Pumpkin Party 2011 - Appetizers

The pumpkin party started a number of years ago partly as a way for me to throw myself a birthday party without anyone bringing me cards and presents. As an only child and only grandchild and end-of-the-family-line in all manner of consideration, my birthday already garners ample attention from my relatives. The other factor is just that while summer offer the prime weather months for entertaining, there's really so much to do outside to have time to plan a big party. But when everyone's home from their summer vacations, and the days start to get damper and darker, that's the season when I like to start sorting through recipes, firing up the oven for baking blitzes, and quashing the doldrums with a great group of friends.
Thus gestated the Pumpkin Party.

The gist of the party is to wear festive fall colors, decorate the house with gourds and candles, and eat from a menu where some form of pumpkin, squash, or similarly vibrantly-colored food is incorporated into every dish. Pumpkin Party menus from years past are posted here and I try not to make do repeat some of my favorites every year. 

Click on the menu for a larger, legible version. This post is about the snacks,
check later posts for recipes for the dinner and desserts.


For example, I absolutely adore the Curried Pepitas, and think they are fabulous for snacking, but also are terrific sprinkled on salads. They would be delicious atop a butternut squash bisque or cauliflower chowder. They have the satisfying crunch of nuts, without being quite so rich. And the spicy saltiness makes them an excellent accompaniment to cocktails or beer. For some reason, no one has ever seemed as excited about these as I am. Will tells me he appreciates them as a condiment, but would never bother to snack on them alone. Finally this year, a friend's husband who hadn't attended the party in the past scarfed these down even faster than I do and I finally feel vindicated in my love for them. I can't imagine a pumpkin party without these somewhere on the menu. This year, I just had them out in a bowl alongside drinks.

Other munchings included kalamata olives, and a pumpkin-bean dip with carrots and pita chips. Any beans would work great in this dip; I've previously made a black bean-pumpkin dip (great for Halloween!) and cannelini or pinto beans would both also be good for their soft texture and mild flavor. I selected cranberry beans because I think their colored striations are so appealing, and also of-the-season. Of course, none of that is visible once they are blended to a paste and mixed with pumpkin puree! But the name paints a visual picture that contributes to the taste almost as much as the actual flavor in the mouth.

Cranberry Bean and Pumpkin Dip
makes about 4 cups
1 cup dried cranberry beans, soaked overnight in cold water
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds, freshly ground (or 1 teaspoon powdered)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup vegetable broth

Rinse soaked beans and cover with 1 inch of water. Bring to simmer, and cook covered over low heat 25-35 minutes until soft.
Drain, and transfer to food processor. Add pumpkin and seasonings. Puree, adding broth by the tablespoon until mixture blends smoothly and is desired consistency. I like mine as smooth as possible, but you can leave it a little chunkier if you prefer. Serve with chips, crackers, or crudites.

I'll share about the rest of the repast in upcoming posts, so check back soon!

What's Fresh

I had a friend over for dinner recently, and did something I never do: I didn't plan the menu ahead. I knew I was going to make some type of pasta dish, because it's fairly quick and very versatile, but otherwise I was going to wait and see what looked good at the farmer's market (which rather inconveniently, didn't open until 3 p.m. the day of the dinner.)

This isn't news to many of you, but if you use what's fresh and delicious, your meal will be too. So even without hours of putting together exactly the right pairings of recipes, and meticulously shopping for specific ingredients, we had the best dinner of the week by using what was most colorful at the market.

In a not-especially-European way, we started with a green salad and cheeses. We had picked up two local cow's cheeses - an aged gouda from Appel Farms and some incredible Pluvius from Willapa Hills Farmstead. Gimme somoooore please! The green salad was from an enormous head of specialty lettuce, of which I don't recall the name but whose leaves were large, arugula-shaped, and slightly bitter. With a diced fresh nectarine, some crunchy green bell pepper strips, sweetened-toasted sliced almonds, and a tangy balsamic vinaigrette, we probably could have ended our meal happy right there.

 

But that would leave our other produce market treasures longing for their turn in the the limelight - or was it lemonlight?



