One Year

It's hard to believe that it has been almost a year since our move. I was surprised that my adjustment to the change took much longer than I had expected. But we are settling in now, enjoying our new space and our new surroundings and even some of our new neighbors.There is always a breeze on our balcony, and I am astonished that the herbs, peppers and all manner of plants in pots are thriving there.

Although we are only a couple of miles from our last home and about 12 miles from New York City, it is a different world up here. Our community is built on a hill on the site of the former Essex County Penitentiary, a dubious honor at best.We back up to Hilltop Reservation, a 285 acre nature preserve that provides habitat for native wildlife and plant species. There are eight trails covering seven miles.

The preserve was built on the abandoned grounds of the former Essex Mountain Sanatorium where patients were treated for tuberculosis. The Sanatorium was built in 1907 on a large parcel of land occupied also by the Essex County Asylum for the Insane, also known as Over Brook. They both were part of the sprawling Essex County Hospital Center. Quite a pedigree, don't you agree?

Although I can do without the wild turkeys, we enjoy watching the hawks swoop and dive and the myriad birds chasing and chirping. And as we walk out of our community up the hill to the reservation we often see a beautiful blue heron taking flight from Prisoner's Pond. On the other hand,if we turn right when leaving the community we can walk right to the center of town filled with shops, restaurants and a movie theater. The perfect combination of city and country.

So, what does all this have to do with a food blog? All that walking makes one hungry.

As summer draws to an end we still have a long weekend on Cape Cod with friends to look forward to, then a trip to St. Thomas in the beginning of November. In the mean time, enjoy the rest of the summer.

Here are some of the dishes we have enjoyed this summer.

Marcella Hazan's Chicken Cacciatora

Biba Caggiano's Fried Green Olives

Radish Canapes with Black Olive Butter

Cherry Tomato Shrimp Puttanesca

Iced Coffee Ice Pops

And a couple of good reads:

Hot And Cheesy

After what seemed like a long hiatus, T and J returned to our house for dinner on Friday night. Sometimes life just happens, but on Friday everything seemed to fall into place. John walked in the side door, as T and J arrived through the front. John shook the martinis until his hands froze as I patted out the pizza and our friends perched on the stools at the kitchen counter. Ready for pizza and politics as usual.

I had come across a recipe last month that got me thinking. With the publication of Amanda Hesser's, The Essential New York Times Cook Book,  this recipe for Hot Cheese Olives was all over the press. It was extremely similar to one I had made many times in the early years of my marriage, Olive-Cheese Balls, from my 1969 edition of Betty Crocker's Cookbook. There are a few differences in the recipes, so I thought I would try the one passed on to Ms. Hesser from Southerner, Julia Reed. They are a bit more fussy to make than what I normally serve with drinks, but I had the time and gave it a go.

These tasty morsels proved to be perfect with a drink as well as addictive.  If you try this recipe, and I strongly suggest that you do, make the dough in the food processor--fast and easy.  The olives may be wrapped in the dough then parked in the fridge on a baking sheet until you are ready to pop them in the oven. Make sure the olives are very dry before wrapping. And be careful when eating as the olives remain quite hot! I saved half the dough and froze it for use during the holidays. I'll let you know how that works out.

If you love olives as much as I do you are bound to love these Fried Green Olives a staple, I hear, at some Roman bars. Delicious!