This was the salad served at my Impromptu Dinner Party.
Life has thrown several twists and turns this week, which has kept me fairly distracted. Admittedly, I’m just now catching up on writing the rest of the posts for my Impromptu Dinner Party. I know, I know. I should have written these in advance, and set them up in a queue like a good blogger. But, what can I say? Sometimes I need to catch up on living life for a moment so I can write about it.
Right now I’m sitting on my back patio listening to the hum of my neighbor’s lawn mower as he tackles the jungle that emerged from the recent rains. There are two smells that tell me its summer. The first is the scent of fresh cut grass. I love how the fragrance lingers in the early evening hours like a gentle kiss from Mother Nature. The other is the delicious aroma of vine ripened tomatoes. Their intense red color of the juicy flesh contrasted against rich green leaves make for a purely heavenly salad. It’s still a little early for local tomatoes to make an appearance at the Pittsburgh farmers markets, but for this dinner party, the store bought ones worked just the same.
Tomato Feta Salad
1 pint cherry tomatoes, kept whole
2 beef steak tomatoes, wedged
4 small vine ripened tomatoes, wedged
4 oz. Feta cheese, crumbled
1 Tbl. fresh basil, minced
1 Tbl. olive oilAllow the tomatoes to get to room temperature before slicing them. Arrange the tomatoes in a shallow platter and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle the feta cheese and basil over the top. Serve with the Basil Parsley Vinaigrette. Serves 4 – 6 people as a side.
Basil Parsley Vinaigrette
Inspired by Food & Wine Magazine1 cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
½ cup fresh parsley leaves, loosely packed
2 Tbl. garlic, minced
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 ½ Tbl. red wine vinegar
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to tastePulse the basil, parsley, garlic, mustard, vinegar and red pepper in a food processor until well chopped. With the food processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the basil mixture until the vinaigrette emulsifies and becomes a light green color. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle over the Tomato Feta Salad.
Authors Note: Since it’s really the only ingredient, I have found it’s absolutely critical to bring the tomatoes to room temperature before serving this salad. It is the best way to let all the rich flavors of the tomatoes come out and shine. Also, my favorite way of serving this salad is by using a variety of colorful heirloom tomatoes to get the salad even more visual interest.
Photos: Middle: Top: The delicious Tomato Feta Salad. Middle: Sophie chewing on a new toy while I write this post. Bottom: The head she ripped off of her new toy after I finished writing this post.
After returning home from a wonderful trip in Toronto, the last thing I wanted to do was eat in yet another restaurant. I craved a home cooked meal and the comfort of relaxing in the backyard, without the annoyance of servers asking us if we were American based on what we ordered. While trying to decide on what to have for dinner, I noticed a stack of magazine clippings Ihad read during my trip were still on the kitchen table. It was as if the torn sheets were begging me to test them and create an impromptu dinner party.
As you may know from my Hello Toronto post, my friend Ty took the liberty of sharing his photographic perspective by creating a mini photo shoot at one of the restaurants we dined in Toronto. Since it would be his last meal with us before traveling back to his native land of Atlanta, I thought it would be fun to create an impromptu dinner party series of posts with him as my guest photographer. Then to take things even further, Brent was in charge of transforming my ingredient preparation into works of art through his masterful grilling techniques.
The Menu:
- Beverage: Strawberry Bellini
- Appetizer: Assorted Cheeses and Sausage Nibbles
- Salad: Tomato Feta Salad with Basil Parsley Vinaigrette
- Entrée: Grilled Lemon Rosemary Chicken
- Side: Grilled Vegetable Kabobs
- Dessert: Grilled Angel Food Cake with Balsamic Strawberries
I have to admit, it was a ton of fun having Brent and Ty take over. It was as if I had my own personal team of stylists working to make my recipes look as magical as they taste. I hope you enjoy photos, stories and flavors over the next several posts as much as I enjoyed this home cooked meal.
Strawberry Bellini
Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine1 pint strawberries, rough chopped
¼ cup powdered sugar
2 Tbl. brandy
1 bottle Prosecco sparkling wine
whole strawberries for garnishPulse the chopped strawberries, brandy and powdered sugar in a food processor until smooth. Pour into a small bowl and chill until ready to use. Spoon a desired amount of the strawberry mixture into Champagne or tall wine glasses. Then, fill the each glass with the Prosecco and garnish with a whole strawberry. Serves 4 – 6 glasses.
Authors Note: This was the first time I made this recipe. I didn’t like how the pulp floated to the top of the glass. It made for an odd texture when I took a sip. In the future I will probably skip the food processor step, quarter the strawberries, and toss with the other ingredients. I think seeing chunks of strawberries at the bottom of each glass will create a much more interesting presentation.
Photos by: Ty Wong (left in picture above)
Cooking and Styling by: Brent Ricketts (right in picture above)
Writing by: Cory Van Horn
Eating by: Jimmy Lohr
This was also a side dish for my Saturday Dinner Party.
