Eggplant Cups

Let me share one of my favorite money saving ideas.....hosting a dinner in can be less expensive than paying your share of the bill at a restaurant. Add in the comfort of a casual dinner spread over a few hours at our home compared to being rushed out of your table, the awkward moments of how to split the check and then the early goodbyes to go home our separate ways and dining at home wins in so many ways. This is especially true when you have friends who are willing to do dishes since the clean up is absolutely my least favorite part of hosting! So many thank you go to all my awesome friend who don't hesitate to grab an apron and get scrubbing.

I am an avid reader of SmittenKitchen blog and I was super excited to see her post on the feature in Everyday Food , one of my favorite Martha publications. I loved her creative use of eggplant as a little shell to "stuff" - you know my love of stuffing veggies and eggplant isn't going to escape. I didn't really follow her recipe exactly - its a bit past fresh tomato season and well I forgot mint at the store (at least remembered parsley for my chicken roasting/soup making later this week) but I want to give some credit to the inspiration for tonight's dinner. I served these eggplant cups alongside some grilled steak tips (a cut that I NEVER see in NJ but grew up loving in New England!) and roasted zucchini.

Tomatoes - two ways!

I love shopping at the Farmer's Market but at times it can be a little expensive so I am always looking for a deal. A few weeks ago, I notice that my normal farmer had bags of about 6 large tomatoes on sale for $3. Normally these tomatoes are close to $3 each (since they are almost a pound each!) but since they were already nice and ripe they had them on "clearance". I was able to find a bunch that wasn't over-ripe and since I was going to use them right away anyways I was happy to buy them ripe and ready to use.

One of my favorite meals in summer time is tomato salads. There is nothing so simple and perfect but dependent on the ingredients. Tomatoes are something that still really only taste right in the summer. One bite of a fresh summer tomato is enough to make me want to swear off all of the super market varieties that range from acceptable to almost orange and mealy! But unfortunately, winter will be back soon enough and there will be 8 months worth of salads that rely on these sad tomato like substances!

The first variation is a traditional Italian tomato salad. This is an easy side that is welcome at my dinner table any night. It is best when you make it in advance and give it some time in the fridge to meld together. This is a simple mix of diced tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, fresh basil and some salt and pepper. If you want to turn it up a little a splash of balsamic can also be added. Or some fresh mozzarella to turn it into a Caprese Salad.

The second is more of a chunky salsa using the fresh flavors of Mexican cooking. For this version, I rough chopped the tomatoes with some red onion, green bell pepper, garlic, lime, cilantro and of course olive oil,  salt and pepper. These flavors are naturals with the sweet ripe tomato and the addition of some hot peppers (I used a jalapeno and a cherry bomb) kicks this up to another level. Make sure you are careful with the hot peppers though and use caution when chopping and with your hands after as the oil from the peppers can remain on hands for some time. 

Corn Salad

After spending July 4th weekend with my family at our lake house I have to admit I am in full fledged summer mode. I feel like I am still on vacation - taking a break from any real meal planning and instead making lots of little dishes and then mix and match. This corn salad is a perfect addition to your BBQ table with a smoky savory flavor that will stand up to any grilled meats.

I love using different seasonings to add lots of flavor to normal recipes and I find that summer picnic food in general can be lacking some flavor. In one of my other posts, I looked at a fun twist on Greek ingredients and potato salad but using the ready made KC Masterpiece® BBQ sauce is even easier and perfect for those day after leftovers. I hate feeling like I am eating leftovers but of course I wouldn't waste food so I try to "recycle" by using the ingredients in a new way. This would be a perfect way to make left over BBQ goodies into an amazing lunch salad (add some tomato, cucumber, lettuce and diced up grilled chicken). You can even mix the BBQ sauce with some herbs and olive oil to make a spicy dressing! 

Not Your Mama's Nicoise Salad

This isn't really a Nicoise Salad - the French classic that combines potato, tomato, green beans, olives, boiled egg and tuna but its construction reminds me of it and so I can't help but group them together. Nicoise Salad is more meal than starter and it is the perfect lunch for a lazy afternoon. This is also the perfect dish to bring along to a BBQ because it beautifully balances out plate after plate of meaty bar-b-que goodness. You can include a meat like tuna in the original or grilled chicken in my version or just keep this strictly vegetarian.... there are so many ways to make this meal very complete!

This dish can be served warm (against the rules for the classic) just take care to have all the vegetables ready to go at once or prep in advance and store it chilled for an easier to serve option. Feel free to use my suggestions or you can always customize your salad based on what you have on hand. The only requirement is that it tastes delicious. This version is far from the traditional salad but that is what I love about it!

This salad included: (L to R)
Oven Roasted Beets
Sugar Snap Peas
Oven Roasted Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower
Mini Heirloom Tomatoes
Grilled Chicken Breast
Gorgonzola Cheese Crumbles
Scallion
Mini Baby Potatoes
Roasted Red and Yellow Peppers

and I served it with a Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette...click through for the recipe

2/7/10 - Super Bowl with out the snacks - Bacon wrapped Asparagus

I couldn't wait to try a fun new technique that I found online this week (I know it seems like all I do is go online to food blogs but I promise I do other things too) Bacon Wrapped Asparagus! So fun and a perfect mix of the healthy with the excessive! With all the snow on Saturday our party didn't end up as planned and this was pushed to Sunday and a different friend. No matter who dinner might have been with this was just delicious and not too hard to master. Some suggest that you use toothpicks to secure the ends of the bacon but if you are careful you can get them tucked in on their own