Adieu to Summer

With the beginning of fall in the air (and on the calendar), a friend-couple of ours decided to host a delicious seafood barbecue/clam bake to officially end the summer. We documented their progress as they prepared the good eats we were so fortunate to gorge on.

When we walked in at 2pm, our gracious hosts Ken and Ashley were just getting the water in the pot for the clams.


It was going to be a wait, so they began to prepare the other main courses: pulled pork and a seafood boil soup. But we were taking our time, enjoying a night filled with good beer (home brew, of course) and good food. So before we get to our clam/meat/soup viewing, we make our first stop: appetizers.

When it comes to appetizers and before-dinner drinks, you have to be careful. You can easily fill up on them (or get too drunk), and then the main course isn't so anticipated when you are doubled over in cheese/carb/beer overload. So we kept it as classy as possible given the scrumptiousity of the treats that awaited us.




Ham and cheese bread, made from scratch, and a caprese salad with garden heirloom tomatoes and garden-grown basil. A very classic first course, we think. But then a killer thing happened: the hot crab dip was busted out.



Hot crab dip might be the fat kid's kryptonite! Maybe not, but it was still really good and brought in by our friend's landlady who told us it was the same recipe used at Joe's Crab Shack. Is that true? We don't know and never questioned it- our faces were too stuffed with the dip.

Onto the salad, made by us.






This recipe is a PARTY CLASSIC. Adopted from Mama Latini, this is how you become loved and respected for your culinary prowess:

1. boil two packages of frozen cheese tortellini; drain
2. coarsely chop 2-4 cups of baby spinach
3. in a small bowl, vigorously whisk together 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup honey
4. slice 1/2 cup grape tomatoes in half
5. combine all ingredients in a large bowl and pour dressing all over
6. add salt and pepper to taste
7. fridge for at least a few minutes to let the flavors meld

You can add more or less of any ingredient in the recipe to taste as you see fit. Do it and we promise elevation to god/goddess-like status.

As we were filling up like two fleshy aircraft carriers, our hosts were preparing the other delights for the evening. First came the preparation of the meat, which was to go on the smoker with the stuffed jalapenos.





The jalapenos were stuffed with a gourmet farmhouse white cheddar, wrapped in prosciutto, and then oiled and put into the smoker. While we don't have a picture of the result, the jalapenos were accidentally burnt to a crisp! No matter, we ate them anyway, peeling off the inedible parts, and they were really spicy and utterly divine.



As you can see, the pork did not suffer the same fate as the jalapenos. After it came out of the smoker, it was the responsibility of the party-goers to help "pull" the meat apart and then slather it with barbecue sauce. It was a job in which we quickly volunteered. The taste was just heavenly.



Yet the labors were not over! There was still soup to be made and had. First, our hosts cut potatoes, and then prepared a crab boil packet in a GIANT pot of water.



Then corn cobs were cut in half and added, followed by sausage.




In the last minutes, jumbo Gulf shrimp was added, put in at the end to avoid overcooking. SOUPS ON! The end result was a light broth packed full of flavor and a dynamic soup that proved a meal in itself.



But soup was certainly not the only entree on the menu. Remember our clams? The finale included dozens and dozens of plump, butter-dipped morsels.






Overall, we had a fantastic evening. While we gorged ourselves stupid, it was worth every single cramp and pain. Food, drink, good tunes, good friends-- that is the spirit of summer, and it can last all year long if you keep that in mind.

Love,

The Two Gavones

Week In Review

It's been a hectic couple of weeks with the hurricane, the power outtage, Labor Day Weekend, and the beginning of school. So instead of posting a million separate posts, we figured we would give you a visual taste and a short blurb of what's been up as of late.

1. Vegan Moussaka

This dish is a LOT of work and very time consuming. But it's hearty, rib-sticking vegan food (yes, it IS possible for such a thing to exist.) If you like making healthy food, we suggest the cookbook Veganomicon, which is where this recipe is from. The dish contains zucchini, potatoes, and eggplant as the 'meat', Greek tomato sauce as the binding agent, and tofu as the topping.






It looks beautiful for company and tastes delicious every time. If you have omni/herbavore mixed company, this is one everybody will love.



2. Indian Meatloaf

FAIL. Our power was at risk of going out during the hurricane, and we had 1 pound of extra lean turkey breast. We figured meatloaf would be a good bet, but without a lot of stuff in the fridge, we decided to wing it with Indian spices, peas, and hot peppers. It would have been good if it didn't taste like sandpaper. To make it worse, we made it with rice and a hard-boiled egg covered in turmeric (which was really good). If we only made some kind of sauce to go with it, this might not have been so disappointing.








3. Holubtsi

Any self-respecting Slavic person knows how to make some form of holubtsi (or stuffed cabbage). Many times it's filled with meat, but I like mine vegetarian. You start with blanching cabbage leaves, making a filling, stuffing the rolls, and covering it with some kind of sauce. My version this time included a mushroom, Kashi, rice, onion, and hot pepper filling mix (with salt and pepper seasoning). My topping was 2 cans of Campbell's tomato soup (not watered down).




First thing is to carefully blanch the cabbage so that the leaves come off whole.



Then you chop the mushrooms down to a small mince.



My preferred brands of rice and kashi. It might take you some time to get the ratio right, use alot less kashi than rice.




Garden pepper!



So, I used too much kashi, not enough rice. Not a big deal.



CRAZY GOOD DELICIOUS.

Love,

The Two Gavones