Summer Weekend in Marion

I'm planning a relaxing weekend in Marion with Tim and Julie July 12-14. I think I'll surprise them with some tasty goodness. I found recipes in some Taste of Home cookbooks donated to the Friends of the Library book sale and a copy of Sheila Lukins "celebrate!".  

Saturday Afternoon Cocktail Hour

Cranberry-Jalapeno martini

Cook 1 cup turbinado sugar with ¾ cups cranberry juice and ½ cup fresh cranberries and ½ tsp. chopped seeded jalapeno pepper.

Bring to a boil and reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 3 min. or until sugar is dissolved.  Cover and let stand 20 min.

Strain the liquid, discard cranberries and jalapeno.  Cover and refrigerate syrup.

3 oz. vodka,  1 T cranberry syrup and 1 T cranberry juice. Stir, strain and serve over ice with mint and cranberries.

Pistachio Gorgonzola Cheesecake

Chop 2 shallots in food processor and add 2 cups Gorgonzola, 1 cup butter, 1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese, ¼ cup Madeira wine, 2 T. grated orange peel, 1 T. heavy whipping cream, ½ tsp. white pepper and ½ tsp. ground mustard. 

Combine 1 cup toasted, chopped pistachios with 8 thinly sliced green onion, 2 T. minced fresh basil, 2 T. oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped and drained, and 2 cups Gorgonzola.

Spread half the mixture in a parchment lined springform pan.  Top with half of the cream cheese mixture. Repeat layers.  Pat down. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

Remove the sides of the pan and unmold.  Press ½ cup finely chopped pistachios over sides. Serve with crackers. 

Late Dinner

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Chili Lime Dressing

Cube 2 pounds sweet potatoes and toss with 2 T olive oil.  Roast at 400 degrees for 40 min. until potatoes are tender stirring twice.  Combine 1 large red pepper cut into ½ inch pieces, 8 green onions chopped, ½ cup minced fresh parsley and ¼ cup fresh minced cilantro.

Dress with 1/3 c. olive oil, ¼ c. lime juice, 4 tsp. chili powder, ¾ tsp. salt, ¾ tsp. ground cumin, ½ tsp. pepper and 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper.

Tilapia with Basil Oil and Summer Salsa

Combine ½ c. fresh corn, ½ cup chopped nectarine, ½ cup chopped tomato and ½ cup cubed avocado with 2 T. fresh basil, minced, 2 T. fresh lime juice, 1-1/2 tsp. grated lime peel, 1 tsp. finely chopped seeded jalapeno pepper, ¼ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper.

Place 1 cup loosely packed basic leaves, 2 T. lime juice, 1-1/2 tsp. grated lime peel, 1 garlic clovein food processor and pulse until chopped, adding 1/3 c. oil while chopping.

Serve baked or grilled tilapia with salsa and oil.

Grilled Red Potato Salad with Blue Cheese and Bacon

Toss 3 pounds small red potatoes, quartered, 1 small red onion, thinly sliced, 2 T olive oil and 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper and seal up in foil and grill, covered over medium heat for 40-50 minutes.  Turn once.

Toss with 1 c. mayo, ¼ c. minced chives, ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar, 2 tsp. sugar, 2 tsp. Dijon mustard.  Sprinkle with 1 cup blue cheese and 6 bacon strips, crumbled.

Blackberry-Basil Panna Cotta

Combine 2 cups heavy whipping cream and 2 cups half and half with 3/4 cup sugar in a saucepan. Sprinkle with two envelopes of unflavored gelatin and let stand for one minute. Heat over low heat, stirring until sugar and gelatin are completely dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract and 2 tsp. lemon peel. 

Pour the panna cotta into six ramekins or custard cups coated with cooking spray. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

In a small saucepan, combine 2 cups fresh blackberries with 1 cup sugar and 1 cup blackberry wine or ruby port wine.  Bring to a boil and cook until mixture is thicken.  Reduce to 1-1/4 cups in this process and then remove from heat, stirring in 1/4 cup minced fresh basil and 2 T cold butter.  Cool.

Unmold panna cotta onto dessert plates, serve with sauce and garnish with additional blackberries and basil.

Sunday Morning Breakfast

Grapefruit in honey-thyme sauce – 3 large grapefruit sliced.

