The Cooking Diaries #3

Hello again!

Welcome back to The Cooking Diaries- my little series here on The Dinner Club that acts as a repository for many of the willy-nilly recipes I share, plus an opportunity for us to catch up!

This summer has been busy, and I’m sure you feel the same. Between traveling, weddings and other obligations, I feel like I haven’t had time to actually cook all that much! We’re officially on that post-July 4th downward slope where the speed at which summer comes to a close seems to move exponentially faster and faster. Isaac Mizrahi sums it up best.

This week, I made my annual (as of last year) Christmas in July dinner, and boy did it feel good. No reason to fret about cyclospora when you’re making braised short ribs and peanut butter cup cookies. I did also make an endive salad, but happy to report that I’ve been marked safe from the diarrhea parasite as of the writing of this newsletter.

I have managed to find time for plenty of little treats lately- cola Americanos, soft serve ice cream cones, and these incredible Frosted Lemonades using my favorite- Milo’s Lemonade. Thank you to Milo’s for sponsoring today’s newsletter!

These are the ideal summer afternoon treat- equal parts creamy and tart, and truly just as easy as rolling through the drive through. I like to make these a little on the thicker side to make sure they don’t melt too quickly in the summer heat. Find Milo’s Lemonade and other beverages in a store near you!

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 cubes of frozen Milo’s lemonade

• ⅔ cup vanilla ice cream (about 2 large scoops)

• 1 cup Milo’s lemonade

• Zest of ½ lemon

Instructions:

Start by making the Milo’s lemonade ice cubes. Pour some lemonade into an ice cube tray and freeze overnight. Place 2 to 3 cubes of the frozen lemonade in a blender and add the vanilla ice cream, the Milo’s lemonade and the lemon zest. Blend until smooth, and add a splash more lemonade as needed. Serve in a frosted glass with a little more lemon zest on top.

Download the printable PDF here:

Another thing I will always manage to find time to make in the summer is an easy, assembly-only appetizer. Some of the greatest recipes are things that barely require a recipe at all. Things you can assemble at a moments notice while you’re 2 cocktails deep and don’t need to measure a thing. This tomato carpaccio is absolutely one of those things. I threw this together at the last minute during my Fourth of July party, and it was a hit. The thinly sliced tomatoes mimic the experience of a typical beef carpaccio, and the real delicious moment is soaking up the tomato juices, oil and vinegar with crusty bread while you hold a glass of crispy white wine in the other hand.

Ingredients:

• 2 heirloom tomatoes, sliced very thin

• 3 Tbsp olive oil

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 2 Tbsp good balsamic vinegar

• Tender herbs such as basil, tarragon or chives

• Crusty bread
  

Instructions:

Thinly slice the tomatoes and set aside. Drizzle the olive oil on the bottom of a plate or serving platter. Arrange the tomato slices on top and season generously with salt and pepper. Drizzle over the balsamic and sprinkle the herbs on top- you can use chives, basil, tarragon- any tender fresh herb. Serve with crusty bread alongside.

Download the printable PDF here:

Another hit at myJuly 4th party this year was my grandma’s banana pudding. The only real banana element here are the sliced bananas layered in the middle, but few things hit the spot for me like this dessert. A couple years back, my mom and I did a banana pudding blind competition at Easter, and this recipe was the winner- the preferred choice against my more “gourmet” version with vanilla pastry cream and homemade whipped cream. It’s still incredible, but if the crowd favorite rendition only takes about 20 minutes to make- why not?

(we call her Nanny Yeehaw' because she lives on a ranch and raises cattle!)

