Side Dishes Archives | Page 2 of 2 |

Bruschetta (Bread Topping) – Recipe

September 11, 2010 By Laura 1 Comment

Here’s another delicious little something, to make with some of those fresh summer tomatoes!

Bruschetta!!

Bruschetta topping on toasted bread, is a perfect side to a nice salad (as shown here), or an appetizer for luncheons or cocktail parties. (Well, I’ve heard. I haven’t been to a cocktail party in…..well, I actually can’t think of a time I have ever been to one, come to think of it. Or, maybe I’m not sure what one is. But I know what bruschetta is!)

‘Bruschetta’ is an Italian word (Tuscany, to be exact), that means to ‘toast or burn’. I prefer to toast my bruschetta. ; ) There are many variations that can be made to this recipe, so don’t be afraid to experiment on your own! That’s generally what I did when I made this bruschetta this evening a couple of weeks ago. My father, with his ever-discerning tongue, was here for dinner, and he gave it all gold forks. (He loved my salad too. He’s a natural born food critic. Ask anyone who has ever sat down and eaten with him.)

No complete step by step this time photos for the directions this time, but it’s easy enough to follow. I kind of winged it, with loose measurements, adjusting by eye. You can do that….have no fear. Here’s how (generally) I made it:

Participating ingredients:

Ciabatta bread; (can be found at bakery), sliced thick. French baguette loaf can also be used
1 Garlic clove peeled, and cut in half once. (Optional)
~ 2 cups chopped tomatoes ( I used Early Girls > It’s what I had on hand.)
~ 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
~ 1 cup chopped cucumber
2 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar
3-4 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste.

1) Put all chopped vegetables into a small to medium mixing bowl.

2) Add olive oil and vinegar, salt and pepper if you choose, and mix well.

3) Place mixture in fridge or just on counter to all sit together in the bowl, while you prepare the rest.

4) Per-heat oven to broil (My oven requires a temp, so I set it for 375)

5) Line cookie sheet with tinfoil, or whatever you use to protect sheet.

6) Place breads on sheet, spaced evenly.

01_bread

7) Place in oven, and toast for 1-2 minutes, until you see they start to brown or turn golden. (Shown in photo above.)

8) Remove sheet from oven, and brush each bread piece with the olive oil.

9) Rub each piece with the halved garlic clove for added flavor, if desired. (I desired.)

bruschetta
10) Mix mixture in bowl again, and then I drained all of the excess liquid in the bottom.

11) Spoon tomato/vegetable mixtures onto bread slices.

12) Top with some shredded mozzarella. (Show with all toppings on bread, in photo above.)

bruschetta
13) Put back into oven for a minute or so, watching closely, just until cheese is melted, and remove.

Serve up, and enjoy!!

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Scallops and Grilled Zucchini | Recipe

August 1, 2010 By Laura 5 Comments

11_carmelized-scallops_300

Here’s something you may or may not know about me.

I am not a mother that takes some time for herself now and then. I don’t go away, or even take a day, for myself, here and there. Most times, I don’t even just go shopping, without taking some or all of the kids with me. I just don’t care to be away from my kids. I like their company. I understand some mothers do like to go away, or take a break from their kids now and them. I’m betting that is normal, and I know there is nothing wrong with that. But it’s just not what I do.

But the other day, I went to visit a good friend. She is only one of a few real-life friends I have. I only see her once in a blue moon, and I hadn’t seen her in way too long. She lives very close by, so you would think I’d be able to see at least a little more frequently, even as busy as I am.

But you see, every single time we have ever gotten together for ‘just a cup of tea’, it has pretty much turned into an ‘all day affair’. She is SO down to earth, so funny, so easy to talk to, and listen to, that the hours always seem to just slip right away. Literally.

So we met the other day at her house, just for a cup of tea, or a glass of wine, at 1 p.m. in the afternoon.

I got home at 9 p.m.

It’s pretty much a pattern now. Complete with Michael’s phone call somewhere in there, asking, “Is my bride ever coming home again?”. At the end of our visit, we stood in her front doorway for another hour+, chatting some more. It’s ridiculous. I love her to death.

