A Mother's Day Feast

This just might end up being the longest post ever. For Mother's Day, my mom requested that we take a picnic. The weather has been really nice, even if a little on the hot side, so I thought it was a great idea. When we were kids, my mom would take my brother, sister, and me to this one particular park for picnics. They have nature trails, a garden, and koi ponds, but by far the coolest attraction is the muster of Indian blue peacocks that live there. When I was really young (maybe 3 or so), I called them "teatocks," and that name has always stuck in my family. We decided to hit up our old stomping ground for our picnic. It was beautiful, and apparently, the height of mating season because the males were out in full plume, courting their lovers. This guy hung out about 12 feet from where we were sitting for almost the entire 2 1/2 hours that we were there.

I wonder if they ever get tired of holding up those beautiful tail feathers.

There was one particular recipe that I wanted to try out from the Cooking Light Complete Cookbook, so I set out to come up with a menu to complement it. I searched high and low for things that could easily be served outside. Here's the lineup:

• Tomato-Basil Tart (Cooking Light Complete Cookbook)
• Romaine Salad with Pears, Goat Cheese, and Candied Walnuts (adapted from two recipes: Emeril Lagasse & Barefoot Contessa)
• Pecorino Crackers (Giada De Laurentiis)
• Summer Fruit with Wine and Mint (Giada De Laurentiis)
• Sangria (Emeril Lagasse )

I had a lot of fun coming up with the menu, so I'm going to take you through all five of the recipes. As with most recipes, I made a few changes here and there that I will tell you about as I go. The picnic meal was a huge success. The food was absolutely fabulous. In addition to the things that I made, my sister-in-law made two kinds of finger sandwiches on croissants: Curried Chicken Salad and Peppered Turkey & Avocado. They were delicious. When I get the recipe for the chicken salad, I will definitely blog about it. My sister also made my mom's favorite dessert: Caramel Apple Pie. She has a special recipe that is to die for, which includes a crumb top, toasted pecans, and caramel drizzle. I just can't compete with it, so I don't try. We all had a wonderful time and stuffed ourselves silly.

Tomato-Basil Tart

• 1 (11-oz) can refrigerated soft bread stick dough
• 3 large plum tomatoes
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 C loosely packed basil leaves
• 3/4 C shredded part-skin mozzarella cheese
• 2/3 C fat-free ricotta cheese
• 1/2 C grated fresh Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 tsp olive oil

This recipe is for one 9-in tart, but I made individual 4-in tarts. The directions that follow are for the large 9-in tart. I doubled the recipe and it was enough to make 9 individual tarts.

Preheat oven to 425°.

Unroll dough, separating into strips. Working on a flat surface, coil 1 strip around itself in a spiral pattern. Add second strip of dough to end of first strip, pinching ends to seal; continue coiling remaining dough. Let rest 10 minutes.

Roll dough into a 12-in circle.

Fit into bottom and up sides of a 9-in round removable bottom tart pan coated with cooking spray.

Cover dough with foil; arrange pie weights or dried beans on foil.

Bake at 425° for 15 minutes; remove weights and foil. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Reduce oven temperature to 350°.

Cut tomatoes into 1/4-in thick slices. Sprinkle with salt.

Place tomatoes, salt sides down, on several layers of paper towels. Cover with additional paper towels. Let stand 10 minutes, pressing down occasionally.

Place basil, cheeses, pepper, and egg whites in a food processor; process until smooth.

Spread cheese mixture over crust.

Arrange tomato slices over cheese mixture; brush with olive oil.

Because my dear husband prefers to eat meat, I made some of the tarts with prosciutto. Place a layer of prosciutto over the cheese.

Top with tomatoes and brush with olive oil.

Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until cheese mixture is set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Cut into 6 wedges.

These tarts were delicious. I cannot stress enough the importance of using fresh Parmigiano Reggiano and not a canned variety such as Kraft. Despite the dark green color that the basil imparted on the filling, the basil flavor was not overpowering. I might add more tomatoes to the top next time (and there will definitely be a next time) because they were so tasty. I didn't get to try the tart that had prosciutto added, but Patrick admitted that while it was good, he thought it would have been better without it.

