  What's your favorite beet dish?

 

Cookies and Appreciation

I've been trying to remind myself lately to appreciate where I am at this moment.  Who hasn't wished they could do that just a little more often?

It all started as I hiked to this viewpoint  a couple weekends ago, took off my hiking boots and took out my book thinking, hmmm not a bad place to spend an hour.

So while I have a cookie recipe to share today, I'll also share some of the recent places I've enjoyed recently.

Aren't these red cactus flowers pretty?

Cookies are the perfect recipe to share with this post because who doesn't really appreciate the perfect cookie?  I took these camping last weekend and I think everyone in the group enjoyed them.  Even with the sneaky "healthy" stuff I snuck into them, the whole bag disappeared!

I had to find some way to use the Macadamia Nuts I brought back from Hawaii this spring.  They've been patiently sitting in my refrigerator waiting for me to decide.

I think I have it hard, these little yellow flowers work hard, against all odds, to shine bright in the desert!

Oatmeal White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

(Based on the Eating Well Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe)
Made about 40 cookies

2 cups regular rolled oats
1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup tahini
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup unrefined sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Whisk dry ingredients, oats thru salt in a medium bowl.
3. Beat tahini and butter until blended into a paste.  Add sugars and continue beating until well combined.  Beat in eggs, vanilla and almond extracts. 
4. Stir the oat mixture into the wet mixture with a wooden spoon until just moistened. 
5. Stir in chips and nuts.
6. Using a 1 or 1 1/2 inch scoop, scoop cookie dough onto parchment paper and flatten a bit, placing two inches apart.
7. Bake the cookies until golden brown, about 16 minutes.  If you have two sheets of cookies going at one time, switch them half way through.  Cool on the pans for 2 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

If you have not invested in scoops yet, do it now!  I love these things for cookies and anything else I can think to scoop.

This is my view as I walk to the grocery store, isn't it lovely?

Mmmm, a plate of cookies.

What view or item did you appreciate in your day today?

Taking Requests - Kale

I've had a request to talk about some of my favorite Kale recipes.  Which means someone really is reading my blog and knows I love Kale!  Aren't we so lucky that Kale has such a long season?  It is hardy so you can plant it early, but then you can also plant it late summer and munch all fall!  Sometimes longer depending on where you live.

My sadness is there is no fresh Kale around me at the moment.  I mean Smith's has it, but it's pretty iffy and definitely not organic, so I'm going to have to resort to a review of yummy sounding recipes versus grabbing you with bright pictures.

Easy ideas:

1. Don't forget to add handfuls of  chopped greens to any soup you make.
2. Back in January, I posted this review of a Bacon and Butternut squash pasta with Kale.  But you say, it's not really butternut squash season.  Substitute what you have, such as zucchini or asparagus! 
3. I know it's not really a recipe, but last June I posted about one of my favorite ways to use Kale, sauteing it with eggs for my lunch!  I just adore sauteing kale with any other veggies I have in the fridge and an egg.  If I feeling special I'll crumble a little feta on top!
4. Of course, you can't miss out on the currently popular Kale chips.  There are many recipes for these crisp, salty chips, but here is one from Steamy Kitchen.
5. Kale is good in a salad, it softens a bit, but doesn't wilt as quickly as other greens.

Next I'll share the kale recipes that are in my to try pile.  As I look at recipes I always make the assumptions that fresh beans or vegetables can be substituted for canned and meat can be subbed or left out.

1. White Bean and Sausage Ragout with Tomatoes, Kale, and Zucchini from Cooking Light
2. Barlotti Minestrone from Cooking Light
3. Here's a great looking Roasted Potato and Kale Curry from 365 Days of Kale.
4. I'm after pretty much every recipe on this list of 15 Kale recipes from Serious Eats.
5. I'm also all over this list of Kale recipes from Martha Stewart, especially the Lemony Kale Salad and Kale Crostini with Parmesan.

All of this being said, what's my next Kale recipe to do this weekend?    A Kale and Leek Quiche.  No, I don't have a recipe to share as it's in my head right now, but doesn't it sound good?

In short, Kale can be treated like you would any green, such as Spinach, and basically I suggest putting it into everything!