I have made this lemon-ginger fettucine for guests before, and something about it just seems incredibly unique to me. I don't know why, because lemon and ginger are a classic pair, as are ginger and carrot. Perhaps it's because ginger is such an Eastern ingredient and pasta is such a Western one? Or because carrot "ribbons" are an unexpected format for a usually diced, chopped, or shredded vegetable? In any case, unique or not, it is delicious. And since I've made it before, I know how to play with it, so below is the version I made this time.



For dessert, I made a batch of my plum wine sorbet (see "Middle Eastern Menu" entry for October 3, 2010). I still had some dough in the freezer for date-anise cookies and sugar cookies, so baked a sheet-ful of each of those for delightful and so-simple accompaniments. I love having home-made cookie dough in the freezer, so I can have a fresh-baked dessert for company with practically no effort.


Lemon-Ginger Fettucine with Carrots and Squashserves 4

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
4 medium carrots plus green tops
1 pattypan squash (5-6 inches across)
8 ounces fettucine
1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese
1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Using a vegetable peeler, scrap carrots into thin "ribbon" strips - you can try to make them narrow to match the shape of the pasta, but I like them wide so they are colorful. Dice the sqaush into 3/4" cubes. Chop the carrot greens. (If you aren't able to get the whole carrots with the tops, use parsley instead.)

Melt the butter in a large skillet.
Cook pasta according to package directions. Stir in the zest and ginger. Add the carrots and squash, stirring to coat, and saute about 5 minutes over medium. If the pasta isn't ready yet, reduce heat to low to prevent butter from burning. When pasta is ready, use tongs to transfer the noodles to the skillet and toss with the vegetables. Stir in ricotta cheese, lemon juice, carrot greens, and reserved pasta cooking water (about 1/2 cup) to moisten the mixture. Heat everything through completely and stir to mix well and make a creamy sauce. Season with cracked pepper and serve sprinkled generously with parmesan.

Chestnut Cheesecake and a French Fantasty Repast

We are planning a trip to Provence, so when I came across this recipe for Roasted Chicken and Potatoes Provencal, the day before having a couple of friends over for dinner, it seemed like the perfect way to get even more into the spirit of planning. The recipe is another from Tony Hill's Contemporary Encyclopedia of Herbs and Spices, and in line with my previous experiences, this did not disappoint. He writes that much of the pleasure of this recipe comes from how easy it is to prepare, and I have to agree. My friends were coming over at 7, and I wasn't due home until 6, so I needed something that I could get ready in advance and Will could pop in the oven for me. I dressed the chicken in the morning and the aromatic fragrace was already filling the kitchen by the time I got home.

The potatoes are par-boiled and when the chicken comes out (it needs to rest before carving), in they go to the very same roasting pan to turn golden in the drippings and herbs from the chicken. Since they're already cooked, they only take about 10 minutes in the oven, and I prepared a separate pan of asparagus with lemon, garlic and butter that snuggled up next to the roasting pan during those last same 10 minutes. Garnish the asparagus with pine nuts and fresh basil while Will slices the chicken and we have a delightful Provencal feast.

But no feast is worth writing about without the perfect dessert with which to finish. When we were in Paris, there were Chestnuts everywhere; roasted on open grates at streetcorners, glazed in pastry shops, and pureed into sweets and savories of all kinds. Bonne Maman makes delicious james and jellies that are readily available in grocery stores here, so when I found the rare jar of Chesnut puree in a specialty store, I snatched it up. And I had the perfect way to incorporate it for this meal! A hold-over recipe from the holidays, Chestnut Cheesecake by Nigella Lawson.

I made some substitutions based on what I had (not necessarily because of personal taste preference), so I'll post my version here.

Chestnut Cheesecake
serves 12

For Crust
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
couple shakes (or better yet - passes across the grater of fresh) nutmeg

Blend all ingredients in food processor. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9" or 10" springform pan, first wrapping foil around the exterior of the pan.

For Filling
8 oz cream cheese, softened
8 oz neufchatel cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup plain yogurt (mine was fat-free)
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon dark rum
12 oz sweetened chestnut puree (I used Bonne Maman brand)

Preheat oven to 400. Blend cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add yogurt, and flavorings. Mix until combined. Add chesnut puree, and mix until well blended, or if desired, leave streaks for a marbled effect.

