Lunch with a Friend - Casual with Style

My dear friend, Donna, and I had been trying to make plans to get together for months. We had set a date to meet in the city for lunch, but alas those plans got axed.  Once we switched the day, it meant she was able to come up to my house for a 'ladies lunch'.  Does that make us sound old?  If so, then forget it.  We were just eating together.

It had been a while since we had last seen each other, so the idea was to enjoy each other's company and not have cooking occupy my time. The plan to keep it easy peasy was to create a menu where the majority of items could all be roasted in the oven and the rest could be made ahead of time.  Leaving me hands free for when she arrived.  I like starch (pasta, potatoes, rice not the kind used for ironing), and wanted to include that too. My immediate thought was polenta. However, after surveying the menu, a last minute swap out for rice felt like it paired better with the rest of the offerings, which also included a salad.  When it came to dessert, this needed to be super simple because I didn't have the time to bake.  Add to that, I wanted something that I could enjoy too. A traditionally baked item uses flour and eggs, well, no good for me. 

Sure sandwiches would have been even easier. Sure we could have eaten at the kitchen table.  But a little extra detail is much nicer. And so...

How hard is it to keep it casual but amp it a bit to feel special?  Simply throw down a runner the opposite way to create an more intimate area on a large table, add some placemats. Toss cloth napkins on the plate and put glasses on the table.  That always ups the ante, and really it doesn't take more effort than that.

So when you want to keep it chill yet with touch of style for no fuss lunch, here's a menu that can be pulled off without a hitch. The best part of this for me was that since it was pouring out and despise schlepping in the rain, I already had everything in the house, and didn't even need to shop!!  

Prep everything in their pans, season right before putting in the oven and have a glass of wine.

If you need some recipes guides for the below menu, the highlighted items link to previous blog posts that feature each one. Also at the very bottom, you will find printable recipe versions.  If you have any questions on how to pull this menu off, write a comment below or email me

Lunch Menu

• Roasted Salmon

• Roasted Broccoli, Red Onions & Fennel

• Paella Rice Risotto style with caramelized red, yellow onion and scallions (see below)

• Citrus Salad

• Fresh Fruit "Bark" (see below)

Simply roasted salmon nestled up against beautiful roasted vegetables all on one plate.

Paella rice risotto style with 3 kinds of onions (red, yellow and scallions)

For the Paella Rice Risotto style, first sauté a mixture of red, yellow onion and scallion until caramelized.  Set aside. In a medium sized pot, simply sauté some more onions in oil, salt and pepper then add the rice to toast it. Then add either hot water or hot stock (chicken or vegetable) a few ladles at a time until the rice absorbs the liquid. Continue until the rice is tender then stir in the sautéd onion mixture. 

Another option, you can check out my Garlic Rice recipe.

You know this salad. This is the Citrus Salad Bowl, but in one big bowl not individually plated. This way we could go back for seconds.

The skinny on how the dessert portion was pulled together with just a few ingredients: Open the fridge. Check out what you have and use your imagination.  I found strawberries and blueberries, and tucked in the back a tiny bit of left over chocolate ganache* (previously used for some profiteroles I had made).  And just like that I had a dessert.  Fresh Fruit Bark.

* Ganache is chocolate melted down by adding warmed cream to create a glaze .  When I originally made mine I used much less cream since I wanted a thicker consistency for the profiteroles.  If I had a traditional ganache, it would have never worked for this dessert.  

Spread the chocolate onto parchment paper.

Instructions

I melted down the chocolate, spread it over parchment and jammed, I mean lovingly placed, the fruit into the chocolate. For texture, I sprinkled some crushed Marcona Almonds and popped it in the fridge to set and chill until time to serve. 

Arrange the fruit in a way that is appetizing to you.

Since this was made with a semi ganache, it had a softer consistency than traditional bark.  That didn't bother either one of us, and the fresh fruit route was the perfect choice since Donna prefers fresh versus dried fruit. Phew, good call on my part.  This literally was the truest form of 'something from nothing', pulling a dessert out of the hat from whatever I had handy.  We both agreed it was quite delicious.  Bigger bonus, it gave her a new way to use up all the gorgeous summer fruit she gets at her country house.  

