Summer Dinners - no. 5

All the delightful, fresh tastes of summer are what you’ll find in this week’s Summer Dinners. They’re a bit more elegant this week…ideal for a date night on the patio, or perfect meals to invite a girlfriend over to share. Just add a bottle of Chardonnay, a lit candle, and some great conversation, and you’ve got everything you need for a relaxing and memorable summer evening.

The one-platter dinner inspiration this week is a deconstructed Caesar Salad. I love serving salads on the Classic White Platter for a couple of reasons. It saves me the time of making individual salads for everyone at the table. And I love it because, unlike a salad bowl, it’s easier for everyone to see the ingredients to pick and choose what they want to add to their own salad. Classic White Platter available here.

Deconstructed Chicken Caesar Salad

3 hearts of romaine, washed and dried

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 bottle Caesar dressing

1/2 loaf French bread

3 T. olive oil

2/3 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 lemon, sliced in quarters

kosher salt

freshly cracked pepper

To make croutons:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the French bread into 3/4” slices and each slice into 3/4” cubes. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss with hands to coat bread.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until crispy, turning cubes occasionally. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Can be done ahead.

To make chicken:

Place chicken breasts in a Ziploc bag and pour 1/2 bottle of Caesar dressing over all. Seal and refrigerate for at least one hour, or as long as overnight to marinate.

Heat grill and cook chicken until juices run clear. Remove and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice. Cool chicken. Can be done ahead.

To arrange salad on platter:

Chop romaine leaves into bite-sized pieces and heap on platter. Add cooled chicken atop middle of lettuce. Add a generous handful of croutons. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese across lettuce. Add lemon wedges. Serve remaining salad dressing, salt, and pepper on the side.

Serves 4.

This week’s pizza recipe is really a flatbread, Prosciutto Peach Flatbread with Balsamic Drizzle. It’s a fabulous flavor combination of: salty prosciutto, smoky mozzarella cheese, tangy balsamic drizzle, and sweet and juicy summer peaches. I served it with the simplest of salads and some wine. The Pizza Peel can be found here, and the Mezzaluna found here.

Prosciutto Peach Flatbread with Balsamic Drizzle

1 prepared pizza crust (homemade or store bought)

1/2 c. balsamic vinegar

1 T. olive oil

6 slices of prosciutto

8 oz. smoked mozzarella, sliced in 1/4” thick slices

1 ripe peach, unpeeled and sliced

3-5 basil leaves, thinly sliced

To make balsamic reduction: In a small saucepan, bring balsamic vinegar to a boil over med-high heat. Boil until reduced to 1/4 cup. Set aside.Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Brush prepared pizza crust with oil. Lay prosciutto slices over crust. Top with slices of smoked mozzarella and peach slices. Drizzle two-thirds of balsamic reduction over pizza.

Bake in oven at 500 degrees for 9-11 minutes.

Remove from oven. Drizzle with remaining balsamic reduction and sprinkle with sliced basil leaves.

Makes 1—14” pizza.

I hope you had fun with the shout-out conversation starter last week! We did! Here’s this week’s:

This week’s popsicle, Strawberry-Watermelon, is one of my favorites! If two fruits can say “summer”, I think it’s these two. And the combination of them together is even better! Sometimes, watermelon in a popsicle can be a little too watery for my taste. But this recipe blends the watermelon juice with frozen yogurt, which keeps the creaminess, while still delivering on watermelon flavor! Classic Popsicle Mold and Summer Popsicle Sticks are available here.

Strawberry-Watermelon Popsicles

8 oz. strawberries, rinsed and hulled

1/2 of a seedless, baby watermelon, cubed in large chunks

1 pt. vanilla frozen yogurt, softened

2 t. sugar

Place strawberries and sugar in food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Remove to bowl and stir well. (Alternatively, slice strawberries and place in bowl and mash with a potato masher.) Rinse food processor bowl.

To clean food processor bowl, add watermelon and pulse until liquefied.

Place softened yogurt in a medium bowl and stir to remove any lumps. Place fine mesh strainer over bowl. Pour liquefied watermelon through strainer to remove any seeds, pushing pulp through with a spoon. Stir to blend softened yogurt and watermelon juice completely.

Pour yogurt/watermelon mixture into popsicle molds until two-thirds full. (Do not use all of this mixture.) Add a spoonful (about 1 T.) of strawberry purée to mold. Top off to top of mold with remaining yogurt/watermelon mixture. Insert popsicle sticks. Freeze.

Makes 10 popsicles.

Bon appetit!