Gourmet's Idyll Summer Menu-7/30/09

I've occasionally complained while doing this project of making every recipe in Gourmet magazine for the month about the huge menus with 10+ recipes. I think Gourmet got it right with this month's dinner menus. Tonight I made the menu titled "American Idyll", the last of the three dinner menus in this month's Gourmet. All three of these menus where of manageable size and could easily be reduced for a smaller family. The menu I made today was the largest with 9 recipes but I was able to make one of the two pie recipes at a different time and only the pie had an active time of more than 30 minutes.
Tonight's menu was a true summer classic with Mint Ice Tea, lots of fresh veggies, ribs, and pie with ice cream. Every component went together well and there wasn't a single recipe that I thought, "Why did they stick that in here?"
The menu began with a Fresh Mint Tea Julep that could be made with or without alcohol. I'm not a huge sweet tea person so I did water mine down but the mint added a wonderful freshness to the tea. The bourbon, an alcohol I usually don't like, was a good match for this tea as well, giving some kick without overpowering the mint flavor.
The Sticky Balsamic Ribs were also good, though not the best I've ever made. There is a recipe for ribs with a Cherry Coke glaze in Bon Appetite from years ago that still holds that honor. I only cooked one rack so they did not take as long as the recipe stated.. The balsamic glaze did not thicken up in the 15 minutes or so of boiling but I brushed it on anyway and it still flavored the ribs well.
The starter of Eggplant and Sun-Dried Tomato Spread was super easy and I will definitely save this one for other occasions. It worked well with a summer menu such as this one but had enough flavor to work with lots of menus, even heavier winter meals. Yum!
The sides were quick, easy, and starred fresh summer vegetables. The Corn-and-Tomato Scramble and the Green Beans with Sweet Onion Vinaigrette both had great vinaigrettes that were flavorful but did not overpower the vegetables. The Lemony Potato Salad seemed almost too simple but again, it was flavorful and filling.
The dessert of the Plum-Blackberry Pie and Sour Cream Ice Cream was a real summer treat. I've never made a plum pie and loved the combination of plums and blackberries. My only suggestion for next time would be to cut the plums in smaller slices. The recipe said to quarter the plums but the pieces were too big for a manageable bite. I had to go back and cut the plums up for Eyrleigh. The Sour Cream Ice Cream was a great variation on vanilla. It had a cheesecake-like flavor that was very smooth but had a nice tang at the end. Way to go, Gourmet, this is a great summer menu!














Fresh Mint Tea Juleps-B+
Eggplant and Sun-Dried Tomato Spread-A-
Sticky Balsamic Ribs-B
Corn-and-Tomato Scramble-B+
Lemony Potato Salad-B+
Green Beans with Sweet Onion Vinaigrette-B+
Plum-Blackberry Streusel Pie-A-
(All-Butter Pastry Dough-A)
Sour Cream Ice Cream-A

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hambrick's-Party of Four!-8/1/11

Image
On August 24th of last year, I wrote a innocuous little post on this blog about my husband being a good sport about my creative culinary exploits.  And then....nothing....for over 11 months.  What happened, you may ask?  Well, the picture at left tells a rather significant part of the story but not the whole thing so I'll try to summarize here in case another 11 months go by before I post again.  (Okay, I will seriously try not to do that!)  The year 2010 started off on the wrong foot with the loss of our fourth pregnancy (Thankfully, pregnancy #2 had resulted in Eyrleigh!) at 18 weeks.  We were still reeling from the devastation of that event when my only sibling, my brother Ben, committed suicide at the end of February.  Then in April, Richard's company hired a new CEO and things professionally went south from there for him.  Since a blog is a public format and could therefor be accessed by anyone, including this individual, let me suffice it to say that after 9 years with th
Read more

I Don't Boil Lobsters...July in Review-7/31/09

Image
Gourmet's July recipes are in the bag and aside from the two recipes I refused to do, I made every recipe for the month. I suppose I should explain... I eat meat but I cannot actually kill the animal before I eat it. I suppose I should amend this statement. The mussels I brought home from the store said "Live mussels" but they sure didn't move or give any other indication that they were alive. Lobsters do, they move, they squirm, and whether you believe it's simply air escaping from their shells or not, they make a high pitched screaming sound when first put into boiling water. I just can't do that. The very thought of it turns my stomach and makes something I find fun, cooking, fill me with dread. So I didn't make the Boiled Lobster Dinner with Sesame Mayonnaise on page 54 or the Lobster Rolls with Lemon Vinaigrette and Garlic Butter on page 28. Everything else I made and here's my highs and lows from this month's issue. This month's best reci
Read more

He Even Eats Sardines-8/24/10

Image
My husband is a really good sport.  I was reminded on several occasions this week how many spouses, husbands in particular, would take no part in the experiment I've been blogging about for over a year and a half.  Some friends came to eat last week and the wife made a point to tell me her husband did not eat vegetables.  He's a great guy but I'm really glad I'm not married to him.   I couldn't handle a picky eater.  And I'm 100% sure a picky eater could not handle me!    Another friend, after I told her what we were having for dinner, asked very incredulously if Richard would eat that.   Tonight I think I found Richard's least favorite food.  It's sardines.  I had to eat them as a kid so though I don't love them, I can eat them.  Richard took one bite of the sardine spread and asked what I had made him eat.   The recipe for Grilled Monterey Sardines with Lemon and Herbs in the To Big Sur, With Love article in this month's Bon Appetit called for
Read more