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A New England Dinner

July 27, 2011 in Food by traveleatlove | 11 comments

There is nothing better after a day in the sun than a leisurely dinner. Inspired by the sea that we spend our weekend days on, this past Sunday we enjoyed a picnic dinner of New England favorites.

The first course was a mix of mesclun greens topped with fresh local peaches, goat cheese, and drizzles of honey balsamic and blood orange olive oil, one of my favorite additions to recipes ever. It was a light, simple yet totally elegant starter and tided us over until we got the rest of the meal cookin’.

Our next course was lobster, two perfect Maine lobsters boiled and dipped in Kate’s butter with sea salt. Eaten while sitting on the floor, barefoot of course. I love sitting on the floor.

After salads and lobsters, we were full, so we decided to spend some time cleaning up and hanging out on the deck listening to Spotify. Do you guys have it yet? It’s pretty awesome. I could spend hours searching for songs.

Our third course was another simple one, steamers, lemony butter, and a giant soft baguette.

Lots of butter and bread and a couple of Harpoon summer beers later, we were stuffed. . . but not too stuffed for Magnum ice cream bars. Is there any other way to end a summer meal than with ice cream?

It might seem that I am obsessed with summer, and I would say that is perfectly okay.

Ready for the weekend yet?

Tags: clams, dinner, Food, lobster, New England, salad, summer

Curried Peach Chicken Salad

July 20, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 10 comments

Chicken salad has become a staple in our weekend boating diet. Simple to pack and bring along to eat with bagels, wraps, crackers, or slices of baguette, it’s a filling meal that staves off hunger at sea. Our friend Jill is a magician in the kitchen and makes one of the best chicken salads, and we have been luck to have her bring it along lately.

Even after eating it several times in a row, I found myself craving chicken salad this week and decided to whip some up using seasonal ingredients I had in the house. What resulted was far different than what I planned on making, but is definitely a new favorite recipe in this house.

I started with a bunch of organic chicken tenders, tossing them in olive oil and curry powder before putting them on a hot grill pan.

Once all the chicken was cooked through, I chopped it finely and set it in the fridge for the afternoon while I got back to work. One of the many joys of working from home.

A few hours later, I chopped half of a small red onion, a few ribs of celery, and a jalapeno and tossed them with the chicken, along with a heaping tablespoon of mayonnaise.

I sprinkled in a bit more curry powder, tossed everything together, then added a sweet ingredient, chopped fresh peaches. The juice mixed in with the rest of the ingredients and made for a nice sweet, soft contrast with the crunchy celery and spicy jalapeno. A bowl of summer was born!

I served the chicken salad in Tortilla Land tortillas which I had cooked and then let come to room temperature and filled with baby spinach. My camera battery died, so I didn’t get a shot.

I am excited to eat this chicken salad for lunch today!

How is your week going so far? Is it crazy that I am already very ready for the weekend? I am taking a half day Friday for a fun food tour, so I am trying my best to get as much work done as possible during the week. It’s a little overwhelming.

I hope you are all having a great day!

Tags: chicken, curry, dinner, healthy, peaches, recipe, salad

Strawberry Salad with Grilled Scallops

June 7, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 13 comments

Strawberries, scallops, and peppery arugula all taste like summer to me. After a long winter, there is nothing I crave more than strawberries. Well, maybe heirloom tomatoes, but they don’t arrive until later in the summer, and I don’t want to rush things.

Strawberries, plump and red, if you are lucky, juicy enough that they are more than a little messy to eat, are perfect on their own. We all know that they make a happy union with shortcake and cream, and who doesn’t love a strawberry cupcake? I foresee myself making all of the above, but this past weekend, I wanted a strawberry and scallop salad.

Salads are the essence of summer, their simple preparation welcome after a day in the sun. I started this salad by cleaning and slicing strawberries on the beautiful Oxo cutting board I got at Eat, Write, Retreat.

I paused for a second to smell the sweetness of the raw scallops before putting them on a piping hot grill pan. I love how a fresh scallop smells as much as I love the taste. I did my best not to move them around in hopes of getting a golden brown, caramel color on each side.

While I left the scallops alone, I plated fresh arugula, strawberries, and crumbled goat cheese, finally adding the scallops when cooked through. They took no more than six minutes total.