Summer Time

Oh boy, I really have been having trouble putting words to paper this summer.  I feel scattered and, at times, unhinged. I feel a need for clarity, an unfolding of the mind, as Denise at Chez Danisse so eloquently put it. Although I don't seem to be writing, I am cooking. So until clarity presents itself,
I thought I would show you what we have been eating this summer.

Dinner Tonight

The heat wave we have been having in New Jersey has finally broken, but not for long I'm sure.  Summer in New Jersey equals heat and plenty of humidity. Just the kind of weather that makes one dread the thought of turning on the stove or the oven. It doesn't matter that we, thankfully, have air conditioning,  just walking out the door to the grill in that kind of weather seems like a monumental task.

On those days when it seems like the air just can't seem to hold any more water vapor, I turn to main dish salads. I love chicken salad because of its versatility. Believe me I have made plenty in my day--Asian Chicken Salad, Chicken Salad with Grapes and Walnuts, Waldorf Chicken Salad--see, versatile. But my favorite is one I have been making for years, Mediterranean Chicken Salad. 

I first saw this recipe In Parade Magazine in 2006.  I don't have the name of the author, but I am almost certain that it was Sheila Lukins of The Silver Palate fame. It's a great salad with tender stringbeans, crunchy celery, shiny black olives all tied together with a lemony vinaigrette.

So, you know what they say, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, and think of having this very satisfying dish for dinner tonight.

The salad ingredients prepare to be joined

Mediterranean Chicken Salad atop my window box lettuces

Mediterranean Chicken Salad

1/2 pound green beans, trimmed
6 cups torn cooked white meat chicken 
4 ribs celery, cut into slices or strips
1/2 cup Kalamata olives
1/3 cup chopped flat-leafed parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salad greens, for serving


Blanch the green beans in boiling, salted water until tender, about 4 minutes. Drain, refresh under cold water, drain again and pat dry. Place in large bowl with chicken, celery, olives and parsley.


Before serving, season with salt and pepper.  Toss well with the lemon zest and juice and olive oil.
Toss greens with some lemon juice and olive oil and top with chicken salad.


Serves 4-6

Cook's Note
Pick up a cooked rotisserie chicken or breasts from the market. Perfect for a hot day!
 

Blueberry Time

Nothing says summer to me more than the start of the blueberry season, and this year it has come early to New Jersey because of our warm weather. Not only does the blueberry herald the start of summer, it brings with it all manner of festivals throughout the state to celebrate the harvest of our official state fruit, the second most popular berry in the country.

Blueberries have been trumpeted as one of the so-called super foods, their deep blue hue tipping you off to the anti-aging and preventative qualities they may contain. Their sweet natural goodness is second to none.

So the first thing I thought of was blueberry muffins. But I was really longing for corn muffins and thought why not combine the two.

This weekend I had just bought some more blueberries and the cutest ramekins I could not resist,so blueberry crisp seemed like the perfect ending to a dinner with friends.

I used this recipe from Williams-Sonoma, adding just a pinch of salt to the topping and using the food processor instead of a pastry blender.

Enjoy this short-lived season while you can, and remember July 11 is National Blueberry Muffin Day!


Blueberry Corn Muffins

1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 vegetable oil 
1 egg, beaten
1 pint blueberries

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and butter a 12-cup muffin tin.

Rinse and dry blueberries and toss with about 2 T. flour so that they won't sink  to the bottom of the batter.

Combine dry ingredients in bowl.  Combine milk, oil and egg, then add to dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Gently add the blueberries to the batter.


Fill muffin tins 2/3 full and rap tin on counter to release any air pockets that might have formed.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. Makes 12

Cook's Note:  Next time I would increase the sugar to 3/4 and perhaps add an additional egg. But they were still delicious as they were.




  

Summer Fun

It has finally stopped raining in northern New Jersey, and not a minute too soon. I felt as if we had been living in Seattle, Washington instead of the Garden State. But after a pleasant Friday evening spent on the deck and having our first grilled pizza of the season, we decided we would leave early Saturday morning for our first day at the beach--or go down the shore as we say in New Jersey.

Grilled pizza with mozzarella, campari tomatoes and arugula

And what a glorious day it was.  Not a rain cloud to be seen.  Nothing but pure blue sky dotted with an occasional para-sailor or white streaks of condensation from unseen jets or those ubiquitous prop planes pulling their advertisements behind them. The early morning chilly breeze soon gave way to a pleasant heat and a lovely day at the beach.  

