COLD Summer Salads; Creamy or Crunchy - Perfect for HOT Days

It's hot out and I don't feel like cooking, to only heat up the house, even with the stove vent running. Putting together cold salads in the morning works for me. I did boil potatoes for the creamy potato salad, blanch the green beans for 3 minutes in boiling water and grill 6 ears of corn while the air was cool. The rest is simply chopping up fresh summer ingredients and whipping together light vinaigrettes and one creamy sauce. I prepped everything Friday morning for meals Saturday and Sunday.

Sweet Corn and Black Bean Salad

(I mix red kidney beans and black beans for more color and flavor; Serves 6)

2 cups fresh corn grilled and cut off the cob or frozen and thawed corn kernels
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups no-salt-added cooked black beans, rinsed and drained; use a mix Kidney and Black Beans
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1/3 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped

Directions:

First, grill the corn on the cob for roughly 5 minutes at medium heat. Cut kernels off the corn. If using frozen corn, dethaw and drain any excess water before adding to bowl.

In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper to make a dressing. Add beans, corn, onion and bell pepper and toss until just incorporated. Cover and chill for about 2 hours. Add cilantro and toss again before serving.

Creamy Layered Potato Salad
8 medium baking potatoes
2 cups mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream

1 cup Greek plain yogurt
1 teaspoon (or more) prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Directions:

Cook potatoes in boiling salted water just until fork tender. Drain and cool.
Peel and slice potatoes 1/8 inch thick.

In bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, Greek yogurt, horseradish, and salt.
In second bowl, combine onion and parsley.

In large serving bowl, arrange a single layer of potato slices. Cover with a layer of mayonnaise mixture and sprinkle with some onion mixture. Continue layering ending with parsley and onion mixture. Do not stir.
Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.

Grilled Corn Salad with Green Beans and Garden Tomatoes
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 t. sugar

Salt and pepper

4 ears corn, grilled (Before grilling, spray with olive oil then sprinkle with salt and pepper.)

1 pound green beans, blanched and cooled

1 pint yellow and red cherry tomatoes, halved (or use the tomatoes in your garden)

1/2 sweet onion, thinly sliced

1/3 cup basil leaves, thinly shredded

4 ounces Gouda cheese, diced into small cubes

Directions:
Prepare vinaigrette by whisking together mustard, vinegar, oil, sugar, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Cut kernels off corn cobs and put in a large bowl. Add beans, tomatoes, onion, Gouda cubes and basil. Drizzle vinaigrette over and toss to combine. Chill salad until ready to eat.

little lasagnas with tomato, fresh mozarella and pesto

Homemade pasta, a gorgeous, basil infused pesto and fresh tomato sauce created from vine-ripened Roma tomatoes made this dish extravagant.

Semolina flour, used for pasta making, adds a nice, mellow texture to the pasta dough and EVOO pulls the dough together. Semolina flour provides elasticity in the dough and less breakage. Pasta dough needs to be kneaded and set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to relax the dough before using. With those notes made, I would like to add how the dough and I did battle for about an hour before the dough decided to pull itself together . . .Do not be afraid to add moisture if the dough is too dry. For some reason, dryness was an issue this evening. The dough finally held together, relaxed and I was allowed to roll it through to the right thickness. Pasta dough usually is not hard to make. I was already tired and started later in the evening . . . contributing to undertone grumblings . . . BUT the end result was delicious!

The recipe I used came from the La Cucina Italiana website. The food magazine published from Italy (called La Cucina Italiana) is authentic Italian fare with amazing articles, breath-taking photos of food and countryside along with tips and instructions to help anyone create homemade Italian food in any kitchen. Very user friendly!

little lasagnas with tomato, fresh mozzarella and pesto

PASTA

3/4 c. farro or semolina flour plus more for dusting

1 lrg egg

1 T. extra-virgin olive oil plus more for pasta water, baking sheet and lasagnette

Fine sea salt

PESTO

2 c. packed fresh basil leaves plus more for garnish

1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil

2 T. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese plus more for lasagnette

2 walnut halves

1 t. pine nuts

1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped

1 T. club soda

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

TOMATO SAUCE

Coarse sea salt

4 vine-ripened tomatoes

1 T. extra-virgin olive oil

1 T. unsalted butter

1/3 c. finely chopped onion

1 garlic clove, peeled and diced

Freshly ground black pepper

1 t. tomato paste, preferable double concentrated

8 fresh basil leaves

ASSEMBLY

8 ounces fresh water-packed mozzarella, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 T. unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

