5 Course Summer Meal

Yesterday Jetty and I played Master-chefs as a big thank you to my family for taking us in for a few months when we were in transition (with a brand spankin' new baby)!

This "thank you" was WAY overdue and didn't even begin to show how grateful we really are, but it was lots of fun and so nice to spend time with some of the family.

 

It even gave us the chance to wear our matching aprons made by a very special friend of ours. Jetty was a little bit reluctant to get a picture taken since he knew it would be on the blog, but I talked him into it!

For dinner we made a 5 course meal. It started with 3 kinds of crustini.

Starting from Left:

Garlic Cheese Bread: We toasted the bread and then rubbed it with real fresh garlic cloves then covered with cheese and broiled it until the cheese melted.

Garlic Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomato: (This recipe is from a close friend of ours- well I think passed on from her mom). You start by roasting the garlic. Chop the top of the clove off so the cloves are exposed. Then drizzle with olive oil, cover with tinfoil and bake in the oven at 400F for 25-30 mins or until the cloves are soft and spreadable. Spread a whole clove on the toasted bread, cover with goat cheese then top with a sundried tomato.

Bruschetta: SO many recipes for this and we cheated this time so I will let you find one you enjoy.

Next we had a salad which was inspired by this pin from Whisked:

Source: ilanafreddye.com via Melanie on Pinterest

We wanted to make it more of a greek salad though so we opted for avocado, feta cheese, tomato and cucumber. We also sprinkled it with oil, balsamic vinegar and red onion.

Next we made our famous french onion soup. We've made it so many times that I didn't even take a picture this time! Since I've shared it here on the blog a lot, I decided to share the recipe this time.

1 Tbsp Butter
6 Medium onions thinly sliced (About 8 cups lightly packed
1 tsp Granulated Sugar
1 Tbsp All-purpose flour
6 Cups of Beef Stock
1/2 Cup of White Wine or Water
Pepper
4-8 Thick Slices of French Bread
2 Cups of part-skim Swiss of Jarlsberg cheese
2 Tbsp Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese (I often just opt for lots and lots of Parmesan cheese)

In a large heavy saucepan melt butter over medium-low heat. Add onions and sugar; cover and cook stirring occasionally for 30 minutes or until onions are tender. Increase heat slightly and cook, uncovered stirring often for about 10 minutes or until onions are a rich golden brown.

Sprinkle flour over onions and stir well. Add beef stock and wine or water; cook, stirring often until boiling. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Season with pepper to taste.

Place soup in bowls, add slice of french bread to the top (or toast with cheese and then add) combine cheeses and add to the top. Broil until cheese melts.

Makes 4 main course servings and 8 appetizers.

YUM!

The main course we put together looked amazing in the picture. It was a PC recipe and we all know how much I love PC. It was Feta and Tzatziki with Pork Souvlaki. I was a little disappointed with this for a few reasons. One- the Superstore near us didn't even carry the bread suggested and Two- it was not as tasty as I'd hoped.I might try making it with our own marinated chicken instead and maybe a pita bread. We ended up using greek bread but it broke when we folded it.

For dessert we went with something simple and delicious that we knew everyone loved. S'mores Graham Krispie Treats from Country Cleaver. These are sure to be a hit!

Source: countrycleaver.com via Melanie on Pinterest

It was a summer-time inspired meal except for the soup, but you could always substitute the soup for this crispy coconut shrimp for a real summer meal topped off with a campfire-inspired treat!

Did you do anything fun and exciting over the weekend? Tomorrow I'm sharing Elias rolling over from back to front unassisted- we caught it on camera!