A warm summer’s night menu
It has been a while since we had our First “Lost Kitchen” Dinner. We’ve been devoting our time to our sweet dog Remi as he got very sick at the end of May. It was time to get back to it. This wasn’t a big frilly one. We skipped the nibble board and just got down to our sweet little warm summer night dinner. The menu included the following…
A very late in the season Rhubarb Gin Fizz- I still have rhubarb and I was meaning to make this for a couple months now. It was nothing like I imagined it would be. It was delicious. I served it in our little 8 glass caddy from the shop. This is just the right amount for this drink. Just something to sip on while you wait for dinner! The ingredients were fun. They included rhubarb, sugar, gin, egg white, lemon juice, half and half, rose water, ice and sparkling water. What I found interesting was, none of these ingredients over powered any of the others. It was just smooth and refreshing. *The rhubarb was from my garden
Next … Pork burgers with grilled peaches, bacon & blue cheese- Oh and homemade Poppy seed buns!
Poppy seed buns- YOU HAVE TO MAKE THESE! I would never buy a bun again. I can not even explain the smell of these things as they baked at midnight the night before our dinner. They made me so happy. I slathered butter on them at 1 am because you should never skip out on that. A hot bun from the oven. I made them late because it is too hot to bake during the day. That is actually why I picked this menu. Too hot out for the oven but if you make these late it works and I have never had better. My one recommendation for you is go bigger. The recipe called for a 2” biscuit cutter. I don’t have one so I used a small mason jar that measured 2”. Maybe that is where I made my mistake but they ended up being slider size buns. I used a 3” round glass with the rest of the dough and those were perfect. MAKE THESE!
Pork Burgers with grilled peaches, bacon and blue cheese. This is another new favorite. I never made a burger with pork. I might never make a burger with beef again. HA! I probably will but Sam said no. Pork burgers are it. I am sure it has something to do with the pork I bought though. I bought my ground pork and my bacon from Terra Vitae Farms in Woodstock. You have to go buy their meat. You have to get this pork and this bacon and make this grilled burger. If you are not familiar with them already they are a family owned regenerative farm with pasture raised meat. The kindest people and the best meat I’ve had. You can check them out at terravitaefarms.com They also have a stand at the Woodstock Square Farmers market on Saturday and Tuesday. I secretly like to order online and pick it up at the stand at the house because I just like how it feels to pull in the driveway. HEHE! Next, the peaches were purchased from DAD’s Farm. They also are at the Woodstock Farmer’s market on Tuesday and Saturday. You have not had a good peach until you go get these. I went Saturday and Tuesday this week for them. These I just halved, drizzled with olive oil and grilled both sides. We toasted the homemade buns too with a drizzle of olive oil. When the burgers were almost finished on the grill we put the blue cheese on to melt. If you have not, do go buy your blue cheese from Prairie Pure Cheese at the Saturday market on the Woodstock Square. It is just delicious. Plan a night to make these and I promise you, if you take the time to head out and grab these ingredients you will be so happy and the overall feeling that you cooked using these local ingredients is probably the best part. All of these mentioned can be bought at the Saturday Market.
Next was the super simple, Perfect Potato Salad. I was in such a rush Tuesday to get in and out of the Farmer’s Market so I could open the store that I was directed to the potatoes and I failed to pay attention to who I bought them from. EEk. But they were the only ones with potatoes and they were delicious. They were just the right size. This recipe called for 3 pounds of baby potatoes, macerated shallot vinaigrette ( we made this vinaigrette at our last dinner) such a simple one that is just amazing. It was a refreshing, clean potato salad for a hot summer’s night. Grab potatoes, fresh dill, and a shallot at the market. You will also need a couple pantry ingredients. Seasoned rice vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper. YUM.
Last but not least was dessert. Fresh blueberries ( also from DAD’s Farm) with a basil custard cream. Simple and you don’t have to heat the house up. We steeped basil in cream, whisked it into the egg yolks and boom into the fridge to cool. Next you make a whipped cream and fold into the custard. I just put a dollop on top instead. Ok, if you are questioning this one like I was.. Trust me. It is crazy good. Erin is a genius. Sam even said.. What is this? What? Yea, it is that good. You get this scoop of whipped cream that has no sugar in it, then you taste the hint of basil in the sweet custard and a blueberry and it’s like the movie Ratatouille when the rat tastes cheese and grapes together. It’s just like that moment.
The flowers displayed in my basket are from the Dented Gate Flower Farm on Kishwaukee Rd. My sister and I literally ran into each other driving and we took the kids to cut flowers and make our own arrangements! Such a fun way to get fresh flowers. Supporting our local flower farmers and getting outside on a summer day! Don’t plan any other events after picking flowers. Take them home to water right away!
It was a fun, quiet night at home with Sam, Tom and Remi. A perfect dinner to jump back into my journey of cooking through the “ Lost Kitchen” I have a few books still at the shop if you want to come grab one .
