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​Another recipe that my son-in-law recently forwarded to me was for Sausage and Grits Lasagna. The recipe was found on the website for Country Living Magazine and was described as a hearty casserole. It sounded like a meal that would be heavy on the stomach, but quite truthfully it was totally delicious and light!
 
For the recipe you’ll need stone-ground grits (I prefer Geechie Boy from South Carolina), parsley, salt and pepper, sweet Italian sausage, olive oil, yellow onion, red bell pepper, garlic, red pepper flakes, dry white wine, petite diced tomatoes, 6-ounches provolone, fresh basil and fennel seed. The recipe takes approximately one hour and 25 minutes from start to finish. The first thing you’ll need to make is the grits as they take approximately 25 minutes to cook. Once you have the grits going, it’s on to sautéing the sausage. To make them easier to cook, I removed the sausage from its casing. After the sausage has browned, it’s removed from the pan and kept warm. 
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It seems like it was just August and I  was thinking how summer was almost over and now September has flown by. If I’ve had a busy day, sometimes I just don’t have the energy to sit down at night and write my cooking experiences.
 
But with the change in seasons and the weather going from hot and sticky to cool and refreshing, I was in a quandary as what type of meals to cook. Recently, my son-in-law sent me four recipes that he thought maybe of interest; they certainly were!
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Although I haven’t posted in the past week, I have been busy cooking. I’m still making fresh tomato sauce once a week as I can’t help but take full advantage of New Jersey’s tomato season.
 
My son grew Sweet Basil, a Rutgers Obsession DMR variety, and had excellent results. He had three huge planters growing on his deck this summer. My basil plants were sufficient for flavoring my fresh tomato sauce, but not quite enough to make pesto for the winter. He and his wife came over this past weekend and helped me by cleaning and plucking leaves while I made the pesto. I made two 16 ounces jars and one 8-ounce for them. After they left, I made two more 16-ounce jars, one for myself and one for a neighbor.
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In the Wall Street Journal’s August 22-23, 2020 edition, there was a recipe for Ricotta, Summer Squash and Fresh Corn Pizza from chef Douglass Williams of MIDA in Boston. This recipe appeared in the Slow Food Fast column and takes all of 30 minutes. It was a nice twist on a white pie, especially with summer corn and yellow squash in season.
 
Beside the squash and corn, you’ll need 8 ounces of pizza dough, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper, ricotta cheese and fresh herbs (basil, mint and chives). As we are not fans of mint, I used just the basil and chives from my garden.
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​"By all these lovely tokens September days are here. With summer's best of weather, and autumn's best of cheer." – Helen Hunt Jackson
 
As I awaken each morning at 5 AM, the world is dark with sunrise peeking its head later and later. This weekend marks the end of summer, but will it? School districts are still deciding on a plan of action, restaurants can now have indoor dining at 25% capacity and hopefully a new season brings the past few months of the pandemic to a close.
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The end of summer brings a bounty of wonderful tomatoes and other vegetables to market. Recently I found on The New York Times cooking app, a recipe for One-Pan Roasted Fish with Cherry Tomatoes. I headed down to Atlantic Offshore Fishery in Point Pleasant and picked up wild Atlantic cod for $14.99/lb. On my way home, a quick stop at Matt’s Farm Market in Wall Township for a container for red, ripe grape tomatoes and I had the making of a delicious supper. For this dish you’ll also need shallots, garlic, olive oil, sherry or red wine vinegar, honey, freshly grated lemon zest, fresh basil and mint (I left this herb out).​
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​Since I last posted, my husband and I have become the grandparents of another baby girl. This little gem joins my daughter, son-in-law and her almost three-year-old sister. We had the three-year-old for several days while mom and dad were at the hospital and had me going all day, no time for new recipes.
 
I did try two new light and tasty recipes recently.  The first is from the new Sunday section of the New York Times called “At Home” in a column entitled “Five Dishes to Cook This Week,” Summer Shrimp Scampi with Tomatoes and Corn. The other recipe, Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Basil butter is from a cook book that my daughter no longer wanted, 5 Ingredient Fix, by Claire Robinson. 
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On a Tuesday, not Thursday pasta night, I made a new pasta dish for my husband and I. My son-in-law found two interesting recipes at the Good Housekeeping Magazine website. The first is Summer Squash, Mint and Pecorino Pasta and the other, Brown Butter and Corn Pasta; I made the second one first.
 
Corn this season has been sweet and plump. I’ve either purchased from Delicious Orchards in Colts Neck or Matt’s Farm Market in Wall. For this recipe you’ll need four ears of corn, one-pound pasta (campanelle or fusilli), butter, Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves. Did I mention this dish can be prepared in under 30 minutes?
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This is prime New Jersey tomato and corn season. My favorite summertime lunch is sliced Delicious Orchards English muffin bread, smeared with Duke’s Mayonnaise and sliced tomatoes.
 
My daughter recently found on Deb Perelman’s food blog, @smittenkitchen, a recipe for tomato and corn pie. The pie has a rich double butter crust. The filling consists of a combination of sliced tomatoes, corn kernels, chopped basil and chives, shredded cheddar cheese and topped off with mixture of lemon juice and mayonnaise. After baking for approximately 30 minutes the pie can be served warm or at room temperature. ​
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With the recent heatwave, I wanted something easy to prepare for supper. Whole Foods had on special for Prime Members whole Bell & Evans chickens for $1.79/lb. (regularly $2.99-$3.99/lb.). In order for the chicken to cook quicker, I spatchcocked it. I found a wonderful recipe on the Martha Stewart website, Grilled Spatchcocked Chicken. You’ll need a medium onion, garlic, fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, parsley and sage leaves), extra virgin olive oil, lemon zest and salt and pepper.
 
All the rub ingredients were placed in a food processor until they became a purée. Loosening the skin a bit, some of the rub was placed over the breast meat with the balance over the bird. The chicken needs to marinate at least 6 hours.


​meet donna

A former teacher, shop-a-holic, empty-nester redefining quick, family approved dinners.

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