And poached salmon always makes for a good picnic.
If you don't like beets, well, there's something wrong with you.
It always changes but I'm thinking if u r gonna use kalamata olives, you gotta use feta... And capers. Ground chicken is in there, too. Ask if u wanna know more.... Xo
Oh, yeah, baby. Summer is here. Barbequed 90/10 sirloin burger with homegrown tomato, romaine and cheddar on a poppyseed bun, with steamed brussels sprouts with balsamic vinaigrette and gorgonzola. Delicioso.
Above: Eggplant and yam salad with mint, ginger, scallions, and lime/mirin dressing.
Above: Rice and corn succotash with tomatoes, basil blossoms and jalapeno.
It is summertime, everyone. It's official. Start up your grills.
And look at this beautiful burger - Amy put onions, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce into the meat, and they grilled up beautifully. This one has cheese, sauteed mushrooms, basil leaves, tomato, mustard and BBQ sauce on it. Lightly toasted sesame seed bun. You hungry now??
By Susanica Tam. Yes, she is a really good photog. Perhaps now you'd like to eat this stuff? Mmmmm, it was delicious.
Steak, beans, potato, and cucumber salad. Jonathan is also drinking fresh grapefruit juice with tequila and sugar-water.
This was Wendy's famous artichoke dip. MmmmM!!!
The Ukrainian borscht, with sour cream and parsley...
And the tangerine olive oil Bundt cake.
So this week's random dinner with friends featured some old and some new classics. First: my cousin Wendy's artichoke dip. It is SICK AND WRONG, and was nearly devoured, wiped clean, before dinner. There were only five of us, btw, and I had to cut another baguette because all of these bread slices were consumed.
Then - homemade vegetarian borscht. This was a holdover from last week's Ukrainian night but Susanica still hasn't sent me the pictures. Naughty. ANyhoo, this pic is from after I stirred in the sour cream. Delicioso!!
And this was for dessert - tangerine olive oil bundt cake. Redonkykong.
H.D. the bread babe is up to his old carbohydrate tricks again. This time, he tempts us with homemade honey wheat pancakes. Whole wheat, that is. He is obviously not a proponent of the Atkins diet. But it sure looks yummeh!!
Yes, this was part of Ukrainian night - Scott made some delicious cabbage rolls from his mom's recipe. We have more pictures of this night's feast, but area awaiting them from, cough cough, someone who took them, cough, Susanica, cough.
The first meal on my new barbeque. I was really proud that I assembled this thing all by myself. It was not easy, but I am glad I did it.
And I cleaned the balcony off and made it more user-friendly out there...
Above: Bean salad with pepperoncinis - she served this with chips, like a salsa. DANGER! It was really good!
This was a lovely summer salad with strawberries and almonds. I think she made a poppyseed dressing to go with it!
My friend Jean-Jacques (not his real name) stole this recipe from Clementine's. It's the jicama, avocado, mango, cilantro, sea salt and lemon juice salad. Now you don't have to say that you stole it from anyone.
YUMMEH. And below: Honey ham on Eastern European Rye (homemade) with mayo, Dijon, pickle and lettuce. Side of homemade potato salad.
I'd like to dine at the bread babe cafe. Can I get a reservation??
Quoth H. D. : "My First loaf of bread. Rustic Whole Wheat. Yum."
Quoth Josh L.: I call it "scrambled eggs with cheddar, toast and avocado"
Okay, so I am on a diet. Today's lunch was an open-faced turkey burger with turkey bacon, goat cheese and a tiny bit of BBQ sauce on Ezekiel bread, and...
Homemade gazpacho. Come on. That' a pretty good diet.
This is the birthday cake that I made for my lovely grandma on March 5, 2008. It turned out to be her last birthday. She was 91 years old. I asked her what kind of cake she wanted, and she said, "Red velvet!", so I did two red velvet layers with a vanilla layer in the middle. I was baking at my mom's house, and she didn't have enough red food coloring to do all three layers. Nervous laugh. No pressure.
It was delicious, though, and I was honored to make this cake for her. She was such a cool lady.
Another Columbia, SC cake - it was Kelly P.'s birthday, and her request, very specifically sent through her agents - yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Okay, done.
I did a chocolate mousse filling on this cake, because the frosting was pretty darned fudgey. She loved it. And yes, those are fondant dots on the cake. I don't like fondant, but I had some extra, so I thought I'd use it. It just tastes like wax, I think.
Yep, another Columbia, SC cake - this time it was Drew F.'s birthday, and he likes to play golf. Don't you know that I dyed that coconut green? It makes really good grass.
He was kind of amused that I placed the golf ball in the brown-sugar sand trap. I thought it was only fitting. The gnomes liked it, too.