Starting with the lovely Shinn Estates Rosé that Donna brought, we had a relaxing time, ate well, caught up on each other's lives and travels, enjoyed a surprise yummy dessert, and of course, finished the entire bottle of wine. It ended as a perfect Lunch with a Friend.  

Sprinkle chopped Marcona Almonds all over the top.

Salmon/Vegetable Printable Recipe
Paella Rice Risotto Style Printable Recipe
Garlic Rice Printable Recipe
Citrus Salad Bowl Printable Recipe
Fresh Fruit "Bark Printable Recipe
 

Chick Pea Salad with Warm Potatoes - A Hot/Cold Salad Saga

I am a huge fan of beans.  With the wide variety of legumes and the infinite ways to cook them, the recipes ideas are endless.  They each have a different flavor, texture and purpose.  I love when they play together, and I love when they play with others.  In this episode  of "How the Bean Turns", the chick pea and the potato meet in a warm vs. cold encounter.

As you will often hear me say... "I made this dish many years ago because these were items I had at the time." Since starting this blog I have been rummaging through notebooks to see what cryptic notes of recipes past I may have left.  I came upon a scrap of paper with a simple description of this salad with no quantity specifics.  Which means this was early on when I realized I needed to start writing my ideas down but didn't think the amounts were important. (And I still don't, but I do realize that, like for my sister, Jill, amounts are essential.)

A funny thing about my recipe ideas is that since I made them up on the fly, some of them never got repeated. Mainly because I don't specifically go out and buy those items in order to make it again. Add to that no notes, tons of other ideas and I have a memory like a sieve.  I see food items that interest me and just come up with something else.  However, this blog has given me a wonderful platform to revive recipes that I thankfully wrote down in some fashion or another. I have to give total credit to JuanCarlos, who years ago bought me a notebook and said, "Start writing them down."  Hail King JuanCarlos for his brilliant foresight. 

So here goes another warm & cold salad for all occasions.  Which is ideal for this time of year when the nights have a little chill but the days are warm. 

Ingredients

1 29 oz. can Garbanzo/Chick Peas
3 c potatoes, cut in 1" pieces
1/2 yellow pepper, cut into mince like pieces
2 scallion, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 c shallot, minced
1/3 c red onion, diced
2 c grape tomatoes, cut in half (if you can find the red, yellow or orange versions buy different colors.  It adds to the overall festive feel of the salad. No worries if you can't, just use all red.)
4-5 stalks Hearts of Palm, optional

Dressing

2 T fresh lime juice
1/4 c sherry vinegar
2/3 c Olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 c each Basil, mint, chopped
Whisk together in the order listed above.

Instructions

Boil the potatoes until they are slightly undercooked.   Then remove, drain and set aside.  Using the same pot, sauté the shallots, red onion and the white parts of the scallion until soft.  Then add the potatoes and yellow pepper cooking until all are nicely caramelized.  Add the garlic and 1 c of grape tomatoes and cook until warm.

Meanwhile, in the serving bowl, add the chick peas, the green parts of scallion and the remaining 1 c uncooked grape tomatoes (and Hearts of Palm if you so choose).  Toss with the half of the dressing, then mix in the warm potato mixture and stir in the remainder of the dressing.  Serve immediately.

If you recall from an earlier post entitled Salad: Hot & Cold, I am an advocate of mixing temperatures in salads. Although this one is more warm and room temp, it does give a nod to that thought.  This salad is great for a big party, a Sunday brunch plate, a Saturday afternoon lunch, or now as the weather turns warmer, for a BBQ.  It's a good hearty dish that really plays well with so many main courses.  I made this for a dinner party for a family of friends, three of which were young teenagers.  I got thumbs up from all, which put a smile on their faces and mine. Warm up your smile, with another salad saga of Hot & Cold.  

Post Note: I recently made this again when our nephew, John, came by for dinner.  Here's how it played nicely with all our other offerings.

