Luncheon Menu

For our Classmate Reunion Luncheon today, we had  bellinis, gazpacho with shrimp, grilled chicken
with grilled peaches and corn caprese salad in frico cup followed by italian plum torte
with freshly whipped cream.  i also served lemon rosemary zucchini bread and rosemary
rolls.

the recipe for caprese corn salad  is from simply recipes, however, i adapted it and

did not measure anything ....just went by sight:

lovely white corn off the cob from the farmers market

dash kosher salt

about 1 T. finely chopped red onion

about 3 T. small dice of fresh mozzarella

orange grape tomatoes, cut in half

red grape tomatoes, cut in half

chopped parsley

a lot of fresh basil, drizzle of olive oil, drizzle of white balsamic vinegar and let it

 rest to marry the flavors.

Plum Torte

this is a recipe by marian burros that is all over the internet.

i made this for a luncheon today for a reunion of classmates (4 of us!) and served
it with freshly whipped cream.

while i have not frozen this, everyone says it freezes beautifully.  also, it is
said that this recipe can be made with the substitution of apples, cranberries or
pears.  i'll have to remember to try one of those in the near future.

Plum Torte

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. plus 1 or 2 T. granulated sugar
1 c. unbleached flour, sifted
1 t. baking powder
2 eggs
pinch salt
24 halves pitted Italian plums
1 t. cinnamon, to taste, optional

arrange a rack in the lower third of the oven.  preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
cream the butter and 3/4 c. sugar.  add the flour, baking powder, eggs and salt and beat to mix
well.  spoon the batter into an ungreased 9 inch springform pan.  place the plums on top of the
batter in concentric circle with cut side down.  mix the cinnamon and 1 or 2 T. sugar and sprinkle
over the plums.
bake 40-50 minutes, til a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  remove from oven and

let cool.

Banana Bread

we had my mother's 85th birthday celebration this past weekend and for the sunday brunch i made
banana bread (with no nuts for katie kelly!) and everyone raved and raved about the bread.

here is the recipe:

Banana Bread

3-4 ripe bananas, mashed

1/3 c. melted butter

put the mashed bananas and the melted butter in a bowl and stir well to incorporate.

Mix in:

1 c. granulated sugar

1 egg

1 t. pure vanilla

sprinkle 1 t. baking soda and pinch of salt over mixture and incorporate.

Add 1 ½ c. all purpose flour and mix well.

Pour into buttered 4 x 8 loaf pan.

(sprinkle top with baker’s sugar if desired)

bake one hour at 350*.  (use tester to make sure bread not wet)

(i haven't tried freezing this bread but would think it would do well for a short time) 

peach bread

this is a wonderful recipe i found on the internet and it is so tasty!  i am using all the fresh peaches
from the farmers' market for these breads.  they freeze beautifully as well!  i am going to make small
ones to give as gifts!

2 cups all purpose flour (or substitute white whole wheat flour for 1 cup of the all purpose flour)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 TBSP flaxseed meal (optional)
2 cups very ripe, mashed peaches (about 5 or so medium peaches)
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 TBSP butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup raisins or nuts (optional)

In a bowl, mix flour, sugars, salt, and baking soda. Put mashed peaches in a large bowl. Add beaten egg, melted butter. Stir in raisins or nuts. Stir in flour mixture. Pour into a 9x5" greased loaf pan. Let stand 20 minutes. Bake at 350 for 45-55 min. Cool bread in pan 15 min; remove from pan and finish cooling on wire rack.

i did not add the flaxseed or the raisins/nuts when i made it and bob really enjoyed it.

applesauce!

the summer rambos are here!  i bought some at the farmers' market and made the first batch ~
the grandchildren love, love, love the homemade applesauce......my mother has been making
it for them for years.

it is so simple......just cut the apples up into quarters (discard core) and throw in a large pot
with water covering the bottom.  bring to a boil and then turn heat down and let cook til
apples are soft and mushy.  this is when i stir the apples a bit and taste test to see if i need
to add a small amount of sugar.....if you do want to add sugar, now is the time as it will
incorporate well with the hot apples......then i put it all through a colander to strain it (the
apple peel remains behind and is discarded)......you could also use a food mill but i just
always do the colander since that's how my mother does it.

the applesauce freezes beautifully and the children enjoy it so much all winter!

Summer Pesto

i have been purchasing huge bunches of fresh basil at the farmer's market......each bunch is so big it
yields about 8 cups which is two batches of pesto.  here is the recipe for classic summer pesto, which
freezes beautifully!

4 cups fresh basil (rinse leaves and pat dry)
1/2 c. olive oil
1/3 c. pine nuts (pignoli)
2 cloves garlic

1/2 c. parmesan cheese (finely grated)
1 t. coarse salt

process the basil, olive oil, pine nuts and garlic.  scrape down the sides.  then add the cheese and the
salt and process til incorporated.  scrape into a bowl and float about 1/2 " of olive oil on top.

pesto over grilled chicken and/or some pasta with fresh tomatoes and then fresh peaches = heaven!!!

Stuffed Cabbages

today i am making stuffed cabbages.  we were talking about them recently and i really got into the mood.
i bought nice fresh cabbages at the farmers market.  normally, one would go to steelton, pa. and purchase
heads of cabbage that have been soaked in a brine......however, today i am just using the regular cabbages.

i used to boil the whole heads of cabbage til the leaves were soft and pliable.  then someone told me about
microwaving the outer leaves and smaller heads so that is what i have been doing and i find it makes things
move right along.

after microwaving the leaves, i trim the center rib so it will lay flat and be really pliable.

the filling is seasoned ground beef (salt and pepper) and a small amount of uncooked rice.  to one lb.
of ground beef i use about 1/2 c. of uncooked long grain rice.

laying the cabbage leaf flat on the board, i put a small amount of beef at the top middle of the leaf, about
1/4 cup.  (if the leaf is very large, you might want to put more meat filling in).

then turn the left and right sides in and roll up.  you should have a nice firm little packet.

i take the tough outer leaves of the cabbage head and line my pot. i put a little bit of water over these leaves. then i put some sauerkrout on the bottom of the pan over the leaves.  then i start stacking my packets and putting more sauerkrout on top of each layer of packets.  

then i put some tomato sauce over all the packets and the sauerkrout and bring to a boil.  then i turn the

heat down and cook for several hours.....til the cabbage is nice and soft and the sauerkrout is really cooked.

typically, these cabbages are served with mashed potatoes.  it really is sort of a winter item but, as i said,

after we were talking about them i just had to make them.  i will be putting these in freezer bags and freezing

them for the fall/winter.  all i will have to do is defrost and heat up!