Vegetable Frittata

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Peg

Fortunate to be having these fresh eggs delivered weekly from my friend and farmer Ben. So I’m enjoying eating the chickens’ eggs and not the chickens these days!1/2 cup frozen garden peas
1/2 cup frozen white Shoepeg corn
5 eggs
2 Tbs light butter
Few sprigs of mint and parsley
1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup finely grated fresh parmesan cheese

Blanch peas and corn in hot water for 30 seconds and then drain.

Break eggs in bowl.
Beat with a fork and sprinkle with pepper.

Place oven rack near the top.
Preheat oven to broil.

Heat oven proof skillet on stove over medium heat.
Add butter and when butter sizzles, pour in eggs.
Stir eggs around until they begin to cook.
Then turn off the heat. Frittata will stay half cooked and remain runny.

Sprinkle peas, corn, mint and parsley over eggs.
Arrange goat cheese on top.
Scatter black pepper and parmesan cheese over this.

Carefully lift the pan and put it in oven and broil 3 to 4 minutes,
until cheese is golden brown and bubbling and frittata is cooked through.
Cut into wedges and garnish with additional mint leaves.

Adapted from Delicious. Jamie Oliver. Winter 2007.

Key Lime Pie

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Peg

Ta Da! Who doesn’t love a little lime in the heat of the summer? This little recipe makes enough filling for two pies…’cause you were going to make it for your neighbor, but shucks you knew you’d want one too. Go ahead; Be fabulous!

©PEGhardee

2 graham cracker pie crusts
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
14 oz can sweet condensed milk
Zest of 1 lime
3/4 cup lime juice
1 pint Half and Half
Fresh lime slices for garnish

In large bowl, with electric mixer beat cream until slightly thickened.
Slowly add in sugar and condensed milk.
Beat in zest, lime juice, and Half and Half.
Mix until thickened.
Pour into crusts.
Freeze 4 to 6 hours.

Makes two. One for you and one for me!

Thanks Paula Deen.

Fresh Tomatoes Preserved (for Winter!)

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Peg

Worth the effort…I PROMISE. You will be pleased as ~~punch~~ bourbon this winter when you make your vegetable soup, pasta dishes, baked chicken, and/or sauteed fish. Don’t shrug this off; honestly, do it! This is THE simplest of all canning. Totally legit. It IS after all the season to “put up” summer produce, right?! I tweaked this recipe from Southern Living’s softback Little Jars, Big Flavors, featuring Virginia Willis. (Thanks Lou, for the intro to Virginia at Chapel Hill’s Southern Season!) So run out to your local produce stand or grocery and snatch those ‘maters up this weekend.

After the 60 second boil and ice water bath, they peel quite easily.

Proof that I used the Little Jars, Big Flavors cookbook. Thanks Virginia Willis!

This is what you’ll need:
Complete Canning Set, just makes things easier!
9 lbs fresh tomatoes
2 Tbs salt
4 cinnamon sticks
6 garlic cloves, pressed
3/4 cup lemon juice
4 Tbs sugar

The first several steps make it a cinch to peel the tomatoes.
Bring large pot of water to a boil.
Prepare an ice bath in large bowl.
With knife, cut a large x on bottom of each tomato.
Drop tomatoes into pot.
Cook 60 seconds.
Remove with strainer directly in to ice bath for 2 minutes.
Remove tomatoes from ice bath.

Peel and coarse chop, discarding skin and core.
Place chopped tomatoes in soup pot.
Add salt, cinnamon sticks, garlic, lemon juice, and sugar.
Cover and bring to boil.
Once boiling, remove lid, and boil 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Remove pot from heat.
Cover and let stand 10 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare jars and lids by boiling them 10 minutes in water bath.
When ready to fill, remove jars and lids from water.
Ladle tomatoes and juice into jars, leaving 1/2″ head space.
Place lid on jars, and screw rims on loosely.
Lower into boiling water bath.
Process in boiling water 40 minutes.
Remove from processing bath to counter top.
Listen for the popping sound, signaling a proper seal.
Allow to stand 24 hours untouched.
Label and transfer to dark pantry.
Good for a year.
Refrigerate after opening.

