Dinner with Friends

Charles Square Farmers Market 12:15 pm

I usually pass by this one on the way to or from work, but this was my first time shopping here. It's small, but I got what I needed.

several varieties of heirloom tomatoes
1 box raspberries
1 box blackberries
1 round of black pepper and cheddar bread (I'm way excited about this one)
1 yellow squash
1 cucumber
1 bag salad mix

Since I'm hosting my friend, plus Jen and one of her friends, I'm excited to post my first dinner party entry.

Salad Course:

• The aforementioned black pepper and cheddar bread (some fresh and some as garlic toast)
• Green Salad courtesy of the fresh bag of salad mix
• Fresh Tomato Salad

Several sizes and types of tomatoes
1 onion (preferably red, but I happened to have a yellow one)
1 cucumber
vinegar (your choice, I used some pomegranate red wine vinegar)
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
oregano

Seed and roughly chop 4-6 tomatoes of various colors. Halve the cucumber lengthwise and chop into halfmoons. Thinly slice onion. Toss in a bowl. Add salt, freshly ground pepper, oregano and vinegar. Toss again. Drizzle with olive oil and toss again. Cover and chill. The longer it sits before dinner, the better it will be.

Entree

More garlic toast/bread

Baked Ziti 2 ways

1 box ziti with lines
1 container part skim ricotta
shredded parmesan
garlic powder
onion powder
frozen spinach
salt
pepper
shredded mozzarella or italian-blend cheeses
tomato sauce (preferably homemade - my recipe follows)


1st way:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. In a bowl, mix about 1/2 container ricotta, handful of parmesan, and salt, pepper and spices to taste. Mix with 1/2 of the pasta and several ladlefuls of sauce. Put into baking dish and cover top with shredded cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven until top is bubbly and dish is heated through.

2nd way:

See above, but add a handful of thawed and drained frozen spinach to the cheese mixture.

For both, serve with extra sauce on the side, or meat sauce, or meatballs and sausage in sauce...the options are endless...and someday I'm sure you'll get my turkey meatball recipe here!

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Crushed Tomatoes (with or without basil)
onions
garlic
red pepper flake
oregano
basil
fresh basil
olive oil

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in large pan. Add 1/2 chopped onion per can of tomatoes - sometimes I make a little, sometimes I make a lot. Add 2 cloves of crushed, chopped garlic per can of tomatoes. Add salt, red pepper flakes, dried oregano and dried basil to taste. Once heated through and bubbling, add some torn or chopped fresh basil. Can be used immediately or frozen.


Dessert

Pound Cake with Berries and Whipped Cream

1 pound cake
berries
heavy cream
sugar
vanilla


I admit to buying pound cake...it's August, and I don't want to bake.

Earlier in the day, mix berries (whatever you have - I used half a box of blueberries, and the boxes of raspberries and blackberries I got today) and a few teaspoons of sugar. Set aside for a few hours.

I used frozen pound cake - it will need an hour to an hour an a half to thaw unless you want to thaw in the microwave (I didn't)

Beat 1 pint of heavy cream with electric mixer until it starts to thicken. Add 1 capful of vanilla extract (or you could use almond, orange, lemon, etc) and a few tablespoons of sugar. Beat until desired frothiness. Do not overmix, or it will become a soupy mess! Still yummy, but not thick and wonderful.

Spoon berries and cream over pound cake. Yum!

Soundtrack

I put the iPod on shuffle, so these are some of the selected tracks from today's cooking. I chose the most singable :)

Holding Out for a Hero - Bonnie Tyler - a classic
Untouchable Face - ani difranco - the ideal song to rock out in the kitchen and get out any anger
hero takes a fall - The Bangles - 80's chicks rocking with guitars - what's not to love
mr. right now - The Nields - the weird but lovable groove of the full band
kick start - Lisa Loeb - this is from cake AND pie, the album that followed my beloved firecracker
summer rain - belinda carlisle - solo or with the Go Go's, you can't go wrong with Belinda
here comes the rain again - eurythmics - again, classic
ode to a would be lover - debbie gibson - you'll hear more about my love of debbie gibson later
good night sweet girl - ghost of the robot - james marsters is the lead singer :)


No links today...I have guests!