A rare Friday evening at home. After a totally crazy week. I'd had a dinner idea earlier in the week, didn't write it down and lost it. Until after I had another dinner half done. Of course. That's the way my brain works these days. Thank goodness for being a good note taker at the office. I feel like ideas and thoughts are just popping out of my ears every time a new one enters my brain... Usually dinner is planned well in advance. For some reason I failed miserably to get this one totally planned. So, I opened both refrigerators, checked the pantry and the counter and looked to see what I needed to finish up. Cantaloupe, peaches, bacon, cherry tomatoes, naan bread and avocados. Ok, then, how about grilled guacamole naan bread pizzas? What could possibly go wrong?
And, this time nothing did. We've always kept a Boboli pizza crust on hand for last minute dinners. That will now change. I will keep naan bread in the freezer for a last minute pizza. And, I will continue to grill it. Actually, I'm going to have to put it in the freezer to keep it from flying onto the grill and into my mouth! What a magnificent treat!
So, here's how it went together... I chopped up avocados and cherry tomatoes and some little sweet peppers. Really, any kind of pepper would work here. Whatever you like or have on hand. Then, I very thinly sliced half of a red onion.
The vegetables all went in a bowl and got tossed with olive oil. Then, they were put in a grill basket.
The naan bread was put on a half sheet and brushed with olive oil. The veggies went on the grill just a couple of minutes before the naan. Once there were good grill marks on one side, the naan got flipped. And the veggies got tossed about.
Now, I'd cheated and cooked the bacon too. Once everything came off the grill I turned it off and closed the lid. Closing the lid is critical here folks. The naan got slathered with pizza sauce (we love Rao's or Trader Joe's.)
Then, I sprinkled the cooked bacon on. You could use shrimp or sausage or pretty much anything here. Or, leave it off and go vegetarian. And, speaking of vegetarian, many veggies would be good here. I might add some eggplant next time. Or broccoli. On top went the veggies.
Covered with Italian five cheese blend. Then, the pizzas went back on the grill with the lid closed until the cheese melted. And that, my friends, was dinner.
Now, for a quick tour of our yard... A friend from high school and I were chatting back and forth the other day on Facebook about connections with our families and friends. How recipes, cooking utensils and plants create such connections with those who have gone before us and those who are still with us. That's the way it is in my yard. I wander around and see the friends who've given me plants or inspired me to buy a certain plant. Here's the tour:
Connie with our reel mower. No gas. No electricity. Just nice, sharp blades. Much better for the environment!
A double daylily from the old house. This one was the only one that I wanted to make sure to bring a start of. I was thrilled when it bloomed!
Dave and Mary Ann's bee balm. He died a few years ago just after they sold their lovely home. That land is now a cookie cutter subdivision. And, this is the plant that soldiers on and reminds me of them!
Coreopsis. Have never been able to successfully grow it til now!
Political statements aside, you can see the iris in the background with horseradish and sage nearer and then the pot up front with a collection of surprises.
Penny McHenry. Founder of the Hydrangea Society. Was memorialized in Southern Living when she died. Got her first hydrangea when her daughter was murdered. Such a sad story with such a wonderful ending. She was a delightful lady. Last time I was in Atlanta at a conference I called her to see if we could get together. But, photographers from yet another magazine were there to take photos of her garden. So, we had a lovely last chat. I think this is the only plant I brought all of.
Swiss chard. This plant will feed us wonderful leaves and stems all summer.
A new rhubarb. The starts I brought have not done well so I added this one.
More horseradish. Yes, we love the stuff. And, the plants are stunning!
Red-veined sorrel. I brought a couple of tiny starts and finally have enough to pick some. YAY!!
Daisies and coneflowers in the top bed. Some from the old house, some from Tom and John. The salvia down below is from Tom and John.
Gaura. I couldn't divide the plant at the old house so I bought a new one. The old one was white. As you can see, this one is a fabulous pink!
Looking down the south wall at the cannas. They bloomed all summer and most of the fall last year.
Mint, thyme and sage. I'm letting the violets take over the mulch in the herb bed. It'll be cooler and will give the critters flowers in the spring.
A pot of variegated pineapple mint, variegated sage and lavender. YUM!
Dill in front, followed by parsley, basil and peppers, kale and eggplant, rosemary and tomatoes.
A tomato we thought we'd lost is coming back. Along with a very happy basil plant.
Kale and eggplant. Due to very limited planting space I was trying to cram too much in...The eggplant is suffering big time. Fortunately the eggplants in the pot just behind are doing well. We have about half a dozen eggplants coming on. And, this kale plant will keep us in kale all summer.
Rosemary. What can I say other than it's an amazing herb!
Black Brandywine tomatoes thanks to the awesome folks at The Garden Center. They grow starts for me every year.
Pineapple sage. Can't wait til this starts blooming.
Geraniums and lavender. With mint in the background.
Cherry tomatoes that got really leggy...
Shade bed. And, there's Connie!
Volunteer sunflower by the bird seed. LOL. Not an uncommon occurrence.
Bugloss from Steve, George and Ellen. Love the leaves on this.
Volunteer tomato by the hellebores. I left it just to see what it'd do... So far no buds.
Housewarming gift from Barb and Dave. Right by the steps so I see it when I zip out to cut herbs.
A lone coneflower that was in the shade garden. The previous owners had little knowledge of sun vs shade plants so I've been moving a lot of plants. This one will move up front to the sun garden.
Hostas and more hostas. I've got an area set aside for my favorite hostas that I either need to get from the old house or from the friend I originally got them from. Fortunately, the folks who bought our house are wonderful!
Solomon's seal. These things will eventually fill in the back of the shade bed.
One of the prettiest blooms on a heuchera this year.
