Grilled Chicken & Orzo Salad

If you are wondering what to make for your Labor Day party, I have the answer!

This is so easy and so delicious. There are many variations of chicken and orzo salad recipes, but I think I have finally found a winner.

Don't be afraid of the tarragon, which is not my favorite of herbs, but it works in this recipe with the sweet currants and salty olives.

I changed the dressing a bit, and used a wonderful French tarragon mustard that I am addicted to. I love it on grilled cheese and whole grain bread. It's hard to find, but if you can find it, then buy a few jars.



This is a great way to use leftover roast or grilled chicken breasts.
This recipe serves 4 people generously, so feel free to double it if you are having company.

Grilled Chicken w/ Orzo Salad (adapted from Bon Appetit):

Dressing:

1 heaping tablespoon of tarragon mustard (or Dijon mustard w/ a tsp of dried tarragon)
2 tbsp red wine vinegar (plus a tbsp to drizzle on the orzo)
6 tbsp olive oil

Salad:

8 oz. of orzo (half a box)
3 boneless chicken breast halves, grilled and cubed
1/4 cup kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1 heaping tbsp of drained capers
1/3 cup of currants
6 oz. jar of marinated artichokes, drained and sliced
pint of cherry tomatoes, halved

Grill the chicken breasts w/ kosher salt & pepper and a little olive oil for about 6 minutes per side. Let rest and cool before cubing.

Make your dressing, whisk and set aside.



While the orzo is cooking (follow package directions), cut up the olives, and add them to the currants, capers, artichokes & tomatoes in a big bowl.

Drain the orzo and add to the bowl, add the reserved tbsp of vinegar, then last add the cubed grilled chicken.



Spoon your dressing over the salad and toss. You will have some leftover dressing.

Serve at room temperature or cold.

I think it's really the tarragon mustard vinaigrette that makes this salad sing.
I made it a second time and added grilled zucchini chunks to it and more of everything. We loved it. It is the perfect picnic food.

Enjoy!

Gin Mojitos

I usually don't post booze recipes for a Monday a.m., but we had some great cocktails this past weekend!

Our bartender friends always roll their eyes when a customer asks for a mojito.
Especially on a busy Saturday night!

Muddling the mint for each individual drink can be time consuming........so I only order them when I see the bartender is in a good mood!

We felt like mojitos this weekend, but I had no rum! So, why not gin?

I was lucky enough to sample some Farmer's Gin this weekend.
A new organic gin made in the Midwest. Go figure.



I thought only the Brits knew how to make gin.
So what do Midwesterners know about gin? Plenty.

This gin had aromas of lemon grass, coriander, juniper berries and elderflower. It was so delicious, and I am not getting paid to say that.

I made some fantastic cocktails with the Farmer's (read the NY Times review here).

You can make your own simple syrup by boiling 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar for a few minutes, then keep in the fridge all week for drinks.

I cheat and use Sprite or a splash of ginger ale, because I like bubbles.

This is a refreshing, citrusy nice summer cocktail.
Try it, you'll like it!

Gin Mojito: (makes 1 drink)

2 oz. of Farmer's Gin
a few sprigs of fresh mint (I like the light green spearmint)
2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp of fresh lime juice
a splash of Sprite or ginger ale (or simple syrup if you made it)

Muddle the mint in a rocks glass and add the juices and ice. Pour in the gin.



Pour the ginger ale or simple syrup over the ice and sip!
Garnish with mint or lime.

Enjoy!

Hair Loom BLT

I have to snicker.

We went out to dinner with a couple last weekend (thankfully, they don't read this blog) and the gal ordered the "Hair Loom" salad.
Say it with a heavy Staten Island accent.

Because I can't help myself, I blurted out "what the heck is a hair loom salad?".
She meant to order the heirloom salad (like the heir to a throne).

Duh.

Let's get back to tomatoes.



There are plenty of disadvantages to living in New Jersey, however, gorgeous summer produce isn't one of them.

