June 30, 2024

We were hosted by (new member) Carol and had a wonderful evening with a theme of summer's bounty.  Guest Sarah, Angie's niece, also was present.  

Appetizers were prepared by Angelica and were two different skewers. Prosciutto wrapped melon balls and mozzarella skewers were delicious and shared the skewer theme of the main dish. Both are a perfect, light summer appetizer. The sweet melon and salty prosciutto are a tasty combination.  

Carol had a frozen cocktail for us and she said it was from her parents and they would keep it in the freezer for when guests arrived.  It has a heavenly texture like granita, a semi frozen dessert. This drink goes down very easily so beware.  The hand written recipe is included below.  Mix all, freeze, and scrap every few hours to get the slushy texture. Start off with half the sugar and add more as desired.

For the side, Tonya brought a rice dish. This Mediterranean Rice Salad recipe was her inspiration and the add ins she used were shredded carrots, diced seedless cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, roasted corn, flat leaf parsley and red onion. Who knew you could mix all these vegetables with white rice and end up with the perfect summer side?!

The main dish was chicken and vegetable skewers with a sweet sauce. The vegetables were crispy, the pineapple sweet and lightly caramelized and the chicken juicy.  Carol did a great job manning the grill for the Hawaiian skewers. You can also cook this as a one sheet pan dish in the oven. 

I prepared two salads. I had a ton of tomatoes and needed to use those up after I had already picked another recipe from my Cast Iron Magazine.  This caprese salad was made with tomatoes and basil from my garden. My second salad was predominantly corn (that I grilled) with some pan-fried okra. The okra keeps some bite and while did seem like an odd choice, somehow works with the corn and red onions to add some earthiness.  Grilled corn is my favorite summer vegetable and I eat it weekly when on sale.

Dessert was a delightful trifle in old fashion sundae glasses. Mary made these with fresh berries, cake and pastry cream.  I loved the glasses and these large portions are always welcome when the dish is so decadent.