July 4th is a quiet day for us. The Cincinnati family is, at times, in Nags Head and we, from Columbus, have just returned from the beach house in Florida, or, in this case from Alaska. This year is different in many ways, some good, some bad. The good part is that we will all gather here, once again, as a family. Some of the children will be leaving for college next month and one young hero has joined the military. Andy's brother is retiring and that is another cause for celebration. We've decided to make this a potluck with people bringing their favorite dishes to share. The group comes early and stays late, so there are at least a couple of meals. I am trying some dishes from FOOD AND FAMILY, a Kraft magazine to which I have subscribed.
Cheese-Lover's pasta roll-ups:
eight servings (easily increased)
1 egg beaten
1 container Ricotta cheese
2 cups Kraft three cheese blend
4 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 jar spaghetti sauce divided
16 lasagna noodles, cooked
1/4 grated Parmesan cheese
Heat oven to 375
Mix first five ingredients until well blended.
Spread 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce on bottom of 13x9 inch baking dish. Spread each noodle with 3 tbsp. cheese mixture; roll up. Place seam-side down, in dish. Top with remaining sauce and Parmesan; cover with parchment and then foil (foil should never touch tomato sauce)
Bake 40-50 minutes, uncovering the last 10 minutes
Easily made ahead, refrigerated up to 24 hours, then baked covered, or easily frozen.
Tom has requested my rib roast with caramelized onions. It is very simply: I marinate the roast after stuffing garlic buds in slits all over the roast, then adding garlic salt and then red wine. I leave it for 24 hours. I then leave it at room temp. for an hour and roast on high heat to 120 internal. I then take it out, cover it with a foil tent and leave it to rest for at least 20 minutes. Then George, the carver, has his way with the roast while I caramelize the onions that grace this dish.
Can you imagine anyone who has not eaten a s'more? That would be me. Susan Mallery has a recipe on Taste Of Home that I have listed here. It is done on the grill, so I think it is a can do thing for 4th of July.
Ingredients:
2 dozen chocolate chip cookies – homemade or store-bought
144 mini marshmallows (approximate)
144 chocolate chips (approximate)
Preheat the grill to medium-high. Place one chocolate chip cookie on a square of aluminum foil. Put about six mini marshmallows and six chocolate chips on the cookie. Place a second cookie flat-side up on top of the marshmallow layer. Wrap loosely (but airtight)with the foil. Grill over direct medium heat about 4 minutes on each side. Unwrap carefully. Yields 1 dozen s'mores. You could use any cookie that you like homemade or store bought. I'll try to get a picture on here as well, as the week progresses.
One of the dishes they had on the cruise ship was tiramisu...Mine is better by far. It is actually the Barefoot Contessa's recipe and I have made it many times to rave reviews. I am showing it as she did, but July 4th it will be in a tall glass punch bowl. Much prettier but exactly the same ingredients.
Tiramisu
6 large-extra large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar1/2 cup good dark rum, divided
1 1/2 cup of brewed espresso, divided
16 to 17 Italian ladyfingers or savoiardi
shaved chocolate. I use a bar of cappauccino (Perugina) chocolate shaved with a vegetable peeler.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the wire whisk attachment on high speed for 5 minutes, until very thick and light yellow. Lower the speed to medium and add 1/4 cup of the dark rum, 1/4 cup of the espresso, and the mascarpone. Whisk till smooth.
Combine the remaining 1/4 cup rum and 1 1/4 cups espresso in a shallow bowl. Dip each of the ladyfingers in the espresso-rum mixture on one side only and line the bowl or your container. Pour half the espresso cream mixture evenly on top. Dip the next batch in the espresso-rum mixture and start a second layer in the dish. Pour the rest of the espresso cream over the top. Smooth the top and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. Before serving, sprinkle the top with shaved chocolate and dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired. I leave off the sugar on top.
Corn-beef and Kraut salad
I buy the corn beef package with the seasoning. I put it in a slow cooker with some broth, wine, onion, carrots, and let it go for around six hours. I let it rest. Slice it against the grain and chill it. It is easier to cube for the salad that way.
The kraut is your choice:
Mix together one package kraut with 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup olive oil, 1 green pepper (or any pepper of your choice), one onion, and a little white balsmic vinegar if it is on hand. I put in celery too, but that is up to you. Let it chill and when you dish it up, put the beef on top so that it does not absorb the kraut taste, but stands alone as delicious.
NOTE:
On July fourth I looked out the window at our family standing in the pool eating tiramisu. The dogs raced and barked around the water trying to get a good spot in case they could get a bite of the cake laden coffee and liquor lady fingers. I thought this would be a good picture to pull out and to view all this pleasure when life gob smacks us, which it does on occasion . Summer has barely begun and yet winter clothes will be on the rack tomorrow and summer will be put away. I hear talk of a couple of weddings, football practice beginning, and I feel the loss of the summer... and the teenagers absence. They've gone mute or totally absent as they feel their lives changing never to be the same. Some will go off to college and others to the military. I wonder who will come again to this house and who will never return? People pass in and out of our lives leaving their indelible mark and I feel this is the way it is meant to be.
