What We Ate with links and recipes…

So I posted a teaser the other day of all f the food that we ate over the Memorial Day weekend but right after that my computer developed a virus and it took me until Friday of last week to get everything figured back out.  I was so lucky and ended up not losing anything but some of the files are different and I had to reinstall some things.  Anyway as promised…

Starting from the upper right hand corner and going clock wise and finishing up in the middle:

  Tzatziki sauce – this is typically used with souvlaki and gyros but we used the leftovers all weekend sometimes even as a salad dressing!!!

 Greek Salad – Really simple dressing that is fresh and quick to make.

 Marinated Shrimp Salad – So simple and the best thing is you make it the night before and allow it to marinate all night.  Then just take it with you the day of the party.

Watermelon infused with watermelon Vodka:  Simply take a whole water melon and cut a hole in the skin just large enough for a funnel to fit in.  Do this about 12 hrs before serving.  Fill the funnel with watermelon vodka and allow the watermelon to absorb it.  Keep doing this until the desired amount is in the watermelon.  Chill and slice immediately before serving.  Place a cork in the whole for transporting to the party!

 Pork Souvlaki:  This is the souvlaki recipe that I got from my friend Peter over at Kalofagas.  It is the best I have ever tasted and made by me at home!

Bread – We bought it from our favorite German bakery and brushed it with garlic infused olive oil and grilled it…

 
Michelob Ultra – Yummmmmm!

Summer Berries with berry reduction and whipped cream (recipe to follow in a day or so)

Happy Summer!!!

Watermelon and Blueberry Margarita!

To me the Memorial Day weekend marks the official start of summer!  I know, by the calendar we are still weeks away from the official start but I have always been a summer lover and it sure is stinking hot here already.  With all of the thought about summer and the long weekend I started thinking about drinks that I could serve over the weekend and I remembered one that I had made last year but could not for the life of me find the recipe for it again.

Finally success!  It is a Bobby Flay recipe and it is a true summer time drink…beautiful juicy watermelon, ripe plump blueberries and fresh from your garden mint!  How could it get any better?  TEQUILA!!!!

Watermelon and Blueberry Margarita (recipe by Bobby Flay)

This makes enough for about 8 drinks…

Ingredients

1. 1/4 cup water
2. 1/4 cup granulated sugar
3. 8 cups diced seedless watermelon (1 pound)
4. 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
5. 1 3/4 cups blueberries
6. 3/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, plus 8 sprigs for garnish
7. 1 1/4 cups silver tequila
8. Ice

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a simmer with the sugar and stir over moderate heat until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute; let the sugar syrup cool.
2. In a blender, puree the watermelon until smooth. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and strain the watermelon juice, pressing gently on the solids to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the pulp.
3. In a large pitcher, combine the sugar syrup with the lime juice, blueberries and mint leaves. Using a wooden spoon, lightly muddle the blueberries and mint. Add the watermelon juice and tequila. Refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
4. Pour the cocktail into tall ice-filled glasses. Garnish with the mint sprigs and serve.

Cooking at the track…

Most of you know by now that my oldest daughter, Kyra races BMX.  She has only been doing this since last May but is really loving it and doing really well.  It’s a tough sport but she seems to just be thriving in the environment.  She is a strong, smart and very tough little girl and we are incredibly proud!

Anyway this past weekend we were at a Qualifier for the State races over at Okeeheelee BMX in West Palm, just over on the other coast.  It was a 2 day race with some festivities starting on Friday.  Seeing as I would really rather spend the night in my own bed then any other bed anywhere we decided that we would stay at home on Friday and get a real early start on Sat.  Early start we did and we made it to the track with plenty of time for Kyra to get some practice laps in and then onto the races. 

The races on Sat. were great but the mains were delayed by over 2 hours by the coldest, ickiest, nastiest rain ever.  We used the delay time to get checked into our hotel.  Made it back and continued on racing into the night.  On the first day Kyra placed 3rd, 2nd and 3rd in the semis.  In her main she placed 7th.  Not the finish she was hoping for but a great finish nonetheless…

Sunday we woke up bright and early to do it all over again.  Sunday though the weather was beautiful.  Cool and sunny.  Kyra placed 3rd in all her motos and 7th in her main.  Perfect racing weather!!!

