Jake's Birthday Dinner- What Does a 2 year Old Like?

I spent Sunday night doing things to corn. Sounds strange but it is true. I shucked it, I washed it, I cut all the corn off the cob, I warmed it through and then I made creamed corn. Mmmmm. Because what more does a 2 year old want than creamed corn? Really? My mom made lamb, roasted asparagus, a large green salad and a Caprese, and then we had the corn.
Jake looked over the table and thought, hmmm, what should I eat first? Obviously he ate the corn, especially because his Auntie made it for him. And considering the fact that I used about 16 ears of corn, the few tablespoons of butter and cream really don't amount to much (except I doubled them, shhhh). The result was sweet goodness. And it isn't overtly creamy like the canned stuff. The texture is still authentically kernel-y ( new word, you like?) the corn is so sweet still that it needs nothing more than some shakes of salt and a few grinds of pepper (not too many because the baby doesn't really like it). And don't forget the cupcakes!

Wedding Food

Most weddings that I attend are great fun, you enjoy the time with friends and family and the food is an afterthought. I have always been okay with this. But at the wedding of my friends Allyson and Mike the food really struck me! Here is our salad course. The beets over shaved fennel were so bright and summery, as was the little Caprese salad. The beans added some texture and more vitamins to the plate, I was really impressed with this combination as opposed to the more typical "dinner salad" one usually gets.

For the main course I had requested the vegetarian entree. I know I've been dabbling but I still always ask for the vegetarian choice at these type of things because I do not want to be stuck with something I won't eat. So I was given a medium sized ramekin of lasagne. It was... amazing. One of the best lasagnas I have ever eaten. Seriously. It was light and fresh, there was a layer of pesto in there that a whole new dimension to the dish. It was so good that John kept ignoring his steak so as to take more bites of my dish. I think he ate about a quarter of it. I was wholly impressed though and I wish that I could bring this recipe to other caterers/restaurants who seem to think that a "vegetarian option" translates into poorly grilled zucchini and eggplant on top of a portobello mushroom cap."

The coconut cupcakes from Comfort's (San Anselmo) cemented this into the "best wedding food ever. And here are the two of us enjoying the lovely weather.

Caprese 2.0

I can't seem to get enough tomatoes this summer. I just want them at every single meal. This salad was another take on a Caprese. The main elements are there, tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, olive oil, but I also added some extra oomph to it. Underneath is a bed of spinach and field greens tossed with basil, Italian parsley, olive oil and a lovely balsamic vinegar I bought recently. This new bottle of vinegar is much more fruity and stronger than my previous bottle. I like it but it is such a distinct taste that I need to make sure I don't use in any recipes that just call for vinegar. I also have to learn how to temper the flavor. Maybe with a little sugar. Hmmm, I think I will start experimenting. I think it would be great with some garlic though. I usually do the simplest vinaigrettes, just olive oil and vinegar mixed with salt and pepper. But more recently I have been adding shallots and dijon mustard. Perhaps I should be less lazy and do this more often!

To the salad I also added some sliced red onion for crunch and spice. I am not a huge fan of onions, but I like the essence of them. Often times I will make a salad with onions and simply not eat the actual pieces of it, the juices give me enough flavor. John and I sat on the couch and shared this large plate of goodness. Healthy, tons of flavor, I really can't ask for any more!

Salads Galore!

For some strange reason I decided to make 3 salads for dinner. Now, one might find this odd, perhaps because it is, but all three of the salads were quite different. I chose to make the three because I wanted to use up what I had on hand, tons of produce, chicken legs, etc. So i set to work, starting with a lovely Caprese. Nothing beyond the norm of lovely heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil from the plant I have, and some olive oil. I added salt and pepper and a touch of balsamic to my serving. I absolutely love mozzarella, I think I could live off caprese salad (with lots of olive oil and vinegar soaked bread) for the rest of my life.

In addition to the Caprese I made another chicken caesar salad. Similar to the week before. I raosted two chicken legs with rosemary over a bed of ripped up bread, and I made a twist on the dressing. I used creme fraiche and garlic and parmesan and lemon and oil, but added a tablespoon of dijon mustard and anchovy paste instead of minced anchovies. I thought it was better than before.

I also didn't add prosciutto or anything, I didn't find it necessary.

The third salad, our "regular" one, was mixed greens with radishes, avocado, yellow carrots, and beets. By the time I was ready to serve everything I realized I had made way too much, so I packed the green salad away for lunch the next day.

Dinner was really nice. I even set the table as opposed to my normal lazy coffee table eating self. Does that make sense?

Sunday Dinner- Courtesy of Mom

We went over to my mom's house last night to eat a nice family dinner. She recently procured a French boy who showed up last night. He is now living at my parent's house, how very funny. The best past is they gave him the recently remodeled guest house, the only other option would have been the bedroom that I sleep in when I am there, which is located directly next door to the bedroom of my 18 year old sister. My mom thinks that he seems nice, but is smart enough to put the 19 year old boy out of the house and away from her!
So we had dinner celebrating Becky's birthday, my sister in law, and the arrival of Quentin (pronounced Kahn-tan in thick French accent. Stepdad began calling him "Q"). Jim grilled some flank steak with teriyaki marinade and my mom made a green salad, a Caprese salad, and a terrine of potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, and yellow squash. Basil abounded as well.
Dinner was lovely as was the peach pie we had for dessert. I fed my baby nephew (21 months) lots of vanilla ice cream which he was very pleased to eat. He ate it and every time I went back to the plate to put more in the spoon he was waiting with his mouth wide open for some more. SO cute! He also growls like a tiger. But enough Jake stories...
Food was very nice. It was nice to get some veggies in as usual considering how few we got through the weekend. (Unless beer counts as a vegetable, in that case we had a bunch. And wine? One of your five a day as a grape perhaps? Martini olives too, do they count as a serving?!)