Lunch With the Birds

This cardinal-inspired table was a quickly arranged table for an impromptu lunch that was made easier because a) I didn't have a lot of time to think about it, and, b) I had been planning for the opportunity for a while, although not specifically for this day.

Mary, from Home Is Where the Boat Is deserves all the credit for having inspired me, through countless bird posts and incredible creativity, into trying out my very own table.  I do love little birds, and over the years, I've established a little collection of bird ornaments and dishes, without any clear idea of what I would do with them, until now.

The salad plates are Certified International, and the pattern is Holly and Ivy,  The set comes with two variations:  The cardinal . . .

And the chickadee.  The dinner plate is from Williams-Sonoma Woodland Berry collection, which I will use again on Christmas Eve (I've had them for two years, but with Covid, haven't really had a chance to use them.  The twigs and branches make it a perfect place for birds to hang out.

I dug into my stash of napkin rings and found these which put me in mind of a twiggy bird's nest.  I paired them with the Red Caroline Paisley napkins.  I liked the softer red they brought to the table.

The cardinal salt and pepper set came out to play.  Now, I grant you, the female cardinal doesn't have the startling plumage of the male, but she holds the pepper, and keeps things spicy.

The live ivy wreath came from Trader Joe's. TJ's also yielded a small evergreen wreath that I placed around the base of the ivy.

Then I reached into the stash of bird ornaments in my collection.  I like that they seem to be peeking out here and there, and you can't see them fully.  

The chickadee made itself at home under the ivy.

The Pottery Barn placemats came home with me a couple of years ago.  I use them all the time, and really like the rustic charm they bring to the table.

I am having a hard time deciding which of the two plates I like better!  The green water goblets came from Dollar Tree almost a decade ago.  They have served us well!

More forest birdies came out of the woods to join the party . . . 

And a curious deer came to investigate.

So, what did we serve at this lunch?  Well, we started with a Winter Wedge Salad, with crumbled maple bacon, Red Anjou pears, walnuts and Marzetti Blue Cheese dressing.  The lunch came together in a hurry, and I didn't have time to make my own dressing from scratch, but this one was really good!

The salad was followed by a really scrumptious sandwich:  Ham-off-the bone, Provolone, a schmear of Dijon mustard on one side, and strawberry jam on the other, then grilled on a frying pan with creamy butter, and served with a Vlasic zesty dill pickle spear.

And for dessert, Almond Joy Cookies — the most amazing cookies to ever come from a supermarket! — served with grapes (to pretend we were eating healthy).  The cookie was so rich, no one was able to finish more than one (we need to work on our endurance).  I'm going to make these for Christmas.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season, and fun (but safe) entertainments, big and small!

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

 A refreshing summer salad and main course, all in a single glass.

Happy Sunday!

Shrimp Cobb Salad

I love salads, and, in the summer, I really indulge!

 No recipe needed.

Chicken Tortellini Salad

 

Guide (not recipe), I cooked with abandon:

1 package mini cheese tortellini

1 package Mozzarella pearls

Cherry tomatoes, slices

1 green pepper, chopped

Pesto, to taste

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Ensalada Malagueña (Cod and Potato Salad, Málaga-style)

This salad is simplicity itself and makes a great middle-of-the week dinner when you need something simple, fast and filling.

Here's the recipe:

3 large Idaho potatoes (or 4 smaller ones), peeled, boiled and cubed in 1-inch pieces

3 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled and set aside to cool (can be done the day before)

2 lbs. Cod fillets, either fresh or frozen (can be done the day before)

3 large oranges, supremed - that is, peeled, and sections removed without the outer membrane (can be done the day before)

1 bunch scallions, chopped finely, or ¼ white onion, shaved or sliced thinly (can be done the day before)

½ cup Aloreña olives

½ cup Spanish extra virgin olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

1.  Cook the potatoes the day that you are planning to serve this dish.  I don't like the taste of leftover potatoes, but this is a personal preference, if you don't mind, then make them the day before.

