Ahhh...the hottest, most humid days of the season are upon us. I have never been a huge fan of sweat or frizzy hair, and therefore, am cranky and uncomfortable this time of year. It seems that this summer is hotter than ever, but of course, I say that every summer as the temperature and humidity have a daily race to see which can make me more miserable!
My battle with hot and humid has been going on for a very long time. I remember even as a child grabbing the seat closest to a fan or AC duct and always trying to stay wet either at the beach or a pool. As the years passed I had a whole plan of keep-cool methods, but my favorite was always swimming.
Many years ago I had a good friend and neighbor who built a beautiful pool and pool house on her property. Together we watched this pool evolve from a hole in the ground, through each step until at last, the landscaping was finished, gas grill installed and the final piece of furniture was settled into the pool house. The hooded lounges, with their pink and white striped cushions, were arranged pool-side and the umbrella table was awaiting easy summer meals. At last. The kids were all off at camp and my friend and I were ready for a fabulous summer. The first day that she opened the pool I was at her house early in the morning. We had coffee in the pool-house and then threw our towels onto the lounges, slathered up with Bain de Soliel and welcomed our leisure. We swam, nibbled fruit, had tuna and apple sandwiches for lunch, swam some more and then decided we should cook dinner together. We called our husbands and told them we would be cooking dinner poolside. I ran home and pulled some steaks from my freezer...we put a big salad together and made a corn pudding (see earlier post on this blog for recipe). Then we made a huge batch of sangia...(several bottles of white wine, fruit, sugar to taste, peach brandy, peach nectar, orange juice and ginger ale). We really made far too much but decided we could use it the following day when some of our friends would be joining us. Wow... all that preparation and we still had time for another dip before the guys got home.We pulled out the new pink pool floats and a floating serving table...poured a large pitcher full of sangria, a plate full of dip and chips and we were set. It was late in the afternoon, quiet and calm. We floated about the pool with the pitcher and plate of goodies between us...Heaven!...
The next memory I have is of voices.
What? ...are they insane..?" (my husband)..
"Let's get those two idiots out of there.." (her husband)...
I opened my eyes...the two men were standing beside the pool, laughing hysterically and tryng desperately not to fall in as they watched their two sleeping wives floating aimlessly around the pool, followed by a tray holding an empty pitcher and a plate of half-eaten chips and dip!.
Because heat so un-does me I try to make food preparation as easy as possible during the summer. Cool drinks, salads, grilled meats and poultry (which are presided over by my sons and husband) and cold and quick desserts are my formula for not breaking a sweat in the kitchen.
Drinks
Orange juice and iced tea is a very cooling drink. Simply add 1 cup of OJ to every quart of any iced tea that you like. A few mint leaves,sweetener, some ice and you're all set!
Bellinis are a favorite for summer brunches or lunches.
Puree 3-4 ripe white peaches
Puree 1 cup frozen raspberries (you can add 1 tsp sugar-optional)
1 bottle Prosecco
In a flute, spoon in 1 1/2 tbsp peach puree,
then 1 tsp. raspberry puree
Add Prosecco and serve garnished with a peach slice
Salads are another no-cook answer to keeping the kitchen cool. A big favorite around our house is a lemon- basil shrimp salad. It can be an appetizer or a whole course. I serve it in parmigiana baskets which are quick and very easy and can be made the day before.
3 pounds of peeled, cleaned and cooked shrimp
1 med. red onion sliced thin
1 sweet red bell pepper sliced
1 sweet yellow bell pepper sliced
Marinate above in a plastic bag with:
1 cup olive oil
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
grated zest of 2 lemons
1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice
2 1/2tbsps. sugar
1 tbsp white horseradish
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 crushed cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp salt
To serve...
drain shrimpand onion and peppers
place on lettuce set into 8 *parmigiana baskets (*heat a non-stick pan, add 1/4 cup of grated parmigiana cheese and make "pancake" when it is like a pancke, remove with a spatula and place over an inverted bowl until it cools )
Serve with your favorite lemon vinagrette and chiffonaded basil
Grilling is the best way to avoid heating up the kitchen...just take it outside!!! I use a simple marinade for both beef and poultry and it is successful either way. Grilled chicken is a big crowd pleaser around these parts!
Marinate chicken for no less than two hours in:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup oil
2/3 cup sherry
3 tbsp wine vinrgar
1/3 cup worchestershire sauce
1/2 cup honey
2 cloves of finely minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
stir until blended
(I also bake this chicken in the cooler months just place marinated chicken in Pam-ed baking dish and bake at 375 degrees turning once ...for about 50 minutes)
Make sure the grill is sprayed with non-stick grilling spray and grill chicken pieces until cooked through...garnish with parsley.
Watermelon, assorted fruits and a little imagination is a lovely way to end a summer meal and all the prep is done beforehand.
You can bake the cookies from scratch, buy the packaged cookie dough (in the dairy department of the supermarket) or just buy large cookies!
For 12 ice cream sandwiches you will need:
24 large cookies which need to be frozen for 1 hour before preparing ice cream sandwiches...(I like an assortment of cookie flavors)
1 bag mini morsel chocolate chips
1 bag Heath Bar crumble
3 quarts of ice cream, assorted flavors (let stand out 10 minutes before preparing)
Place a cookie flat side up on a plate
Choose a flavor ice cream and place a scoop on the frozen cookie
Place another (matching) cookie on top with flatest side down on ice cream and press until the ice cream reaches the edge of the cookies.
Roll sides in chocolate chips or heath bar crumble
Re-freeze for about 1/2 hour and serve!
Done!
...and there you have it...stay cool and eat well!!!!
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