Wordless Wednesday: Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris
Feasting Inspired by the Mediterranean
Hi luvs! It was our last night of Mediterranean feasting at cooking club this month, and oh boy, did folks do it up right!! Since my camera is still off getting fixed, we’re stuck with pics off my phone for a while. 🙂
We started with all sorts of crackers dipped in Mascarpone cheese and Selwyn’s amaaaazing black olive tapenade, rich and salty with anchovies and capers. Don and Jen brought savory sausage and various cheeses to top more crackers, and Don made us his fabulous martinis poured over pepperoncini and big green olives.
Then it was time for the main course!!! Jason and Kim made a gorgeous Greek salad with juicy chunks of tomato, crisp bell peppers, enormous Kalamata olives, cucumber, and lavish amounts of Feta cheese. Cameron and Robin made Smoked Chicken Breasts with a crispy Parmesan Crust that were marvelously moist and flavorful. Darren served up his oh-so-succulent and creamy risotto made with Vermouth, I brought my Black Bean Salad with Lime Dressing, and Susan made a splendid prawn dish cooked over fennel sauteed in Chardonnay and topped with Feta cheese that melted beautifully throughout.
It was such a splendid night. There was a large crowd of us this time, and we all cozied into the living room, finding perches on floors, furniture and foot stools. When I wasn’t visiting with dear folks, I loved just sitting back and watching everyone having such a great time together, sipping Toby’s sangria as they talked about their week, what they were reading, or burst into laughter at the ridiculous moments that plague us all from time to time. I sure love these people.
Suddenly folks remembered that – wonder of wonders!!! – it was actually WARM outside! So we filled our plates with non-Mediterranean desserts – Andrew’s marvy German Chocolate Cake and Kat’s warm and zesty Lemon Pudding – and clustered outside just in time for a warm rain to fall. It was perfect.
Selwyn’s Black Olive Tapenade
Ingredients:
12 ounces Kalamata olives, pitted and rinsed
1 tin anchovies rolled with capers in olive oil
2 cloves garlic
Directions:
- Place all ingredients in food processor and blend to desired consistency.
- Serve with crackers and mascarpone cheese.
Darren’s Vermouth Risotto
2 cups Arborio rice
6 cups chicken broth
8 tbsp butter
1/4 cup Vermouth
grated Parmesan to taste (about 2 tbsp)
sea salt to taste (about 1 tsp)
Directions:
- Preheat broth in a separate pot until hot, but not boiling.
- In a large flat bottom pan heat 4 tbsp butter with the rice until butter is well melted and rice is warmed but not brown.
- Add two ladle scoops of warm broth, mix well.
- As the broth is absorbed, but before the rice gets dry, keep adding a ladle full of broth at a time until all the broth is used.
- When you put the last of the broth in turn off the heat.
- Add the remaining butter, Vermouth, Parmesan and salt.
- Mix well as the rest of the broth and Vermouth is absorbed.
Black Bean Salad with Lime Dressing
Click here for my recipe
A Taste of the Mediterranean
If you had to choose one cuisine from one region of the world to eat for the rest of your life, what would you choose?
I would have to pick the Mediterranean. I simply adore the food so deliciously influenced by countries as diverse as Egypt, Greece, and Slovenia.
I was thrilled to bits when my cooking club chose this as our theme for June.
Since my camera broke this week, I wasn’t able to capture Cameron’s scrumptious smoked lamb, Jen’s fantastic quinoa salad with olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and feta, and Toby’s delectable green beans sauteed with lime and butter.
But I did get last week’s delectable menu, starting with Greek wine and artisan bread studded with olives.
I made a zesty green bean salad with feta, fresh basil, and a Dijon vinaigrette. Darren whipped up a batch of his famous hummus and Selwyn wowed us all with fork-tender roasted pork loin drizzled with a Gorgonzola cream sauce.
While the food was absolutely amazing, it’s always the fellowship and camaraderie at cooking club that I love the most. I can’t believe I only have a few more weeks with these dear people. I’m going to miss them more than I can say.
Green Bean Salad with Feta and Fresh Basil
3 pounds green beans, trimmed
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 4-oz package Feta cheese, crumbled or grated
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
Directions:
- Steam beans 4 minutes or until crisp tender. Plunge in ice water until cool, then drain.
- Whisk together Dijon mustard and next four ingredients in large bowl.
- Add beans, feta and basil. Toss gently to coat.
Flowery Ditches, Car Trouble and BBQ Sandwiches
My heart sank this morning when my car heater stopped working (yes, I know it’s summer time, but apparently Washington doesn’t ;-)) and the temperature gauge surged past the H mark. From a recent experience involving billowing steam, burnt rubber, and getting stranded for hours in a freezing Canadian winter, I knew that something was amiss.
