Salmon with Lemon, Capers, and Rosemary

Heather and Dave hosted a lovely dinner last night. It was an opportunity for me to pick up all the garage sale items, drop off the ladder for them to paint the entry way, play time for Lily and Penny and of-course hang out with family and friends.

They made these awesome little Salmon packets. Seemed pretty easy since it was all cooked in foil and the flavor was amazing. They served them with rice and veggies which was the perfect combination.

Ingredients
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
8 lemon slices (about 2 lemons)
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/2 cup Marsala wine (or white wine)
4 teaspoons capers
4 pieces of aluminum foil

Directions
Brush top and bottom of salmon fillets with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Place each piece of seasoned salmon on a piece of foil large enough to fold over and seal. Top the each piece of salmon with 2 lemon slices, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of wine, and 1 teaspoon of capers. Wrap up salmon tightly in the foil packets.

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Place the foil packets on the hot grill and cook for 10 minutes for a 1-inch thick piece of salmon. Serve in the foil packets.

Rotisserie Chicken

This weekend was crazy busy with our successful garage sale on Saturday, family time in Butler, and then having 15 yards of mulch delivered on Sunday. We only got about 1/2 the mulch spread and did not have time for our weekly grocery shopping.

On the way home last night we stopped at Sam's club. I did not have dinner planned so we picked up a Rotisserie Chicken. $5.00 for over two nights of food. Can't beat the price and flavor is great, but is it really bad for us? It has to be high in sodium, but is it really high in fat also? Ian informed me that it is just like grilling, but I don't think so. It tastes so good that it must be bad for us.

It is a really easy dinner to pick up. Throw some steamfresh veggies in the microwave and dinner is ready in 5 minutes. We don't have it all the time, but about once a month it'll be our easy dinner during a crazy week. I don't know if I can recommend to others or not as I'm unsure of the nutritional facts.

Wedding Shower

Last night I attended a wedding shower for Lara, my co-worker. The event was hosted in our event room at work in the new 19 Hot Metal building. It is a perfect location for an event. I think that as a company we should rent out the space for small external events. The room is lined with windows overlooking an outdoor patio near the river. On a nice summer day the event could easily spill out onto the patio and the green grass.

Our cafeteria catered the event and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and quantity. They had asian chicken skewers, mini black bean burgers, veggies, antipasta plater, and bruschetta. I liked the idea of the black bean burgers and thought I could serve them at my next summer party with a side of guacomole and pico de gallo.

Mini Black Bean Burgers

1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 onion, cut into wedges
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 egg
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a
baking sheet. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into twelve patties. Place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes, flip and cook for 5 more minutes.

Garage Sale Preparation

My sister Heather and I are having a garage sale. I love garage sales and I love preparing for one. It gives you an opportunity to clean house and maybe make a little bit of cash. Last night rather than having our typical Tuesday Night Dinner we held a Garage Sale Preparation Party. We combined all our "junk" to prepare for this Saturday. We have a lot of good items, but invited my mother over to comb through all our sale-ables to make sure we were not selling any family heirlooms.

Our family has a tendency to keep a lot of things, which was great for us as we were growing up and starting our own homes. When we first bought our house, after just one weekend of gathering things from my mom, grandparents, aunts and uncles we had almost enough furniture to fill our three bedroom house.

Now that we our more settled we are starting to replace some of the furniture, but noone wants to get rid of it just yet, because someone else might need to fill another house one day... so the attics start filling up with chairs, coffee tables and lamps. Every sale there are inevitably a few pieces that we decide our ready to go that our mom thinks there may be another purpose for. (normally she is right!)

Dave was our chef for the evening. While the girls were busy going through boxes in the garage Dave was at the grill preparing twice baked potatoes and chicken kabobs. Quite a gourmet meal for a garage sale party! I will have to get his recipes to post.

Country Style Chicken Kiev

I made my favorite go-to recipe last night for Ian and I to enjoy.

My mom introduced me to this recipe for my first dinner to entertain co-workers. It is very easy to make and always impresses the guests. You can bread the chicken ahead of time, and then just pop in the oven when guests arrive while you are enjoying a glass of wine and appetizers.

COUNTRY STYLE CHICKEN KIEV

1/2 c. bread crumbs - seasoned
2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, Cut in 1/2
2/3 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. white wine or apple juice
1/4 c. green onion
1/4 c. parsley

Combine first 5 ingredients. Dip chicken in butter, and roll in bread crumb mixture. Set remaining butter aside. Place in 1 1/2 quart shallow casserole. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. To leftover butter, add remaining ingredients. Pour over chicken. Bake 2 to 3 minutes more.