Slaws

Memorial Weekend seems like the perfect time to talk about how to easily keep veggies in your fridge all summer with the perfect veggie salads.  I suggest embracing slaw.  Now, many of us immediately think of cabbage, and depending on where we grew up our cabbage slaw was dressed with either a creamy or a vinegar based dressing, but I am using slaw to describe this kind of salad and in that description, we can open our mind to all sorts of vegetables and dressings.  And, we don't need nearly as much sugar as most traditional recipes list.

I will admit,  I had a point in time in which I was trying to make sure we were always getting enough vegetables, always reaching for vegetables in place of other foods to help us lose weight and become healthier.  At that time, the book Cooking Thin with Chef Kathleen, Kathleen Daelemans, opened my eyes to slaw.

If you are limited on time and that is your main excuse for not eating enough good food, then definitely, buy the prepackaged carrots, coleslaw, broccoli slaw, whatever you can find already shredded in the store. Then all you have to do is add any vinegar and seasoning you desire.  Another time saver is a mandolin.  Those are the handy kitchen appliances that help you to evenly slice your veggies.  But please, always pay attention to the location of your fingers to the blade!

But, if you have the time, or maybe you need some calm, consider looking at the chopping of vegetables as a zen experience.  I have a mandolin and realized this winter I never use it.  I like the feel of the knife.  I like taking the time to slice up my vegetables and I find it to be very calming. 

If you are laughing at me nervously right now, because there is no way you would find chopping vegetables calming when you could be doing something else - then pull that bagged veggie out of the fridge - ASAP!

I have three slaws to share, but use these as inspiration, realize that you can change the flavors by using different herbs and vinegars.  These are more guides than recipes.

• Always just adjust the amount of veggies based on what you have or desire.  For one person you may want a smaller bowl.  But slaws will last quite a few days and in addition to a dinner side, they make a great afternoon snack or lunch!  For lunch you could take any of these and put them in a pita pocket with tuna or sliced chicken breast or tofu, whatever your preference.
• Parsley, cilantro, and mint will all give you different flavors. 
• You can use sherry vinegar, red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, golden balsamic vinegar, or whatever you have in the pantry. 
• What other vegetables could you use?  The question is really what couldn't you use!?!  In addition to the below vegetables don't forget about celery, kohlrabi, fennel, cucumbers, napa cabbage, and peppers.

Spicy Carrot Slaw (Based on Kathleen Daelemans Quick and Spicy Carrot Slaw in the Cooking Thin cookbook linked above)
1/2 c. raisins or dried cranberries (optional)
2 T. red wine vinegar
1/4 c. fresh lemon or lime juice
1/4 t. paprika
1/4 t. cumin
1/8 t. cayenne (less or more, depending on your sensitivity to spice)
2 T. olive oil
4 c. grated carrots
About 1/2 c. chopped mint

Plump up raisins by covering them with boiling water and letting them sit while you put together the salad.

Put the carrots and mint in a bowl.  Whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, oil, and seasonings, add to carrots along with the raisins and mix.  I preferred this after a couple hours, but the flavors were very fresh and it could be served immediately.

Beet and Apple Slaw (Based on Kathleen Daelemans Apple and Raw Beet Salad in the Cooking Thin cookbook linked above)

Yes, beets still taste like beets, but the Granny Smith apple in here along with the ginger pair perfectly to mellow the beets out.  Oh, and have I mentioned I love beets?

1 t. grated ginger
1 pound beets grated
1 granny smith apple grated
3 T. Golden Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 t. course salt
1/8 t. cracked black pepper
1 T. olive oil
1-2 T. chopped parsley or mint, depending on what is growing well in the garden (optional)

Mix together the ginger, beets, and apple.  In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, salt, pepper, and oil and add to the slaw.  Add herbs, if using, and mix together.  You can serve this immediately or keep refrigerated.  I really liked the flavors after they had mellowed for a couple hours.

Jicama Slaw (Adapted from Ellie Krieger's Southwestern Slaw from The Food You Crave.  This is a great cookbook by the way.)

1 jicama, peeled and julienned (you may want less than a whole jicama depending on it's size)
1/3 head red cabbage thinly sliced
1/3 head green cabbage thinly sliced
2 green onions thinly slice (white and green parts)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
1 T. lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

Toss together all vegetables and herbs.  Whisk together the dressing components and mix in.

What's my favorite part of these types of salads?  The color!  Wow, I loved how these salads made the table and our plates pop with color.