Welcome Summer

Attendees: Lola, Duke, Carter, Trevor, and Peanut
Cocktail: Pimm's Cup
Appetizer: Crudite
Main Course: Hamburgers on English Muffins
Sides: Coleslaw and corn on the cob
Dessert: S'mores Pie!

So, this pic of Duke, Peanut and me was taken a while back at Lola's birthday. Lola didn't want her pic taken, then she and Carter started talking about privacy and the internet, and the mood to take people pics was lost! Oh well, we love this pic anyway.

REGARDLESS, Lola, Peanut, and I said farewell to the Summer of '07 with a fine meal last year, so I thought it was only appropriate to invite her and her man, Duke, for a welcome to Summer '08! Carter and Trevor also joined for the summer-inspired meal! The night began with delicious and refreshing Pimm's Cups (which, as Carter soon realized, do contain alcohol). DC summers are so uncomfortably hot and humid. I think that a crudite platter is a cool and refreshing appetizer to serve during such weather. We kept the stalks on the organic carrots and radishes for dramatic flair.



In 2 short weeks, Patrick and I will have a sister-in-law whose family runs a farm that grows corn! I can't wait to share pics of us picking our own corn on our way to the shore! Melanie told us that her favorite way to prepare corn is to boil it, so that's what we did!



I love coleslaw. This was a great recipe, with carrots, red, and green cabbage.



Peanut's plate: A perfect combination of corn-on-the-cob, cole slaw, and a burger served on an English Muffin (a delicious idea inspired by renowned chef and friend Geoffrey Zakarian) with melted blue cheese, lettuce, tomato, and carmelized onions! Peanut grilled the burgers... to perfection!



But... the star of the night was (in my humble opinion) the S'mores pie! As soon as I read about this recipe on my favorite food blog, www.smittenkitchen.com (run by my friend's friend's friend, or something like that), I knew that I had to make it (in fact, this was really the excuse for having a dinner party in the first place). First, I made a simple graham cracker crust and a delicious chocolate filling:


The next step was to make my own marshmallow topping. It started with boiling some sugar, corn syrup, and water to 260 degrees on a candy thermometer. Almost there:



Peanut poured the boiling syrup into a bowl of water and gelatin and I whipped for ~ five minutes:





It soon became very thick, and I poured it onto the chocolate pie:



... and chilled it. Minutes before i was ready to serve it, I broiled it for 3-4 minutes, to get that burnt marshmallow topping:



What a way to end of the night, and to welcome us to the torturous conditions that define DC summers. If I don't faint (as many know to be a real possibility), I'll be sure to post more "cool" meals to help get me through it.