FOR PASTA:

In a small bowl, mound flour and form a well in the center. Add egg, oil and pinch of salt to the well. Using a fork, gently break up yolk and slowly incorporate flour from inside rim of well. Continue until liquid is absorbed, then transfer dough to a lightly dusted work surface and knead until dough forms a complete mass. Knead, dusting work surface with flour as necessary, for 2 minutes more. Wrap dough tightly in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes.

FOR PESTO:

Fill a small bowl with ice water. Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil; add basil leaves for 15 to 20 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer leaves to ice water. Let sit 1 minute, then drain and squeeze water from leaves using a clean towel.

In a blender or food processor, puree basil leaves, oil, cheese, walnuts, pine nuts, garlic, club soda and generous pinch of salt and pepper until smooth. Transfer pesto to a small bowl and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent discoloration. Chill for 1 hour.

FOR TOMATO SAUCE:

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop tomatoes into water and boil 20 seconds; drain, peel, seed and cut into 1-inch pieces.

Heat oil, butter, onion, garlic and generous pinch of salt and pepper in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently for 3 minutes. Add tomato, tomato paste, basil leaves and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a bare simmer and cook until sauce is thickened, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and adjust seasoning.

FOR ASSEMBLY:

Cut pasta dough into 2 pieces; rewrap one. Flatten dough so that it will fit through the rollers of a hand-cranked pasta machine. Set rollers of pasta machine at the widest setting, then feed pasta through rollers 3 or 4 times, folding and turning pasta until it is smooth and the width of the machine.

Roll pasta through machine, decreasing the setting one notch at a time (do not fold or turn pasta), until sheet is about 16 x 5 inches (if dough feels wet, dust with flour). Cut pasta into 4 (4-inch) squares; discard scraps. Lay squares 1/2 inch apart on a dry baking sheet and cover with a clean dish towel. Repeat with remaining dough.

Heat oven to 450 degrees F.

Fill a medium bowl with ice water. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add 1 teaspoon of oil and 4 pasta squares; Cook for 2 to 3 minutes after water returns to a boil. Using a slotted spoon, transfer pasta to ice water, then to a large plate. Repeat with the remaining squares.

Pat pasta dry. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush with oil. Put 4 pasta squares onto baking sheet. Dollop half of tomato sauce onto squares. Dot with half of fresh mozzarella. Dollop 1 teaspoon pesto on top of each square, then sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano and pinch of salt and pepper. Top with remaining pasta squares.

Drizzle lasagnette with melted butter and a touch of oil (you will have leftover ingredients) and bake until edges are lightly golden, about 7 minutes. Transfer to serving plates. Top with remaining tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and drizzle of pesto (reserve leftover pesto for another use); garnish with basil leaves. Serve immediately.

SMS is Still Chilling for Pics plus Homemade Marinera Sauce and Lobster Tails

Sweet Melissa Sunday is going to appear here later today . . . Promise. I made a Big Banana Cream Pie with Caramelized Bananas and Banana Liqueur and the pie is still chilling. I have to add the Banana-ed whipped cream topping and take pictures. Chilling is a few more hours . . . feels like this scenario happens way too often in my kitchen (sigh).

See? I wanted to show proof that the SMS chocolate pie crust is indeed mixed together and the pie is on its way.

Butter and shortening are kept in constant supply in the freezer because pie crusts seem to fight me every time, so now precautions are taken. I really do not understand this. As a teenager, I used to make lemon meringue pie and apple pies, when Grandma brought apples from their apple tree, and in my mind the pies always turned out fine. Now, the issue is with pie crusts shrinking or caving completely in the oven while baking (ones with no filling). The kitchen is not to hot, I poke wholes with a fork all over the pie crust and the majority of the time, I put the crust in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before baking. Still, there is slumping.