Makes 6 pint jars.

Ahhh…Dinner from a Father’s Day Basket with my Homemade Italian Tomatoes!

Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Peg

There is simply no substitute for experience; and family friend Edwina (aka “Pookie”) has her fair share of it! Years ago, honestly 25+ years ago, a group (including moi) cajoled her in to coming to G’Vegas to lead a series of weekly cooking classes. A believer in hands on participation, she taught us brilliant techniques, and shared bountiful amounts of knowledge, skill, and marvy recipes. I mean, honestly, I was 31 and had never piped anything from a pastry bag in my life; she had me doing that in no time flat! I rely on her trusty recipes all the darn time. Here I present her broccoli salad; I recently began adding cauliflower. Yes, it’s simple and you see some version of it many places, but I just love the slight sweetness in this particular dressing. Literally, I could eat this every day. Enjoy!

©PEGhardee

1/2 head broccoli
1/2 head cauliflower
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup golden raisins
8 slices precooked bacon
3 Tbs sugar
3 Tbs red wine vinegar
3/4 cup sour cream

Cut broccoli into tiny florettes.
Cut cauliflower into tiny florettes.
Heat bacon in microwave until crispy.
Crumble bacon.

Dissolve sugar in vinegar.
Whisk in sour cream.

Combine broccoli, cauliflower, and raisins in large bowl.
Add most of the bacon, reserving a bit for garnish.
Pour dressing over salad and toss.
Place in serving bowl.
Garnish with reserved bacon crumbles.

Serves 8 to 10.

Blueberry Jam

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Peg

It’s blueberry season people! And since Hurricane Arthur is showing his ugly face to us coastal folks, run out and get your berries now. It’s going to be ugly tonight and tomorrow…perfect time to get your jam on. All you need are berries, lemons, and sugar. This is pectin free people!

3 pints blueberries
3 1/2 cups sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon

In large bowl, crush 3 cups berries with potato masher.
Pour in to soup pot.
Crush remaining berries in bowl.
Pour in to soup pot.
Add sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice.
Bring to boil over medium-high heat.
Boil 15 to 20 minutes stirring often.
Skim off any foam from time to time.
Ladle hot preserves in to hot jars, with 1/4 inch head room.
Prepare canned preserves in boiling water for 10 minutes.
Remove from water and make certain that lids “pop”.
Allow to rest for at least a day.
Good in cool, dark pantry for up to a year.

Makes 6 half pint jars.

Moscow Mule

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Peg

It’s Monday…Get your Cocktail on, again…Just Because! And now I present the Moscow Mule, served in its proper copper cup. The cup is key, especially during the hot and humid days of Southern summers. The copper keeps the drink cool and feels so refreshing as it touches your lips. Find yours here at Mark and Graham. In case you’ve never tried ginger beer, it’s found in the soft drink and mixer section of your grocery; FYI, it is non-alcoholic. Wicked Good!!

Juice of half lime
1 1/2 oz Vodka
3 to 4 oz Ginger Beer
Lime slice or fresh mint to garnish

Fill a copper cup to the brim with crushed ice.
Pour in lime juice and vodka.
Top up with ginger beer.
Stir well.
Garnish with lime slice or fresh mint.

Naturally, if you don’t have the copper cups, it’s quite delectable in a Collins glass (as I enjoyed a few days back at Silo in Nashville). Personally, I prefer garnishing with mint, because I enjoy that extra freshness.