We grow the most beautiful, juiciest HEIRLOOM tomatoes & other varieties, it's worth a visit just to take a bite.

No I am not working for the NJ Tourism Board.



Here is my daily BLT on whole wheat toast. I make it with arugula instead of lettuce.
Sometimes with bacon, sometimes without.



Swipe of mayo and I'm in heaven.

Weekly supply of heirloom tomatoes courtesy of our generous neighbors, farmers Glen and LeeAnn. Thank you!

Just a Friendly Reminder

I know I posted this recipe back in the winter, during a snow storm, but here it is again to remind you to make it when it matters.

In August.

When it's miserably hot and humid and you don't want to make a production and heat up the kitchen (though the weather has been much cooler this week for a change).

It's a simple cold pasta sauce, made with fresh cherry tomatoes, capers, garlic, a can of Italian tuna in oil, anchovies & fresh basil. Douse it with extra virgin olive oil and let the flavors meld together on the counter for an hour or so.

Pour the room temperature fresh tomato sauce over hot pasta (yes, you have to boil the water for the pasta), and you have the most delicious summer dinner.



Just a friendly reminder.

Stay cool.

Good Gazpacho

What do you like to eat in the dog days of August?

I don't like anything heavy. Preferably vegetarian and light.

This cold tomato and vegetable soup, also knows as gazpacho, is perfect for hot summer nights on the patio with a hunk of bread.
It is also great as a salsa for shrimp cocktail.

It's Ina's recipe, so you know it's good.
I used different color peppers to make it more colorful.

Gazpacho:

1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow pepper, cored & seeded
4 plum tomatoes
1 red onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups of tomato juice (I used low sodium)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
I added 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced for some heat (optional)

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not over process!

After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.



Enjoy and stay cool.

What's for Dinner? Copy Cat

I don't always plan what I am going to make for dinner in advance, sometimes I choose on the fly. I browse food blogs in the a.m. and say "hey, that looks good", then shop for my ingredients that day if I have time.

This week I have fresh caught fish from my brother-in-law John and his uncle Jerry, and I needed a quick idea for the nice sea bass filets.



Marie's fresh herb crusted fish it was going to be, along with her zucchini gratin.
I didn't even need to shop for any of the ingredients! It's all right here in the garden, and the fish caught fresh from the Atlantic!

Copy Cat Dinner:



Zucchini Gratin (much easier than the fiasco I made last year from Sunday Suppers at Lucques)

3 onions, sliced
olive oil
2 large zucchini, sliced into rounds
basket of cherry tomatoes (not grape tomatoes)
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, divided in half
1/2 cup of fresh breadcrumbs, divided in half
fresh basil leaves and kosher salt

Pour olive oil on the bottom of a 12" cast iron skillet.

Layer the onions on the bottom, then top with zucchini. Sprinkle a little kosher salt on top.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheese on the zucchini, then 1/4 cup of the breadcrumbs.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Scatter the cherry tomatoes around.



Repeat with another layer of onions, zucchini, cheese, breadcrumbs, oil and tomatoes.
Finish with basil leaves and bake in a 425F oven for about 30 minutes until the skillet is bubbling!



I put mine under the broiler for a few minutes, because I was growing impatient! Wait about 20 minutes before serving.



Fabulous!



Marie's Herbed Fish:

Marie used cod, I used sea bass, but any nice firm white fish will do.

Season the fish with kosher salt & pepper and cover with Dijon mustard.

Make a fresh herb mixture with chopped basil, parsley and chives. Add some lemon zest and spread the herb mixture on top of the mustard coated fish.



Bake in an oiled baking dish for 12-18 minutes (depending on the size of the filets) at 425F.

I love these copy cat meals! This is now a permanent menu in my weekly dinner rotation!



