Two Orzo Salads...and One (rerun) Rice Salad - that are REALLY Good

orzo w/roasted veggies, feta and pine nuts

Our wonderful goddaughter, Hailey, had a combined 25th birthday party and "We're leaving the East Coast and Moving to San Francisco" party this past Saturday night for around 70 of her and her Peter's nearest and dearest folks. 

Needless to say, her mom and all of us were all knee-deep in food preparation! While Jules (and daughters Hailey & Lauren) took care of the protein side of the meal, my crew took care of the salads! Daughter Brynnly, old nanny Sheila (who has been in the family for around 30 years now), other-daughter Kat and I rocked out 4 salads! I made the top roasted veggie salad, Sheila made the lemony orzo salad with cucumber and feta, Brynnly and I made the panzanella salad (photos were horrid, not going there!) and we all made the confetti rice & veggie salad (recipe also here). Nice thing about all of these salads is they can be changed to make bigger and/or smaller amounts to fit the number of folks you're feeding. 

2 eggplants, cut into 1" cubes
1 each green, orange and yellow peppers, cut into 1" cubes
2 red peppers, cut into 1" cubes
1 large red onion, cut into 1" cubes
4 garlic cloves, diced
2 lbs. orzo, cooked to perfection, and drained
1 lb. block of feta, chuncked
more crumbled feta to taste
1/2 C. or so toasted pine nuts
zest of 2 lemons
juice of 2 lemons
handful of fresh basil leaves, julienned
olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425º.
Place all veggies in a  bowl and toss with olive oil and salt and pepper. Spread over 1 or 2 cookie sheets and put in the oven. Roast for around 40 or so minutes, until veggies are well and done.  In a large bowl, combine the cooked orzo and veggies. Just before serving, stir in the feta chunks, pine nuts and basil. Dress the salad with lemon juice and olive oil. Stir to mix, taste to correct seasonings.
Serve at room temperature.

(Original recipe from Sarah Leah Chase)

orzo w/feta, red onion, cucumbers, parsley & mint

1 lb. orzo, cooked and drained, al dente

olive oil to lightly coat the pasta

juice and zest of 1 to 2 lemons, your choice

1 large English cucumber, seeded and diced

1/2 red onion, diced

handful fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 - 1 C. or so crumbled feta cheese

handful fresh mint, chopped (optional)

salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Toss cooked pasta with the rest of the ingredients. Taste and correct seasonings. Serve at room temperature.

Original recipe from Fork Knife Swoon

Confetti Rice Salad
I originally posted this salad recipe back on July 5, 2016. It's basically the very same salad, but one uses only red peppers, while this one has yellow and orange peppers as well. The first one uses a purple onion, this one doesn't. Amazing how the ingredients are nearly the same, but they look entirely different! 1st recipe/photo here.

4 C. cooked and still warm Basmti rice

2 recipes (plus more) "Our Favorite Vinaigrette"

1 red pepper, diced

1 orange or yellow pepper, diced (or both)

1 medium red onion, diced

4 scallions, thinly sliced

1 package frozen petite peas, not thawed

handful fresh dill, chopped

handful fresh basil, julienned

handful fresh parsley, chopped

Put warm rice in a big bowl and toss with 1 recipe of "our favorite vinaigrette".  After the rice cools, mix in the veggies and toss with more vinaigrette. Taste and correct for seasonings.

This calls for at least 2 recipes of "Our Favorite Vinaigrette".

"Our Favorite Vinaigrette"

2 T. Dijon mustard

8 T. red wine or balsamic vinegar

2 t. sugar

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1/2 C. or so olive oil

Whisk all together to combine.

Original recipe, tweaked a lot by my sis and I, from The Silver Palate Cookbook by Sheila Lukens and Julee Rosso

As for the Panzanella, that's a recipe in the making....not worth posting....yet!

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again! 

xoabb

Veggie Drawer Clean-Out Stir-Fry

what you get when you clean out the veggie drawer

Yesterday afternoon (and long into the night) we had a 40th birthday party here at our home for daughter Brynnly's beau, James. Enormous amounts of food were prepared - and completely consumed; there wasn't one container of leftovers, much to our disappointment this morning! Brynn and Kat did the majority of the cooking, from pulled brisket to jambalaya to both tomato and watermelon salads to a bunch of other stuff. And then there was cousin Jules who came over with a big bag of veggies from her house. She had cleaned out her fridge's veggie drawers and decided if we cut all of it up and seasoned well, we could put all in a ginormous (no problem, we have several of them) iron skillet, and then on the outside grill and have a very tasty side dish. And it was said to be very tasty....according to other folks...I never even got a bite of it as it was gone about 3 minutes after it hit the buffet table! (The ultimate compliment!)

