Author: Tracey

Happy Independence Day! America-tini!

Published by

It’s been a while since I posted a cocktail and since there’s no time like the present, Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you my latest creation:  The America-tini! To make this summery drink, scoop out the flesh of a small seedless watermelon and gently pulse it in a food processor of blender.  Place the pulp and juice in the freezer for a few hours until frozen, then remove it and with a fork, break it up into a slush. For each drink add 1/2 cup of the slushy watermelon mixture to a cocktail shaker along with: 1 1/2 ounce good vodka, like Grey Goose1 ounce simple syrup (or less if you prefer it less sweet)1/2 ounce creme de cassis (currant liqueur) This is optional, but very tasty1 ounce lime juice1 tablespoon of frozen blueberries The frozen watermelon and frozen blueberries keep it nice and cold so there’s no need to add additional ice unless you prefer it. Give it a few quick shakes and pour into a glass that has been rimmed with sugar. …

Grill-fried Chicken Wings with Tomato Salad

Published by

I bet you’re wondering what “grill-fried” chicken wings are.  Well, it was an experiment that went very right, and although I don’t normally blog my weekday meals, this one was particularly pleasing and I thought I’d share it with you.  The idea for these wings came from a pizza place that was in business here for a very short time, called Anthony’s Wood Fired Pizza. It was one of our favorite pizza places and we would go there more often for their wings than for the pizza.  The wings were simply well-seasoned with lots of garlic and topped with a mound of caramelized onions.  They weren’t bathed in sauce and there wasn’t any dipping sauce.  They were perfect just as they were.  The restaurant closed down a few years ago, but I still make these garlicky chicken wings topped with caramelized onions to this day.  I usually make the wings in a 425 degree convection oven, which makes them crispy and golden, but with this continuing heat wave, you couldn’t pay me to turn my …

Chilled Corn and Avocado Soup with Cilantro Oil

Published by

Ahh, Summer.  That wonderful season that brings us delicious, sweet corn, which grilled in their husks are so tender and sweet that they don’t even need seasoning! I thought of making a cold soup because, let’s face it, we in Southern Nevada apparently live on the surface of the sun.  Temperatures soared to 116 degrees this weekend and anything cool and refreshing was a most welcome thing.  I adapted this recipe found on Epicurious and I used a lot more corn and I also did not strain the soup.  I think that step is a purely personal issue.  I enjoy texture in soup and I find that it makes for a more substantial dish–a soup that “eats like a meal”.  But if you prefer a smoother, creamy soup, straining it would give you that result.  This soup has a refreshing Southwestern flavor with a hint of heat and a little splash of lime and would make a great first course for a summery dinner! For the soup: 4 ears of grilled fresh sweet corn1 serrano pepper, chopped …

Summer Vegetable Tian

Published by

This simple dish is a wonderful way to take advantage of peak season summer vegetables.  I’m happy to say that I picked the eggplants, tomatoes and zucchini from our little garden!  Yes, you heard that right–I actually grew two more zucchinis! Huzzah!  The most difficult part of this dish is the assembly and that’s only if you’re slightly impatient, like me, and get tired of layering seemingly endless slices of vegetables, but the finished product is so worth the extra time. For this dish I used: 1 large zucchini, sliced  4 medium sized green tomatoes, sliced (Roma tomatoes would be great for this dish) 3 small eggplants, sliced–mine were rather small and I had two Japanese eggplants and one Black Beauty 1/2 red onion, sliced 3 cloves garlic, minced 3 sprigs thyme, stems removed, lightly chopped handful of fresh basil, stems removed, chopped olive oil splash of white wine softened butter First, cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the top of the gratin or casserole dish you plan to use.  Butter the dish …

My First "Artisan" Bread! Plus, Strawberry-Basil Jam

Published by

This week, I received some new “toys” in the mail.  One, is the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and the other: two large plastic tubs to start bread in.  Embarking on a bread-baking expedition is a highly impractical thing to do in the heat of summer, since I can hardly bear to turn on the oven, but so far that hasn’t thwarted me from trying! Let me be frank and tell you that bread baking is not something I’m an expert in.  I am a total novice. Fresh-baked bread is just not something I grew up with. My mother has somewhat of an odd dough-phobia and the closest thing we ever had to fresh bread growing up was Bisquick Drop Biscuits!  So, I’m starting on this path quite late in life and it’s already proving to be a bit of an obsession!  This book basically shows you how to make a large batch of no-knead dough (hmm, this might be right up my mother’s alley) that can be stored in the refrigerator for …

Homemade Granola

Published by

While preparing for a little hiking adventure, I had a fleeting thought to stop at the grocery store and pick up some trail mix.  While I was shopping, a little lightbulb went off in my head and I realized that there was no need to purchase trail mix when I had everything in my pantry to make it myself.  Then I decided to take it a step further and made some homemade granola. I have slightly adapted this recipe from Alexandra’s Kitchen.  I did have to purchase one item that I didn’t have, shredded coconut, but everything else was in the pantry. Turns out the hardest thing about making homemade granola is the part where you need to leave it undisturbed to cool for one whole hour!   Since I plan on eating this granola as a snack and not breakfast cereal, I used whole almonds instead of sliced almonds. 4 cups rolled oats 2 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened) 1 cup chopped walnuts 1 cup whole almonds 3/4 cup dried cranberries 1/2 cup …

What to do with all those squash blossoms!

Published by

I’ve told you a little about my adventures with growing squash in my garden.  The first and last legitimate zucchini was grown and eaten two weeks ago and there hasn’t been another one since.  Yes, it does bother me a bit that a vegetable that is purportedly so easy to grow that a toddler could grow it has eluded me, but no matter; because this girl learns to make lemonade out of lemons! Even though I have no more mature squash to eat, I happen to have a good amount of squash blossoms on the plants that I’ve been harvesting early in the mornings and finding things to make with them.  The blossoms themselves taste like a mild version of the squash.  I stuffed these blossoms with a ricotta cheese and herb mixture and pan fried them.  They make a delicious and delicate appetizer and they are very simple to make! As I mentioned, the squash blossoms should be harvested first thing in the morning when they open.  The male blossom is on a long, …