Friday Night Dinner

I made a full on, fancy dinner, including dessert yesterday which was fun.  I stupidly forgot to take pictures of the food, but I promise I will try to remember to do it next time!  It was one of the best meals I have made in a while.  I loved the roasted pepper and walnut spread. It was so different!  And the ice cream bars were beyond amazing, and surprisingly easy to make.  The corn with the mint-feta-butter is probably one of the best food things I have ever eaten…ever.  I could not believe how well the feta, mint and corn went with each other!

Here is what I made:

 

Greek salad with radicchio and Greek olives

Corn on the cob tossed with mint-feta-butter

Garlic-oregano pita bread

Roasted red bell pepper and walnut spread

Cumin scented beef kebabs

Lemon-blueberry ice cream sandwiches

 

Greek Style Salad

3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced crosswise

1 head radicchio, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise

1 head romaine, coarsely chopped

2 small cucumbers, thinly sliced

2/3 cup mixed Greek olives

- Whisk together lemon juice, sugar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper until sugar and salt have dissolved

- Add oil and whisk until combined well

- Toss salad fixings with dressing

 

Corn on the cob with mint-feta butter

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

7 oz feta, finely crumbled

1/4 cup finely chopped mint

8 large ears of corn, shucked, each cut in half

- Stir together butter, feta, mint, and a rounded 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl

- Cook corn in a large pot of boiling water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes

- Transfer corn with tons to butter mixture and toss until well coated

 

Garlic-oregano grilled pita bread

5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 Tbsp finely chopped oregano (I like half fresh, half dried personally…)

6 pocket less pita bread rounds (I use Naan instead, I like it better)

- Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat until it shimmers.

- Add garlic and cook until it just starts to color.  Be careful not to burn it!

- Grill pita on bbq, or just heat it in the oven until warm

- Brush pita with garlic-oregano oil

- Sprinkle with kosher salt, serve warm

 

Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Spread

2 jars roasted red peppers, rinsed and drained

1 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs

1 cup walnuts, toasted

1 Tbsp red-wine vinegar

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (mine took a lot more than this to get the texture I liked, just add more until you like it)

- Puree roasted red peppers, bread crumbs, walnuts, vinegar, cumin, cayenne, and 1/4 tsp salt in a food processor until almost smooth

- With motor running, add oil in a slow stream, blending until incorporated.

- It should look similar to hummus…but bright red!

 

Cumin-scented beef kebabs

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp finely chopped oregano

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 lb top sirloin steak, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

Kebab skewers (soak in water for 30 minutes if using wooden skewers)

- Stir together oil, oregano, garlic, spices and 1 tsp salt in a bowl, then toss with beef. Marinate, chilled, at least 2 hours

- Thread about 4 – 6 pieces of beef onto each skewer, leaving small spaces between pieces

- Grill, turning until browned but still pink inside, 4-5 minutes

 

Lemon ice cream sandwiches with blueberry swirl

For lemon ice cream:

2 pt premium vanilla ice cream

1 Tbsp grated lemon zest

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (I wanted mine more lemon tasting, so I added more lemon juice until I liked how it tasted)

For Blueberry Compote:

2 cups blueberries

1/4 cup sugar (I added a little more because my blueberries were not very sweet)

2 strips lemon zest (3 by 2 1/2 inches…or just zest one lemon)

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp cornstarch

For sandwich layers:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 square, 8 inch, baking pans, 2 inches deep

- Transfer ice cream into a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 30 percent power in 10 second bursts, stirring until softened

- Stir in lemon zest and juice. Spread ice cream thinly in a 13×9 inch baking dish and freeze while making compote and sandwich layers

 

- Cook blueberries, sugar, and zest in a 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat, thoroughly crushing blueberries with a potato masher, until juices are released and sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes (I transferred mine to my food processor because I didn’t have a potato masher.  I blended it REALLY well which made it have SUCH a nice, dark purple color).

- Stir together lemon juice and cornstarch, then stir into blueberry mixture. Boil, stiring, 1 mintue. Mixture will thicken

- Transfer blueberry compote to a bowl and chill until cold, about 1 hour. Discard lemon zest if you left in it big strips (I put mine in the food processor so it got blended up)

 

- Preheat oven to 375F with rack in middle. Butter baking pans, line with foil, leaving at least 1 inch of overhang on all sides, then butter the foil (I would use Pam’s baking spray, and make sure to REALLY spray the foil well!)

- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

- Beat together butter and brown sugar in another bowl with a mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.

- On low speed, add flower mixture in 2 batches, mixing until just combined. Don’t over mix or cookie will get too tough!

- Divide batter between the two baking pans, spread into a thin, even layer with offset spatula. (Spray spatula with some Pam before doing this!)

- Bake until golden-brown but still soft, 10-12 minutes.  Cool completely in pans (important!!!).  Cookie will firm up when cooled.

 

- Dollop tablespoons of blueberry compote all over ice cream. Swirl into ice cream with a spoon.

- Spoon all of the ice cream onto one of the sandwich layers, while it is still in the baking pan.

- Invert a second sandwich layer over ice cream, pressing gently to form an even sandwich.

- Wrap baking pan in plastic wrap and freeze until firm. At least 2 hours.

- Transfer to cutting board using the over hanging foil. Trim edges if desired, then cut into 8 pieces