Hot Lobster Rolls

In Part One of this post, chronicling our vacation adventures on Cape Cod this past August, I sang this popular destination's praises. Truth be told, there were a couple of things about it that took some getting used to. The main one, which snowballed into creating a few of the others, was the sheer magnitude of people there. The bumper to bumper traffic on the only highway leading to and from the Cape {especially on the popular rental house 'switch days'}, the busy supermarkets with throngs of shoppers daily, and possibly the most challenging to transcend, the slew of beachgoers snatching up every square inch of sand possible. However, with a place as gorgeous as the Cape, can anyone question why?

It didn't take us long to figure out how things worked, so we planned our days around these obstacles. Whether it meant shopping for more than one day's worth of food at a time, or learning different routes to get where we wanted to be - we managed to make the best of it.
When it came to the beach crowds, most of our mornings were greeted with cloudy skies. This turned out to be an unexpected benefit, as it caused many tourists to venture out in directions other than the beach. For us, the overcast weather brought with it an easy parking space, the possibility of better waves, and a guaranteed wedge of sand to call our own. In nearly all cases, the sun eventually made it's appearance while we sat back and enjoyed the afternoons.

That was, until we had a break in our luck on our last day of vacation. On this day in particular, it happened to be glorious out. Made even better with the company of some friends of ours, who were staying with us for a few days. Of course, the usual plan was in order - get lunches, bevvies, and the beach gear gathered up, then head to the beach. What we didn't anticipate was that because of the picture perfect weather, every public beach within a reasonable distance of us would be at capacity. We were locked out, down in the dumps, and @*%! out of luck, until my brilliant friend suggested we try an alternate plan.

Blackberry Smash

I go through a Summer cocktail phase every year, and each time it's something different. A few years back it was making homemade Margaritas. After that, I finally put my over-grown garden mint patch {which likes to dominate everything else around it, and is really more like a weed!} to good use and started making mojitos. Then I went through a non-traditional Margarita phase...making them with fruits other than the standard lime. This year - it's the Blackberry Smash.

Whiskey Smash cocktails have been around for ages, but are having a modern day moment in the spotlight with the addition of everything from strawberries and balsamic vinegar to sage and honey. The bourbon or rye whiskey used in the traditional version is also being substituted with vodka, fruity liqueurs, or even a splash of champagne, or sparkling wine. While looking around at all the possible combinations, I picked up a few ideas here and there, pulling what appealed to me most from many different recipes, and made this version.

This cocktail is very adaptable, so if there's something you'd like to try in place of blackberries, try it. Any berry would work well here - you could also add in some lemon slices as well. I opted to top the drink off with some bubbly water because I prefer it carbonated versus straight up booze on ice...that way I can also have more than one!
I've tried making these with and without simple syrup, and while it's certainly optional, I preferred them with a bit of syrup added in. I don't like them super sweet either, but just enough to cut some of the tartness from the limes and berries does the trick.

It's hard to believe that my boys start another school year in just a few short days, or that vacations I anticipated for months with excitement came and went in a breath. Once again, Summer flies by...but before it comes to a complete close, and berries are being swapped out for pumpkins and apples, I highly recommend you go make a batch!
Also try these Summer Beverages - Watermelon Margaritas | Hibiscus Cooler | Fresh Orange Margaritas | Vietnamese Iced Coffee

Blackberry Smash

{printable recipe}
Yields: 2 servings
This version of the old-fashioned Smash cocktail contains blackberries, vodka, and St. Germain {a French liqueur made from Elderberry flowers}. The addition of limes and fresh mint make it a perfect Summer evening cocktail, that tastes somewhat similar to a Mojito, but with a fruity punch.

1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
14 fresh blackberries
a splash of simple syrup, or to taste
1/3 cup vodka
1/4 cup St. Germain liqueur
ice
bubbly water {seltzer or soda water}

special equipment: 2 highball-type glasses, and a muddler {you can substitute the back of a wooden spoon}

Add half of the lime wedges, mint leaves, and blackberries to each glass. Use a muddler {or the back of a wooden spoon} to coarsely crush the fruit and mint.

Pour a splash of simple syrup into each glass, and give it a stir. Divide the vodka and St. Germain liqueur between the two glasses, then fill each to the rim with ice. Top each glass off with bubbly water and serve!
Salut!

Notes: The quantities given for the fruit and mint are rough guidelines. There's no need to actually measure out the mint leaves, or count the limes or berries. After you make a few of these delicious cocktails you'll know what the perfect quantity for you is. If you like more of a citrus punch, add more limes. Not so much? Add less. The simple syrup should be added to taste as well. If the blackberries you use are particularly sweet, you might just skip the sweetener all together. The elderflower liqueur adds sweetness to the drink as well.

Super Simple Syrup

{printable recipe}
Yields: about 1 1/2 cups
Adapted from Bon Appétit, August 2012
This technique for making simple syrup couldn't be any simpler. While making sugar syrup over the stove top isn't necessarily rocket science, boiling the syrup is just one more additional step, and requires turning on your stove...which is something I try to avoid in August heat. This method yields the same results as boiling, yet it's so much faster and requires no heat!

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water

Add the sugar and water to a jar with a screw cap lid. Shake for 1-2 minutes, or until the liquid becomes syrupy and all the sugar has dissolved.

Notes: The syrup will keep, refrigerated, for up to 6 months. Ball mason jars, with plastic screw cap lids work perfectly!

