Kitchen Gadget Girl

As new readers visit my site and comment, I ask them what their favorite kitchen gadget is, and boy, have the answers been varied and entertaining. For this week’s Thursday Thirteen, I offer you thirteen favorite gadgets from my new bloggy friends:

1. Allison loves her Hand Held Cheese Grinder
2. John loves his Pineapple Corer and Slicer
3. Journeywoman loves her Garlic Press
4. Jenny loves her Vegetable Dicer from Williams Sonoma
5. June loves a good Wine Opener
6. Kim loves her Microwave
7. Elaine’s husband loves his Kitchen Aid Mixer
8. Jen loves her Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer Tool
9. Jeanette loves her Cracker Barrel Club Sandwich Kitchen Timer
10. JMom loves her Super Sharp Kitchen Knife
11. Ben loves his Tupperware QuickChef Food Processor
12. Stace loves her Coffee Maker (who doesn’t, really!)
13. Buttonwillow Six loves her Kitchen Aid Hand-Held Blender
    

Thanks to all of you who stopped by! For those of you who are new to Kitchen Gadget Girl, tell me what your favorite kitchen gadget is!

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Busy,

busy,

bees.

Thanks for the green beans

July 2008

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I was e-chatting with my new friend Button Willow the other day (she has designed some great stickers, BTW), and we got to talking about Limoncello. This Italian liqueur is my new favorite activity, as it is easy and fun to make, plus makes a great impression. Here, I share with you two recipes for Limoncello, one that began as a recipe from Sunset Magazine. Since it takes 80 days to make, start sometime this summer and you will have gifts in place for the holidays!

Rosemary Limoncello

• 18 Meyer lemons, washed
• 1 4-inch piece fresh rosemary
• 1 bottle (750 ml) 100-proof vodka
• 1 bottle (750 ml) Everclear (or 100 proof vodka, if you cannot find Everclear)
• 4 1/2 cups sugar

Peel lemons with a sharp vegetable peeler (might I recommend an Oxo peeler?), taking only the top layer of zest and none of the white pith. Put zest and rosemary in 1-gallon glass or ceramic container.

Pour bottle of vodka over zest and rosemary. Seal container, and let sit undisturbed in a cool, dark place for 40 days.

After 40 days, continue with recipe. Bring 5 cups of water to boil and add the sugar. Cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Allow to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Pour syrup and Everclear over lemon/vodka mixture, stir and reseal container. Let sit in a cool, dark place for 40 more days.

After second 40 day period, your limoncello is ready to go. Pour it through cheesecloth into large pitcher and then into smalling gift bottles. I found great bottles at Specialty Bottles. Serve ice cold before or after dinner. Limoncello is traditionally kept in the freezer between servings.

Grammy’s Limoncello

• 15 thick skinned lemons, washed
• 2-750ml bottles 100 proof vodka
• 5 cups sugar

Proceed as above. Use these recipes as a guide and experiment at will. I might try pepper corns next time, or maybe another fragrant herb from the garden. Fresh lemons are best, ones from your neighbor’s tree are even better. And don’t forget, you can use Limoncello in Watermelon Limoncelloade!

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Remember on Sunday, when I told you about the big box o’organic strawberries from CostCo? Well, turns out, if you don’t eat them quickly, they kind of turn to mush. So, we are racing against time, and tonight’s recipe is just one way I am using them:

Strawberry Margarita Rocks

• 2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (fresh is best)

Using your immersion blender (see, I actually talk about gadgets!) or a regular blender, blend the strawberries and lemon juice together. Strain through a fine mesh sieve.

• 1/2 cup of the above strawberry puree
• 1/4 cup triple sec
• 1/4 cup tequila

Mix together and pour over ice. If you want to channel your inner bartender, pour the mixture over ice in a shaker, and then pour into martini-style glasses. Serve.

Makes 2 margaritas, unless you worked all day today, and then it makes one big one!