Instead of buying food at the track for all the days there we had decided with our racing buddies to get together and pack up a meal, burgers, hot dogs, and salad.

So now onto the food…

Tomato Basil Salad (adapted from The Church Cook)

This is the perfect salad for a picnic, pot luck or any time you need to make something ahead of time.  The dressing can be made ahead and the salad all prepped just add the dressing and the parmesan about 5 minutes before serving and toss well…

2 chopped seeded plum tomatoes
1 cup (packed) coarsely chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup olive oil, extra-virgin

Romaine lettuce, chopped
Grape Tomatoes
Red Peppers, sliced 
Red Onions, sliced thin
Grated Parmesan
or any other garnishes

Blend first 7 ingredients and 1/2 cup oil in processor or blender. With machine running, add remaining 1/2 cup oil; process until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before using.

Toss the salad 5-10 minutes before serving.

Had to improvise with the cheese for the burgers (used cheese sticks), but check it out…we even had bacon!!!  Cindy was a pro with her marine grill!!!

Great time had by all.  Thanks Chris, Amy, Cindy and Scott for the great company!!!  And the kids totally rocked…

Black Bean and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

My goal each and every day is to feed my family a healthy lunch and dinner.  Oh how I have been lax at meeting that daily goal!  Turning a new page and starting off on the right foot and all here is my attempt to get it all back together.  The meals that I cook have to either be crock pot, slow cooked or else pre cooked that we can heat up after, between or before whatever extra curricular event we have happening on that night.  I don’t use packaged or prepared foods at all so everything that I do is from scratch, just to make it more challenging huh?

Between karate 2 days, skating 2 or 3 days and BMX 2 or 3 days you can just imagine that it is a little hectic around here.  One thing though that we ALWAYS make sure that we do it to eat together.  There is none of this grabbing and eating on your own here.  We sit down to a family meal each and every single night.  Is it easy?  No way, but we do it.

One of my big problems though is that we get pretty bored with all of the fast things that I can make and it has been way too hot for a slow cooked or crock pot meal.  So this is what I came up with yesterday and it is going to be added into the rotation.

Black Bean and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

I was able to make the black bean mixture, cut up all of the cilantro, jalapenos and crumble the goat cheese ahead of time.  When we got home I heated the bean mixture and got the griddle going.  These were assembled, cooked and on the table in 10 minutes.  I served sautéed zucchini along side and it was really the perfect meal!

Black Bean and Goat Cheese Quesadilla (inspired by Fine Cooking)

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 lg yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
24-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno, chopped
4 oz. fresh goat cheese, crumbled
6 flour tortillas, Burrito size (we used 2 whole ones for T and I and 1 each for the girls)

In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until hot. Add the onion and garlic and sauté, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the beans, cumin, chili powder, oregano and 1/2 cup water and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost all the water has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Take the pan off the heat. With the back of a fork, break up the beans to make a chunky mash. Stir in half of the cilantro and season with salt and pepper.

Spread the black bean mixture over the tortilla and crumble the goat cheese, sprinkle with jalapeno and some cilantro top with another tortilla.  Cook on a heated and oiled griddle until nice and golden brown.  Repeat with the remaining ingredients and slice up and serve.

**We served these with chopped up avocado, salsa and sour cream.  This was a delicious and quick week night meal!

This would also be a great idea for an appetizer for your next party or pot luck.  Cut into smaller wedges these would be perfect!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

A little late for Cinco de Mayo but good anytime…

I hate when real life gets in the way of my food blog, but sadly it has. I had my youngest home with me and then I ended up sick. Not the really bad sick but enough to knock me on my keester for a day or so. Anyway this post is sadly long overdue but too good not to post!

Pastel Azteca

A couple of weeks ago I was searching for a recipe to take to our groups regular monthly pot luck. This months theme was Mexican, Spanish or Latino. Easy enough huh? I just didn’t want to do any of the common things like tacos or enchiladas. I was going to do tamales but that looks like a ton of work. I then remembered my friend Ben at What's Cooking giving me a lead on one of his favorite recipes!!! After looking it over I decided that this one would be perfect and was exactly what I was looking for!!!

Thanks Ben for a delicious recipe and one that was a real hit! The only thing I would do differently next time is to make more sauce. The sauce was delicious!!!