Pour batter into prepared crust. Place pan into a roasting pan and fill with water one-inch up sides of cake pan. Bake for 60 minutes, or until top is set, and starting to turn golden around the edges, but still wobbly in the center. Remove from water bath, and foil, and cool on rack, then refrigerate overnight.

You can see how soft the center is from this photo; it has plenty of structure but a
silky creaminess that is really excellent. If you prefer it more firm, don't bake it in the
 water bath; that will also give it a crispier crust, but you risk the top of the cake
cracking which is not as pretty and it doesn't bake as evenly that way.

Note that the recipe calls for a drizzling sauce. I made this as directed, but didn't find it syrupy at all, even after steadily boiling for 10 minutes. I don't think added anything to the dessert, so even if it was thicker and glossier, like a caramel sauce, I don't think I'd bother with it again. The cake is delicious as it is, with the right amount of sweetness.

Our meal was delightfully complemented by a 2006 Cabernet Franc from Walla Walla Vintners, which I highly recommend.

Roast Chicken Provencal
One 5-pound roasting chicken, rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon grey salt (or Kosher salt)
5 tablespoons Herbes de Provence
1 large lemon, washed
1 pound yukon gold potatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. With a mortar and pestle, or between your hands, crush herbes with salt. Coat chicken with oil, and rub with herbes inside and out. Stuff with lemon cut into quarters. Place on rack in roasting pan. Bake 90 minutes, or until thermometer in thigh is 160 degrees. Remove rack and chicken, cover chicken with foil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Meanwhile, parboil potatoes cut into 2-inch wedges. Place in roasting pan in drippings, and return to oven for about 10 minutes until golden.

Roast Asparagus
1 pound asparagus
1 large clove garlic
olive oil
1/2 large lemon
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup pine nuts, chopped
4 large leaves fresh basil, chiffonaded

Wash and trim asparagus. Lay in even layer in baking dish. Grate garlic over and spread evenly. Squeeze 1/4 fresh lemon over. Brush with a light coat of olive oil. Roast for 12 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove from oven, stir, and toss with butter cut into small pieces, and pine nuts. Return to oven for 2-3 minutes, until butter is melted and nuts are toasted. Just before serving, squeeze remaining 1/4 lemon over and sprinkle with fresh basil.

Magnifique!!

Ginger & Soy-Glazed Salmon with Cilantro Cabbage Slaw and Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

These recipes come together very quickly for a delicious, impressive, attractive, healthy, and cohesive menu. I made it for two of us on a weeknight, but I would certainly prepare this for company as well. The salmon marinade gives it great flavor, but are strong enough that it doesn't need to rest - just brush it on and cook. The slaw can be chopped and mixed while the potatos are cooking, and the potatos can be mashed while the salmon is cooking and in 30-40 minutes, you have a fantastic dinner.

Ginger-Soy Glazed Salmon
serves 2
2 portions salmon fillet
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4" width fresh ginger root, grated or minced
2 teaspoons soy sauce (I use reduced-sodium)
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
2-3 drops sesame oil

Mix ingredients (except salmon) with small whisk and brush onto salmon fillets. Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes, or grill.

Wasabi Mashed Potatoes
serves 2
2 medium-sized red potatoes, or 6-8 red fingerlings
1 tablespoon wasabi paste, or to taste
splash of broth
splash of milk
splash of cream

If using larger potatoes, cut into smaller pieces so that they will cook evenly. Boil until easily pierced with a fork, about 8 minutes. Drain, add liquids and mash. Stir in wasabi to taste.

Cilantro Cabbage Slaw
serves 4
1/2 a head of napa cabbage, grated or thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into stripes and then diced
1 tablespoon seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil

Whisk together oil and vinegar. Toss with remaining ingredients.

Do-Ahead Dinner for Casual Company

I have a lot more time to cook and bake than I used to, but even when you have all day, it is always crunch-time when your guests are at the table and dinner hasn't quite finished cooking. I love menus that benefit from my ability to organize and plan ahead, so that I'm not fussing with food prep instead of friends.

