Cocktail Hour - The Perfect Margarita

Hog Island Oyster Company

It hasn't exactly felt like summer in San Francisco, not that I'm ever one to complain about such things, but we are making the most of this foggy, 68-degree "summer." We spent a pretty glorious weekend in Pt. Reyes surrounded by some of my favorite people and good food. And what's a weekend spent with friends without a nice cocktail or three?

shaker

 I read a little blurb in Bon Appétit a few months back about a simple fresh margarita that made me salivate immediately. I have been buying weekly batches of limes ever since and whipping up a quick margarita whenever I feel like it. 

Sunning; The view from the house in Inverness

Tomales Bay

L'chaim

Note: this photo makes it look deceptively warm

A Party! Complemented By Some Bourbon-y BBQ

I will begin with a confession - I did not make this sauce, I observed its making and enjoyed being a taster but I was most definitely not the chef. My lovely mother took on the job of BBQ sauce-maker and it turned out to be absolutely perfect (and, as proof, it was completely inhaled by the party-goers). We decided not to marinate the chicken and instead our master griller brushed the chicken with sauce as it cooked giving it a delicious, caramelized glaze. It was cooked to perfection and was such a success that we even glazed our sausages with it and gobbled those up as well. 

The aftermath

For the original recipe from Bon Appétit please click here. 

Vietnamese Noodle Salad with Chili-Lime Shrimp

In keeping with the seasons, I have been craving summer-y foods - cold, fresh fruit, burgers, the taste of  grill and one of my go-to meals of late has been a cold noodle salad that I came up with in an effort to make something refreshing and to make a dent in my enormous bottle of fish sauce. This dish has turned into one of our household faves, not only because it is yummy and refreshing, but also, for the cook-er, it is quite simple to throw together. You will find the recipe below but please note that you should always throw in whatever toppings or whatever sauce-y components that sound good to you (I change the proportions based on my mood - spicy, citrus-y, etc.). 

Also, I forgot to note that this lovely recipe card and the card I used in my last post were designed by The Dapper Paper Co. and you can purchase your own set here. I LOVE their stuff and want to have some sort of important event just so I can have an excuse to have invitations designed by them.

Also, continuing with my peony trend - I bought the most spectacular peonies at Trader Joe's that started out a bright pink color (I guess they are "coral" peonies) and then they slowly morphed into a light pink and finally a stark white. It made for quite the dramatic show.

Pancakes for Breakfast

I am not usually one for breakfasts, but every now and again, on a lazy Sunday I get the undeniable urge for a big breakfast. On this particular Sunday, I decided that I NEEDED pancakes. Being out of practice of making pancakes I forgot how easy it is. I used up what was left of my sour cream and made these delicious, not-too-sugary pancakes (which I then smothered in maple syrup to fulfill my sugar needs). 

This recipe is courtesy of Gourmet Magazine and can be found here.

Strawberry & Cream Cake

Contrary to popular belief, I often shy away from dishes that use an immense amount of butter, sugar, or eggs, but this last weekend our friend was in town staying with us, so I justified using an enormous number of egg yolks (see below) by saying to myself that I would really only indulge in a fraction of them as our guest would be eating most of the cake . . . . He had one slice, and then had to hurry back to LA. Needless to say, I have since consumed a disgusting amount of cake, and not regretted any of it.

I love strawberries, but I am a bit of a strawberry snob, and love the farmer's market strawberries that make it up here for about two weeks, which come from Camarillo and are small and intensely strawberry-tasting . . . mmm. Since strawberry season is here, I am eating them in all different forms, as often as possible (plain by the box, with a sauce of sour cream and brown sugar, shortcakes and now this cake). I found this recipe from an old Gourmet magazine, but I wasn't in the mood for the spicy cardamom taste so I tweaked it a bit and made mine a little more lemony instead. I would say it was good and goes down easy, but, in all honesty, I could have skipped the cake and been perfectly content eating a bowl of the cream filling with strawberries.

Savory Spring Tart

I get really into my hearty winter food when the season is upon us but nothing beats Spring/Summer produce. It is my absolute favorite - salads with fresh tomatoes, grilling, english peas, rhubarb - I love it all. I was racking my brain trying to figure out how to use all of the spring ingredients that I bought with abandon. I decided to make a savory tart and just throw everything in and surround it with some egg and cheese - what's not to love?

My recipe was inspired by this tart from Aran on Cannelle et Vanille - I of course made it slightly less healthy and added in some gluten. Please find the 'best-ever' pie crust recipe below.