I work in a completely beige, windowless, office with giant Post-it sheets covering every square inch of my tiny space. I have three mismatched chairs for visitors, my filing cabinet sticks when I open it, and my tired old desk is piled with my various corporate communications projects. Of course, it would be nice to see the sun shining outside, or have a prettier color on the walls. But, I will always take my windowless office and job over a fancy cube any day of the week.
What does this have to do with Savory Couscous? Nothing really. I just felt like sharing.
Savory Couscous
1 Tbl. butter
½ cup carrot, shredded
2 Tbl. green onion, finely sliced
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 ¼ uncooked wheat couscous, small grain
2 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 Tbl. fresh basil, minced
salt and pepper to tasteMelt the butter in a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat. Add the carrots, green onions and mushrooms to the pan. Sauté for 1 -2 minutes until the mushrooms have softened slightly. Add the chicken broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir in the dry couscous, cover with a lid and remove from heat. Let the sauce pan sit completely covered for 5 – 7 minutes. DO NOT PEEK. Sprinkle the pine nuts and basil over the top and toss with a fork. Serves about 4 – 6 people as a side.
Authors Note: This dish can easily be made vegetarian by substituting chicken broth with vegetable broth, or plain water.
One of the things I like about my new neighborhood in Pittsburgh is the accessibility. Within a five block radius of my house is a Whole Foods, Borders, Williams & Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Apple Store and a ton of independent shops for me to enjoy. Of course, a plethora of great restaurants makes the area heaven for me. One place in particular is a small independent pizza joint that is literally steps from my front door. They make amazing pizza pies from the freshest ingredients on dough that is perfectly baked to its peak of golden goodness.
These Tomato and Mozzarella Rolls were inspired by a popular item, called “House Rolls”, which are made fresh to order. I feel the versatility in this recipe is what makes it great. Just think of the variety of items you could roll into a little bundle of goodness. I have tried several versions and they all have been good, but the tomato and mozzarella always stood above the rest.
Tomato and Mozzarella Rolls
1 (14 oz.) can pre-made pizza dough
12 cherry tomatoes, whole
12 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
¾ cup mozzarella, shredded
2 Tbl. olive oil
2 Tbl. parmesan cheese, grated
nonstick cooking spray
flour for dustingBake the rolls at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
Unroll the dough on a floured cutting board and lightly pat the dough to 9” X 13”. With the dough positioned like a vertical piece of paper, cut a horizontal line across the middle of the dough. The two halves should look like half-sheets of paper. Set one half of the dough aside and cut a zigzag pattern in the dough to create six even triangles. Repeat this process with the remaining half of the dough. Brush each triangle lightly with olive oil, reserving some oil for the tops.
Place even amounts of the basil and mozzarella at the wide end of each triangle. Next, place a one tomato per triangle on top of the cheese and basil.
Starting with the wide part of the triangle, roll the dough tightly until you reach the end. Lightly pinch the sides to seal the cheese and tomato into the roll. Place 1” apart on the greased cookie sheet and brush each roll lightly with olive oil. Finally, sprinkle the tops of each roll with grated parmesan cheese.
Authors Note: Two other equally delicious versions of this recipe included Pesto and Pepperoni, and Ham and Cheese. So now it’s your turn, what would you roll into the center? Also, the pre-made pizza dough is typically found in the refrigerated section near refrigerated biscuit dough.
By the time mid-summer rolls around, the last thing I want at a picnic is another bland potato or pasta salad. But a salad that would never get tired or disappoint is the classic Caprese Salad. I have made variations of this recipe several different ways. Each time I learn something new that makes the next variation even better. This version of the Italian delight is by far my most favorite way to make it. I use cherry tomatoes for its low liquid and acidity and tiny fresh mozzarella balls packed in water because it has the most flavor. As you can tell by the recipe below, you don’t need a lot of ingredients to make an impressive Caprese Salad; however, the quality of the ingredients is absolutely critical. Make sure the tomatoes were picked at their prime ripeness and the balsamic vinegar isn’t the cheap stuff that tastes like brown water.
Easy Caprese
2 pints fresh cherry tomatoes
½ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
16 oz fresh mozzarella, drained and halved
4 Tbl. very good balsamic vinegar
2 Tbl. good olive oil
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepperSlice the cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise and place in a medium sized mixing bowl. In the same bowl, add the chopped fresh basil and mozzarella. Mozzarella comes in various sizes. If you are not able to find the mozzarella that is packed in water and portioned into tiny balls, make sure to portion the mozzarella to the same size as the halved cherry tomatoes. Add the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper to the cheese and tomato mixture. Toss lightly and serve. Serves 4 to 6 people as a side
Authors note: This salad stays very well in the refrigerator and only gets better over time as the balsamic vinegar becomes one with the tomatoes and mozzarella. Tomatoes are at their peak of flavor when they are at room temperature. I recommend allowing the salad to rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before serving.