Simple green salad with carrots/red onion, sautéed Haricot Vert, sautéed Cremini mushrooms, Shrimp & Monkfish in a saffron broth and our star potato/chick pea salad.

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Yellow, Yellow Burst of Sunshine Tablesetting

Here's a bright idea for your Easter table, or a Spring event. This bold, burst of yellow will welcome everyone with a big, happy grin.  The colors here are simple.  Yellow, white and pop of cobalt blue.  It's a commitment to a color theme that makes this jump with joy.  So start with what brings you joy.  Since I found white tulips and yellow daffodils, I made that the theme of the my table.  Using white dishes and a bright yellow and white table cloth, that set the stage for a monochromatic setting that still sprang forth with a huge punch of color. 

Lay out the tablecloth, and see how you feel. If you want that extra hit of color, now's the time to add the next layer.  It could be a runner or placements or a fabric overlay.  Whatever floats your boat.  Since there is blue in my dining room, I decided to introduce that accent color by using placemats.  This also helps delineate each guest's place.  With so many place settings I didn't want to fully cover my beautiful tablecloth, so I flipped the placements 90 degrees, letting them hang over the table.  This takes up less table space, gives you a landing pad for the plates, while covering the tablecloth where people are bringing food towards their mouths.   A little trick to avoid spills on your beautiful linens!

Next, place the flowers to help define the space a bit more, then set the charges and dishes onto the placemats. 

A effortless stacking of the salad plates make up the next layer. Followed by a simply folded napkin with the utensils on the top.  I mixed up the water glasses, since I don't have enough of one kind for a big dinner party. In fact, I quite a fan of the mix and match look.  So I took that not match-y theme a step further and decided to alternate the napkin set up as well.  Every other setting had the napkin under the salad plate.  Lastly, add some small votives around the table. No need for candle sticks in this set up as there is plenty height with the flowers.

One place setting with napkin on top, the other goes under the salad plate.  If you notice, I have two types of salad plates.  I used the under method on the ones with the gold rim and leaf design.  Why not show a pretty plate?

If you don't have these colors, use the idea of monochromatic layering to create your own bold, burst of spring. And welcome both spring and your guests to the table.  Below were some of last year's Easter food offerings from appetizers to dessert.

Pizza Rustica

Fennel with olive oil, sea salt, and crushed pepper

Roasted Leg of Lamb with onions.

 A Feast of roasted vegetables.

Piled high fruit filled Pavola was the fresh dessert to accompany the traditional Pizza Grano. (I used Ina Garten's Pavola recipe.)

Citrus Salad Bowl - Served One by One

With Easter fast approaching, you might need some ideas for dinner.  I thought now might be a good time to share a little wisdom, and fun trick I learned from hosting last year's Easter dinner.  It was a small gathering with both our immediate families and we decided to keep it really simple with a select few offerings.   When it came to the salad, I got it stuck in my thick skull to serve it individually plated instead of one big bowl.  This idea sprouted from a clear vision I had on how the salad should look. Little did I realize that the individual plating and serving before the main meal would work out even better than I could have imagined.  

Traditionally, I make a big salad and place it out with the main course.  Without fail, everyone says, "Wow, that looks amazing but I'll have salad later.' Then they dive into all the other offerings, getting too full, and thus leaving lots of yummy salad left over.  This brilliant, new plan allowed me to serve the salad before the main course came out. An added bonus was timing, as the hunger meter was beginning to tick, with our guests starting to want more after appetizers.  Perfecto mundo!  cue the individual plates and witness the entire salad course disappear.  Now, I'm no magician, but this was a nifty trick in having no left over salad and plus I got them to eat greens!!!  I wholly recommend plating your salad and forcing your guests to enjoy your nutrient rich offering.

The salad I served was a variation on one that I've made many times.  This time I scaled back on some ingredients and focused on the Boston lettuce with citrus fruits to keep it clean and fresh, like a burst of Spring.  I think this is a light, colorful salad to serve for Easter or brunch during this time of year.  It is one of those salads that can actually be prepped a day in advance, making the day of your event much easier.  Each of the items below can be cut and stored in containers, then just assembled 15 minutes before serving.