Old-Fashioned Potato Salad

This potato salad is the epitome of what a potato salad should be. It's that classic, all-American, slightly Miracle-Whip mayonnaise tasting potato salad. Yet, oh so much better! It's got a subtle tang, richness from smashed egg yolks, a slight bite and texture from chopped red onions and sweet pickles. And what's completely crazy about it all is that I don't like sweet pickles, and frankly, I don't like Miracle-Whip's flavor either {sorry Miracle-Whip lovers out there}. But for some reason this recipe has the right balance of everything and I loved it so much I could probably polish off the whole bowl.
Thing is - there actually isn't any Mircale-Whip in this potato salad, but I reference it because to me using that brand of mayonnaise yields a sweeter than I prefer dressing. I'm a Hellmann's {Best Foods} girl all the way. So when I took a look at the ingredient list for this salad and saw it included a bit of sugar in the dressing and sweet pickles to boot, I figured I probably wouldn't be crazy about it.
But the photo that accompanied the recipe in a recent issue of Bon Appetit sold me on making it anyway. If you click over and look at that photo I think you'll have to agree. Uh-huh. Told you. 

I love this recipe so much that I've made it three times this Summer already. It's received rave reviews and many requests for seconds each time. I especially love that it doesn't involve any hard to find, exotic ingredients, and it doesn't require hours of preparation. I'm also assuming it would taste great days after it's made, but I can't say for sure because we've never had enough leftover to test it.
The first time I tried the recipe I tweaked it a bit based on what I had available at the time, and I'll share those changes with you in case you find yourself in a similar situation...or simply want to try a variation.
I had a couple bags of those itty bitty, multicolor potatoes - red-skinned, yellow, and purple potatoes to be exact. The photo above doesn't show the purple ones because I added them in at the end for fear they would dye the whole salad purple! But they didn't. So I could have added them in with the rest. In the finished salad you can see a few flecks of the purple ones in there...it was pretty cool having purple potato salad.
Because the potatoes were so little I didn't follow the recipe instructions, which called for peeling the potatoes before boiling them. That would have been a nightmare! Instead I boiled them with the skins on, then cooled them enough so I could handle them, and rubbed off the skins, which fell off easily after boiling. I would say you could use either method, but for someone like myself who happens to hate peeling potatoes, the rubbing method worked well for me.

What makes the dressing for this potato salad so darn good is the addition of sweet pickle juice. The recipe also instructs to garnish the finished salad with slices of sweet pickle. But since I don't particularly care for sweet pickles, I was light-handed with them the first time around. However, after deciding that they were quite alright in this recipe I added in some chopped pickles for the subsequent versions - which was quite delicious. Any way you decide to make this I'm certain you won't be disappointed, and either will your guests!
A few other Summer Sides I love - Dilled Potato & Pickled Cucumber Salad | Citrus Rice Salad | Macaroni Salad | Roasted Corn & Edamame Succotash 

Farmers' Market Pasta Salad with Spinach Pesto

As much as I love doing guest posts, I had recently sworn off doing any until I could get caught up on my own blog. Yet, just days after making this resolution, I received a guest post invitation from the folks at Bldg 25. I happen to be a follower of the blog, and a big fan of the clothing brand, Free People, which the site represents. If you're wondering what a clothing company's blog might have to do with food, hop on over, as you'll be pleasantly surprised to find blog posts about everything from diy projects to beauty tips, and much more.
Being a fan, I could hardly say no {I was also quite flattered to be asked!} - so I got to work developing this recipe, as part of their new series titled Living Local, which "explores the different facets of living a mindful locavore lifestyle". When given the option, buying local is always my preferred method when choosing the foods we eat, and I am quite lucky to live in an area that has some of the most extensive and plentiful Farmers' Markets around. 

For this recipe, I paid a visit to the Westport Farmers' Market, which happens to be one of my favorites. Not only because it's large, with a vast selection of locally grown produce, but also because they're committed to selecting vendors who sell organic, and non-GMO foods only. This results in one potential downside for me, in that there are so many beautiful items to choose from, I end up buying more than I intended to! As case in point, after arriving with the intention of buying one bunch of greens, this trip yielded two bunches of mizuna {one red variegated & one green}, a bunch of spinach, a bag of mesclun greens, and a small container of red orach micro greens...not to mention the items I purchased which were unrelated to this recipe. When I got home and mulled over some ideas, I decided to incorporate all of the greens in a pasta salad dressed with a pesto made using fresh spinach.

I love traditional basil pesto, but frankly I'm not the biggest fan of having it over pasta. Mostly because I find it can be too overwhelming a flavor when eating so much of it. I prefer using basil pesto in other applications, such as drizzled over fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, dolloped on homemade pizza, or substituting it for mayonnaise on a sandwich. This inspired my interest in making a pesto with a milder favor, that I could enjoy over pasta, and which allowed the ingredients served with it a chance to stand out as well.
I began by swapping out the basil in favor of fresh spinach, which is not only a notably milder green, but also a significantly less expensive one. Another change was the oil I used. The slightly bitter flavor of olive oil can stand up to bold-flavored basil, however, it's not as well suited for spinach. So, after experimenting with some neutral-flavored oils that I thought might work well with spinach, I decided the best match was grapeseed oil.
Finally, another component of pesto that I usually always have on hand, is good Parmesan cheese. But the day I made this, I happened to have a block of Grana Padano in the fridge. This turned out to be a blessing, because I actually loved it for this recipe. In fact, I might go as far as saying I preferred it.

Grana Padano is similar to Parmigiano-Reggiano in many ways, but some of the ways they differ are in texture, flavor and price. Grana is typically less expensive, the flavor is less salty and intense, and it has a slightly softer texture. In keeping with my goal of a 'less-overpowering' pesto, it worked very well. Try playing around with some locally-grown greens for this pasta salad...it's really about using what's available to you. Enjoy!
Some more of my Pesto favorites - Traditional Basil Pesto | Pesto Pasta Salad with Grilled Chicken | Roasted Tomatoes with Pesto | Roasted Almond Ricotta Pesto with Olives | Grilled Chicken Salad with Tarragon Pesto