I pulled over and called a mechanic who advised me to turn off the car (check), let the engine cool (check), and not drive it anymore. Hmm. That was a problem seeing as I was at the Canadian border miles from home with no access to a tow truck. Apprised of my predicament he then advised me to drive slowly, keeping an eye on the temperature gauge and stopping whenever it got too hot.
So off I went, putt-putting along the shoulder at whopping 15 mph, stopping every 2-3 minutes to let the engine cool down.
2 hours later I was still going. Ayiyi.
The first leg of the trip was the most vexing as I gnashed my teeth and woe-is-me’d and wished to high heaven I didn’t have to use the loo, but finally I sighed and decided it was high time I started embracing this unwanted adventure, seeing if I could find something good in it.
And I did.
If you ever need to go on a 15 mph, 2+ hour road trip with countless stops, I highly recommend you take it in the back country of Whatcom County in Washington State.
It is gorgeous!!
At each stop to let the car cool down, I grabbed my little camera and hopped out for a walk to see what I could see. I was never disappointed.
The ditches were filled with wild lupines, Queen Anne’s Lace and wild roses that smelled perfectly heavenly.
Meadows were carpeted with bright yellow blooms drifting back in great swaths into the woods.
I got “stuck” behind a tractor going 12 mph and unlike any other day wasn’t perturbed in the least. We idled along like two turtles, going so slow we could easily hear birds singing and the wind in the trees.
While this episode was stressful and frustrating, it also ended up being a beautiful part of my day, giving me time to rest, think, and capture photos of stunning things I might never seen had I gone whizzing past at normal speeds.
By the time I got home life looked much better. I got a sudden burst of inspiration and simply had to get into the kitchen to put my thoughts into action. My friends gave me free reign so I bustled and stirred and chopped and mixed and made absolutely scrumptious BBQ Shredded Beef sandwiches with aged cheddar on toasted raisin buns.
One of my friends has a deadly allergy to tomatoes, so I made up a special sauce for her with pureed roasted bell peppers, caramelized onions, and sweet chili sauce. She loved it and insisted that I post the recipe, so here you go. 🙂
Toasted Cheesy BBQ Sandwiches
Ingredients:
4 cups shredded meat (I used beef and chicken)
1 1/2 – 2 cups bbq sauce
1/2 cup Peppercorn A-1 sauce
2 large onions, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
2-3 Tbsp brown sugar
6 raisin buns, split and buttered
6 slices extra sharp cheddar cheese
Directions:
- In saucepan combine meat, bbq sauce, and A-1 sauce and bring to simmer over medium heat.
- In separate pan heat oil and butter over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, for 20-30 minutes. (Add a little water if they start sticking to pan)
- When onions are nearly melted, add brown sugar and stir to combine. Cook another 5-10 minutes.
- Add onions to meat mixture and stir.
- On cookie sheet place raisin rolls cut side up. On top piece place slice of cheese.
- Set under broiler for 1-2 minutes until rolls are toasted and cheese melted.
- Place bottom roll on plate, top with meat mixture then cheese roll and serve.
Tomato-free BBQ Sauce
Ingredients:
1 jar roasted bell peppers, drained
1 large onion, chopped and caramelized (see above)
1-2 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients in saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.
- Set aside to cool a bit.
- Pour in blender and puree.
- Mix with shredded meat then follow above recipe.
Sometimes It’s Nice to Just Sit
For the first time in cooking club history, I arrived this week bearing absolutely nothing save my bedraggled self.
You know you’re among friends when they tell you to “come and just sit with us” when you’re so tired you can’t come up with a Japanese recipe to save your life.
Thankfully my contribution was not missed for Darren’s house was positively buzzing with activity as old friends and new friends bustled about cooking platter after platter of scrumptious Japanese food.
Don and Jen brought sushi drizzled with fresh lemon, Robin made steam buns filled with sweet bean paste, Kat made potstickers, and someone brought more sweet nibbles and a box of Pocky sticks.
Jenny made absolutely delectable Japanese pancakes – crisp and buttery on the outside, savory and tender inside.
Sarah made a beautiful pan of Yaki Soba studded with mini-corn, water chestnuts, broccoli and peppers.
Cameron decided we needed street food and grilled us up a pile of succulent skewered meat in a sweet, smoky sauce.
Toby brought sake and we all crowded into the living room, our plates piled high with deliciousness as we visited.
I couldn’t help but smile as I looked around the room at all those dear faces, hearing them laugh and tell outrageous stories, seeing the compassion in their eyes as they listen to the hard things some are going through.
I’m so grateful for these people. For their good cooking, yes, but mostly for their friendship, their love, and the myriad ways they inspire and delight me each week.
Wordless Wednesday: Cozumel