Your starting line up of glorious greens and oranges colors of nutritious, deliciousness.

Ingredients

(makes approx. 10)

Salad                                                                                                     
3 heads of Boston lettuce, leaves carefully separated
3-4 red grapefruits, segmented
4 oranges, segmented
3 avocados, cubed
4 Persian cucumbers or 1 English cucumber, sliced
1 c fennel, shaved
1 c celery, sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
2-3 Scallion, thinly sliced

Dressing * 

1/4 c chives, chopped
Fennel fronds, chopped
1/3 c Juice of grapefruit & orange
1/2 c Olive oil
Salt, pepper

* This mixture using only the citrus juices is quite mild. If you want more punch, add a splash of balsamic vinegar.

Instructions

Cut the cores from the lettuce so the leaves can be separated and kept whole.  Wash and set aside to let dry.  (If prepped the day before, make sure they are dry, then store them with a slightly damp paper towel and place them in a container or plastic bag in the fridge.)

Segment the citrus fruits, collecting all their juices and reserving for the dressing. Shave, slice and dice up the remaining ingredients and combine them in a bowl.

Chopped and ready to go. The most important part of an assembly line, having everything prepped.

To prepare the individual plates, place 2-3 full lettuce leaves in a bowl like shape on the plates.  Then add several pieces of grapefruit and orange to each plate.  

Lettuce bowl

Assembly line awaiting their topping and a rain of citrus juices

In a separate bowl, combine the citrus juices, oil, salt, pepper and some of the fennel fronds. Whisk together. Since this will be individually plated and not all tossed in a bowl, I recommend combining all elements minus the lettuce and the citrus and lightly dress these items, reserving some of the dressing to drizzle and finish off each plate.

Top with the sliced mixture and drizzle the remaining dressing over each salad topping with some of the fronds.  Serve immediately. 

Drizzle some dressing over top as the final touch.

Have I mentioned just how pleased I was serving the salad this way?  Instead of praying our guests leave room for salad at the end, it was a slam dunk that they ate up every last bite.  Truly savoring this super fresh, vitamin packed salad first.  And because it is light, they had room for the rest of the meal, too. A ploy I may just employ a bit more often. I hope you do, too.

Side note:

This salad tastes equally delish if served in one large bowl.  You can decorate this any way you like. You can toss all the ingredients together for a green and orange rainbow of color.  Or you can present it similar to the individual plates, placing all the lettuce on the bottom and focusing all the other ingredients in the middle. Any way you toss it, you and your guests will get a fresh bite of salad that will brighten more than your senses.

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Pizza Rustica - An Italian Easter Tradition

"Tradition!  Tradition! "  As Zero Mostel so famously belted out in Fiddler on the Roof, it is what grounds us to our own history.  I love family traditions. They fill me with memories and smiles, good times and laughter of being together as a family.   And for me, a big part of that was being in the kitchen with any one of the 3 incredible women who inspired my love of cooking and baking.  My Italian grandmothers and mother: Powerhouses in the Kitchen. As a little girl I would watch them and help whenever and wherever I could.  I studied, learned and committed most of what they did to memory. Thankfully, some recipes, like this one, Pizza Rustica were written down, so I can keep the tradition going.  Today's recipe is brought to you by these two amazing woman, my grandmothers.  

Trofimena Carmela Annunziata
aka - Mildred Majewski, mom's mom
Photo Credit: Paul Majewski

Carmela Marie Giovanna
aka - Mildred Perri, dad's mom

The 3 Powerhouses of the Kitchen - Literally making Pizza Rustica.  That's my gorgeous Mom. I can't believe I found this photo!!!  A treasure.

