Summer Lunch - All Day Eating with Friends

JuanCarlos and I are super fortunate in many ways. And when it comes to the friend category, we absolutely score. We have the most amazing friends, all over the country. One such lovely group lives in Princeton, NJ and are always willing to make the long drive to visit us. Given the time they invest in traveling, JuanCarlos and I make sure that we prepare an all day affair filled with delectable bites. The food ranges from easy and simple mixed with some other items that require a tad more prep. But the fun part is that we keep it casual and flowing, bringing out items as they are ready. It allows us to mingle, chat, and relax without any formal schedule yet with plenty of food from which to choose. It’s like a grazing event.

Louisa & Rocco sampling the appetizers.

I actually love this type of entertaining because it affords me the opportunity to prepare a variety of different plates. Sometimes I get overly enthused, and just want to offer up the world… on a platter. It feeds my need to experiment plus have a group of food lovers to test out my ideas. I will admit that often times I have to reign myself in for parties. I get so excited, wanting to make more dishes than are humanely possible to consume, unless an army shows up. That said, I do a good job of keeping to amounts that makes sense.

I know I’m always giving advice about making a plan, having a budget, being organized, etc. All of which are necessary. Having a list, knowing what to buy, prep and what to make when, plus staying within your financial limits all are essential. I keep to the first rules diligently. List making, organizing, prepping; that’s my jam. Which is why I included a printable complete shop/prep/menu list at the end of the blog if you choose to replicate this menu. However, one thing I will admit openly; we rarely, if ever, follow a budget. JuanCarlos and I are both of the same mindset. If we are hosting, we will make whatever we deem is appropriate for the occasion and not be concerned about the cost. I don’t recommend this approach for everyone. Having a budget in mind helps to keep you on track and from over buying.

Ok, enough chit chat. This post is going to be chock full of food, so the least said the better. Although, I believe I’ve past that point already. Onward!

Table Setting

I’ve said it a thousand times, as my many posts dedicated to table settings will prove, and I will continue to say it. DO NOT skimp on your outdoor table. Plain and simple: Make it inviting.

Note: If you want me to stop saying it, send me some photo examples of your tables and I will dispense with the repetitive table setting suggestion.

I chose a bold green and black tablecloth that is similar to the one I recently featured Green & Black: A Graphic Table Setting.

I laid a neutral table runner with a bold, black graphic design across the wooden table that was used as a buffet. . I felt that the dramatic outline paired well with that of the tablecloth. I then kept everything else extremely simple.

I bought this khaki colored table runner from IKEA. It was the stark, graphic print that attracted me.

Big white plates, white napkins with a simple rectangle fold placed on the plate lengthwise with the utensils atop. Flowers were from Trader Joe’s. Nothing expensive or extravagant put a fresh pop of color that complemented the tablecloth colors.

Simple but still feels special.

I love the contrast of magenta and lime green. In a pinch, you can’t beat Trader Joe’s for flowers.

Drinks
Have a variety of drinks, but don’t go overboard. I can tell you from experience, people aren’t expecting to have every drink option under the sun. We used to offer a full bar, but through the years have pared down considerably on our offerings.

First tip, know your crowd. If most of your guests enjoy beer over wine, buy accordingly. Our groups are typically wine drinkers. No surprise there. So we offer a variety of wines, sparkling and flat water plus I usually make home iced tea as a non alcoholic option.

Second tip, be gracious; pour and refill your guests glasses. Sure, you would hope they feel comfortable serving themselves, but not everyone will. And it certainly makes them feel special when you are an attentive host.

Keep ‘em refreshed!

Starter | Appetizers

Have a 2-3 different dishes.

You all know that I’m a huge fan of the ubiquitous cheese/charcuterie platter. Since this was a warm August day I wanted to keep the starters less fussy without tons of cheeses melting in the sun. Instead I skewed this a bit lighter with a more tamed grazing platter.

Grazing Platter

Mortadella, French Breakfast Radishes with herb salted butter, salchichon, marcona almonds and dates.

Instead of the big cheese/charcuterie platter, I opted for a more simplified version I dubbed The Grazing Platter.

