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A Life You Adore Around A Table You Love.

Archives for August 2014

C’s picks.

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Our weekend in one word? JOY! 

Sunday was one of those fantastic days where nothing was on the calendar. We ended up barbecuing with great neighbors. Filets on the grill? Can’t be beat. I brought over a sweet & sticky tomato and onion bake that I ended up dreaming about. Can’t wait to share with you. 

We are all about quick cooking for football on Mondays and Wednesdays. Let’s go with these awesome summer sandwiches for Monday and quick Chinese chicken for Wednesday.

Tuesday let’s get back to that grill. Bruschetta chicken, please! It’s all you need.

I can not believe summer has almost gone by and I have yet to make my farmers market pasta. Getting it on the table for Thursday.

Friday I’m hosting a little girls night in, woo hoo! I’m going to recreate this beautiful bruschetta bar – can’t wait! Pink champagne all around because, why not?

That’s our menu plan for the week – let’s hear about yours!

Repeat.

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summer stew

Sometimes a recipe just warrants two posts.

I’ve done that once before here on ALFS with our pizza. Took the original and put a summer spin on it. It was so pretty and fresh, I just had to share again and that’s exactly what happened with this recipe.

I started with the original summer stew, of course, but then thought – hey, why stop at just onion, tomatoes, and corn? There is a plethora of summer veggies that are so in right now, so into the pot went some chopped up green pepper and zucchini. Other options? Egg plant, summer squash – it’s all good. And now for the other added twist – fresh parm on top. Clearly I was having a mom brain moment not to include that the first time around. 

This recipe is the absolute best summer recipe to make if you miss cooking, want something easy, and only want to dirty one dish. Who has time for more than that? There is summer sun to be enjoyed before it sets into fall, so grab a glass of wine, a plate of this, and get to it this weekend.

Oh, and the instructions? Head on over to the original post, here, and have fun with it. 

Happy Friday everyone!

Alone.

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Grilled Caprese Baguettes

I’m not alone often.

And I like to be alone. Really – I do. I like quiet. I like being able to think and create and dream. It’s a challenge for me to do that when there is a lot of noise, which is quite often. But this is the stage of my life. I wouldn’t trade it for the world yet given two free hours right before dinner time to be home… alone? To me, there isn’t a greater gift. M came home with the football scuffed boys to perhaps the happiest wife in the world.

I went to my garden and picked tomatoes.

I went to the store and picked up still warm from the oven ciabatta.

I strolled over to my neighbor’s and stole some basil (thanks, Tina!).

I massaged olive oil, freshly cracked pepper, and salt from France (thank you, Catherine!) into thinly sliced pieces of bread, and then rubbed both sides with raw garlic.

I lit the grill in bare feet while sipping on sauvignon blanc.

I slowly sliced the most perfect heirloom tomatoes I could find.

I grilled avocado. So much easier than one would think.

I assembled each baguette like it was a work of art. Different combos to showcase the over the top summer flavors. I kept it simple with just burrata. Went all out with prosciutto and avocado. Stayed traditional with the heirlooms and basil. Each time I created one I decided that was my favorite… until the next one was assembled.

I photographed the platter outside in the most perfect light, without a toddler on my leg.

A whole lot of ‘I’s in a world so often filled with ‘you’s’ lead to perhaps one of the most beautiful summer dinners we’ve ever had. The taste? Well, heaven on earth of course.

Grilled Caprese Baguettes
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Ingredients
  1. 1 loaf crusty sourdough or ciabatta bread, thinly sliced
  2. 2 large ripe, but firm avocados, peeled, pitted + sliced
  3. olive oil (enough to drizzle over bread slices and avocados)
  4. 1 clove garlic
  5. salt and pepper
  6. 8 ounces burrata cheese (or use fresh sliced mozzarella)
  7. 1 bunch fresh basil
  8. 4-6 heirloom tomatoes, sliced
  9. handful of slices of prosciutto
  10. balsamic vinegar, for drizzling
Instructions
  1. Preheat your grill to medium-ish heat or preheat your oven to 400° degrees F.
  2. Place the slices of bread of bread on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil on both sides. Rub each side of bread with the halved garlic clove. Sprinkle the toast with salt and pepper.
  3. Place the avocado slices on a plate and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  4. Place the bread slices and avocados on the grill and grill both for about 2-3 minutes per side or until lightly chard. Remove from the grill.
  5. Cut into the burrata and divide it among the toast. Top the burrata with whatever combos your heart desires. End by drizzling with the balsamic.
Adapted from Half Baked Harvest
Adapted from Half Baked Harvest
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

 

C’s picks.

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Our weekend in one word? PARTAY…! 

And now, our kitchen line up for the week:

Sunday we celebrated the birthday boy at Lindy’s Landing! Thanks to all his friends and family who came out.

Mondays and Wednesdays for a while around here will need to be quick as they are football nights. Let’s go with t-ball tacos for one, and philly cheese steak sandwiches for another.

Grilled shrimp & asparagus with a shallot vinaigrette sounds perfect for Tuesday.

Thursday let’s go all out.

Friday looks like we are back at Lindy’s with the St. Marks crew. Coconut shrimp, please!

What’s cooking in your kitchen this week?
C

Happy Friday.

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Homemade Queso Fundido

Let’s end this week with a bang, shall we? I’ve been known to do that around here.

I feel like, at times, a photo is worth 1,000 words and this would be one of those moments. Do I really need to expand on melted gooey cheese, sautéed sausage, and veggies all hanging out in a hot skillet ready to be smeared into a warm tortilla?

I didn’t think so.

Get this homemade queso fundido going in your kitchen – ASAP. Report back, I’d love to hear if it made you as happy as it made us. Happy weekend friends!

Homemade Queso Fundido
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Ingredients
  1. 1/2 pound Hot Breakfast Sausage Or Chorizo
  2. 1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
  3. 2 whole small Bell Peppers (any Color Combination), Seeded And Finely Diced
  4. 1 pound Monterey Jack, Grated (OR Mozzarella, Or Other Stringy Melting Cheese), Grated
  5. Sprinkle Of Chili Powder
  6. 3 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
  7. 1/4 cup Cilantro, Chopped
  8. Tortilla Chips For Serving
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. In a large skillet, cook and crumble the sausage until brown. Remove from skillet and drain on a paper towel. Pour off any excess fat.
  3. Add onions and bell peppers to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until the veggies are soft and golden brown, about 7-8 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
  4. To build the skillet, place 1/3 of the cheese in a medium-sized ovenproof skillet. Add half the sausage. Add another third of the cheese, then as much of the veggie mixture as you'd like (you may have a little left over.) Add almost all of the remaining cheese, the rest of the sausage, then whatever cheese you have left. Sprinkle the top very lightly with chili powder.
  5. Into the oven it goes for 5-6 minutes.
  6. Top with the diced tomatoes, sprinkle on the tomatoes, and serve immediately with tortilla chips.
Adapted from Pioneer Woman
Adapted from Pioneer Woman
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/
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