The Joy Of Family originally published on Food and Fond Memories on January 3, 2011 by sandyaxelrod 1 Comment (Edit)
The Joy Of Family
Mediterranean Salad
Every year at this time my cousin Don and his wife Susan drive to Florida from Philadelphia for some warm weather, relaxation and visits with family and friends. I always know that for at least one day every year I will get to spend a little time with my favorite relatives. Don and I have been close since we were children. He is the reason that I have a passion for Corvettes and Jazz. He was always more like an older brother to me since I am an only child. Well yesterday was our day to spend together. Don and Susan arrived at our home around 4:30 in the afternoon followed shortly thereafter by their younger daughter Mindy and her husband James. Then about an hour later our son Brian and his wonderful wife Eve arrived. Following in my footsteps Brian and Mindy were close as teens but unfortunately they haven’t spent any time together since Brian and Eve’s wedding four years ago, which is sad because Mindy and James only live about an hour away from Brian and Eve. The great thing is that they got a chance to catch up on the events of their lives just like Steve and I did with Don and Susan.
Grilled Skewered Shrimp with Triple Lemon Butter
Grilled Chicken Breasts with Shiitake Balsamic Vinaigrette
I wanted to make it a very casual and relaxed evening to share the joy of family, so of course I decided to grill our dinner and then eat outside on a glorious January 2 evening in South Florida. I wanted to simplify the hors d’oeuvre so I made a cheese platter with grapes and crackers and served a Croatian Spicy Eggplant spread called Ajvar from a jar that Eve had given us. Eve’s parents are from Croatia so occasionally we are treated to some of their tasty fare. For the dinner menu I turned to my Bobby Flay recipes because I know they are fabulous and always applauded. We had a Mediterranean Salad with eggplant, chickpeas, grilled peppers, red onion, fresh lemon juice, feta and garlic. It’s wonderful because it really is best made ahead to allow the flavors to meld and it is served room temperature. With this I served his Grilled Skewered Shrimp with Triple Lemon Butter and Grilled Chicken Breasts with Shiitake Balsamic Vinaigrette. I was able to grill my peppers, eggplant and shiitake mushrooms for two of my recipes way ahead of time on my gas grill and I figured I would grill the chicken and shrimp just before we ate, also on the gas grill because it is so large. Oops! Just when it was time to put everything on the grill Brian noticed that there was no heat eminating from the grill! Yup, you guessed it, we were out of propane and our back up tank was empty as well. Fortunately I am lucky enough to also have a charcoal grill and with a chimney starter dinner was only set back by about twenty minutes. The meal was great and everyone was stuffed but most of us found room for thick, rich and creamy Blueberry Banana or Blueberry Mango Milkshakes that I made. They were so thick that a spoon was required along with the straw!!
