Guest Post: A Taste of the Mediterranean

Mr. DD&D here, the Mrs. has the week off. I cooked a light meal which I thought was appropriate for a hot summer night. The theme is Mediterranean cuisine which I chose because I love the flavors and simple but delicious food of the Mediterranean (the climate, beach, mountains, and wine aren't bad either!) Enjoy . . .

Drink...

Negroni

The Negroni is a classic cocktail and great apéritif. This drink is believed to have been invented in 1919 in Florence, and it's still around because it's damn good. Here's the recipe:
Ingredients:

• 1 oz. Campari
• 1 oz. Sweet Vermouth
• 1 oz. Gin
• Ice
• Twist of Lemon

Directions:

1. Place ice in shaker, pour liquids into shaker, shake contents vigorously, strain into a cocktail glass. 
2. Garnish with a twist of lemon. 

 Alternatively, place ice into rocks glass, pour in liquids, and stir well before garnishing with the lemon twist. It is very important to keep equal proportions with the booze, this isn't an "eyeball it" drink. Note: I like a squeeze of lemon juice in mine, but this isn't part of the traditional recipe.
For the uninitiated, Campari is a bright-red Italian liqueur which is very bitter and has a unique taste, with orange being the dominant flavor. The ingredients on this list might seem like an odd pairing, but it works because the sweetness of the vermouth offsets the bittness of the Campari. The gin adds a nice floral/herbiness and contributes to the dryness of the drink, which stimulates the appetite. 

If cocktails aren't your thing, a glass of rosé from the Côtes de Provence would pair perfectly with our meal. 

Dinner...

Soupe au Pistou 
recipe from: Alice Waters, Chez Panisse: Vegetables

Soupe au pistou is a summer vegetable soup from the Provence region of France. What makes it special is the addition of a dollop of pistou, the French version of pesto. The major difference between the two is that pistou doesn't contain pine nuts, unlike traditional pesto. Once you eat the soup, the pistou infuses every bite with deliciousness. Take advantage of the summer harvest!

Ingredients:
(serves 6)

• 1 pound (1 cup shelled) fresh beans (e.g. Cannellini)
• 1 onion
• Bouquet garni: Thyme, parsley stems, cracked peppercorns, bay leaf
• 1 pound green beans (haricot verts)
• 2 green zucchini
• 2 yellow summer squash
• 2 tomatoes
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 pound orzo, conchiglie, or orrechiette pasta
• 1 baguette 

Pistou

• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 cups basil leaves
• Reggiano Parmesan cheese
• Extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Shell the beans and cook them for about 30 minutes in 2 quarts salted water with the onion, cut in quarters, and the bouquet garni. 
2. While the beans are cooking, cut the green beans, zucchini, and yellow squash into chunks roughly the size of the tip of your finger, so each spoonful of soup will have a variety of different vegetables. 
3. Peel, seed, and chop the tomatoes. Strain any juice from the seeds through a sieve into the bean broth. 
4. When the shell beans are tender, drain them, reserving the liquid.
5. Remove the bouquet garni and the onion quarters and discard. 
6. Bring the bean broth back to a broil and lower the heat. Season with salt. 
7. Add the green beans to the broth, and when it has returned to a simmer again, add the zucchini and yellow squash. When the broth returns to a simmer again, add the shell beans and diced tomatoes and let it all cook together gently for 20 minutes. Add the pasta after 10 minutes. The broth should be busy with vegetables, but add some more liquid if they get too crowded. 
8. To make the pistou, pound the garlic cloves to a purée in a mortar, add all the basil leaves, roughly chopped, and keep pounding and working until you obtain a paste. Add a small handful of grated Parmesan and thin out with some olive oil. [Note: I made this with a food processor because I lack a mortar and pestle. It worked fine.] 
9. When the pasta is cooked, taste the soup and adjust the seasoning. Let the soup sit for an hour and reheat it before serving. Bring the pistou to the table in its mortar (or a bowl). Serve the soup with a generous spoonful of pistou in each bowl and pass a bowl with more grated Parmesan. Serve with a baguette.

Dessert...

Fresh figs and goat cheese

I thought this dessert was a perfect end to this meal for a few reasons. First, it uses Mediterranean ingredients (figs, goat cheese, honey). Second, it is simple like the other course—the flavors of the ingredients speak for themselves. Third, fresh figs are in season now, so why not take advantage? Finally, it combines the cheese course and the sweets course into one dish! We liked it.

Ingredients:

• Fresh figs
• Goat cheese
• Honey
• Cracked black pepper (optional)

Directions:
This is about as simple as it gets. 

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. 
2. While the oven is pre-heating, wash the figs and then slice them in an "x pattern," making sure to cut only 3/4 of the way through the figs. 
3. Add a dollop to goat cheese into each fig, and cook in the oven for 10–12 minutes. 
4. After cooking, drizzle figs with honey, add freshly-cracked black pepper (optional), and serve.

Note: the pepper can make this more of an appetizer than a dessert, so you may wish to skip the pepper. It is tasty either way.

Beat the Heat!

I don't know about where you are, but it has been hot here in NYC!  Unfortunately, our small apartment just doesn't really seem to cool down - ever!  So, I created a meal that involves no cooking whatsoever!  This meal will not only make you happy because of it's deliciousness, but also because you won't be sweating in the process of making it!

Drink...

Ginger Mint Lemonade

*recipe from: flavordiva

Ok, so I sort of lied...this lemonade did require a little teeny bit of cooking on the stove.  It was not long (just long enough to boil water), and if it really is too hot, you could heat it up in the microwave :)  Anyway..it was quite tasty.  I couldn't really taste the ginger much, but the flavor reminded me of a mojito.  Hmmm...maybe it could be good drink with a splash of alcohol too.

