Grinders

I spent large parts of my childhood in Stonington, CT, as we owned a house on Water Street. I won't tell you the number but last time I checked, the historically salmon colored door was now blue. One of my favorite memories was to be sent down to Camacho's to pick up our order of grinders and spend $1.00 on penny candy. The grinders were amazing and we ate them everywhere - at home, at the beach, at the point, at the light house, or at the Wad Club. Sadly, Camacho's is no more (now a jewelry store), and I have never been able to find a replacement in all my searching. Then we moved to Maine and when I asked for a grinder, I was handed a pepper grinder. Back to the drawing board it was. I finally gave up looking and decided to make up my own close-as-I-could-get version. It's still not the original, but it satisfies the craving. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

A baguette or two, or a loaf of French bread or even Italian (the bread is the hardest part to match)

Mayonnaise (always use Hellmann's)

Italian Dressing (Originally it was a red wine vinaigrette but I haven't found a close match yet)

Iceberg lettuce, shaved thin

Tomatoes, sliced thin

Provolone cheese slices

Genoa salami slices

Mortadella slices (if they don't have it use Capricola)

Ham slices

Process

1. Cut bread in half lengthwise. 

2. Coat top half with generous amounts of mayo. 

3. Coat the bottom half entirely with Italian dressing. 

4. Start layering your meats and the cheese. 

5. Top with tomatoes and the thinly shaved lettuce. 

6. Close the sandwich and press together. 

7. Carefully slice into needed sizes. 

Enjoy!

Artichoke Alfredo

Oh me oh my oh - this one is to die for. Seriously. This is not heart or cholesterol friendly - but boy is it GOOD! I got this originally from the Cook's Country magazine (from makers of Cook's Illustrated another favorite of ours). The recipe, a runner up in a contest, was created by Mary Shivers of Ada Oklahoma - so thanks Mary! I tweaked the recipe a bit to add some of our garden bounty, and know the recipe could be tweaked to be friendlier on the waistline! This was a perfect end of summer meal - just as it is - a one bowl wonder! Enjoy!


Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
1 finely chopped onion
1 minced clove of garlic
2 cans quartered artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1 and 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
a couple tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
a couple tablespoons lemon juice (plus zest if using fresh)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup (or more) milk
2 sweet red peppers, cut into strips of julienne for a raw garnish
1 lb. box of fettuccine

Process

1. Put stock pot of salted water on and bring to a boil. (For cooking pasta)
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
3. Add onions and cook until soft (5 to 10 minutes)
4. Add garlic and simmer for 2 minutes.
5. Increase heat to medium high.
6. Add artichoke hearts and cook until moisture cooks off and they seem to brown.
7. Remove from heat. (if water is boiling add the fettuccine and cook according to directions)
8. Add sour cream and stir.
9. Add 1 cup of heavy cream and stir.
10. Add cheese and stir.
11. Add herbs and spices and stir.
12. Return over low heat. Add milk to thin sauce a bit if needed.
13. Cook pasta according to directions. Drain pasta and put in large bowl.
14. Pour sauce over pasta and toss to coat and combine.
15. Cover bowl of pasta with sweet pepper strips and toss to combine and serve with a large serving spoon.

NYT's Creamy Gazpacho Soup

My Dad's lady friend made this soup. It looked fantastic so I took a picture of the recipe that was sitting on the counter. I am now home from vacation and able to find the recipe online. Here is the New York Times link to what should be a fantastic summer meal: Smoothie + Gazpacho = Lunch.

But strangely, the recipe is not at that link - but go to the link though to gaze closely at the picture. You too want this Gazpacho. Then I looked closely - the recipe is at another site. Here is the link to Creamy, Garlicky Tomato Gazpacho

And a copy and paste from the New York Times is below. Enjoy!

Creamy, Garlicky Tomato Gazpacho With Crunchy Pecorino

Published: July 9, 2010

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

• A Good Appetite: Smoothie + Gazpacho = Lunch (July 14, 2010)

Ingredients
6 tablespoons grated pecorino Romano
2 large tomatoes (about 1 pound), cored and roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) plain sheep’s-milk or regular yogurt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, more for serving
12 basil leaves, roughly chopped, more for serving
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
2 scallions (white and light green parts), roughly chopped
2 ice cubes
1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar, more to taste
Pinch cayenne pepper
Ground black pepper to taste.

Directions

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spread 2 tablespoons cheese into a thin layer in skillet; let melt and brown on bottom, about 30 seconds to one minute. Use a spatula to flip cheese; let cook until evenly browned on both sides, about a minute more. Transfer fried cheese to a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining cheese, working 2 tablespoons at a time. Break fried cheese into large pieces.
2. To make soup, place tomatoes, yogurt, olive oil, basil, garlic, scallions, ice cubes, salt, vinegar, cayenne and black pepper in a blender. Purée until smooth. Taste and add more salt and vinegar, if necessary. Pour into small bowls and garnish with pieces of fried cheese and chopped basil. Drizzle soup liberally with olive oil.
Yield: 4 servings.

Summer Pizza Night - Grilled Pizza!

Done on the grill!
Marguerite, Asparagus and caramelized red onion, feta and caper, and plain old pepperoni!


 

Razzle Dazzle

The Perfect summer drink!
Home made lemonade
Bacardi Razz Rum
And freshly picked home grown black raspberries!

Berry Buckle for 5

A few weeks ago, the kidlets and I went on our first, of what I hope to be many, berry picking walks in the front field. It was an adventure for us - surviving blasting heat, prickers, a run in with poison ivy, and a collapsing stone wall leaving Puckstopper breathless. From our four mighty yet easily dropped containers, we yielded 2 cups of fresh black and rasp berries. The perfect incentive to not eat the precious bounty of our picking, Berry Buckle for dessert.

We had enough for HALF a recipe. So here is a modified berry Buckle, for a family of five. I baked it in a loaf pan.

Ingredients
Fruit
2 cups berries - any variety! (only strawberries need to be cut)
A couple tablespoons of sugar (only really for tarter berries)
A dash of water if needed

Cake
1/2 stick butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/8 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
grated peel from 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
sprinkling of cinnamon

Process
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly coat a shallow casserole dish with spray.
3. Combine berries, sugar and water in baking dish.

















4. Using electric mixer in another bowl, combine cake ingredients one at a time.

5. Spoon over berry mixture, leaving center uncovered.

6. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon.

7. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out of the cake clean.

8. Remove from over and let cool a bit.































9. Serve with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.