Scape Pesto

 Garlic cloves planted in October, anywhere in the garden are the first leaves to show in spring. In early June, here in Syracuse, the scapes suddenly appear, ready to make flowers - the scapes need to be cut to ensure large garlic cloves. The scapes are delicious chopped and sautéed in dishes where you traditionally use garlic. Also scapes make a delicious pesto. This scape recipe is perfect. I’ve used radish leaves mixed with a few basil leaves as an alternative. Can be frozen.

Ingredients

8 garlic scapes ends trimmed and scares roughly chopped.

1/4 cup pinenuts

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Salt 

1/4 Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

1 1/2 oz basil leaves, approximately 1 bunch

Ground black pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions

In the bowl of a food processor combine scapes, pine nuts, 

lemon juice and zest, season with salt,

Pulse, scraping down sides halfway through with a

flexible spatula, until scapes and nuts are broken down into small pieces, 

about 1 minute. Add basil and pulse until finely minced, about ten 1-second

pulses. Add extra virgin olive oil in a steady thin stream. Taste and add salt and 

pepper as needed

Can be used right away with linguine or spaghetti, or frozen.

Sherami's Cheese Charcuterie

  Sherami hosted our book club this month, and she, being uniquely creative, had a set of Charcuterie Cheese cups on her counter. They all looked so beautiful, we each took one cup and spent ages trying to guess what she had put inside. The salami rose was especially intriguing. . . . .

 I’m sure ours will not come out so perfect, but it’s a terrific idea.

Here’s what was inside.

At the very bottom there is a layer of party mix.

4 blueberries

2 rasberries

2 white cheddar cheese squares (Aldi’s)

1 round baby bel (BJ’s)

3 cheddar cheese cubes (Aldi’s)

1 kalamata and 1 casteletrano olive on a toothpick (Wegman’s)

1 salami rose Appleton Farms Original Dry Salami,        4 slices per rose

1 sprig of rosemary

1 Delizza Macaron (Tops - frozen food dept.)

There is a video on u-tube showing how to make a salami rose  without a shot glass presented by officiallyglutenfree.com

1. Lay 4 slices of overlapping salami
   
   
   

2. . Fold all 4 slices over in half

   
   
   
   
   

3. Start rolling from one end.

 4. Use a tooth pick to secure the rosebud and

    Decorate with basil leaves.

    Although Sherami used a sprig of rosemary which held up very well, no wilting.

Roasted Chicken with Clementines

Found in the Sunday New York Times, May 5, 2024. Recipe by Genevieve Ko.

A really delicious light roast chicken, the clementines enhance this roast chicken evoking memories of a summer breeze.

Ingredients

7 clementines or tangerines

1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

1 teaspoon ground cayenne

1 4 lb whole chicken

8 slices fresh ginger

2 wedges lemon, skin on

Directions

Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

Squeeze the juice from 5 clementines into a bowl, keep the spent peels. Cut the remaining clementines into circles with their peels intact and set aside. Add the brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and cayenne to the clementine juice and whisk until the sugar dissolves.

Rinse the chicken and pat dry,

Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the clementine peels and 6 ginger slices into the cavity.I also added some lemon wedges too. Place in a large oven proof skillet or baking dish and scatter the clementine wedges and remaining ginger slices around the chicken

Pour the juice mixture slowly over the chicken and then place in the over. Roast for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, basted the chicken with the pan sauce, continue roasting, basting every 10 minutes until the chicken is browned and cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes longer. An instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast would register 155 degrees and, in the leg, 170 degrees. The chicken will continue to cook while it rests.

Transfer the chicken to a platter or cutting board. The pan sauce may have thickened, so add a little water and reheat over the stove, stirring constantly.  Discard the ginger.

Serve the chicken whole or carved with the glaze poured all over the meat.

MaryJane's Magnificent Salad

 Whenever we eat over at Mary Jane’s house, I ask her to make her salad which is delicious with spears of asparagus in long strips tossed with baby arugula and spring mix lettuce leaves Perhaps she adds  shaved Parmesan and toasted almonds, but it’s just as good without either. I think it’s the dressing that is the secret to this salad. I’ve omitted cheese and almonds and just added apples when I make it..

Ingredients for the dressing

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon citrus champagne vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt and black pepper to taste

Ingredients for the salad

1 pound asparagus, woody ends trimmed/asparagus tips

6 oz fresh arugula

Romaine lettuce

1 scallion cut lengthwise into thin strips and then chopped into sections 2 inches long.

