Sunbathing and Seafood

Dinner Prepared by Chefs Jane, Elizabeth and Amanda

After a beautiful day at the pool we went back to the house to prepare our BA dinner.  It was the perfect Sunday complete with good friends and food.  As you will see in the below posts our meal turned out well.  We were disappointed in the main course, but very pleased with the appetizers and desserts.

Pictured below are professional bartenders making champagne and raspberry cocktails.

Burrata Cheese with Tomatoe Salsa and Olive Salsa

 Rating: 5

Excellent for entertaining because advance preparation would be very easy.  Fresh mozzarella substitution is delicious.

Ingredients

1 baguette, cut on diagonal into 1/3-inch-thick slices

2/3 cup (about) extra-virgin olive oil
3 large plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt plus additional for seasoning
2 unpeeled garlic cloves
1 5-inch-long fresh rosemary sprig plus additional sprigs for garnish
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
1/3 cup pimiento-stuffed green olives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil plus sprigs for garnish
2 8-ounce balls fresh burrata cheese* or fresh mozzarella cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange baguette slices on prepared baking sheet and brush both sides of bread with some oil. Bake until light golden and almost crisp, about 15 minutes. Transfer toasts to platter and cool. Reserve baking sheet with parchment. Maintain oven temperature.
Toss tomatoes, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt in medium bowl. Spread tomatoes on parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing apart. Place garlic cloves and rosemary sprig atop tomatoes. Roast until tomatoes and garlic are soft, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool slightly; peel garlic, then finely chop tomatoes, garlic, and rosemary leaves. Transfer mixture to small bowl; stir in 1 tablespoon oil. Season tomato salsa with coarse salt and pepper.
Using on/off turns, coarsely chop all olives with chopped basil in processor. Transfer to another small bowl; add 2 tablespoons oil and season olive salsa to taste with pepper. DO AHEAD: Toasts, tomato salsa, and olive salsa can be made 1 day ahead. Store toasts in resealable plastic bag at room temperature. Cover and chill tomato salsa and olive salsa separately. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Place burrata cheese balls in center of large platter. Cut large X in top of each, revealing creamy center. Spoon tomato salsa into center of 1 burrata cheese ball and olive salsa into center of second. Drizzle with additional oil. Garnish with basil and rosemary sprigs. Serve with toasts.

recipe by Tori Ritchie

Clams with Andouille Sausage

Rating: 2

This dish was not as good as the Mussels Steamed in Beer that we had back in May.  The flavors of the sausage and clams did not compliment each other very well.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
8 ounces andouille sausage, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 fresh poblano chiles,* cut into 1/2-inch squares
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch squares
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch squares
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
4 pounds Manila clams, scrubbed
1/2 cup dry Sherry
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
2 teaspoons Sherry wine vinegar

Preparation

Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add andouille sausage, poblano chiles, all bell peppers, and crushed red pepper. Sauté until sausage browns and vegetables begin to soften, stirring often, about 7 minutes. Add clams, Sherry, and cream. Cover pot and cook over medium-high heat until clams open, 5 to 6 minutes (discard any clams that do not open). Stir in 1/4 cup cilantro and Sherry wine vinegar. Season juices to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro and serve. Adapted from Elliot's Oyster House.

Green Beans and Zucchini with Sauce Verte

Rating: 2
The sauce verte was basically a pesto with a lot of ingredients.  Vegetables were soggy, which was probably our fault.  Overall, not very impressed.

Ingredients
Sauce verte
1/3 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves
1 green onion, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons (packed) fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons drained capers
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, peeled
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Vegetables
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound green beans, stem end trimmed
12 ounces zucchini, halved lengthwise, each half cut lengthwise into 1/3-inch-wide strips
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley leaves (for garnish)

Preparation

Sauce verte

Blend first 7 ingredients in processor until finely chopped. With machine running, gradually add olive oil. Process until coarse puree forms. Season sauce verte to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Vegetables

Heat oil in heavy large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add vegetables; stir until coated. Sprinkle with salt and 3 tablespoons water. Cover; cook vegetables until almost crisp-tender, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Uncover; cook until vegetables are just tender, about 2 minutes longer. Stir in enough sauce verte to coat vegetables generously. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Garnish with parsley and serve.

by Jeanne Kelley

Greek Yogurt Ice Cream

Rating: 4

Yum!  Recommend adding some vanilla to the recipe.  We served with glazed peaches.  The sweetness of the peaches complimented the tartness of the Greek yogurt in the ice cream.  Excellent after a hot day at the pool.

Ingredients

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar, divided
3 large egg yolks
1 cup whole-milk Greek-style yogurt
Pinch of salt

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

Ice cream maker

Preparation

Combine 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 cup whole milk, and 1/2 cup sugar in heavy medium saucepan. Bring mixture to simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. Whisk 3 large egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in large heatproof bowl until blended. Gradually add hot cream mixture to yolk mixture and whisk until blended. Return mixture to saucepan and stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens slightly and coats back of spoon when finger is drawn across and instant-read thermometer inserted into mixture registers 170°F, about 3 minutes (do not boil). Pour custard through strainer set over medium bowl. Place bowl with custard in larger bowl filled halfway with ice and water. Whisk occasionally until custard is almost cool to touch, about 5 minutes. Remove bowl with custard from ice water. Whisk yogurt and pinch of salt into custard. Refrigerate custard until well chilled.

Transfer custard to ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer yogurt ice cream to freezer container. Cover and freeze until ice cream is firm. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep frozen.

Recipe by Niche