Ian and I enjoyed this dinner last night while we were watching one of our favorite TV shows, Chuck! We always think of Sheena and Jon when we hear the opening credits. They have an awesome dance routine to the theme song. Maybe I can get a video of it to post later!

Mother's Day

All our prepartion for mother's day paid off. The meal came together seamlessly. I will need to get the recipe for the Salmon, Quiche and Soup from Sheena. Heather and Dave provided the drinks and created a champagne one that was the perfect way to start the event. It was a wonderful day to celebrate our mom and spend time with the family.

The weekend became even better as Sheena and Jon welcomed the newest member of our family, Elly. Although our mother would love to have grandbabies, for now she is content with three beautiful grand-puppies. Heather's dog is Lily, a white bichon frise. Our dog is Penny Lane, a cavachon. Elly is a blue great dane and is the smallest (for now). Elly is 8 weeks old and will grow very quickly. Penny and Lily were very hesitant playing with her this weekend, but as they spend more time together we hope that all three become best friends.

Mother's Day Dessert: Balsamic Glazed Strawberries

I love Balsamic Vinegar. I love the smell of it when we are cooking. I love the bitter-sweet taste. I love the dark color it adds to a meal. My husband on the other hand doesn't love it. He doesn't hate it per say, but if I cook too much with it I can start to feel his dislike grow. He does however love desserts... so I found the perfect recipe where I can combine both of our loves.

We tried this out the other night in a test run for mother's day and think it will be the perfect end to our luncheon. A healthy yet rich dessert.

Balsamic Glazed Strawberries

6 large ripe strawberries
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Clean strawberries and cut into wedges. In a small heavy saucepan heat vinegar and sugar over moderate heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved and simmer 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and add strawberries, tossing to coat.

Serve with ice-cream and/or sugar cookies.

Mother's Day Appetizer: Fresh Grapes with Sea Salt

The appetizer for our mother's day luncheon will be Grapes with Olive Oil and Sea Salt. I would never have believed this would be good if I had not tried them myself. My sister, Sheena, and her husband, Jon, found this amazing appetizer on the cheese tray at The Naked Grape wine bar in Sewickley. They invited us back to the bar to taste the amazing delicacy but we discovered that the cheese tray is always changing depending on what is at the market. It is a fun little bistro and we would highly recommend a visit there for anyone looking for a relaxing atmosphere. It does get busy on weekends, so call ahead for a reservation.

We have created our own version of the recipe at home and hope that you enjoy.

Fresh Grapes with Sea Salt

1 bunch of seedless black, green or red grapes
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt

Wash Grapes and air dry. Add several tablespoons of olive oil to slightly coat grapes. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve with toothpicks.

Mother's Day Prepration

This Sunday is a very important day. I don't think the celebration of our mother's should be left for only one day a year, but I do appreciate planning something special for our mom. This year we are coordinating a luncheon feast hosted at my younger sister, Sheena's house. The menu has already been planned and sounds amazing. Appetizers: Grapes with oil and salt First Course: quiche on top of a field green salad and a side of butternut squash soup Second Course: Broiled Salmon, noodles, and a side of snowpeas and carrots Dessert: balsamic glazed strawberries with sugar cookies For Ian's mom we are hosting a late dinner at our house around 6pm. I still need to plan the menu for this, but am thinking of my fall-back recipe for country style chicken kiev. It is super-simple to make and tastes amazing.

Why Tuesday Night Dinner?

It all started when I graduated college in 2003. My older sister and I decided to rent an apartment together close to the city of Pittsburgh. Although we lived together we quickly found out that our lives were very busy and we didn’t seem to see each other. We decided to make official plans to spend time at the apartment. Every Tuesday we would have dinner together. As most sibling relationships go, this turned into a bit of a competition; who could plan and cook the best dinner. We made 4 course meals, tried new recipes and experimented with different cuisines. It was exciting and gave us something to look forward to each week. We began to invite more family and friends and turned it into an event.

Although I’m now married and living happily with my husband, I do miss these weekly dinners and spending time with my sisters. We have started the tradition again on a monthly basis and included our younger sister and her husband who are living back in the area.

The Tuesday Night Dinner is still a bit of a competition amongst us siblings, although it is more about spending time with family and creating new memories together.