Summer Recipes?

June 15, 2009 at 12:03 AM ·

A More Perfect Julep Recipe

1. Take some mint leaves off the stems.  The mint should be dark green, crisp, and fresh. 
2. Combine with a dash of water, and a spoon of sugar.
3. Put in a blender and blend until liquid.
4. Strain liquid.
5. Strain again. 
6. Put ice up to the brim in a Derby glass, a silver julep cup, or a Louisville Stoneware julep cup.  If you don't have any of these, just give up now. 
7. Put some bourbon in the cup or glass.  Don't use as much as Royce suggested (insert smiley face here). 
8. Add green liquid to brim.
9. Add a whole sprig of mint.
10. Enjoy.  A julep is best enjoyed the 1st Saturday in May, around 4:30 in the afternoon.

June 15, 2009 at 12:42 AM ·

Anne- Nice 'Old School' recipe!  Hopefully we'll have some nice salads and fruit ambrosias to add.  And don't forget nice cold fizzy drinks and hey recipes outside the U.S.

June 15, 2009 at 12:42 AM ·

Tri-tip BBQ

Start with a couple tri-tip (one is not enough!).

I use a dry rub; it is a chocolate garlic rub I got at a wine tasting; I'm not sure of all the ingredients, but it is a dark chocolate (not sweetened) powder with garlic, some salt, and I'm not sure what else.

Work the rub into the meat by placing the tri-tip into a 1 gallon baggie, add about 3 tablespoons of the rub, and knead it from outside (doesn't lose any of the rub, and keeps your hands clean).

Let it sit for about 4 hours, longer if you can (refrigerate).

Start with a hot BBQ of about 375 or hotter, sear it with direct heat. Move away from the direct heat, and roast until done (2 1/2 to 3 hours depeding on a number of circumstances); use a meat thermometer to check internal temperature to your preference.

During the roasting process, be careful about opening the BBQ; when you do, you lose heat and dry the meat more. The primary reasons to do so woulld be to:
Add hickory or oak to the coals for additional flavor.
Turn the roast
Drizzle with a good red wine (something full bodied is best)

After cooking, let it sit for about 5 to 10 minutes to settle. Slice and serve as desired. Save leftovers for future meals and stews.

June 15, 2009 at 01:48 AM ·

Two Vegetarian Recipes:

Yoghurt-Cucumber Soup

2 pints of plain yoghurt, preferably goats' milk, full fat, but any kind will do.

A bunch of mint-- or dill, or sorrel, or cilantro, or even parsley-- whatever is freshest.

3 large cucumbers.

Lemon juice and salt, to taste. 

Fine chop two of the cucumbers; reserve. Fine-chop herbs; reserve. Pulverize third cucumber in blender or food processor; add yoghurt. Combine with herbs, chopped cucumber, lemon juice and salt. Alt: fine-chop all cucumbers and use whisk instead of machine. Chill before serving.

---

Confetti Rice Salad (This is easy to put together, especially if you have a rice-cooker. You can add grilled chicken or keep it this way for a vegan dish.)

Salad: 5-6 cups cooked rice, preferably mix of colorful long-grain and wild rices; 1 bunch chopped fresh herbs (see above); red onion, fine-chopped; 1 cup red, yellow, orange, and/or purple bell pepper, fine-chopped; toasted almonds or pecans; 2 cloves of garlic, fine-chopped. 

Dressing:  finest quality olive oil; finest quality aged balsalmic vinegar; lemon juice; salt and pepper.

June 15, 2009 at 04:57 PM ·

Strawberries and cream of course.

Halve strawberries, sprinkle with sugar, flood with single cream, serve at room temperature.

What could be easier? Even the masterchefs haven't figured out how to make it complicated for us.

June 15, 2009 at 07:16 PM ·

Got to try the two veggie dishes mentioned above!

Mmmmm Strawberries!

June 16, 2009 at 01:59 AM ·

Royce, no offense, but your julep recipe is a tad strong.  Three shots...Egad!

