Fresh Tart

I cooked my brains out this weekend and loved every minute of it.  See Saturday's results -  icy cold gazpacho, as well as poached eggs over potato pancakes - below.  Both are new favorites, and why not?  Crunchy, creamy, salty.  Pretty much everything I crave.

So where, you might wonder, are the pics of Sunday's pork ribs, coleslaw, crushed potatoes with garlic & preserved lemon, and mini-burgers?  Well...

...I hate to say it, but the Annual Super Duper Shubert Coopster July 4th Celebration meal went largely unphotographed.  Turns out, I am terrible at entertaining and taking pictures at the same time.  Cory Shubert took the pics above and below - thanks man!

Luckily I possessed a no-fail pork ribs pic from when I posted the recipe on Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly mag's blog a few weeks ago.  If you look hard enough, you'll see that these are everyone's favorite ribs, falling-off-the-bone-tender with a crusty, spicy-sweet glaze.  It's harder to see that they're ridiculously easy, making them the perfect party food.  But it's true.  If you give them a try, let me know.

I'm kicking myself for not snapping pics of the coleslaw and crushed potatoes - you'll just have to take my word for it that both turned out so pretty.  I added sliced cucumber, quartered cherry tomatoes, and crispy bacon to the coleslaw.  Good move, I recommend all three additions.  The recipe for the excellent potatoes, via The Pioneer Woman (with the addition of garlic and preserved lemon), is below.  You could boil the potatoes a couple of hours ahead of time, keep them at room temperature, then crush (crash!) and roast them right before sitting down to dinner.

For dessert, Suz brought her now-famous blueberry kuchen, one of the best desserts on the planet.  Also easy (see a pattern?) - make it now through the end of the summer, when blueberries are at their peak.  Serve warm with a scoop of melty ice cream - fireworks in your mouth and a real crowd pleaser.

If you make it, take a pic and send it to me!

So there it is.  Another 4th of July, another summer celebration.  We swam, we sipped, we grilled, we ate.  We laughed our butts off, doused ourselves in bug spray, and hauled our chairs out onto lovely Interlachen Golf Course for fireworks.  The rain held off, the fireworks dazzled, and we made our way home to bed.  Oooh.

Aaaaaaaah.

I hope you all had a great 4th!

Crash Hot Potatoes
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Serves 6

12 whole new potatoes
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. chopped rosemary (or other fresh herbs)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 of a whole preserved lemon, seeds discarded, minced (I find jars of whole preserved lemons at Whole Foods)
coarse salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F.  Bring a pot of salted water to boil.  Add potatoes and cook them until they are fork-tender.

While the potatoes cook, add heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add the rosemary and garlic and saute until garlic is fragrant and just softening, about 4 minutes.  Stir in preserved lemon and set aside.

Drizzle the remaining 2 Tbsp. of olive oil on a baking sheet and spread evenly.  Drain potatoes and place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.

With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly crushes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and crush lightly again.  Spoon a bit of the garlic oil on each potato, using all the oil.  Sprinkle the potatoes lightly with salt.

Place potatoes in the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.  Grind black pepper over the hot potatoes and serve immediately.

"Oh, this pool is as warm as a Turkish Bath!" - Sullivan Shubert, age 8, in response to How's the water Sully?, July 4, 2010
"I love these hamburgers so much I want to marry them, but the funeral won't be long after..." – Sullivan Shubert, age 7, regarding mini-hamburgers, July 4, 2009
"They start big but end fast, like a good sneeze." - Sullivan Shubert, age 6, explaining fireworks to Cooper, July 4, 2008
“Wow, those would make Vivian feel fancy!” – Sullivan Shubert, age 4, regarding super-sparkly fireworks, July 4, 2006

Hello friends!  Yes, I'm still here, still cooking, despite falling way behind on taking pics and posting.  Like everyone, we are in full summer mode and that has meant non-stop entertaining and dining out, whew. Funny thing, you'd think that since I step up my cooking game for guests that I'd have more to write about, but lately it just hasn't panned (pun!) out.