Watermelon Salad

Watermelon Squares topped with feta, pickled red onions & mint drizzled with balsamic vinegar over a bed of arugula

Nothing more refreshing than watermelon. Up the ante and top it with tangy feta, sharp pickled onion and the fresh herbaceous hit of mint, a drizzle of balsamic adds sweetness. It’s a party in your mouth.

Stuffed Endive

Endive stuffed with whipped cream cheese & goat cheese two ways:
Strawberry | Grape tomato | Basil
Sautéed Peas | Shallots with Pea Shoots.
Click here for recipe

Endive are the perfect vehicle to deliver food into your mouth. I love stuffing them with tons of fillings. These offerings were perfect for a hot summer day.

Intermezzo

This is a small course that we like to serve in between the appetizers and the main meal. I know what you are saying… Food in between the food courses? Well, I did say it was an all day eating affair. For this occasion we served a surf and turf tasting of scallops and grilled meats.

Butter Seared Scallops with Peas/Shallots

These scallops were seared in a cast iron pan on the grill. I used some of the pea/shallot mixture leftover from the endive dish to accompany the scallop. It was a beautiful pairing, and a tasty bite.

Seared scallop with peas

If you can’t get fresh, use frozen peas.

Grilled Meat

No explanation necessary. Grill up some of your favorite meats and serve it family style on a wooden board.

My husband loves, loves, loves to grill. He also loves to have his friends around him while he grills. So offering up both the scallops and the meat right off the flames is right up his alley.

Pluma is the end of the pork loin from an Ibérico pig from Spain. It is moist and tender, and quite the special bite of grilled pork.

My happy grill master, JuanCarlos, chatting it up with Ivor.

Dinner

Salmon Burgers

with Buns & all the fixings (raw red onion slices, pickled red onions, heirloom tomato slices, basil & pea shoots. People can choose whatever floats their boat.

Click here for recipe.

Build a burger station.

Heirloom tomatoes in big slices, raw and pickled onions, fresh basil. Just that is a great salad!

My gluten & egg free salmon burgers. On this occasion, I encrusted them in cornmeal to give them an extra crunch.

Pea shoots and micro greens are more delicate for the salmon burgers. Plus I had leftover from the endive appetizer, so use what you have.

Our friend, Louisa, has celiac intolerance, and I am wheat intolerant. The gluten & egg free salmon burgers were ideal for us and the rest of our guests. While they enjoyed the burgers with a bun, we each choose a different way to stack our burger using a tomato slab; making it our own.

All the other guests enjoyed the bun.

Tomato on top…

Tomato on the bottom…

Spicy Slaw

I love serving this salad because it complements so many dishes. It pairs great with grilled meats or fish. It’s a natural with burgers. So it made sense to sit alongside my salmon burgers.

Click here for recipe.

Spicy Slaw, a crisp, refreshing and hearty salad.

Smashed Baby Potatoes with herb garlic oil

Nothing hard about this one. And the best part is that the majority of this can be made ahead. I use new potatoes, but you really can use any potato you like. Boil them up fork tender but not overdone. Drain well and let them cool slightly on a baking tray. Then using the bottom of a glass or a measuring cup press down on each potato smashing them flat but still keeping them together. You don’t want to fully smash or they will completely fall apart. If making ahead, refrigerator until you are ready to fry them up. To finish them, you can either bake them at 400 degrees in the oven with a drizzle of oil, salt and pepper. You can fry them in a cast iron pan on the stove or on the grill, as we did.

I love serving these with either my marinated feta or a simple herb garlic oil, much like a chimichurri sauce. Simply mince cilantro, parsley, basil, chives, crushed garlic, lemon zest, squeeze of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. If you want to kick up the heat, add red pepper flakes. You can add whatever herbs you like or have. Make it your own.

Nothing better that the crispy skin of a potato with the soft interior. Slather with herb oil and you are in heaven!

Grilled Asparagus

If you have grill fired up, might as well throw on some asparagus. It’s a great summertime green BBQ vegetable.

Dessert was a variety of my ice cream sandwiches. More wine and after dinner drinks. We ate. We drank. We talked. We laughed and ate and drank some more. We love spending time with our Princeton pals, and feel so incredibly fortunate that they make the drive to our little haven in Westchester.

My chocolate chip cookie with vanilla chocolate chip ice cream. All homemade, of course.

