End of School Year Celebration!

You might remember my post from December that documented my first hosting of supper club with my girlfriends from work.  Well, the rotation took its turn again at my place, and how well timed as we scheduled it for June 11, our last day of work for the 09-10 school year.  Mary, Kim, and Chrissy came over (a smaller crew than normal as Beth and Christy couldn't make it), and the party began promptly with a round of the Pioneer Woman's Sangria.  This recipe is not online, but what  I can tell you about Sangria is practically anything goes.  This version involved a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine, 1 cup of sugar, slices of 2 lemons, 2 limes, 1 orange, a cup of strawberries and pineapple, and the literal kicker, 2 cups of orange-flavored vodka.  The original recipe calls for 1 cup of orange flavored rum and 1 of the vodka, but I made it simple by just using the vodka.  I must warn you...this sangria is strong.  I think that diluting it with some orange juice, limeade, or lemonade would be good.  What is essential is that you let all of these ingredients meld together in the fridge for at least two hours.  And prepare yourself for super spiked fruit.

Here's the rest of the menu:

Mushrooms Stuffed with Brie

Spinach and Cannelini Bean Dip

Both of these appetizers were a hit, even with a selective palate like Kim's.  I particularly was impressed with the bean dip; it serves as a much healthier and just as satisfying alternative to the classic spinach artichoke dip.  I served it alongside homemade pita chips (cut each pita pocket into 6-8 triangles, toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper then bake for ~10 minutes in a 400 degree oven).

The main course starred Penne a la Betsy (Betsy is Ree Drummond's little sister), and it was a simple pasta dish packed with flavor thanks to butter, olive oil, onions, and white wine.  Mmm.  I will also tell you that it reheats beautifully (in fact, I think it tasted even better reheated...be sure to microwave on a low power level to maintain the texture of the shrimp).  I served roasted asparagus and the repeat performer Rosemary Bread alongside.

A popular choice at many a supper club, we opted to eat the meal "picnic style," so we gathered 'round my coffee table.  Here's a shot pre-feasting (do note the remains of the appetizers in the middle):

(take a gander at my cute new napkins...props to my sister for picking out the fabric and my mom sewing them for my birthday...I'm becoming greener everyday!)

We ended the meal with Peach Cobbler. I pulled the recipe from my new Foster's Market cookbook (autographed by Sara Foster!), one of my lovely presents from my friend Elizabeth in honor of my 30th birthday.

Since this recipe isn't online, allow me to give you the details:

Peaches:
8 cups of peeled, pitted, sliced peaches (about 10 peaches)
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Grated zest and juice of one lemon

Toss together the peaches, sugar, flour, lemon zest and lemon juice in a bowl until all the fruit is lightly coated and well mixed.  Set aside or refrigerate up to 4 hours until ready to use.

Crust: Your local grocery store brand refrigerator pie crust. I know, I wimped out.  The recipe gives you instruction on how to make your own crust, but this simply wasn't my day to venture into crust-ville.    Simply take a pizza cutter and slice up one crust into 1" strips.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Grease an 11 by 9 by 3-inch baking dish with 2 tablespoons of butter (I used cooking spray).  Pour in the peach mixture and set aside.   Lay the strips pie crust on top of the peach mixture in a lattice pattern (lift, thread, opposite, etc...pretty basic...think basket weaving). Leave about 1 inch between strips. Brush the tops of the lattice strips with some melted butter and sprinkle with sugar (approximately a tablespoon). Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling around the edges.  If desired, serve a la mode (we did!).

And that's the evening.  We had a lot of fun with the food, and we decided to watch The Young Victoria, the most recent addition to my DVD collection thanks to my friend Michelle who always gives a perfect birthday gift.  Speaking of my birthday, I have yet to tell you all what happened on June 1st.  I'll be pressing rewind for my next post...yup, I'm leaving you hanging.  I'll graciously give you a hint: METALLIC CHROME.  Any guesses?

May in remains...a pinch of June

Ok, so maybe a corny and un-creative of a title for the the festival of food creations that rounded out the month of May, but hey...it's the end of the school year, I've graded papers till my hand couldn't uncramp from the claw position, and frankly, my kids have worn me out.  They can be cute, for sure, but at the close of the school, the cuteness wanes.  Excuses, excuses, I know.

