Grillin'

by gansie

Banning Ricotta, Sorry Giada

I’ve made a whole bunch of pasta salads in the past few years, each of them slightly different. Some with a pesto flare, others dressed in extra virgin, dijon and lots of veggies. And many variations in between, although never including mayo.

This most recent pasta salad was during my friend Julie’s wedding weekend, where one of the nights was dedicated to a grill session in her HUGE backyard. I also realized I sucked at badminton, but that’s another story, just ask 80.

Earlier in the day I stopped by a farmers market in Jersey and picked up squash and zucchini to be grilled for the pasta salad. (Okay, now I was chatting with someone about this but we never found the conclusion, I’m hoping someone out there can help – zucchini is a squash, right? And if so, why don’t the yellow squashes have their own name. There are tons of other squashes with proper names – butternut, spaghetti, acorn…Why not the yellow squash?)

Okay, so I have the veggie, but I still haven’t decided on the sauce for the salad. I automatically think to use feta, but decide to go to the grocery store and see what hits me. I’m in the dairy aisle picking up sour cream for DAD GANSIE (my mom accidentally heated up his container in the microwave) and I stumble upon ricotta. I’m not super familiar with the cheese, expect for in lasagnas, and every time I watch Giada’s show. I dial up my chef-on-call, BS, and ask if he thinks ricotta will work in my dish. We all know BS is game for anything, and without hesitation, he said to try it.

Now, the rest of the post is not meant to knock BS or anything, because he surely didn’t know about the massacre that I would soon create with the cheese he just gave the go-ahead.

by gansie

La Comida Mas Fresca

(Crabs scuttle in the sand)

Editors Note: Maybe it’s not so bad going back to school. As a teacher that is. ES friend jakeSG teaches DC youth from September to June and then takes a rock star trip in the summer. I’d KILL for a summer vaca. Regardless, jakeSG went back to Costa Rica this year (here’s his take on last year) to lead teens through the hills and farms and lakes of this gorgeous land. You can see the rest of his beautiful pics here and below jakeSG details his fresh from the farm meal.

by: jakeSG

I eat well in Costa Rica, but nothing prepared me for the cooking of Ana Cerdas Rodriguez. The thirty-five year old mother of three spends days jotting down recipes in a handwritten cookbook, some of which she learns from the occasional cooking show on one of the three channels the family gets in Guadalupe de Rivas. Most of the food I get in these homes is terrific, but they all lack the presentation that Anaisa labors to achieve.

She outdoes even the nicest Tico restaurant I’ve been to, framing her gallo pinto (beans and rice for breakfast) in a glass to achieve that perfect shape. Her maduros (slowly sauteed green bananas) are delicate and sweet, never burned.

The Fresh Meal took place on Dia de la Madre, a day in which she shouldn’t have been cooking, but she still intended to show us what it meant to use what you have around. I’ve been reading a lot about food lately (Michael Pollan and Russ Parsons) and the underlying, constant theme is: fresh food is better. Period.

The Meal

The trout was bred by Miguel in his man-made backyard pond; there are over 30 fish swimming there. The twins went about to take out 13 of the biggest fish (I succeeded in catching one puny one), although I did manage to stay dry — something that can’t be said for a cousin of theirs who got a much closer look after slipping on a wet rock.

by gansie

Ménage à Bean

From the top clockwise, TexMex black bean salad, Indian kidney bean salad, Italian cannelini bean salad.

So I’m a bit behind on this post, as I promised it back during MemDay weekend.

Anyway, this is a tale of vegetarianism, lactose intolerance and side dishes that spreads across three continents. For the first BBQ (I’m using the term as a party featuring grilled food, as meant in Jersey) of the season, I decided to make something that Maidelitala (veggie/lactard) could actually eat since she was the one who invited me to the birthday party.

The first thing I could think of to cook was a bean dish. I knew she loved beans and although I’m new to liking the genre, I thought this would be a great way to experiment. I spied this cannelini bean recipe over at Cookthink. As it’s well documented that I can’t follow instructions, I messed up a bit on the adding water part (put in way to much) and then I forgot the vinegar and added it after I took it off the pan. To make it my own, I mixed in asparagus and diced red onion and served it at room temperature. My bean salad was surely a hit, especially smashed on a baguette.

But clearly, this is not the end of the story. As you can see pictured above, there were two other competing bean salads. And I shit you not, these three bean salads were the only non-grilled side dishes. It was super embarrassing. Luckily, all of the bean salads were different and delicious. Mine had a more Italian theme. The host’s mom made a TexMex black bean salad and Maidelitala created a stunningly tasty Indian bean salad. Her recipe post jump.

in Holiday / Recipe / Veggie 8 comments

by rooms

Please Don’t Steel My Trout

Alright, it’s 11:00, I usually go to bed around 9:30, and I didn’t even have a nap today, but live blogging made me realize how much I miss ES, so here comes my first post in quite some time. Also, I have to get back into it so I can start bragging about my fabulous garden to more than just my neighbors. Continue reading for this flippin’ delicious, easy and great for warm weather dinner.

in Fish / Recipe / Veggie 5 comments

by 80 Proof

Artsy Photo of the Day

So good, it sticks to your ribs.

Recipe after the jump…

in Photos / Recipe 3 comments

by gansie

Snap, Crackle, Jalepeno Popper

All I ever want to do on summer weekends is crash BBQs. And, yes, I’m using the term BBQ in the outdoor, light up the grill, party kinda way. I was able to crash one on the Saturday of Memorial Day. Our lovely vegetarian/lactard friend Maidelitala invited me, and as my guide, I decided I would make something that she could actually eat. That dish will be for another post, as will the dish I made for the other Saturday party that I got to too late to bring my food.

This post will star my Monday BBQ contribution. For Vi and Jerry Sizzle’s party, 80P made his signature chipotle dip and I also brought a whole pineapple to grill for dessert.

The main attraction was my above treat, grilled jalepeno poppers. Now, I don’t know what necessarily constitutes a “popper.” Does it have to be breaded? Does it have to be deep fried? Does it have to be rolling underneath a heat lamp at 711?

in Cheese / Holiday / Veggie 12 comments

Banning Ricotta, Sorry Giada

La Comida Mas Fresca

Hott Links: Gluttony Edition

Ménage à Bean

Please Don’t Steel My Trout

Artsy Photo of the Day

Snap, Crackle, Jalepeno Popper