Pot Lucky! Sparkling Summer Punch & Spiced Pork Kebabs

Who doesn’t love getting together to share a meal with friends? In these economic times, with gas making itself way too comfortable at $4.00+ a gallon, we are tightening our collective belts in a variety of ways from cycling to work to cutting back on extras, like trips to Europe or dining out. Spending time with friends isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity, and you don’t have to break the bank to throw a wonderfully memorable party, or picnic!

Lucky for us a favorite nostalgic ritual is making a comeback; re enter the Pot Luck Supper, where each guest contributes to the fun by bringing a dish.

Recipe for a Pot Luck Party
1 generous host
1 lovely home
1 group of your favorite people
1 dish or drink per couple or person
plates, glasses and utensils
a few great cds

• Pick a date
• Combine ingredients
• Enjoy!

In all seriousness, Pot Luck parties really do make for a great time. As a chef, I love it when anyone besides me cooks, so a Pot Luck, where I get to sample an assortment of “yummies”, to quote my 18-month-old daughter, is a real treat.

You can go about it in a variety of ways, from picking a theme, foods and wines of the South of France, for example, or tapas and sangria, or comfort foods, or anything that moves you. It’s nearly impossible to go wrong, unless of course everyone brings dessert and no one brings a beverage or the other way around.

To get you started, here are a just a few recipes my friends, family and clients love.


Sparkling Strawberry and Lemon Punch
1 quart simple syrup
2 or 3 quarts chilled seltzer, or Sprite if you like it sweet
1 pint freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 quarts strawberries, sliced and frozen
ice
fresh mint

• Combine ingredients in a large punchbowl, or a glass cookie jar to improvise
• Serve in pretty glasses or plastic tumblers
• Feel free to add your favorite spirits

Quick Version
2 quarts lemonade
2 or 3 quarts chilled seltzer, or Sprite if you like it sweet
2 boxes of Strawberry “froze fruit” cut into chunks
ice
fresh mint

• Prepare as for above

Spiced Pork Kebabs
2 lbs pork loin, cubed **also can use chicken, beef, lamb, turkey, or even Portobello mushrooms
2 limes, juiced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper
Old Bay Seasoning

• Toss the pork with lime juice, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper
• Sprinkle liberally with Old Bay Seasoning
• Thread on wooden skewers and grill until cooked through
• I serve this by removing the pork from the skewers; piling it high on a platter and serving it with toasted flatbreads, warm tortillas and assorted hot sauces. Soooooo good!!

Note:
If you don’t have Old Bay, you can use paprika, cumin, garlic powder, turmeric, onion powder, celery salt or any combination thereof. For a spicy kebab, add a good pinch of cayenne. Of course you can certainly also add vegetables like peppers, onions, mushrooms and zucchini, but these little spiced nuggets are so divine on their own the veggies actually aren’t necessary. For more of a “dinner-dinner” you might want to load up the vegetables and serve them skewered.

For more ideas or to learn more about Emily, please visit www.eatlivewell.net

Butternut Squash Soup & Lamb Tagine

Clearly this is hardly seasonal, though it was when I wrote it. While I'm all about regional, seasonal, and seasonally "appropriate" food, I came across this article written by me this past Winter and it cooled me off just thinking about it. So here it is...

When I was a child, the onset of Winter was truly my favorite time of year. Snow-days, especially, held, and still do, a very special place of magic and warmth in my heart. How splendid was the piling on of sweaters and hats and boots and scarves and mittens, such simple measures to enable my best friend at the time, Beth Ann, and I to go out and frolic in the snow for hours until we would return, at twilight, breathless and red cheeked, with snow crusted hair. We’d strip down just inside the back door, layer by layer, then sit cozily around the kitchen table to vast mugs of steaming hot chocolate with marshmallows and some sort of warm cookie, baked just for us with my mother’s new Kitchen Aid mixer, regaling her with tales of sled rides, snowball fights and angelic imprints left in the yard.

Now a “grown up”, with a child of my own, the idea of any form of forced recreation and snug relaxation holds a great deal of charm for me. Now I am the one with my mother’s Kitchen Aid mixer, nurturing my own family on Winter days both snowy and otherwise. As a working mom I am compelled to answer to both of those titles, “working” and “mom”. The working part of the equation is attracted to recipes that are quick and simple to prepare that can literally be created on the run. The mom part longs to nurture my brood with savory, slow and sumptuous cuisine, the kind that simmers for hours filling the house with perfume of the gods.

I think that many of us struggle with that dichotomy so for today, here are two recipes. One for each.

Baked Butternut Squash Soup
prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 30 minutes
serves 4

1 butternut squash
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper
nutmeg
olive oil

• Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
• Cut the squash down the middle lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and drizzle lightly with olive oil
• Place cut side down on baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until tender
• When cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh directly into the blender (if you don’t have a blender you can use a potato masher for a slightly lumpier though no less delicious soup)

For Soup

• Add stock, salt, pepper and a few shakes of nutmeg
• Blend until smooth
• At mealtime, heat through and serve with a crusty bread and simple salad

Moroccan Lamb Tagine
prep time: 30 minutes
cook time: 2 – 2 ½ hours
serves 4
2 ½ lbs lamb shoulder cut into 2” cubes
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup blanched, sliced almonds
1 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into medium dice
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into ½” half moons
1 tsp each of ground cumin, coriander, ginger and cinnamon
6 tomatoes (or one can peeld tomatoes), roughly diced
1 can chickpeas, drained
½ cup dried apricots
3 – 4 cups hot lamb or vegetable stock
pinch of saffron strands
kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper
4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
juice of 1 lemon
couscous, to serve – see below

• Heat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit
• Heat the oil in a large ovenproof pan and sear the lamb on all sides, remove from pan
• Add spices and almonds and stir to toast
• Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until tender
• Deglaze with tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes until all the good bits are melted back in
• Add lamb, squash, carrots, chickpeas, apricots, stock and saffron
• Season with salt and pepper
• Bring to the boil, then cover and place in oven for 2 – 2 ½ hours or until the lamb is melting and tender (if you don’t have ovenproof cookware, reduce the heat and simmer on top of the stove)
• Stir in the parsley and lemon, and adjust the seasoning
• Serve with couscous

Couscous
2 cups Plain couscous
3 cups boiling water
zest from 1 lemon
½ cup sundried tomatoes

• Pour couscous into a bowl, add chopped, dried tomatoes and lemon zest
• Cover with boiling water and wrap with plastic for 5 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed
• Fluff with fork and serve
• If you like, add chopped parsley or other herbs before serving