Tried & True - Summer Menu Inspiration

I say it every year. Summer is my favorite time to cook. From simple yet elegant meals driven by the best seasonal ingredients (basically my goal all year), to desserts that practically make themselves, no time of year inspires me more. 

Neurotic Kitchen Summer Favorites 

As you think about your own cooking goals this summer, whether they include big parties or intimate entertaining, I thought it might be helpful to compile a list of just some of my tried and true summer dishes. You can rest assured that all of them have been made multiple times and, better yet, you can prep or make almost all in advance. This means you'll have more time to enjoy your parties, which is as it should be. I hope you enjoy and I wish you a season you can savor in more ways than one.  

Neurotic Kitchen's Summer Menu Ideas

"Surf" Mains/Starters/Sides
Turn any dish into a Surf & Turf with one of these

Grilled Marinated Calamari Salad - serve alongside Steak for an easy Surf & Turf, salad included, or as a great starter
Tuna Crudo with Peach & Jalapeno
Skewered Shrimp - Season the marinate large shrimp in flavors to your liking. Stack one serving (3-4 shrimp) and skewer them in two places for easy flipping. Grill on a piastra, pizza stone or grill basket
Clams in Cartoccio - these grillable hobo packs makes any main a Surf & Turf
Cooked Shrimp Ceviche
Fluke Ceviche
Rose Mignonette for Oysters
Margarita Oysters Verde (Salsa Verde, Lime & a splash of Tequila) 
Grilled Scallop Salsa Cruda


Pastas/Pizzas - App, First Course or Main
Lemon Pizza in Grill or Oven 
Scallop & Sungold Tomato Pasta

Menus:
Latin Inspired Menu
Mojo Marinated Skirt Steak
Yellow Rice
Watermelon Arugula Salad 
Or
Grilled Pineapple, Basil & Cucumber Salad
Corn with Jalapeno Lime Butter 

Florentine Inspired Menu
Prosciutto & Melon
Bistecca Florentina - T-bone Steak Marinated in Herbs on the Grill, 
Italian Corn
Summer Stone Fruit Panzanella Salad (use any seasonal stone fruit)
Assorted Gelati  

Classy American BBQ Menu
Israeli Couscous with Seasonal Additions  (ideas here, here or here) 
Tomato and White Onion Salad, Red Wine/Olive Oil/Oregano Dressing 
Corn on the Grill - just remove the silk, soak the corn a long while and grill in the husks
Ribeyes Marinated in Caper Vinaigrette then grilled 
Strawberry Pretzel & Gelato Sundae

Greek Inspired Menu
Shepherd's Salad (Any variation like Cucumber, Tomato, Scallion etc)
New Potatoes & Green Bean Salad with Vinaigrette
Leg of Lamb Marinated in Mint and Yogurt - Grilled
Assorted Sorbets (Mint, Lemon, etc) 

Other Easy Sides/Starters:
Sweet & Savory Watermelon Wedges 
Tomato Carpaccio
Grilled Peaches with Goat Cheese
Crab Salad served on or with Cucumber Chips
Grilled Asparagus on a Grill Basket or in Foil Packets 

Ready to Serve - Products We Love
Xotchitl Tortilla Chips 
Xotchitl Salsa
Tate's Chocolate Chip Cookies
Il Laboratorio del Gelato - all flavors (especially the mascarpone used in our Pretzel Strawberry Sundae)
Talenti Gelato - Particularly Sicilian Pistachio
Spoonable Salted Caramel - Makes any Ice Cream special 
Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers - add to Ice Cream, serve with coffee, etc

Your favorite Pie a la Mode -- we like Briermere Farms Peach Cherry 

Friday Night In - Pizza Party With Friends

Strips of prosciutto folded atop a cube of cantaloupe and
skewered with a bamboo pick, Photo: NK 

These days, having our good friends over for a festive night in is one of our favorite things. We've even started a bit of a tradition - making several different types of pizza on our favorite pizza stone.
Throw in some nice wine and a little music, and it's a party. When you're in good company, there's nothing better than a relaxed dinner at home. 

