Friday, September 4, 2009

Heather's Summer Seasonal Night

My inspiration for this dinner night was the fresh ingredients I see all the time at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market. I wanted to do a simple menu based on summer ingredients since many of them are only in season for a few months.

Grilled Shrimp with Corn, Tomato and Basil (Courtesy of Glamour Magazine)


Place 16 large cleaned, deveined shrimp (tails on!) in a bowl with 3 tbsp. olive oil and 1 clove minced garlic; marinate 30 minutes. Meanwhile, boil 3 ears husked corn in a pot for 3 to 5 minutes. Cut kernels from cobs. Mix with 2 cups chopped tomatoes, 2 tbsp. olive oil, 8 slivered basil leaves, salt and pepper. Remove shrimp from marinade; season with salt and pepper. Grill shrimp until cooked through, and place over salad. Serves 4.

K: Thumbs up. It was so light and refreshing.
N: Thumbs up! Who knew such a great recipe would come from Glamour.
R: Thumbs up. I’m giving magazine recipes a chance now.
H: Thumbs up – Absolutely delicious!

Peach-Strawberry Margarita (Courtesy of Margaritas, Mojitos & More by Jessica Strand)

1 lime wedge
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 cup crushed ice
¼ cup peeled, cubed peach, plus 1 slice for garnish
2 teaspoons Simple Syrup
¼ cup hulled, quartered strawberries, plus 2 whole for garnish
1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1 ounce gold tequila
1 ounce peach schnapps

Moisten the outer rim of a chilled margarita glass with the lime wedge. Spread the salt on a shallow plate and dip the glass in the salt, covering it with a light band. Set the glass aside.
In a blender, combine the ice, peach cubes, simple syrup, quartered strawberries, lime juice, tequila, and schnapps. Blend at high speed until smooth. Pour into prepared glass. Spear a strawberry, then the peach slice, then a strawberry. Garnish with the fruit spear.

Heather – These were so fresh and summery. I felt like I was on vacation drinking them. They were easy to make as well.

K: Thumbs up.
N: Thumbs up – loved the summer fruits.
R: Thumbs up.
H: Thumbs up


Fresh Mozzarella and Stacked Heirloom Tomato Salad with Green Chile-Cilantro Oil and Chipotle Vinegar (Courtesy of food network)

Heather – So we’ve done the tomato, mozzarella and basil combo a few times now but never with heirloom tomatoes and since they are only in season during the summer months, I thought it would be a perfect addition to the menu. These were very easy to put together and looked really professional and tasted great! I couldn’t really taste the chipotle too much in the vinegar.

K: Thumbs up the sauces were an interesting combo.
N: Thumbs up.
R: Thumbs up.
H: Thumbs up

Couscous with summer vegetables and herbs (Courtesy of Seasonal Food by Susannah Blake)

Serves 4.
2 yellow bell peppers, cut into large chunks
2 red bell peppers, cut into large chunks
9 oz cherry tomatoes
2 zucchinis, thickly sliced
5 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
Pinch of sugar
1 cup couscous
1 cup boiling water
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)
1 tbsp. chopped fresh mint leaves
Large handful of fresh parsley, chopped
Large handful of fresh basil, torn

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Put bell peppers, tomatoes, and zucchinis in a large baking dish, drizzle 2 tablespoons of the oil over them, season well with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, tossing once or twice, until tender and slightly charred.
Meanwhile, prepare the dressing. Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, sugar, and 2 ½ tablespoons of the oil, and season to taste with salt and pepper, then set aside.

Put the couscous in a large bowl, blend in the remaining oil and a pinch of salt using a fork, then pour in the boiling water. Let it stand for 5 minutes, then fluff up with a fork. Add the roasted vegetables and any juices from the dish to the couscous along with the feta, and sprinkle with the mint, parsley and basil. Pour in the dressing, then toss to combine well and serve either warm or room temperature.

K: Thumbs sideways. I would leave out the mint next time.
N: Thumbs up! Loved the combo of couscous and veggies, and have made this a couple times since.
R: Thumbs up minus the mint. I usually don’t care for couscous, but this was really good.
H: Thumbs up – minus the mint and parsley.

Grilled Skirt Steak and Peaches (Courtesy of Food & Wine Magazine)

Rissa - I typically don’t like fruit in general unless it’s in a dessert with some sort of cake, SO I had to gear up for this dinner night! When I heard about steak with peaches, that was pretty odd to me. Heather is privileged to work right next to an amazing farmers market so the peaches looked perfect for this recipe (even to me). The sauce was really good and you don’t even need to marinade overnight which is nice (I would probably not scrape it off the steak before grilling). Because it was pretty zesty and with a little spice from the jalapeno, I think it actually paired well with the peaches! My only thing is that we used a grill pan for this recipe which I would not recommend. There is no substitute and the peaches and steak did not “char” as much as I would prefer if done on a regular grill.

K: Thumbs up- I thought the sauce was so yummy. However, I agree with the other girls, I would use a different cut of meat…perhaps filet.
N: Thumbs sideways – I liked the meat and peaches combo, although the meat was a bit tough for me too. I tried it again with chicken for better results, and a different cut of beef would probably work better.
R: Thumbs up..would try flank steak next time!
H: Thumbs down – The meat was way too tough for my preference.

Old-Fashioned Strawberry Ice Cream (Courtesy of Rachael Ray Magazine)

Nicole – This is a delicious and an easy ice cream recipe, and a good way to use up a lot of strawberries. The recipe says to mash the strawberries with a fork, but I found it much easier using a potato masher.

K: Thumbs up.
N: Thumbs up.
R: Thumbs up.
H: Thumbs up

Blueberry Pie (Courtesy of AllRecipes.com)









Nicole – This pie was extremely easy to make – just mix everything together, and pour it into the crust.

K: Thumbs down (Disclaimer- I would say that to almost any fruit pie)
N: Thumbs up.
R: Thumbs up. I liked it and it was so easy!
H: Thumbs sideways – This was a little soggy. I’m sure I could find a better recipe for blueberry pie.