The History Quilter: Tuesday at the {summer} Table

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

T@t{summer}Table: National Chocolate Pudding Day

Happy National Chocolate Pudding Day!

I know, it seems kind of silly but here in the United States we have commemorative food holidays that are (somewhat) honored monthly and daily. There are food holidays that are proclaimed by our President, voted in with Congress or made up with money - copious amounts of money by corporations and PR firms. For a monthly list of national food holidays visit www.thenibble.com for their article about American Food Holidays.

Because I love chocolate pudding and today corresponds with Debbie's Tuesday at the {summer}Table featured theme of desserts, I planned ahead and knew I would be making chocolate pudding last night for today's post. After looking around for a recipe that seemed fun to try I landed on Peanut Butter-Milk Chocolate Puddings by Dede Wilson from the Janary 2009 issue of Bon Appetit.

Peanut Butter-Milk Chocolate Puddings in 6 oz glass jars

They were good and so very rich as they were made with both whole milk and heavy cream. At only 3/4 cup/6 ounces of pudding in each of those jars, they appear too small of a dessert but wow do they pack a punch - there was no way I was going in for another one. But my boy however....

wanted them all. For the record he also stopped at one.

I'm linking up with Debbie from A Quilter's Table for her Tuesday at the {summer}Table this week. Go check out what other's have been posting throughout the month of June for the {summer}table.

Enjoy your day!

Susan

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

T@t{summer}T: Cast Iron Grilled Chicken with Lilac Ratatouille

Grilling is the theme this week over at Debbie's Tuesday at the {summer}Table feature and although my BBQ is closed during the week, last night I pulled out my Cast Iron Grill Pan and went to work. I had no plan, no recipe or thought to what the final outcome for dinner might be other than to grill some chicken and use my Lilac Bell Pepper.

My first step was to find out how this baby tasted as I needed to know if it was sweet like a red bell or armpit tasting like a green bell (yes, I'll admit not a fan of the green bell pepper) or somewhere in between?

I could tell by how it felt that it had a pretty thin hull and upon cutting it open I confirmed that thought but what caught me by surprise was the white inside. Unfortunately I must tell you that the Lilac bell pepper didn't taste like much of anything. No sweetness but no armpit taste either so the idea of using this raw in a salad was out, it would need to be cooked and seasoned.

Next up was grilling my chicken. I wanted the chicken to cook evenly so I sliced each boneless chicken breast in half horizontally so I could have pieces that were all the same thickness. The uniformity of the chicken makes grilling indoors so much easier as (theoretically) all of the pieces should be done at the same time.

Into another pan went onion, garlic to sweat for a while and then I threw in the bell peppers. I let all cook together for about 10 minutes. I was going for a modified ratatouille so I added in some tomatoes just before I plated my dinner.

I served my Cast Iron Grilled Chicken with Cavatappi (a corkscrew shaped pasta with ridges) that had been lightly seasoned with olive oil and a bit of Parmesan cheese, and then covered with my Lilac ratatouille and a basil chiffonade from my garden. Chiffonade is such a fun word - sounds so pretentious for thinly sliced basil.

Cast Iron Grilled Chicken with Lilac Ratatouille

Dinner was a success all around as it was light, well seasoned and contained a multitude of textures and flavors.

One last item for today ~ my Latte Quilt came back to me yesterday via the UPS man. This was the quilt I made for Hoffman Fabrics for Quilt Market in Houston, TX last year. I'll have more on a future post about where it has been and where it is going (Giveaway opportunity!).

Latte Quilt 42" x 39"

I'm linking up with Debbie at her Tuesday at the {summer}Table feature today.

Enjoy your Tuesday!
Susan