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Tonight, we had our friends from down the street over for dinner, along with their two kids (who are the same age as ours, so everyone played nice). We started out with Margaritas and chips and guacamole. For dinner, we had:

• Skirt Steak with Spicy Green Salsa (from Everyday Food Great Food Fast)

• Roasted potatoes (in a foil packet, tossed with olive oil, oregano and S&P, roasted on the BBQ)

• Grilled scallions (cleaned and trimmed scallions, grilled whole and tossed with olive oil)

• Salad with garlicky lemon vinaigrette (sound familiar?!)

• Strawberry shortcakes (again, familiar, but someone decided that the big container of organic strawberries from CostCo was a good idea!)

Appetizers and cocktails on the patio, then inside for dinner. Tasty all the way around!

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Tonight, our friends Kim and John came over for dinner, and because I enjoyed the Pot of Beans recipe from earlier this week, I decided to make that the focus of my menu:

• BBQ chicken (chicken thighs rubbed with Espresso BBQ rub from Napa Style, grilled until done, then basted with a Mango Pomengranate Sauce)

• Pot of Beans

• Fresh, steamed green beans (a little redundant, but I needed a fresh veggie)

• Romaine lettuce with garlicky lemon vinaigrette

• Strawberry shortcakes (fresh baked cream scones, whipped cream and strawberries)

We started with Pomegranate Martinis and with dinner, had a bottle of Domain Serene Pinot Noir. Tasty, and worth repeating!

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In yesterday’s post, I suggested an orzo pasta salad with shrimp served in 1/2 an avocado. Elaine requested the recipe, so here it is. The salad can be modified many ways - use chicken instead of shrimp, add olives, green/yellow/orange bell peppers, currants, whatever you would like. The original recipe came from The Frog Commissary Cookbook. Hope you enjoy!

Orzo and Shrimp Salad

• 6 cups cooked orzo pasta (about 1lb dried pasta)
• 3/4 lb cooked peeled shrimp, cut into thirds
• 2 cups finely chopped red bell pepper
• 3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1 cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts
• 1/4 cup capers, drained
• 1/3 cup minced parsley
• 1/3 cup minced dill
• 1/2 cup raisins (it is nice to mix dark with golden, but whatever you have on hand is fine)

Dressing

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 cup minced parsley

Whisk together dressing ingredients. Combine all salad ingredients. Toss with dressing and chill for several hours. Serve over greens or in 1/2 an avocado, along with fruit and crusty bread.

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This week, our temperatures have been in the upper 90s, some days topping out at over 100F. I certainly do not feel like getting into a hot kitchen at the end of a hot day and cooking up a hot dinner. So here are 13 dinners for hot nights:

1. Falafel with pitas, hummus, tzatzki, and tabouli
2. Taco Salad (this is what my Mom used to make on hot summer nights!)
3. Sushi, edamame and seaweed salad
4. Curry Chicken Salad on a bed of lettuce
5. Cold sliced meats and cheeses, served with excellent breads* and mustards
6. Orzo and shrimp salad, served in a 1/2 an avocado
7. Smoothies and milkshakes (I throw in tofu for a little protein)
8. Thai peanut noodles with cold sliced pork tenderloin
9. Bruschetta with three toppings - tomatoes with basil, white bean puree and eggplant tapanade
10. Fresh Corn on the Cob, dripping with butter and salt - yes, I can make a whole meal of this!
11. Cold BBQ’d chicken with potato salad
12. Cucumber soup (serve chilled)
13. Leftover pizza - that should be eaten cold, right?

With many of the above, I would also serve a green salad, just to round things out.

What would you serve for dinner on a hot night?

* When having bread for dinner, I tend to get very high quality, artisan bread. Not like the bread for lunch sandwiches is bad, I just feel I need to take it up a notch for dinner.

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Bees from my beehive

July 2008

(p.s. any ideas on how to take better bee pics?)

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As the temperature approached 100F this afternoon, I knew I would not be cooking dinner, so no recipes for today. I stopped at the store and picked up some salads, a baguette, sliced salami and some sushi for dinner - that and a bottle of Grue from New Mexico was all we needed for a nice picnic dinner in our backyard. I love it when the really simple can be the most impactful.

On a side note, I did enter Plum Jam and Bread & Butter Pickles in the local county fair!

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