Soups and stews are great for just this reason; many taste even better when they've been made in advance and have time for flavors to meld. Of course, not all dinner parties are going to be an appropriate venue for soup as the main course, but for having friends over on a chilly fall evening after work, a hearty bowl of steaming soup can be the perfect centerpiece for conviviality!

This menu was made all-the-better because not only did I prepare the soup the day before, but the salad also suggests making-ahead for maximum flavor-melding. The cookie dough I made two days ahead, and refrigerated in a log; then removed from fridge when we sat down to eat, and sliced and baked after dinner so that fresh, crispy cookies from the oven coincided exactly with the time we were ready for a little dessert.

My selections were Red Lentil Soup, Curried Cauliflower Salad, and Black Pepper Cookies. Since my guest asked what she could bring, I ask for bread and a beverage, and she brought a delicious loaf of Grand Central Baking Company Como.

The Red Lentil soup is from Greg and Lucy Malouf's Turquoise cookbook, which my dad bought as a gift for my mom shortly after they returned from a trip to Turkey. I've oft heard Malouf speak on the radio, and his recipes have appeared in some of my other favorite sources, so I trusted his expertise. Plus, the photos are rich, and even the surrounding story-telling is above-par for what I might expect from a cookbook cum travel-log.

This is the recipe as printed:

Red Lentil 'peasant' soup with sizzling mint butter

2 T olive oil

1 large onion

1 carrot, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t ground cumin

1 t hot paprika

1 t sweet paprika

1 T tomato paste

7 oz red lentils

1 1/2 quarts chicken stock

1/4 cup fine bulger

1 vine-ripened tomato, cut into quarter and seeded

salt and pepper

2 oz unsalted butter

1/2 t dried mint

1/2 t sweet paprika

lemon wedges

Heat oil over low heat in large heavy saucepan. Stir in onion, carrot, and garlic, then add cumin, hot paprkia, and 1 t sweet paprika and saute 5-8 minutes, until vegetables soften.

Stir in tomato paste, and cook for a minute. Add lentils and stock, and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over medium for 20 minutes, stirring periodically.

Stir in bulgur. Dice tomato, then add to pan, season with salt and pepper, and simmer 10 minutes.

When ready to serve, ladle into warmed serving bowls. Quickly heat the butter in a  small frying pan until it foams, then add remaining paprika and mint. Swirl the sizzling butter into each bowl of soup and serve with wedges of lemon.

Notes: I only had one type of paprika, so substituted it for all that was called for in the recipe. I added one cubed baking potato at the same time as the bulger; this was unnecessary, and untraditional, but I had it on-hand, and knew it wouldn't have any adverse effects. I don't think it added anything, but carbs and calories. I didn't bother with the fresh tomato, since they're typically not very good this time of year anyway. I made the mint-butter, but I don't think it added much either. Will disagrees: he thought it was both attractive and sophisticated. I didn't notice it visually, and the flavors were lost to me given the other yumminess of the soup.

Finally, I made this a day before up until stirring in the bulger. At that point, I removed it from the heat, and refrigerated. Byt the time the soup had sat overnight, then reheated to boiling and 10 minutes of simmer just before dinner the next day, it was delicious and lovely. A wedge of lemon with serving would have been really perky, but I forgot that part.

Curried Cauliflower Salad
I loved this salad. I think it's beautiful from all the colors and textures, and seasonal for both summer and winter meals. When I make it next time, I will make the cauliflower florets a little smaller, and the bell pepper pieces bigger. The peas, apricots, and cashews will still be tiny bursts of flavor, but it was hard to get a mouthful of multiple ingredients with the cauliflower pieces as big as I left them (I thought they would be more attractive if larger, but the smaller ingredients fell to the bottom of the bowl.) Otherwise, the only thing I did differently from the recipe was to grate the ginger instead of matchsticks. I did use about half of the "finishing glaze" called for, but I think it's probably unnecessary.