Chicken Pastel Azteca (from Ben @ What’s Cooking?)
8-10 servings

The ingredients:

• 1 chicken breast shredded (I used 2 cooked breasts)
• 1 lb tomatoes
• 1 medium size onion
• 3 garlic cloves peeled
• 1-2 chipotle adobado peppers
• 16 ounces tortilla chips, you can either make your own by cutting in quarters approximately 24 corn tortillas and frying them or baking them or buy them made at the store
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 8 oz. Chihuahua cheese shredded 2 cups approx. or shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 red onion sliced
• Salt and pepper to taste

The how-to:

1. Blend together tomatoes, onion, garlic and adobado peppers using one cup of chicken broth. (I cooked the onions and the garlic first then blended this in my food processor)
2. Pour the sauce into a sauce pan and add the rest of the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, season to taste and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350° F.
4. Place a layer of tortilla chips at the bottom of a 9”x13” baking dish using 1/2 of the tortillas.
5. Add a second layer of shredded chicken, half of the shredded cheese and half of the red onion slices.
6. Pour some of the tomato sauce into the pan.
7. Add a final layer of tortilla chips and cheese and pour the rest of the sauce.
8. Bake for 20 minutes, let it rest for 10 minutes before serving and garnish with sour cream, red onion and chopped parsley.

Too late for Cinco de Mayo but still a really good meal. This would be a quick and easy week night meal and I can’t wait to make it again!!!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Thanksgiving Day Preperations!

I am starting to feel a little guilty about not having helped you out a whole lot with your entertaining plans this year! I have been going full tilt the last week or so which is normal for most of us getting ready for Thanksgiving.

This is just a guide line of what I do to prepare:

1) Set my guest list: This year we have 13 people coming. Of that number I have 5 children.

2) Make a list of all the menu items I am going to be making:

Turkey
Dressing (stuffing)
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Cranberries
Cake

I have asked my guests to bring a dish of their choice. That wasy everyone gets to share in the meal!

3) Make a list of all the ingredients that I will need.

4) Go through my pantry and freezer to cross of the list what I already have.

5) The last list is of all the items I need to purchase. This list is broken down by store (Costco, Publix etc.)

Hope this helps in getting you organized this year!

For some really good recipes this year my friend Jerry over at Cooking...by the seat of my Pants! has done a post featuring some of his best Turkey Day recipes!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Happy Monday!

I am still trying to get all of my recipes from the Partylite party that I had last Thursday together and on here! Just bear with me though...I had a huge problem with my website over the weekend and that took a lot of time away from me. Sorry to anyone who was trying to check it out. All they got was a Halloween recipe!!! All fixed up now though or at least better than it was!

Here is the recipe for the Smoked Salmon Lollipop's:

Ingredients:

Green onions (cleaned and all wilted outside leaves removed)

Plain or herbed cream cheese (block - not in a tub)

Good quality smoked salmon

Directions:

Slice the cream cheese into thick slices and wrap carefully around each onion. Press the cream cheese together gently and it will seal right onto the onion. Wrap a slice of the salmon around the cream cheese and the onion and gently press together. Place nicely on a plate and serve! Can be made earlier in the day and covered and refrigerated until your guests arrive.

As Always...

Happy Entertaining,

Judy

http://www.nofearentertaining.com/

Sign up for my newsletter!!!

I am working on a great newsletter for the month of October. I am going to have a special feature on Halloween (no big surprise there) but I am also going to do a special section on hostessing shopping parties.

Now I know we have all gone to the old Tupperware parties and we all know how me we hate them but the parties now are a bit different. Now they have home goods parties, lingerie parties, cooking parties...you name it it's out there now! Every year I am hostess to a PartyLite party and that is coming up in the month of October. I am such a fan of PartyLite products so for me this is a no brainer. I have 2 dogs and I always feel like my house stinks so I have candles going all of the time! But it is also a fun time for all of us Moms to get together without the children running around! Think about hostessing a small party for a group of your friends...it's a great excuse to get together. I will also take all of the brain work out of hostessing. No fear entertaining.

Sign up now for my FREE monthly newsletter! You won't want to miss an issue!

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
http://www.nofearentertaining.com/

Let's make Panini!

