Party Time

I love to entertain..... I love the preparation, the design and planning aspect that seperates a great party from a good party and of course the food.

Over the years I like think that I have become an efficent event planner and a gracious hostess. One of my favorite events of the year is without a doubt my husband's annual birthday celebration. Here's a little glimpse of the celebration.

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday to the sweetest, spunkiest, smartest eleven year I know!

Morning Fog

I haven't had much time to post lately, life's been busy! I thought I would share a few photos I took yesterday morning at our house. I am constantly amazed at the beauty the preserve we live on provides us.

Chicken Shwarma

My husband and I met in High School, spent a year in a long distance relationship and then I joined him at college. The campus at University of Michigan is a mecca of diversity in the form of both people and food. One of my first introductions to Mediterranean and Greek cuisine was at a small cafe on S. University called Oasis. The chicken shwarma was so good I can still taste it all these years later!

Since then we have lived in a few different cities across the U.S. but I had yet to find a chicken shwarma as good as I had remembered at Oasis, until now!

San Diego has quite a few Greek restaurants and while most of them are a bit too commercial for my taste there is a small cafe called Nikkos my husband and I love. The chicken shwarma is exactly as I remember at Oasis. Warm, soft flat bread, flavorful chicken, and the most delicious garlic sauce I have ever had.

I attempted to make it at home and the results were quite good.

Chicken Shwarma

serves 4-6

4 Flat Bread

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts butterflied

Marinade:

1/2 c. white wine

1 c. Greek yogurt

4 cloves garlic crushed

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cardamon

2 whole cloves

salt and pepper

Sauce:

1 c. plain yogurt

3 cloves garlic

1/2 c. tahini

1/4 c. lemon juice

Combine all marinade ingredients in medium sized bowl. Place chicken in marinade and place in fridge overnight.

Place chicken on preheated 375 degree grill. Grill on each side for six minutes a side. Grilling the chicken a total of 12 minutes. Remove to plate and set aside.

Sauce:

Crush garlic, add yogurt, tahini and lemon juice. Mix to combine.

Assembly:

Warm flat bread in microwave for 25 seconds. Place 2 strips of chicken in center of flat bread next to a dill pickle spear, spoon on sauce. Fold up sides and serve warm.

The most important job in the world

Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's in my life. Thank you to my beautiful children who consistently remind me that being a mom is the most important, frustrating, rewarding and beautiful job in the world.

Bacon Blue Goat Cheese Burger

Grilling is always a favorite past time in our family. It is also a great way to spend an hour of quality time together as a couple after work. We split up the prep duties, talk about our day, pour a drink and enjoy each others' company.

Tonights dinner was created completely on the grill, no need to heat up the kitchen.

Bacon Blue Cheese Burger

serves 4

*

1 1/2 lb. 80/20 ground beef or ground sirlion

salt/pepper

8 slices good quality bacon

1/4 c. blue cheese crumbles

1/4 c. goat cheese

1 tbsp. milk

4 leaves of red leaf lettuce

4 kaiser rolls

Make 4 hamburger patties from ground beef. Salt and pepper to season. Place bacon in cast iron grill pan. Heat grill to 375 degrees, place bacon and prepared potatoes on grill, cook potatoes until browned and crispy. Approximately 15-20 minutes. Bacon will take approximately the same amount of time.

Place burgers on other side of grill, cook 4-6 minutes on each side. The burgers will be medium-rare to medium.

Mix goat cheese, blue cheese crumbles and milk together in a small bowl, set aside.

Place buttered kaiser rolls on grill the last 2-3 minutes, grill until lightly browned.

Grilled Potato Rounds

*

4 russet potatoes

trader joe's 21 spice seasoning

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

olive oil

Cut potatoes in 1 inch rounds, line in bottom of a cast iron fry pan. Sprinkle with seasoning, salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

To assemble

*

Place toasted kaiser roll on plate, put a leaf of lettuce on bottom, then burger. Top with blue goat cheese mixture. Place top on burger. Garnish with potato rounds and fresh cherry tomatoes.

Avocados, Ice Cream and a Dessert or Two

My husband loves avocados, which is great because we live in San Diego where fresh avocados are available year round. Fresh guacamole is delicious, sliced avocado is lovely and salads of avocado are amazing but after awhile it becomes a little monotonous. In my quest to discover new ways to use this creamy, delicious fruit known as the avocado I have found and created a couple new desserts. The first dessert I would love to share with you is avocado ice cream ( with a little help from the very informative Mr. Alton Brown). The second is all my own creation and I will share with you a little later in the week, so stay tune! Both take a little prep time, but are easily made ahead of time.

I was a little skeptical about this recipe, not for the texture but for the flavor. Avocados have a very earthy distinct flavor profile that I was not sure it would fair well as a sweet ice cream. I was very pleasantly surprised, not only was the ice cream rich and sweet but the flavor paired perfectly with the crunchy sweet tortilla and perfectly ripe strawberries.

Avocado Ice Cream Napoleons

Avocado Ice cream: Courtesy of Alton Brown

3 ripe avocados ( preferably Californian)

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 c. whole milk

1/2 c. sugar

1 c. heavy cream

Pit and remove avocado from skin. Place in blender with lemon juice, milk and sugar. Blend until smooth. Transfer to mixing bowl and whisk in heavy cream until combined. Place in refrigerator for 4-6 hours until temperature reaches 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Remove from fridge and place in prepared ice cream maker. Churn 5-10 minutes. Place in freezer 2-4 hours to set up.

Strawberry Sauce:

6 ripe strawberries

1 tsp. vanilla bean paste

Puree strawberries and vanilla bean paste in blender to desired consistency.

Deep fried Tortillas:

canola oil about an inch in cast iron pan

3 tortillas ( cut to desired shape with cutter)

1 tsp. good cinnamon

1/4 c. sugar

Heat oil to 350 degrees. Place tortilla in oil carefully and fry until very light golden brown. 1-2 minutes, turning while cooking. Remove and place on paper towel to drain. Sprinkle with sugar mixture.

To assemble:

Spoon small amount of strawberry puree on plate.Place one tortilla on plate, put a small scoop of avocado ice cream on top. Add another tortilla to top of ice cream, garnish with ripe strawberry. Spoon a small amount of strawberry sauce around plate. Serve and enjoy!!