Terri Pasta

Do you ever have it happen that your family christens a meal with a name different that what you gave it?

So it is with "Terri pasta."
Terri was coworker about a decade ago and she gave us this fabulous, simple recipe. Perfect for hot summer days.

Garlic pasta with broccoli and ricotta salata
ricotta salata, into tiny chunks and grated
broccoli
fresh garlic, sliced
olive oil and butter

1. Get a nice hunk of ricotta salata (in the Lehigh Valley, we have Calandras, where they make their own fabulous Italian cheeses. Ricotta salata is their homemade ricotto, aged and salted. It does not melt in the skillet and keeps for a long time.
2. Sauté the chunks of cheese and garlic in enough olive oil and garlic to lightly but completely lubricate the pasta.
3. Add the broccoli once the cheese and garlic starts to brown.
4. Cook until the broccoli is the way you like it. I like mine crisp. And bite sized pieces.
5. Add to your favorite pasta. Tri-color rotini is best because it captures the cheese and sauce in the grooves.
6. Sprinkle with grated ricotta salata.

Midday recount

For breakfast this morning... Oh, wait, I didn't have breakfast. Well, maybe I did if you count the graham crackers at 8:30. My daughter had watermelon at 7:30 and graham crackers and chocolate soy milk with me.

I'm concerned with her getting enough liquids in this hot weather, so I "made" her drink one of my bubbly cherry lemonades at 10. That's when I made myself the rest of the Dole salad from last night, though we ate all the good toppings so I just poured a bunch of grated asiago over it and then added the remaining ginger dressing. It was fabulous.

At 11, my husband and daughter had a real picnic on the college quad, with crackers and leftover lebanon bologna and port salute cheese, a banana and a 100% juice box. Then they played some quad golf.

When I got home from class at noon, I brewed some green tea to ice later. I then packed a glass bottle (20 ounces?) with ice cubes and water for the little one. AND I gave her the rest of the watermelon.

Now, I'm finally sitting down to eat some homemade bread and port salute cheese, with a glass of diluted lemonade.

Our Six (plus?) Course Meal

I don't buy much meat, but I probably spend the meat portion of my budget on fancy cheese. It was very hot today (again) so, inspired by last night, I opted for a "fancy dinner" presented in my own special way (with a tad of French influence.) Each course was served on its own, with the next not even being prepared until after everyone finished. We got through everything in about ninety minutes (compared to our typical 15-20) and our daughter did well, both in what she ate and how she stayed at the table. And I skipped the entrée. The whole point was to avoid turning on the oven.

1. apéritif: for the adults: Vouvray with raspberry lime seltzer (my attempt to stretch one glass of wine into enough for two and make it a tad more refreshing on a nasty hot day). For the daughter, I substituted white grape juice for wine.

2. fruit: watermelon, cubed and served in bowls

3. meat: (my American nature will show through on this one) turkey breast and lebanon bologna rolled and held together with a piece of uncooked spaghetti (I didn't have toothpicks.) I purchased $3 worth of meat at the deli counter and still have enough lebanon bologna leftover for lunch tomorrow.

4. salad: Dole Asian Island Crunch. Yeah, a bagged salad. On sale for $3.50, normally $4. Iceburg lettuce, carrots, snow peas, dried (and sugared) pineapple, crunchy Asian noodles, sliced almonds and ginger dressing. Served the three of us and still enough for a small salad or a wrap tomorrow.

5. cheese: the last homemade baguette from the freezer with nearly a half-pound block of Port Salute cheese (imported French, $8). Luckily, we loved it and we hardly put a dent in it so I will be enjoying it for several more meals. My daughter had at least three if not four slices of bread and cheese.

6. dessert: black raspberry ice cream with yesterday's fruit salad on top.

7. coffee: decaf with flavored non-dairy creamer

Mme.'s French Dinner

I had a special opportunity for dinner tonight. I ate at the home of one of my former French professors. She has an annual tradition of cooking for some of her students. A French meal, or at least a simple one with as many French touches as Americans can put together.
She invited me this year, because I came back to Moravian last semester and we've kept in touch. I made her a CD of some of my favorite French songs, brought her some black cherry French jam, and she asked me to bring a first course... noting that she would have meat, vegetables, bread, cheese, salad and dessert.
That, of course, leaves fruit or pâté. The earlier entries detail my adventure making my $40 fruit salad. Which was a hit. Mme. even asked me for the recipe.
I came to dinner early so I could help, and Mme. also had the help of her stepdaughter and her friend. Of course, as a mom and a frequent host myself, I tried to anticipate Mme.'s needs. When she prepared the next course, I cleared the table. I did dishes as needed (it's amazing how quickly you can run out of forks).
But Mme. did a fabulous job. I love big multi-course dinners. With the modest portion sizes, you eat slower and since you usually have to sit and talk while the next course is prepared... it keeps you from overeating. And it's such an experience, especially when you have a great group around the table. We had nine tonight.