So what have I been cooking?  Well, a whole host of items.  Let's begin with when I partnered up with Courtney (from my college small group) for a Rachael Ray menu.  I did diverge from Giada's book, and at this point in my cooking adventures, I feel more secure in doing so.  We made Ray's Orange Balsamic Glazed Chicken and Lemon Risotto. These recipes hailed from an episode entitled "Tangy and Terrific," and I concur.  I'm always interested in a new chicken dish, and as you know, risotto is a new favorite of mine.  The chicken is very simple...you'll have most of the items already on hand with the exception of green onions and perhaps orange marmalade.  My sauce took a while to thicken up, and I thought that next time I might use chicken tenders because the chicken breasts were a bit too big for me. Now the risotto is another story, one I don't want to rewrite.  I'm not a fan of long ingredient lists, so this one had me a bit concerned at first, especially when I realized I had to "supreme" lemons (sectioning out the citrus...free of that stringy white stuff...you'll need to become adept with a paring knife).  Despite the longevity of the list, I persevered, and we enjoyed every bite. The dishes tasted great together, and I will definitely make them again.  I do apologize for the picture.  It's actually a picture of the leftovers because I had forgotten to replace my memory card in my camera.  See what I'm talking about? Sanity not so much in my grasp.  If you're looking to make this a meal, complete it with some sort of roasted green veggie, like asparagus.  It'll bring more color to the plate.

Moving on to sweeter items.  I needed some sort of quick treat for my last meeting with my small group, and after grading all Sunday morning and afternoon at Foster's Market, I wanted to bake.  What to bake? What do I have on hand already but will satisfy my desire to preheat the oven for baking glory? Tada! The Pioneer Woman saves the day.  I made Ree's Apricot Bars, and if you need something super easy and aren't afraid of a little butter, go for it.  I would like to try them with blackberry or raspberry preserves sometime, but as is, they're just great.  I would resist eating them right away...it really is important that they cool so they can be cut well (you'll see that my picture puts my geometry skills to question).  And they need only be small squares, like 1" to 1 1/2" at most.  These treats are rich.

Back to the world of Giada and her Fried Smashed Potatoes with Lemons.  Back in March I saw her make these potatoes (here's the video), and I will admit that smashing them with my hand seemed like fun.  I'm still a bit of a kid who likes to play with her food.  What was challenging was not smashing the potatoes so much that they fell apart. I did like the flavors, but, dare I say it, I don't think I will make this Giada recipe again.  I'd rather roast the potatoes (or do that potato masher trick that Dad did thanks to the Pioneer Woman's idea) and then drizzle them with the lemon dressing.  Basically, the whole process of cooking the potatoes was a little much for me, not to mention it made a mess on the stovetop (oil splatters everywhere in spite of my new splatter shield).  Still, they do pose nicely for the camera, don't they?

Who doesn't love the farmer's market?  I finally went to the big one in downtown Raleigh with frequent market shopper/friend Elizabeth, and in approximately five seconds, I was completely sold.  Who doesn't love free samples of blueberries, peaches, cucumbers and $1.00 plants?  Amazing.  Elizabeth told me I'd love it, and she was completely right.  I could walk up and down that concrete slab and simply gawk at all the fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs.  Someday I want to take my camera down there and snag a bunch of pics.  So the bigger question is what did I make with my market find?  Blueberry muffins.  Apparently the Pioneer Woman had some sort of a contest in the past and this recipe, the Awesome-est Blueberry Muffins, won.  A simple baking process yielded some tasty muffins, though I would consider putting a little more sugar, like another 3 or 4 tablespoons.  I didn't make the suggested sauce, but next, will do.  And bravo to the blueberries.  They played their part perfectly. 

Calling all vegetarians!  Calling all fresh fruit and herb lovers! Calling all those who aren't afraid of trying new grains like Israeli couscous!  Giada delivers another scrumptious dish: Israeli Couscous with Apples, Cranberries, and Herbs.  With crisp Granny Smith apples, crunchy (oven toasted) almond slivers, to tangy dried cranberries, I might just have found a side rivaling the greatness that occupies the Whole Foods salad bar.  My roommate loved it, which is always a good sign.  If the ingredient appeal, I definitely recommend you making it sometime this summer, though truly, it could be made any time of year.  It's refreshing and full of flavor thanks to the combination of herbs and the absolutely perfect vinaigrette (made with real maple syrup!).  Even more fun, the recipe gave me another chance to use my rosemary, thyme, and parsley plants on the porch.  Growing my own herb garden continues to be wholly satisfying and wonderfully convenient.

I've got more pics and stories to share, but for now, here you go.  Now that summer is upon me, my blog should be better tended.  I hope. 

Allow me to leave you with a picture from my visit to Knoxville the other weekend.  My niece was picking me out a hydrangea flower.  Lovely.