Grill It Up - Portobellos in Heaven

We recently had a barbecue and I invented an entree for the veggie guests. It was a huge hit, so without further delay I give you the recipe for Grilled Portobello mushrooms with brie and lemon thyme. Just be prepared to be knocked over by greedy guests trying to get to these...

portobello mushrooms
olive oil
fresh lemon thyme
pepper and sea salt
brie

Oil the tops and bottoms of the mushrooms. Place a couple slices of brie on each mushroom. Top with sprigs of lemon thyme and grind over some pepper and sprinkle on the sea salt. Grill until mushrooms are shriveling a bit and brie is melted.

If you were ambitious, you could serve these on a slice of buttery grilled garlic toast with a little dressed frisee on the side.

Christmas Whirlwind

I'm so excited about Christmas this year. I sometimes feel, like everyone else who celebrates a family-centric holiday involving gifts, decorations, cooking and visitors, overwhelmed by Christmas. But not this year. First of all, we are staying home, and some of our family are coming to stay. This, to me, is the best kind of Christmas. We have a big house; it is no inconvenience to have guests. I like my own fireside best of all.

I have big plans for Christmas cooking, involving filet of beef and 5 kinds of Christmas cookies:
ambrosia macaroons
chocolate almond butter toffee
cut-out cookies
cinnamon pecan shortbread
brown butter cookies

Some of these will go to the cookie exchange.
The lights are up, the garland is on the mantlepiece, and the tree will be coming home soon. Christmas gift shopping is still looming, but I am looking forward to it.

Jack's Bistro

I have wanted a toy kitchen for Jack for a while now. I looked at the cute ones at Target, but neglected to buy. This year's model, unfortunately, has pink trim, and next year's is a rather garish bright blue. I considered making one from scratch in *all* my spare time. Then, as fate would have it, I went antique shopping last weekend and spotted the "Suzy Homemaker" oven you see in all its turquoise glory. It does something which only a toy made in the 50's before giant corporate lawsuits would do - it heats up. That's right. I have not plugged it in, so I don't know if that part still works. The oven was mine for $35, still in the original box. I made
Jack some felt chocolate chip cookies and put out his play food and fruit. I had a set of pots and pans that I played with when I was a little girl. They are miniature Revere Ware in stainless steel with copper bottoms (another toy I can't imagine being made today, simply because of the expense). The set has a frying pan, 2 saucepans with lids, a little tea kettle, a mixing bowl and a coffee pot with lid. The little shelves are from IKEA, as are some of the baking implements. The polka dot table and chairs were a birthday present and came from Babystyle. All in all, a fabulous and fabulously easy little restaurant for my little gourmet.

Zucchini Pancakes

In the interest of using some of the zucchini supply, I present:
Zucchini Pancakes
1 small zucchini, or half a large one, coarsely shredded
2 cups buttermilk pancake mix
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
black pepper
parmesan cheese
lemon thyme
sea salt

Combine all ingredients, whisk thoroughly. Cook on a griddle, flipping once.

These make a delicious summer lunch with a tomato salad, some lemon wedges to squeeze over, and a glass of iced tea/

Panzanella

With my leftover organic tuscan loaf from Whole Foods and a bumper crop of cukes, what to make? Panzanella was calling to me, and here is the recipe of sorts:

July Panzanella

1 cucumber, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup red onion, sliced fine
5 cups chunked day-old bread
olive oil, lemon juice
fresh herbs - parsley, basil, thyme, tarragon, dill
sea salt, pepper
parmesan cheese

Combine all these ingredients in a bowl. Make a little dressing out of olive oil and balsamic or lemon juice. Whisk it up and pour over the salad. Sprinkle with sea salt, grind over some black pepper and finely grate some parmigiano reggiano over, add the herbs and toss to mix. Let sit for an hour and dig in! This is also good with fresh garden tomatoes and some briny olives added in.

Add some brownies, a thermos of lemonade, a wedge of cheese and some peaches and cherries, and you have a perfect summer picnic.

This Week in Food - 3rd week in July

Each week, I pick 5 recipes for dishes I've never cooked before and make 'em. Results and pictures to come!

3rd Week in July
Chocolate dipped cherry ice cream cone (Bon Appetit cover recipe)
Vietnamese summer rolls
Zucchini fritters with lemon and greens
Crab salad with wonton crisps and lime
Vegetable pesto salad with warm goat cheese toasts

Grocery list for these recipes:
(I don't include basics like olive oil or salt or flour)
bell peppers
shitake mushrooms
goat's cheese
baguette
pesto (I make my own)
lemon
salad greens
cherry ice cream
almonds
dark chocolate
white chocolate
zucchini (from my friends' garden!)
rice paper
limes
wonton wrappers
crabmeat
fresh mint
shrimp
coconut milk

Banana Chocolate Coconut Bread Pudding

This dish would be fabulous for brunch (like French toast, but baked. So much easier!) with baked eggs w/parmesan and herbs, home fries w/sausage, fresh berries, coffee and Mimosas. If you're as thin as you want to be, make this with leftover croissants. Feel free to miss out the coconut and chocolate, and add pecans or almonds instead.

Banana Chocolate Coconut Bread Pudding

1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 banana, mashed
2 cups milk
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups cubed day-old country white bread or croissants

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put bread cubes in an 11 x 7 glass pan. Whisk together the eggs, sugar and milk, add the mashed banana and pour over the bread cubes. Let sit for at least 1/2 hour. When bread has absorbed the milk mixture, scatter chocolate chips and coconut over bread and mix gently together. Bake for 30 minutes, let cool slightly and serve warm with whipped cream, ice cream, or with nothing at all.

Summer Treats

A few of the recipes I've added to my Epicurious recipe box most recently:


Raspberry Chocolate Ice Pops



Peaches 'n' Cream eclairs with bourbon caramel sauce


Coconut-macaroon and lemon ice cream sandwiches


Vegetable pesto salad with warm goat cheese toasts



Toasted-almond cake with strawberries in rose-water syrup



Orange-scented beignets