Easy Gazpacho with Goat Cheese Croutons; Tomato Crostini with Whipped Feta; Avocado and Grapefruit Salad

When Philippe picks the menu, he tends to set him self up for a lot of work and Julia's 27th birthday dinner was no exception. This post is a "little" late, but Philippe finally found the time to write it one Sunday afternoon while working in Suzhou, China.  Apologies to everyone reading this in December, as we know it's not very relevant.

Given the summer heat wave in LA back in June and the 90+ temps in our apartment, turning on the stove or oven seemed like a non-starter. The result was a menu that required minimal cooking but a healthy amount of prep work and use of the food processor. 

Starting the birthday girl off with a chilled drink, Philippe served a variation of Kir Royale, prosecco poured over Chambord raspberry liqueur and fresh raspberries. For the first course of dinner, he made a fresh, chilled gazpacho with goat cheese toasts. This particular recipe had a bit of kick to it thanks to the red pepper flakes and we'll definitely make it again in the summer.

For the second course, Philippe served toasted baguette topped with whipped feta, a cherry tomato and shallot mix, julienned basil, and toasted pine nuts. The whipped feta was made in the food processor with garlic, lemon juice, and cream cheese and was very flavorful, making this our favorite dish of the meal.

For a final course, Philippe served an avocado grapefruit salad with a lemon-mustard vinagrette. The unusual pairing of avocado and grapefruit go together very nicely and was very light and refreshing.

Dessert was a selection from Magnolia Bakery; a cup cake, banana pudding, and a chocolate chunk blondie. There were only crumbs left by the time we picked the camera up, so no pictures.

Recipes:
Easy Gazpacho & Goat Cheese Croutons Recipe
Tomato Crostini with Whipped Feta Recipe
Avocado and Grapefruit Salad Recipe

Roasted Shrimp with Feta and Butternut Squash Salad

We are very excited to finally be posting this dinner that we made as the first meal in our new West Hollywood apartment. Our new kitchen is nice and big, though certainly not equipped with the latest stainless Viking appliances we dream of. We are back to not having a dishwasher (correction: Philippe has now been appointed head dishwasher) and the stove sometimes goes on the fritz, but overall we love the space and were excited to get cooking.

We also now have a great patio where we have set up our Weber grill and a bistro tablet to eat outside. It's now much easier to grill as we don't have to lean out the fire escape in New York to make it happen! Upcoming posts will definitely feature the grill.

As I'm sure no one is surprised, Ina Garten made another guest appearance in our new kitchen with this shrimp dish that we paired with a roasted butternut squash salad.

The shrimp started with the sauce, which was cooked over the stove in a cast iron skillet: fennel, garlic, white wine, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, and oregano. Ina also calls for Pernod, a type of liquor, but we omitted it out after unsuccessfully searching for a bottle.

Once the sauce is reduced, the shrimp is added with panko and feta for roasting in the oven

Our new spacious (and very white) kitchen

Adding shrimp to the sauteed tomatoes, fennel, and garlic 

The arugula salad had walnuts, dried cranberries, and Parmesan cheese and  was topped with a cider vinegrette and warm roasted butternut squash. We also served french bread with the shrimp.

In hindsight, it was a bit too much all together, and although the salad was very good, we would probably go with a lighter one next time we make the shrimp.

We enjoyed dinner on our new dining room table that we bought just before moving in! We will have to show more pictures later, but it fills out our formal dining room nicely.

Recipes:

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette: Ina Garten 

Roasted Shrimp with Feta Recipe : Ina Garten

Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes with Endive, Orange, & Roquefort Salad

For our second meal of Philippe's visit in January, we picked another set of recipes from the Barefoot Contessa and after much cajoling, Julia was convinced to try this meatloaf. Although this meatloaf usually calls for equal parts beef, pork, and veal, we had to do with just beef and pork based on supermarket availability. What really makes the meatloaf is the garlic sauce that goes on top.

To compromise on meatloaf for dinner,  Julia got to pick the appetizer and chose this pear, endive and arugula salad with roquefort cheese, walnuts and a citrus dressing:

This salad has a lot of flavor and we really liked it!

Prepping the meatloaf: you have to be willing to get dirty and mush it together with your hands!

This recipe makes a lot of meat. Julia ate meatloaf for weeks following this dinner

The garlic sauce simmers while the meatloaf is in the oven. Definitely don't skip the sauce...it's the best part!

Executive Chef Philippe Michel hard at work and looking manly with his polka dot mitt!

We paired the meatloaf and sauce with Ina Garten's buttermilk mashed potatoes which were pretty good but really just mashed potatoes....and of course a bottle of pinor noir

Since this makes A LOT of meatloaf...be prepared for delicious leftovers the next day. and a few days following that.

Here are the recipes:

Endive, Orange & Roquefort Salad | Barefoot Contessa

1770 House Meatloaf | Barefoot Contessa

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes - Barefoot Contessa