Pan-tossed asparagus spears

I know this seems too easy. It's cause it is.

Grab a bunch of fresh asparagus and snap of the bottom ends at their natural breaking point, one stalk at a time. Toss in a pan over medium heat with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Let cook until just slightly tender, but still with a fresh, firm snap when you bite into them (roughly 10 min). I share this recipe because I used to be a victim of the mistakenly held believe that you had to blanch asparagus before grilling or sautéing them. 

Thanks to a recent trip to Michigan to visit Pedro's sister Viviana Maiz, I learned that this is by far the most delicious way to prepare asparagus. 

Top with a balsamic reduction drizzle for added interest.

Blue cheese basil hand tossed pizza

I'll mess with explaining the dough in a different post (Pedro is the bread master in this house!), but for anyone out there making their own pizzas, this topping combo is to die for.

Start with a can of Italian whole tomatoes (la Valle is one of our favorites - we buy this brand at Penn Mac in Pittsbuegh's strip district). Blend the tomatoes with fresh crushed garlic, a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Use this very thin sauce as a base.

On top of the marinara base, add about 3/4 c. shredded mozzarella. Bake until crust starts to bubble. While still hot, cover the pizza with fresh basil and blue cheese crumbles. Adding the blue cheese before popping the pizza into the oven really takes the blue cheese stinkiness away. And I mean, who wants to add blue cheese to anything unless it's gonna stink? (In that delicious way that only cheese can)

Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies

The extent to which I bake. And the humidity made them flat like pancakes. Pedro ate them anyway. :)

Chamomile Infused Gin Cocktail

This cocktail (a Kimmy original) gave my sister and I hours of nonsense to talk about. It was literally that strong, err... good. That good.

Start by making the chamomile concentrate. Steep 2 heaping tablespoons of loose chamomile tea in 6 tbsp of boiling water. Once this steeps for approximately 5 minutes, add 2 tbsp of honey to turn the concentrate into a chamomile simple syrup. Cool the mixture by adding 1/3 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Mix this concentrate with 1 c. Gin in a pitcher with ice. Stir and serve in a cocktail glass of your choice, perhaps with a mint garnish.

Otherwise, kimmy and I think it might mix well in a cocktail shaker with 1 part concentrate to two parts gin.

This picture is of Kimmy's rendition in front of her raised garden in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Capresurger

Here's a Pedro and Christine summer original. If you're hungry for a burger and caprese salad at the same time, this is the perfect meal for you!

Serves 2:

Mix 2 cloves of crushed garlic and a dash of salt and pepper and Worcester sauce into a half pound of raw hamburger. Separate into 2 quarter pound patties.

As the burgers are grilling, assemble the rest of the toppings and toast the sour dough bun.

Additional toppings can include (but are not limited to) buffalo mozzarella, fresh tomato slices and basil. Top this with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar reduction (Costco sells a great product called "blaze" which is a squeeze bottle of pre-prepared balsamic reduction). We chose to add some sliced green onion on top as well.

Enjoy with a cold beer or lemonade to fuel up for an afternoon of summer yard work! 

The Greenbrier's Fried Green Tomato Sandwich with chèvre and bacon

This recipe is a near-perfect clone of the Greenbrier's classic sandwich, available at Dorothy Draper's Cafe. 

Pedro and I spent July 4th this year at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. We enjoyed time at the Greenbrier Classic (a stop on the PGA Tour) and Sam Snead's club, but didn't have a chance to eat at Dorothy Draper's for my favorite sandwich, so I came home this afternoon determined to make a clone. Thank heavens The Greenbrier generously posted their delicious recipe on Facebook. Here's a picture of my rendition and a copy of their recipe. The only additional note I'd make is that you can quarter these for a super yummy appetizer or small plate.

Bon apetit!

Green Cabbage Asian Crunch Salad

Pedro really enjoyed this salad! I made it as an experiment after receiving a head of green cabbage as part of a recent consumer supported agriculture (CSA) delivery. 

I used my food processor's thickest slicing blade to shred half the head of cabbage. In a bowl I mixed the cabbage with half of a minced red onion and two green onions that I combed my fingers through to separate the mini onion rings from the stalk.

In a separate container to mix my dressing I combined:

1/4 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. fresh lemon juice

1/4 c. vegetable oil 

2 tbsp. dark brown sugar

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp salt

20 grinds of fresh pepper

2 tbsp fresh grated ginger

1 crushed clove of garlic

Dash of cayenne pepper

2 tbsp white vinegar

I tossed the dressing with the cabbage mixture and added 2 packages of crushed raw ramen noddles to add the crunch. I also included about 1/2 c. raw sliced almonds. Garnish with a sprig of Thai basil from the garden. 

This salad would be excellent served as a bed under pot stickers. Or add sliced, cooked chicken to this salad and it's a perfect one-bowl meal.

Scrambled eggs with aged cheddar and green onions

This super easy, but sophisticated tasting breakfast has been a favorite of Pedro and mine recently. I experimented with this recipe because of a consumer supported agriculture (CSA) shipment that we picked up containing bunch of green onions.

The key to this recipe is to wait until the eggs are half set before adding the green onion. This will keep the green onion nice and fresh tasting once the eggs are fully scrambled. I also sprinkled in just a touch of garlic powder at this point.

The cheese I used is a three-year aged Vermont cheddar from Costco. (We almost always have a block of this on hand).

I served the eggs with CSA delivered Pa. strawberries that I macerated with 2 tsp raw sugar.