That said, I have this fun little fruit salad:

• Cut up your favorite fruit.  I like to use cantaloupe, watermelon, grapes, strawberries, bananas, blueberries, apples, peaches, apricots, cherries (pitted), kiwi, oranges, starfruit, and whatever else floats your boat. 
• Go heavy on the cheaper fruits, such as grapes, bananas, and apples.  This saves $$$, but is still tasty.
• Add a few chopped walnuts, or whatever else floats above mentioned boat.
• You can also add a few mint leaves, if you have any left over from making juleps.
• Add a spoonful of lemon juice, which keeps the fruit from turning brown.
• Add sugar or honey if you want.  I don't, but add if you must.
• Enjoy.
• Share some with your neighbors.

June 16, 2009 at 12:13 PM ·

Sorry Anne, 1) I live in Wyoming, and being around cowboys, cowgirls, college students, & bikers..... 2) Just cut back 1 shot of Buorbon (you tender foot)  :^)

Nice salad!  I love friut salads!

June 16, 2009 at 12:24 PM ·

WHATEVER YOU COOK, PLEASE AVOID

• roasting marshmellows on your Tourte?
• Gagliano for kindling wood (that's for Laurie's benefit

Actually, besides my yen for really good java, nothing else is needed except sea scallops; but must be "dry". If you ever see scallops labeled as water added, or frozen, avoid them and just have a salad...."dry" refers to fresh, unfrozen, beauties from the ocean..........I'm salivating already...fried, grilled, broiled...ALL GOOD

June 16, 2009 at 01:01 PM ·

Dang Sam, between Anne's fruit salad, E. Smiths' and your scallop addition Mmmmmmmm!  Oh yea, and a mint Julep!

June 18, 2009 at 01:16 PM · thanks to everyone who posted the vegetarian recipes!!! they all sound delicious, i want to try them all now!!!!! i found this awesome recipe recently for parmesan couscous and chickpea salad that i can't wait to try, also featuring cucumbers, tomato, feta cheese, onions, and a lime-flavored dressing...once i get the exact proportions of everything i'll be sure to post it!!!!! even though from the looks of it, you really could almost wing it w/ ingredients!

June 18, 2009 at 01:23 PM · okay, so i immediately went online and googled the couscous recipe because now i'm obsessing! btw i saw this on paula deen's show the other day, so i'm not the founder of this wonderful-looking salad! Tracie's Couscous Salad Ingredients: 1 box couscous (garlic, parmesan), cooked 1 can chick peas 1 red pepper finely chopped 1/2 Vidalia onion chopped 1 English cucumber peeled and seeded, finely chopped 1 chopped tomato 1/4  cup  fresh parsley chopped Juice of 2-3 limes 1/4  cup  olive oil 1/2  cup  crumbled feta cheese Salt and freshly ground pepper Directions: In a bowl, add all ingredients. Toss and add oil or lime juice to taste. Yield: 6 servings Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 5 minutes Ease of Preparation: Easy Recipe courtesy Tracie Farmer

June 18, 2009 at 02:29 PM ·

Jesica's Couscous Salad recipe will go great on a hot day!  sounds scrumptous as is! Through in a fire roasted red bell pepper!

June 18, 2009 at 02:46 PM ·

Pasta Salad Florentine:

6 oz. tube shaped pasta

2 cups (2 oz.) torn fresh spinach

2 cups (11 oz) halved cherry tomatoes

1-1/2 cup frozen peas, placed in seive and thawed under running water

1/2 cup shelled pistachios

2-Tbls. Honey

2-1/2 Tbls. Dijon Mustard

3 Tbls Red wine vinegar

 1-1/2 tsp. dried Oregano

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

{Dressing: Mix honey, mustard, oregano, & garlic powder together well!}

Drop pasta into boiling water, return to boil, cook for 12-15 minuets until tender, Toss all ingredients along with dressing.