A panino (IPA: [pʰəˈninəʊ]) is a sandwich made from a small loaf of bread, typically a ciabatta. The loaf is often cut horizontally and filled with salami, ham, meat, cheese or other food, and sometimes served hot.
The word "panino" [pa'ni:no] is Italian (literally meaning small bread roll), with the plural panini. "Panini" is often used in a singular sense by speakers of languages that borrow the word, including English and French, and hideously pluralised when necessary into "paninis".
"Panini" is also a brand of grill made specifically for grilling these sandwiches.- Wikipedia

So know we know what they are let's go and make some. It is the weekend after all! When time seems to slow down just a little bit and we aren't quite as rushed. Maybe you want to make a delicious lunch before the football game on Sunday...apparently it's an "important" one????? Why not try a panino or some panini.

Classic Italian Panini Sandwich:

Ciabatta or 2 thick sliced crusty Italian Bread
4 slices of thinly sliced Prosciutto or Parma Ham
6-8 slices of thinly sliced hot or sweet Cappicola
1 Tbsp jarred pesto sauce
1 Tbsp mayonnaise
3 slices Provolone (Tony is always saying that the brand has to be something that is Italian)
roasted sweet red peppers (from a jar or from your grocer's deli counter)

Directions:

• Slice the ciabatta for a sandwich
• Mix together the mayonnaise and the pesto and spread on one side of the sandwich.
• place the Prosciutto or Parma Ham, Cappicola and Provolone on one side.
• Top with enough red peppers (dried on a sheet of paper towel) to your liking.
• Place other slice of bread on top and follow the panini press operating instructions.
• Slice, serve and enjoy!

If you don't have a Panini Press their are several options available. Click on each below to see and and buy!

This one is my favorite as it has that Old World charm. Like the old Italians used to use before the plug in ones!



Have a great weekend and....

Happy Entertaining

Judy
http://www.nofearentertaining.com/

Are you running out of getting together time?

I was at my children's school this morning and I was fortunate enough to run into a very smart woman that I have known for several years and talk to whenever I can but we never really seem to have as much time as I had today. I wasn't very rushed and she didn't seem to be very rushed so we were able to chat for a few minutes. While we were chatting I told her what I had been doing (building a website etc.). I told her that my website was about entertaining and how I wished that more people would do it but it seemed that most people thought of it as too much work or they were too busy to do it. She brought up a very good point and that is that we are all say to our friends "let's get together soon" but very rarely do we ever follow through with it. Is it because we are afraid that it would take too much time, too much effort etc.? We have all done this...but what if we found out that our friends were leaving and moving out of state and that we have run out of getting together time! It happens to all of us that live in Florida. People move away ALOT! I would be very sad to think that I had run out of getting together time with one of my friends.

Cooking for your friends can be very simple. I love hamburgers cooked on the grill! What I am saying is that it doesn't have to be spectacular. It can just be a very simple afternoon by the pool with some burgers and a couple of drinks. As long as you are sharing this with friends you can't go wrong!

This weekend is Labor Day and there is no better time to call up your friends and invite them over for an afternoon or evening. Most of us have 3 days off so you can't make the excuse that there isn't enough time to do all the preparations! Keep it simple! Your friends will appreciate it I'm sure!

Happy Entertaining,

Judy
http://www.nofearentertaining.com/

Maybe Labor Day?

I have been trying for days now to get my husband, Tony, to commit to having a party during the Labor Day weekend. It would be just perfect...3 days long. I have a Partylite party to go to on Friday but then the rest of the weekend is empty! I think why he is hesitating is that in just our regular invitees we are up to 22 people. Not really a big deal for us but then there are always others that we want to include at as well. I can see this being a 30 person party. My moto is the more the merrier. Lots of good food, plenty to drink and great friends to share it all with. This would be kind of the last hurrah for the summer. Our children started back at school yesterday so it wouldn't be a back to school thing but Labor Day always sort of signifies the "official" end of summer. Now, coming up with a menu will be no problem at all seeing as my website is www.nofearentertaining.com. which has a newsletter that is full of recipes, tips, and ideas. We have been having parties like these for about 15 years and each one is better than the last!
Maybe I can get him to commit to a date today...wish me luck!