Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

The table on the porch was set and ready to go. We watched the weather report. Storms were popping up all over the mountains. This was an important dinner because my blogging friend Penny and her hubby Mr. Comforts of Home were expected. We had a cooler packed with a French Rose wine and appetizers to be enjoyed on the boat. All looked well when they arrived.

Penny and Penny ready to go for a boat ride.

The sun was shining and the lake was awash with boat traffic which made for a choppy ride.

We enjoyed our cocktails and appetizers. Penny and Mr. Comforts of Home were delightful and we really enjoy their company.

David loves to give people a tour of the lake and even though the skies became threatening suddenly, he had just one more thing to show us.

Even though we sped back to the cottage, we all got drenched. But you know what? It was fun. The rain did not last long, we dried off and David fired up the grill and soon dinner was ready.

The menu was Grilled Garlic Lime Pork Tenderloin with Red Onion Marmalade. Click here for the recipe. We also had my garden Southwestern Squash Casserole which I just recently posted, coleslaw, and Sweet Potato Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing. The sweet potato recipe came from Bobby Flay and has been a favorite of mine for a long time.

SWEET POTATO SALAD WITH WARM BACON DRESSING

6 slices bacon, medium dice

1 red onion, finely sliced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled, cooked and cut into 1-inch dice, kept warm

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 green onions, finely sliced

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Heat pan over high heat. Add bacon and cook until just crisp. Remove bacon to drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat. Add onions and garlic and cook until soft. Remove pan from heat, add vinegar, olive oil, sugar and reserved bacon. Place the potatoes in a large bowl, pour the dressing over and season with salt and pepper. Fold in the green onions and parsley. Serve at room temperature.

Because it has been so hot and steamy lately, I decided to make a frozen dessert. What could be better than a Toasted Almond Mocha Ice Cream Tart redolent with coffee ice cream, Amaretto, chocolate and almonds. I love desserts that you can fix ahead of time. The recipe appeared in a 1992 issue of Gourmet.

TOASTED ALMOND MOCHA ICE CREAM TART

For the crust:

1 1/4 cups chocolate wafer crumbs (about 25 wafers)

1 cup sliced blanched almonds, toasted lightly, cooled, and ground fine

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

1/1/2 cups sliced blanched almonds, toasted lightly and cooled

3 1/2 tablespoons Amaretto

2 pints coffee ice cream, softened

4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine (about 1 cup)

1/4 cup sliced blanched almonds, toasted lightly and cooled

1 ounce fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine or grated

Make the crust: In a bowl stir together witha fork the wafer crumbs, the almonds, and the butter until the mixture is combined well, pat the mixture onto the bottom and sides of an oiled 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable rim, and freeze the crust for 30 minutes, or until it is firm.

Make the filling: In a food processor blend the almonds, scraping down the side occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until they form a nut butter, and with the motor running add the Amaretto. Add the ice cream and the chocolate and pulse the motor 6 to 8 times, or until the filling is smooth and combined well.

Transfer the filling to the crust, spreading it evenly. Garnish the top of the tart with the almonds and the chocolate and freeze the tart, uncovered, for 1 hour. Cover the tart with plastic wrap and freeze it overnight.

Penny brought me the most beautiful linen dish towels. She knows me well and these will look beautiful in my kitchen. They also brought us a fine bottle of French wine. Nothing could be finer than spending time with friends. Visit Penny’s blog for more pictures of our visit.

Printable recipe Sweet Potato Salad

Printable recipe Ice Cream Tart

There are so many recipes for potato salad. The recipe I usually use is the one my Mother always made. It incorporates hard boiled eggs and pickle relish. She always used Miracle Whip as opposed to mayonnaise. You are either a mayonnaise or a salad dressing household. I always made my Son’s sandwiches with Miracle Whip until he ate a sandwich in a mayonnaise household. He came home and told me that Kathie made a much better sandwich than I did. He broke with tradition.