For the menu, I reverted to several Neurotic Kitchen favorites that were a hit last time my friends were over, and added one new kind of pizza that will inevitably join the rotation. As always, I put out some pre-dinner nibbles that I tried to keep easy and elegant.

Pro-tip for pizza happiness: spend some time finding the very best ingredients because pizza truly is the sum of its parts -the best building blocks make all the difference. And please, if you'd really like to make this easy, don't be a hero by making your own dough - that's crazy talk! Just head into your favorite bread bakery or pizza shop and buy theirs. 



The better the dough, the easier time you will have. For sauce, I use very simple jarred pureed tomatoes - as long as you season your pizza appropriately, there's no need to use a real sauce.

Pizza Night With Friends

A simple hors d'oeuvre spread, Photo: NK 

THE MENU

Prosciutto & Melon Skewers (pretty bamboo picks make all the difference)

Brie Plate with Brillat Savarin (a triple creme that could make you die of happiness) + Fig Preserve

Smoked Salmon on Crackers with Onion, Creme Fraiche and Dill (a classic that never gets old)

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Lemon Pizza Sorrentina (the classic NK recipe is HERE)

Classic Margherita Pizza - (read about it HERE)

Pizza Piccante with Hot Cherry Peppers & Soppressata (recipe HERE)

And finally, the experiment of the night - Pizza with White Truffle Cream, Asiago & Arugula (the recipe is below).

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We can't forget dessert, which was none other than our favorite Deep Dark Chocolate Brownies. Easy, fast and seriously decadent!! 

Deep Dark Chocolate Brownies, Photo: NK 

Before we get to our Truffle Pizza recipe, let's first admire the famous Lemon Pie:

Believe me, you'll like it! Lemon Pizza Sorrentina, Photo: NK 

Too wild? Well I like to believe that there isn't anyone out there who wouldn't love the flavor of truffles, so check our latest successful kitchen experiment, this truffle pizza that I have been imagining in my head ever since my sister-in-law gave me a can of this very delicious White Truffle Cream from Urbani Truffles. 

Pizza With White Truffle Cream, Asiago & Arugula, Photo: NK 

Pizza with White Truffle Cream, Asiago & Arugula
8 small slices 

Ingredients:
1 pound ball of pre-made Pizza Dough, at room temp for 1 hour 
Can of Urbani Truffle Thrills, White Truffles and Cream
Wild Arugula Leaves 
Very Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic Syrup or Balsamic Reduction (recipe below)
Pizza Stone or well heated Pizza Pan (stone highly recommended)
Parchment Paper, cut large enough for one pizza with extra room at edges 

Pizza Stone Method: 
Place pizza stone in the oven. If not using a stone, prepare pizza as normal in a pizza pan. 

Turn oven on to 525 with the rack placed in the middle, or to highest temp your over can handle. Preheat the stone for 30 minutes. 

Flour a clean counter top and your hands. Place extra flour nearby.
Form Pizza Dough into a ball. Press it down onto the counter and continue pressing until you have a flat round. 

Form dough into your desired pizza shape, making it as thin as possible - ideally an eighth of an inch thick. Pinch the edges of the dough all the way around to form a crust. 
Check out this great video I found on the web for dough-handling pointers HERE.

Once Pizza Crust is formed, carefully transfer it onto parchment paper that is cut to a size just slightly bigger than the dough shape (enough to grab it on each side). If you are using a pan and no pizza stone, you needn't do either of the preceding steps. 

Now you are ready for toppings:
Drizzle a Tablespoon or two of Oil onto the dough. 
Using a paper towel, spread the Oil around the entire surface of the dough.
Using a Tablespoon, slowly spoon on a thin layer of White Truffle Cream and spread it all around. The dough should only be thinly covered. 

Grate some fresh shavings of Asiago generously all over the pizza.

Transfer the parchment paper with the Pizza on it to the pizza stone and allow to bake for 10-13 minutes until crust is golden brown and crispy. 

Remove Pizza and stone from the oven, and allow to cook a few minutes until Asiago Cheese looks stretchable rather than liquified. 

Pile on Wild Arugula Leaves and drizzle very lightly with Olive Oil, then again with Balsamic Syrup. Slice and serve right away!

