Those Cooling Dinner Dishes

 It is hellishly hot througho9ut the world. Europe is roasting. The US isn't far behind temp wise. What happens when even eating feels like a chore? have cold,refreshing meals. These take the edge off those steamy sinner time suppers. A bite or sip of something cooling can be revitalizing.

A cup or bowl of gazpacho is the way to go. This chilled soup is the perfect dinner on a ninety degree day. The Spanush make this flavorful soup when the summer heat becomes unbearable.This is one of my favorites and it;s only rotation two to three times  a week during the summer. It's an easy blend of tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, bell peppers, onions or onion powder combined with a bit of water , olive oil and a good red or white wine vinegar. I chill mine for at least two to three hours before serving. This leaves the afternoon free to do anything else. Vichysoisse is another cold soup,perfect for a Summer Sunday meal.Keep in mind that it can be served hot too when the cooler weather arrives. It's usually cooked over a stove top for thirty-five minutes however it's easier to cook in a crock pot during a heat wave.It;s cutting potatoes and leeks into bite sized pieces along with onions, carrots and celery Add one can of cream of mushroom soup and another can of cream of celery for thickness and richness. Evaporated milk and four chicken bouillon cubes are also added. along with butter. Cook for two to three hours on high and then chill for about an hour. Add parsley flakes for decorations.

Never discount canned meats and fish. Canned chicken breast makes for an excellent salad , especially when it'ts combine with mayo and a good sprinkling of tarragon flakes.This is perfect on toasted brioche rolls or croissants. Keep in mind that you can also stuff tomatoes with this mix too. Just core tomatoes and gill with this . You vcan add almonds for crunch and texture . This can also work for lettuce cups too. Just use any big leafed lettuce and fill. Both the tomatoes and lettuce can also be filled with seafood as well. Use canned or fresh crab  and mix with chopped celery , mayo and just the teeniest bit of white sugar. You could add a dash of Old Bay seasoning too. Shrimp, and lobster too make for luxurious fillings. If you make shrimp or lobster salad, then use either to make a great seafood roll for a fun and lush dinner. You could toast the buttered hot dog rolls in the air fryer before stuffing them. Another fun and cool dinner idea is a sushi bowl/It's a lot less work than rolling and cutting the pieces. It starts with rice which can be bought precooked  and fish. Use already cooked shrimp or crab from your grocery store or fish market.  Add a layer of nori or black seaweed, and then fill in with julienned carrots, celery and sliced avocado Cucumber is also included for cool freshness. Give the bowls  good dousing or rice wine vinegar ir sushi vinegar which is rice vinegar and sugar mixed together with salt.

It's summer. The world is on fire - almost literally. Create col suppers that are refreshing and delicious.

Great Combos Part 1

 Some ingredients just are great together. They add to the recipe and their combined flavors knock the dish out of the park. what ingredients work together.?There are several great pairings.

Mushrooms and spinach are the perfect pair when wedded together. There's something about combining the two that just works well. It could be the mushrooms' earthy flavor that lets the bright springy  flavor of the spinach shine through. You could easily turn the two into a tasty salad. Just remember to cook the mushrooms first for the ultimate flavor.  You can eat them raw but they're tastier air fried. Add some bacon and a few sliced hard boiled eggs for a filling yet light lunch or dinner. One of my favorite pasta and polenta sauces is a sauteed mix of the leaves with sliced baby bellas. They're first sauteed in a mix of olive oil and I Can't Believe It;s Not Butter.. Sliced garlic is added along with a cup of vegan chicken broth. This is really the best marriage of the two. It's a great flavorful sauce and a nice departure from the traditional tomato ones.Another delicious mushroom spinach combo is Julia Child's famed tart. This has a beef Wellington crust encasing a blend of spinach , mushrooms and  bacon. It's a bit labor intensive but worth it

Potatoes and leeks are another good combo that produces an earthy but flavorsome taste. They work best in a creamy soup.Garlic and butter along with chicken or vegetable broth . These enhance the other two so much. Sub in heavy cream for the butter and then put the pot in an ice bath after cooking and you have the elegant potage vichyssoise. This is the perfect first course for an elegant summer dinner with friends. For a heartier fare think mashed potatoes with cooked leeks. It's a great side for roast chicken or turkey. The leftovers can be turned into puffs that can be air fried for a  side or snack. Potatoes and onions also work well together. A truly yummy side is the two roasted together. Add rosemary and garlic to bring out their flavors. This dish  is  perfect  with any roast ,whether London Broil or chicken. You can easily add onions , whether white or yellow to it to zing it up a bit. A tasty way to repurpose  any kind of potato is slice it and frying in in oil with sliced onions. It's an indulgent snack but oh so tasty.

