So much has changed since the lock down days of the pandemic. Plenty not so good, but one decent aspect that has seemed to emerged from that dark time is that people’s schedules are a bit more fluid. Work from home or hybrid schedules allow for some unusual flexibility. And so it was that enabled us to host our cousins for lunch on a Monday. Yup, right at the start of a work week. If anything is going to shake the Monday blues out of you, hosting loved ones is a sure fire way. The main reason for their dropping by was to visit my parents. Yes, this on the heels of my cousins, Therese and Tom, visiting them the Friday before (as noted in my last post). Back to back visits for my parents meant the same for us.
Just a little side note. My dad vowed he would never move to Westchester due to narrow roads, cold weather and missing Long Island and all their neighbors. This idea always struck me as funny, as if the traffic on the LIE is so much more desirable than narrow roads. Or the weather is that much colder than Long Island’s wet winds coming off the water. Sure we are a tad bit north but not the North Pole! And missing people? HA, they have had more visitors in 6 months than they had in years.
Anyway, much like with my other cousins, we thought it would be nice if after their visit they could bring my parents over to our house for an outdoor lunch. As luck would have it, my imagined al fresco moment was dampened by rain. That said, I must admit that the indoor dining switch-aroo wound up being a better scenario for the group. We ate the appetizers and the meal all at the same table which was easier that shifting all over the place.
The beauty of back to back entertaining is that I was able to repurpose part of the table from our Friday Night Dinner, with some minor tweaks to make it casual lunch style. I also had some food surplus, so a few items reappeared from Friday night’s event.
Kept the table setting simple by using big cotton napkins as placemats.
For the table, I simply removed one runner and flipped the other lengthwise down the table. The flowers were still holding on, so they made a repeat performance. Instead of regular placemats, I used cotton napkins and folded the top and bottom edges in to create an elongated shape. As you can see, I didn’t have time to iron. It kinda pisses me off looking at this photo and noticing the creasing but I’m getting over it. Our guests were appreciative of the effort, so I guess I can let the wrinkles go. We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful family. Both sides, all sides, from every angle are full of loving, and thoughtful people. So spending the day together is not just a treat, it’s a blessing. And when you love people, you try to make food that reflects the same. As I said, I tried to repurpose as much as possible. That goes for the menu to. Here’s what I served:
Appetizers
Marinated Artichoke Hearts (store bought but with homemade herb/garlic oil)
Fennel with Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Course Salt/Pepper
Smoked Salmon/Cream Cheese Rolls on Cucumber Rounds
White Bean Dip with crudité (same as for the Friday night dinner)
Marinated Wild Mushrooms (store bought from Italian Specialty shop)
Main Meal
Oven Roasted Vegetables (Eggplant, Zucchini, Peppers, Onions, Tomatoes)
Cut vegetables into thick slices, season with salt/pepper and slight drizzle of olive oil (do not over oil them or they will be soggy instead of roasted.) Roast at 400 degrees flipping once.until browned.
Homemade Focaccia
I just started making my own. There are the two recipes I follow on Instagram. One is for overnight proving. The other is for same day, which is the one I used. Please be aware that the chef in the below link curses a lot, and I mean alot.
Tastelessbaker : same day foccaccia
Summer Pasta Salad
Like me, these are pasta people. But it was summer so a salad versus a hot dish was called for. I just threw together what I had in the house and made an herb/garlic oil dressing. I used pasta shells, cucumber, chick peas, grape tomatoes, red onion and tossed it all together. Important part is to cut the vegetables to bite size pieces.
Pork Belly Roast: This one is all Juancarlos. I will try to explain what he did best I can.
Skin side up score the skin through the fat but not into the meat. Flip it over to meat side to fill.
Create a filling of chopped herbs, garlic, oil and spread it onto the meat side.
Roll it up and tie with cooking string, and rub with oil, salt and pepper.
In a roasting pan, place onion halves and whole carrots for pork to sit on.
Roast at 425 degrees for 1/2 hour then turn oven down to 350 for another 2 hours, depending on the size of pork. Roughly, 20-25 minutes per pound.
Here is another way of cooking Pork Belly that isn’t rolled.
Dessert
Cream Puffs (exquisitely made by my cousin, Gina)
Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches
If you have ever had Monday-itis, and aren’t quite ready to start the work week, might I suggest that
you block off time on your google work calendar, rearrange your schedule and book in a lunch with family or friends that you love. I highly recommend it.
A Monday completely stirred with LOVE.
