Magical Popsicles

I know Septemnber isn't really the ideal time to be writing about frozen treats but here in P-Town it's actually just become summer. Enter Zoku. The instant (7-9 minutes) electricity free popsicle maker. Don't ask me how it works, it's magic. And you need one. Couple things though, the directions tell you to not fill above the fill line and to not put water into it (ie: make ice popsicles). Those are important directions to actually follow. For real. Not that I know from spending 30 minutes trying to get ice out of the popsicle maker or anything...

July Cooking Classes!

These are the classes I'm assisting with in July at Sur la Table. Have I mentioned how much I love this job?

Summer Steak Night
Mozzarella, Basil, and Grilled Tomato Bruschetta - Grilled Ribeye Steaks with Gorgonzola-Walnut Butter - Smashed Yukon Gold Potatoes with Garlic-Parmesan Vinaigrette - Strawberry Pie Sundaes

Havana Summer Nights
Grilled Sugarcane Shrimp - Spicy Mojo Steak with Mango-Avocado Salsa - Grilled Corn on the Cob with Queso Blanco and Lime - Caramel Flan

Summer Cupcake Workshop
Mini-Vanilla Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream - Blueberry Hill Cupcakes with Lemon-Cream Cheese Frosting - Strawberries and Cream-Filled Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

Tuscan Picnic
Grilled Tomato Bruschetta - Grilled Tuscan Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon - Brick-Pressed Italian Sandwich - Homemade Sweet Cream Ricotta with Berries and Pinenuts

Summertime Asian Noodles
Spring Rolls with Shrimp, Basil, and Pickled Cucumber - Soba Noodles with Soy-Glazed Salmon and Snow Peas - Rice Noodle Salad with Lime-Sriracha Glazed Chicken - Chinese Egg Noodles with Cucumber-Peanut Sauce and Red Chile

Summer Cocktail Party
Crab Cakes with Black Truffle Mayonnaise - Thyme-Scented Golden Onion and Gruyere Tartlets with Crème Fraiche - Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Sage and Parsley Pesto - White Bean and Harissa Hummus in Endive Cups - White Peach Sorbet with Basil

Peak of Flavor: Berries
Tomato and Preserved Lemon Bruschetta with Blueberry Butter - Raspberry, Pistachio, and Goat Cheese Salad - Blackberry Gastrique Glazed-Salmon - Strawberry Shortcake with Rosemary Mascarpone Cream

Food-spiration

God, I love Summer foods. It's not even just the tastes but all the colors and variety and how everything is cool and fresh. I love all the produce I've never used before that I discover every year and learning how to use it. I love incorporating fruit into savory dishes. I love cold pastas, frozen treats, and grilled everything.

These are some of the things currently inspiring me for the season...



Stuffed Zucchinis

Strawberry Pesto Pasta

Homemade Sodas

Artichoke and Asparagus Pasta

Cinnamon Orange Iced Tea

Pasta Salad


Spicy Quesadilla with Black Bean Corn Salad

Watermelon Margarita

Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Lemonade and Limeade Drinks

Ice Cream Cones via Panini Press

Orzo Salad with Green Veggies


Papaya Lime Sorbet

Cucumber Watermelon Slaw

Baked French Fries


Grilled Apricots

Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups


Corn on the Cob with Garlic and Lime

Black Bean Soup

Garlic Bread Knots

Cucumber Basil Spritzers

Strawberry Peach Vodka Ice Pops

All images via TasteSpotting.

Best. Job. Ever.

I got my schedule for June at Sur la Table yesterday. These are some of the classes I'll be helping host...

Summer Tamales
Basic Masa Preparada - Pasilla Chile Shredded Pork Tamales -Vegetarian Masa Preparada - Green Chile Queso Fresco Vegetarian Tamales - Cinnamon Caramel Flan

Artisan Breads
Neo-Neapolitan Pizza Dough - Classic French Baguettes - Ciabatta Loaves - Focaccia with Herb Oil

Saturday Morning Treats
Challah French Toast - Maple-Pecan Sticky Buns - Belgian Waffles - Feta, Roasted Pepper, and Basil Muffins

Tuscany on the Grille
Grilled Flatbread Pizza with Cherry Tomatoes and Aged Balsamic - Grilled Basil-Rubbed Lamb Chops with Gremolita - Cannellini Bean and Grilled Artichoke Salad - Chianti and Peach Granita

Summer Cocktail Party
Crab Cakes with Black Truffle Mayonnaise - Thyme-Scented Golden Onion and Gruyere Tartlets with Crème Fraiche - Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Sage and Parsley Pesto - White Bean and Harissa Hummus in Endive Cups - White Peach Sorbet with Basil

Italian Summer in Venice
Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Crostini - Grilled Radicchio and Endive Salad with Balsamic-Honey Vinaigrette - Squid Ink Noodles with Scallops and Asparagus - Grilled New York Steak with Pancetta-Red Wine Sauce - Raspberry Tiramisu

Don't hate me 'cuz you ain't me.

Ice Pops!

Craig and I made six different kinds of popsicles last night. And that wasn't even all the ideas we had but then it was like 11pm and we were kind of tired and we'd used up most of the ice pop mold space so we stopped at six. The flavors we made were berry vanilla, Arnold Palmer, chocolate banana, peach mango, watermelon with blueberries, and watermelon grapefruit. Tell me you don't want to eat all of those.


Supplies. Except not even all of them. Because when I do something I do it big.


First layer of the Arnold Palmer pops...you can ignore the nine pints of ice cream in my freezer.


Our watermelon blueberry pops were made of pureed watermelon with some simple syrup. Once they froze a bit we pushed blueberries into them so the berries would stay suspended.


Javier was confused why we were in the kitchen if it wasn't to continually bring him fresh ice water.


Craig was confused by my juicer. Yeah, I don't know why either.


Second layer of the Arnold Palmer pops and some blueberries added to the watermelon popsicles.


I realize that looks like sawdust but it's actually a brick of chocolate I shaved with a Microplane. Added to bananas and milk.


Mango peach pops! We added honey as a sweetener. We also ended up adding some blood orange juice once blending sans liquid was obviously a mistake.


Our berry mix was so good. We used a bunch of frozen berries, vanilla yogurt, pomegranate cranberry juice, and some honey. Incredible.


We made two of each pop so we could each try them and decide what we liked best.


I made my boss' daughters some flower popsicles with fantastic "sticks" (actually straws) with the leftover mixes.


Aaaand...scene.

Warm Weather Eats

I can't wait for it to be Spring and have all the fresh, light foods that come with warmer weather! I always buy high quality ingredients and it's important to me to eat organically and if given a choice I always go for local foods but I haven't been terribly diligent about eating seasonally. Which is really a shame because I feel a lot of creativity comes from using foods you might not be familiar with. This Summer though I'm wanting to make a better effort to shop at farmer's markets and grow my own herbs. I can't wait to make glazed salmon and fresh pasta salads and cold veggies and fruit and popsicles and gallete and everything else. I also see my ice cream maker getting a whole lot of use.

These are some of the things inspiring me right now.