I am actually starting to dread baking pies.Valrhona cocoa powder was used and the butter has been cut into pea sized pieces.

The well was made and ice cold water set inside. Now you are just going to have to wait for the finished product to see how the pie turned out. =)

In the meantime, I am sharing my homemade marinara sauce; used as pasta sauce, in place of tomato sauce and as a marinara for chicken cacciatore. The recipe makes about 8 cups and the sauce can be broken down into serving sizes and frozen for later use or canned. I do both; preferring canning over freezing. I use my sauce a lot when dinner ideas are not jumping out at me. So quick to throw on pasta and add whatever else to the dish along with freshly grated Parmigiana cheese. Easy, fast and a relief!

Albertsons, here in Port Orchard, had wild caught Honduras lobster tails on sale this weekend so I bought 2. The day started out with great intentions. The marinara sauce is simmering away, cucumbers sticks are soaking in white wine vinegar, salt, and a dash of sugar for baking later and lobster tails are in the refrigerator, waiting to be announced. My marinara sauce gets done and just like that, so was my will to cook for the day. No desire WHAT SO EVER! On top of that, rebellion set in. The more the lobster tails were yelling to be cooked, the more I focused on watching Criminal minds, recorded earlier on the DVR. Clicking past commercials and getting right back into the show. I actually watched 2 1/2 Criminal Mind shows before the guilt overpowered my rebellion to cook. For those of you who do not know, the Criminal Minds show is an hour long (with commercials).

After starting the 3rd show, I dragged myself, grumbling the whole time about stupid lobster tails, wasting money, can't believe my hubby isn't a mind-reader and just tell me how happy he would be to take us out for dinner (even though it is around 9 pm) and now I have to make this stupid dinner. . . I may have slammed the refrigerator door just a little for emphasis.

Then I start cooking and really paid attention to what I was doing. The next thing I knew, I actually invited Larry into the kitchen to help without him having to worry about his personal safety and health.

The lobster tails started coming together, butter is being melted, water (salt and olive oil gets added to the water) is put on the stove for spaghetti noodles and Larry pours me a glass of wine to keep things safe since I am now smiling again. Why do we get into these funks or am I the only one?

Dinner seemed to get done in know time and everything was delicious!

I am now sharing my Marinara recipe, which was past on from Grandma! Enjoy =D

3 T. Olive Oil

4 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

2 T. fresh oregano, chopped

1 1/2 to 2 T. basil, dried or freshly chopped (whatever you can get ahold of)

2 whole Bay leaves, dried or fresh

7 cans (16 oz. each) Tomato sauce - Hunts brand preferred

1 can Tomato paste - same brand if possible

2 cans ( 12 oz to 14 oz each) diced tomatoes - with or without extra seasonings included

2 celery sticks cleaned

1 carrot, just peeled and cleaned

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiana cheese

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Use a Large Pot!

Heat olive oil on medium-low heat. Put garlic & onion in oil and heat until it is tender.

Put parsley, oregano, basil, and bay leaves in and continue to heat for about 3 minutes.

Open all cans of tomato products; add in sauce pot. Raise heat to medium high. Make sure to occasionally stir sauce. Cook and stir sauce until hot. Once sauce is hot, lower heat to simmer.

Add celery stalks and whole carrot in sauce, continue to simmer for 30 minutes.

Add 1 cup of grated cheese to sauce, continue to simmer 15 minutes.

Remove carrot, celery, cover sauce, continue to simmer. Make sure to occasionally stir sauce.

Taste, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, take out bay leaves and simmer until the flavor is right for you. Then make some pasta, chicken, whatever you would like to use the marinara sauce for and break the rest down into serving portions for later use and freeze.So GOOD and thank you Grandma =).
The lobster tails were cut down the center of the tummy part of the shell, through the meat, to the back of the shell but not all the way through the back shell.

Water was added to a baking pan (about 2 Tablespoons) and set under the broiler to get hot before adding the lobster tails. I use the water to help add steam and keep the lobster meat from drying out.

The distance from the broiler element is determined by the size of the lobster tail. These tails were about 12 oz. each and take longer to cook so my distance was around 9" from the broiler element and took me about 20 minutes to cook before the meat was done all the way through.

Easy and delicious!