Red Wine Sangria

Red Wine Sangria This year, my sister started a cookbook club for the two of us and some of our foodie friends. It’s been a blast. We choose a cookbook, test recipes for about a month, and then gather with all five families to share the foods we liked best. It can be a frightening display of indulgence, but great fun. Even the kids, ages 6 to 17, get into it and offer their reviews. We broaden horizons and push boundaries. How many eight year olds will proclaim the Country Pate was their favorite part of the meal? Awesome.

We’ve done The Lee Brothers Southern Cookbook, Gordon Hammersly’s Bistro Cooking at Home (A must-have for your library.), and Arabesque by Claudia Rodan.

Our next dinner is over Labor Day weekend. This time we want to grill, since Labor day marks the end of Summer fun. The kids go back to school, and Fall craziness ensues. (And don’t get me started on the Holidays…there are only 117 days until Christmas which means all the big chain stores will be putting up their decorations next week.) Anyway, we couldn’t quite come up with a book specifically on grilling so we went with a chef instead…Bobby Flay.

I didn’t love this pick mainly because my inner snob is put off by the fact that he is everywhere. I put him in the same category as Rachel Ray. Over exposed. As I started looking through his cookbooks however, I was reminded what got him all that exposure. Dude knows his stuff, and a lot of his stuff is very tasty and interesting which for me is key. I like different. BBQ Duck and Sauteed Shiitake Mushroom filled Blue Corn Pancakes with Habanero Sauce? Um, yes, please. Read more…

Prosciutto Wrapped Figs And Blue Cheese

Prosciutto Wrapped Figs And Blue Cheese Headin’ For the Hills
Every year, for the last thirty years, my family and some of our dearest and closest friends gather at Tahoe for the first two weeks in August. The amazing thing about it, besides the amount of space we take up on the deck at Garwoods, is that the third generation of these families is now carrying on the tradition. We may not see much of each other during the rest of the year but we all make sure we’re there in August.

During those two weeks we raft down the river, hike, jet ski, go out to dinner and hang out on the beach catching up and gossiping. As the years go by the little kids become big kids and the big kids get married and add more kids ensuring the tradition continues.

One of the best parts is our End of the Summer Beach barbeque which happens on the last Saturday. We stay on the beach all day, play red rover and watch the sun go down over the lake while we munch on the grilled sausages and various other tid bits that everyone brings with them. One of my family’s favorite’s is listed below. Try them. They’re so good. See you in a week. I’m headin’ to the lake… Read more…

Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Avocado-Melon Salsa

Grilled Mahi Mahi The Waiting Game
When I put in my garden this past spring, one of the plants I was most excited about growing was the Ambrosia Melon. On a hot August day there are few things more satisfying and cooling that an ice cold wedge of juicy, sweet melon. I can be a creature of habit, so this year I was determined to be creative and come up with other ways to enjoy cantaloupe. I searched and scoured the internet as well as my own cookbook collection for interesting recipes to try besides the usual “Take prosciutto. Wrap it around melon. Eat. Repeat.” And call it good (which it is).

I found there are actually a number of things to do with melon besides just cutting it and eating it or wrapping it in fatty meats. Who knew? You can puree it and make popsicles (even better when you add your favorite vodka or rum! Read more…

I CAN’T WAIT for Blackberry Jam!

I CAN'T WAIT for Blackberry Jam! Anyone who tried to grow tomatoes last year knows it was a bad season. For optimal growing conditions, tomatoes need hot days and cool nights, and last summer was cold. This year, I swear I can feel it, will be much better. If I will it, it will be. So I took a week off in April for spring break and ordered three cubic yards of soil–this is a lot of dirt, and I moved it by myself. The kids putting dirt in a sand bucket doesn’t count. I did it all by myself. Uphill. Both ways.

I have now planted 3 pounds of potato seed, 5 rows of carrots, an Ambrosia melon, 12 varieties of tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, lemon cucumbers,