Chocolate crisp cookie with vanilla chocolate chip ice cream.

Lemon spice cookie with strawberry basil ice cream.

Now this may feel like a ton of food for 6 people. But remember we paced ourselves and were nibbling all day. You don’t have to make all of these. Try a few. But if you do want to tackle this entire menu check out the printable Prep list document for the entire shop, prep, to do rundown.
I hope you have friends that you would enjoy spending all day with. If you do, make it special. It’s worth every minute!

Print Friendly To Do Prep List

Egg Salad with Zing

As we approach the summer months, tentative thoughts of picnics, BBQs and the like twinkle in our minds. Conjured up images of burgers and buns alongside heaps of summer salads; macaroni, potato and the ubiquitous egg salad. Sure this Memorial Day celebration and seasonal BBQ’s may look different this year, but one thing is certain, we still need to eat. And we definitely need to celebrate and rejoice in life, in being healthy, and any and all good fortunes.

No matter how you decide to celebrate this upcoming Memorial Day, adding a little twist to an old salad standby might be a welcomed change. Although mayo based salads are often the usual accompaniment to BBQs, they rarely grace my table. I seldom, or should say, almost never eat them. Egg salad, most of all. Two main reasons, really. For a long time, I’ve had a food sensitivity to eggs, so I guess that’s a pretty good, and I would venture to say, big rationale. Then, of course, there is the mayo portion, which naturally is made with eggs. The other salads can easily be reinvented/reworked using a blend sour cream and yogurt. But when it comes to egg salad, there’s no getting around the egg portion, and the globs of mayo. Given that eggs make a double appearance in this traditional dish, I’ve steered clear for quite some time. But recently, I starting introducing these shelled wonders back into my diet, and things seem to be ok. With the weather finally showing signs of Spring, Summer and warmth, I figured now was the right time to give a twist to a traditional lunch salad.

I like texture, and I like zing… And I especially like them in my food. When thinking about the typical egg salad neither of those come to mind. In true ‘what do I have’ fashion, I pulled out of the fridge the following line up to answer the call to texture and zing.

Eggs | Mayo | Mustard | Pickles | Capers | Olives | Celery | Lemon

The line up; pickles, capers, mayo, eggs, celery, olives, mustard and lemon.

Ingredients

Yields 1.5 c | approx. 3-4 servings

3 hard boiled eggs
¼ t lemon zest
2 T lemon juice*
¼ cup fine dice celery
1 t capers, chopped
2.5 T chopped dill pickles
2.5 T chopped green olive (I used Spanish Manzanilla olives)
¼ c mayo
1 t mustard (For even more zing, use grain mustard)
(I would have added about 2 T diced red onion if I had it.)
Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. To get a perfect hard boiled egg, place the eggs in a pot and fill with cold water just enough to cover. Bring to a boil, then immediately remove from the heat. Cover and let stand for 14 minutes. Then submerge in ice bath to both stop the cooking and to make it easier to peel.

2. Prep all your ingredients in the famous mise en place way, getting everything ready.

I love using these perfectly sized handmade ceramic bowls by Miller Pottery.

As you can see, some bowls are deeper, while others smaller. Choose bowls of varying small sizes to suit your ingredients.

3. Combine the mayo, mustard and lemon juice/zest together and blend. Add pepper to taste.

As I mentioned, I like a less thick mayo style, so I used 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, making a thinner, lighter dressing. Adjust to your taste.

Photo credit: JuanCarlos Casas/lookasithappens

Look at how gorgeous those yellow yolks look. Perfectly done.

Smash to your hearts content. i like mine on the chunkier side. Photo credit: JuanCarlos Casas/lookasithappens

4. Once the egg are done, smash with a fork to the texture you desire and add all the remaining ingredients saving the mayo mixture for last.

In go all the tangy items, olives, capers, pickles. NOTE: all these have a decent amount of saltiness to them, which is why no additional salt was needed. Photo credit: JuanCarlos Casas/lookasithappens

Crunchy celery in. Photo credit: JuanCarlos Casas/lookasithappens

Creamy, zesty dressing drizzled. Photo credit: JuanCarlos Casas/lookasithappens

*The two tablespoons of lemon juice makes a loose mixture.  I don’t like mine too dry nor too much mayo.  If you like yours less wet and with a thicker mayo texture then cut down the lemon juice.