2.  Slice the hard-boiled eggs into wedges with an egg slicer.  Set aside.

3.  Cook the cod following your favorite method.  I bake mine with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.  When it's cooled, shred it with a fork into chunks.

4.  Supreme the oranges:  Here's a tutorial:  How to Supreme an Orange

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.  Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Notes:  1. Aloreña olives come from the Málaga region in Spain.  If you can find them it'll make the dish more authentic, however, Manzanilla olives will do in a pinch.  Get them without any filling. 2. Spanish olive oil is great for the same reason, but you may substitute your favorite olive oil, if you prefer.  3.  Scallions are preferable because of their mild flavor.  You do not want a strong onion flavor in this dish.  Depending on what I have on hand, I sometimes use white onion, shaved thinly in a mandolin.

Enjoy!

Sunday lunch

We are living through the month of excess.  Everywhere you go there are cookies and hot cocoa.  The office counters are groaning from food that vendors are sending in, or office party potlucks.  You need a will power of mighty proportions to resist all that.  So, at home, we go light:

A wedge salad.  Not a new invention but a rediscovered one:  Iceberg lettuce, crumbled hard-boiled eggs and bacon, and dotted with some blue cheese dressing.  It was light, delicious, and surprisingly filling.

Give it a try!

Getting back on the horse: Blogging again.

But the horse never bucked me!  The problem is life.  A demanding job.  A longer commute. Facebook.  Too many things happening!  I've missed blogging dreadfully, and I have so much to share that I'm making a promise to myself not to be gone so long in the future.

Since food is fun, comforting, and emotionally easy to address, I'll start with that:

Here was last night's dinner - Chicken Tortilla Soup.  It was truly delicious.  I followed The Pioneer Woman's recipe, more or less.  I've been turning up the heat in my kitchen a bit more for the last couple of years after reading of all the many health benefits chili peppers offer.  I know, I'm late to the party.  In addition to Vitamin C, carotenoids, and antioxidants, they are great to help regulate insulin in the body, and even helps break up gallstones!

Can you tell I'm getting older?  Now food not only has to taste delicious, but it has to have some redeeming healthy quality, if only to justify it to myself.  My heat tolerance is still low, compared to that of most of my friends, but it's definitely improving.  If you attempt to make this recipe, take it nice and slow with the hot spices, until you find the level of heat with which you are comfortable - and be sure to have some sour cream on hand to cool things down in a hurry!

Our interest in Mexican food was rekindled recently during a visit to Rick Bayless' "Topolobampo" restaurant here in Chicago.  We waited for our table next door at "Frontera Grill" sipping sangría (we are not into margaritas), admiring their alebrije - a Mexican folk art sculpture of a fantastical creature. 

. . . and enjoying the most unusual, but delicious Chef's Choice Guacamole, made with mashed avocado, infused with morita chile, grilled onions, oregano, chorizo and queso fresco.  It was fabulous!

And that was only the beginning because the 5-course meal that followed at Topolo's (as the name is frequently shortened) was inspired.  The courses were described elaborately and presented with flare, but when it came down to it, the food was of the utmost freshness and simplicity.  It took us three and a half hours to finish the meal.  I felt like I was in Europe, in one of those delightful suppers that never seem to end, and in which the conversation flows like good wine.  If you have the opportunity to visit one of Rick Bayless' restaurants, don't miss it!  It's definitely worth it!

Martha Stewart posted the beautiful picture above of  her Leftover Salade Niçoise, and it spoke to me because it reminded me a bit of my grandmother's salad  - Carmela's Salad, of which I have previously written.  I felt like Martha was challenging me to take it up a few notches, so, of course, I had to try making it . . .

. . . even down to making up a batch of my own Roasted Red Peppers.

Voilà!  I omitted the anchovies, because neither my husband nor I will eat them (although I don't mind them in a Caesar Salad Dressing, where their fuzzy texture is obliterated by the blender, another day, perhaps). Everything was Martha-worthy - organic, locally grown, grass-fed, antibiotic-free, pesticide-free, and wild-caught.  We feasted on it for two days.  Challenge met, Martha!

