My Summer Simple menus are designed for around advanced, easy preparation, requiring less cooking and time management after your guests arrive.during dinner time. All you have to do is to assemble, warm or quick grill. These menus are forgiving with simple preparations and cooking methods, there are absolutely no compromises in flavor or presentation. These dishes are bursting with flavor, color and a bit of fun. There is no better time than now to create small safe gatherings that take advantage of beautiful summer nights celebrating life outside with family and friends at home. These dishes focus on the freshest seafood and and bright summer vegetables.
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The well known Nicoise Salad, or Salade Niçoise in French; is a delicious, refreshing and traditional salad from France in which fresh market produce are complimented by typical Provencal seasonings. Too often however the version you find on menus is prepared with canned tuna which is not my favorite. I do have a few recipes in which I utilize canned tuna but never in this salad. My version using more delicate fresh shellfish is heavenly. I use two of my artSAVOR blends to add layers of savory deliciousness. I had great fun creating the elevated seafood marinade with artSAVOR 75 and the vinaigrette for the vegetables with artSAVOR 30. Plating this ahead of time and covering in the refrigerator, makes last minute service incredibly easy. Served right from the refrigerator at room temperature made my duties light and contributed to a more spontaneous and easy summer night dining al fresco.
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My idea of a perfect pizza is a crispy, but chewy toothsome crust covered in fresh, bright crunchy toppings. Honestly, I can’t create a summer menu without a pizza course! But that is really almost true year-round. I challenge myself to keep it new and different, despite that I have made countless pizzas in every variation you can imagine from different crusts to unusual toppings. Lately I have been using artSAVOR blends to create more subtle and unexpected flavors. As pleasant evenings abound during the summer in Southern California, I am using the outdoor grill as often as possible. This incredibly simple and rustic pizza benefits from the summer herb garden plus artSAVOR 30 to elevate four kinds of cheese melted into deliciousness on the artisan crust topped with crunchy summer vegetables. This is all the best of summer brought together in a pizza!
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I fell in love with summer rolls many years ago at a small Vietnamese restaurant. Light, fresh, healthy, versatile so and easy to make, they remind me of a very simple Persian appetizer called “Noon o Sabzi” (bread and greens). This Persian treat is a platter of fresh herbs, peppery greens, radishes, onion and cheese served with thin lavash bread. The diner chooses a selection of herbs to roll in the lavash like a summer roll. My shrimp and vegetable summer rolls add the perfect fresh starter to my summery menu. I love creating with rice papers as they provide a perfect background to deliver everything from beef, seafood, poultry to vegetarian. For this recipe I am using artSAVOR 75 for the dip to creating all many levels of flavor deliver savory deliciousness in every bite.
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For me summertime is about my love affair with the outdoor barbeque and kabobs. The aroma that emanates is so divine, alluring and inviting. This recipe affords the easiest preparation requiring little cooking time, yet the result is so versatile and can be presented in numerous ways. Of course, I start with my artSAVOR 20 and then layer in additional flavor with fresh jalapeño, cheddar cheese and freshly ground sumac. This is a WOW-worthy presentation to boot!
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As you may have guessed, I am not a “dessert lover!” When it comes to creating sweet endings for a menu, I always try to find a quick and easy solution that says “made from scratch” but is just mostly! Everyone loves a fudgy, chocolate brownie. My version is made better with walnuts and fresh tart cherries stirred through the batter. The cherries have been cooked down with a bit of sugar and Grand Marnier. It is finished off with layer of brown sugar caramelized bananas.
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Part of my shopping joy is the discovery of new products that pique my curiosity. Recently I came across wine-based margarita cocktails. The bright colors grabbed my attention, so I decided to give these beautiful strawberry red and vivid lime color libations a try. I chose to spin these up in the blender with some ice into a lightly frozen refreshing cocktail which lowers the alcohol content. This is the perfect welcoming aperitif with to serve your guests on a summer night!
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It is so exhilarating to live a life that frees your mind from limitations and rules when exercising creativity. I respect and honor important rules and traditions, but when it comes to creating in my culinary atelier, my “kitchen”, it is a matter of not feeling restricted to what everyone else does. You would be very surprised if you knew how far from my original idea for this recipe ended.
I had thought to use artSAVOR 50 to season the chicken artSAVOR 10 for the vegetables and bread. Somehow to my surprise, I was out of both and redirected to artSAVOR 40 and artSAVOR 30 respectively. This launched a pantry purge which I do from time to time to toss things past their “use by” date. I found a bottle of Persian pickled lime that I had completely forgotten. Then my favorite question popped into my head, “What if?” The rest is history. The time from start to service was about an hour.
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From a simple three ingredient to complex layers of many ingredients, pizza is staple appetizer on my menus. I have lost count of the dozens of variations I have created over the years. I cannot even count how many styles and varieties of pizzas I have made over the years. I wish I had written some notes. The good news is the varieties are endless and fun. Pizza is so versatile that it can serve as a light amuse bouche to a hearty main course. Choosing from a selection of fresh herbs, to the varied dried herbal flavors found in every artSAVOR provides nearly endless possibilities to build flavor. For this is so much fun! The dried leek, dill, marjoram and cilantro in artSAVOR 90 adds amazing depth to this recipe. The bacon and the sunny side up eggs are both optional if you want to keep this very herbaceous and simple.
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There are times when elegant and sophisticated does not required complicated preparations. This gorgeous seafood cocktail is easy and requires minimal fuss, yet has my creative touch. Boiled shrimp and lobster with their buttery flavor and texture call for paring with complimentary dipping sauces that deliver layers of flavor – tanginess, citrusy, sweet, sour, umami, and even a bit smoky. My artSAVOR 75 vinaigrette and store bought Cocktail Sauce (I prefer Whole Foods 365 or Trader Joes) mixed with artSAVOR 75 are the answer to that call, delivering all those flavors to make your bite a celebration.
To enhance the buttery luscious texture of the monster crab legs, I set out bowls of melted butter, lemon juice, artSAVOR enhanced cocktail and vinaigrette sauces. The simple addition of artSAVOR 75 to a store bought cocktail sauce or vinaigrette will elevate this seafood platter to new and delicious heights!
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