Fourth of July Cook-a-Thon

It’s hard to top last year’s Fourth of July, in which I dragged the President and First Guy of the Debate Club to and thru a park in the pitch dark attempting to find a vantage point from which to view the fireworks. 

We saw, actually, three sets, tiny and off in the distance, as we sat on bleachers and tried to not be spotted by the police car patrolling the area and kicking out all of the folks parked in their cars.  (The First Couple were well-dressed for this high school-style adventure, camouflaged as they were in black hoodies.  I was wearing a bright white shirt, putting the whole operation at risk of being sighted.) 

We then walked back the short, but steep way, inducing a near asthma attack in the Pres.  I like to show people a good time. 

Despite that high bar being set, book clubber and babycake recipient Amy, and her husband, Owen, managed to surpass it with their Fourth of July party this year. 

Each year their Fourth party includes an obstacle course.  This year, with Amy at eight-months pregnant, the theme of the course was Conception, Gestation and Birth.  I don’t want to give away any trade secrets, so I’ll just say this: adults were swaddled and balloons were popped suggestively. 

Pick-up lines were also involved, and initially thinking I wasn’t going to compete, I gave mine* away to Sarah’s partner Doggie.  I was disappointed that it was abandoned in favor of “Nice shoes.  Wanna f***?” but, as a Hemingway fan, I had to admire the line’s brevity and economy.

I, of course, took the opportunity of a party to have a cook-a-thon. 

(Some things didn't  get made.)

I made several dishes, most of which were somewhat disappointing to me, but weren’t total disasters.  Here are the recipe results and one recipe I made up all by myself! (Sticks thumbs in suspenders.) 

Roasted Green Bean Salad – I don’t have the recipe to repost, but essentially, roast green beans and garlic (both tossed in a little olive oil and S&P) until the beans are brown and crackly.  Toss the cooked beans and garlic with halved cherry tomatoes, basil, a little Dijon mustard and balsamic and maybe some more olive oil.  I also added some toasted pine nuts.  If you, like me, are still battling with Chronic Vegetable Ambivalence, this might not sound very exciting, but done right, it is deeee-licious.  It was not done right for the Fourth but it was serviceable.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake from Epicurious (minus the cardamom listed in the recipe) – The recipe itself worked out fine, but not being a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake aficionado, I am really not sure how good it was.  It seemed tasty enough but not transcendent.  It was a happy surprise to learn that this kind of cake is a favorite of both Amy and Alice, partner of another book clubber, Haydn.  Knowing that two friends are fans makes me feel ambitious to find a transcendent Pineapple Upside-Down Cake recipe, but so far, none of the ones I’ve researched look much different from Epicurious.  But I like a challenge and looking forward to experimenting.

Five-Star Holy-Crap Lime-Yogurt Sherbet – I know I keep talking about this, but people consistently love this dessert.  I mean really, vocally, love it.  As mentioned in the past, I up the zest to about a tablespoon.  This time I chopped it super fine and it stayed more evenly distributed in the final product.  If you have an ice cream maker, make this sherbet.  You and the people around you will be glad you did.  Use Greek Goddess plain whole-milk yogurt if you can.

Berry Pound Cake from Martha Stewart – Made this solely to fulfill the patriotic color scheme for the holiday.  I found the cake dry and disappointing, would not recommend this recipe.  I've reconsidered.  For one, I am realizing I might be a smidge overcritical of my own stuff.  For another, I heard back (unsolicited!) from another guest, Dana, that she liked it.  If I think about it, I think if it was dry, that was an oven, not recipe issue (I think my oven somehow tends to dry things out before the inside is fully cooked).  So maybe it is worth a try, just have some moistening toppings (like, say, Five-Star Holy-Crap Lime-Yogurt Sherbet) or lots of whipped cream just in case.

(Mine did not look like this.)

Watermelon Lemonade – I didn't care for this, but some people did.  I think maybe the watermelon was not ripe enough, and for this, I've decided to point the finger at chef Captain Ahab.  He happened to be at the grocery store when I was shopping for the event.  Because I have no shame, and despite the fact he clearly had better things to do, I forced him to assess my produce (I can't possibly be expected to go to the grocery store to buy a pineapple actually prepared with the knowledge of how you know if the pineapple is ripe).  So any shortcomings I’m just going to say are his fault.  I am blameless. 

Now for the dish I myself made up.  All by myself!  Like a big girl!  Lentil-Orzo Salad.  As usual, I was underwhelmed by the end result, but people seemed to like it okay and I was actually asked to write it down, so I have.

Lentil-Orzo Salad

• 1 cup of dried French green lentils, preferably lentilles de Puy
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 lb. orzo
• ¼  cup finely chopped fresh dill
• ½ cup thinly sliced fresh basil
• 1 ½ cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 8 oz. of crumbled fresh goat cheese
• 3 Tbls. of red wine vinegar (or more, to taste)
• 3 Tbls. of olive oil (or more, to taste)
• Finely-grated zest of about 1.5 large lemons (or more, to taste)
• Kosher salt and freshly-ground paper to taste

Rinse and pick over lentils.  Place in 2-quart saucepan with garlic, 4 cups of water and a couple pinches of kosher salt.  Cook until lentils are tender.  This seems to vary widely, from 20-50 minutes, so I recommend testing fairly often for tenderness and seasoning, adding more salt during the cooking if necessary.   Once tender, drain well in a sieve and allow to cool.

Cook the pasta in salted water to al dente stage, drain and rinse with cool water.

Toss pasta, lentils, and other ingredients together in a large bowl.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Serve cold or room temperature.

*My pick-up line: Obviously, I didn’t make this up, but I can confirm it’s a Never-Fail.  Okay, it’s a Never-Fail because it’s a Never-Tried, but it’s so clever I am glad I have it in my back pocket, and now you, too, have the power.

Lick your finger and apply moistened finger to article of clothing worn by object of pick-up.  Say: “Now let’s get you out of those wet clothes.”

Comments

[Amy]

More pineapple upside down cake! I'm glad to hear you left out the cardamom...

[Owen]

Thanks for the lentil-orzo recipe. Looking forward to making it again. You were wrong to be underwhelmed - it was delicious. Nicely balanced, with multiple subtle flavors that left me wanting more.