Loveless Cafe, Nashville

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Peg

I found myself in Nashville Tennessee last week with the don and a couple of my favorite other friends in this wide world. And we collectively found our foursome at the Loveless Cafe for Thursday brunch. My goodness is all I have to say. Neva’ in my life have I seen such a place, or eaten such Southern deliciousness. This little cafe was opened in 1951 by Annie and Lon Loveless, and now serves over 450,000 guests each and every year!I did however decide to drink my tomatoes that day. Yep…a bloody mary served in a mason jar, with a side car of everclear…didja ever hear of such a thing? Did I happen to mention that they make 7 thousand biscuits a day?! What? If you find your mouth watering a bit now, you can get some of this goodness shipped to your front door by the good folks at the Ham and Jam Shop. Hooking you right up!

BLAT Egg Sandwich

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Peg

Burned up the skyways and highways this past weekend, sharing fun times and special occasions with fab friends (more on that coming soon). Arrived home safely late Sunday afternoon to find a new carton of Ben’s Leggett Farm fresh eggs patiently waiting for attention, well yearning actually. Made this yummy BLAT (bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato) sandwich, topping it up with a fried egg. I used my homemade 1000 Isle dressing (recipe soon) rather than mustard or mayo this time around. Delightful change, and the perfect “in your pj’s Sunday night” sustenance. Out of the frying pan and onto the BLAT!2 Arnold sandwich thins
4 large leaves of romaine lettuce
1 tomato, sliced thinly
6 slices of precooked bacon, heated
1 avocado, sliced
2 eggs, fried or scrambled individually
1 Tbs light cream cheese
1 Tbs homemade 1000 Isle dressing

Spread bread with cream cheese and dressing.
Place 2 lettuce leaves on bread.
Place 3 tomato slices on top of lettuce.
Place 3 slices of bacon on top of tomato.
Top with slices of avocado.
Top with egg.
Top with another slice of bread.

PS. the don wanted his egg scrambled!

Limoncello Cocktail

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Peg

Whoa…it is HOT here in ENC. 92° already and it’s only 11 bells in the am. I was having dizzy spells from all this heat and humidity yesterday so I whipped up this refreshing concoction. Throwing tradition to the wind, think of this as the adult beverage version of the Arnold Palmer. Had me up, going, and dancing off the wall in no time. Try it, you’ll like it. Thanks Mikey! Hey, check out these over-sized ice cubes. Makes life great in this heat!

1 cup Limoncello liqueur
1 Black tea bag
8 oz Club Soda

Pour Limoncello in tall glass.
Add tea bag.
Chill in refrigerator 1 hour.
Add ice to short cocktail glass.
Pour 2 oz Limoncello mixture over ice.
Top up with club soda.

Serves 4.

Mahi with Charred Tomatoes

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Peg

Being in the kitchen and cooking serve as my creative outlet. I like to concoct on the fly so keeping a good variety of items in the fridge and pantry is handy. I’ve just learned that Captain Jim’s (my favorite seafood market 80 miles east and on the coast) delivers to Greenville every other week. Since I stopped eating beef in January, this is a very happy discovery for me. So last weekend I got to pick up and then freeze a dozen, yes 12, freshly caught mahi steaks. TD is in Chapel Hill for a continuing ed conference; hence, I was flying solo last night. So…I thawed a mahi fillet and searched the fridge for what else was on hand. I had a few mixed tomatoes and fresh dill. So here’s what I did. Literally 12 minutes from start to stop. A mere 250 calories to boot (yes, I researched it)! Thank you. I’ll have two please. Licking my lips yet again!

4 6oz mahi fillets
1/4 t salt
1/2 t pepper
2 Tbs butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 t olive oil
Pint mixed color cherry or grape tomatoes
1 Tbs chopped fresh dill

Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper.
Heat skillet over medium-high heat.
Add butter to skillet and swirl to evenly coat pan.
Add fish to skillet.
Cook 1 minute.
Flip fish to other side.
Add wine to skillet.
Cover skillet with lid and reduce heat to medium low.
Cook 7 to 8 minutes, until cooked through.
In small skillet heat olive oil over high heat.
Add tomatoes and cook 3 minutes shaking skillet, until lightly charred and tender.

To plate:
Place fillet on each plate.
Spoon cooking juice over fillet.
Top with tomatoes.
Garnish with dill.

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