So last night our book club met to discuss the complexities of 50 Shades of Grey.
After the 5 minute discussion snacks and dinner were served!

 I got a little name tag happy...

 Side of olive tapenade

I cooked the linguine as soon as I got home, mixing in the pea pesto while it was still hot.

Then set it aside to cool.

The peppers marinated in garlic and red wine vinegar for approximately 20 hours,

with a splash of capers and fresh mozzarella this appetizer was simply delicious! 

  We ate, we laughed, we drank.

And with the dishes done, I poured myself a glass of wine and purchased next months book.

Already looking forward to it!

Book club is tomorrow, so today I cook.

Whats on the menu:

Roasted peppers in red wine vinegar with capers

Pea pesto pasta

Salami chips

Cheese

Garlic Toast

 Nothing says fun like kicking your oven to 400 for an hour during a NYC heat wave.

 While the peppers roasted I began to puree the peas...until my cuisinart broke. 

Then I began to chop

 and chop

 During chopping breaks I removed the skin from the roasted peppers.

With a little help from a fork it's a fairly easy process

 Next, I sliced the peppers lengthwise and arranged them by color, because even in cooking I like a little sense of order

 Added 1/3 c. of red wine vinegar

2 cloves of chopped garlic

And set in the refridgerator over night

Tomorrow, it's book club time!

My FAVORITE cheese plate:

Manchego

Quince

Prosciutto

Thanks pinterest for teaching me how to make prosciutto rosettes.

- Take a piece of prosciutto and twist into a long strand

- Next, wrap it tightly into a rosette, tucking the end if necessary to keep it from unrolling.

Done and done.

A new take on tomatoes and mozzarella.

The perfect bite size for parties!

Fish Vs. Me

 Fish still seems to give me a little kitchen anxiety - so much can change (aka go wrong) in such a short time. It's you and me salmon.

 A few salmon recipes combined forms Wednesday night dinner:

Olive oil

White wine

Rosemary

Lemon

Capers

Salt 

Pepper

I then wrapped everything in a tin foil envelope and baked it for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

I think we were a little too excited about the salmon success since it was promptly eaten, and I have no post baking photos to show for it.

Mahi Mahi, you're up next!

It's a heat wave!

And what better way to curb these hot summer months than a cold pasta salad.

Chop - Mix - Cool

Orzo

Lemon

Red peppers

Parsley

Red onion

Olive oil

Feta

Waiting for the orzo to cool was the toughest part - "room temp" pasta salad just doesn't have the same ring to it.

 I'm slightly impatient when I'm hungry.

Perfect with any summer meal or midnight snack.

Stay cool!

The other weekend my girlfriends and I braved the chaos of the LIRR on a Friday, and headed to South Hampton for a weekend of pooling, grilling, and wining.

It's no secret that I miss having a grill in the city, so whenever I find a grill, I grill!

One of my favorite marinades that Kerry and Doug introduced me to is

Soy Vay's Veri Veri Teriyaki. It's simple, in the fact that it comes in a jar, and is delicious.

I added a little beer and cayenne to the mix and let the marinating begin.

While the meat marinated, I grilled up some veggies and caramelized some red onions.

I've recently been broiling bread with a brush of olive oil and then rubbing it with raw garlic after its been toasted. It adds a lot more flavor, but does a number on your breath....

 Skrimps!

As we were perusing the grocery store my friend Sam found a magazine with some interesting grilling ideas, we took a few pictures of the recipes and then returned "In Shape" to the racks.

 Lemon marinated shrimp with Apricots

We adapted this recipe a little:

Marinate fresh shrimp in lemon juice and olive oil for 30 - 45 minutes

While the shrimp marinate, soak your skewers in water

When done, skewer the shrimp alternating with pieces of apricot

Dash of salt & pepper

Grill for 8 - 10 minutes

 My friend Katie was a great sous chef

Since we ran out of apricots the last of the shrimp was tossed in a spicy blend of cracked pepper, cayenne, and garlic powder.

 After marinating for 4 hours (flipping at the 2 hour mark)

the steak was ready to grill!

 Watermelon, feta, and balsamic reduction salad was the perfect ending to this grilled out meal!

Happy Summer !!!

It's snack time at PS260.

Tools: Toaster Oven & Microwave.

Have at it.

 I recently made mushroom and rosemary crostini with the luxury of a stove top and skillet, but what's real cooking but learning how to adapt with your tools and try something new. It's not like no one has ever roasted mushrooms before.

 This recipe is fairly simple:

Mushrooms (any type really)

Olive oil

Dried Rosemary

Garlic Salt

Cayanne (optional)

Toasted bread

 I tossed all the ingredients together in a bowl and then spread evenly on the pan roasting at about 300 degrees for 10 minutes.

(I still suggest using a skillet if given the option.)

Evenly distributed on the toast points, cooked up some salami chips and served with grapes. 

Easy, simple, and inexpensive.