Category Archives: Summer Dinner Menus

07/9/14
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Spicy Carrot Pasta Sauce

“Not for me the pile of buttered carrots on the plate.  Too sweet, too orange {too bloody cheerful more like it}.  But the carrot’s place is assured in my kitchen as the bringer of earthy sweetness, a backbone vegetable on which to build layers of flavor.” ~ Nigel Slater, Tender

06/9/14
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Olallieberry Sauce

WEDNESDAY Dry~Poached Chicken Breasts  with Olallieberry Sauce  |  Roasted Green Bean & Baby Potato Salad “Marionberries and olallieberries are relatively new varieties of cultivated blackberries, both very popular with Northwest growers.  Both bear large, black, shiny, sweet berries with a medium~to~firm texture and more than a hint of wild blackberry flavor…In most places berry season Continue reading → «Olallieberry Sauce»

06/1/14

June 1st, 2014 ~ Weekly Dinner Menu

SUNDAY Vietnamese~Style Pork Chops  |  Nectarine  & Green Apple Salad  |  Sweet White Corn  |  Red Fruit Salad & Whipped Cream MONDAY Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Basil Pesto & Oven~Roasted Cherry Tomatoes TUESDAY Bulgur with Mint & Mango  |  Grilled Shrimp WEDNESDAY Dry~Poached Chicken Breasts with Olallieberry Sauce  |  Roasted Baby Potatoes & Green Beans Continue reading → «June 1st, 2014 ~ Weekly Dinner Menu»

05/26/14

May 26th, 2014 ~ Weekly Dinner Menu

MONDAY Molasses~Mopped Baby Back Ribs  |  Potato Salad  |  Kale~Apple Coleslaw with Poppy Seed Dressing TUESDAY Orecchiette with Roasted Tomato & Basil Sauce WEDNESDAY Prosciutto~Wrapped Chicken Thighs  |  Charred Green Beans & Scallions  or  Strawberry, Almond & Pea Salad THURSDAY Pork Tacos with Sweet Peach Salsa  |  Roasted Cumin~Lime Carrots FRIDAY Risotto with Grilled Sausages, Continue reading → «May 26th, 2014 ~ Weekly Dinner Menu»

04/8/14
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Spiced & Grilled Steak with Parsley~Mint Tabbouleh

SUNDAY Spiced & Grilled NY Strip Steaks  |  Parsley~Mint Tabbouleh  |  Hummus & Toasted Pita Wedges I have never found myself particularly attracted to the cuisine of the Middle East, India, Thailand, Africa or the Mediterranean.  Not because of any dislike mind you but rather ignorance.  Not having been introduced to those foods growing up, Continue reading → «Spiced & Grilled Steak with Parsley~Mint Tabbouleh»

03/9/14
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Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes & Basil

For me this is hardly a recipe, but rather a recollection of something I “threw” together one very hot evening a few years ago and, go figure, it has become one of our favorite dinners.  Pasta with basil and tomatoes is a well~documented culinary marriage but this particular memory is all mine.  It all started Continue reading → «Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes & Basil»

09/9/13
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Grilled Whole Chickens with Garlic, Lemon & Thyme Butter

SUNDAY Grilled Whole Chickens with Garlic, Lemon & Thyme Butter  |  Roasted Baby Potatoes  |  Steamed Haricots Vert   “Ask the butcher to spatchcock the chickens for you.  He will split them down the middle and flatten them out so that they resemble road-kill.  Butchered this way, they can be grilled rather than roasted.” ~ Continue reading → «Grilled Whole Chickens with Garlic, Lemon & Thyme Butter»

09/4/13
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Grilled Sausages with Herbed Grape Sauce & Roasted Corn and Brussels Sprouts with Goat Cheese

TUESDAY Grilled Sausages with Herbed Grape Sauce  |  Roasted Corn and Brussels Sprouts with Goat Cheese A few weeks ago I stumbled upon the blog, Local Milk, authored by Beth Kirby and have found myself drawn to the space ever since.  Once upon a time, Beth was a reluctant native of Tennessee but, after a bit Continue reading → «Grilled Sausages with Herbed Grape Sauce & Roasted Corn and Brussels Sprouts with Goat Cheese»

08/30/13
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Butter Fried Chicken & A Refrigerator Salad

THURSDAY Butter Fried Chicken  |  Refrigerator Salad   Do you remember me mentioning, at the beginning of the week, that the novelty of the new school year had waned and the the reality of our new schedule was sinking in?  Well “sinking in” does not adequately describe how violently the new routine has taken over Continue reading → «Butter Fried Chicken & A Refrigerator Salad»

08/28/13
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Tomato Tart & A Basil Caesar Salad

TUESDAY Tomato Tart  |  Basil Caesar Salad   “The skin is a little thicker in outdoor-grown fruit but the flavor, like that of a free-range animal or bird left to cope with the elements, seems to have been cranked up a notch.  If the sun has been relentless in July and August, the initial snap Continue reading → «Tomato Tart & A Basil Caesar Salad»