Summer Dinners - no. 2

This week’s one-platter dinner is a vegetarian option. Serving it with a crusty bread, focaccia, or a baguette and some good butter is all you need for a great, simple, summer meal. I love the mix of the freshness of the uncooked vegetables and the smokiness of the grilled vegetables and the spiciness of the hummus. Classic White Platter here.

SUMMER HUMMUS PLATTER

Adjust vegetable quantities as needed for the number of people you are serving. The quantities below will serve 4 adults.

1– 10 oz. tub of your favorite hummus

1 red bell pepper, sliced

4 stalks celery, trimmed and sliced

2 yellow squash, sliced lengthwise in 1/4” slices

2 zucchini, sliced lengthwise in 1/4” thick slices

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed

olive oil

kosher salt

freshly cracked pepper

red pepper flakes

On large platter, swirl hummus in a pool, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Arrange celery, carrots, and red bell pepper around hummus on platter.

On a rimmed cookie sheet, toss yellow squash, zucchini, and asparagus with a generous drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Heat grill and place squash and asparagus on grill. Cook until tender and nicely charred.

Arrange cooked vegetables on platter and serve immediately.

It’s hard to beat the great taste or simplicity of the classic margherita pizza. It requires just a few ingredients and takes just a few minutes to make, making it a great weekday meal option. Pizza Peel here and Mezzaluna here.

Classic Margherita Pizza

1 pizza crust (use ready made pizza dough from the store, or the Homemade Pizza Dough recipe here)

3/4 c. pizza sauce (Homemade Pizza Sauce recipe here)

8-10 slices fresh mozzarella cheese

fresh basil leaves

olive oil

red pepper flakes

Pre-bake pizza crust in a 500 degree oven.

Drizzle cooked crust with olive oil. Top with sauce, mozzarella, basil leaves, and red pepper flakes.

Bake 8-10 minutes more on oven rack placed second to the bottom.

Top with additional fresh basil leaves.

Makes one, 12” pizza.

For dinnertime conversation, here’s a starter to get you dreaming:

This week’s popsicle is all grown up! It’s a rich blending of coffee and chocolate, that will be certain to please the adults in your home. Classic Popsicle Mold with Summer Popsicle Sticks (not pictured) here.

Coffee Fudge Popsicles

3 T. hot water

3 T. instant coffee granules

3 T. honey

2 pkgs. Godiva Dark Chocolate pudding mix

2 c. milk (as called for in pudding directions)

In a small bowl, combine hot water, coffee granules, and honey. With a whisk, whip by hand until soft and light. (I think the fact that these three ingredients will even whip into anything is quite astounding and enjoy watching the process every time!) Set aside.

Follow the instructions for the pudding found on the box, but stop beating by hand after two minutes, as you want the pudding to still be pourable.

Gently fold the whipped coffee into the pudding. (I like the very faint tiger-striped look it has while mixing, so I stop mixing while it still retains some of its stripes. Although once frozen, they will start to fade.)

Pour into molds. Insert sticks. Freeze.

Makes 10 popsicles.

Happy summer dining, friends!