Ingredients:

• 3oz package instant vanilla pudding mix

• 2 cups whole milk

• 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

• 8oz container whipped topping

• 11oz box vanilla wafers

• 4 to 5 bananas, sliced

Instructions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the pudding milk, whole milk and sweetened condensed milk. Add the container of whipped topping and stir to combine. In a bowl or trifle dish, lay down a layer of vanilla wafers, then a layer of sliced bananas and a layer of the pudding mixture. Repeat until the dish is full, or all ingredients have been used up- ending with a layer of cookies on top.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Download the printable PDF here:

Following said Fourth of July party, I had quite a but of leftover corn that I didn’t quite know what to do with. Enter this corn and crab bisque. I’ve been wanting to make a corn soup for a while, but a corn soup presents an interesting issue. Corn is at its peak flavor in the height of summer, which is precisely the time when most people don’t want to make or eat soup. Then I realized I don’t actually care. I love soup all year round, and I refuse to apologize for it. I’ll enjoy my hot bowl of steamy corn bisque in the comfort of my air conditioning with a blanket on my lap as God intended.

Slight editorial note here: This recipe is one that I made up in the moment for a casual dinner at home, so it has not been tested before writing and sharing as is typical. However, I got a lot of requests to share the recipe, and I can attest- it was fabulous. Measurements are my best approximation, and this one will be remade and retested in the near future, and is subject to change!

Ingredients:

For the corn stock:

• 4 corn cobs

• ½ large onion, halved

• 3 garlic cloves

• 1 bay leaf

• 6 cups water

• Salt and pepper to taste

For the soup:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil

• ½ large onion, diced

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 Tbsp Old Bay seasoning

• 8 ears fresh corn, cut off the cob

• 4 yukon gold potatoes, diced into 1 inch cubes

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 Tbsp red miso

• 2 Tbsp creme fraiche

• 8oz jumbo lump crab meat

• Sliced scallions or chives for serving

Instructions:

Start by making the corn stock. Trim the corn off the 8 cobs, and set the corn aside. Take 4 of the cobs and cut them in half. Add them to a pot or large sauce pan. Add the onion and garlic cloves, then cover with water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the pot to a simmer and allow it to cook, covered for about an hour. Prep all the other ingredients for the soup in the meantime.

To make the soup, set a pot on the stove over medium low heat. Add the olive oil, and saute the diced onion until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute more. Next, place a strainer over the top of the pot, and pour in the corn stock.

Bring to a boil, and add about two thirds of the corn and the diced potatoes. Throw in the bay leaf, reduce to a simmer, and allow the soup to cook for about 25 minutes, or until the potatoes are very tender and cooked through.

Reduce the heat to low and remove the bay leaf. Add the miso and the creme fraiche, then blend the soup with an immersion blender until it’s mostly smooth with a few chunks remaining. Add the remaining corn and the crab meat and stir to combine. Turn the heat off, allow the soup to cool briefly and serve with some chives and an extra dollop of creme fraiche on top.

Download the printable PDF here:

I spent last weekend up in Pennsylvania for a friend’s wedding, and boy do I love it up there. I indulged in two of my favorite Western PA treats- a late night fried appetizer platter from Sheetz, and a hungover lunch at Eat-N-Park. Bonus points if you indulge in one the night before the other.

I also experienced one of America’s best regional wedding traditions- the cookie table. These are common at weddings in the Pittsburgh area, but I think every wedding should have one. Grandmothers, aunts, sisters, and loved ones from both sides of the family will bring a cookie for the table, and it’s a great opportunity to try some cookies that you don’t see all that often, including these little strawberry numbers that I need to learn how to make. They taste like the inside of a pop tart. If anyone has intel on these, please reach out!!

Another thing I love about Pennsylvania- the dairy. Soft serve ice cream is not nearly as common here in Texas as it should be, but the cows in PA are on something totally different. I could eat one of these a day for the rest of my life. In fact, since I’ve been home I’ve developed a pernicious little Dairy Queen habit that I don’t plan on kicking any time soon.

It was fun to escape the Texas heat for the weekend, drive on hilly roads with the windows down, blasting Fleetwood Mac, and toss back more than a few Miller Lite’s with friends at the local gay bar.

For now, I’m back at home, back in a routine and looking forward to the launch of my needlepoint collaboration with Friend of Mine launching later this week! For all the stitchers that read The Dinner Club, the collection is out on July 23rd at 10am Central on shopfriendofmine.com!

The whole collection is themed around my favorite things- cooking and hosting, and I can’t wait for y’all to get it in your hands.

That’s all for today! I hope you have a great week ahead.

XOXO,

– Harrison