August was our meeting to celebrate... each time we get together there is something more I learn about my fellow cooking club ladies. We all have our challenging moments and tough times - however some of my girl friends have survived some pretty tough losses and challenges. Our August cooking club was a celebration for Nina's latest success story of having a brain tumor removed - a meningioma. The cooking club brought the picnic to Nina's home to share some laughs and friendship and enjoy a meal together. It was a great evening!
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| Calabrian Pitta |
Betty brought a 'stuffed sandwich'... hollowed out bread with plenty of meat and cheese topped with an olive tapenade type relish made with - artichokes, fennel and olives. The recipe for the Calabrian Pitta is from Mary Ann Esposito ~ Ciao Italia.
Angi brought pulled beef and served on mini rolls with spicy Wickle chips. The pickles went great with the beef! They added a hint of heat and a tang that complimented the beef and BBQ sauce.
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| Pulled beef |
Denise brought an orzo salad - fresh and light with fun color of vegetables - carrots, peas, beans. A versatile dish that can be served using early summer vegetables... asparagus and peas.
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| Orzo Salad |
Jeanne's mixed grilled vegetables were so flavorful and simply yummy. Eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes and onion grilled with garlic, oregano and basil. Delish!
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| Grilled vegetables |
Cindy's dish looks like a pasta dish - but there was none! We were curious as to how she made the "noodles". Someone suggested that she used a vaginator to make the noodles.... oops sorry - maybe it was the vagomatic... I'm not quite sure. There was a lot of discussion and laughter over the topic.
For the sake of the blog lets assume that Cindy used a spiral slicer tool to make zucchini pasta! She served it with pesto and pine nuts and parmesan cheese shavings - it was yummy. More importantly I'm hoping I can pass this off as a new 'pasta' dish at home... wink wink.
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| Chips with Cantaloupe & Red Pepper Salsa |
Rita brought a shaved zucchini salad which was light and refreshing. A great new way to serve squash from the garden. The colorful salsa was made with cantaloupe and red pepper... sweet with a little heat. Together they made such colorful side dishes!
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| Shaved Zucchini & Parsley Salad |
Jen brought seared scallops (missed photo op) and watermelon salad with cucumber and lime juice. Simple and fresh.
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| Watermelon Salad |
Finally for dessert I brought a peach and blueberry crostata. The pastry in Ina's recipe is what makes it... I bet anything you use as a filling in this dough will be wonderful. The crostata was served with homemade blueberry ice-cream. The color was amazing... but will need to try one more time to get a truly creamy dish of purple.
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| Peach & blueberry Crostata and blueberry ice-cream |
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| Nina and Angi |
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| The ladies in red.... Betty and Jeanne |
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| Cindy, Denise and Rita |
Cindy, Denise and Rita having fun with her scarf - trying to find that perfect fit. Peace, love... and good food! A wonderful evening, dining in Nina's backyard.
Another fabulous Scituate Cooking Club evening... Everyone pretty in scarves.
Looking fabulous ladies!
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| Rita, Jen, Cindy, Jen, Nina, Denise, Jeanne, Angi & Betty |