Whirlwind overview of recent tasties, I hope it inspires a fun night out or some barbecue fun at home:

Last Thursday night, John and I broke out of our usual groove and headed over to Bradstreet Craftshouse, in the Graves 601 Hotel, for the finest drinks in the Twin Cities.  We had some nice food too - mini burgers, marinated vegetables - but Bradstreet is all about the drinks, highly crafted and beyond delicious.  I particularly loved the Juliet & Romeo (Plymouth gin, lime, mint, cucumber, rose water), refreshing with just a hint of sweet, perfect on a 90-degree day, ahhhh.

 

 

 

 

 

Last Friday night, we were invited to a Farewell to D'Amico Cucina (at least in Butler Square) Dinner with Debbie and Stu The Wine Genius Williams and Genie & Joe Dixon (as well as Genie & Joe's daughter-in-law and son, Twyla and Joe Jr.).  Lord what a feast, completely immoderate, ah well. I (over) indulged in seared foie gras with fresh figs (badly pictured above) and the most seriously kill single ravioli I have ever encountered.  Filled with smooth-creamy ricotta, and a whole egg, I cut into it to spill cheese and yolk into the browned truffle butter drizzled at the edges of the plate.  Oh yes, beyond decadent, luckily small portions, I won't say more, uff, except it appears the D'Amico Cucina team will soon be taking over the Chambers Kitchen.  When one door closes, another opens...

Saturday, we...golfed.  Yes, golfed!  I just started playing, oh about a month ago, John doesn't play at all, but we golfed anyhow, with our kindly neighbors Kasey & Dan Hatzung, in our neighborhood's "Better Half Invitational," hosted by Ellen & John Skahan and Lindsay & Dave Polyak.  Such fun, such non-serious golf, we had a complete blast, topped off by a lovely party at the Polyak residence.  I brought an appetizer - a thin-crust "pizza," lightly topped with pancetta, caramelized onions, tomatoes, and fontina cheese and served at room temp - and enjoyed the buffet of gorgeous appetizers brought by all the golfers.  Yum, I do love myself a pot-luck buffet...almost as much as my husband does...

Monday night we hosted my cousin Peter, his wife Kristin, and their adorable - adorable! - twin three-year-old daughters Emily and Erin.  Stacey and Cooper were here too, to dig in to garlicky pork tenderloin, tsatsiki (yogurt sauce with cucumber, garlic, and dill), grilled pita bread, a giant Greek salad, and Suz's to-die-for blueberry kuchen for dessert (she served it to me on Friday Afternoon Coffee with Suz.  I crave it - bonus, it's a breeze to make...).

Tuesday night, Kim The Maven of Mischief and I snuck out to Barrio Tequila Bar for mid-week tasty drinks and Mexican snacks.  Crab empanadas, potato-chorizo tacos, and shrimps grilled on sugar-cane skewers didn't put a dent in their fine menu, but put us in a fine mood nonetheless, completely making up for the fact that I didn't make a res (which the annoying hostess gravely told me was a BIG mistake - ugh).

Tonight, no entertaining, but a recipe I'll (re)post, in case you're looking for a tasty appetizer for weekend entertaining.  Crab cakes, baby, this version from our friend Carol Mack via Andrew Zimmern, is a stellar recipe.  The focus is the crab (not breading), tender in the middle, crispy on the exterior, not too thick, not too thin.  Basically, Perfect Crab Cakes.  For a twist, tonight I stuffed them in toasted buns (moderate it: cut the middle out of the bun to make it much thinner, spritz with nonstick olive oil spray, then toast) and giggled that we were having Krabby Patties for din.  Sauteed kale - fresh from my veggie share, likely picked this morning - alongside, a nice foil for the richness of the sandwich.

