END OF SUMMER CELEBRATIONS

 

End of Summer Celebrations

             As August wanes and news sources keep reminding us of the approaching school year, a group of my friends and I decided to celebrate the end of summer with a luncheon gathering. We had been meeting regularly for more then 15 years and had deplored the hiatus of personal contact dictated by the last year and a half of isolation. So, it was time to gather and celebrate with good food and white sangria, despite the rainy day outside.

            Maxine, a friend who for many years summered in Owls Head, introduced me to one of my favorite light summer appetizers that originally appeared in “Cooking Light” many years ago. It makes for a picturesque display and tastes light and refreshing.

                                                 Belgian endive-goat cheese boats

1)      Toast ½ cup broken up pecans or walnuts, drizzled with 1 tblsp. honey, on a parchment lined pan in a 350-degree oven for 10-12 minutes. 

2)      In a small pan combine 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar with 1 tblsp. honey and simmer for 5 minutes. Cool.

3)      Separate out individual large leaves of Belgian endive and arrange on a platter. On each leaf place 1-2 (depending on size of the leaf) drained Mandarin orange slices. Put a large dab of goat cheese between orange slices, sprinkle with the toasted nuts and drizzle with a small amount of the vinegar mix over everything. Decorate with flowers or parsley and serve cold.

A summer luncheon main course needs to be both light and filling, which excludes such mainstays as casseroles or lasagna. Quiche is a good substitute and so are a variety of tarts or tortas. The following Italian torta recipe came from Meri Pantalena, another friend who used to summer in Maine. The amazing combination of Italian sausage with apples and onions gives it a light and tempting flavor. The recipe will serve 6 generously. For larger numbers of guests, double the amount and bake two tortas at the same time. 

 

                                                Italian sausage and apple torta

1)      Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a 9-inch pie plate with unbaked pie crust (the rolled type from deli case is fine).  Press the crust down carefully around edges and bottom and with fingers flute the top edge. Prick the bottom lightly or use pie weights to minimize the bottom from puffing. Bake 10-12 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.

2)      In a large skillet melt 3 tblsp. butter and cook: ½ cup thinly slice onion with 2 peeled and cored tart apples quartered and thinly sliced, for 5 minutes. Set aside.

3)      In the same pan cook 12 oz. crumbled sweet Italian sausage meat with 1 chopped garlic clove until browned. Drain and set aside.

4)      Beat 2 eggs in a bowl with: 1 cup Ricotta, ¼ cup crumbled Feta and 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheeses.

5)      To assemble the torta: spread sausage meat evenly over the bottom of the baked pie crust, top with a layer of the apple onion mix and finally spoon the cheese mix evenly on top, making sure it covers to the edges of the crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is lightly browned. Cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting and serving in wedges.

A black beluga lentil salad was a colorful and tasty contrast to the Italian torta accented with flavorful red and yellow tomatoes and dill.

                                                         Lentil salad with tomatoes and dill

1)      Bring to boil 1 cup rinsed dried black beluga lentils (or you can also use French lentils) in 4 cups water, 2 bullion cubes, 1 chopped garlic clove and 1 teaspoon dried oregano. Turn heat to simmer, cook for 20 minutes and drain.

2)      Prepare dressing: 5 tablespoons red wine vinegar, ¼ cup grapeseed oil, 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

3)      Toss the drained warm lentils immediately with the dressing. Then toss with ¼ cup chopped dill, ¼ cup chopped chives, 3 tblsp. chopped red onion, ½ seeded and diced red and green pepper each and 2 cups cut up yellow and red tomatoes. Chill and serve decorated with yellow cherry tomatoes and fresh basil leaves.

