Pork Chops and Fattoush

As discovered on one of the many food blogs I frequent, fattoush = Lebanese salad with pita chips and sumac. I recently learned of the existence of a spice store called Penzey's, and I'm pretty sure life will never be the same. Man, it's hard to not buy everything there! One of the many things I bought during my first trip is a spice mix called za'atar. It is a very popular condiment throughout the middle east, served with almost every meal. The blend is always different depending on where you buy it from or whose grandmother made it, but it usually contains at least sesame seeds, sumac, and salt. za'atar became the secret ingredient in my version of fattoush, which we served with grilled pork chops. The pork chops were rubbed with olive oil and Arizona Dreaming, a southwestern spice blend (salt-free!) purchased at Penzey's. For the salad recipe, see below.

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Tomato and Goat Cheese Tartlets

A couple weekends ago we jet-setted to Amherst, MA for July 4th Part Deux with Don's family, since Part Un was with my fam in the Catskills. We spent all day Saturday on a big river water-skiing, jet-skiing, party barging, and basking in the gorgeous weather. To replenish ourselves from all the playtime, we had plenty of great food cooked by different family members. I love potlucks! I wanted to make something relatively easy that wouldn't steal me away from the merriment for very long, so decided to try out a tart recipe from Ina Garten I bookmarked a while ago that uses the ever-simple frozen puff pastry. Her recipe makes 4 main-course tarts but I thought it would work just as well to cut into appetizer-sized tartlets. To make things easier, I cooked the onions in the morning then assembled everything right when ready to throw in the oven.

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Jam Out With Your Clam Out

A couple weeks ago I had one of Don's brothers and my sister over for dinner. Such an occasion calls for a special meal. I love trying out new recipes when I'm entertaining. I know some people say that you should cook something you know is a hit when cooking for others, but where's the fun in that? Gets boring. With my recent mussel success, I decided to try my hand at clams. This recipe calls for them to be cooked in a similar way to mussels; steamed in the broth in which they will be served. The tomato-based broth swims with chorizo, greens, and the clams. Serve on top of polenta with a side of crusty bread, and you're good to go!

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The Epitome of Deliciousness

Wow, that's a cheesy post title. Whatevs.*

*Update 08/25/10: I had to change the title of the post. It was just too much.

With this recipe, I believe I've reached the zenith of my cooking career thus far. Prior to this, I had never eaten a galette before let alone cooked one, but I had an overflow of squash from my CSA and decided to test it out. I wasn't too concerned because the recipe came from Smitten Kitchen; if you've ever cooked one of her recipes you would understand.

If you cook just one recipe from my blog, I beg it to be this one. There is only one snag, and it's that the crust has an entire stick of butter in it. And if you're like me, you will eat half of this galette in one sitting. You do the math. It ain't pretty.

If you are done with bathing suits for the season and/or are willing to skip the next meal and/or actually have the willpower to only eat one slice, then read ahead!

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Falafel Wraps

After a recent weekend of unhealthy eating, I was hoping to have a healthy vegetarian meal for dinner but also didn't want to go food shopping. Chickpeas are a staple in my pantry; I love them in hummus, salads, and even just roasted, but I've never tried to make falafel. The recipe I was interested in called to bake them, but a certain someone thought they would taste better fried (he was probably right). So, caution was thrown to the wind and the falafel was pan-fried in a teensy bit of oil then served with stir-fried peppers, tomatoes, feta and tzatziki sauce in flour tortillas (since I was out of pitas and not wanting to go to the store). If you aren't familiar with tzatziki sauce, I highly recommend giving it a try. I actually can't believe that I haven't yet blogged about it. It's a delicious cucumber/dill/yogurt sauce typically served on Greek gyros; however I've found that it adds a cool freshness to many dishes, including this one.

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Food Challenge Day 5 - Antipasti Sammiches

We've reached the end! The pinnacle of the Food Challenge! And we made it out unscathed!

This is actually the recipe that wasn't officially part of the "Grocery Bag" feature, but it was another recipe in the issue that I thought looked darn tasty, and boy was I right! It is a perfect make-the-night-before sandwich for a picnic or boatride, since the recipe actually requires you to let the flavors meld for a few hours. I made these on Tuesday night for a Wednesday Levon Helm show at Wolftrap (which was great, btw). I served them with a corn and tomato salad as well as several apps. I'm sure the recipe can be modified per your taste; next time I'd love to try pepperjack cheese instead of parmesan. It's one of the more complicated sandwiches I've made, requiring more than just slapping ingredients from the fridge directly onto toasted bread and inhaling, but it's well worth the effort.

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Food Challenge Day 4 - Tomato Panzanella

This 4th-day recipe was the one about which I was most nervous. I've never made a dish that consisted of just tomatoes and croutons, and I was skeptical. I made it as a side dish for a friend's backyard crab party and it ended up being a perfect light addition to the meal. I will no longer doubt such recipes! The simple ingredients combined perfectly in a manner that allowed the delicate flavors to stand out.

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