Black Pepper Cookies
From Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Knopf, 1965)
These are a bit of a cross between a buttery-sugar cookie and a ginger snap. The flavor is spiced, but different from other spice cookies, and the texture is much lighter and more delicate. I found the dough easy to work with, both when I rolled it, and when I simply sliced it. Plus, the fact that they can be baked right away without chilling the dough first is a bonus. These are a great all-purpose cookie with a perfect texture that would go well with many ice creams and sorbets.

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup butter
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons powdered ginger
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Sift together flour, baking powder, peppers, and spices.

Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in the egg. Then mix in dry ingredients on low, until evenly incorporated. Divide dough into three pieces and roll out to 1/8" thick and cut with cookie cutters, or roll into a log and slice into 1/8" thick slices. (Use dough at room temperature, not chilled.)

Place 3/4" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Baking 10 minutes until lightly browned, and cool on racks.

Washington's Bounty Hors D'Oeuvres Buffet

I developed this menu for an event where I agreed to cater all the refreshments, but where I was also a guests, but not the hostess. This complicated set of criteria meant that 1) it all had to be ready in advance, so it could be transported to the venue 2) it all had to be finger-food so as to avoid the need to rent or wash flatware 3) it had to be substantial enough that guests coming from 6:30-8:30 would feel they had their evening meal. I didn't want anything that needed last-minute garnishes or dipping sauces or elaborate serving methods. I also wanted to showcase local Washington products (indicated with an asterisk), since the guest of honor was from the East Coast.

Smoked Salmon* and Shrimp "Sushi" Stacks
Portobello Mushroom* Tartletts
Tortellini and Tomato Towers
Squash Salad Skewer with Jonagold Apple* and Beecher's Flagship * Cheese

Cranberry* Turtle Bars

Dilettante* Chocolates

Washington* Wines and Sparkling Water

I was expecting 20-25 people, and planned 60 pieces of each of the above.

Portobello Puffs (Mushroom Tartlets)
3 sheets puff pastry (from 2 17-oz packages)
1 pound portobello mushrooms, finely chopped (or your other favorite mushrooms, I used "baby bellos" from Costco)
1 large shallot, finely diced (minimum 1/2 cup)
3-4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sherry or dry white wine
2 teaspoons dried basil or 2 tablespoons fresh
salt and pepper

Melt butter in large skillet. Add mushrooms, shallot, and basil (if dried) and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Pour wine into edge of pan, stirring quickly to ensure all of filling is coated before wine evaporates. Stir in basil (if fresh). Remove skillet from heat. Salt and pepper to taste.

Filling can be refrigerated after this step for three days.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut puff pastry into 1 1/2 inch squares. Arrange on baking sheet, or press lightly into mini-muffin cups. Bake 8 minutes. It will not be done. Remove from oven and top each pastry square or cup with 1 teaspoon mushroom mixture. This step can be completed in the morning and then the final baking completed just before serving. When ready to serve, finish baking at 400 degrees an additional 6-7 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Cheese Tortellini and Grape Tomato Towers
These store and travel especially well.
1 1/2 pounds bite-sized tortellini (preferably cheese, in case you have vegetarian guests)
1 pound grape tomatos
1 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Even if you don't usually add oil to your pasta water, it is important to put in about 2 teaspoons for this, so that the pieces don't stick together, or your appetizers will be a mess.

Shake together oil and vinegar in a jar.

Drain cooked tortellinis, and toss with oil/vinegar. Allow to cool enough to handle. Then use regular toothpicks to skewer one grape tomato and one tortellini so that the tomato rests in the hole of the pasta.

Smoked Salmon and Shrimp "Sushi" Stacks

I doubled this recipe for sushi rice and made it twice. Line a jelly roll pan (12" x 18" x 1") with saran wrap and press rice firmly and evenly into pan. Use a sheet of saran and a stiff spatula to tightly pack the rice into the mold. Allow to cool.

Remove rice sheet from pan using saran wrap as handles. Place on a flat surface such as a cutting board. Cut rice in to 1 1/2 inch squares.

Using a tiny spoon (or a pastry bag) dollop about 1/4 teaspoon (or to taste) of wasabi mayonnaise on center of each rice cake square. Top with a flake of smoked salmon or a shrimp.