The shade garden below the living room window. We call it cat tv because there's a hummer feeder and bird bath right there with a suet feeder and regular feeder not too far away. Wee Mac sits in the living room window and chatters away.
Daylilies from my friend, Cindy. She let us dig while they were blooming so I'd know I was getting pink and light yellows. Next year, the Stella d'Oro's will go. I'm not fond of their dark yellow.
Suet feeder, gazing ball and more hosta and daylilies.
End of the astilbe. For the first year I was amazed at their blooms. I also put bleeding hearts and some other partial shade plants in here.
The flag in the middle of the herb garden. We've got a solar powered light on it.
Connie and the rose of Sharon. Once the volunteer tulip tree right beside it gets big enough this will go. And, then, the honey locust can go too. And, by that time I'm sure the pear will have gone since they're usually only good for 20-25 years and this one is probably about 19 years... That's ok though since I'd much rather have a tulip tree!
So, there you have our front yard. In a couple of years we'll have eliminated most of the grass in the back yard too. We're firm believers in trying to do what's best for the environment and NOT having a bad for the environment yard full of grass...
My belly was very happy after a recent meal. Here's how it happened:
During a conference call I'd downloaded a ton of recipes from a batch of 30 scallop recipes. We'd made one and it was good. I had more scallops frozen. And, I'd not thought about the next few evenings dinners before that day so I kind of figured we'd try the scallops with chestnut sauce and maybe do tilapia sandwiches. Not planning a meal ahead is rare for me. I usually have all our meals planned out a week ahead. During the same conference call I'd also downloaded one called Milwaukee dogs. Brats with sauerkraut, Dijon mustard and Swiss cheese.
Then, fate interfered. My internet at my Greenwood office has always been lousy. On cloudy days the modem just doesn't work well. I'd left my modem in my Columbus office so figured I'd use my phone as a tether. Well, that only works if you actually have a card to support it in your computer. So, instead of spending the whole day in Greenwood, I did one meeting in there and drove back to Indy and did the rest via GoToMeeting. And, I called Connie and said, "Please solve this problem permanently." That meant that the next day he was in Greenwood with the folks to hook up real internet. It also meant that he was going to be near Claus' Haus - the German meat market. My mind immediately went to the Milwaukee dogs when he called and suggested that on the way home he'd stop and pick up anything I'd like. I'd like brats, please.
Now, on top of the brats, our friends Raquel and Steve had brought over some potatoes from their garden. Amazing potatoes. Lovely little reds. Creamy. Perfect. I'd found a recipe on the New York Times website for sage roasted potatoes. Connie adores fried sage. I adore potatoes. We were in business!
And, the peach truck had been here. I'd texted my brother John to let him know that we were planning on heading there that afternoon. He texted back that he was in line and was going to get me some. I asked for a box since our friends Deb and Ken wanted to split a box. Does John rock or what????
We had the makings of a perfect dinner. Milwaukee dogs. Sage roasted potatoes. Grilled peaches with blue cheese and honey. Connie tried the brats first. YUM! Then, he tried the potatoes. WOW! Now, since he's not fond of fruit, he saved the peaches for last. His eyes pretty much rolled back into his head. "Pretty good, huh," I said. "That's an understatement," he said. Then, he asked me to rate them. First place went to the peaches. Second to the potatoes. Third to the brats. But, seriously, if I had 100 points to distribute, they'd all be getting about 33! He tried to cheat the system and give the peaches a 7 on a scale of 1-5. LOL.
Here's a photo of the peaches, brats and buns coming off the grill:
Now, on to the recipes.
Milwaukee Dogs
Ingredients:
brats
Swiss cheese
sauerkraut
Dijon mustard
buns
Directions:
Heat the sauerkraut. Grill the brats. Just as they get done, slice them in half, move them to the cool side of the grill and put slices of Swiss cheese on them. Toast the buns. Schmear with Dijon. Put the brats on the buns, top with sauerkraut and top with the other half.
Adapted from the Betty Crocker
Peaches with Blue Cheese and Honey
Ingredients:
peaches
blue cheese
honey
Directions:
Cut the peaches in half and remove the pits. Grill cut side down until softened. Flip and put a knob of blue cheese in each cavity. Grill until the blue cheese melts. Remove from the grill and plate. Drizzle with honey.
Roasted Potatoes with Sage
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs red potatoes, cut in half
1/3 c flour
1 1/2 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced (I accidentally omitted this)
1/4 c chopped fresh sage leaves
1 T unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste
12 fresh sage leaves
1 T unsalted butter
Directions:
Put a large cast iron skillet in your oven. Preheat your oven to 450F. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise.
Put them in a saucepan of cold, salted water. Put the saucepan on high heat and bring the water to a boil. As soon as the water boils, lower the heat and simmer the potatoes for five minutes. Drain them and pat them dry. Sprinkle the flour on a plate and roll the potatoes in it. Carefully remove the skillet from the oven and pour in the olive oil, making sure to cover the entire bottom of the skillet. Lay the potatoes in the skillet cut side down.
Roast them for 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven and flip the potatoes. It was at this point that I added the chopped sage leaves and forgot about the garlic. You do NOT want to put the garlic now but you can add the chopped sage. Roast another ten minutes.
While the potatoes are finishing up in the oven, you need to fry the sage leaves. Put a tablespoon of butter in a very shallow skillet (an omelet pan works well) and let it melt and get bubbly and hot. Add the sage leaves in one layer. When the first side is a bit brown, flip them. They're easy to overcook so keep a good eye on them.
When you remove the skillet from the oven, quickly add the last tablespoon of butter and the garlic. Serve the potatoes topped with the sage leaves.
Adapted from the New York Times
