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 

Sweet Days of Summer - Cucumber Margaritas & Fluke Crudo

Cucumber Margarita, Photo: NK 

Ever have a really fabulous weekend from start to finish? 


This past weekend was like that for me. 


Beautiful weather and wonderful scenery (we stayed at my family's home on Long Island) came together with a few fun activities, plenty of relaxation time and a nice meal. 

Let's not forget a drink or two.

The only thing I had to remember on Saturday morning was to begin steeping my Cucumber Infused Tequila for the next 24 hours so it would be ready for cocktail time.

Priorities, people! 


Next we attended the most lovely baptism for a dear friend's little girl. The ceremony was beautiful and the after party was great fun, not to mention beautifully styled:

A lovely baptism, Photos: NK

Here are her sources:

Plantable Pink Lamb Paper Seed Favors (you plant them and they grow into wildflowers!) - Etsy.com

Supremely delicious and beautiful custom Cake from famous Tate's Bake Shop, Southampton

Hand Monogrammed White Tin Pails filled with rocks painted with a cross. So simple and pretty! 

+ lovely seaside venue Cowfish Restaurant. 

It was a wonderful event!

Sunday was set aside for family time so naturally I wanted to plan a menu.
Since we were by the sea, I opted for a quick and classic fish meal. 

Fluke Crudo with Radishes & Cubanelle Peppers, Photo: NK 

We have so many seafood menus here on NK (like this, this and this). That's because seafood is my favorite food and when it comes to making a fast and elegant meal, nothing is better. All you need is a really trustworthy fishmonger and half the work is done. 

I decided to prepare a simple main of Red Snapper & Asparagus on the grill pan, preceded by an appetizer of Steamed Clams as well as a quick Local Fluke Crudo (what's quicker than raw?) inspired by Esca in NYC. 

Crudo actually means raw, and when the word follows the name of a fish, what you're about to eat is basically the equivalent of Italian Sashimi. As with many simple preparations, the key to Crudo is very high quality fish and accompanying ingredients (such as great Olive Oil and specialty Flaked Sea Salt). This article from NPR.com is where I found the inspiration for the below adaptation for Fluke Crudo. It is a great read!! 

Before you cook, you'll need to have Cocktail Hour. For that, we went for the simplest and most refreshing Margarita of them all - no Triple Sec needed! The Cucumber Margarita made with your own house-infused Cucumber Tequila - just let Cucumbers sit in Tequila for 24 hours and voila. Get the recipe on Food and Wine. 

Now, without further delay, here is our Fluke Crudo recipe. Truly delicious and as simple as it gets. 

Here's to another wonderful weekend and many more sweet days of summer to all! 

Choose thin Cubanelle Peppers if possible, Photo: NK

Fluke Crudo with Radish & Pepper
Lightly Adapted from David Pasternack /Esca  
Serves 4 as an appetizer

Ingredients:
4 Ounces of Radishes, cut into match sticks
1/2 Cup thinly sliced Cubanelle Peppers

8 Ounces very fresh Fluke filet, sliced in half lenghtwise and then again into 1/4 inch thick slices (cut against the grain)

2 Limes 
High Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

Specialty Flaked Sea Salt (or other good quality coarse grained Salt. (we used French Grey Salt). 

Method: 
In a small bowl, toss the Radish Matchsticks and Sliced Peppers with the juice of half a Lime and a sprinkle of salt. 

Prepare each serving plate by squeezing about a teaspoon of lime juice on it. Place the slices of Fluke side by side or in a fan shape.

Top with equal portions of the Radish and Pepper mix. 

Drizzle each plate a few times with high quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil. 

Finish with a sprinkling of Salt and serve with a Lime Wedge. 

Serve right away and enjoy!