And this weekend, ah yes, another party, woo hoo!  I'm counting 15 of us at this point, including my bro David, for a big ol' 4th of July Barbecue.  I'm planning pork ribs, mini-burgers (with home-made mini-buns, I'll let you know how they turn out...), broccoli salad, garbanzo bean salad, potato chips (Cape Cod 40% reduced fat kettle-cooked chips are seriously yummy), and bing cherries, along with snacks by the pool (guacamole, raw veggies, and tortilla chips), along with dessert (compliments of Suz), along with cold beer and wine, along with fireworks on the golf course...  Ooh, aah, one of my fave holidays.

Happy Independence Day!

From www.cookinglight.com

I hope you're relaxing right about now, enjoying the start of a long Memorial Day weekend.  It's a weekend for griling, of course - I'm planning a little grilled tasty every day.

First up, tonight, skewers of salmon and shrimp, marinated first in something citrus-y/garlicky, to serve alongside pasta (for the kids) and stir-fried pea pods.

Tomorrow night, chicken fajitas - more marinade, this time spicy/garlicky (always the garlic).  I'll marinate peppers and onions too and grill them in my new Weber vegetable grill pan (it'll be the first time, I'll let you know how it goes...).  Soft tortillas, salsa, avocado, all good.

And Monday, for a late lunch, I plan on roasting potatoes on the grill (an experiment, on a baking sheet; again, I'll let you know how it goes...), then grilling halved baby zucchinis and onions which I'll finish with a little balsamic vinaigrette and fresh herbs (I'm picturing a warm salad) and a few hot dogs (mostly for the kids; I'm thinking I'm going to be very happy with grilled potatoes and zucchini).

For more inspiration (and actual recipes!), check out this Cooking Light link for grilling fish.  The swordfish skewers (pictured above) look particularly delicious, as does the orange/bourbon marinade for salmon (to me, orange and salmon are dreamy together).

And oh, if you're looking for something a bit more ribstickin', like say, ribs, check out my favorite (no-fail) pork rib recipe.  The Texas-style beef rib recipe featured this week in the NYTimes looks fun (and easy) too.  (In fact, for inspiration, check out the whole Times Topics on grilling - packed with info and recipes.)  And for full-on porkiness, it's hard to beat a slow-grilled pork shoulder (pictured), rubbed with lots of sweet spice and pulled apart to devour in buns.  Oh yeah...

Happy grilling!

Happy 4th of July! Ready for some fun in the sun? Or a quiet, relaxing day? I have to say, one of the best 4ths I've ever had was a few years back when John and I went on a long bike ride followed by a picnic of fried chicken, fresh cherries, cheeses, and white wine. The. Kill.

But of course I like a good party too (who me?), so today we're on for our Annual Super Duper Shubert Coopster 4th of July Celebration, having Shuberts and Stace& Coop (obv!), as well as Harry Cunliffe, Debbie & Stu The Wine Genius Williams, and Debbie's sister Michelle over to swim, dine a la potluck, and see fireworks. I'm grilling burgers& ribs, and making new potato & green bean salad and some simple veggies& dip. With tasty appetizers, salad, and dessert contributed by the group...KA-BLAM we're going to have a meal! Yeah, baby!

Moderate it: I'll personally make a lameass attempt to fill up on salads and veggies and enjoy the whole burger-rib-beer-chip-dessert thing in moderation. Hope you fare better in your moderation efforts than I'm about to! Enjoy your holiday!

Levi is my sister Stacey's new dog, 1.5 years old, an English Cocker Spaniel (just like my parents' dog, Jake). Sooo cute! He's Cooper's little bro, so to speak, and Coop's maybe a little jealous of him. But not for long, I suspect, because Levi is such a kid-friendly sweetie. Stace and Cooper made it to Nathan's baseball game today, but Levi had to sit this one out. There are only so many busy little bodies Stace can handle at one time, and since Coop likes to run and run (and run!) at Nathan's games, Levi played doggie bench-warmer today.