Serve this with your favorite crackers. You know by know that my gluten free go to is Mary’s Gone Crackers. Naturally, a bun, or whole wheat toast would be great options. However, neither of which can be found in my house.

For more crunch, devour this with Mary’s Gone Crackers. Or serve it up on celery stalks.

For an even healthier choice that will still give you a crisp crunch, fill lettuce leaves with the egg salad. Less carbs more freshness.

Egg Salad with Zing.

A nice lighter lunch served alongside some ice cold, crispy grapes. Fruit is a great accompaniment to a creamy or mayo based salad. I’m a fan. Check out some other salads using grapes. Chicken Salad with Fruit & Nuts or Graped Up Bibb Salad.

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Butter Lettuce with Orange, Blueberries & Crunch

It's funny how some ingredients gravitate towards one another. Or maybe it's me that gravitates towards them. Either way, it's nice to meet up with refreshing ingredients. 

Such as Butter lettuce. I enjoy its soft, delicate taste.  And even though it is mild, it's not too precious that it can't handle some zing and crunch.

Which is why I paired it with orange segments for the zing and seeds for the crunch, and blueberries just because.  Well, not just because. Everything should have a purpose, and these certainly do.  They provide yet another flavor level, adding the tart/sweet level to be exact.  I've made this salad a bunch of time (using nuts)  but the blueberries are a recent addition, as this salad hit the big time, this go around.

Straight up sunflower seeds

Bursting with a tart bite blueberries

This is not a complicated salad, yet it is complex in flavors and textures that all mingle beautifully with a variety of proteins for the main meal. Such as steaks, grilled or roasted fish, pork or chicken.  Its flavors are mild enough so as not to compete, but bold enough to say 'I'm crisp and refreshing, so don't pass me up."  What more can you want from a simple salad? I, dare say, not much. 

So, when during my recent internship at a prep kitchen in Miami I was tasked with making a salad for family meal (that's when the entire staff eats lunch together), I thought this salad might fit the bill. I've always enjoyed it, and was hoping that my new found friends would like it, too.  What I didn't expect was that head Chef MJ liked it so much she decided to offer it at the café for a lunch special the following week.  If you could see my face you would see joy and pride, and a sense of ultimate validation. I guess this little salad of bold flavors and subtle notes from a delicate lettuce got its star on the big screen stage of eateries. 

The line up.

Ingredients
 

(Serves 6 as main or 8-10 as a side salad)

2 heads Butter, Bibb or Boston lettuce
3 oranges, segmented
1 pint blueberries
1/4 cup pecans, roasted, chopped or sunflower or pumpkin seeds
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3 scallions, sliced
 

Dressing

5 t orange juice
4 t lemon juice
4 t lime juice
2/3 c olive oil
2 T cilantro, minced
1 T ginger, grated
2-3 crushed garlic clove
salt, pepper to taste

Instructions

Wash and completely dry the lettuce. Gently tear it into bite size pieces.  If you are using pecans, place them in a 300 degree oven for 5-8 minutes to lightly toast.  Or you can toast them in a pan on the stove.  If you are using seeds such as sunflower or pumpkin, you can toast them or not.  Segment the oranges over a bowl so you can catch all the juices and use for the dressing. Toss together the lettuce, scallions, onions, ⅔ of the orange segments, ⅔ of the pecans or seeds reserving the remainder to decorate the top of the salad.  Whisk together all the ingredients and lovingly pour over the salad and mix well.  Do not over dress the salad.  You just want it all lightly coated.  Then using the rest of the oranges and nuts decorate the top.

You may notice some radicchio in this closeup shot. At the last minute, I added some to bulk up the salad because we had another person joining for lunch.

This is a wonderfully, refreshing summer salad.  Or anytime salad.  I think it will brighten any BBQ.  Pair it with spicy ribs.  Pair it with grilled meats or sausages.  Pair it with whole roasted fish.  Go ahead, pair it with anything.  

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Corn & Fruit Salad

I had to do it.  I had to use corn again, and oh when fruit is ripe, it's ripe for the picking.  Such is the time for grabbing peaches, nectarines and yes, corn.   At first this might sound like an odd mix, but when you think about some of those sweet salsa mixes, this doesn't sound so odd at all.   In fact, it's just like a salsa but each of the pieces cut larger to make this a hearty salad instead of topping for something else.