Using kitchen shears, cut nori into thin strips, about 1" long by 3/16" wide. Garnish each piece of seafood with a strip of nori.

Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Keep covered and refrigerated until ready to serve. Can be made two days in advance. The nori will soften but it will hold it's shape and it's flavor.
Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Keep covered and refrigerated until ready to serve. Can be made two days in advance. The nori will soften but it will hold it's shape and it's flavor.

4 dry cups of rice (such as California short grain, like Niko Niko), prepared for sushi.
1/2 pound hot smoked salmon
1/2 cup salad shrimp
wasabi mayonnaise (mix 1/3 cup mayonnaise with 1 tablespoon wasabi paste or to taste, plus 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger or to taste)
6" strip of nori (dried seaweed)
1 tablespoon toasted white or black (preferable) sesame seeds

 

I was able to stack my platter with two layers of these, separated by a foil doilie.

Squash Skewers
2 pounds butternut squash cubes
2 large sweet, crisp eating apples (such as fuji) cut in cubes approximately the same size as the squash.
8 ounces firm cheese such as Parmiganio-Reggiano, Smoked Gouda. I used Beechers flagship which is like a white cheddar.

Toss the squash and apples together in just a little bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast at 425 for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Cut cheese into slices just thick enough to not break apart. You can make it more decorative by putting a fancy edge on the slices with a pastry wheel or a butter slicer. Depending on the flavor of the cheese, how strong, or salty it is, you may want slightly larger or smaller slices.

Using a toothpick, spear a cube of squash, a slice of cheese, and a cube of apple.

I made cranberry bars because cranberries are a big agricultural product of Washington state, but many bar cookies are both easy to make, sturdy, and make a large number.

With pecans and bourbon, this recipe brought together some of the best of the northwest with some traditionally Southern specialties to honor the southerners at the event.
Cranberry Bars
Makes 48
For Crust
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Blend dry ingredients in food processor. Add butter and pulse until pea-sized lumps form. Line 12 x 18 x 1" pan with foil. Grease sides of foil (not bottom.) Press dough firmly and evenly into pan. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes, until lightly golden.

For topping
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh (or frozen) whole cranberries
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons bourbon
1 cup pecans pieces, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped

Soak dried cranberries in bourbon, pressing down and mixing periodically. Meanwhile, melt butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat and stir in sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Boil over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until caramel registers 245°F on thermometer, about 8 minutes. Carefully stir in whole cranberries, then boil until caramel returns to 245°F. Remove from heat and stir dried berries, soaking liquid, and pecans, stirring until well coated. Working quickly, spread caramel topping over base, using a fork to distribute nuts and berries evenly. Cool completely.

Cut bars into 3" squares, then in half to make triangles.

Summer Rainbow

I wish I'd done a better job photographing this meal, because it was the most festive, summery, fresh, and balanced meal I did all season. 

Grilled Halibut with Peach-Tomato Salsa

Drizzle a couple tablespoons of lime juice over halibut filet, then salt and pepper and allow to rest an hour or two.

For salsa, dice 1 peach, 1 tomato, 1 jalepeno (or to taste), handful cilantro, and mix with a teaspoon of lime juice and season with salt.

Lightly brush grill with olive oil, then grill fish until flakey and white all the way through. Serve with salsa.


Cabbage and Corn Slaw with Cilantro-Orange Dressing (recipe here)

 

Balsamic-Feta Barley

Saute ½ cup chopped onions in 1 tbsp olive oil.

When becoming translucent, add ¾ cup barley to coat with oil.

Stir in 1 -2 cloves minced garlic.

Add one can chicken broth, cover, bring to boil, then simmer for 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, dice 1 large tomato. Toss with 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1-2 tsp olive oil, and pepper to taste (do not use salt, as the broth and the cheese will be salty). When barley is cooked through, toss with tomato and refridgerate. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup crumbled feta and serve chilled or at room temperature.