Thanks Marie, John & Uncle Jerry! :>

Fig & Ricotta Flatbread Pizza

Truth: I received 3 emails yesterday, from different friends/readers having something to do with figs.
Ramona sent me photos of her fig trees (jealous). Debby sent me an email about her dreamy fig panna cotta dessert, and Rosemary sent me a fresh fig ice cream recipe.

People must really think I have a problem.

I finally found some fresh, ripe, fat, dripping with goodness figs. But I paid $5.99 for the box, so they'd better be good.

Why not a pizza?

I used Naan flat bread, but you can use pizza dough, homemade or not, for this easy end of summer dinner.

For 2 flat breads: I sauteed 1 onion with some fresh rosemary, kosher salt & pepper.

Scatter some dollops of fresh ricotta on the dough/breads and top with the cooked onion mixture. Slice figs nice and thin and top the pizzas with them.



Drizzle some olive oil over all, kosher salt and pepper and either grill or bake at 400F for about 10 minutes.

Top with some arugula and drizzle w/ more olive oil & a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar to finish and enjoy!

Heirloom Tomato Salad w/ Burrata & Opal Basil

You don't really need a recipe for this salad, however, I thought I would make it as Ms. Goin does in her lovely book Sunday Suppers at Lucques.

You know this is one of my very favorite cookbooks.
However, she makes everything into such a production. But the nice thing about her recipes is that you can read thru them and then "take it down a notch" or "dumb it down" (I hate both of those expressions) to suit your ingredients and style. Her photos are beautiful and every recipe in her book comes out beautifully (but be prepared to have time to prepare them).



This time I stuck to the recipe, even though I make this for lunch almost every week in the summer!
I made her dressing with the 1/2 clove of garlic, fresh oregano and salt, then added the vinegars and 6 tbsp of olive oil. Easy.

Then I tore up some nice bread (she likes a good white bread, I like a good Italian, who is to say?) and tossed the slices w/ olive oil and toasted them, then haphazardly threw them over the gorgeous heirloom Jersey tomatoes, which by the way, were ALL from my neighbor's and my garden, including the oregano and opal basil. La di da.



Burrata cheese is a gorgeous milky, runny fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream. It tastes like butter, hence the name burrata, which means butter in Italian.

So slice your pretty colorful heirloom tomatoes, as many varieties as you can find and plate them with the warm croutons and fresh burrata cheese. Drizzle some of that yummy dressing over the whole platter and toss those little opal basil leaves on top and grind with some fresh black pepper.



There you have it, lunch is served, and you really didn't need a recipe.

Any Fruit Crisp

This has to be the easiest dessert to throw together.

Use whatever fruit you have on hand. Berries, apples, peaches, plums. They all work well.

Last night I used whatever was ripe on the counter.
2 nectarines and 8 luscious figs. I sliced them up with the skins left on.

Lay the cut up fruit in a small oval casserole or baking dish.



For the topping: (measurements are approximate)

3 tbsp light brown sugar
3 tbsp white sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup oats
handful of sliced almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp melted butter

Pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients and mash with 2 forks until you get a nice crumbly topping.




Pour over the fruit in the casserole and pat down. Bake for 35 minutes at 350F until bubbling.

Serve with ice cream or on its own! The perfect summer dessert!



Enjoy!

What's for Dinner? Shrimp & Chorizo Skewers

I have definitely given this new grill a workout this summer.
It's so nice not to have to heat up the kitchen and be able to cook outside every night.

The joys of summer.

Last night's dinner were skewers threaded with Spanish chorizo with grilled shrimp and some cherry tomatoes from my garden thrown on for good measure.

Thread each skewer (I like the metal ones) with 2 jumbo shrimp with the tail on, some sliced chorizo and a couple of cherry tomatoes.



Try to find the real Spanish chorizo if you can, it makes a difference.



No seasoning needed, just a drizzle of olive oil and fire it up.



3 minutes on each side and dinner was done.
I served them over an herbed rice garnished w/ some fresh cilantro, sliced avocado and lemon.



Easy & Excellent.