½ cup white wine or white grape juice and ¼ c. honey and 2 T minced fresh thyme simmered 15 min.

Overnight Yeast Pancakes

1 pkg active dry yeast or ¼ ounce dissolved in 1-1/2 cups warm buttermilk for 5 min.

Combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup wheat flour and ¼ c. sugar and 3 tsp. baking powder and 1 tsp. baking soda and ½ tsp. salt

Whisk in 2 eggs, 2 T canola oil and 1 tsp. vanilla extract until moistened. Stir in yeast mixture and refrigerate for 8 hours.

OR

Cheese grits and sausage breakfast casserole

2 pounds bulk Italian sausage, cooked

Bring 2 cups water and 2 cups chicken broth, ½ tsp. salt to a boil. And slowly stir in 1-1/4 cup quick cooking grits.

Reduce heat and cook and stir for 5-7 minutes.  Removed from heat and add 1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, 1 cup milk, 1-1/2 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. sage and stir until cheese is melted.  Stir in sausage and 6 eggs, beaten.  Transfer to a greased dish and bake uncovered at 350 for 40-45 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes.

16 Age-Busting Power Foods

Today I picked up the library's copy of The Longevity Kitchen : Satisfying, Big-Flavor Recipes Featuring the Top 16 Age-Busting Power Foods  by Rebecca Katz because the cover looked delicious and the book intriguing.  

I figured the top 16 foods would be more of the same foods I've been trying to learn to use - grains and soy-based products or non-dairy ones.  It's true that the list doesn't include cheeses, but I was surprised at the list of foods that offer ' the highest levels of antioxidants, those invaluable nutrients that help sweep the dangerous metabolic by-products known as free radicals out of the body." (p. 2, Katz):

Asparagus, avocado, basil (and mint), blueberries and other dark berries, coffee, dark chocolate, garlic, green tea, kale, olive oil, pomegranates, sweet potatoes, thyme, walnuts, wild salmon and yogurt.

Hallelujah!  With the exception of kale (I'm sure I could learn to enjoy and use it), we are wild about all the others on the list.  Other foods are allspice, almonds, apples, apricots, artichokes, bell peppers, black cod, broccoli, buckwheat, cabbage, cardamom, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cherries, chicken, chickpeas, chile peppers, chives, cilantro and coriander, cinnamon, coconut milk and oil, corn, cranberries, cumin, edamame, eggs, fennel, ginger, halibut, hibiscus, honey (yes!), kombu, leeks, legumes, lemons, lemongrass, limes, maple syrup (yes again!), miso, mustard seeds, onions oranges, oregano, parsley, peas, pistachios, potatoes, quinoa, grass-fed red meat, brown rice, saffron, sage, sardines, scallops, shitake mushrooms, shrimp, sesame seeds and tahini, spinach, winter squash, strawberries, swiss chard, tomatoes, turkey, turmeric and wasabi.  

What a list of delicious stuff. The chard, kombu and miso are the only foods I don't use regularly.

I was surprised at the recipes in the book because they are very similar to the 'recipes' I use all the time when I am putting ingredients together in a weekday rush or a on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I keep most of them on hand all the time.

Here's one using Kale in a way that I might enjoy:

Farro with Kale-Basil Pesto

To make the pesto, add 4 cups stemmed and chopped lacinato kale to rapidly boiling water over high heat.  Cook 30 seconds and then drain and rinse under cold water.    Squeeze the kale to remove water from it.  Place the kale, 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, 1/2 cup shelled pistachios, 1/2 cut olive oil, 1/4 cup vegetable broth, 2 tsp. finely chopped garlic, 1 T. fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp. grated lemon zest and 1/4 tsp. salt in a food processor and process until well blended.  Taste to see if you need to add more lemon juice, zest or salt. 

Cook the farro by placing 1 cup soaked, rinsed and drained farro in 3 cups boiling water with 1/2 tsp. sea salt, stirring well.  Decrease the heat from boiling to medium and cook for 20 minutes.  Drain the farro and return it to the pot.  Add 1 cup of the pesto and 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino-Romano cheese, 1 cup cooked white beans, drained and spritzed with lemon juice and salt, and 1/4 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes.

Serve hot or at room temperature.