UnRecipe: Labor-Free Labor Day Dinner

The Labor Day weekend marks off the waning days of summer. It's also the weekend I'll be at Penny Arcade Expo, in support of Brock and his workplace, so taking the "Labor" out of Labor Day, I'm posting something that happened a couple of weeks ago when the weather was nicer than what it is now.

I'm starting to see hints of gold and red appear on trees, the backyard garden is showing off what will be its final blooms, and it's getting to where we'll have to cut down the last of the our basil before the weather gets too cold for its tender leaves. We'll make at least one batch of pesto, but there's something really nice about enjoying fresh-picked herbs in food. Enjoying all that is best about summer, we had a dinner outside with all our favorite things, including Insalata Caprese with an antipasto platter of cheese, meat and our regular meal companion, fig jam!

Summer in the raw with a Caprese salad - Photo by Wasabi Prime

We didn't grow tomatoes this year, so it was a treat to pick up some heirlooms for dinner. I love their lumpy-bumpy, wabi-sabi shape. A lot of the ones being sold now are showing signs of being late in the harvest -- a lot of splitting --but we were fortunate to find two whose surfaces were intact and firm. A handful of freshly cut basil leaves were shredded up and sprinkled between the slices of tomato and mozzarella cheese. Drizzled with a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and the main course was ready to eat.

Bright colors are tasty - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I know I've featured fig jam and cheese quite a bit over summer. It's my new love affair, both at home and in the office. I just can't quit you, Fig Jam. Paired with a couple of different cheeses (spicy jalapeno havarti and a pungent, creamy blue), its deeply-flavored, sticky sweetness made them almost like a dessert that still tasted good with large chunks of fatty dry-aged meat, which is a pretty nice thing. We poured ourselves a glass of wine and threw some wood into our little outdoor fire pit to further set the mood. Sure, we could have gone out to dinner, but sitting in the backyard, enjoying a quiet summer evening felt like a pretty good argument for spending the night at home.

Private dining at Chez Wasabi - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Indulging in what will most likely be the last few weeks of our precious summer, I wanted to linger on this post a little while longer, to share more photos featuring the colors of the season. When the winter chill returns and the yard becomes less hospitable for lazy weekend dinners, these pictures will make me happy, looking forward for sweet harvests and blossoms to come.

Le jardin du Wasabi and meals good to the last bite - Photos by Wasabi Prime

*Post Script - Grazie mille to FoodGawker and Serious Eats' Photograzing for picking the luscious sliced heirloom toh-mah-toh photo from this post.

Merci Buttercups: Dynamic Office Duo

I don't say it as often as I should, but I'm very fortunate to work with the people at my office. Without going into gory details, it can be busy, hectic times, where projects frequently go into the weeds, and the two main gals who are the Bette Midler Wind Beneath My Wings are, as I'd like to now refer to as, The Dynamic Office Duo (Renee and Michelle). They are the purveyors of pastries, the sirens of Starbucks runs, and general bringers of joy to Cubicle Village of the Damned. Plus we've got a wicked magazine exchange going on, which is quite nifty.

Way better than a ham and cheese sandwich - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Every once in a while, there are special lunches. We all share a deep abiding love for cheese, so one day, we shared in a lovely midday meal of fresh apricots, candied pecans, whisper-thin wafers, and a big slab of soft blue cheese with a dollop of fig jam. No heating required, just a few simple ingredients and you have a meal that makes a normal day at the office a little more special. And that really is a good thing, and something I thought was worth sharing because I really do have much Wasabi Prime-love for the Dynamic Office Duo and all the extra things they do to make the day go by. Cheers to you, ladies!

* Post Script - Thanks to both Food Gawker, Serious Eats' Photograzing, and FoodieView for posting the pic of the cheesy goodness of our office lunch!

UnRecipe: Antipasto is Anti-work-o

God bless the Italians, getting the notion to serve a small plate of edibles to signal that a meal of even more food is yet to come. I skipped the additional courses, but took the creation of an antipasto platter to heart and put together a satisfying and simple lunch whilst entertaining a visiting friend over the weekend.

No need to be fancy, just dig in! - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I'm quite keen on these no-cook solutions for a meal because it can be simple, made with a collection of items sitting in the refrigerator, and it doesn't require calling the pizza guy in a chronic fit of "I Don't Know What To Cook!"

There's a lot to be said over the value of an ample supply of pickled vegetables. Their briny state ensures a long fridge-life, and they all tend to play well with one another when eaten together. I had a random collection of spiced green beans, cornichons, cocktail onions, as well as a jar of kalamata olives. I'm sure because the label says "cocktail onions" one is supposed to use them in a cocktail, but I have such a merciless love of strong vinegar flavors, I eat them with abandon, a frosty Gibson or some other old-timey cocktail being optional. I also usually have a jar of pepperocinis, but because they are my absolute favorite of the briny bunch, they are of course the first to be consumed into absence. Combined with a few rough slices of sopressata to round out the protein brigade, the savory component of the meal was complete.

While going to the grocery store, Brock (aka, Mr. Prime) and I happened upon a block of creamy havarti (I love you with all my havarti), and a wedge of raw milk blue cheese. The cheese shopping spree also resulted in a jar of fig preserve, a rich, lovely paste that was a delightful combination of sweet and savory. Poured over the cheese, the preserve added a caramelized sweetness and a bit of crunch from the fig seeds in the jam. To add another sweet component to the Salty vs Sweet throwdown, a nectarine was sliced, and it actually went well with nearly everything served.

I didn't want to rely only on the nibbles and made a salad as backup, using lettuce and peas from the garden, so yes, Mom, we had our greens. The only thing that would have made this meal better was if we were eating it outdoors, in a charming picnic sort of way, but the kitchen counter with a glass of wine or two made the meal dandy enough.

Meat, cheese and pickles -- what more could a girl ask for? - Photos by Wasabi Prime

* Post-Script - Thanks to Serious Eats' Photograzing for posting the photo of the antipasto image on their site!