Cooking and Family’ing

adminbest friends, Corey Lambert, Family, flatwater, kitchen clambake, luxbar, Magic Hat Brewery, Man Friend, summer cooking, Uncategorized, Volare%s Comments

Exhibit A: Hazel Wegrich.  93. Grandmother. All-Around Amazing Lady.

My 93 year old grandmother got on a place for the first time in years and ventured from Florida to Chicago this past weekend.  A good dinner at Volare (minus the rave that was happening across the street- strobe lights and glow sticks don’t exactly say “welcome to Chicago, let’s have a nice, classy dinner”),  lunch at Luxbar, brunch at Flatwater and a kitchen clambake at our apartment made for a lovely weekend.

I love to cook.  Feeding the people I love is, to me, another way to love them.  With my mom and grandmother in town, it was only fitting that 3 of my best friends came over for dinner.  I am so lucky to have people in Chicago who are every bit as family as those as I am related to by gentics.  It’s also a lot of fun to be in a relationship with someone who loves entertaining as much as I do.  After flipping through The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, Man-Friend and I decided on a Kitchen Clambake–potatoes, kielbasa, shrimp, clams, mussels, salmon and crab steamed in white wine and, because Man-Friend got creative, Miller Lite.

Exhibit B: Our pot was not big enough for the mass amounts of seafood we bought.  So we improvised.

Since we have yet to put together our 4th kitchen table chair, we brought over the ottoman and all crowded around the table, digging into the caprese salad, cracking open crab legs, reaching for more mussels, breaking off pieces of delicious crusty bread.

Exhibit C: Finished product.

It was my favorite kind of meal, the kind that are filled with people I adore, tons of food, wine, “remember when” stories and last for hours.  It turns out that exactly 6 years ago, Corey, Amanda, Mike, Linda and I were in car on our way to New York City.  It was an amazing time in our friendship, a time when we were still young enough to have nothing else to do but be together.  That trip will forever be one of my favorite memories.  It was really special to be with those same people (minus Married Mike), celebrating the exciting changes that have happened recently in our adult lives and belly laughing over being 19 and stranded in Long Island at 4am.

There’s a month left of summer and I want it to be filled with nights just like last Saturday- cooking, story sharing, glass toasting and being with family–both the one I was born into and the one I have been lucky enough to have become a part of along the way.

French Potato Salad

adminBarefoot Contessa, Basil, French Potato Salad, summer cooking, Uncategorized%s Comments

The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook has been in my possession since last winter, as discussed in this post, but I must confess:  I never made the lobster potpie I said I would in that post.  Summer has been hot and sticky this year, the way the best summers are, and since I’ve been swimming in what seems like an endless sea of vibrant, crisp, and colorful veggies, it is high time to put the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook to work.

Besides–her French Potato Salad is on the cover so it was no brainer, ya know?

There’s a market on Tuesday in a plaza near my apartment so I headed there to get my ingredients.  Red and white potatoes—check.  Fresh herbs–check.  Good, dry white wine–you better believe that was already in my fridge.

Here is her recipe.  I added halved cherry tomatoes, artichokes, and green beans because I have had a version of this salad that was to die for and in all reality, what isn’t better with fresh, sunshine ripened cherry tomatoes?

Enjoy!

  • 1 pound small white boiling potatoes
  • 1 pound small red boiling potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons good dry white wine
  • 2 tablespoons chicken stock
  • 3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 10 tablespoons good olive oil
  • 1/4 cup minced scallions (white and green parts)
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
  • 2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves

Drop the white and red potatoes into a large pot of boiling salted water and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until they are just cooked through. Drain in a colander and place a towel over the potatoes to allow them to steam for 10 more minutes. As soon as you can handle them, cut in 1/2 (quarters if the potatoes are larger) and place in a medium bowl. Toss gently with the wine and chicken stock. Allow the liquids to soak into the warm potatoes before proceeding.

Combine the vinegar, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion. Add the vinaigrette to the potatoes. Add the scallions, dill, parsley, basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss. Serve warm or at room temperature.

High Five of the Day: My basil planet that has survived in my possession for 10 days now.  I killed 3 basil plants last year and I am determined that this little guy is going to make it.  I have him on my window sill with morning’s first rays hitting him so he won’t die for lake of sunlight (ha, until winter at least).  Hang in there, Basil.  I really felt earthy going to pluck your leaves for my potato salad and I’d really appreciate if you could be around long enough for me to make fresh pesto.

Ready, Set, Summer!

adminChicago Blackhawks, Chicago Summer, Strawberry-Walnut Salad Recipe, summer, summer cooking, traffic, Uncategorized%s Comments

As far as I’m concerned, the official summer kick-off is Memorial Day and I couldn’t be happier to be diving head-first into that season.  After six and a half hour car ride back from a wedding in Detroit (accidents, thunderstorms, traffic, yuck), my man friend and I headed to a Memorial Day cookout hosted by one of his buddies from school.  We ate sliders, fresh strawberry-walnut salad, drank Corona and celebrated a birthday with ice cream cake.  We watched the sun go down from the rooftop deck and brought up a TV to watch the Blackhawks game.  All I ask is that the rest of my summer goes like that–time with friends, grilling out, ice cold drinks and spectacular views.

Here’s the recipe to my absolute favorite summer salad.  It’s nothing fancy, seriously–it took seconds to prepare and is an oh-so-perfect balance of sweet and tart.

Strawberry-Walnut Salad

1 bunch of Bibb or Romaine lettuce

1 container of Strawberries

Feta Cheese (we used to low-fat kind and it was fine)

red onion

Walnuts

dried cranberries or pomegranate seed (optional)

Poppyseed dressing

Cut up the strawberries, lettuce and slice half the onion into thin strips and toss with the crumbled up feta and walnuts.  Right before serving, add the poppyseed dressing and you’re golden.  See?  I told you it was simple.

Happy Summer, all!

High Five of the Day: The Chicago Blackhawks!  Up 2 in the series!