I pray every day that I live fully and joyfully, and this weekend I accomplished just that.

Packing for our first picnic of the season which is always better on the beach

My summer reading nook

We were lucky enough to spend Saturday evening in J & L's garden

As our son lives in California, I treated John to his favorite hot dog dive for Father's Day

Kitchen Notes

Hi all! It's been a while since I have written a word as so much has happened to consume my life over the last couple of months; and the saga is not one I would care to repeat.

The condensed version is that as it became evident that my almost 96-year-old mother was no longer able to live on her own, my life was consumed with hospital visits, a rehab facility and finally placement of my mother into a long-term care center.  The period of adjusting to my mother's new life was a journey for both of us. But the most arduous task of all was getting my mother's home ready for sale. There were storage places in her small house that I never knew existed.  And who knew my father had squirreled away every fan and air conditioner they had ever owned as well as every broken toaster?

I worked for two plus weeks straight getting everything cleared out. Without the help of my friends and my husband I know that I could not have done it.  We sold the house quickly and closed last week.

Phew!

But as crazy as those two months were, every day I would come home and cook dinner. I guess there was something comforting in performing that task. So here is a glimpse at some of the things that went on around here.

A birthday bouquet

Salmon packets with spinach and oranges

At one point during the craziness our son and his girlfriend blew flew in for a wedding.

A giant salted caramel macaron from Laduree on Madison Avenue

And a gigantic bowl of pork belly ramen noodles at Ippudo in NYC

A bowl of mussels

Grilled chicken thighs with lemon, garlic and rosemary

Cinnamon breakfast toasts cooling

Memorial Day Weekend

Just Breathe

A slice of heaven

Sunrise

If you use your imagination, a stone that looks like a dolphin?

A cup filled with Cheetos--don't ask!

The perfect Mojito

The end

Thursday's Dinner

I thought I would use up the food I had on hand.  So I made these "chicken nuggets."

Chunks of chicken breasts were dredged in flour, then coated with eggs.

 Next they were dragged through toasted Panko crumbs which were tossed with grated Romano cheese, salt, and a tablespoon of olive oil.

The nuggets were perched on a rack to dry.

Then they baked in a 450 degree oven for 12 minutes, turning once.

Then served with honey mustard.  Cute.

A Chicken In Every Pot

After a very stressful week we were happy to celebrate St. Patrick's Day at T and J's with six friends.

First we had Manhattans along with smoked salmon.

Then, of course, there was corned beef and cabbage and Irish soda bread--all washed down with a wee bit of Guiness stout and Harp lager or a mixture thereof.

All of this was followed by a Bailey's Irish Cream Cheese Cake and Irish Coffee

A good time was had by all. So you can imagine why, while anticipating another stressful week ahead,it was the comfort and simplicity of chicken that I wanted for dinner on Sunday. I decided on a dish from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food, Braised Chicken with Red Onions and Carrots. I tried to link to Martha's recipe, but it was not yet available.  This link, although not credited to her, is her recipe. This one is my adaptation.

Braised Chicken With Red Onions and Carrots
Adapted by a Recipe by Martha Stewart from Everyday Food
Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1whole chicken, 3 1/2- to 4 pounds, cut into eight pieces and patted dry
Salt and pepper
1 large red onion, cut into 8 wedges, root end left intact
1 pound carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large Dutch oven heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to pot, skin side down.  Cook until skin is browned, about 8 minutes. Turn and cook another 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate and set aside.

Add onion and carrots to pot, season with salt and pepper and cook until onion and carrots are slightly golden, about 5 minutes.  Add wine, scraping up browned bits. Return chicken to pot, skin side up, and add 1 cup water. Bring to boil, cover and transfer to oven.  Cook until chicken is cooked through, about 35 minutes.

Radishes with sweet butter and sea salt before dinner

I like to cut my chicken into 8 pieces, but because this chicken was just over 3 pounds, I left the legs and thighs attached. I leave a little bit of breast meat attached to each wing, and cut each breast half in two. 

 The chicken has been sauteed and vegetables added.  It is now ready for the oven.  Of course, you may finish cooking this on top of the stove. But once in the oven, it gave me time to clean the cooktop, thus making after-dinner clean up a breeze.

As I said the chicken was small, so it really would not have served four for dinner, and there was too much water added. If I make this dish again, I would remove the cooked chicken pieces and reduce the liquid to a thicker sauce or use less liquid.  Any way, it was a tasty dish.


Have a good week.