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We got together on Saturday this week to watch the NBA finals 🏀 I have been a knicks fan for about 12 days now - in truth, I am finals fan of almost any sport. We kept things very summery - grilled steak and corn with a caprese salad featuring heirloom tomatoes. I also bought two different types of olive bread to serve as a welcome snack.

Caprese Salad

This salad is fun to prepare once guests arrive - showing off your bounty of heirloom tomatoes is always a good idea. In this version, I cut the tomatoes into chunks, drizzle with olive oil and sea salt, then decorate with room temperature burrata (room temperature is key to bring out all of its flavors) fresh basil and balsamic vinegar glaze. The longer this sits out, the more you will develop a delicious tomato juice liquid at the bottom - highly recommend for bread dipping!

Grilled Steak

Skirt steak is my all time favorite cut of beef - it can offer me those crunchy black edges with pink interiors in record time. This one is dry brined with salt and brown sugar (which adds a beautiful sweetness) and comes from Smitten Kitchen.

Corn and Cherry Tomato Salad

This salad only works in the summer when all the ingredients are fresh and offering their peak flavor. It’s grilled corn, alongside all raw vegetables: cherry tomatoes, scallions, one jalapeño, and herbs alongside the most simple vinaigrette of olive oil and apple cider vinegar; also from Smitten Kitchen.

Lemon Bars

I have decided to make a cookbook! It will feature all of our classic go-to recipes. In some cases, such as with lemon bars, I couldn’t remember which our go-to recipe was! So I made America’s Test Kitchen alongside Smitten Kitchen’s version. The Americas Test Kitchen version was more lemon forward - the base was a bit crisper offering more contrast to the lemon, some folks preferred the softer base of Deb’s. For the cookbook, I will be going with America’s Test Kitchen, noting that you could probably cook the base for less time for a less crispy bottom.