I got this from the Wyoming Wellness Program.

ps:  I don't know why, but I could not get the fonts in the upper portion to come off Bold italicised type????

June 18, 2009 at 02:55 PM ·

Just to get the first prune recipe in:

I make barbeque sauce substituting pureed prunes for refined sugar or honey.

June 18, 2009 at 05:18 PM ·

You beat Buri to it Elizabeth!  Give us the whole recipe if you can?

This Fall, when baking season begins, I'm hoping that our v.commies in Europe (or anywhere) will have the Prune Filling Pastry recipes ready for my Autumn Cooking post!  My ex is 1/2 Hungarian and I loved her pastries with prune fillings!

June 20, 2009 at 07:17 AM ·

Scallops carpaccio:

 Slice the scallops as thin as you can. Take a few strawberries and slice (try to have them same size as scallops), alternate both on a dish. Pour a filet of oil  (either olive, or even better grape's seed oil) on the scallops, salt(unrefined) and pepper and a few drops of Jerez vinegar. Then take a few sage leaves, cut with a scissor and sprinkle on scallops. Let it rest for a few minutes then serve with a Puligny-Montrachet.

(I came up with this recipe because I had the ingredients available in my garden...except for the scallops, of course)

June 20, 2009 at 01:15 PM ·

Do you cook the scallops or no?

June 20, 2009 at 02:22 PM ·

I don't cook the scallops, this is why you have to slice them as thin  as you can. And do not let marinate either!!

June 21, 2009 at 04:08 AM ·

More info on the meat rub I mentioned above; I found it on-line.

http://www.donyamaries.com/MEATRUBS.html

I find that I can still get a good flavor with a bit less rub, but I like the stronger flavor that a heavier coat brings. Goes great with a full bodied red, bordeaux or cab/merlot. I'm not a pure cab fan, so I haven't tried it. Shiraz would probably be a bit much for it.

June 21, 2009 at 04:43 AM ·

A salad we often make and eat at home:

Salad:
- Salad greens
- Sliced cherry tomatoes
- Sliced avocado
- Grapefruit wedges
- Sliced, wet, thin seaweed (not the dried kind)
- Sliced, good, hard cheese
- Pine nuts

Dressing:
- A couple turns of cracked black pepper
- Enough extra virgin olive oil
- Enough balsamic vinegar

Optional:
- Sliced prosciutto ham
- A couple pan-fried bread-crusted slices of portobello mushrooms
-- If you're adding the mushrooms, add a few capers
- Drizzle a little bit of truffle oil

Anyway... mix them all together in a sexy-looking bowl; customize quantity (within reasonable boundaries--lol) to taste!

Yes, we like variations... the list is still growing. :D

June 21, 2009 at 06:15 PM ·

I used to have a recipe for falafel enchiladas, but since this site is for the string section, not the horn section, you may not be interested. You sound like a euphonium after a single serving...

June 21, 2009 at 10:51 PM ·

Summer Salad

Dice tomatoe , cucumber , onion . Drizzle with italian dressing . Top off a big scoop of cottage cheese. I like a pinch of fresh dill and ground black pepper on top !

Enjoy.

June 22, 2009 at 01:26 AM ·

Jeulep

You MUST use Kentucky USA Boubon Whisky !

1. Get  Ice

2. Fresh Mint

3. Toss above in sink or toilet

4. Sip good ol Ky Whisky

Born and raised in KY !

June 25, 2009 at 09:02 AM ·

The Freshest Salmon

1 fresh wild Alaskan salmon fillet

1 lemon

3 cloves garlic

olive oil

butter

fresh cracked pepper

your favorite salt

As long as it's all fresh ingredients, you can't go wrong.  Simply rub the fillet lightly with oil, dot with a tiny bit of butter, garlic, salt, pepper, and a twist of lemon.  Bake ~12 minutes at 350.  Don't you dare overbake it; you go to hell for overbaking such an esteemed animal.