Balsamic Reduction

Balsamic Reduction, NK 

Yield: about 4 Tablespoons

Ingredients:

One cup good quality Balsamic Vinegar 

Method:

Bring Vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring often, until the liquid is reduced and somewhat syrupy. This should take about 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it. I once ended up with completely solidified vinegar! 

Storage – the reduction can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a few weeks. It should be brought to room temperature before using.

Simply Grilled - Honey Sriracha Glazed Shrimp Skewers

Last week's July Fourth holiday was just as it should be - a day of fun in the sun and an excuse to fire up the old all-American grill. Today, I'd like to share the fastest and easiest dish of our spread, super simple Shrimp Skewers that looked beautiful and tasted even better. 

Honey Sriracha Glazed Shrimp Skewers with Grilled and Chopped Scallions, Photo: NK 

Next time you're looking for an easy yet impressive appetizer or the surf to accompany your turf, Honey Sriracha Glazed Shrimp Skewers are a great choice. Make them if you are a Sriracha lover who can handle moderate heat and if you enjoy sweet and spicy flavor profiles like I do. 

First, Some Handy Tips:

1. Soaking the wooden skewers for about a half hour is a good idea before using them on a grill in order to prevent any burning. 

Photo: NK 

2. Martha Stewart, from whom this recipe was adapted, very wisely advises that you use two skewers for each row/serving of Shrimp. Pierce one skewer through just about at the tail, and another through the opposite head end. Doing this allows you to flip the skewers more easily and prevents the Shrimp from curling up. I used these shrimp skewers as an accompaniment to a hamburger, so for us, about four large Shrimp per person was just right. 

3. If you can get your fishmonger to peel and devein the shrimp leaving the tail on, all the better. Cleaning Shrimp is one of my least favorite cooking chores, and frankly, it takes time! Buying pre-cleaned shrimp (preferably wild) or paying a bit extra to have the cleaning done for you is a huge part of making this dish as easy as it should be. 

Scallion Garnish , Chopped and Grilled Whole, Photo: NK

4. For a pretty green edible garnish, we opted to scatter the Shrimp with chopped Scallion and whole Grilled Scallions. To grill, we simply brushed the whole Scallions with oil and dusted them with Salt and Pepper. We let them cook for the duration of the Shrimp's cook time, turning once on the grill until they charred a bit. You could certainly garnish this creatively with other greens such as Cilantro or Parsley, but Scallions fit well with this Asian-inflected dish and I just love the look of them with char marks. 
Let's grill... 

Honey Sriracha Glazed Shrimp
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Serves 6 as an appetizer or accompaniment, 3 as an entree

Ingredients:

Sriracha Honey Glaze, Photo: NK 

24 Large Shrimp, peeled, deveined, with tail left on
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder 
2 Tablespoons Sriracha 
1/4 Cup Honey
Salt and Pepper

Vegetable Oil for brushing the Shrimp and the grill
Optional Scallions for chopping and a few whole for grilling 

12 Wooden Skewers, soaked

Method: 
1. Light a charcoal,gas grill, or heat up a grill pan. Soak wooden skewers for 20 min to a half hour

2. Lay peeled and deveined tail-on Shrimp on a work surface. Make a row of 4 Shrimp. Skewer the Shrimp through the tail end just before the tail, and through the opposite end (where the head would be). Repeat until you have 6 skewers of with 4 Shrimp Each. 

Glazed Shrimp, Photo: NK

3. Brush Shrimp all over with Vegetable oil and  Sprinkle Shrimp all over with Garlic Powder, Salt and Pepper. 

4. Prepare the Glaze by Mixing Sriracha with Honey and sprinkling with a healthy dose of Black Pepper. 

5. If using, brush Whole Scallions with Oil and sprinkle lightly with Salt and Pepper. Chop the extra Scallions. 

6. Place Skewers (and whole Scallions, if using) on the hot part of the grill. Grill the Shrimp until they start to become opaque - about 3 minutes. Flip and brush generously with the Sriracha and Honey Glaze. Cook another 3 minutes and serve immediately, scattered with chopped Scallions and Grilled Scallions. 


And there you have it. Enjoy!