Live :: Love :: Laugh :: Eat!

Archive for August, 2008

When we had our paella dinner party a couple of weeks ago, for an appetizer, I made this marinated melon dish, adapted from here, and used my little Pampered Chef whisk to stir up the dressing.

Marinated Canteloupe and Prosciutto

1 fresh, ripe cantaloupe
12 thin slices of jamón serrano (I couldn’t find serrano ham, so I used prosciutto)
1 scallion, finely chopped
8 tbsp olive oil
6 tbsp sherry vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Cut melon in half and scoop into balls with a teaspoon or melon baller. In a small bowl whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Add the scallion and melon, mix thoroughly and chill for 2 hours. Shape ham or prosciutto slices into cones and serve with melon.

This is my entry in the August edition of Joelen’s Culinary Adventures, specifically for Tasty Tools.

This is my entry in the photo food blogging event, Click, hosted by Jai and Bee of Jugalbindi. We love having sangria during the summer and in my favorite recipe for it, a variety of citrus is the only fruit used. The citrus juice is so refreshing on a hot summer day, we often make a big pitcher just for the two of us.

This batch, though, was for serving at the paella dinner we hosted recently. I made two batches, one with pink wine, my favorite, and one with the traditional red wine.

This is the first time we’ve grown Tabasco peppers, and they’re funny little dudes. They grow upside down, pointing up! They look like they’re about ready to taste. I need to find a recipe for Tabasco sauce.

I just have to acknowledge witnessing history tonight. Barack Obama is the first African-American to be nominated for President of the United States of America by a major political party.

He is an impressive man and I believe he will make an excellent president.

Last Saturday, Dan and I went to the Seawall Arts Festival in downtown Portsmouth. It’s an annual event that draws artists from several states, held on Portsmouth’s main downtown drag, High Street. High Street ends at High Street Landing, a little man-made bay where boats can tie up and boaters can spend some time visiting antique shops, restaurants and other little jewels along High Street. Sunday was a beautiful, sunny day, not too hot, with a nice breeze.

Read the rest of this entry »

Portsmouth’s LaShawn Merritt won a gold medal in the men’s 400-meter race at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing yesterday. Dan taught him in two classes – Earth Science and Experimental Design – when he was a student at Woodrow Wilson High School.

Way to go, LaShawn! We’re proud of you!

ETA: And today, Aug. 23, LaShawn added another gold medal to his collection, winning the 1,600-meter relay, along with the rest of the men’s team. Congratulations to you all!

Back in May, Dan and I took a trip to Jim Thorpe, PA, a beautifully restored Victorian-era town in the mountains of southeastern Pennsylvania. Dan had been there a couple of times before with friends, to go kayaking on the river, but this was my first time there. Here are a few pix of the trip; one of these days, I’ll get a bunch of them put into an online photo album, but here are some for now:

Jim Thorpe, PA

This is an overview of the town from the top of a nearby mountain. The mansion in the upper center, with the red roof tiles, is the Asa Packer Mansion, now a museum; to the right of it is his son’s house, the Harry Packer Mansion, which is now a bed and breakfast inn that hosts murder mysteries, and to the right of that, with a cupola on top, is the carriage house, where we stayed.

You gotta read the story of Mary Hannah Packer Cummings (1839-1912), Asa’s daughter. She was a feminist before her time
Read the rest of this entry »

Last Christmas, my mother-in-law, Barb, gave me a paella kit, among other lovely gifts. She knows how much I love to cook and have people over to cook for, so it was a really cool present It came with a bottle of Spanish extra-virgin olive oil, a bag of calasparra rice, a half gram of saffron, a paella pan and a recipe. So we just had to buy the meats, seafood and some of the veggies, since we used some tomatoes and onions from the garden.

We had two couples over for dinner last night and made the paella, and it was just delicious. I’m going to add to this post later, but I just wanted to get this photo up and show it to my MIL. Thanks, Barb

I learned how to make this dish last summer, and ended up making it almost every Sunday, so we could eat from the leftovers for a few days. We were renovating our kitchen, and I decided I had to become friends with the grill, and at long last get over my fear of lighting it. That fear came from an unfortunate incident when I was about 14 years old and singed my eyebrows because I didn’t know you were supposed to leave the lid open when lighting it Now I know.

Anyway, I came across a recipe for beer-can chicken and then a variation known as wine-butt chicken, because the can goes in the chicken’s butt, don’tcha know? I’m not a beer drinker, so we do the wine version and it’s unbelievably easy and delicious. The steaming liquid from the can flavors and moistens the chicken from the inside out, and look how crispy the skin gets!

It’s also really cool that this recipe illustrates how to extend the use of the grill by using it as an oven.

Grilled Wine-butt Chicken

1 3.5-4 lb. chicken
1/2 cup non-oaky white wine (we usually use Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc)
1/4 cup fresh herbs of choice, chopped, plus a few sprigs (can be one herb, or a mixture – thyme and basil are favorites of ours)
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 soda can, emptied and rinsed
1 8″x8″ aluminum pan

Light grill and turn burners to high; close lid. Carefully lift skin from chicken breast and insert chopped herbs between skin and meat. Fill can halfway with wine and put in herb sprigs and garlic. Insert can in chicken cavity and stand it up in the aluminum pan, with the can and the two legs acting as a tripod, so the chicken stands up. Tuck wing tips under.

Brush chicken all over with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Place chicken in pan on grill and close lid. One hour later, come back and check chicken’s temperature with an instant-read thermometer. It’s done when the thigh meat registers 165*F. Have a friend or loved one hold the chicken with tongs while you remove the can with another set of tongs, and put the chicken, breast side up, on a platter. Cover loosely with foil and let rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grill up some veggies to have with this incredibly moist and delicious chicken. Enjoy

This is my entry in this month’s Monthly Mingle food blogging event, begun by Meeta of What’s for Lunch, Honey? and hosted this month by Sig of Live to Eat. And here’s the roundup of all the recipes submitted for this event. I’ll definitely be trying some of these.

I love this time of year My basil is just out of control and the roma tomatoes are finally coming in strong, so it’s caprese salad or something with pesto regularly now. I also need to get some pesto frozen for the winter. I like to put a tablespoon or so into marinara sauce and this recipe works even with thawed frozen pesto.

This is a really simple recipe, though. Everyone has their own basil pesto recipe, I’m sure, so I’m going beyond that to one of my favorite side dishes featuring pesto – pesto pasta. If your favorite pesto uses an herb other than basil, or cheese other than Parmesan, you can substitute those for the garnish. I like to use rotini pasta, because the crevices catch the pesto and you get a lot in each bite.

Pesto Pasta

1 lb. rotini pasta or other small pasta shape
1 cup basil pesto
1-2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil if needed
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
3 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
basil leaves

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; cook pasta till al dente, 8-10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool; remove to a large bowl. Using a large spatula, mix pasta and pesto together, adding 1-2 tbsp. olive oil if needed to loosen up the pesto. Garnish with diced tomatoes, Parmesan cheese and basil leaves.

This is my entry in the food blogging event Grow Your Own, begun by Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes and hosted this month by Jessica of Finny Knits.