So what does that have to do with food and recipes? You came to talk about FOOD, right? Well, the link is that of course I stayed for dinner, at my friend’s. She said she was having scallops. I had brought her a summer squash and zucchini from my gardens. ; ) I learned she calls scallops ‘sea candy’. She showed me how she prepares her scallops, and zucchini. Both, on the grill. I was intrigued. The dinner, was DELICIOUS.

This is pretty how she prepared the dinner. But her reference of the scallops as ‘sea candy’, gave me the idea of adding a little ingredient.

01_ingredients The scallops participating ingredients: fresh sea scallops (easy to find here on this shore), 1/2 stick of butter, and some light brown sugar.

02_butter-sugar

In a foil lined tray on the grill set on about medium heat, we threw in a 1/2 stick of butter, since we had 2.5 pounds of scallops. Actually though, we threw in 3/4’s of a stick (seen above), and then took 1/4 back out. lol. (It was too much.) Then I threw in an unmeasured amount of light brown sugar. (As it turns out, Michael secretly added more when I was not looking. He is my ‘Sugar Boy’. This is different than ‘Sugar Daddy’.)

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03_raw-scallops When the butter is all melted, dump in the fresh raw scallops.

04_raw-scallops
Spread them all out evenish in the pan, and close the cover.

Get in there and stir them up now and then, turning the scallops over as you can. or even spinning the pan around to ensure even heating. But the goal is to get the butter and sugar caramelizing, and that really takes a little bit of a while.

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05_ingredients Then we started preparing a side dish. Participating ingredients: a garden-fresh zucchini, virgin olive oil, kosher salt and pepper.

06_sliced-zucchini

Cut off the ends of the zucchini, and then slice it up the long way, about 1/2 inches or there-abouts. Then we cut those slices in half too.

07_sliced-zucchini-squash Brush them with olive oil, and sprinkle on some kosher salt and ground pepper > both sides.

08_ready-to-grill-zucchinil They are ready to throw on the grill. But the scallops take much longer, so we waited quite awhile before putting the zucchini on.

09_grilled-zucchini

When the scallops looked like they would be ready soon, we threw the zucchini on the grill. The goal for these is to remove them off the grill when they are still dense and soft, but on the firmer side. We don’t like mushy squash.

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10_grilled-scallops

The scallops get beautifully brown, as all of the butter and sugar has caramelized.

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11_carmelized-scallops

Look how perfect.

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12_scallops-zucchini-rice-dinner We also made a rice side dish. But don’t be too impressed with that. It was literally one of those ‘Side Dish’ packets. You know….add water and boil.

But how simple and summery is this meal? It was SO good. The kids enjoyed it too, as suspicious as they were.

We had scallops left over though, so Michael brought them to his friend. He was a very grateful man, from what I heard.

This was the first time we have ever prepared scallops in any manner, and the first time we have put zucchini on the grill. Have you grilled something new yet this summer? Please share, or link us to it

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Waldorf Salad | Recipe

December 6, 2009 By Laura 2 Comments

You may or may not have heard of Waldorf Salad. My mother made it all of the time growing up, and I always thought it was a rather odd concoction. But I loved it! So did my brothers and sister, as much as I recall. And now, my kids love it too. Big hit. So simple. No measuring really needed. No cooking!
*Update: One of my kiddo’s food allergies expanded from just peanuts, to tree nuts too. So we can’t make this at home anymore.
But you can! And you really should.

Participating ingredients: apples, walnuts, raisins, mayonnaise.

How much you use of any of it, is a preference, and all in consideration of how much you are making, and so how many apples you use. We used 4 apples and fed 7+ (Some had seconds.)

So chop up some walnuts. (We were lucky to finally find walnuts not possibly contaminated by peanuts processed in the same manufacturing facility.)

We have this handy chopper. Can’t say it chops very consistently sized pieces though. It’s literally hit or miss every time. It turns as it chops, but still. We usually don’t care though, whether some pieces are bigger than others.

Peel the apples, core and slice them. Surely you all have the handy device above, to get the 2 latter tasks done in 1 shot.

Cut up the apples into bite sized pieces.

Put apples into a big bowl, add chopped walnuts, and add a handful or so of raisins too.

Adding some chopped celery is another great option.

Add a plop of mayonnaise, one plop at a time, and mix, until it is the desired amount you want.

It’s a sweet, delicious side-dish, chilled or not.

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