The truly throw 'n go: 

Whatever's in your fridge - in Julie's:

zucchini, sliced

yellow squash, sliced

multi-colored carrots, thinly sliced (mandolin) so they'll cook evenly

red & yellow peppers, cut in 1" julienned pieces

shallots, sliced

a lemon zested and the juice squeezed over all

fresh rosemary

fresh thyme

salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste

grape seed oil to well coat the bottom of your iron skillet

Put all the veggies in the skillet, add the lemon zest and juice, the seasonings and toss to coat. Place on your grill (or your stovetop) and cook, stirring often, until the veggies are crisp done. Taste and adjust seasoning and serve while hot. Since you only use oil, I'm sure this would also be wonderful at room temperature as well. 

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again! 

xoabb

Focaccia w/Rosemary & Sea-Salt MumBum

Focaccia w/Rosemary & Sea-Salt MumBum

Our mom, Mary Bumgarner, has the amazing ability to throw together a focaccia or any other type of bread at the drop of a hat. She's been doing this for so long, she doesn't even use recipes or measures anything anymore. Makes it hard for us, her chillun, to follow in her footsteps! Below is the closest we could come to getting a recipe written down correctly! Mom says focaccia is a much more forgiving recipe to make than traditional bread as amounts can be less exact. The amounts given are mom's best guesstimate. Oh, and mom makes all her focaccia's and breads in her Cuisinart!

The MumBum throw-n-go:

In a 10" round cake pan:

olive oil 1/8" deep - cover the entire pan evenly

In a small bowl, stir:

1 C. tepid water (not over 110º F. - it will kill your yeast) 

1 t. granular yeast

about 1/2 t. or so of sugar to feed the yeast

In bowl of a Cuisinart, w/the plastic blade, combine: 

2 3/4 C. or so bread flour (you can use all-purpose flour)

1 t. kosher or sea salt

generous T. squeeze honey

2 T. or so olive oil (NO MORE than 2 T.!)

coarse ground sea or kosher salt

coarsely chopped fresh rosemary

olive oil. 

You will need to preheat your oven to 425º F just before baking - gotta let that dough rise!

Pulse the Cuisinart mixture to stir stuff up. Pour about 1/2 of your yeast mixture into the Cuisinart bowl. Pulse a few times to mix it. Pour in the rest of the yeast mixture and pulse again to mix off and on to really combine well. The dough should be forming into the ball as you're pulsing and climbing up the sides of the Cuisinart. Open the top of the Cuisinart and touch the dough - if it's really wet dough, add 1 T., and no more than 2 of flour and pulse again, if it too dry (not sticky), add 1 T. and not moore than 2 T. of water. If you touch the dough and it sticks to your finger, it's just right! (Goldilocks anyone?) You don't want the dough too dry or too wet; you want a sticky stick-to-your-finger, but soft dough. Pulse a few more times and the dough should be a dough that cleans the sides of the Cuisinart bowl. Let it rest 5 minutes. Pulse a few more times. (How you're kneading the dough.) 

Put a little bit of flour on your wooden board or counter top. Turn Cuisinart bowl over and let dough fall out - helping with a scraper or your fingers if needed. Once on the board, with floured hands, gather it up, knead a few times, form in a ball and put in a plastic bag to rise. When it's doubled in bulk, turn out of the bag and work it with your fists/hands to form it into a circle that is going to fit your pan. Place in the pan and push out with your fingers until the dough is meeting the edge of your pan. Let it rise again, until it's getting good and bubbly, and bigger than it was. Then spread your fingers apart and make nice deep indentations all over the dough (see above photo). Sprinkle with coarse sea  or kosher salt and fresh  coarsely chopped rosemary. Sprinkle with olive oil so the oil goes down into your finger divots. When it's once again nice and puffy, put in a preheated 425º F. oven and bake for about 35 - 45 minutes, until it's nice and brown and ~puffy~ (see above photo). 

This can be made ahead; let it rise once then put it in a bag in the refrigerator. It will keep for 3 or 4 days. To bake, take it out, let it come to room temperature and bake as indicated above, or roll out and use for a most excellent pizza dough.
I think focaccia is at it's most delicious when served warm from the oven - and no butter needed!

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again!
xoabb

Pizza, Please - Hold the Tomatoes

white wild mushroom pizza, no tomatoes!

