When life gives you lemons...

... you take pictures of them.

Yeah, taking the night off from a recipe post.  Just thought I'd share with you some citrus!

Be back tomorrow for regularly scheduled programming...

Good-bye Summer!

The temperature has literally dropped like 40 degrees since Saturday.  It's a beautiful 58 F outside right now.  It's the first morning I've had to actually put on a sweatshirt to walk around the house.  And it feels amazing!

I'm still dreading going back to work after a nice and relaxing long weekend, but the bills gots to be paid, right?!  Anyway, in honor of letting summer go, I'm leaving you with a bowl of summer.  Because from here on out, the food is gonna get "comfy" and hearty... just like fall intended it to be!

No real recipe here.  Just combine your favorite fruits of summer (in my case, just simply green grapes and chunks of watermelon), and get your snack on!

I'll be back tomorrow with something less-lazy... I promise!

Foodbuzz 24x24: A Book Club Dinner

"I could not stop talking because now I had started my story, it wanted to be finished. We cannot choose where to start and stop. Our stories are the tellers of us. " 

-Chris Cleave (Little Bee)

Every month, I randomly submit a proposal to Foodbuzz's 24x24.  And every month, with the exception of this one, I get an e-mail that says something along the lines of "thanks for submitting, but we've chosen someone else".  So I was completely surprised that this month, I got a "Congratulations!  You've been chosen..."  type of e-mail. 

My proposal?  Well, I'm in a book club.  There's 7 of us and we each take turns picking a book and picking a place to congregate.  Most of us will just pick a restaurant to meet at, but you know me - I'd rather just cook for them than go out for a meal!  So I proposed to a have a book club dinner!  

Originally when I submitted the proposal, I wanted to base some of the meals around food discussed in the book - Little Bee by Chris Cleave.  But that was before I even started reading our book!  So after reading the book and realizing that it barely talks about food at all, I was kind of thrown for a loop.

But then I thought about one of the main characters, Sarah.  She's an editor for a fashion magazine and so I wanted to create a meal that someone of her "stature" would eat.  And something that my book club girls would equally love, of course!

So let's get to it...

For an appetizer, I decided to pair feta cheese, watermelon, and basil together for a unique crostini.  My girls all thought that watermelon was an odd pairing with basil, at first... but after having a few crostinis, they were quickly convinced it was delicious!  

And for a main course, I did a bourbon BBQ grilled rib-eye over a cabbage, pea, & apple slaw.  I even made my own steak sauce (courtesy of inspiration from the latest Bon Appetit issue!)

For dessert, I had a few leftover treats from my bake sale that happened in the morning, so I just served those!  

 

Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal, and I even had a few people ask me about the steak sauce.  It was definitely a winner in my book.

And about the book... we all agreed that we weren't big fans of it.  To us, it basically didn't go anywhere.  There were so many things the author could have done with it, but just didn't.  I don't know, I need more action in my books!  But don't take my word for it, read it for yourself and decide - just like food, opinions on books differ from person to person too =)

Scroll down for some recipes from the book club dinner!

Feta, Watermelon, & Basil Crostinis:

Crostinis (yeah, I bought pre-made crostinis, but you could easily make your own with a baguette!)

Watermelon, sliced thinly into 1x1 inch squares

Feta crumbles

Basil, chopped

Place feta on top of crostinis.  Top with a slice of watermelon and garnish with basil.  Eat!

D.I.Y. Steak Sauce:

Adapted from Bon Appetit's recipe

 

1 head of garlic, halved horizontally

2 shallots, sliced

1 red bell pepper

1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon porcini powder (I couldn't find this, so instead, I bought dried porcini mushroom and ground them with a spice grinder - then used 1 teaspoon of that)

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Place garlic and shallots in a make-shift aluminum foil bowl (pretty much just place the garlic on a flat sheet of foil and fold edges upward around them).  Drizzle them with a little bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast in oven for about 20-25 minutes.

While the garlic is roasting, you can roast your Red Bell Pepper on the stove (assuming that you have a gas stovetop - if not, you can always fire up the grill - because you'll be grilling steaks anyway, right?)  Place over an open flame for about 15-20 minutes, or until charred on all sides (Mindy over at The World In My Kitchen has a GREAT how-to on this)  Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let cool for about 5 minutes, or until you're comfortable with handling them.  Scrape off the charred bits with a knife.  Chop the top of the pepper off and remove the seeds - and bam.  You've got a roasted red pepper.  Roughly chop.

Once the garlic and shallots are done roasting, let it rest until cool to the touch, about 5-7 minutes.

