Once a week I get together with friends for food, drinks and silly reality shows. We all bring a dish to share, and I usually use it as an opportunity to try out a new recipe on my very patient buddies. But during the summer months, I often find myself busier, with less time to devote to new ingredients and techniques. Plus, who wants to stand in front of a stove when it’s hot and humid?
On those busy, hot Mondays I have a go-to combo that's sure to please: infused lemonade and bruschetta. Both are super-quick to prepare, involve very little stove or oven use, and can be customized to your taste or occasion.
Last week I couldn’t resist the bunches of fresh basil at my supermarket; that fragrant bouquet and an avocado became my inspiration for my Monday-night munchies.
This is super simple and can be made in 10 minutes! (If you have an infuser pitcher, it’s even easier) All you need to do is chiffonade the basil and quarter the strawberries – I always take the hulls off the strawberries, but it’s not essential if you’re crunched for time. Pour your lemonade into a large pitcher or saucepan. I use a saucepan simply because I don’t have a pitcher large enough for my infusing, there’s absolutely no heating of the lemonade. Add the strawberries and basil to lemonade, cover and put in the fridge for a few hours.
The longer you keep your fruit and herbs in the lemonade, the stronger the infused flavor will be. Depending on what I put into it, I like to let the lemonade sit for three hours or so before I serve it.
Most of the time I’ll simply ladle the lemonade into a glass and serve it with a straw; I like the visual presentation of it with the fruit and herbs. Sometimes the herbs do get a bit wilted looking after soaking for a few hours. In these instances, I simply strain out the fruit and serve lemonade with a kick of flavor!
This is another quick preparation and can be customized with different seasonal herbs or produce so get creative!
1. Cut the bread into thin slices and place on a sheet tray.
2. Drizzle the bread with olive oil. This is where have a cruet comes in handy; you get a lovely drizzle without drowning your slices in oil.
3. Toast the bread until it’s nice and crunchy.
4. While the bread is in the oven, cut the avocado into slices and drizzle with lime juice. Also cut the tomatoes into slices. Your avocado and tomato slices should be roughly the size of your bread, but there's no need to be too precise.
5. Once the bread is out of the oven, cut the clove of garlic in half and rub the cut end on the warm bread. This will leave the bread nice and garlic-y. The more you rub, the stronger the flavor.
6. Layer the avocado and tomato slices on top of the bread and sprinkle with sea salt.
7. Garnish each piece with a few pieces of chopped basil.
By switching up the ingredients, you can have an easy appetizer and beverage for any occasion. We often kick off our private events with similar seasonal nibbles. Let us handle your next summer entertaining party menu for you!