Sunday Dinner

 We are all really enjoying the Sunday dinner's I've been making. The theme behind them is eating fresh and local.  We visit all of the Amish markets on Fridays to see what's in season and we plan the meal as we shop.  This past week, I bought the first pickle cukes that were available and made dill pickles.

Remember this stash of vegetables I showed the other day?  I used a lot of them.

 I made Green Goddess Dressing with all the herbs in my garden.  You can find this recipe here:  http://octoberfarm.blogspot.com/2012/07/green-goddess.html

 I made a broccoli salad.

The Recipe:

Ingredients

• 3 pounds fresh broccoli florets, washed
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 medium red onion, diced
• 3/4 cup cubed cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add broccoli and cook for 30 seconds.  Drain water and rinse with ice cold water or place broccoli in an ice bath.  Drain and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl combine mayonnaise, sour cream, sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Whisk to combine. Set aside.
3. Place broccoli, onion and cheese in a large bowl.  Pour dressing over top.  Toss to coat.  Chill.

 And we had the first corn of the season.  I roasted the corn, cut it off the cob and sauteed it with garlic scapes and smoked butter.  My DIL loved this.

 Mashed carrots.  OMG were these good. I boiled the fresh carrots in salted water with a bit of sugar.  If you add sugar to the water when boiling carrots, it really enhances the carrots flavor.

 I missed some pics of the main course.  I seared this cod after I seasoned it and served it with a bourbon/balsamic gastrique.

These are simple boiled new potatoes served in a butter and parsley sauce.  We ate these all the time during the summer when I was little. I think it is the best way to prepare new potatoes.

 And these biscuit...oh my, these  biscuits.

 They are cheddar chive biscuits and the easiest biscuits I've ever made. I don't know that I will be allowed to serve any other ones after everyone ate these.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cold buttermilk
• 8 tablespoons butter plus one more for brushing
• 2 cups all-purpose flour more for counter
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ¼ cups finely shredded cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup finely sliced fresh chives extra for garnish, if desired

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or spray a sheet pan with cooking spray.
2. Measure 1 cup of buttermilk and place the cup in the freezer while prepping other ingredients (you want it to be in the freezer about 10 minutes).
3. Place butter in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with a paper towel over the top and heat on high for 30 seconds. If not completely melted, return to microwave for 10-second intervals till melted. Set aside to cool a bit while prepping other ingredients.
4. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt in large bowl. Add cheese and chives. Stir to combine.
5. After buttermilk has been chilled in the freezer for 10 minutes, combine it with the melted butter. Stir with a fork until butter forms small clumps or globules.
6. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with a sturdy spatula just until all flour is incorporated and batter pulls away from sides of the bowl. The dough should be stiff and not super wet. If the dough is wet, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring to combine, until dough is fairly stiff.
7. Generously spread flour over your work surface. Dump biscuit dough from bowl onto prepared work surface and turn to coat all surfaces with flour. Knead on counter 5-6 times (about 20-30 seconds). Flip over on work surface to coat with flour then pat into a 6-inch square. It should be 1 1/2-2-inches in height.
8. Cut as many biscuits as you can with a biscuit cutter (this will depend on what size cutter you use). Place biscuits on the prepared sheet pan. Knead scraps a few times till they hold together, then pat into a small circle and cut more biscuits. Transfer last biscuits to the sheet pan, spacing about 1 1/2 inches apart.
9. Place in oven and bake until tops are a medium golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes.
10. Melt remaining tablespoon of butter and brush tops of hot biscuits with melted butter.

 Sprinkle with more finely chopped fresh chives. Serve warm!

 I really forgot to take pics of the dessert.  It was a feeding frenzy and a big blur.  I made hot skillet baked chocolate chip cookies topped with vanilla bean ice cream and this hot fudge sauce. It was so popular that it's been requested as the dessert for next Sunday's dinner.  My daughter in law said it was so good that it gave her goose bumps!  Haha...I never had anyone get goose bumps from eating my food before.  The Blog Tech ate two of them.  He said he skipped the salad so he would have more room for dessert.  Everyone agreed that this is the best hot fudge sauce ever.

The Recipe:

• 2 tablespoons  butter
• 2/3 cup heavy or whipping cream
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup, golden syrup, or honey
• 1/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup  cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces semi- or bittersweet chocolate, chopped, or 1 cup semi- or bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the butter, cream, sweeteners, cocoa, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer on low, stirring, 5 more minutes after everything has melted, then remove from heat and stir in chopped chocolate or chocolate chips. Stir in vanilla. It’s now ready to ladle over ice cream, although it thickens more as it begins to cool, so you could also wait for 15 to 20 minutes before doing so. Pour leftovers into a jar and refrigerate. This sauce keeps chilled in the fridge at least a month