Hi everyone. Please click on the title of this post to read the rest of the post and see the video that follows. I am coming off of a very entertaining filled week and I thought I would discuss how I did my prep and made a few meals out of the first cooking session.
The first eating extravaganza was my second annual Peg and Cathy lunch at my house. I decided to make my corn quiche, vegetable orzo salad and a spinach salad with goat cheese, dried cherries and pine nuts. For our appetizer, I made the savory cheddar cookies.
Now, the ladies were coming over at 11:30 AM but I had a few errands to run before they came over and kids to watch. The key to my success was that I planned way in advance. The following is a list of ways in which I relieved myself of stress the morning of (please note that the pressure was on since Cathy and Peg are both PHENOMENAL chefs and I have an ego. Also, as you’ll see from the video, I had to enlist the help of a purple friend-no guilt!…):
1) I made and froze the quiche crust a few days before and brought it out of the freezer the night before to defrost. I did the same with the savory cheddar cookie dough.
2) I made the orzo pasta the night before and left it in the fridge in a tupperware
3) I choppped the olives for the orzo salad and left them in a tupperware in the fridge
4) I defrosted my corn for the quiche, sauteed it up and put it in a tupperware the night before
5) I toasted the walnuts for the salad beforehand and stored them on the counter in a covered bowl
6) I chopped the dried cherries up and set aside on the counter for the spinach salad (You can buy these at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods)
7) I defrosted the lemon juice I froze to create my lemony orzo salad dressing
As you can see, I did most of my tasks before the actual lunch time which allowed me to more or less just assemble the dishes instead of doing a lot of time consuming prep work.
The best part about this meal was that I had enough left over to eat for dinner that night. Two days later, my brother , Andrew, came for an unexpected visit from Brooklyn and I was able to serve him like the King he is. Check him out in the video and see for yourself but don’t get too attached-he’s handsome but married.
Here is the recipe for the Spinach Salad:
Spinach Salad:
4 big handfuls of fresh spinach
3-4 ounces crumbled up goat cheese
a big handful of toasted walnuts or pine nuts (also known as pignoli nuts)
a handful of dried cherries, chopped
serve with my famous maple-soy dressing (it’s in a previous Take Back the kitchen post) Mix it all up and Enjoy!!
http://www.youtube.com/get_player
One Response
alma, i am a friend of joanne’s who turned me onto your webpage. i tried your spinach salad with goat cheese and cherries and bar none, it is one of the best salads i have ever had! the dressing is unbelievable! i look forward to future recipes of yours. as the mom of 4 also, i too cook early morning and there is something special about knowing that dinner is prepared by 8am! look forward to future “secrets” and recipes. best, allyson