Grilled Veggie Caesar Salad

Oh this was good. 

But much left for lunch tomorrow  : (

We added some rotissarie chicken and someone 

added some olive oil to the dressing... 

no harm done it was still quite good.  

Click here for the recipe.

Italian Flank Steak Pinwheels, Green Beans, Cats, Flowers & Sargent Pepper

 

Okay Sunday night dinners have been pushed up a notch. With last week's hot weather I spend some time online trying to find recipes that require little to no heat being produced in the kitchen. And first up we have Italian Flank Steak Pinwheels from the Whole Foods web site. I had the butcher butterfly the flank steak. Talk about an amazing meal. Wow! Arugula and provolone.  The rolling up the meat with the filling was a challenge but it is amazing what you can accomplish by saying a Hail Mary!

 

The side dish was also from Whole Foods, Green Bean Salad with Goat Cheese Dressing. Nice dressing. A nice lemon flavor.

 And the deer did not eat our flowers!

 And someone enjoyed their new window seat!

And this morning as I am doing my Sunday morning cooking listening to Breakfast with the Beatles it was stated that the Sargent Pepper album came out 45 years ago this month. I remember when my brother brought the album home... Let's just it was a turning point...

Amazing Grilled Chicken

Gotta love it! After an exceptionally long day I walked in the house to see Chris grilling chicken he had marinated in Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Salt, Pepper and Oregano. Oh it was so good! Have I mentioned that I have the world's best husband!

Double Cheese & Proscuitto Calzone and The Who

As soon as I took a taste of this calzone I remembered why I made the recipe again. Amazing flavors! The cheese and the prosciutto. It could bring tears to your eyes. And the crust was perfect.

I thought a salad would go nicely with dinner and I was right!

Today is the first day of summer and it sure was hot out. But let's not freak out like our local weather people. Let's just enjoy the heat.
This is one of my favorite "summertime" songs...

Eggplant Towers

I saw the eggplant and I bought it. Now what...
I breaded and baked it in the oven, yes fried would have tasted better.
I had prosciutto so I was thinking rollatini. But I decided to make stacks. Sauce in baking pan, eggplant slice, some ricotta (that was mixed with Parmesan and parsley), a slice of prosciutto and top with a dollop of sauce (homemade marinara, of course). Repeat stacking 3 more times. Keep building stacks until you run out of eggplant or you baking pan is full. Add additional sauce to the pan, you can never have too much sauce. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
Just remember to serve with Italian bread!

Fava Bean Pasta e Fagioli

From Food and Wine, Fava Bean Pasta e Fagioli. This will probably be the last soup of the season. The start of summer is a day away.

I used precooked fava beans that I picked up at Whole Foods. We added some meatballs that did not make it on to the pizza last night. There was also one piece of pork left from Friday's dinner so into the soup it went. The extra meat added another level of flavor to the the soup. But it would have been fine even if we had not added the extra meat.

Pizza and the Vacation Wrap-Up

Happy Father's Day!

Today is the last day of my vacation. Sigh... It was a fantastic week. I did quite a lot, and did not blog about it but I can give you a wrap up... and I am sure you are sitting at the edge of your seats!

On Tuesday my sister and I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I wanted to see Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations and my sister wanted to see Cloud City. We arrived early so we could get the tickets for Cloud City. The 6:30AM train out of Madison to be exact. Yawn!
Anyway we got to the roof of the Met and our time slot came around. I made it up to the first stage and I bailed. No I am not a heights person. My sister went all the way through. Trust me, it was scary!

Now about the Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations... if you like fashion you have to go. It is that simple. It was a great presentation with the clothes and the video installation. Alas no photos allowed. But here are some from the Museums site.

For lunch we ate at the Petrie Court Café and Wine Bar. I had Farfalle Pasta Garden Vegetables, Wilted Greens, Picholine Olives, Aged Asiago with a glass of Pinot Gris.  My sister had Chopped Salmon Salad, Market Vegetables, Boiled Egg, Lemon-Dill Cream with a glass of Shiraz. That's what I call a lunch!

Spending the morning looking at beautiful clothes put my sister and I in a shopping mood. Okay that is not hard to accomplish. We headed down Madison Avenue stopping in a few shops to look around. And did I mention the rain. Not really rain but more like torrential rain. I love weathermen... they said it would rain at night! We did the logical thing and took a cab to Sak's. Well the cab stopped in front of St. Patrick's which is right across the street from H & M. And they were having a sale! Two shirts for $7 and one shirt for $5!

Next stop Saks. My sister had never been to the Shoe Department. Take the express elevator if you go! We also checked out the designer dresses, they were having a sale too! And if I had a spare $585 I would have bought this dress-

Back home dinner was waiting. I baked of some chicken thighs and breasts on Monday. I baked them in lemon juice and olive oil and hot sauce. Chris heated them up and made some rice and green beans. After a long day in New York it was a perfect way to end the day. Sorry too tired for photos!

Wednesday I visited my sister-in-law who babysits 3 of her grandchildren. They are ages 5 years, 4 years and 9 months. I brought over a quiche for lunch and Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Thursday was house cleaning day and Friday I met a friend for lunch and went to the outlets. New William Sonoma Outlet store!

And back to tonight's dinner, the whole reason for the blog, we had pizza! Pizza with meatballs and with ricotta and olives! Yes I cleaned out the fridge for this one. The results... only 3 pieces left!

Pork Chops with Cherry Sauce and Golden Semolina-Quinoa-Spinach Cakes

Wow what a great vacation week! I enjoyed sitting down every morning with my cookbooks and my laptop and trying to figure out what to make for dinner every night. Did I spend more at the store then usual? Yes, but I was on vacation! Whatever I spend at the store it was a lot less then if we ate out every night. Don't get me wrong I love to eat out but why eat out when you can make the same meal at home!

Anyway.... tonight's dinner was found on RealSimple.com. I had bookmarked this awhile ago. The timing was perfect. Cherries were arriving at the store and they were not too expensive! Super fast and easy to prepare, this was a big hit. Loved the sauce, don't usually make this type of meal. But the best part was the Golden Semolina-Quinoa-Spinach Cakes.

I cut this recipe out of Food and Wine. Okay I have to realize that cutting recipes out of magazines is no longer necessary... the Internet has everything! Click here for this amazing recipe! Chris loved this dish. I did not add the egg wash before dipping them in the panko bread crumbs. They were a bit too moist to add the egg wash. I also salted them immediately after removing them from the pan, something Alton Brown recommended on one of his shows.

So the best part of my vacation was...

 

spending time with this little face!

Sausage, Leeks, Zucchini and Pappardelle

Another easy pasta dish. Brown the sausage, then add a knob of butter, sliced leeks and zucchini. Add a  1/4 cup of white wine. Season with salt, pepper and parsley. Cook the pasta, reserving about a 1/2 cup of pasta water. Add the pasta to the saute pan along with some pasta water and a little more butter and cook for a minute or two. Serve topped with Parmesan Cheese.

And did a little baking while dinner was cooking. This recipe is from BakerStreet.tv... cue the music.

Not My Mom's Stuffed Peppers!

Dare I say it... I found a recipe that I like better than the stuffed pepper recipe I have been using for, well lets just say awhile!

I found Spinach and Sausage Stuffed Peppers at Food And Wine. First, I loved the use of Italian Frying Peppers. The stuffing was something I never thought to use. I always go with beef and maybe rice. And the sauce was perfect. Just remember to make sure you have enough Italian bread!

For a side dish I had some rice and Farro In the fridge so I put together a rice salad. I used up the dressing from the Tortellini Salad. Added some fresh Mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, olives, scallions and parsley.