Coronado Concerts in the Park - Cheese, Charcuterie and Accompaniments

We choose a simple culinary theme for Father's Day so all the dads in our group could enjoy the day with their families and not have to worry about cooking. We had a huge group and an abundant array of cheese, charcuterie and accompaniments. I didn't expect anything homemade, but was pleasantly surprised by Kai's cured salmon, Holli's ricotta and hummus, and mom's focaccia. I made chutney.

Kai cured his salmon with sugar, salt and vodka and served it with toast points, horseradish sauce, capers and red onion. Holli's homemade ricotta was accompanied by sliced baguette, succulent peaches, gorgeous figs, and honey. She paired her hummus with lavash bread, lightly toasted tableside with her culinary torch. Mom's focaccia featured local strawberries, caramelized onions with balsamic vinegar and maple syrup, basil, and fleur de sel, accompanied by goat cheese (I will be dedicating a separate blog post to this fabulous focaccia).

I've always wanted to try Ina Garten's Cheddar & Chutney on Brioche from The Barefoot Contessa cookbook. She uses Major Grey's Chutney, but I opted for homemade Major Grey's Chutney from Saveur magazine. The lengthy list of ingredients includes mango, onion, sugar, ginger, raisins, apple cider vinegar, garlic, lemon juice and spices, all simmered for a few hours until reduced and thickened.

In addition to the above, we had various cheeses, olives, fruit, pâté, salad, crackers and bread, Champagne and wine. It was a gorgeous and sunny evening, the park was jam-packed, and the music by BETAMAXX, a high energy 80's tribute band, had everyone on their feet.

Ultimate picnic fare

Kai's Cured Salmon

Holli's Ricotta

Drizzle of honey

Veuve Clicquot - no glass required

Mom's Strawberry Focaccia with Maple Balsamic Onions

Ashley & Max

Holli's Hummus

Toasting the lavash

Les Trois Petits Cochon Mousse Truffee

Aged Irish Cheddar, Chutney & Broiche

Bread & Honey

Nina's lovely fruit and cheese platter

More bread and honey with extra bread under the chin!

Pammy's Sini Fulvi Sottocenere w/ Truffles

Baby Brie

Salad, bread and another beautiful platter

Sparks & Jackie

Betamaxx lead vocalist Breanne Arrigo

We're super excited about next week's U2 tribute band - Zoo2! We had fun with our Rolling Stones culinary theme but went a different angle on this one. We considered Irish food or things that grow on trees (Joshua Tree) and then decided on requiring the name of the dish to contain the letter U. This morning, Holli and I were able to come up with too many dishes and decided to make it a bit more challenging - the name of the dish must contain two letter Us - and that goes better with U2...

Cheers!

French Fridays with Dorie: Purple Haze Goat Cheese, Strawberry & Balsamic Tartine

I'm a couple days late on this post, but thankfully I didn't let this week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe pass me up! These Goat Cheese and Strawberry Tartines prove, once again, that extraordinary doesn't need to be complicated. I know what I'll be nibbling on when I get to the park early to set up for Concert in the Park this evening...a couple of these babies with a glass of chilled white wine.

The star ingredients: La Brea Bakery French Demi Baguette; Cypress Grove Purple Haze Goat Cheese, with a subtle hint of fennel pollen and lavender; organic strawberries; freshly ground pepper; and the most decadent aged balsamic vinegar.

Thinly slice the baguette on the diagonal into 1/3-inch thick slices. Lightly brush one side of the slices with extra virgin olive oil and grill them in a grill pan for a minute or two. Allow to cool, spread the goat cheese over the bread, and top each tartine with one or two strawberry slices. Finish with a grind of black pepper and a few drops of syrupy aged balsamic vinegar. Dorie says the balsamic is truly unnecessary and truly good. I say it's most definitely necessary to take these over the top.

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French Fridays with Dorie is an online cooking group, dedicated to Dorie Greenspan‘s Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours. As members of the group, we have purchased the cookbook and cook along as much as we can. There is a new recipe each week, and we post about that recipe on Friday. We are asked to refrain from posting the actual recipes on our blog. The book is filled with stunning photography, and personal stories about each recipe, which makes it that much more intriguing. I highly recommend adding it to your cookbook collection if you haven't already!

French Fridays with Dorie - Burrata, Tomato and Roasted Strawberry Salad

Strawberries are the angels of the earth,

innocent and sweet with green leafy wings reaching heavenward.

~Terri Guillemets

My participation with French Fridays with Dorie this month has not been up to snuff, but I'm ready to jump back in the game. I skipped Week One's Warm Weather Vegetable Pot au Feu, in favor of a Summer Salmon, Arugula and Couscous Salad, and Week Three's Roasted Rhubarb. I did make a go of Week Two's Cola and Jam Spareribs, but was rather disappointed. Despite buying two slabs of tender baby back ribs, the Chinese five spice powder, ginger, apricot preserves and can of Coke for the basting sauce didn't float my boat. In Dorie's defense, that was also the Sunday my Dooley-dog got sick, and we were off to the vet emergency room just as the ribs came out of the oven.

I'm looking forward to some interesting recipes scheduled for July, like Salmon and Tomatoes en Papillote and Coconut Lemongrass-braised Pork. If I can find my way around my new kitchen, you'll see a few more FFwD posts in July.

I actually made this week's Mozzarella, Tomato and Strawberry Salad almost a month ago,  for Concert in the Park, along with Cherries as Olives. Both were fine additions to the gourmet spread put out by our culinary gurus for the first summer concert of the season. I put a little twist on the salad by roasting the strawberries, and used luscious, creamy burrata.

Roasted Strawberries
Adapted from Super Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen
via Leite’s Culinaria
Makes about 2 cups

2 pints small to medium strawberries, hulled
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
2 tablespoons tawny or ruby port
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Freshly cracked pink peppercorns

Preheat the oven to 350°F, with the oven rack adjusted to the middle position.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut the strawberries in half or in quarters, depending on size. In a large bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, olive oil, and salt. Add the strawberries and toss very gently to coat. Arrange the strawberries in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.

Roast just long enough for the juices to thicken, but not long enough for the juices to burn, 20 to 30 minutes.

Transfer the roasted strawberries and juices while still warm from the pan into a bowl. Drizzle with port and balsamic vinegar, and gently combine. Use immediately or let cool and refrigerate for up to several days.

To complete the salad, gently combine the roasted strawberries with about 16 grape tomatoes, halved. If you are not using roasted strawberries, Dorie's recipe uses about 16 small strawberries, hulled, and halved, and 16 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved. She then seasons the strawberries-tomato mixture with fleur de sel, freshly ground pepper and a few drops of extra-virgin olive oil. Serve family style, by placing about a 1/2 pound of burrata on the platter, with the strawberry-tomato salad on the side, and garnish with basil chiffonade, a drizzle of olive oil, and crushed pink peppercorns. Lightly toasted baguette slices complete this summery and colorful picnic-in-the-park platter.

French Fridays with Dorie is an online cooking group, with over 2,000 members, dedicated to Dorie Greenspan‘s newest book, Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours.  As members of the group, we have purchased the cookbook and cook along as much as we can. There is a new recipe each week, and we post about that recipe on Friday. We are asked to refrain from posting the actual recipes on our blog. The book is filled with stunning photography, and personal stories about each recipe, which makes it that much more intriguing. I highly recommend adding it to your cookbook collection if you haven't already!