Jersey Salad

We stopped at a farm stand on our way back from the Shore. The Jersey tomatoes and corn are delicious! Mr. Lawyer made a quick chopped veggie salad of cucumber, red onion, corn, red pepper, and dill with a little oil/vinegar dressing. The salad was served on top of thick slices of Jersey tomatoes. It tasted like summer!

It's veggie time!

I've got the blues!

We are busy, busy, busy! Yesterday we had Buffalo Chicken Cauliflower for dinner....that was it. While Mr. Lawyer was away this past weekend I lived off spinach & cheese ravioli, week old stromboli from my bridal shower, and a bag of trail mix. Last night I went to bed at 8 and netted 10 hours of wondrous sleep, three cheers for summer camp exhaustion! So tonight I was ready to cook. No special recipes tonights: frozen veggies, mexican chicken, and some delicious saffron jasmine rice (a shower gift from the Mother Unit and Grandma Claire, thank you!). I did create a wonderful blue blue "tablescape" for our dinner. There were five different hues of Fiesta blue: Lapis, Peacock, Cobalt, Periwinkle, and Turquoise. 

 The saffron rice really popped against the blue!

I first had Buffalo Cauliflower at Ms. Jackie's house. It was delicious!

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

(from skinnytaste.com)

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp garlic powder
22 oz (6 1/2 cups) cauliflower florets
3/4 cup Franks Hot Sauce
1 tbsp melted unsalted butter

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Lightly spray a large non-stick baking sheet with oil.
2. Combine the water, flour, and garlic powder in a bowl and stir until well combined.
3. Coat the cauliflower pieces with the flour mixture and place on the baking sheet; bake for 20 minutes.
4. While the cauliflower is baking, combine the hot sauce and butter in a small bowl.
5. Pour the hot sauce mixture over the baked cauliflower and continue baking for an additional 5 minutes. Serve with blue cheese or ranch dressing.

Shower Time!

This past weekend some very lovely ladies threw me a wonderful bridal shower. Tonight was the first night that I was able to use some of my new goodies! Our first Fiesta tables setting with a special guest appearance by the pasta dish! I picked out a cobalt pasta dish because I thought the color would go really well with the red and white of the saucy pasta. I was not disappointed!

The theme of our dinner was Virginia! The Mother Unit brought us up some salad and tomatoes that she grew in her garden. She also gave us some homegrown onions, garlic, and a ton of fresh herbs that got thrown into my sauce. To top it all off we opened a bottle of Virginia wine she gifted us. Go Virginia and mom's garden!

The Boy Cooks!

We've entered the summer season which means I cook very little. I'm exhausted from camp, it's hot, and we're at the shore almost every weekend. I'll make a big batch of something simple, like veggie pasta, leave it in the fridge and announce it's time to fend for yourself!

Sauteed Summer Veggie Pasta

FEND FOR YOURSELF!!!

Luckily Mr. Lawyer did not have to work last Friday so I asked him to surprise me with dinner. While I was off wrangling small children Mr. Lawyer was slaving away in the kitchen to make one heck of a delicious dinner. When I was presented with a divine looking fish fillet I was a little worried. Mr. Lawyer had gone out fishing that morning and I was worried he was trying to poison me with a fish from the Wissahickon Creek. He assured me the fish was purchased from Whole Foods. The original recipe called for walleye which he swapped out for tilapia. The crunch of the pretzels combined with the spiciness of the mustard was perfect. It's definitely a keeper recipe. The Lemonade Butter for the corn was a bit of a let down so feel free to skip it in favor of the traditional butter/salt/pepper.

Pretzel-Crusted Walleye with "Lemonade Butter" Sweet Corn

(From his Field & Stream Magazine)

Ingredients:
4 walleye fillets, about 6 oz. each (He used tilapia)
1/2 stick butter
Zest of 1⁄2 lemon
1⁄2 teaspoon lemon juice
Scant teaspoon sugar
About 2 cups broken pretzels
1⁄2 cup spicy brown mustard
1⁄4 cup vegetable oil
4 ears sweet corn
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Make the lemonade butter: Let the butter sit at room temperature until it’s soft. Transfer to a small bowl and add the lemon zest, juice, and sugar, as well as salt and pepper. Stir with a fork until combined. Transfer the butter to a length of plastic wrap and form it into a cylinder, twisting the ends of the plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Pulse the pretzels in a food processor until they’re the consistency of breadcrumbs. They might be uneven, but that’s O.K.; bigger shards will add crunch. Transfer the pretzels to a plate and salt and pepper generously, stirring with a fork.
3. Set the fillets on another plate and brush both sides of the fish with the mustard. Place the fillets, one at a time, in the pretzel crumbs, pressing down lightly to help the crumbs adhere. Flip to coat the other side, then transfer to a sheet of parchment or wax paper.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. In the meantime, place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, use a spatula to carefully transfer the walleye fillets to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom, then flip and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until done.
5. While the fish is cooking, add the corn to the boiling water. Boil for about 4 minutes, or slightly longer if the corn is less than perfectly fresh.
6. To serve, place the fish beside the hot corn on a plate. Top each ear of corn with a chunk of the lemonade butter and serve immediately. Serves 4