Jun 21, 2010

Summer in a Bowl


So I completely forgot to take any pictures of my cookery on Saturday for y'all.  Luckily I made the same chopped salad Sunday night for a family Father's Day dinner, and took pictures then.  As evidenced by the fact I made it two days in a row, this salad is super delicious. The recipe comes from Scott Peacock, out of June's Better Homes and Gardens.
First, take 2-3 cloves of garlic, peel and split them.  Then remove the green sprout from the center of the clove- Scott says that if you leave that little guy in there your dressing might be bitter.
Sprinkle a generous amount of kosher salt on your garlic, and get chopping.  Then mash the garlic and salt together with your knife to form a paste.
Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the garlic paste, and let sit for about 10-15 minutes so the lemon can tame the garlic.  Then add an 8 ounce carton of creme fraiche, salt and pepper to taste and let sit for at least an hour to allow the flavors to meld.

Perfect opportunity for Brother and I to take our parents for a little Dad's Day cruise before dinner.

Post lake, Hubs put on the steaks (he rested in the AC while we swam and cruised- he had the cocktail flu I suspect, he had a tummy ache), and I chopped the veggies.

One cucumber, 2 ears of corn barely cooked- cut the kernels off the cub and nuke 'em for about 2 minutes), about a quarter of a pound of blanched haricots verts, and a carton of cherry tomatoes.

Add half a cup of chopped chives.
Oh y'all, just those veggies are making my  mouth water.  Add a couple of spoonfuls of your dressing to the veggies, coating them evenly.  Then add a head of romaine lettuce, washed, well-dried, and torn into bite size pieces.  Toss everything, to coat the lettuce with the dressing.  Add a couple more spoonfuls of dressing, salt and fresh ground pepper, as well as the remaining chives.

Then add a chopped avocado (we used 2), and chopped bacon (I think four slices?).  I left the bacon out (gasp!), because I had a BL(EA)T for lunch, bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin for dinner the night before, and a bbq pork sandwich for lunch the day before.  I have a pig problem.

Anyway, toss it all together, and try to get it to the table before picking it all away.  I meant to take a picture of the finished product, but by the time I remembered, this is what was left-
Which I promptly scooped up and finished off.  Yum.

Oh, in case y'all were worried, the dinner party went famously, and I will spend probably all week giving y'all the run-down and recipes.

11 comments:

  1. You are such a doll! Love your posts.

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  2. Seriously this shouts SUMMER! Looks yummy!

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  3. That looks so DELICIOUS!!! Can't wait to hear about your dinner party!

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  4. That looks to die for! Yummmm!!! I love fresh veggies. I knew your dinner party would be great!

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  5. That looks so tasty! Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to hear the details on your dinner party.

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  6. that looks so good! and it sounds like y'all had a great father's day.

    p.s. love your suit. where'd you get it?

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  7. Yum! What a great Father's Day you had!

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