Cool School Night Dinners

Schools have either begun or will begin next week. Kids are going to be drained thanks to hot temps and long school days. Same thing goes for parents who have to make a rib sticking dinner in a steamy kitchen. The best bet for surviving - cook cool.

One of the easiest dishes to make on a hot day is salad. What is great bout it is there's really no set recipe.Add whatever you want , and that also includes extras and dressings.A hearty one is a chef's salad. Start with a buttery Bibb lettuce and then start tossing in what your family wants.Classic ones called for julienned strips of ham, chicken and roast beef, but you also try sliced turkey and Italian cold cuts such as mortadella and prosciutto. Cheeses also can be a part of .For some zip add Monterey Jack or a sharp cheddar.Also add slices of avocado and hard boiled eggs for more substance.Cherry or grape tomatoes add zing. Another fun and filling salad is taco. The only cooking is sauteing the ground beef with the spices . Mix with cheddar cheese and  sliced beefsteak tomatoes, and top with avocado slices. What dressing goes well with it? Catalina dressing which can be store bought or made  at home. You can also try a hot pepper vinaigrette . Just add red pepper flakes or a teaspoon of chili powder to a simple vinaigrette.

Don't be afraid to serve sandwiches at dinner. After all, they're the easiest to make, especially after a hot draining day.A hero is a fun dinner,a build your even more entertaining. Start out with a variety of long rolls, from white to whole wheat. Then lay out three or four different cold cuts. You can even include tuna in oil for some variety. A second layer can be slices of of tomatoes or peppers along with some crunchy lettuce such as iceberg or Romaine.Sprinkle with either a simple dressing, mayo, ketchup or mustard.For vegetarians, think of one just layered with tomatoes, slices of smoked mozzarella and a drizzle of both olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The third meal could be a cold soup.One of the most famous is gazpacho.It's a savory blend of tomato sauce,cucumbers  green bell peppers and white onions. Puree all these together in a blender along with garlic and lemon juice. a host of spices , from tarragon and basil to parsley. Sugar and vinegar are also added and the whole thing is refrigerated for two hours before serving.Vichyssoise is another mouth chiller.There is some cooking involved but it's just sweating the leeks and onions. Then it's just adding some potatoes and cream for its' signature silkiness.

School is starting but it's still summer. Have a cool meal for your time together.It'll feel refreshing and delicious - a perfect way to end a steamy school or work day.

Come Food Or High Water

A hurricane is a devastating event for anyone A super hurricane like Harvey or Irma that left five to six feet of water is catastrophic - especially to a home chef passionate about cooking. Yet many Houston residents made do and persevered. They were inventive and resilient,  still creating tasty dishes despite hardship.

 Kim Severson, a Southerner herself visited several Houston homes and interviewed residents, including the mayor's wife who had suffered the wrath of Hurricane Harvey. Kitchens were completely torn apart, soaked to ruin by flood waters. Some were even visited by alligators! One famed local cook, Al Marcus, managed to wipe down surfaces with a bleached rag and cook up a brisket for the All Hands Volunteers who ripped out the sheetrock from his home and countless others.He is known for his big Thanksgiving meals and will not disappoint. He plans on hosting this year, even if it means eating in a hollowed shell of a dining room. Francine Spiering, a food writer and recipe developer lost everything. Her favorite knives are gone along with forty cookbooks, plates and platters. Her home office was also  located in the kitchen.She is salvaging as best she could - but restoring the kitchen could take up to six months.There is hope , though. A Dallas woman has raised enough money to send dozens of Instant Pots, slow cookers, that will be used as ovens.Others who understand what it's like to go through disaster have donated, food, cutlery, and coolers.

Some home chefs are ingenious. Dana Karni, a lawyer, who loves to cook transformed her kids' playroom into a makeshift kitchen. She and her sixteen year old son carried a small chest freezer up to the  second floor. The contents were precious - the salmon she had caught with her dad on a trip to Alaska.Also upstairs her set of good Japanese knives which would have had another use had the waters risen more. She had planned on using them to cut a hole in the roof so she and her children could escape. Their linen closet is now the pantry and there is an espresso maker on master bath vanity.A few Houstonites like Aimee Ally Taylor and her family bounced around to four different homes before finding a nearby house with a working kitchen. Many have lost a lot, from beef that was eaten by gators to casks of homemade vinegar and vanilla.  All of them have dreams of what their new kitchens will look like.The mayor's wife , Andrea White,wants a cookstove against the wall, and not on a kitchen island as it previously was.Perla Moncivais, thinks about an open concept with a table , big and roomy enough for her four children .It will take a while as witnessed with Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

Houston will survive, So will the home chefs who cook phenomenal meals. A hurricane won't stop these dynamos - not when it comes to cooking.