I love how all the textures and different flavor notes play off of each other with this combo.  First you have the crunchy, sweet yet savory of the corn, the creaminess of the avocado, the soft, uber sweetness of the peach and nectarine playing nice with that sharp bite of the scallion.  Oh, how I love when fruits and vegetables play nicely with one another.  If only we all could dance together but shine separately like this salad, the world would be an even better place.

Ok, here are the nuts and bolts of this cut' em up, toss 'em up salad.

Ingredients

3 corn on the cob, kernels raw, cut off cob
1 avocado, cut in cubes
2 small peaches,  cut in cubes
2 nectarines,  cut in cubes
1 scallion, thinly sliced
Arugula (optional)

Dressing: juice 1/2 orange, orange zest, juice 1/2 lime, salt, pepper whisk in olive oil

Instructions

I don't mean to be sassy... Alright, I mean to be sassy, but seriously just follow what is written above (or the visuals below).  Cut 'em up. Toss 'em up (gently).  Eat 'em up.

Serve it up.

You can also add arugula on a big platter as a bed for your 'salsa turned salad' to rest. Actually, this is a great idea because the arugula adds that pepper note that truly rounds out all the flavors on your taste buds.  This one is a refreshing winner.  We ate this at home one night with grilled fish.  We also brought it a BBQ where they served grilled chicken and pork skewers.  It added that perfect sweet/savory flavor to the meal.

Strings... of Bean, Pepper & Asparagus Salad

Many, many moons ago I made a string bean and pepper salad to bring to a BBQ. The hostess and guests loved it, but ironically I never made it again. Mostly because back then, I never wrote any of my recipe ideas down and had forgotten all about this one.  My memory was jogged when I was shopping yesterday and saw some of the ingredients.  I decided it was worth digging into the memory banks to revive this salad.  

The main ingredients I remembered

I knew I used string beans, red and yellow peppers with a creamy type of dressing. I also remembered that I cut the string beans on a severe angle, and julienned the peppers so that the visual effect was of all the ingredients being long and lean.  After that, quite honestly the rest was a blur.  This time around I found that I had asparagus in the back of the fridge and thought they fell right in line with the long and lean mantra. So, into this recipe they went. Then began the "recreation".   

Ingredients

4 c (approx) string beans, blanched then cut on a long diagonal
1 red pepper, julienned and blanched
1 yellow pepper, julienned and blanched
1 bunch asparagus, cut lengthwise on the diagonal, blanched
1 scallion, thinly sliced on the diagonal
Mint, chiffonade
 

Dressing

1/2 avocado
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 t course sea salt
1/8 t crushed black pepper
1/4 t whole grain mustard
3 T olive oil

String beans blanching

It's the peppers' turn

Now the asparagus

Instructions

Trim and wash the string beans.  In a saucepan, blanch the string beans until tender but still with a bite.  Cut both the red and yellow peppers into thin julienne slices.  Once the string beans are done, remove and cut them in long diagonal pieces. Add the peppers to same saucepan and lightly blanch.  These literally take 30 seconds to one minute. You just want to get the raw bite out of these.  Cut the asparagus stems on a long diagonal cut.  After removing the peppers, blanch in same saucepan.  Add all the vegetables to a serving dish. Add the scallions and chopped mint.  

I simply could not recall what I did for the dressing but I had an avocado and knew that would deliver a creamy version.  I used a mortal and pestle to combine all the above ingredients, whisking in the olive oil.  You certainly can use a mini blender in pulse mode or a fork to mash the avocado, then whisk all together.  Pour the dressing over the room temperature vegetables and lightly toss.  

This wasn't quite the original salad, and I'm not even sure how I can say that since I can't remember what the exact original salad was, but I liked it just the same.  I loved how I could taste the hint of mustard with a bright mint finish and that all the veggies still had a fresh bite to them.  I think this is a great spring and summer side dish for a warm evening's dinner or great for a afternoon BBQ.  This could also be hearty base for a sautéd fish.  It looks great. Tastes great. And truly is a quick and easy recipe to whip up in a hurry.  So hurry, get your long and lean strings of veggies on.