 

Pop the garlic out of it's casing and you're ready to use it!  Throw all of the ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Strain - and bam! (why do I keep saying that?!) you've got a delicious steak sauce on your hands!

Bourbon BBQ Ribeye Marinade:

Adapted from Cooking 4 Carnivore's recipe

1 cup bourbon
8 tablespoons ketchup
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons soy sauce
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Sriracha
1 tablespoon paprika
salt and pepper, to taste
4 bone-in ribeyes

In a medium bowl, combine bourbon, ketchup, olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, Sriracha, and paprika.  Season slightly with salt and pepper. 

Place ribeyes in a deep tray and pour marinade over top.  Refrigerate and marinate for at least 2 hours.

Heat a charcoal grill under medium high to high heat and grill ribeyes to desired doneness - about 10 minutes each side for a medium rare/medium. 

Let rest for about 5 minutes and slice against the grain.

Cabbage, Apple, and Pea Slaw:

1/2 green cabbage, shredded
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and julienned
1/2 lb. sugar snap peas, shelled
4 slices black forest bacon, cooked and chopped
1/2 cup mayonaisse
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar

In a small bowl, combine the mayo, vinegar, and sugar until smooth. 

Place cabbage, apple, and peas into a large bowl and toss.  Pour the mayo mixture over top and mix well.  

Mix in bacon pieces and serve.

This was seriously one of the best coleslaws EVER.  I may never make coleslaw differently again.  Seriously.

And a big THANK YOU to the book club girls who were able to make it (we're minus 2 in this pic) - and check me out rockin' the Foodgawker t-shirt =)

So thank you so much to Foodbuzz for the opportunity to actually conduct a 24x24!  I always read about the fantastic dinners and ideas for dinners that the rest of the Featured Publishers have every month, and it's a great honor to be in a part of this group now! 

Watermelon Lemonade

Fall is setting in and summer is almost left in the dust.  I'm sure you can still find watermelons for a little while longer.  This was a perfect quencher for the hot summer days, and it seems to be a nice drink for these hot fall days, as well.  It's kinda weird, the weather.  In the mornings when I leave for class, I find myself having to wear a hoodie or a sweater.  But as soon as it hits the afternoon, it's bloody darn hot outside!

I'm not complaining though, because this is my favorite season.  Fall is where the leaves change color (the perfect backdrop for any photo!). The temperature drops ever so slightly, but not enough to make you hibernate inside.  It's actually GREAT to be outside in the fall.  I find that my wardrobe definitely reflects the fall, and I'm glad I can take out all those clothes that have been in hiding for the past few months!

What about you guys?  What is your favorite season? 

Ingredients:

1 medium sized watermelon, seeded and cut into cubes
1 cup water
2 lemons, seeded and juiced
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
ice

In a blender, combine all the ingredients, except for the ice.  Strain, if necessary.

Fill a large pitcher with ice, about halfway.  Pour in mixture from blender.

Serve in glasses and allow your thirst to be quenched while it's still decently hot outside!

How easy is that?  Extremely!  And once you've had it, you'll be making it all the time!  I'm a fan of regular lemonade, but when you throw watermelon into the mix, I'm all in!  Enjoy!


P.S. Here's our weekly CSA! 


2 lbs. apples
2 lbs. sweet potatoes
1 acorn squash
3 hot peppers (aren't they gorgeous?!)
2 lbs. summer squash
1 french baguette

Great stuff this week and if I make it to round 3 of Project Food Blog - you'll definitely get to see a lot of it in action!  So I guess that was a segue way into letting you know there's still time to vote for my Challenge #2 Entry on the Azores! Thanks for all the support, once again!  And hopefully you'll be hearing about a Luxury Dinner soon enough!

Watermelon Daiquiri

Well Happy Friday! I've got a 3 day weekend this week, so I'm actually ecstatic for today to be Friday! And to my utter joy, I made Foodbuzz Top 9 today too! So thanks guys!

I think I'll just spend my 3 days off catching up on sleep, cleaning the house (maybe), and just spending some time with the dogs!

It's no surprise that it's been hella hot these past few weeks of summer. And for some reason, the heat makes me want to drink. Or maybe I use that as an excuse. But nonetheless, I've gotten a wee bit creative with my drink-making skills. So out came this watermelon dacquiri using some ingredients we had around the house.


Ingredients:

2 cups watermelon, seeds removed and cut into cubes
crushed ice
1-2 shots coconut rum (or regular rum if you're not feeling the coconut)

In a large glass, combine the watermelon, crushed ice, and rum. Blend with an immersion blender until thick in consistency. At this point, you could strain the liquid if you don't want the texture of the watermelon in there, but I chose to keep it because I was lazy and I liked the watermelon bits. Pour into two glasses and drink up!

