The Bachelorette Dinner, Part 5

Yes, the most recent season of The Bachelorette is over (thank goodness) but there are still some delightful dishes to share! This particular week we supplemented our homemade dishes with Trader Joe's Balsamic Rosemary Chicken. If you haven't tried it yet, I highly recommend it for a quick and delicious dinner.

Kale Salad with Tahini Dressing

3 cups kale, chopped

1/2 cup edamame, shelled

1/2 cup garbanzo beans

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

3/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced & pitted

1 green onion sliced

1/4 cup fennel seed

handful parsley, chopped

Tahini Dressing

1/2 cup tahini

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, roasted

1. Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl.

2. Combine dressing ingredients in a separate bowl.

3. Just prior to serving, add a little water to dressing while stirring constantly to thin out.

3. Top with dressing and mix well.

Caprese Style Couscous

1 cup whole wheat couscous

20 mini heirloom tomatoes

1/3 cup fat free feta

6 large basil leaves, chiffonade

splash olive oil

sea salt

ground pepper

1. Cook couscous according to package instructions. Allow to cool.

2. Cut up heirloom tomatoes into small pieces.

3. Combine couscous, tomatoes, feta and basil.

4. Drizzle with olive oil and top with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Stir and serve.

The Bachelorette Dinner, Part 3

So there is a pretty good chance I am losing my mind. I SWEAR I posted this entry but apparently only in Gretchenland. I know I had intended to post it prior to the 4th of July weekend because it would have been perfect for all of your outdoor soirees. Alas, you will just have to have more fabulous people over this weekend and give it a whirl. Trust me when I say that the photo does not do these dishes justice. I am still working on my food photography skills. :)

Salmon "Pistou"

Note: This is not a traditional Pistou but is a great compliment to the salmon.

16 oz salmon, approximate

1/3 cup dill, chopped

1/3 cup green onion, chopped

1/3 cup pistachios, toasted & chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

1. Combine all ingredients except for the salmon and set aside. Pistou can be made up to 2 hours in advance.

2. Grill salmon to desired temperature.

3. Top salmon with pistou.

4. Slice and serve.

Serves 4 (makes great leftovers!)

Whole Foods Kalameta Olive and Feta Couscous

Note: This is a copycat version of a prepared food item at Whole Foods. The portions of each ingredient were approximated based on taste.

1 cup of whole wheat couscous (use butter or oil per instructions on box)

1/3 cup red (or red and orange) peppers, chopped

1/3 cup red onion, chopped

1/3 cup fat free feta (regular feta can be used too)

1/3 cup kalamata olives, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped and approximate (dried can be used instead but it is not as good and requires a lot more to get the desired flavor)

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil, approximate

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar, approximate

fresh ground sea salt

1. Prepare couscous per package instructions using either butter or oil. Allow to cool to room temperature.

2. Mix red peppers, onions, feta, kalamata olives, oregano, and parsley with couscous.

3. Combine olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a separate bowl. Pour onto couscous.

4. Combine dry couscous salad and dressing well.

5. Grind (or sprinkle) sea salt on top and mix well.

6. Taste and adjust seasoning or dressing as needed.

Serves 8 sides (at least)

Besides these delightful items, we enjoyed Trader Joe's Tomato and Olive Focaccia Bread (which while not low calorie is extremely delicious and made a great sandwich the next day).

As is par for the course this season, our meal outshined The Bachelorette. When I say outshined, I am referring to how the sun outshines a mud puddle. Will we keep watching? Of course. It is like that proverbial train wreck and we can't look away.

Farmers Market + Pantry = Dinner

A couple weeks ago Katie and I decided to throw some dinner together based on what I had in my fridge/pantry and what she had leftover from a farmers market cooking demonstration. The result was a delicious, healthy summer pasta dish! We enjoyed the recipe below with veggie sausage (her) and turkey meatballs (me) but it would also be wonderful on its own or with chicken.

Fresh Vegetable Pasta

1 cup whole wheat pasta (we used rotelle but you can use whichever you prefer) - This amount is approximate as you may prefer a higher pasta to topping ratio or like me you like a little leftover pasta to enjoy later in the week.

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped

1 white squash, chopped

3 artichoke hearts, chopped

2 handfuls cherry tomatoes

15 kalamata olives, pitted

6 large basil leaves, chiffionade

1/3 cup fat free feta

garlic olive oil (We used Trader Joe's)

fresh ground sea salt

1. Cook pasta according to directions.

2. Saute garlic, zucchini, and white squash.

3. When pasta and vegetables are almost ready, add artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives and basil to the sauteed vegetables. Heat through.

4. Top pasta with vegetable mixture and sprinkle with fat free feta and drizzle with garlic olive oil.

5. Add a protein if desired.

Serves 2

It's Picnic Season!!!! - Part 2

As I mentioned last month, Cinespia was showing one of my favorite films of all time - Heathers!

For this screening, the food was done potluck style (well, organized potluck) with everyone bringing an item to share. Items included a gorgeous salad, many cheeses, fresh fruit, gourmet cupcakes in addition to the items below. We shared a picnic area with another group of friends who also brought a fabulous picnic so really we had more options than we knew what to do with!