1 apple, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces.

1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese (optional)

1/4 cup toasted almonds or walnuts (optional)

Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

Make the dressing in a bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, honey and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste

Wash the arugula, asparagus and spring mix lettuce, drain in a colander and add to salad bowl.

Add the apple and pour the dressing over the salad mixture

Serve immediately or keep the salad in the fridge covered and pour the dressing over just before serving.

Marinated Fennel and Green Bean Salad

From the Cook Book, Cooking in Real Life by Lidey Heuck

I first read a recipe by Lidey Heuck in the New York Times for a Taverna Salad, to me it sounded like a different version of fattoush, with the toasted pita bread and halloumi, although the traditional Lebanese fattoush does not include halloumi cheese. It reminds Lidey too of fattoush. Anyway I’ve made it many times this week both with and without the pita bread and halloumi cheese. It’s delicious both ways. I tried the other two recipes by her, a clam and pearl couscous recipe and a shawarma chicken with the most delicious dip. So then I bought Cooking in Real Life and have to say this is a fantastic cook book, so far all the recipes work, they are unique in that they add an unexpected ingredient with a twist to familiar dishes.  She also adds alternative ingredients if you don’t have something or can’t find it easily in the store. Looking through all the recipes, I went for this one next because I had some leftover green beans in the fridge and a fennel bulb. 

Ingredients

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 lb green beans trimmed

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Grated zest of half an orange

2 tablespoon of freshly squeezed orange juice

Grated zest of half a lemon

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 cup thinly sliced shallot (1 large shallot)

1 medium fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced crosswise

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives

Chopped fennel fronds or fresh parsley for serving

Directions

In a large pot, fill with water and a tablespoon salt, bring the water to the boil and drop the green beans. Cook for three minutes until just tender. Drain and place the beans in ice water to cool. Next place the beans in a colander to drain.

In a large bowl combine the olive oil, orange zest, orange juice, lemon zest, lemon juice, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Whisk vigorously then add the shallot and whisk again.

Pat the beans dry with a paper towel and add them to the bowl, along with the fennel and olives. Toss well. Set the salad aside to marinate for at least 1 hour at room temperature, tossing occasionally or up to six hours non the fridge. Allow the salad to come to room temperature before serving

Spoon the salad onto a platter, sprinkle with salt and pepper and garnish with fennel fronds.

This salad can be made ahead, good with chicken or salmon added.

A Different Fattoush Salad

This salad recipe adapted from Cooking in Real Life by Lidey Heuck appeared in the New York Times on Wednesday April 3, 2024. It is a delicious salad but although the recipes states it can be made ahead, I would caution you to keep the toasted pita bits to one side not mixed in with the salad. We found the pita bread becomes quite soggy soaking up all the delicious juices if you eat it the next day.

The dressing can be made in advance.  Tonight I had no halloumi and skipped toasting the pita bread, it was still a good salad without the halloumi or toasted pita!

Ingredients for the dressing

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper

Ingredients for the salad

3 medium tomatoes diced into 1/2 inch pieces

1 (15 oz) can chick peas drained

1 orange or yellow bell pepper diced into half inch pieces

1 large English cucumber halved and diced into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives coarsely chopped

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup minced red onion or shallot

2 tablespoon capers coarsely chopped 

2 scallions thinly sliced

1 lemon squeezed

a pinch of citric acid

1/2 pita bread (optional)

1 8oz block of halloumi cheese - use 4 oz. Cut into 3/4 inch thick slices (optional)

Directions

Dressing

In a small bowl combine 1/2 cup olive oil with 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar, garlic and oregano. Whisk vigorously to combine then season with salt and pepper

Salad

In a large bowl combine tomatoes chickpeas, bell pepper, cucumber, olives, parsley, red onion, capers and scallions. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well.

The pita bread and halloumi is optional, the salad is terrific without these two ingredients

Chop the pita bread into 1 inch pieces and place in a bowl. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, sprinkle with salt and toss to coat.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, sauté the pita bread until toasted and golden brown.

About 3 minutes. Return the toast pita to the bowl.

Place the halloumi slices on a small plate and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Heat the same skillet over medium high heat and cook the halloumi until golden brown, approximately 2-3 mins per side. Transfer to a cutting board and cut the slices into bite size cubes.

Add the pita and halloumi to the salad and serve.