Smoked Turkey Salad

Friday May 18

Despite the fact that we've been eating leftovers of it all this week, there's still a lot left of the smoked turkey breast, even considering that Holt will be having it in his lunch sandwiches all next week too.  It made a great dinner salad, with chopped red bell pepper, celery, scallion, and a mayonnaise dressing.

Tomorrow Barbara leaves for Rome for the Asmosia conference, and on Thursday Holt leaves (ironically) for the Feminism and Classics conference Barbara helped organize at Brock.  So there will be a mercifully short hiatus in dinner descriptions until we're together again. 

Meatloaf Sandwiches and Salad

Thursday May 17

Part of the glory of the end of a meatloaf is cold meatloaf sandwiches with ketchup, pickles/relish, and sliced onion (if that's the way it takes you) on Holt's homemade bran bread. 

On the side, a refreshing salad of giant English cucumber (from Findlay market) and chopped tomatoes (from Madison's, I guess).  

Dinner with Julie and Liz

Wednesday 16 May

This past Sunday's meal, which featured an 8-pound turkey breast and a whole watermelon, produced a lot of leftovers, so we asked Julie and Liz over to help us consume the exact same thing we did then: succulent slices of turkey breast, and a watermelon, feta, olive and mint salad.  We only added a bit of an appetizer: varied olives, and a goat cheese and arugula spread with crackers. 

Thanks to the guests, we sipped several nice wines, and this time the weather was nice enough that we were able to eat out on the porch. 

For dessert, we ate the last of our pastries from Philadelphia.  Still good, as indeed all of it was.  

Thesis Defense Dinner

Tuesday 15 May

It was only a week ago that we went to Kathleen and Steve's for a Fresh Table catered meal, and today they had it for a big group yet again, to celebrate Jody Gordon's thesis defense.

A friendly table of Canadians and Americans gathered out on their back porch to toast the occasion in wine and beer, and consume what Fresh Table entitles "Coq A Vin," plus some rice pilaf, grilled asparagus, spring mix salad with vinaigrette, and a heaping bowl of chocolate mousse.

Now we hope that Steve and Kathleen get a break from their relentless entertaining, for the summer at least.

Leftover Meatloaf with Green Salad

Monday 14 May

Half the point of making meatloaf is having leftovers (actually two thirds, if it's a decent-sized meatloaf).  So half of the chunk of protein left over from last Friday got sliced and served, with a topping of caramelized onions cunningly deglazed with ketchup.

Just a simple green salad with cukes and sherry vinaigrette made a good accompaniment.

Smoked Turkey and Watermelon Salad

Sunday 13 May

The recent good weather has been inspiring Holt with the desire to smoke some succulent item of poultry out in the great outdoors; so of course today, when we had acquired an actual turkey breast at Findlay Market and brined it overnight (according to directions in New Joy), the weather turned out rainy and cold.  But there was no turning back.  We do have the overhang from the patio, and the smoke stays inside the smoker (mainly), so we persevered, and though it had to be finished in the oven, the turkey breast came out warm brown and mesquite-smokey.

As an accompaniment, we copied a tasty salad that Dave had made for his and Holt's lunch when we were visiting in Canada: chunks of juicy red watermelon sprinkled with feta, oil-cured black olive slivers, and chopped fresh mint, dressed with the best olive oil, sea salt, and white balsamic vinegar. 

The flavors complimented each other perfectly, as did the Maurice Ecard Bourgogne pinot noir; just wish the weather had been better.

Bengali Salmon and Kale Crisps

Saturday 12 May

Of all the dwarf Siberian kale Barbara planted, only two tiny plants have yet come up.  But Holt found some beautiful local kale at the farmer's market instead, so we decided to make simple and addictive kale crisps. 

The bunch made three pansful, so we were able to snack on (and finish) the first pan while the others were crisping.

To go with what was left of the crisps, we once again made Madhur Jaffrey's recipe for salmon in Bengali mustard sauce.

And just to show that we have the world's strangest cat, Dora sniffed once at the salmon and passed by to nuzzle at all that kale.