For the past few years, I have been making Pizza Rustica for Easter.  What is that, you ask? Well, pizza, in Italian, simply means pie.  Rustica means rustic. Duh! So this is a rustic pie packed with cheeses and meats served typically at Easter to break Lent.  For those who might not know, Lent is that period of time prior to Easter when Catholics are supposed to abstain from eating meat (which I do daily anyway, so no sacrifice for me, hehe). Thus, this 'more torte than' pie celebrates the return to eating meat. It was a definite tradition in our home growing up and one I'm trying to keep afloat. 

It is rich. It is dense. It is a delicious and decadent pie. One that my parents, in particular my dad, absolutely love.  Nothing brings me more joy than making traditional recipes for them and seeing their happiness.  I relive the moments of my childhood. This recipe is not difficult to make, just a little time consuming.  You may see versions where the filling combines all the ingredients together. That is the easy way out.  But my grandmas patiently and lovingly created layers. So that’s what I do.  Plus, I think it looks beautiful that way.  (Funny thing is my mom and I were in heated debate about this methodology.  She swears her mom used the layering method, of which I have no doubt.  But claims my dad's mom mixed it all together.  I remember them both layering it, so that's that. Take the time to layer it and do it the pretty way.) 

I like to think of this as a three part recipe.  1- Make the dough.  2- Make the filling. 3- Then layer the meats and cheeses.    Here we go.

Ingredients

Dough
2 lb. Flour (approx. 6 cups)
2 tsp. Baking powder
1 c. milk
1 c. oil
5 eggs
dash of salt & pepper

Combine all the above ingredients in a big bowl. I add the eggs last. Once all the dough comes together, knead on a board until dough is smooth.  Divide dough into two sections (2/3 and 1/3).  Roll out the 2/3 portion and place the dough into a 9" x 3.25" liter spring pan. (Because the pie is so dense and heavy, I suggest using a spring pan so you can remove it.  If you don't have one or don't mind serving it from the baking pan, then just us the largest pan you have. My grandmothers like making this in a deep pan, but you can make it in a long rectangle. You will just have less layers.)

Combining into a ball.

Kneading until smooth

Roll it out to size.  If the dough breaks, just patch it.

Now onto the filling.

Filling
½ - ¾  lb. Prosciutto, sliced thin
½  lb. Genoa salami (sliced thin)
½  lb. Soppressata (sliced thin)
1 whole Basket cheese (farm fresh cow's milk cheese made & left in the basket)
3 lbs. Ricotta cheese (whole milk)
6 eggs
fresh parsley, chopped (optional, another debate. sometimes it was added, sometimes not)
Salt

Cheesy deliciousness

In a separate bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, basket cheese and parsley with the eggs and season with salt.  

You have to crack some eggs in this recipe

Get all the meats items ready for assembly.  Begin the layering by first adding a layer of the cheese mixture, spreading evenly to cover the bottom. You want about 1/2" of the cheese mixture. Then add a layer of the prosciutto, followed by another layer of the cheese mixture. Next layer the salami, repeat the cheese layer. Then a layer of soppressata, and repeat the process until you fill up the pan.

First layer of goodness going down.

Layering up and up, overlap the meat so there is a good amount.

I use an offset spatula to spread the mixture around.  It makes it a lot easier.

Roll out the remainder of the dough a little larger than the top of the pan.  Place over the top of the pan. Trim the excess but leave enough to seal. Then using two fingers, pinch to crimp and seal the top.

Since the dough is quite pliable, it's much easier if you roll it onto the rolling pin and they roll it onto the top.

Trim the excess

Using two index fingers, pinch the dough together to create a seal AND a pretty border.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until golden brown.  Let rest and cool before lifting it up through the springform pan.

This monster of a "pie" feeds an army, so we usually serve it as an appetizer with very few, or light apps to accompany it.  Like olives, or fennel with olive oil and course salt.

Our line up of apps one year.  Roasted red peppers, burrata with fresh tomatoes/basil, fennel with coarse salt/pepper/oil and the of course, the towering Pizza Rustica.

Layers of rich deliciousness.

Serve up a slice. Yes, an Italian Easter Family Tradition... but delicious anytime.

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Food photos in this post credited to: www.asithappens.me