Entertaining a Pescatarian

One of our friends is a pescatarian (vegetarian who eats fish) and she was bringing her new boyfriend to meet us for the first time, so I wanted a delicious dinner that would impress, but also be easy to prepare in advance so I could spend all my time getting to know him. I decided to make Yucatecan-Style Grilled Mahi Mahi and I developed this starchy side and green salad to pair with the flavors:

Corn and Sweet Potato SaladServes 6

2 small sweet potatoes or 1 large
2 ears of corn (preferably yellow, for color)
2 carrots (preferable purple, for color)
½ fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded
½ jalepeno, minced

Dressing:
2 T olive oil
1 T fresh lime juice
¼ t kosher salt

Dice sweet potato into small chunks and boil/steam just until tender (about 10 minutes).

Grill corn on the cob until some ears are starting to blacken. Cut kernels from cob.

Half carrots lengthwise, then crosswise in slices.

Mix dressing ingredients together, then toss all ingredients in dressing.


Arugula Salad with Peaches

3 T. olive oil
1 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 t. kosher salt
4 oz arugula
2 small, ripe peaches, peeled and sliced *
2 T. spiced pepitas **

Mix 3 dressing ingredients together with a whisk, or I like to just put them in a jar, screw down the lid, and shake it vigorously.

You can mix this salad together in a bowl, but it's prettier (and not too time consuming for only four servings) if you plate it individually. Toss the sliced peaches in 1/3 of the dressing just to coat. Separately, toss the arugula in the remaining dressing. Arrange peach slices in a fan atop a serving of greens, then sprinkle with pepitas.

* Peaches (and tomatoes too) can be dipped for a couple of seconds into a pan of boiling water, and then plunged into an ice water bath to make them easy to peel. However, I've found that when peaches are ripe-ready to eat, they peel very easily without this step.

** Trader Joes sells pepitas in the nut section, and they can be purchased in the bulk food section of natural foods markets.

Middle-Eastern Menu

A couple summers ago, we made plum wine with some friends.  We don't really enjoy drinking this vintage, but I knew I could figure out something else to do with it. I was thinking of a salad dressing or marinade, but I ended up instead developing a recipe for sorbet.  I made it first for family and it was a huge hit, so because of the story behind it, it became one of my favorite things to make for guests in the summer.  Recently, we were having another couple to dinner on a Monday night, and I wanted to make the sorbet for them. Along with the plums, the flavoring is heavily spiced of cinnamon and peppercorn, so I wanted to build a menu around those rich, warm flavors (also developed by the still sunny but briskly oncoming fall weather of Seattle September).  I also wanted recipes that I could shop for and prepare somewhat in advance since I wouldn't have a ton of time to fuss around after work, and that would create a main course as impressive as dessert. I succeeded. These items all come together so quickly, and cook for such a short period to time, that it is quite easy to get on the table with minimal time away from your guests but a lovely presentation.

Moroccan Style Lamb and Carrots with Chickpea Puree (click here).
These carrots roasted in a simple oil dressing were outstandingly delicious, and were just as good cold and again reheated the next day. The recipe calls for a pretty high ratio of oil mix, I would cut it about by half. And make sure to check the thickness of your chops - mine were almost 2 inches thick, so needed more time.

Note: my back-up entree was Lebanese Chicken. I ended up making this for myself the next day, and the rub was excellent, but the flavors didn't really infuse the meat, though as an entree, it also would have worked well in this menu.


Turkish Zucchini Pancakes (click here).


Cous Cous with Toasted Pistachios and Golden Raisins
Cook the cous cous in chicken broth, then stir in toasted, chopped pistachios (or pine nuts) and drizzle with olive oil. Be sure to allow guests to salt to taste.

Plum Wine Sorbet with Cornmeal Cookies

The recipe for the plum wine is:

1 12-oz bottle plum wine (ours was homemade, by a recipe our friends found online)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
2 3-in cinnamon sticks
20 peppercorns
1 T lemon juice

Simmer ingredients together until sugar dissolves. Cover and chill overnight. Strain into ice cream maker and follow manufacturers instructions.

Unlike many homemade ice creams, this sorbet stays soft in the freezer, although it melts very quickly.

Serve with cookies. Instead of patting the cookie dough into rounds, I roll it into a log before refrigerating, then simply cut the log into slices and bake. I like smaller two-bite cookies, especially for company after a larger meal.