Sunday, June 28, 2009

Finally a sunny day!

We had sun. Finally. and not just a little peek. It was for the entire day! That was nice. So we grilled. Without an umbrella. Can't crank up the grill without some hot dogs. These are the good ones. Hebrew National from the butcher. Big difference form the supermarket packages of Hebrew National. Those are really good. These are outstanding! The kind that link. Ask your butcher. Trust me.

We always have a little bit of this and a little bit of that so we grilled a small rack of baby lamb chops, marinated in garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. A sirloin steak, slopped with Peter Luger sauce. and grilled portobello's. Baked stuffed baby zucchini. Definitely a feast! We started with a Mexican Black Bean Salad. It was excellent. Definitely a keeper!

The baby zucchini was delicious. I had two packages in the frig that I forgot about. and some grape tomatoes to use up. So I put the tomatoes in the food processor with a shallot and a clove of garlic and pulsed. Sauteed them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, until everything was soft, and then threw about two handfuls of plain bread crumbs in to soak up the juices, and sauteed it all up. It was still too moist, so I threw in another handful of seasoned bread crumbs, and stirred it around a bit, adding a little bit more olive oil.

Sliced the baby zucchini lengthwise and topped it with the stiffing mixture. Put them in a jellyroll pan and baked them until the tops were golden brown. I forget how long, I didn't pay attention and got there just in time before the timer on the smoke alarm went off again! These were a huge hit! Even with Miss Picky, who ate half the tray!


Mexican Black Bean Salad
source: gardenweb (stacys)
Printable Recipe

1 cup frozen (thawed) whole kernel corn, drained
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (4-ounce) can chopped mild green chilies, drained (I used a whole fresh jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, chopped in a very small dice.)
1/2 pint or more grape tomatoes, sliced in half
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (I used less)
4 cups torn iceberg lettuce (I used one head, and chopped it
2 avocado, diced
Shredded Monterrey Jack, Cheddar or Mexican Cheese blend

Optional: Tortilla chips for garnish

Dressing:
1 tablespoon honey (little bit more, I just poured)
2 - 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lime juice (little bit more)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Whisk all the dressing ingredients in large bowl.

Add all salad ingredients except lettuce and cheese; stir until well coated. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour to blend flavors.

Toss the lettuce, avocado and cheese with the bean mixture a little while before you are ready to serve. Garnish with Tortilla chips at the last minute.

Gadgets...


My new gadget! It's a corn zipper! Not everyone here likes corn on the cob. With this thing you get corn off the cob. It worked great! Got it on my shopping spree at Sur La Table last week.










For dessert we were practicing for Suzy's Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social, we all had Ralph's Ices! Check out Suzy's blog for more info on her upcoming event on July 11-12!



Tomorrow I start back to work for the summer in a day camp. Long days. It'll be feast or famine for dinners. Mostly famine, I'm sure.

6 comments:

  1. So glad you enjoyed a day of beautiful weather! I was gorgeous here also. The zucchini sound great!

    I have got to get one of those gadgets!

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  2. Carol, glad you finally had a full day of sun. Looking forward to hearing about your summer camp adventures.

    I'd love eating at your house ... a little of this, a little of that is my favorite way to eat. When our daughter was still at home it wasn't unusual to grill 3 different entrees.

    Everything looks delicious; AND I have to tell John about Hebrew National from the butcher. He buys it pre-packaged.

    I love the sound of your salad. I'm buying ingredients this week to make it ... Thanks for the recipe and recommendation.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You did have a good mixture of everything for dinner..everyone should have been satisfied! I like hot dogs with the natural casing on them..I like the snap when you bite into them!

    Great post - will have to try the balck bean salad.

    Glad you finally had some decent weather...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for stopping by my blog and becoming a follower! I will do the same. Your food all looks so delicious and I have copied the coffee cake and salad recipes! It is a rainy day here and I plan on making the cake!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey, I missed that one!
    They don't like corn ON the cob?
    Great gadget...
    Ralph's ices..now what is the recipe for that?
    It all sounded good!

    ReplyDelete

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