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About a week ago my son surprised me with a coffee from Rook Coffee. This wasn't just your ordinary cup a coffee, it was an iced New Orleans style coffee made with milk and sugar. Boy was it delicious! The New Orleans style coffee is described on Rook's website as, "Sumatra with chicory. Smooth and chocolaty. Herbal." Those who know me know that I love my Starbucks, however, this tasted better than a Mocha Frappuccino. I don't know if it's the blend or not, but I certainly have a higher energy level after having a cup of this coffee.   

To go along with the coffee had I had to have another taste of their fig butter. Back in June during wedding day prep, my daughter's friend got a bagel with the fig butter....Mmm, so good. So much for my workout at the gym this morning. 
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Now that summertime vegetables are coming into season, I felt like having pasta with zucchini. Last summer in the New York Times, there was a recipe for Summer Pasta with Zucchini, Ricotta and Basil.  Last week I stocked up on the needed items for the recipe. 

I arrived home from work about 5:30 this evening and shortly thereafter proceeded to begin cooking. First on the list was to gather some basil from the garden and make a rough paste using the blender. I diced some onion for sautéing, I forgot the garlic for the sauce (just remembered it while typing this up), and then added the sliced zucchini and seasoned it with salt and pepper. While doing my slicing and dicing, I got the pasta water going. 

Although David Tanis' recipe says a prep time of 30 minutes, I think it took me about 45 minutes, however, it was worth it. I prepared this last summer for my family and they loved it. When searching for the recipe on the NY Times website I saw a recipe for Creamy Corn Pasta with Basil which sounds so delicious. I'll put Jersey corn on my shopping list this week and whatever other ingredients I need and then give this recipe a try. 
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God bless my late mother-in-law, if a recipe took more than three pots she didn't make the recipe. Tonight I made Turkey Sloppy Joes on Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits from Gourmet Magazine's September 2004 issue. The active time for the sloppy joes is 40 minutes, add the biscuits and both recipes take 1-3/4 hours.

The buttermilk biscuits make 8, however, since it's just my husband and I, I had these biscuits in the freezer and just had to defrost them. The sloppy joe recipe is flavorful. First of all, it's made with ground turkey but also has chopped onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic. To further enhance the mixture, crushed tomatoes, which I prefer over whole tomatoes, there is some ketchup, molasses, cider vinegar and Worcestershire sauce to charge up the flavor profile.
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I was working the closing shift the last evening, so I had to prepare something ahead of time to eat. We haven't had eggplant Parmesan in a while, so I've decided to prepare it for supper.

I do not purchase large eggplants, as its thought they have more seeds than the small ones. I peel my eggplant and using my mandoline, make 1/4" slices. I season flour with salt and pepper and dredge the eggplant in the mix. Next, I egg and bread the eggplant in seasoned breadcrumbs. Instead, of frying the eggplant, I take a dark metal cookie sheet and spray it with olive oil. I then place the sliced eggplant on the pan, and again spray the eggplant slices with olive oil. I have preheated my oven, using the convection setting to 350°. I'll use my homemade tomato sauce to moisten the eggplant, season again with salt and pepper, a little dried oregano and top with sliced mozzarella. Bake time is approximately 25 minutes, or until you see bubbles on the side. 


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I have been craving red velvet cake. Perhaps I'm too lazy to go to a store to purchase it in cupcake form, but I had another idea in which to get my fix. Red Velvet Pancakes! In the December 2012 issue of Southern Living Magazine they gave recipes for some really fabulous pancakes such as German Chocolate, Carrot Cake, Caramel Cake, Hummingbird, Red Velvet and Italian Cream. The Red Velvet are to die for!
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As I previously mentioned, I have some London broil leftover. So this evening my husband will get his cheese steak sandwich for supper. I was feeling ambitious, so I decided to make a small batch of potato salad to go along with it.

Using a friend's recipe, I modified it for just the two of us. Recipe after the jump.
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One of my favorite New York City events is their semi annual Restaurant Week. This summer, Restaurant Week is July 25th to August 19th. At participating restaurants you can have a three course lunch ($29) and/or dinner ($42) at some of the best eateries in Manhattan. 

This year I've book Park Avenue Summer, which I have been to twice before. I was there with my husband in the fall and we had an enjoyable brunch. This year we are booked a weekday for lunch. Some of the restaurants that I have been to are A Voce Madison, Ai Fiori, Quality Meats (not on this year's list), Blue Smoke (Gramercy/Flat Iron), Becco and David Burke Kitchen to name a few. 

One of the best ways to book a table is through a website called Open Table. It's free to enroll and the beauty of this website is that you earn 100 points for each reservation that you book and honor your reservation. After you earn 2000 points you can redeem them for a $20 dining certificate. This service is not only for Manhattan, but cities across our country and around the world. However, check out their website for specific details. 

By the way, American Express has a special promotion going on during restaurant week. Read how you can get $5 back on a single transaction of $35 or more when using your enrolled AMEX card. 
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Since I didn't make the London broil on Monday, I thought today would be a good day to do this and have few friends over to share the meal.

This morning before heading out the door, I prepared my marinade for the Grilled Marinated London Broil, from the May 1996 issue of Gourmet Magazine. It didn't take too long to peel a few cloves of garlic and place everything in a small container to have the blender do all the work. To go along with this, I was also making  Ina Garten's Confetti Corn, which I had seen her prepare on one of her Food Network episodes. Jersey corn is coming in now and I thought this would be a good addition to the meal.  I had some russet and yams in the basement, so roasted potato wedges would round out the meal.
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Last evening I gathered a group of former colleagues of mine for a get together. Based on my son and his girlfriend's recommendation, we tried a new restaurant in Belmar called Twisted Tapas. The restaurant is open just 12 days, as one of the owners, Carey Martin, mentioned to us, and I hope it goes for 12 years and more! Twisted Tapas in is the former Tulipano space on Main Street. What a delightful space. The tables are well spaced and as added bonus, they take reservations, a must during the summer at the Jersey shore, and it's BYOB.
 
​When we arrived, the first couple in our group was already there. One of the owners, Carey Martin, was showing them their outdoor patio behind the restaurant. I had heard that Tulipano's had a garden, but I didn't realize how big it was and the beautiful tree in the center, which cools off the patio. Our server, Brian, was most congenial and promptly set us up with wine glasses, a water pitcher and soft drinks for those of not drinking wine.
 
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I mentioned in my previous post that had my daughter and son-in-law not left early on July 4th, I already had a dinner in mind. However, I was left with a dilemma as to what to make for my husband and I. Off to Wegmans I went and I picked up a bag of fresh mussels (2 lbs. for $6.99) and a jar of their smooth marinara sauce.

I must admit, this was the lazy man's out, however, in the past when I have done this it was great. However, it's all about the sauce. Before their demise, A&P use to sell jar tomato sauce made with New Jersey tomatoes that was seasoned just right. However, now that they are gone, I tried Wegmans sauce. It was too thick and lacked the type of seasoning I would prefer on mussels, a touch of spice. I was going to use my homemade fresh tomato sauce, but I thought it would have been too thin, but in hindsight, I should have gone with my gut on this one.

The preparation for this couldn't have been easier. Place a bag of mussels in a 10-12"diameter shallow sauté  pan, pour tomato sauce over it, cover and simmer for approximately 15 minutes or until the mussels open. Perhaps the next time I might try one of Lidia's recipes, Mussel Brodetto, which has a cooking time of just 10 minutes. 
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​meet donna

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

​If you have questions or comments, click on the envelope icon above to contact me directly. 

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