WEDNESDAY

Egg Salad Bruschetta & Broiled Grapefruit

This year, the first day of Spring, officially, arrived on Wednesday, March 20th, 2013.  Personally, it arrived today…

I am not complaining!  This winter in Northern California has been mild & I spent last week in the California wine country of Paso Robles, where temperatures reached almost 90°F.  But today, REAL Spring arrived on my doorstep…lapis blue skies, green grass, gently rolling waters on the Bay, soft breezes…doors and windows were open all day, saturating the house with…Spring!

Yesterday, I treated friends to a homemade dinner…today, I received these glorious blooms as a Thank You…

The givers of these lovely blooms had no way of knowing how much I love these purple branches…how they bring back such a strong memory of my childhood home in Connecticut where my Grandmother lovingly tended huge hedges of this garden favorite just outside my bedroom window.  On the breezy evenings Spring would deliver, I would crack open my bedroom window and the soft smell of lilac would fill my bedroom.  It is a perfume that has yet to be bottled.  But, as these blooms sit on my desk as I write this post, their heavenly scent transports me back to that bedroom in Connecticut, so many years ago.

This evening’s dinner of egg salad could not be more appropriate.  What better sign of Spring than a fresh egg?  But this evening’s dinner is more than just “breakfast for dinner”, it is fresh, light & purely satisfying & don’t show up to the table in your pajamas!

Egg Salad with Tarragon, Parsley & Chives {adapted from Vegetable Literacy, by Deborah Madison}

• 8 eggs, hard boiled
• 1½ tablespoons minced, fresh tarragon
• 1 tablespoon finely snipped chives, plus more for garnish
• 2 tablespoons minced, fresh parsley
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
• Sea salt & freshly ground pepper
• 1 shallot, diced
• few drops of champagne vinegar

1. Cook {the ladies at Canal House state that a perfect, hard-boiled egg is finished after 10 minutes…plunging eggs, right from the refrigerator, into a pot of boiling water} and cool {I submerge them in an ice-water bath immediately after cooking} the eggs.   Then peel the eggs and mash them with a fork, leaving some texture.
2. Add the tarragon, chives, parsley and mayonnaise & mix well.  Add salt & pepper to taste.
3. In a small bowl, moisten {NOT drench} the shallots with the vinegar and toss to coat.  Let stand for 5-10 minutes.  If you have used more than a few drops of vinegar, and have a pool of liquid in the dish, drain the shallots before stirring them into the egg salad.
4. Pile the egg salad into a serving bowl and finish with more chopped chives…

Once the Egg Salad is made, prepare the Bruschetta…

Bruschetta

• 1 loaf, fresh Pugliese bread, sliced
• ½ stick of unsalted butter
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled
• a sprinkling of Sea salt

1. Melt butter in a skillet.  Rub bread slices with garlic and transfer to skillet. Sprinkle with a bit of salt.
2. When bread slices are golden brown on first side, flip and cook until golden brown on second side.
3. Remove bread slices from skillet to plate and top with Egg Salad.

The broiled grapefruit is SO easy and always such a hit with this family…

Broiled Grapefruit.…

• 3 large grapefruits, halved {and placed, face down, on a paper towel for a minute or two in order to absorb excess moisture}
• 6 tablespoons golden brown sugar
• Sea salt to taste

1. Place grapefruit halves, cut side up, on a foil-lined broiler pan.  Sprinkle each half with a tablespoon of brown sugar & a bit of salt, if desired.
2. Broil grapefruit for 7-10 minutes.
3. Serve immediately.

Our dinner plate this evening…

I do hope that Spring is making it to your neighborhood…I know that it has been a VERY long Winter for some of you!  See you tomorrow…