This potato salad recipe does not rely on Miracle Whip or jarred mayonnaise. Instead you make your own salad dressing in the food processor. The recipe appeared in a 1985 issure of Gourmet magazine. I love it for a change of pace and because it has lots of bacon in it. Because the egg is not cooked in this recipe be sure to use a pasturized egg to avoid the possiblity of salmonella.

I halved the recipe this time and it made enough for a small get together. I hope all of you are having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

BACON AND POTATO SALAD

4 pounds baking potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 1/2 inch slices
3 cups sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/2 pound sliced lean bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large egg
5 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon style mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil

In a kettle cover the potatoes with cold water, bring the water to a boil, and add salt to taste. Simmer the potatoes for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are just tender when pierced with a fork, and drain them. Transfer the potatoes to a serving bowl and add the celery, the scallions and the parsley. In a skillet cook the bacon over moderate heat, stirring, until it is crisp and transfer it with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Reserve 1/4 cup of the bacon fat and let it cool for 15 minutes. In a blender or food processor blend the egg, the lemon juice, the mustard, the salt, and the pepper for 5 seconds, with the motor running add the oil and the reserved bacon fat in a stream, and blend the mixture until it is emulsified. With the motor running add 1 1/2 tablespoons warm water. Pour the dressing over the potato mixture, add the bacon and toss the salad until it is combined. Sprinkle the salad with salt and pepper to taste and serve it at room temperature. The salad may be made up to 3 days in advance and kept covered and chilled. Serves 6.

Printable recipe

Sometimes a dish is more than the sum of it’s parts. Sometimes a dish totally surprises you with how good it is. I have to tell you that this salad is one of the best salads I have ever eaten. I have been familiar with Mollie Katzen for a long time. She is the author of the Moosewood Cookbook and The Enchanted Broccoli Forest. All things vegetable are her forte. In her latest book, The Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without, she presents us with almost 100 vegetable recipes that are her current favorites. When I first looked at this broccoli salad recipe I thought of another broccoli salad recipe that I have made in the past that involved raisins and nuts and mayonnaise. I loved that salad. This one seemed sparse in comparison. How wrong I was. All I can tell you is that it is the best. It could become a classic. It looks simple and it is simple to make, but the combination of the blanched broccoli, the wilted red onions and the crisp apples with the honey- mustard viniagrette is genious. I could not stop eating it. Molly Katzen knows what she is doing.

It is appropo that I am giving you a vegetable recipe right now. We have just joined the Friends of the Hickory Nut Gorge Community Garden. We have signed up for a beautiful garden plot with a view of Chimney Rock and the Hickory Nut Falls. Our garden plot is small but we want to grow heirloom tomatoes and peppers, squash, and beans. I plan on posting pictures of our garden as it evolves.

In the meantime, you seriously have to try this salad. I don’t usually wax poetically about my recipes, but I am now. This is excellant!

BROCCOLI, APPLES, AND RED ONION SALAD

1 large bunch broccoli
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon minced or crushed garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons honey
5 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 medium sized tart apple, thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Put up a large saucepan of water to boil. While waiting for this to happen, remove and discard the thick lower stems of the broccoli, and cut the thinner upper stems and tops into medium-sized spears.
2. Measure the vinegar into a medium-large bowl. Use a small whisk to stir constantly as you add the mustard, garlic, salt, and honey.
3. Keep whisking as you drizzle in the oil in a steady stream. The mixture will thicken as the oil becomes incorporated.
4. By now the water should be boiling. Turn it down to a simmer and add the broccoli. Let it cook in the water for 1 to 2 minutes, or until it becomes very bright green and tender-crisp. Meanwhile, place the sliced red onion in a large colander in the sink.
5. Pour the broccoli and all its water over the onion in the colander. ( The hot water will wilt the onion slightly upon contact. ) Place the colander of vegetables under cold running water for a few minutes, then shake to drain well.
6. Transfer the vegetables to the bowlful of dressing. Use tongs to toss until the broccoli is well coated, adding the apple slices as you go. You can serve this right away, or cover and let it marinate in the refregerator, where the flavor will deepen. Serve cold or at room temperature, topped with freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Printable recipe

