The First BLT of the Season

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One of our favorite traditions revolves around the very first home grown tomato of the summer. We typically see this special tomato somewhere around the Fourth of July. This year, we saw it the week before that.We watch our plants in anticipation, awaiting the ripening, and planning it around a Saturday afternoon. As it ripens we evaluate. Picking it too soon ruins the entire event. We don’t know what would happen if we picked it too late, because that, somehow, has never been a problem.When it reaches just the right ripeness, we sping into action. We buy the best fresh loaf of hearty bread that we possibly can. We have a nice goat cheese on hand. We make sure that there’s arugula…. and then we put together the best BLT of the year.

Served with a bottle of wine and a bit of jazz while sitting on the back deck and enjoying the summer, it is something that we look forward to all year long.

The Turkey!

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This year we prepared a 28 pound fresh turkey. I rubbed it with Penzey’s Galena Chicken and Rib rub, then added some garlic and onion for good measure. I popped it into the oven, put the oven on Convection Bake at 300, and let it go for 5 hours. There is no comparison between fresh and frozen turkeys. This turkey was juicy, tender and flavorful. At least I think it was. By the time the turkey was served things had gotten quite hectic, so I didn’t eat that much of it…. and there weren’t really any leftovers!

Anyone who says that a six burner stove is excessive does not cook for 25 people! This was our first Thanksgiving in our new house. We had designed both the kitchen and the dining room to be able to host the family gatherings. We used every burner of the 6 burner stove, and we had both ovens going full speed for most of the day. I don’t know how we would have done this without the kitchen layout. We had mixed veggies, cheese sauce, gravy, peas with pancetta and pearl onions, mashed potatoes and blackeyed peas.

And of course, as usual, there was too much dessert, but most of it went. There was pumpkin pie, pecan pie, raspberry pie, applie pie, blueberry pie and raspberry cheesecake.

All in all, another good Thanksgiving.

Now the plans for Christmas start! In one month we need to do this all over again! I’m torn between tenderloin and prime rib. I’d love to make something a bit more elegant than mashed potatoes, but I’d have a revolt on my hands if we dared to skip those!

Pasta with Bacon and Vegetables

Tonight’s dinner, geared at using produce from our CSA box, was a simple pasta with sauteed broccoli, onion, garlic, shelled peas, tomato, bacon and olive oil with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Oh, yeah, and garlic scrapes. I forgot to list the garlic scrapes on my original list (below, under the link), so I am adding them - and crossing them off! - now.

Served with a salad of fresh, homegrown tomatoes and basil with tiny mozzarella balls.

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