My sis had a taste for white pizza, and as none of us had ever made it before, off to google we went!  I don't know what I thought a white pizza sauce would be, but I never would have guessed it began with a roux! We decided to use a flatbread/pita for the crust so mom wouldn't have to make more pizza crust, and it was almost as good as homemade because the toppings were so good! Our pizza was made with sautéed wild chanterelles and caramelized onions, and we used fresh thyme leaves instead of basil because it goes so well, flavor-wise, with the chantys. (If you don't have access to chanterelles, any other store-bought fresh mushroom will do; just remember to sauté them first.) Sorry for the bad photo, but it was only the next day, right before lunch, that I realized I hadn't taken any photos of it as it was being made! 

The throw 'n go: 

1 - for preparing the toppings

chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned (with a toothbrush, no water) and torn into pieces

onions - cut onion in half length-wise and then cut into thin slices

butter, for sautéing 

(This can be done long before you assemble your pizza - mom and I did all the sautéing in the morning - just take all out of the fridge enough before dinner so they are at room temp.)

2 - for the roux:

2 T. butter (if you need to make more, just use equal parts butter to flour)

2 T. flour

1 C. milk or 1/2 & 1/2

salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 garlic clove, minced

fresh thyme leaves

1/2 C. parmesan cheese

3 - for assembling the pizza:

flatbread or pita bread

mozzarella cheese

parmesan cheese

fresh thyme leaves

BumHot (or cayenne or other red pepper flakes)

Preheat oven to 450º F. 

1 - Melt butter in a pan, add the mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the chanterelles are done, about 10 - 15 minutes. Remove from pan, add more butter if needed and add the onions. Cook onions over medium to medium-low heat for around 20 minutes or so - until the onions are nicely browned and caramelized. When done, set them aside. 

2 - Using the same pan to make the roux, over medium heat (you don't want the butter and flour to brown), melt 2 T. butter and add the flour and whisk well to combine. Whisking constantly, cook for about 5 - 10 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk, adding gradually. Stir in the remaining ingredients and remove from the heat. 

3 -  Coat the flatbread with your roux.  Sprinkle mozzarella over the top of that. Then cover with the mushrooms and onions, as little or as much as you want. Sprinkle that with some thyme leave and then sprinkle on your desired amount of mozzarella cheese. Add some parmesan, a few more thyme leaves and BumHot. Bake until all is nice and bubbly and beginning to brown, about 15 - 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your bread (we like it as thin as we can get it) and the amount of topping you have. Serve your pizza with parmesan on the side. 

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again! 

xoabb

Country-Style Pork Ribs w/Homemade 'Kraut

pork country-style ribs w/home-made sauerkraut & potatoes w/a side of cantaloupe and tomatoes

Mom made a wonderful dinner last night that I would never be able to make at home for dinner as GB thinks he hates sauerkraut, and the chillun don't think they like it either. I, however, love it! 

When I was at the COMO Farmer's Market last week, there was a vendor there that made fresh sauerkraut and he had samples of it. I tried it and immediately swooned! Thought I'd tasted great 'kraut before, but realized I never really have had great kraut...his was sublime crunchy goodness. So, I took some back to mom and dad's home and mom decided a simmered dinner of pork country-style ribs, kraut and potatoes would hit the spot! My sis, dad and I agreed! 

The throw 'n go for 4 folks (with some left-overs):

1 1/4 lb. bone-in pork country-style ribs (they're fatty and that's good)

olive oil for browning

1 pint jar fresh, home-made sauerkraut (or your favorite sauerkraut)

8 small white potatoes

1 medium onion, chunked

1 cup moscado white wine 

fresh ground pepper to taste

mustard is a must!

Warm olive oil in a Dutch oven and sauté the onions for a minute or two, then add the ribs and brown on all sides. Place the potatoes in the pot. Drain the sauerkraut (and rinse if too salty) and put on top of the ribs and potatoes. Stir things around a bit so all is incorporated. Add pepper to your taste, but remember the kraut is salty, so go very sparingly with that. Gently simmer all until the potatoes poke done (the pork will be done as well). Don't overcook the pork - it will be dry! Serve with mustard. 

Mom also had a homemade (by her) spicy hot peach catsup and it was most excellent on the pork! 

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again! 

xoabb

Venison + Blackberries + Sage = Delicious

venison medallions on a blackberry-sage red wine reduction sauce
(adapted from a Moira Hodgson recipe found in the New York Times Food Pages)

As you may know, we've had an alarmingly huge chanterelle and blackberry harvest here in MO this year and have been desperately searching for new ways to use them, and have even considered paying folks to come take some of the harvest off our hands!. So...