Antipasto & Caprese Skewers

(Note: All ingredients are from Trader Joe's but similar items can be found at any market.)

1 8oz container ciliegine mozzarella, each piece cut in half (or fresh mozzarella cut into 1/2 cherry tomato sized pieces)

24 pieces of salami

1/2 roasted red pepper, approximate

24 kalamata olives, pitted

48 sugar plum (grape) tomatoes

4 basil leaves, approximate

balsamic reduction

Antipasto Skewers

1. Cut red pepper in to bite sized pieces large enough for your skewer.

2. Spear kalamata olive, folded piece of salami, red pepper and mozzarella onto skewer. Repeat for all 24 skewers.

Caprese Skewers

1. Tear or cut basil into appropriate sized pieces for skewers.

2. Spear tomato, basil and mozzarella onto skewer. Repeat for all 24 skewers.

Serve with balsamic reduction (click here for instructions).

Makes 48 skewers

Before

After

Lentil Cashew Pate

(Note: This is a recipe created by my friend Katie. She can be quite the culinary wizard and just made this recipe up as she went. Heathers is known for such lines as "Great pate but I've got to motor if I'm going to be ready for that funeral." so pate was a must have for this event. With a lot of vegetarians in the house, this was an ideal option!)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup cashews

1 cup lentils

1 tablespoon lemon juice

rosemary, salt, & pepper, to taste

crackers

apples, sliced

1. Heat olive oil in skillet and saute garlic and onions until lightly browned.

2. Place garlic and onion mixture, cashews, lentils and lemon juice into a food processor. Pulse until mixture is smooth yet is still retaining texture.

3. Add rosemary, salt & pepper to taste and lightly pulse to mix.

4. Serve with crackers and apple slices.

This event was perfect to use the Steady Sticks! Here is a (slightly overblown) action shot.

We still don't have the Table in a Bag but I am hoping to acquire one soon since they are currently on sale! This is the perfect picnic item for cemetery screenings.

It's Picnic Season!!!!

So it should be obvious by now that I love summer picnic season. Living in LA it is often nice enough to picnic year round but between Hollywood Bowl, Cinespia, and Malibu Wines there are lots of opportunities this time of year. Plus getting a group together to enjoy a fun activity along with your picnic makes it so much more fun!

This past Saturday we kicked off summer with a great evening at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery for the Cinespia screening of Vertigo. In an effort to keep things simple (and because I love to make food for a group), I assembled much of the base for our picnic with everyone bringing extra items to snack on. One thing I always find at the cemetery screenings - you will never go hungry!

Turkey, Goat Cheese, & Red Pepper Sandwich

(Note: All ingredients are from Trader Joe's but similar items can be found at any market.)

1 Kalamata Olive Loaf (or your favorite bread)

1 8oz Package Roasted Turkey Breast

2oz Goat Cheese (I used 2 1oz Fresh Goat Cheese Medallions)

5oz Roasted Red Peppers (approximate as I used about a 1/2 of a 12oz jar)

1/2 teaspoon Prepared Pesto (approximate)

1 teaspoon Non-Fat Greek Yogurt (approximate)

1. Slice olive loaf in half longways.

2. Spread the inside of both the top and bottom of the loaf with goat cheese.

3. Place entire package of turkey on bottom side of loaf on top of the goat cheese.

4. Place roasted red peppers on top of turkey. You want to create a layer of red pepper.

5. Mix prepared pesto and greek yogurt together. These quantities and ratios are approximate as you should make it to taste.

6. Spread pesto yogurt mixture on top side of the loaf on top of the goat cheese.

7. Close sandwich and cut into desired number of pieces (I cut mine into three pieces).

8. Add toothpicks if you wish to keep sandwich pieces together while moving to your picnic location.

9. I recommend packing in a plastic container to minimize damage but if that is not available wrapping in foil and keeping it at the top of your cooler is the next best option.

Before

After

Three-Melon Mozzarella Salad

This salad is actually from Real Simple so I can't take credit for it. The link to the original recipe is above. I did make a few modifications and they are as follows:

• Subtracted Honeydew (mostly because I am not a fan and it's also not available pre-cut at the market) and Added additional Watermelon and Cantaloupe.

• Substituted Dorot Chopped Frozen Basil (frozen fresh) for the Fresh Basil (I can never go through an entire package of fresh basil before it goes bad!).

Before

After

In addition to the above items, I also picked up the delicious Goat Cheese, Walnut, Red Bell Pepper Salad from Trader Joe's.

And if that still wasn't enough cheese, we also enjoyed Italian Truffle Cheese and what I believe was a Porter Cheese. As I mentioned there was tons more food including dessert (Powerberries) and wine!

Here we are sitting back and enjoying our wonderful picnic!

And a few photos of the film itself!

Can't wait to go back in a couple weeks for one of my favorite films of all time - Heathers!

For more fun picnic ideas, don't forget to check out my previous posts on the Table in a Bag & Steady Sticks!