This has got to be the most refreshing salad I have ever tasted. Most taco salads are loaded with fat from all the cheese and ground beef. There is no cheese in this salad and it calls for ground turkey instead of ground beef. To be honest with you, I can live without the cheese. I have never been a big cheese eater and most of the time I find myself in a distinct minority. In place of the cheese you have a wonderful yogurt dressing flavored with lime juice and cilantro. The salad is further enhanced with mango, black beans tomatoes and corn. Taco salads are usually served in a huge taco shell and although I love the taste of the shell it is usually way too much to eat. In this case, corn tortillas are cut into wedges and baked until crisp. They give just the right amount of bite to the dish.

The only complaint I got about the dish from David was that he would have preferred it for a lunch instead of Friday night dinner. He is kind of like Ina Garten’s Jeffery; Friday night dinner should be a roast chicken or some other special treat. He is getting his roast chicken tonight.

I found this recipe in The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook; The New Classics. The cookbook was $6.99 at T.J. Maxx. I’m glad I found the cookbook and the recipe. It is a keeper and I will definitely be making it often for lunch and light suppers . . . just not on Fridays.

TACO SALAD

1 cup of frozen corn, cooked
3 corn tortillas, each cut into 16 wedges
3/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
2 limes and their zests
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped and seeded jalapeno pepper
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 pound ground turkey
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 head of iceberg lettuce, torn into 2 inch pieces (about 3 cups)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 plum tomatoes, cut into 1/2 thick wedges
1/2 red onion, sliced ( I put the slices in ice water for a while to eliminate the strong onion taste)
1 mango, peeled, seeded, and cut into cubes

Cook the frozen corn in a small saucepan with a little water until done. Drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the tortilla wedges in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet; bake until crisp, turning once about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven; let cool, and set aside.

Make the dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, juice from 1 lime, zest of 1 lime, cilantro, jalapeno, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium nonstick skillet, brown the turkey over medium heat, stirring frequently, until no longer pink, about 7 minutes. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, juice of other lime, and lime zest. I added a little salsa just to keep it moist.

Transfer the mixture to a large serving bowl. Add the lettuce, beans, tomatoes, onion, mango, and reserved corn. Toss to combine well. Drizzle with yogurt dressing and top with tortilla wedges. Serve immediately.

Serves 6. 233 calories. 4 Weight watchers points.

Printable recipe

This is a very refreshing salad. It takes advantage of oranges in season and celery and radishes that add crunch. We went to our first weight watchers meeting today. I hate being so predictable, but yes, we too are on a diet. Isn’t everyone at this time of year? This is the first time I have officially joined Weight Watchers. In the past I felt it was enough to get the cookbooks and do it on my own. But there is something to be gained by the personal support that is offered at the meetings. Also, our good friends and neighbors have joined too and we are planning on getting together at each others’ houses twice a week to share the meals. I still plan on cooking great food. The advantage of Weight Watchers is that you can eat most of your favorite foods but in controlled portions. I am looking forward to the challenge.

The recipe for this salad was in the Best of Weight Watchers Magazine cookbook that I checked out of the library. Now if David can just get over his nightly need for chocolate crunch bars and I can curb my appetite for rich braised dishes, we may have a chance to lose a few pounds. We are giving it a month.

RADISH-ORANGE SALAD

3 small navel oranges
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 Tbls olive oil
1/2 tsp ground coriander
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced radishes
6 medium celery stalks, thinly sliced

1. Cut off the peel and white pith from each orange. Cut the oranges into 1-inch thick slices.

2. Combine the lime juice, oil, coriander, and pepper in a small bowl.

3. Combine the orange slices, the radishes, and celery in a bowl. Drizzle the dressing over oranges and vegetables, and toss gently to coat.

Six servings. Points: 1

Printable recipe