Keilbasa with Mixed Greens

First of all it was pouring out so grilling was not an option. Second I got home late so Chris had dinner well underway by the time I walked in the door.

Kramer looking especially cute.

Ratatouille with Polenta

Tonight's dinner was from the Culinate site. Ratatouille with Polenta. The zucchini is from my dad's yard. We added Asiago Cheese and Ricotta Salata to the polenta. Also sprinkled some proscuiotto on the top of the Ratatouille. This was not a meatless Monday.

Prosciutto, Tomato, Fontina and Basil Panini

Tonight I tried a recipe from the Mark Bittman entry entitled Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less. Number 15 caught my attention. Call it panini. I used the basil from our plant on the deck. Delicious.

Meat Pie and Green Salad

That right I said Meat Pie. A few months back, Easter to be exact, I made Meat Pies. They are somewhat time consuming to make so I made a couple of extra and put them in the freezer. Perfect for a hot summer dinner. Chris made a wonderful salad.

Sliders and Three Bean Salad

The photo says it all.

Fried Chorizo and Chickpeas

Tonight we had a variation of Fried Chorizo and Chickpeas from the Mark Bittman's The Minimalist site. I omitted the spinach from the Bittman recipe. Chris chopped up Ricotta Salata and Asiago cheese for a topping. Quite good. A very simple meal to prepare.

Grilled Chicken, Zucchini and Polenta

Just a quick post tonight. Chris made dinner. Thank You!
He marinated chicken breast in olive oil, fresh rosemary, salt and pepper. The zucchini and polenta were also grilled perfectly.

Happy Father's Day!

Yesterday I visited my Dad. My friend Heidi and my sister Lenore had lunch with him. These are photos of his garden. He is 93 years old and quite amazing. Hope you enjoy the photos!

Pole Beans

Tomatoes

Zucchini

Raspberries!

Figs

Corn

Eggplant and Green Peppers

White Grape

Amaryllis

Happy Father's Day!

Grilled Sausage, Peppers, Onions and Polenta

Rigatoni with Shrimp, Beet Greens and Cannellini Beans

Yum! A super quick meal. While the Rigatoni was cooking I sauteed the Shrimp in olive oil, added the beet greens and then the cannellini beans. Seasoned with salt & pepper. Added about 3/4 cup of pasta water to the saute pan and then added the cooked pasta. So simple and so good.

Pollo Alla Cacciatora

I revisited a recipe I have made before, again proving I could not do 365 recipes with no repeats. Hunter-Style Chicken 1, Pollo Alla Cacciatora which I first made back in January. It is from La Cucina. And yes there are 2 other recipes but this one is so good and so easy to make. The chicken was good but the sauce is amazing. Ask Kramer!

Vegetable Frittatta (with a little bacon)

My friend Debi, from Sh*t My 5-Year-Old Says, recently asked me if I was going to try a 365 recipe challenge. It would involve not repeating a recipe for a year. Well I could not attempt that because of 2 recipes. One being my mom's Baked Macaroni and the other would be the Vegetable Frittatta. The frittatta is the perfect dinner when you are looking in the refrigerator and wondering what the hell to make. As long as you have eggs you are set.
Tonight's had zucchini, onion, shallot, potato, Ricotta Salata and Fontina Cheese. And I added some bacon to the mix. We made sandwiches with a sliced Italian bread which was great. The slices were thicker than the usual brand I get. And yes once again it is all about the bread!

Warm Spinach Salad with Grilled Chorizo

Tonight's recipe is from RealSimple.com. Warm Spinach Salad with Grilled Sausage. I did not have Italian sausage (!!) but I had Chorizo Sausage. And instead of plum tomatoes I used Campari tomatoes. The dressing was delicious.

Pasta with Eggplant, Tomato and Bread Crumbs

Another Sunday evening with Mark Bittman. Pasta with Eggplant, Tomato and Bread Crumbs. What amazes me about the Mark Bittman recipes is their simplicity. A few ingredients which when combined pack a lot of flavor.

Breaded Pork Chops with Rice and Peas

The deck was closed due to the weather. So instead of grilling the sirloin pork chops I breaded them in panko, sage, rosemary, thyme and parsley. Put them in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.
For a side dish I made Arborio rice and fresh peas. No leftovers!

Icebox Cake!

Tonight we ate a Lowries Pub and Grill. I had Chicken with Broccoli and Penne. Enough about that. For dessert I had Homemade Ice Box Cake. Oh wow! It tasted just like my mom's. The vanilla pudding, the chocolate pudding, the graham crackers and then there was the bonus flavor... fresh bananas. Thanks to the person at Lowries who made this dessert. It was wonderful.

Bison and Beef Hot Dogs and Green Salad

Now before you say "Hot Dogs!" these are quite different from you ordinary dogs. Great Range Bison and Beef Hot Dogs. The taste is so different from any hot dog I have ever had. They tasted lighter than other dogs. I topped mine with mustard, hot pickled relish and sweet relish.
We had a green salad as a side dish. The lettuce was romaine and I added olives, red onion, croutons, fresh mozz, and a kumato, the brown tomato. Yes a brown tomato. I saw it in the produce section and had to try it. Not bad!

Meat Pie and Salad

Cavatelli with onions and zucchini

I had a bag of Cavatelli in the freezer from the batch I made on Mother's Day. I had Zucchini, Vidalia Onion and some Ricotta Cheese... Sounds like a quick dinner to me. The dinner was made in 20 minutes. Okay Chris had the water on the stove before I walked in the door but still that is a pretty good time to get dinner on the table.
The onion and zucchini were thinly sliced and sauteed in olive oil and a knob of butter. Cavatelli was added to boiling water. About a half cup of pasta water was added to the saute pan along with some ricotta cheese. The Cavatelli was added to the saute pan and the dish was seasoned with Parmesan Cheese, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, parsley and thyme (my favorite herb!).
Fantastic!

We have tomatoes! Small but we have high hopes!

The Simplest, Best Shrimp Dish Ever

Tonight we had The Simplest, Best Shrimp Dish Ever. Really that is the name and yes it is simple and really good. I got the recipe from the Mark Bittman Blog.

As a side dish I made, from the Smitten Kitchen, Spring Panzanella. It is such a pretty dish. And it too was very good. Also has some Roasted Cauliflower which was almost eaten before dinner.

Grilled Balsamic Marinated London Broil

Tonight Chris made dinner on the grill. Easy clean-up! The London Broil recipe came from Epicurious.com. Delicious! We also grilled zucchini spears and some Kalamata Olive Bread from the Tom Cat Bakery in New York. There is a kitchen store in the area, Cook's Kitchen, and they recently started selling bread from Tom Cat Bakery. The bread is delivered on Saturdays when they are on their way to a deliver bread to Bobby Flay's restaurant at the Mohegan Sun Casino! First of all my weakness is bread. Then add the word cat to the label and I am buying it. And I will buy it again. Fantastic texture and flavor. It was a wonderful dinner!

Top This Grilled Pizza Crust

When I was at Whole Food I picked up some Top This Grilled Pizza Crust. Wow what a great pizza. We had a lot of little leftovers in the fridge and they made perfect toppings. We used homemade marinara sauce and then added grilled yellow squash, red onion, bacon, grilled chicken, fresh mozz and riccota salata. Chris and I were very impressed with the crust. We would consider making this pizza instead of ordering a to-go pizza.