Romaine Salad with Pears, Goat Cheese, and Candied Walnuts

• 6 C romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1/2 C crumbled goat cheese
• 2 large ripe Bartlett pears, cored and diced
• 1 1/2 Tbs white wine vinegar
• 3/4 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 6 Tbs olive oil
• 1/2 C walnut halves
• 2 Tbs brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 pinch cayenne
• 1 tsp butter

To make the caramelized walnuts: In a medium skillet, add the walnuts, brown sugar, salt, cayenne and butter.

Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.

Cook until the sugar caramelizes and coats the nuts, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to separate the nuts.

Transfer to a baking sheet covered with parchment paper to cool.

To make the salad dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, egg yolk, salt, and pepper.

Slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion. Be sure to give it some elbow grease.

Arrange 1 1/2 C lettuce on a plate or bowl. Sprinkle with 2 Tbs goat cheese. Add about 1/4 of the diced pears and 2 Tbs walnuts. Drizzle with dressing as desired.

The flavors in this salad were absolutely phenomenal. The combination of sweet pears, creamy cheese, salty/sweet caramel, and tangy dressing made for one delicious salad.

Pecorino Crackers

• 1 1/4 C grated Pecorino Romano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp cayenne
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 C all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Combine the cheese, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a medium bowl and stir to combine.

Add the butter.

Using a hand mixer, beat the cheese mixture and butter until combined.

Add the flour 1/4 cup at a time, mixing only until incorporated and the mixture holds together.

Place tablespoon-sized balls of the dough on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

Tap the dough down gently with your fingertips.

Bake until just beginning to brown at the edges, about 15 minutes.

Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes.

Oh man. These crackers are addicting. While I held back, I could have eaten a dozen of these butter packed beauties. They have the flaky texture of cookie (thanks to all the butter), but they pack quite a punch. I will let you in on a little secret. I made two batches of crackers. In one batch, I used about 3 Tbs of homemade garlic butter. This batch was sooooooo good and far superior to the batch without garlic. I will forever use garlic in this recipe. You don't need to make garlic butter, I just happened to have it on hand from the last time I made it. Just throw in 3-4 cloves of roasted garlic (NOT raw).

Summer Fruit with Wine and Mint

• 1 1/4 C dry white wine
• 1/3 C sugar
• 1/2 ripe cantaloupe, halved, seeded, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
• 1 basket (8-ounce) fresh strawberries, quartered
• 1 C seedless green grapes, halved lengthwise
• 1 Tbs chopped fresh mint leaves

Add the wine and sugar to a small saucepan.

Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.

Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Combine the cantaloupe, strawberries, grapes, and mint in a large bowl.

Pour the warm wine mixture over.

Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until cold, stirring occasionally, at least 2 hours.

This fruit salad had the potential to be amazing, but it was just okay. Allow me to explain. I think fruit in plenty sweet on its own. The combination of fruits with the mint had a lot of potential, but the wine sauce really ruined it for me. The wine itself played an important role in bringing out the mint, but the added sugar was overkill and made the salad syrupy and much too sweet. It would have been better without the sugar. I would have simply reduced the wine to cook off the alcohol and poured it over the fruit instead. I would probably cut the amount of wine in half as well. Who knows, maybe it doesn't need the wine at all. I might try this again, but I'm not positive about that.

Sangria

• 1 (750-ml) bottle red wine
• 1/4 C brandy
• 1/4 C triple sec
• 2 Tbs fresh lime juice
• 2 Tbs fresh orange juice
• 1/4 C sugar
• 1/2 orange, thinly sliced
• 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1 unwaxed apple, cored, and cut into thin wedges
• 1 (750-ml) bottle sparkling water, chilled

Cut the fruit and place in a large pitcher.

Mix the brandy, triple sec, lime juice, orange juice, and sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Pour over the fruit.

Add the red wine and stir. I used a Rioja because my friend (and self-proclaimed food snob), Stephan, said that that is the traditional wine to use in sangria. He lived in Spain for a while, so I took his word for it. Cover and chill completely, 1 to 2 hours. When ready to serve, add the sparkling water.

The sangria was just ok. I did like that it wasn't overly sweet. I fear that part of what I didn't like about it was the wine that I used (I'm sorry Stephan). I will admit that I am not very adventurous with wine--I know what I like and don't like, and I usually stick to what I know I like. I think this would have been better with a nice Pinot Noir.