This celebratory meal additionally featured ethnic breads, an incredible beet salad and a truly incredible fruit tart, that can only be described as edible art. Best of all, the company of old friends.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

 

 

AN ELEGANT AUGUST LUNCH

 

An Elegant August Lunch

             August seems to have quietly snuck up on us this summer with evolving uncertainties in resolution of our protracted time for emerging from the pandemic.  However, it is still summer and a time to appreciate the brilliant sunshine of Maine summer, the bounty of blueberries and garden produce.

The flowers for August are gladiolas and poppies, each signifying joy and happiness with their exuberant and brilliant flowers. An elegant lunch, whether it is alfresco or at an indoor table, is a good way to celebrate the season with family or just a special friend

It is always nice to start with a chilled soup on a hot day, so here is a cool and pretty avocado soup devised in my kitchen a dozen years ago.

            

                                                        Chilled avocado soup

1)      In a large pot sauté 2 large chopped shallots in 2 tblsp. butter for 5 minutes, stir in 1 minced garlic clove and 1 chopped stalk of celery with leaves and sauté for 2 additional minutes.

2)      Stir in 32 oz. chicken broth, 2 peeled and coarsely diced potatoes, 1 small zucchini sliced and bring to boil. Season with additional salt and pepper and a dash of Tabasco (optional). Cook for 20 minutes, stir in ¼ cup chopped parsley and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

3)      Cool the soup somewhat before blending in an electric mixer with an additional ½ cup of water.  Remove some of the mix from the blender and pour in a large bowl.

4)      Remove the flesh from 2 ripe avocados, toss with 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, add to the soup in the blender and blend until smooth.  When smooth, blend in 1 cup of yoghurt and combine, with the blended soup previously removed, until smooth.

5)      Chill soup and serve with chopped peanuts or a sprig of parsley,chives or dill.

        A recent issue of Bon Appetit reminded me of all those lovely open faced shrimp sandwiches in Sweden and Norway.  Their recipe was for Toast Skagen, dressed up with roe and crème fraiche. Here is a simpler version without the roe.  I am naming it after Bergen, a scenic place I recall for lunch on the Norwegian coast.

Toast Bergen

1)      Peel and cook 3/4 lb. medium sized shrimp. Or thaw frozen cooked shrimp pat dry and cut ½ of the shrimp in thirds.

2)      Finely chop fresh dill to ¼ cup and save some fronds for garnish. Chop red onion to make ¼ cup and 1-2 tblsp. chives.

3)      For the dressing mix: 2 tblsp. mayonnaise, 3 tblsp. sour cream, the chopped onion, salt and pepper to taste, 1 tblsp. fresh lemon juice and grated rind from ½ lemon.

4)      In a bowl toss the shrimp with chopped dill and mix in the dressing. Chill in refrigerator.

5)      To serve: butter toasted white bread slice cut in half with unsalted butter and spread with the shrimp mixture. Garnish with sprigs of dill and serve with lemon wedges on the side. For authentic northern flavor, serve the shrimp on thin sliced rye sourdough.

Wild blueberries are synonymous with August in Maine. After having indulged us with a wild blueberry pie and muffins, I happened to find an old blueberry cake recipe in my old Meta Givens “Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking” edition from 1955. Here is a slightly updated version.

 

                                            Wild Maine Blueberry Buckle

1)      Prepare topping: A) Wash and drain 2 cups fresh wild blueberries and toss with the grated zest and juice of ½ large lemon. B) stir together:1/3 cup sugar and flour each with ½ tsp. cinnamon. Blend in ¼ cup cold unsalted butter with 2 knives or pastry blender until the mix is crumbly.

2)      Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x9x2 inch baking pan with baking spray or butter and flour the pan.

3)      Mix the cake: A) stir together 2 cups all-purpose flour, ½ tsp. salt, 2 ½ tsp. baking powder. B) With an electric mixer beat ½ cup butter to fluffy, then beat in ½ cup sugar, 1 tsp. lemon flavoring and 1 egg. Slowly beat in the flour mix, alternately with 2 cups plus 2 tblsp. milk, starting and ending with flour.

