#summer grub

[carltoncastle]

Fried Green Tomato Tacos on Homemade Tortillas

[tinyktchn-blog]

More Summer Grub, #3 - Watermelon & Feta Salad

Are you seeing a theme here with my summer "cooking"? So far of the three posts I've made (great job keeping up, self), two have been some sort of fruit and cheese salad combination.

Can you really blame me though? New York is balls hot in the summer; I mean, I break out in a fine sweat anytime I'm watching TV with the AC off for less than three minutes (since the damn AC makes this awful dude-in-high-school-who-suped-up-his-car sound due to my laziness in taking it out of the window during our 60 degree winter I can't hear myself think over it). As a result the thought of doing something that either requires heat or any effort is massively unappealing most days.

In all honesty though, this salad is deee-licious and obviously incredibly easy - I had this little watermelon-feta combo a while back in Miami for like, four days straight. I'm not even kidding, I sat in a beach chair and ordered the same exact salad every single day, right where I sat. No effort.

Maybe I'm seeing a theme in more than just my eating habits....

Watermelon & Feta Salad

Time: 10 minutes

Serves: 1

Dish Factor: Literally just your plate. And a fork and knife. Laaave it!

Dollar Factor: While the pre-cut watermelon costs more than one you have to cut up yourself, how annoying is it to do that? Seriously, just don't. Get it pre-cut and spare yourself the extra few bucks.

Ingredients (more or less to taste):

Approx. 2 handfuls of baby arugula

6-8 cubes of watermelon

A few spoonfuls of feta

salt and pepper

juice from 1/2 a lemon

1 tbs EVOO

Directions:

Place the argula on a plate.

Place the watermelon chunks over it.

Sprinkle the feta on top.

Squeeze the lemon juice all over to coat, and do the same with the olive oil.

Sprinkle on salt and pepper, to taste.

Done!

[tinyktchn-blog]

Summer Grubbin Series, #2: White Pizzas

Yeah, yeah - pizza might not be the first thing that comes to mind when I say summer (if I had said Ninja Turtles that might be a more likely association), but I definitely consider anythings that's topped with salad to evoke the summer months. So hear me out!

Matt and I decided one night to make pizzas in the apartment. I wanted mine with arugula on it (per a recipe I saw in a Barefoot Contessa cookbook) and he wanted his with peppers and onions. So, we bought some premade dough to keep things simple and went spliskies on it. Lucky for us, one of the two of us was a bonafide pizza professional in college, getting to serve up slices to throngs of drunk people at the campus bar-with-a-pizza-place-in-it (if you thought the answer was me, then you are wrong - of the two of us, I am the high school sandwich professional. And also one of the drunk people who harassed Matt for slices while somehow stomaching Long Island Ice Teas).

After the jump, you'll find the recipes for both pizzas - although with the base recipe, you can really top them with whatever you want. Enjoy!

White Pizzas, Two Ways

Time: 40 minutes / Serves: 2

Dish Factor: A little messy - as is anything when you're throwing flour around.

Dollar Factor: I had no idea, but pizza dough is like, 2 dollars. Literally 2 dollars. Chaching!

Ingredients (base):

fresh store bought pizza dough

flour (no particular measurement)

6 garlic cloves, sliced

5 sprigs fresh thyme

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Freshly ground black pepper

3 cups cubed Italian Fontina cheese (8 ounces)

1½ cups sliced fresh mozzarella (7 ounces)

salt and pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

Ingredients (arugula topping):

2 tbs olive oil

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

8 ounces baby arugula

Ingredients (pepper topping):

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 onion, sliced

Directions:

Make the garlic oil. Place quarter cup olive oil, garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook for 5 minutes, making sure the garlic doesn’t burn. Set aside and let flavors steepen.

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. With floured hands, break the dough into two even balls. Start stretching until you have 2 eight in circles (or ovals, or squarish ovals...it doesn't need to be perfect). Place the circles on a parchment lined baking sheet, coated with a little bit of oil.

