Food Scroll #4 : XMas 2010 Contribution

I dropped the ball big time this holiday season.

I didn't go all out for the holidays this year...in fact I didn't even come close to the crazy food offerings of 2009 - No breads, tarts, PB balls or cookies. 

I guess you could say I temporarily put the family traditions on hold...there was simply no time for over ambition.

What I did do, which was a HUGE hit with Hubs and my SoVT fam, were these little crispy ham and cheese bites.

 Made the dough and piped each one out myself...pretty impressive eh?

Hubs is already requesting these again...

Maybe for Easter :)

Summertime in VT

S'mores...

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and sunsets...

These are the things summers in VT are made of!

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Last weekend was crazy fun. Kicking off Friday with Girls' Night Out, Saturday morning came before I knew it. I was invited to some friends' camp up north and rarely turn down the chance to drink and eat on our beautiful lake.

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I mentioned a couple posts ago that the garden was going wild. After a long weekend of wedding fun, I returned home to find my first zucchini was enormous!

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I debated letting it sit there in the garden to see just how big it might get (thinking of Hussy's Annual Harvest Party's Giant Veggie Competition), but then decided this beast might hoard the nutrients handicapping the growth of future zucchinis.
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Having heard the large ones tend to be stringy and not make good eats, I waited a week to figure out how to utilize this elephant. Ultimately I became obsessed with the idea of stuffing it.

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I began by using my handy-dandy melon baller to carve out a bowl. Then brushed it with olive oil, seasoned with salt/pepper and threw on a head's worth of garlic cloves. Now I am not sure if this made a difference or not, but I began cooking the zucchini halves face down with the garlic underneath. Being slightly hungover from the night before, I also don't know just how long it cooked for at 370 degrees (went by look). About halfway through I rotated and put the beastly pieces skin side down.

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There you have it, roasted zucchini bowls.
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Since the camp party would be offering hamburgers, hot dogs and sausages, I went for more of a side dish for the filling.
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The couscous was cooked in a white wine/herb chicken broth, mixed with a combination of cucumbers, carrots, green peppers (1 from my garden!) and feta, and seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper.
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Looking back I wished I had added some lemon juice or a vinegar of sorts, it could have benefited from the acid...
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My other contribution was a recipe I received from my Aunt, following her serving it at one of my bridal showers...a goat cheese and strawberry bruschetta.
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As simple as it sounds, I sliced a baguette, brushed with olive oil and broiled to toast. Then each piece was smeared with goat cheese and piled high with fresh strawberries. This easy dish is really tasty!! Sweet with a bite from the goat cheese, yum!

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I do wish I had thought to pull out that balsamic glaze I've been using...but again, I was feeling the effects of the fun night before and wasn't completely thinking straight, oops!

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The day was perfect.
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Even the dogs thought so.
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Hussy created a delicious tomato, basil, mozzarella and balsamic salad.

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Though the grill ran out of gas, our macgyver hostess just went to Plan B.

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Here was my plate...a delicious cheddar burger piled high with a spicy pepper mix and the variety of sides. What you don't see are the massive amounts of snacks I also consumed throughout the day...potato chips, bruschetta, blueberries and lots of beer :)
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Between the wave runner, boat, tubing and water skiing, folks were in the water as long as the sun was up.
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True for all things, even this wonderful day had to come to an end...
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Each of us found moments of respite in this beautiful setting...
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and as the sun began to lower into the horizon...
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the sky began to fill with color.

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It was an amazing day with good food, frosty drinks

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and some pretty awesome friends.

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Tasty s'mores...
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and beautiful sunsets...

Summertime in VT :)

Preamble to Cooler Full-o-Lisai's: Part III

Who could not love a dinner party...especially when it's with fun, food loving, friends like B&A?!?!?!

Preamble to Part III of Cooler Full-o-Lisai's...

APP-PLATTS (APPetizer + PLATTerS)

Had this not been the same lazy Saturday that Hubs and I made our hearty breakfast, I might have aimed a bit higher on my APP-PLATTS...but I have no regrets to the laziness, or lack of planning. Nope, none whats so ever!!

This day at home, with no where to go and nothing to do, was just what the doctor ordered as we approached and prepared for the final push of March Madness.

Sweet Potato Dippers

I stumbled upon some sweet potato crackers/chip things on sale at the grocery store. This sight of these immediately triggered memories of a small micro brew-pub that serves awesome sweet potato fries accompanied by a sweet homemade chive-sour cream type of dipping sauce.

My attempts at recreating this wonderful dipping sauce, which I have such fond (yet vague) memories of included:

Creme Fraiche + Chives + Honey + Salt/Pepper

There you have it.

Store bought sweet potato chips and sweet chive dip...really labor intensive eh?

While I did add just a touch too much honey, the dip was pretty good. It seems this is yet another dips that improves over time and one that I suspect would be delicious on all sorts of things!

Green Salsa & Red Hots

B&A have gifted us much of their homemade bottled goodness over the months. As amazing as the fact that they bake their own bread each week (inspiring The Bread Project), they also create wonderful canned goods straight from their garden!!

Here is some of their wicked good Green Salsa. I had some Red Hot Blues in the cupboards and decided the two would make a great spicy pair.

Shrimp Cocktail & Smoked Clams

Other than arranging these plates, there is not too much for me to take credit for. The shrimp cocktail was a must, since B (of B&A) was so wild about them at our New Years get together.

As for the smoked clams, these were sort of after thought, but appropriate. B&A are among the few and far between fans of smoked shellfish!

This LAZY GAL's APP-PLATTS