Dessert - Gina Diamond's Flower Co.

Garden Party Italian Style 2 comments

Our cousin invited us and two other couples back from dinner to help polish off all the leftovers. Here you see our cousin’s husband and their German friends.

June 8, 2015, posted by Michelle – Le Monsieur and I just returned from a weekend in Italy. Gina and I have an Italian cousin who lives in the small town where our great-grandmother was born. The town is in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy and it’s just a 4½ hour drive from Lyon. For several years our cousin has hosted a party at her house on the first Saturday in June. She’s a great cook and she does all the cooking herself while her husband gets the garden and the house ready for guests. I found some similar recipes online for a few of the dishes she made and provided links. She served copious amounts of:

Cauliflower with Anchovy Sauce
Green Bean Salad
Risotto Cakes with Ham and Peas
Cold Farro Soup with White Beans
Vegetable Quiche
Cherry Tomatoes in Oil and Vinegar
Peperonata
Zucchini and Eggplant Casserole
Celery with Gorgonzola Cheese Dip
Thinly Sliced Roast Beef
Salami
Prosciutto
Artichokes in Olive Oil (more about these below)
Breads and Grissini
Mascarpone and Ricotta with Cherries
Pineapple with Rum Sauce
Chocolate Mousse
Apple Cake

…and an obscene amount of wine! You can see why there were enough leftovers to feed six people for dinner.

I mentioned above that I would tell you more about the artichokes in olive oil. You could never tell from the very ordinary, humble looking jar of them below that they are in the process of becoming a very lucrative enterprise. A couple from Tuscany brought a few jars to the party. They make their own olive oil and grow the artichokes and noticed that friends and neighbors liked them so much they started asking for a few jars. The couple decided to try to sell them to shops and as of now they have orders for 14,000 jars! The artichokes are slightly firm but not tough and the oil is divine. Maybe you’ll start seeing these at a store near you soon.

Do you have a “specialty” that everyone always asks you to make? Are you hosting any casual summer parties? Let us know! Just click on the title of this post to open the comment form and leave us your thoughts.

Cookbook Club: Cinco de Mayo on the Water

May 6, 2015, posted by Gina – Yesterday, my Cookbook Club met for a Cinco de Mayo lunch. We are currently working our way through the Barefoot Contessa Cookbooks and you’ll find links for each recipe throughout this post. The hostess set up her boat house so that we could enjoy the day right on the water. It was quite a beautiful sunny day, not too hot, with a slight, pleasant breeze. Idyllic!

We started the festivities with margaritas and what I can only describe as the BEST GUACAMOLE I have ever had. For a start, the super fresh avocados and tomatoes had everything to do with setting it apart. It had a bit of a kick from the 8 dashes of Tabasco sauce and lemon juice, rather than lime juice, brightened it up. Combine all that with some minced red onions and garlic and you have the perfect guacamole.

After enjoying the appetizer, we served GAZPACHO topped with homemade parmesean croutons, ROASTED CHICKEN, ORZO with ROASTED VEGETABLES and ZUCCHINI with PARMESEAN. My favorite dish was the orzo with roasted vegetables; the dressing, the feta and the pine nuts married so well with the vegetables.

Gazpacho

Roasted Chicken

For dessert we had FROZEN KEY LIME PIE and CHOCOLATE GANACHE CAKE. The pie had a great flavor although I think I prefer a regular key lime pie. The ganache on the cake was delicious and while the cake was good, there are other chocolate cakes I like better.

Chocolate Ganache Cake with Sugared Flowers

The tables were set with brightly colored plates and napkins and pots of zinnias for centerpieces. The setting, the perfect weather, a delicious lunch and great company made this a very enjoyable day. Do you do anything special for Cinco de Mayo? Maybe you prepare an authentic meal or just head to your favorite Mexican restaurant for margaritas? Do you have a favorite spot on a lake or river where you can get away? We’d like to hear from you, so if you’d like to leave a comment, click on the title of this post and a comment form with unfurl for you at the end of the post.