This was quite refreshing. Of course you could always just make watermelon slushies by omitting the rum, but I think the rum gives it an extra tropical feel, and makes it so it doesn't seem to be too hot outside. Enjoy! And happy weekend everyone!

Flaky Fish Sandwich

How was everyone's weekend? Ours was pretty great, especially considering I had the whole weekend off, and that we only have one more week to go before our vacation week begins. It's more of a stay-cation... but it's a much needed vacation off from work. Hopefully we'll get some things done around the house and I think we're planning on making a couple short out of town trips.

We went to a wedding this weekend and it was absolutely gorgeous. It was one of those outdoor, backyard weddings... except it was at a multi-million dollar mansion and the backyard was more like "grounds". But it was absolutely stunning. Kind of made me want a backyard wedding... it would be easier for one... lower on the budget, it would be different. The plans will come together eventually and our day will be special regardless, but that wedding just put into perspective the amount of planning, money, effort that goes into an event like that.

Anyway, a few weeks back, a pharmacist I work with had given us some bass that his family had caught and we didn't quite know what to do with it. Then I saw a great recipe from some fish sandwiches and knew that it would be the perfect match. I also received these Nature's Pride buns from Foodbuzz and thought I'd give them a shot in these sandwiches.

Ingredients:
Adapted from Food & Wine's June 2010 issue - 'Crispy Fish Sandwiches w/ Herb Remoulade'

2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1/2 cup fromage blanc
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
juice from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
2-3 small Sweet Gherkins, minced
small handful italian parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon tarragon
salt and pepper to taste
4 whole wheat hamburger buns, toasted
1/2 to 1 lb. small bass fillets
lettuce and sliced tomatoes, for serving

In a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil under medium high heat. Turn heat down to medium and add the panko and toast for about 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown. Turn off the heat and add the old bay seasoning and stir until well incorporated. Transfer the seasoned panko to a plate and set aside.

To make the remoulade (which is similar to a tartar sauce), mix the fromage blanc, mustard, lemon juice, tabasco sweet gherkins, parsley, and tarragon in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste and store in fridge until needed.

Heat a large skillet under medium high heat and add remaining olive oil. Season bass fillets with salt and pepper and add to skillet. Cook until white throughout, about 2-4 minutes per side, depending on the size of your fillets. Ours were really small, so it was more on the 2 minute side. Place finished fillets on a plate until you're ready to assemble your sandwiches.

To put together the sandwich, toast the buns and smear one side with a good amount of remoulade. Place some lettuce and a sliced tomato on the other bun. Press each fillet carefully into the panko and transfer to the toasted bun atop the lettuce and tomato. Close sandwich and eat!


I liked the way the fish was breaded in this recipe. It was just enough seasoning to add some depth of flavor to the dish. It wasn't greasy like a normal fried fish sandwich is, and the fish was flaky and fresh. The buns were perfectly sweet and made for a great sandwich. Enjoy!

And let's not forget what I've done with the rest of my CSA items this past weekend: Watermelon Basil Sorbet, Fresh Bruschetta, Watermelon Vodka Cocktail

Watermelon Basil Sorbet Ingredients:


1/2 sweet beauty watermelon (about 2-3 cups), chunked and seeds removed
about 10 fresh basil leaves, minced
juice from 1 lime
2 tablespoons mango vodka
3/4 cup simple syrup
kosher salt for garnish

Place watermelon and basil in a food processor or blender and pulse until well combined. Transfer to a medium bowl and add lime and vodka. Mix well and carefully add simple syrup (basically an equal portion of both sugar and water brought to a boil and allowed to cool). Place mixture in ice cream maker and continue according to machine directions. Serve with a slice of watermelon and a small pinch of salt.

Fresh Bruschetta Ingredients:


1 hot dog bun, flattened and toasted (yes, I said hot dog bun lol)
7 to 10 gourmet cherry tomatoes, quartered
3-5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine tomatoes, basil leaves, garlic, salt, and pepper in small bowl. Drizzle with desired amount of olive oil. Serve on top of toasted hot dog bun. (it's all the bread I had in the pantry, hehe)

Watermelon Vodka Cocktail Ingredients:


1-2 cups watermelon, chunked and seeded
2 shots mango vodka
ice
1 tablespoon sugar

In a large cup or bowl, puree watermelon with hand blender. Strain watermelon juice into another glass or bowl. Add 1-2 shots vodka (I went for 2 because hey, it was sunday) and mix in sugar. Shake or stir and pour over ice in a tall glass!