June 25, 2009 at 08:51 AM ·

Oh, and here's a favorite cookie:

8 lb butter

24 C sugar

32 eggs

6 T vanilla

1 t almond extract

48 C flour

8 t salt

8 t baking soda

8 t cream of tartar

Mix and form balls.  Roll in cinnamon and sugar.  Bake at 350 until barely set.  Or a little less than that.  Or just eat the dough.  But don't overbake.  You go to hell for overbaking snickerdoodles.

Makes 344.

July 10, 2009 at 12:50 AM ·

I just developed a new one, and I hope y'all like it:

Colossal Messed Up Vanilla Cookie Banana Pudding

• 1 box cook n serve banana pudding
• 1 box vanilla wafers
• milk
• bananas

Here's the directions:

1. Pour 3 cups milk into pot.
2. Add pudding powder, stir with whisk.
3. Quickly realize that this box size and brand calls for 2 cups of milk, not 3.
4. Rummage through cupboard, and find 1 box of 3-cup style vanilla pudding.  Ponder possibilities.
5. Add 2 more cups of milk to pot.
6. Add vanilla cook n serve pudding to the banana pudding already in the pot, heat on stove.
7. Stir.
8. Stir some more.
9. Keep stirring!
10. When pudding bubbles, pull off stove, and pour into the biggest pyrex bowls you own.
11. Chop up bananas.
12. Chop up more bananas.
13. Keep chopping.  Don't you see how much pudding you just cooked?
14. Put chopped bananas aside.
15. Toss in many vanilla wafer cookies into cooling pudding.
16. Keep some aside for the next time you feel like Vanilla Cookie Banana Pudding, which should be about 4 years from now.
17. Add chopped bananas.
18. Mix in all together. 
19. Find room in fridge.
20. Cool for 12 hours.

Note:  Sometimes, when I don't have Summer Brain, I use either vanilla or banana pudding.  I've never used both, and it turned out pretty good.  The vanilla mellows some of the BANANA taste, but the pudding still has that nice fake yellow we all know and love.  I would suggest you not make 5 cups of pudding at a time...

July 10, 2009 at 04:18 AM ·

Greetings,

vegan banana ice cream.

Freeze as many organic bananas as you wish.  Feed through a chamoion juicer using the blank attachment.  The result soft whiped ice cream of pure banana.  So delicioous yopu won`t be able to eat enough of it to put you in a diabetic coma. Die of ecstacy first.

Cheers,

Buri

September 25, 2009 at 05:14 PM ·

Hi Guys and Gals,

Steak and Tomato-Basil Pasta

Ingredients:

• 6 beef tenderloin steaks or 3 boneless beef top loin steaks, cut 1-inch thick
• 1 pound uncooked penne or mostaccioli pasta
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 large cloves garlic, crushed
• 6 cups chopped plum tomatoes (approximately 3 3/4 pounds)
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; keep warm.
2. Meanwhile in large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat until. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until tender. Add remaining sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Place beefsteaks on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill steaks, uncovered, 13 to 15 minutes (15 to 18 minutes for top loin steaks) for medium rare to medium doneness, turning once. Season with salt and pepper. Trim fat from steaks. (Cut top loin steaks crosswise in half).
4. Combine tomato sauce, basil, cheese and pasta; toss to coat. Serve steaks with pasta.

Makes 6 servings (serving size: 1 steak and 2 1/3 cup pasta)

September 25, 2009 at 08:12 PM ·

Crab-Apple Salad

1/2 C plain yogurt

4 T chopped chives

1/4 t salt

1 t dijon mustard

Mix above ingredients and toss over:

1/2 small granny smith apple, chopped

4 oz cooked crab meat, chopped

6 oz steamed green beans, chilled  and chopped

1/2 small avocado, chopped

 Makes 2 servings.  Cal: 185, Fat: 5g, Carb: 27g, Prot: 9g

September 26, 2009 at 01:02 AM ·

Emily- Your Crab-Apple salad sounds devine!!!!!  Got to try it!