4)      Turn the cake mix in the prepared pan, spreading it a little higher at the edges. Spread the blueberries inside the higher edges and cover with the crumble mix. Bake 1 hour or until the cake tests done.

5)      Cool and serve with a dollop of ice cream on each piece.

So, arrange some flowers, chill a bottle of your favorite wine and set a colorful and satisfying table!

 

Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

 

 

UNCOMMON TASTY SANDWICHES

 

Uncommon Tasty Sandwiches

             If you like sandwiches for lunch at home, work, picnics, or the day out on a boat, you contribute to the statistic of 300 million sandwiches consumed per day in the USA.

Not a bad growth in popularity from 1762, when the 4^th Earl of Sandwich, too obsessed with gambling to break for a meal, asked his cook for some roast beef between two slices of bread to keep his fingers clean for the cards.  The cook never made history, but the concept gained immediate popularity and retained the Earl’s name. Americans were somewhat resistant to accepting something invented by aristocracy, but it first appeared here in an 1815 cookbook and now you can even get a gluten free sandwich.

A sandwich has been an adaptable means for creating a quick satisfying meal. Some sandwich names have curious origins. The Po’Boy became popular in a New Orleans eatery from the name given to each streetcar striker during Depression, who came to claim a free meal. Amazingly, the Reuben did not originate in NYC, but during a card game in a hotel in Omaha Nebraska, the name of one of the players. And then there are sandwiches which have different names such an Italian hoagie, grinder or sub, depending on location. There are hot sandwiches, such as the famous Philadelphia cheese steak, Italian meatball sandwiches and the quick supper many of us remember, Sloppy Joe, probably named after a short order cook named Joe. 

                                                         Open faced sandwiches

Interestingly, in Europe most sandwiches are open faced, meaning that the filling is on top of a single piece of bread with a decorative topping for eye appeal. It can be ham, fish, eggs, cheese, turkey or even cottage cheese.  Cut in small sizes or made on cocktail rye they make an excellent accompaniment to gazpacho and other summer cold soups. They also make fine finger food for larger gatherings.  Since cocktail rye is very thin, it also adapts well to open or closed format with fillings such as smoked salmon or trout patè with a thin slice of cucumber.

The current popularity of wraps presents another tool for preparing attractive finger food as tasty sandwiches in a different form for large gatherings. The following is made with Lavash, a thin flat bread of Mideastern origin, that is locally available in supermarkets. Other wraps can be used but should not be too thick or too soft. Choose your preferred filling, but the recipe below uses roast beef, or combinations of smoked ham and turkey and Provolone cheese, 

                                                                 Lavash cocktail sandwiches

1)      Have ready to assemble for a large tray: 4 pieces of Lavash, some flavorful onion dip, thin slices of roast beef, smoked ham and turkey, sharp Provolone cheese, strips of tender lettuce, fresh basil leaves and thin sliced Pepperoncini.

2)      Spread each Lavash with the onion dip not too thick, covering the entire surface. Place a layer of selected meat over the entire surface. Layer 2 layers of the beef, but only one layer of turkey and ham since these are covered with 1 layer of Provolone.

3)       Layer a strip of lettuce crosswise along the middle and cover it with a single layer of fresh basil leaves. Spread a thin light layer of Pepperoncini on top of the basil leaves.

4)      Starting with the edge closest to you wrap the Lavash flat bread as tightly as you can in a long cylinder. Wrap the cylinder tightly in aluminum foil, twisting the ends. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

5)      Remove from refrigerator and unwrap. Cut of the ends of each cylinder and slice the rest in ½ inch slices. Arrange slices on the tray and decorate with parsley and cherry tomatoes.

As we appreciate the ease of summer, we look for ways to simplify our time in the kitchen.  Resuming social obligations does not have to mean giving up that simplicity if we utilize the convenience and variety of the sandwich for tasty and colorful presentations at the table.

 (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)