Great combos always enhance any dish. They make for yummy, sides or snack along with main dishes. Try them  for a delicious marriage of flavors.

Cool Cooking On Hot Days

 Hardly anyone will want to be in a hot kitchen after being in one for three months. Then it's summer - when roasting or sauteing anything can be a chore. The best bet? Cool dishes for a hot summer. These are lifesavers and just make lunch and dinner easier.

One of the chillest and tastiest is gazpacho. This Spanish classic is an easy make, especially if you follow Susan Lewis Solamont's, the former Ambassador to Spain's wife recipe for it. It's blitzing a cucumber, tomatoes, onions and garlic with olive oil and red wine vinegar. It's a wonderful dinner , especially when served with crusty sliced boules drizzled with olive oil.It's also good leftover for lunch the next day. Vichyssoise is another example of a chill soup. This is  a creamy leek and potato soup introduced in 1917 at the Ritz-Carlton to cool off diners. You can make chef Louis Diat's original recipe that calls for Yukon Gold potatoes, leeks and onions. It can be made vegan with subbing in vegetable broth for chicken and almond milk and coconut cream for regular milk and whole cream. If you don't want soup, then think salad.  Salad Nicoise is a lush salad with sliced hard boiled eggs, tuna, green beans and tomatoes along with black olives on a bed of Boston lettuce . You can add radishes for crunch and bite and the traditional Dijon mustard based vinaigrette too. Another crowd pleaser is Cobb salad, rich with bacon, avocado slices and chicken breasts.along with a variety of different greens like Boston lettuce, watercress and frisee.

Pasta may not be what you want on a hot afternoon but a pasta salad is another thing. Try an Italian style one with precooked pasta.Barilla brands has a wide variety of noodles that have been already boiled. Just open a packet and mix with slices of summer sausage and sliced cherry tomatoes. Throw in some chopped black olives and parsley for a hearty but cool dinner. Precooked pasta with salsa cruda is another temperature cooling dish on a hot night. The sauce is easy to make. It's just cut ripe tomatoes mixed with olive oil, thyme and basil. Some recipes call for a tablespoon or two of balsamic vinegar but you can also use red wine if you want to. Add some sliced Italian bread to sop up the sauce. Veggie tacos made with an array of fresh produce is a great week night meal. Sliced tomatoes along with julienned peppers and carrots make the filling. You can also add celery and any kind of lettuce for crunch and color. Top with salsa, guacamole and/or sour cream for extra richness. Hummus is an easy no cook dip that works well as a meal with pita wedges. Put in some hot pepper flakes or black olives for more flavor.

It's summer and it's time for cool,tasty meals. Don't go crazy cooking hot food in a hot kitchen. You've been doing such for months. Chill with chill meals.

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.

The Amazing Potato Part 2

Yesterday I wrote about mashed and French fried potatoes in the vast array of tater dishes. There are so many of them that it deserves two days worth of writing. Today it's time for th e more "upscale dishes" such as scallopped or gratinee potatoes as well as soups. The first adds class and , flavor and character as a side to any roast while the second make a wonderful, elegant lunch or dinner staple.

Scalloped potatoes are an easy to fix dish but they add a very classy touch to any roast beef or pork dinner. The dish is also called gratinee or dauphinais because it originated in the Dauphin region of southwestern France . Using a mandolin, slice russet potatoes wafer thin and layer in a buttered casserole dish. Spread milk or cream on each layer and bake for forty minutes in a 325 degree oven. They can be baked alongside a roast.Variations can include a mix of grated Gruyere and breadcrumbs on the top or even breadcrumbs between the potato layers.

Potatoes also make wonderful soup especially vichyssoise. This is a simple yet classic potato soup not from France surprisingly, but from New York City. The man who invented it . Louis Diat named it after his hometown of Vichy France. It is a cold soup or potage glacee and made with leeks and pureed potatoes . For heartier fare during this cold weather stick with hot soup such as baked potato soup. This is popular even in diners. It's a simple soup full of pureed and chunks of the tuber. Usually there is bacon. cheddar cheese bits and chives added to to give it a "Loaded potato taste"

Making potatoes into scalloped or soup dishes is easy. Both are great ways of exploring the different sides of this versatile tuber.Try them to bring out the best tastes and textures of the potatoes.