I spent last weekend in the Catskills with friends and made dinner for them on Saturday night. One of the things I made was this simple chive butter recipe.
It's such a delicious treat for a summer lunch or dinner and it's super easy to make.
You'll need:
1 stick of salted butter Fresh chives 1 tsp lemon juice
Begin by setting the butter out in a medium sized mixing bowl to soften. Cut it up into smaller pieces to hasten the process. Once it's softened up nicely, cut the chives into the bowl.
I find it easier to use a pair of scissors for cutting chives. Then add the lemon juice (if you don't like things quite as tart you can use half a teaspoon) and mix everything together with a fork. Once it's all well combined, remove the butter to a sheet of wax paper.
Using the paper, work the lump of butter back into a stick form. It can be square or round. I chose to make a square stick. The process is a little obscene, but I'm sure some of you will enjoy that. If you're timid, you can put the butter in small ramekins. Put the butter back in the fridge to firm up. Serve with a hearty sour dough bread.
This can also be done with other herbs, and you can substitute cream cheese for butter. I love recipes like this. They add so much to a meal, but are so quick and easy to make. Enjoy!
When you're life is in upheaval - as mine is with my pending move - it's hard to keep an eye on nutrition. Eating takes on a catch-as-catch-can quality to it. It's a good idea to prepare some things in advance that you can munch on. Here's one of my favorite munching recipes - Scramble.
It's a good thing to make up in large batches and have on hand. ...lots of good nutrition in it and it tastes good too!
2 lbs mixed, salted nuts 1 12 oz package small shredded wheat 1 10 oz package Cheerios 1 6 oz package of rice chex 1 7 oz package of pretzel twists 1 6 oz package of small pretzel sticks 1 4 oz can of pretzel bits 2 cups salad oil 2 Tbs worcestershire sauce 1 Tbs garlic salt 1 Tbs seasoned salt
Mix all ingredients together in a large pan(s) and bake at 250 degrees for 2 hours, stirring gently, so as not to break up the cereals, every 15 minutes. Yield - 9 quarts.
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It's cold and raw and wet out today, people. Not a pleasant day to be out and about, as I had to be. So I made myself and a friend an easy pesto pizza for lunch. It goes together very quickly, so it's perfect for a meal on the run!
You'll need:
Pre-made pizza crust Olive Oil Pesto (I used my own which I make from my father's 4 cheese pizza blend cheese Sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Preheat the oven to 450, then put the
crust on a cookie sheet and brush it with olive oil. Spread the pesto
evenly over the crust.
Sprinkle on the cheese, then pop it into the oven, turn the oven down to 425 and bake for 7 to 10 minutes.
I told you it was easy... Here's the finished product all ready to serve. It's featured here with my Gillian Floral Napkin, now on sale at Felix Populi.
My friend Jeffrey introduced me to these pizza crusts and they really are delicious and so versatile! Use your imagination and I'm sure you can find many ways to customize them for your own gourmet pizzas.
For my father's pesto you'll need:
4 cups fresh basil leaves neatly compressed 1 cup pine nuts 5 cloves freshly minced garlic 1 cup olive oil 1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese Salt to taste
Begin by combining your basil, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor. Pulse a few times to begin combining them. With the processor running add the olive oil in a steady drizzle. Once it's all in, scrape the sides of the processor and add the cheese and pulse to combine. Salt to taste. Makes about 2 cups.
Hello people, Brini here with another episode to help you with life’s little problems. This week we’re discussing entertaining in the midst of renovation. The key is to keep it simple! For me that means a salad bar with an easy dressing.
For the basic salad we combined butter lettuce, radicchio and alfalfa sprouts. We then created a “bar" consisting of two kinds of olives, hearts of palm, cold cut pin wheels, artichoke hearts, turkey breast, sliced avocado and sliced hard boiled egg.
I made a simple dressing in the blender. Here’s the recipe:
1 cup olive oil
3/4 cup vinegar
2 marinated roasted peppers
Place all ingredients in the blender and blend on high until completely liquefied. Pour over salad.
This is a simple one dish salad that’s perfect for entertaining while your home is in chaos. With all the gourmet ingredients and that luscious dressing it seems quite posh.