I only ever get to have venison when I'm here in COMO (but, in the last year,we've enjoyed it a time or two at home in Norwalk as family friend, Katie, has been sharing the venison her brother hunts, with us), and in my parents freezer was a nice hunk of venison tenderloin that mom said we should have while I was here. So, off to Google I went to find out if venison and blackberries ever even go together. Yup, they do! There were several recipes out there that married the two together, and the one that sounded the very best was the one I found on the New York Times Food Page. That recipe also called for fresh sage, and as mom and dad have a huge sage plant out their side door, the triple pairing was perfect!

The not so much throw 'n go:

To serve 3 folks:

For the sauce:
1 C. dry red wine (we used cabernet sauvignon)
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 C. fresh blackberries (or blueberries)
1 C. strong veal/chicken/beef stock (we used a cup from a roasted chicken - delicious!)
2 T. unsalted (always unsalted) butter
salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 - 2 T. honey
6 - 10 fresh sage leaves

For the medallions: 
1 lb. venison tenderloin, cut into 6 uniform slices/medallions
1 T. grape seed or olive oil
1 T. unsalted butter

The steps:

1. To make the sauce, combine the wine and onion in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until the liquid is reduced to about half a cup. Add the berries and return the liquid to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries are soft and falling apart, about 15 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is reduced and coats the back of a spoon, about 15 more minutes.
Strain the sauce and return it to the pan. Whisk in the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Add the salt, pepper and honey and steep for 15 to 20 minutes, or until ready to use - keep warm. (Remove the sage leaves just before serving.)

2. Season the venison medallions with salt and pepper. In a large sauté pan, heat the oil and butter to nearly smoking. Carefully place the medallions in the pan and sauté for 3 minutes, being careful not to crowd the pan. Turn and sauté to medium rare, about 2 more minutes.

3. To serve, spoon sauce onto the center of your serving plate, placing 2 medallions in the center of each plate. Serve your other sides around the medallions. If you have extra sauce, serve it on the side.
YUM!

Our meal:

venison medallions w/a blackberry-sage red wine reduction sauce

basmati rice

sautéed chanterelle mushrooms

green salad w/cucumbers and homemade vinaigrette

homemade bread dipped in the pan juices

Deliciousness all around!

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again! 

xoabb

Pizza Margherita on the Fly

pizza ready for the hot oven!

While most of mom and dad's friends that are their age eat out at least twice a day, mom is in a very shrunk category of fixing dinner for her and dad (and anyone else that's around) just about every night of the year. Mom still cooks because she still loves cooking, no other reason. And lunch every day for mom and dad are the left-overs from the night before. 

Yesterday we met some old friends and the five of us went for brunch at the Claysville Store. It's a wonderful family-run restaurant that's only open on Saturday nights and Sundays from about noon to 3pm. They only serve country-fried chicken and country-fried ham steaks, but with all the fixin's. Best fried chicken I've ever eaten outside of my grandma! (Do go here to find out more about this lovely little restaurant.) Since we ate there at about 2pm yesterday and mom, dad and I each had a piece of chicken left (you get 3 pieces) and a biscuit, we didn't bother with dinner, just had our chicken and biscuit and a sliced tomato when we got hungry later on. 

Thus, today we had no left-overs for lunch today.
But mom, of course, had a trick up her sleeve. There's always fixin's for pizza in her kitchen and flatbread/pita bread in her freezer to put the fixin's on!

Our pizzas were delicious! 

Major yum there!

The throw 'n go for 3 folks: 

2 flatbread/pita breads (the thinner the better) (Cham brand pitas are wonderful; it was what we used)

olive oil

marinara sauce

5 - 6 roma tomatoes, cored and chopped

oregano (fresh from their garden and then dried on the counter - very fragrant!)

fresh basil leaves, rolled up and julienned into strips

mozzarella slices

Preheat oven to 450º F. Microwave flatbread for about 10 seconds to thaw if frozen. Place them on a cookie and sprinkle olive oil on them. Spoon a bit of marinara sauce on top of the breads, just enough to very lightly coat them all over. Next, evenly distribute the chopped tomatoes. Sprinkle oregano lightly and then distribute the basil ribbons evenly over both breads. Place one round of mozzarella in the middle of each bread, then round halves around the breads (see above photo). Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper and BumHot (or cayenne if no BumHot). Bake for about 10 minutes or until the mozzarella is completely melted. This is all kinds of delicious! Enjoy!

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again! 

xoabb