Luckily, after the game, Stace and Coop were able to run home to pick up Levi and then head over here for barbecued pork ribs, biscuits, and a big green salad. Oh man, those ribs hit the spot, falling off the bone and spicy-sticky with a nice amount of Daddy Sam's Just Slop It On Barb-B-Que Sawce. Mmmmm hmmmm, them was good ribs, damn. Levi didn't enjoy ribs, of course, but he hung out by Coop's high chair hoping, in that fabulously ever-eager way that dogs hope for a taste of people food... Instead he scored lots of running in the back yard, enough to tire him out a bit. And for a one-year old English Cocker, that's not an easy thing to achieve! (As you can see, Cooper watched a little Ben 10 while we ate dinner; Stace perused Nathan's yearbook...)

Now, Levi Sizzle and Cooper are off to bed and it's high time to take my frizzy hair into the bedroom for an appointment with a good book, oh yeah. Nothing helps the digestion (of ribs, not light, ack) like a nice, long read. Have a good week!

Moderate it: hmmm, there's not really a way to moderate the ribs themselves - they're quite rich. The trick is to eat just a few, then fill the rest of your plate with salad, and call 'er a night.

Bloggin' on the porch on a lovely Saturday morning...ahhh...doesn't get much nicer than this. All my hard work is paying off and I'm actually starting to enjoy the spaces I've endeavored to clean up and beautify. NICE! I still have a chair to spray-paint, hopefully today, and other bits and pieces of things to do, but I'm nearing the end. And chillin'...yeah, baby!

I had such a nice day yesterday, too. Opened with Friday Morning Coffee with Suz - really, is there a better way to start one's day? - who in a twist on our usual routine, picked me up and we headed over to the Edina Art Fair. We did some serious wallet damage (ouch!) buying gifts for others and, uh, ourselves. Namely, necklace-type gifts. Suz didn't buy the one she's modeling here - it was WAY expensive, thus the look of longing on her face - but she did get a gorgeous one. And so did I! Some woman wanted to damn near buy it off my neck and Suz was like, step back, lady! Gotta love friends who will defend one's shopping turf - take that, beyotch, ha! And don't mess with Suz's dimples! After a yummy lunch at D'Amico and Sons (with all the rest of the women shopping at the Art Fair, ha), she dropped me off and was on her way.

Then last night was Baseball Moms, woo hoo! And a baseball game, to which I and co-Jiffy mom Nancy showed up a bit, er, late. I was totally busted by a "where WERE you?" from Nathan, but he had lots of fans there to support him, including Stace and Cooper Cuteness. Who had to don his adorable rain jacket because shortly after I arrived the skies opened and it POURED, sending everyone scattering for shelter. The rain did quit, and the game did proceed, and when it was done John and I headed over to Beaujo's Wine Bar for a late snack/dinner. After a lovely salad, and bowl of asparagus soup, it was time for beddy-bye, bye, bye. Nice way to end the week - and nice way to start the weekend, huh? Sparkly-necklace-shopping with Suz, beer and chat with the Baseball Moms, and a late evening meal with my husband? Sheesh!

It's supposed to rain, rain, rain today but I'll enjoy this window of sunshine while we have it. You enjoy your Saturday as well! Perhaps I'll grill me some pork ribs tonight, hmmmm, stay tuned...

Update: well dang, those ribs were mighty, mighty fine. Fall-off-the-bone tender, crisped up with BBQ sauce on the grill, we devoured them in oh, about 3 minutes. Luckily, they are no work whatsoever. I popped them in the oven and let them slow-bake while John and I went to a movie. A few hours later, a quick pass on the grill, and time to Dig In, yum. I forced portion control on us all by buying only a pound - by the time the bones are out, no one could eat too terribly much, which is a good thing. A few ribs go a looong way calorie-wise. And I just made a simple green salad as a side. As fabulous as slaw and biscuits would be - Lawdy! - it's nice to let the ribs be the star. Plus, there's that damn moderation thing...