Summer Dinners - no. 8

This week’s summer dinner ideas are a bit more sophisticated. They are the perfect summer dinners for a date night on the patio, or a candlelit dinner in the backyard with just a couple of good friends. Turn on the hanging strings of lights, put on some mellow music (yes, there’s a playlist this week), pour some wine, and enjoy each other’s company as the sun sets.

Both the one-platter meal and the pizza recipe this week include prosciutto. If you are not familiar with it, prosciutto is a thinly-sliced, Italian, dry-cured ham. It is typically served uncooked. To me, its taste is somewhat like a slice of ham, but with a hint of a bacon-like flavor. You can have it cut at your grocery store deli counter, or buy it prepackaged, already sliced, in the refrigerated section.

The Prosciutto Cantaloupe Summer Dinner is about as easy as it comes. No heating up anything in the kitchen to enjoy this meal. Everything is fresh, except the asparagus and bread, and those simply go on the grill for a few moments. A real taste treat is to take a forkful of the Burratini cheese with a forkful of prosciutto…the creaminess and smoky flavors are fabulous together! This recipe will serve 3-4 people, but you can easily increase the quantities of everything to serve more people. The Classic White Platter is available here.

Prosciutto Cantaloupe Summer Dinner

1/2 cantaloupe, seeded and sliced

1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed

1 T. olive oil

4 oz. prosciutto

3-4 Burratini cheese, drained

field greens

loaf of ciabatta bread

butter

kosher salt

freshly cracked pepper

Toss asparagus with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Slice ciabatta loaf in half lengthwise and then into wide slices. Butter.

Heat grill to medium hot. Place asparagus and ciabatta on grill and grill until asparagus is tender and bread is nicely charred.

To assemble platter:

Place a mound of field greens in center of platter and top with Burratini. (Alternatively, you could use one, large Burrata cheese.)

Pile prosciutto into back and forth folds.

Add asparagus, cantaloupe slices, and grilled bread.

Serves 3-4

This week’s pizza doubles down on the smokiness of the prosciutto by also using smoked mozzarella cheese. I have to admit that smoked mozzarella is one of my guilty pleasures. I really do prefer it over traditional mozzarella. One of my favorite things about the Prosciutto & Arugula Pizza is the fresh, peppery taste of the arugula leaves heaped on top. It gives the pizza a lightness. I served it with a green salad and lemonade. Pizza Peel found here and Mezzaluna found here.

Prosciutto & Arugula Pizza

1 ball fresh, store bought pizza dough

3/4 c. pizza sauce

6 oz. smoked mozzarella cheese, sliced

4 oz. prosciutto

3 c. arugula

red pepper flakes

cornmeal

Place large baking sheet in oven and preheat oven to 500 degrees.

On a floured countertop, roll/stretch pizza dough to 12-14” in diameter. Place dough on a cornmeal-dusted baking sheet.

Spread sauce over dough and top with most of the cheese slices, the prosciutto, and the remainder of the cheese.

Using the cornmeal to help the dough slide, transfer to hot baking sheet in oven. Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until cheese is melted and top is bubbly.

Top hot pizza with arugula leaves. Serve with red pepper flakes.

Makes one, 12-14” pizza.

The Summer Dinners - no. 8 Playlist can be found on Spotify here. It’s full of mellow love songs, a few songs in French, some swing music, and more. It’s just the sort of background music you’ll want for these meals…for dinner for two, for dinner with friends.

While you’re lingering over your wine glasses and the last bits of dinner, here’s a conversation starter. Everyone will have something to say about this one. I think learning skills is so important, and have often told my (grown-up) kids that “you never regret learning any skill.”

You are going to love this popsicle! This is one of the most fun popsicles to make, because the color is so captivating. When you whir the berries in the blender, you will be astounded at how dark the juice is, and how it changes only a bit when added to the softened frozen yogurt. Kids will have fun helping to dip them in chocolate too. Enjoy! Classic Popsicle Mold and Summer Popsicle Sticks found here.

Berry Chocolate Popsicle

1 pt. frozen vanilla yogurt, softened

12 oz. blackberries

10 oz. blueberries

4 oz. dark chocolate, chopped

3 T. coconut oil

Place blueberries and then blackberries in a blender. Whir berries until a liquid.

Place softened frozen yogurt in a medium bowl. Whisk to break up any lumps. Using a fine mesh sieve to remove seeds, strain berry juice into frozen yogurt, pushing with a spoon to get the juice through the sieve. Whisk to blend well. Pour into popsicle molds. Insert sticks. Freeze 24 hours.

In a 1 cup glass measuring cup, melt chopped chocolate and coconut oil in microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring between intervals, until chocolate can be thoroughly melted by stirring. Allow to cool to room temperature, approximately 15 minutes.

While cooling, line a cookie sheet with freezer paper or parchment paper.

Release popsicles from mold and quickly dip in cooled chocolate. Allow excess to drip. Place dipped popsicle on prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining popsicles. Refreeze.

Makes 8-10 popsicles

Bon Appetit!