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When I ask my sweetheart what he wants for a special occasion…ie Birthday.. Anniversary… He always wants a steak, baked potato and broccoli. It has been so hot I thought I will make him steak and potatoes but in a way that works for a hot summer day. I boiled some small potatoes, let them cool and halved them and scooped out a tiny bit of the middle. I sprayed some olive oil cooking spray on some sliced french bread and grilled it. I grilled a filet seasoned with just salt and heavy on the pepper and let it rest. I made a sour cream sauce with sour cream, dijon, horseradish, chopped caper, minced red onion and lemon juice. I grilled the potatoes and melted a little cheese on top after they cooled I topped them with some of the sour cream sauce and fresh dill. I spread some of the sauce on the grilled bread and added arugula and sliced radish and topped it with the sliced steak.

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What a great hot summer night meal. Light, crisp and fried! My sweetheart is allergic to corn. I floured, and dipped my tomatoes in a combination of buttermilk and hot sauce and breaded in seasoned panko. I made a nice remoulade for the sauce with some crisp romaine.

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My beautiful pork roast from Saturday gave me a Cuban sandwich for Sunday lunch and pork tacos for an easy Monday night dinner. Leftovers the gift that keeps on giving!

I can never thank one of my friends enough for having a crazy Puerto Rican potluck for her oldest daughters first birthday. I was so hooked on her mother’s pork roast! I have made this a few times and it is always a show stopper! You use a pork shoulder. Make deep slits with a knife and insert garlic cloves, season with adobo and layer on the sofrito. I cooked mine in a roasting pan skin side down and covered with foil on 350 for 1 1/2 hours. I turned it over and placed it on a baking rack uncovered and cooked it for 2 hours. I cranked the heat up to 450 and cooked 30 minutes until the skin was crisp. I make a Puerto Rican rice and beans but i use black beans instead of pigeon peas. I added some sauteed collard greens from my garden to the rice. Garish with cilantro, lime and pickled red onion. Today I used chopped white onion.

A nice light Italian lunch. Some cold cuts, cheese and olives with a caprese salad. Nice heirloom tomatoes from my local tailgate market. I like a basil vinaigrette over my caprese. Olive oil, white balsamic, lemon juice, basil, and salt and pepper in the blender.

Easy weeknight meal. I used everything I had in the vegetable drawer. Yellow squash, zucchini, red pepper, poblano pepper, red onion and a hand full of black beans. I sauteed the veg with cumin and chili powder added in some chopped fresh spinach and some salsa and the beans. When the veg is done I let it cool and add in some chopped cilantro, lime juice and fresh diced tomato. Heat the oven to 420, line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Lay out 1 buritto size tortilla add shredded cheese, i use pepperjack, top with the veg add more cheese and put on your second tortilla and spray it with cooking spray. Bake until the top tortilla is getting brown, turn over and cook until the other side is brown. I use my pizza cutter and cut it into fourths. Ta Da dinner!

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Super bright flavors. Sweet, salty, sharp. Romaine lettuce, red onion, chopped green olives, diced peaches, chopped basil, pistachios and crumbled ricotta salata.

Dressing

2 Tbls of lemon juice

1 Tbls of white balsamic vinegar

1 Tbls of honey

1/3 c of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

My picture looks nothing like the picture attached to the recipe. I had no parsley. This pasta is full of bright summer flavor. I am not an anchovy fan. So, I did not put the raw anchovy and garlic paste into the sauce. I sauteed it in the 1/2 cup of olive in warm pasta pot and continued with the recipe. I will make this one again! http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/linguine-green-olive-sauce-zesty-breadcrumbs

Food means different things to different people. Food is a passion for me. This meal touched my soul! I do not make risotto often because of the time involved, today was the perfect exception. I was so going to cop out and make my chicken meatball filling and roll it in my leftover swiss chard and bake it in tomato sauce. Until I found a chicken meatball recipe that set my wheels to spinning! I totally changed the meatball recipe.

Meatballs

2 Slices of Italian loaf crust removed and torn into pieces

1 c of Chicken stock

1lb of Ground chicken

1 Egg beaten

1 Clove of garlic grated

Salt

Pepper

1/2 Tsp of cinnamon

1/4 Tsp of nutmeg

3 Tbls of chopped Pistachios

1 Tbls of chopped parsley

Sauce

2 Medium shallots minced

1/2 cup of white wine

1 1/2 Tbls of lemon juice

1 Tbls of butter

Soak your bread in the broth. When the liquid is absorbed squeeze out the liquid and put the bread in large bowl. Add the ground chicken, egg, garlic, salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, pistachios, and parsley. Mix by hand. Form into meatballs a little larger than a walnut. Warm 2 tbls of olive oil in a skillet. Dust the meatballs with flower, shake off the excess and brown them on all sides. Set the meatballs aside. Add shallots to the pan and cook until soft, add the wine and cook until reduced by half. Add your meatballs back to the pan and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the sauce thickens. Add butter and lemon juice to combine and serve over the risotto.

This pie has a ginger snap crust.

1 1/2 c of Ginger snap crumbs

2 Tbls of Brown Sugar

6 Tbls of Melted butter

Combine sugar and crumbs in a bowl and add in butter in increments until combined. Press the mixture into a pie plate and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Let the crust cool on a baking rack 15 minutes.

Filling

1/2 c and 2 Tbls of key lime juice

1 can Sweetened condensed milk

4 Egg yolks

Blend yolks and milk with a whisk attachment until well combined then add in the lime juice. Pour the mixture into the cooled crust and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Cool on a baking rack and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.