Ingredients:

• 20 medium sized lemons
• 1 large bunch of mint
• 1 two inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
• 12 cups of water
• 1 1/2 cups of simple syrup (2 cups sugar to 1 cup water)

Directions:

mint & ginger steeping

1. Make the simple syrup by first by bringing 1 cup of water to a simmer over medium high heat. Then add 2 cups of sugar and stir. Reduce the heat to medium low and stir until sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
2. Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large sauce pot. Once boiling, turn off heat and add 1 cup of mint leaves, packed, and ginger slices. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let mint and ginger steep. After 10 minutes, strain infused water to remove mint and ginger, and set aside to cool. Discard the used mint and ginger.
3. Meanwhile, squeeze juice from lemons into a large pitcher. Add ginger mint infusion, six additional cups of water (I added less water because I like the lemon flavor stronger) and simple syrup (I added less simple syrup because I like my lemonade more sour). Stir lemonade and taste for sweetness. 
4. Add several fresh mint sprigs to the pitcher (about 5), cover and let cool for 30 minutes to an hour. Refrigerate over night for best flavor. Serve chilled in glasses with ice and fresh mint.

Dinner...

Sonoma Chicken Salad Sandwich 

*recipe from Cooking Classy

This sandwich can be made completely without any heat if you just buy the pre-cooked chicken or a rotisserie chicken.  I'm a big chicken salad fan and I really liked this one.  It's different than others because of the vinegar in it and the cranberries are a nice touch.

Ingredients:

(makes 5-6 servings)

• 3 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (about 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast halves)
• 1 cup diced celery (about 3 stalks) (I omitted this because I don't like celery)
• 2/3 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
• 2 Tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese
• Sliced bread, for serving

For the Dressing:

• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 3 Tbsp honey
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp prepared yellow mustard (optional)
• 1 Tbsp poppy seeds
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl toss together shredded chicken, celery, pecans, dried cranberries and Parmesan cheese, set aside. 
2. In a separate mixing bowl whisk together all ingredients listed for the dressing until well blended. 
3. Pour dressing mixture over chicken mixture and toss to evenly coat. Serve over sliced bread, croissants or rolls. Store in refrigerator.

Dessert...

Creamy Berry Goodness

*recipe from Becoming Betty

This dessert doesn't really have a name.  But, it is sooooo delicious! It's kinda like an extra delicious yogurt parfait.  Just make it - you'll see what I mean!  Plus, no cooking of course.  Just stir together a few ingredients and it's ready to go!

Ingredients:

• Frozen mixed berries 
• 1 tub Cool Whip (I just bought whipping cream and whipped it up myself.  Then I added a couple spoonfuls of sugar to sweeten it.)
• 1 large container of vanilla yogurt 
• 1 small package of cheesecake pudding mix (I couldn't find this flavor, so I just used vanilla flavor)

Directions:

1. Pour berries into a large bowl.  
2. Add the Cool Whip and yogurt and then sprinkle on the pudding mix. 
3. Stir together really well until it's all combined and looks pretty.  
4. Chill before serving.

Simplify Supper

I was running out of blog ideas, so I looked up holidays in August.  It turns out that the first week in August is "National Simplify Your Life Week."  Perfect!  Here is the simplest meal I have ever made for my blog.

Drink/Dessert...

Skinny Cookies and Cream Shake

*recipe from: My Fitness Pal
I told you I was simplifying things.  What could be simpler than combining the drink and dessert?  Since it's been so hot out, I thought a milkshake would be perfect to cool us off.  I'm definitely not being as strict as I was before the wedding, but I'm still trying to have a healthier diet, so I decided on "skinny" milkshakes.  These were good, but they don't really have a milkshake consistency.  The ice gives it more of a Frappuccino kind of texture.  Even though it's no milkshake, I would make it again.  You could even experiment with different flavors!
Ingredients:
(makes 2 [1 cup] shakes)

• 1 cup reduced-fat (1%) milk 
• 2½ reduced-fat Oreo cookies 
• 1 tablespoon instant vanilla pudding (dry mix) (I accidentally bought chocolate pudding and it was still delicious.  I want to try pistachio!)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1 package Splenda or Equal (I used Stevia)
• 1½ cups ice cubes 

Directions:

1. Add all the ingredients in a blender. Blend on high until smooth. Add a few more ice cubes if the shake isn’t thick enough. 
2. Serve at once. 

Dinner...

Chicken, Artichoke, and Pesto Quesadillas

*recipe from Snixy Kitchen
Nothing is easier than quesadillas.  These are a twist on the original - kind of an Italian quesadilla.  They were really good and really easy to make.
Ingredients:
(makes 2 quesadillas)

• 4 flour tortillas
• ½ cup pesto
• 2 cups shredded cheese of your choice
• ½ cup canned artichoke hearts, quartered, and ripped into smaller pieces
• 1 large boneless skinless chicken breast

Directions:

before adding the top tortilla

1. Cut the chicken into small pieces.  Salt and pepper the pieces and saute until cooked through.
2. Lay out two tortillas. Spread a thin layer of pesto on each tortilla, evenly distributing between both.
3. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the pesto, reserving a cup of cheese.
4. Spread the chicken and artichoke hearts evenly over both tortillas.
5. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the chicken and artichokes.
6. Place another tortilla on top of each quesadilla.
7. Heat a skillet over medium low heat. One at a time, heat each quesadilla until the cheese begins to melt and the bottom becomes crispy and golden brown. Flip quesadilla over and cook until the other side becomes golden brown and crispy. Remove from heat, cut, and serve.