These luscious recipes are perfect for an easy summer dinner party. Perfect for just two with delicious leftovers, and easily scaled to feed a crowd. Each recipe will in time get its own post and photo, but in the meantime – let’s get cookin’!
Best Red Wine Vinaigrette Ever
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt, I prefer Himalayan, Sea, or Kosher
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup pure water, cool or room temperature. NOT HOT!
Combine the garlic and salt in a mortar and pestle and mash until they form a paste. You can also use a small bowl and the back of a fork! Add the vinegar and whisk gently with the fork, scraping down the sides of the vessel. Then add the olive oil and whisk again until well blended.
By now, your kitchen should smell like heaven and you will be drooling. The dressing is acceptable to use as is, but you will be able to get a lot more mileage out of it as it is easily diluted without affecting the flavor!
Transfer to a lidded container and add the ½ cup of water. Attach lid and shake vigorously. When the mixture is homogenous, use like any other salad dressing!
San Francisco Panzanella Salad
Serves 4 – 6
½ loaf of gluten-free, dairy-free bread* (I just LOVE Bread Srsly – and what is more SF than sourdough?)
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 lb tomatoes, cut into bite-size chunks
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 – 3 Tablespoons picked oregano leaves, loosely chopped
1 recipe Best Red Wine Vinaigrette Ever
*you do not have to use GF-DF bread for this recipe – any slightly dry and sugar-free bread will do, from ciabatta to baguettes. In all honestly, the salad is just as good if you OMIT the bread altogether!
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Slice your bread into 1” thick slices, then cut further into slightly-larger-than-bite-size chunks.
Spread the chunks in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Pop into the oven and toast lightly, for about 7minutes. The bread will feel just slightly crusty on the outside. Flip and bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.
Place bread in a large bowl and add remaining ingredients. Toss well and let sit for at least 10 minutes to fully absorb the flavors. Enjoy!
Prosciutto, Pear & Herb Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
Serves 2 – 4
1 pork tenderloin, silver skin removed
3 -4 slices prosciutto
1 pear or apple, sliced paper thin with a mandoline (or excellent knife skills!)
3 tablespoons chopped mixed herbs – I like rosemary, sage, and thyme here
Salt & pepper
1 Tablespoon cooking oil – I like safflower here, but olive, sunflower, and avocado all work.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.
On a flat surface covered with plastic wrap, lay the slices of prosciutto vertically and overlapping slightly. The width of your “sheet” should be about 8 – 9 inches square – it should be as wide as it is long.
Lay the pear (or apple) slices on top to form another thin layer, leaving a 2” margin bare on the top.
Sprinkle to chopped herbs all over the fruit layer.
Season the tenderloin with salt & pepper, and lay perpendicular to the seams of the prosciutto, 1” from the bottom for the sheet.
Using the plastic wrap as a tool, roll the sheet upwards and over the tenderloin, gently pulling away the wrap as the prosciutto begins to overlap itself. ROLL TIGHTLY, like a spring roll. The proscittuo will stick to itself.
Heat a frying pan over high heat until a drop of water thrown in sizzles.
Lower heat to medium-high and add 1 Tablespoon of oil and swirl around the pan.
Place the wrapped tenderloin seam-side-down in the hot pan and cook until golden brown. Turn with tongs and repeat procedure until cooked on all sides.
Transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking tray (or keep in oven-safe pan!) and cook in the oven for 20 minutes, until a meat thermometer reads 155.
Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes, tented with aluminum foil.
Slice and serve!
Peach & Basil Stuffed Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken Breast
Serves 2 – 4
2 chicken breasts, rib meat removed
Salt & pepper
1 large ripe peach, pit removed and chopped into large chunks
¼ c loosely packed basil leaves
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
6 slices prosciutto
Preaheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.
Lay the chicken breasts upside-down and butterfly cut, making a cut from the center of the breast about ½” deep and horizontal to the cutting surface, almost to the edge but not through.
Repeat the cut to the left, and then sandwich the now-doubled-in-area chicken between layers of plastic wrap and pound until it is about ¼” thick. Season both sides with salt & pepper and set aside.
In a food processor, pulse the peach, basil, and 1 Tablespoon of olive oil until it is a smooth mixture.
Prepare the prosciutto for wrapping by laying 3 pieces end-to-end to form a long “ribbon”. One ribbon per chicken breast.
Lay the chicken breast perpendicular to the ribbon. Spoon ½ of the mixtureinto the chicken breast and roll to form a tube. Seal the end with the end of the prosciutto ribbon and turn to wrap the breast in a spiral of pork ribbon, sticking the prosciutto to itself at the end to have a completely wrapped package.
Heat a frying pan over high heat until a drop of water thrown in sizzles.
Lower heat to medium-high and add 1 Tablespoon of oil and swirl around the pan.
Place the wrapped chicken breast in the hot pan and cook until golden brown. Turn with tongs and repeat procedure until cooked on all sides.
Transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking tray (or keep in oven-safe pan!) and cook in the oven for 20 minutes, until a meat thermometer reads 155.
Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes, tented with aluminum foil.
Caramelized Onion Jam
Makes ½ cup
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
pinch salt
½ cup water
Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium high heat until it swirls easily around the pan.
Add the onions and pinch of salt and stir until all pieces are coated with the oil. The salt will help to keep the onions from burning.
After 2 minutes, when the onions are starting to turn translucent, reduce heat to low and continue to stir occasionally, adding a splash of water every now and again to keep the mixture moist.
When you have added the last of the water and it has been absorbed, remove from heat and let cool.
Dairy Free Pesto
Makes 1 ½ cups
3 c basil leaves
1 c pine nuts (walnuts, cashews, or almonds will do – pine nuts are pricey! Buy if you can in bulk foods sections or wholesale clubs like Costco for the best deal)
½ c extra virgin olive oil
3 – 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, from one large lemon
Salt to taste
Combine all of the ingredients except salt in a blender and process until smooth. Add salt to taste.
Garlic-Roasted Sweet Potato Noodles
Serves 4 – 6
2 large sweet potatoes, white or traditional
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.
Peel and spiralize the potatoes. Toss with oil and seasonings and transfer to a parchment-paper lined baking tray.
Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until they start to turn golden brown in places.
Remove from oven and enjoy!
Chili Roasted Cauliflower
Serves 4 – 6
1 large head of cauliflower
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon chili flakes (red pepper flakes)
salt & pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.
Break the cauliflower into tiny florets, 1/4 of bite size maximum. Toss in a bowl with oil, chili flakes, salt & pepper. Transfer to a parchment-paper-lined baking tray and bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until they start to turn golden brown and are soft to the bite.
Remove from oven and enjoy!
Hasselback Baby Potatoes with Herbs
Serves 4 – 6
2 lb baby potatoes (about 20)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons finely chopped herbs
Salt & pepper
Heat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.
Heat a pan half full of water the same size as your steamer basket on the stove over high heat until boiling.
Slice the potatoes Hasselback style, 1/8” cuts that do not go all the way through. To help make this happen, rest the potato between two skewers and slice to the skewer.
Pop the potatoes into the steamer basket and cover, steaming for 10 minutes until slightly “open”.
Transfer the potatoes to a parchment-paper-lined baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with herbs, slat, and pepper and stir a bit to coat all sides with oil and seasonings.
Bake for 20 minutes until they begin to get crispy edges.
Remove from oven, serve and enjoy!
Jeanne’s Summery String Bean Salad
Serves 4 – 6
1 lb green beans, ends trimmed and broken into bite size pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 – 2 tablespoons oil – olive, safflower, or avocado
Salt & pepper
Heat a pan half full of water the same size as your steamer basket on the stove over high heat until boiling.
Place the green beans in a steamer basket, cover, and steam for 3 – 4 minutes. They will be bright green and still a little crunchy.
Transfer to a colander and either run under cold water or shock with an ice bath (bowl of water larger than your colander ½ full with ice and cold water)
Drain and toss in a bowl with garlic, oil, salt, and pepper.
The longer this salad sits, the better it tastes!
Ahhhh-mazing Dairy Free Chocolate Mousse
Serves 4 – 6
6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 tbsp. water
4 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
Pinch of coarse salt
Combine the chocolate and water in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Heat until the chocolate is almost completely melted, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir until the mixture is smooth. Set aside and let cool.
In a clean, dry bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the egg whites and the salt. Whip on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. They should be thick and smooth.
Stir the egg yolks into the cooled chocolate mixture. Add one third of the whipped egg whites to the bowl with the chocolate and fold gently to lighten up the mixture. Fold in the remaining egg whites gently with a spatula just until no visible streaks are left.
Based on a fantastic recipe from David Liebovitz, with chocolate reduced slightly to use exactly 1/2 of a chocolate-chip package! Original recipe here: http://www.annies-eats.com/2010/03/11/chocolate-mousse/
Reimagined Torta Caprese
Serves 8 – 12
7/8 cup organic shortening
1 1/4 c almond meal
6 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
4 large eggs, separated
1 cup granulated sugar
Preheat oven to 350° F. and butter a 10-inch cake pan. Line bottom of pan with a round of parchment paper and spray pan with cooking oil.
Melt shortening and cool. In a food processor finely grind together almond meal and chocolate. Mix yolks with granulated sugar until very thick and pale and beat in almond mixture and shortening.
In another bowl, beat whites with a pinch salt until they just hold stiff peaks and whisk one fourth into almond mixture. Fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly and spread batter evenly in pan.
Bake torte in middle of oven 50 minutes, or until it begins to pull away from side of pan and a tester comes out with moist crumbs adhering. Cool torte on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto another rack. Discard paper and cool torte completely.
Modified from Gourmet magazine’s recipe here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/printerfriendly/chocolate-almond-torte-torta-caprese-14985
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