Summer Dinners - no. 1

Each week this summer, I will be bringing you a Summer Dinners posting, which will include relaxed, fresh, simple dinner recipes (a homemade pizza recipe AND a one-platter dinner recipe), a popsicle recipe, conversation starters to get the conversation flowing over dinner, and an occasional summer playlist for a little background music. My goal is to create simple, al fresco dinners that are tasty, fun, and help create some great memories this summer. If you’re signed up for my email list, these will be dropping in your inbox each week. But they’ll also be here, so you can find them easily this summer and next!

We absolutely adore our one-platter dinners! They are so easy to assemble that dinner is really effortless. Fresh ingredients and a pass-the-platter casualness just makes them seem like a taste of summer in every bite. Classic White Platter here.

This is absolutely my favorite summer salad! I love it’s freshness. And I love watching people pick and choose their favorite toppings as the platter is passed. Instead of creating a salad bar for our family, with lots of little bowls that all need to be washed afterwards, just placing it all on one platter creates an instant salad bar. Dinner is easy. Clean up is easy.

FRESHEST SUMMER SALAD

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 bottle of Italian dressing (divided use)

field greens (enough for 4 people)

1 bunch watercress

1 1/2 c. heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved

5-6 radishes, halved

1 avocado, sliced

1 cucumber, peeled and sliced

1 yellow squash, sliced in 1/4” slices lengthwise

1 c. marinated mozzarella balls

1/2 lemon, sliced

olive oil, kosher salt, freshly cracked pepper

To marinate chicken: Place chicken breasts in a Ziploc bag and pour 1/2 of bottle of Italian dressing over. Seal and refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight.

Grill chicken on barbecue grill until cooked through and juices run clear. Allow to set for 10 minutes. Slice. Refrigerate.

Toss yellow squash with olive oil. Sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper. Grill on low until just tender.

All of the above steps could be done the day before.

To assemble salad: Heap field greens and watercress on a large platter. Add grilled squash along the side of platter. Arrange grilled chicken across greens. Add the: cherry tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, radishes, and mozzarella balls to bed of greens. Garnish with lemon wedges. Serve with remaining Italian dressing, kosher salt, and freshly cracked pepper.

We look forward to our casual, pizza nights on the deck. Just add a big green salad to round out the meal. Our family likes spicy flavors, and this pizza recipe is packed with them. Add additional red pepper flakes to make it as spicy as you wish. And after pre-baking the crust in the oven, we finish this one off on the grill. Pizza Peel here. Mezzaluna here.

SIZZLING SUMMER PIZZA

1 pizza crust (see Basic Pizza Crust recipe, or substitute your own)

3/4 c. pizza sauce (see Homemade Pizza Sauce recipe, or substitute your own)

1/4 lb. hot Italian sausage

5-6 slices fresh mozzarella

1/2 of a large tomato, thinly sliced

several slices of red onion

red pepper flakes

Cook Italian sausage in a small skillet until browned. Drain off any fat.

Spread pizza sauce on crust to within about 1/2” of the edge. Top with: tomato slices, fresh mozzarella, red onion, cooked sausage, and a generous sprinkling of red pepper flakes

Place on barbecue grill on medium-low heat until cheese is melted and toppings are hot. If you close the grill lid, it will help to direct the heat down on your toppings, without running as much risk of burning the bottom of the crust.

Serve with additional red pepper flakes.

Makes one, 12” pizza.

And while you’re eating dinner, here’s a little conversation starter. I always think that finding out how someone learned to swim is interesting. Do you know how your spouse learned? Your parents? Your best friend? Do your kids know how you did? From the littlest to the biggest at your dinner table, this should prompt some interesting stories.

On occasion, I’m going to include with these postings (and emails) a Summer Dinners playlist from my Spotify account. Each one will be a bit different, so if this one is not quite your taste, try another the next time. This one, Summer Dinners - no. 1 playlist, is full of feel-good music from the 1960 - 1980’s. It includes twelve songs with a total playtime of about 40 minutes. Enjoy!

And for dessert, nothing quite says “summer” like a popsicle! This one is flavor-packed and full of fruit goodness. Popsicle Mold and Summer Popsicle Sticks (sticks not pictured in photo below) here.

PEACH MANGO BERRY POPSICLE

3 cups peach juice (I use the brand, Looza, available at Whole Foods)

2-3 c. frozen mango chunks

1 c. fresh or frozen berries of any kind

1 t. sugar

In a blender, put peach juice and mango chunks to the 5 c. fill line. Blend until smooth.

Fill popsicle molds 2/3 full with peach-mango puree. Reserve remaining puree in refrigerator. Insert sticks and freeze until solid.

In blender, combine berries, sugar, and just enough of remaining puree to blend to a thick/coarse puree. Reserve remaining peach-mango puree in refrigerator. Add berry mixture to frozen popsicles, carefully inserting it down the sides of the mold and stick with a spoon and pushing it to make contact with the already frozen portion. Leave about 1/4—1/2” space at the top of the mold. Refreeze until solid.

Add remaining puree to fill molds. Freeze again until solid.

Dip mold in a bowl of hot water to help release popsicles. Push from bottom to help release popsicle.

Makes 10 popsicles

Happy summer dining!