WE’RE ALIVE! I hope you weren’t worried (or starving). Summer=Vacation. Wanted to say a BIG thank you to all the Facebook and website comments about our recipes. I’m at a crossroads about commenting on every single comment to say ‘thank you’, I just feel like that seems a little silly, but believe me, we cherish EVERY single comment–good or bad!

So onto the recipe…

This is actually 3 recipes, hence the title  “Feast”. Here’s the breakdown: Mediterranean spiced meat kebabs, tafooleh salad and roasted garlic baba ganoush dip. You can make all 3 or just one and you’ll be eating like a king. We’ve made this so many times, in fact, we’ve made this for a dinner party (+ a few other accoutrements), our grandparents, my parents, kids –and had huge success. I don’t know why I’m just getting around to posting it.

Brandon l-o-v-e-s watermelon. I h-a-t-e watermelon. Well, I don’t hate it, but I don’t get excited like Brandon does when it comes in season, mainly because I hate the seeds. I hate the seeds in oranges too. Must have been some kind of childhood trauma. Haha, just kiddin’. All that being said, Brandon devoured this salad and I thought it was pretty darn good myself. We served this with No-Fry Crispy Chicken Wings and it was the perfect grease cutting kind of summer salad.

Ingredients

• 1 4-5 lb., seedless watermelon (we used a Sugar Baby), diced
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in 1/2
• 1 handful of mint, chopped
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1/4 c champagne or white wine vinegar
• 1 squeeze of the honey bear
• S&P

Method

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and eat!

Beef stew, also known as beef bourguignon, is good, but boring–and we personally think it tastes like straight up sour wine and that is not very tasty, especially by the spoonful. So we’ve added a bit of balsamic vinegar and raisins to counter the sour with a bit of sweet. We’re also swirling in a nice, briny, herbal pesto to brighten up the braise. Another change, we’re not using a crock pot! The dutch oven allows liquid to evaporate from the pot, thus creating a thicker, more intense flavored stew. And heck, I would rather eat in 2 hours than in 6 hours, agreed?

Stew Ingredients

• 2 T fat of your choice
• 2 lb. chuck shoulder, cubed
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 3/4 c raisins
• (1) 28 oz. can fire roasted crushed tomatoes
• 1 c red wine (only if you have some leftover, don’t go out and buy some just for this recipe–stock will work fine)
• 1/2 c balsamic vinegar
• 1 lemon, sliced and seeds removed
• S&P

Pesto Ingredients

• 1 handful of basil leaves
• 1/2 handful of mint leaves
• 1/2 c green olives (about 20)
• 3 T extra virgin olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

In a dutch oven melt your fat. Salt and pepper the cubed chuck pieces, add them to the pot and let them brown on each side. Don’t fidget with them or remove them until you see a visible brown crust on the meat. Remove and reserve on a plate.  To the pot, add the onion, garlic and carrot. Let them sweat and saute until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the meat back to the pot, along with the tomatoes, raisins, red wine and balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine. Top with sliced lemons.

Lay a piece of parchment paper of the the top of the pot and press it down into the pot. Place in the oven and braise for 2 hours. Taste the meat, it should be super tender, if it’s not give it another half hour or so.

Once you’re about 10 minutes from the stew finishing; combine all the ingredients for the pesto in a mini food processor. Pulse until everything has come together.

When the stew is out of the oven, take the lemon rinds out, but leave in the flesh…it’ll separate very easily. Swirl in the pesto and serve.

Traditional tabouli (some spell it tabbouleh) is mainly comprised of bulgar wheat and it’s sprinkled with some tomato, onion and spices. So we’re foolin’ ya! We take the grains out completely and punch up the flavor. It’s really refreshing and goes  great with grilled, charred meats and seafood or all by itself.

Ingredients

• 1 pt. cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 English cucumber
• 1/2 red onion
• 4 lemons, juiced and zested
• handful of mint
• 4 glugs of olive oil
• S & P

Method

Roughly chop the tomatoes, cucumber and mint and place in a large bowl. Dice the onion as small as you can and add to the bowl. Add the zest of 2 lemons and the juice of 4, along with the olive oil and some salt & pepper. Let the salad marinate for a few hours so the flavors can meld.

The longer you let this salad sit, the better it tastes.