The courses:
1. Fruit- My honeyed Vouvray fruit salad
2. Main Course- Pan Seared Steaks and potato/green beans au gratin
3. Salad- Green salad with vinaigrette dressing
4. Cheese and Bread- Brie, goat cheese, and some other yummy cheese with baguette
5. Dessert- Chocolate mousse cone and fruit tart from wegmans
6. Coffee- expresso

Chicken Nuggets with Broccoli

I made a special lunch today since I plan on running away to a special French dinner tonight, so hubby and daughter will have nachos for dinner (a great option when it's 90 degrees).

So, we had some leftover chicken tenders (four) so I cut them into thirds and cooked them in some canola oil, butter and sprinkled on some of my organic rainbow peppercorns. I added two thin slices of garlic. While they cooked, I took some of my homemade breadcrumbs, added the rainbow pepper, garlic powder and my pizza and pasta seasoning. Then I rolled the hot chicken in it. I fried the chicken again. (Yeah, this isn't low-fat.)

Then I sauteed some broccoli in a little oil with about a teaspoon of butter and sprinkled garlic powder on it (I was too tired and hungry to slice fresh). Then, I served with a side of ranch dressing (my ranch was spiked with Frank's Red Hot Sauce) and a dollop of lavender honey in another side. That was fabulous on the chicken.

But I also served some leftover peanut butter and graham crackers leftover from my lunch Friday (which also tasted incredible with the honey.)

And for dessert... a watermelon.

Fruit salad with honey-wine dressing

Today I get to make my fruit salad with honey-Vouvray sauce. I probably spent $35 on this fruit salad, so it is not cheap. $5 worth of strawberrys, $5 worth of raspberries, $2 worth of pears, $2 worth of lemons, $1.69 can of peaches packed in juice, $12 bottle of Vouvray, and $8 bottle of honey.

Okay, so the Vouvray is leftover from an earlier day, and technically the recipe calls for dry white wine. But I like Vouvray.

And the honey was a total splurge, but I had to try it, just once... and this French dinner tonight is a special occasion (which I will be fed a multi-course meal for free).

And hopefully, there will be some fruit leftover for the family...

The recipe comes from the internet. I've never tried it. I think it's from one of the "about" sites. I discovered it last year when I went looking for something for one character to make in one of my novels... And this sounded perfect. And the lavender honey is my addition, since the character at hand is a chef, and he's working in a well-stocked kitchen of someone who loves food.

Fruit with honey-wine sauce
http://frenchfood.about.com/od/salads/r/bastillefruit.htm
The web site recommends this for all your "Bastille Day picnics." Yeah. Alright, well, the exact quote is: "Accompany this luscious fruit salad with a baguette, assorted cheese, and a spicy-sweet sparkling dessert wine for a lovely Bastille Day picnic." Ironically, I tracked the original recipe to double-check the fractions and it added a kiwi. A kiwi isn't very French now, n'est-ce pas?

1/2 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons plus two teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 pint strawberries, hulled
2 pears, cored
2 peaches, pitted
3/4 cup sweet cherries, pitted
1 kiwi (optional)

1. Process the first five ingredients in a blender until smooth. Chill for twenty minutes.
2.Cut fruit and toss with desired amount of dressing.

Now, I bought canned peaches because it is not the right time of year for peaches. For the same reason, I substituted raspberries for cherries. And I am not putting kiwi in a French fruit salad. I already mentioned that I have Vouvray and lavender honey... One review of this recipe suggested that the combination of honey and sugar made it way too sweet, and in light of the fact that I'm also using a sweet wine I will cut back on the honey. Maybe start with two tablespoons plus a teaspoon. But if I add sugar, I'm going to use organic sugar because it seems to have a better flavor. Okay, and my last comment is, am I the only person terrified to attempt "lemon zest?" I always skip it. I don't have a zester, though I do have a mini-grater... Maybe today I'll attempt it.

Bad, bad girl

I spent $60 at Wegmans today. We ran in with a budget of $47 to get fruit, greens, coffee, creamer, deodorant and soap. We did fine, until I started shopping for the French dinner I was invited to tomorrow. One of my former professors is hosting a dinner for all of her current French majors and she asked me to attend and to bring the first course, or premier plat.

But this will not be an American meal, so it's not as simple as it sounds. The professor already has salad, cheese and dessert. And I think she's buying bread, which is sad, since I have homemade bread...

So, I opted for fruit salad with honey-white wine sauce. This required about $20 worth of fresh fruit. And it was hysterical the way I stood among the pears debating which variety to pick. I decided on d'anjou. Sounded the most French. And strawberries. And raspberries (since it's not the time of year for cherries).
But then I bought a $4 jar of French cherry preserves to go with bread at dinner and to serve as a hostess gift... and then... and this is what was really naughty: I bought an $8 jar of American lavendar honey. When I got home and tasted it, it was worth every penny, especially since the honey and the white wine (in my case the Vouvray) are the main ingredients for the fruit salad dressing.