Brush the pizzas with the garlic oil, and sprinkle each one liberally with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the pizzas evenly with Fontina and mozzarella. IF YOU ARE DOING THE PEPPERS AND ONIONS VERSION: This is when you add the peppers and onions.  Drizzle each pizza with 1 tablespoon more of the garlic oil and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the crusts are crisp and the cheeses begin to brown.

IF YOU ARE DOING THE ARUGULA VERSION: While the pizzas cook, for the vinaigrette, whisk together 2 tbs of the olive oil, the lemon juice, some salt, and some pepper. When the pizzas are done, place the arugula in a large bowl and toss with just enough lemon vinaigrette to moisten. Place a large bunch of arugula on each pizza and serve immediately.

[tinyktchn-blog]

Summer Grubbin Series, #1: Balsamic Peach Salad

So if you've noticed, I'm kind of awful, terrible, simply not good at updating this blog regularly. I think it comes down to this: if I've just spent nine hours burning my retinas via staring at a computer screen, it's hard to motivate myself to do it for another two. Unless we're talking about the tv screen. Somehow I manage to find time for that. There's batshit crazy housewives to be watched, come on!

Anyway - I figured if I stuck to a theme over the next few months, then I'll push myself to be a better blogger.* Like if I'm going to have summer themed, light fare on the blog - I *have* to post them June-August (okay, maybe a little into September) or else they're not relevant. Thus, the Summer Grubbin Series is born!

As you can figure, I'll be featuring food that's light, fast, and doesn't require a lot of time slaving over the oven. First one on deck: this peach salad. I found this recipe on Fine Cooking and modified it as it called for grilled peaches, something I don't have the luxury of making as my wee little fire escape is no place for a grill. I couldn't resist as peaches are pretty much the best fruit ever. And mozzarella is well, mozzarella (meaning delicious).

This takes like, 2 seconds to make and is easy on the waistline to boot. Check it out!

*Speaking of being a better blogger, I finally can up my photo game as I got a legit camera. Yes, I finally have a real deal, thebombdotcom digital SLR! My composition still leaves something to be desired, but aren't these just so much prettier already?

[tinyktchn-blog]

Summer Grubbin': Grilled Corn with Chile Lime Butter

The next few posts are going to feature foods perfect for hot weather - no ovens, no stove tops, and nothing slothy. Why? Because it's summertime in New York, and whether you're on a terrace grilling or cramped in your tiny kitchen (to which my suggestion is to GET OUT!), it's time to get together with friends, throw back a couple of brews and eat!

This first recipe is definitely a summer staple of mine - grilled corn with a little something special. While corn on the grill is always pretty awesome, making a compound butter kicks it up a notch, and the version I make combines chile powder, lime juice, and lots of garlic (of course).

Give it a whirl - it's super easy and you won't want to eat corn the same way again. Check it!

Grilled Corn with Chile Lime Butter

Serves: 8 / Time: 25-30 minutes

Dish Factor: Grilling is awesome because you need very few dishes - no pots and pans, namely! Plus eating outside is always a good excuse to use paper plates.

Dollar Factor: If you have to buy everything from scratch, then around $15 - but assuming you have staples like butter and will be using the chile powder again, this one won't cost you much in the long term.

Ingredients:

8 ears of corn, shucked

1 stick salted butter, softened

salt and pepper to taste

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbs parsley or cilantro

2 tbs chile powder

2-3 tbs lime juice

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix the softened butter and all ingredients (minus the corn) so that it's evenly combined.

Slather on a generous helping of the butter on all sides of the corn (about 1/2 a tablespoon each), and wrap corn in tin foil. Set aside remaining butter compound.

Place the foil-wrapped corn directly on the grill, close grill, and let cook for about 7-8 minutes. then, roll the corn over and let cook on the other side for 7-8 minutes. Light grill marks on the corn is key.

Once fully cooked, carefully remove the corn from the grill and unwrap the tin foil. With the extra butter, slather on more as desired.

Enjoy!