North Carolina Pulled Pork was another new entrée to feature at our table in a recent weekend dinner.  I convinced myself that because it was dressed with apple cider vinegar and honey, it had to be healthy. The pork came out very tender, but we decided we really missed the barbecue sauce, so I'm not sure if I'll be making this one again.

My attempts at healthier eating aren't always successful, but sometimes they are.  Dr. Hyman's Green Breakfast Smoothie, which he touts as probably "the healthiest smoothie in the whole world" has been part of my breakfast for the last few months, and I'm enjoying it! It is actually very tasty, and easy to make with the help of a good Vitamix blender, and my wonderful husband, who prepares the veggies for me.

Since our recent trip to Hawai’i we've welcomed papayas back into our lives.  I don't know why we've ignored this delicious fruit in the past.  My mother was very fond of it.  In Cuba it is generally known as "Fruta Bomba" - Bomb Fruit.  In Havana, especially, the sophisticated town mice would never utter the name "papaya" which in Cuban slang represents the female genitalia.  This article will help explain this Cuban idiosyncrasy.  I guess it's better that it look like a bomb than a part of the female anatomy.  We humans are so sexually repressed!  Ha!  In any case, they've been exceptionally good this year, and we have indulged.  Go buy a papaya before the season runs out!

Ah!  Food!  We can't avoid dealing with it daily.  And what joy it brings when we do it right!

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” —Virginia Woolf

I'm back!

Lemon Tablescape

How many of you remember the “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” story from your children's childhood?  My husband and I must have read this story - and its sequels (“If You Give a Moose a Muffin,” “If You Give a Pig a Pancake”) a hundred times!  And, ahem! we only did it for the kids, not because we enjoyed it in the least.  Oh, what fun times!

And now, I've created my own version.  It goes like this:  If you give Maria a Lemon Thyme herb plant,

the variegated Lemon Thyme that she can find locally only at Trader Joe's every other year . . .

chances are she's going to want to bake something special . . .

like the Citrus Loaf Cake from Rattlebridge Farm . . . 

When she makes the cake, she'll realize she needs to put together a table to go with it.  

She'll want to use her Botanical Citrus Salad plates from Williams-Sonoma, featuring limes . . .

blood oranges . . . 

grapefruits . . .

and, of course, lemons!

To complete the table, she'll realize she needs a nice centerpiece . . .

Some lemony yellow roses interspersed with creamy whites . . .

Set on a vase surrounded by lemon slices . . .

Once the table is set, she'll want to invite some friends for lunch . . .

  

If she invites some friends, it'll dawn on her that she's now going to have to prepare some food, because, unfortunately, it won't magically appear on the plates.  She makes a nice arugula salad with shaved Parmesan cheese and dressed with a lemon vinaigrette . . .

using her precious olive oil, bought in Italy last year while she was traveling in Tuscany.

Then, she'll prepare one of her favorite dishes:  Chicken Marbella, from the Silver Palate Cookbook.

The chicken is prepared with yummy treats like olives, capers, prunes, garlic, oregano, and, of course, more precious olive oil . . . All those good things that remind her of the Mediterranean . . .

Then it's sprinkled with brown sugar, which will caramelize during baking and flavor the chicken beautifully . . .

Once the chicken is done, she'll need to turn her attention to the beverages, and, since her mind is still taking a short trip back to Italy, Pallini Palmers seem perfect for the occasion!

Made with her favorite Arnold Palmer recipe, and adding a generous portion of Pallini Limoncello.

It's a perfect summer drink!

There are a lot of lemons in this post, but as Mae West once famously said:  “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!”

She and her guests can glance at her flowering clematis in the backyard, just to cleanse their visual palate . . .

Her friends will come and share the food, the drinks, and some lovely conversation on a beautiful summer afternoon . . .

And chances are . . . she'll have so much fun, she'll want to do it again and again!