Mixed Berry Cheesecake

Ingredients:

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
3 tablespoons sour cream
~we didn’t have any so we used some yogurt and heavy cream!
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Italian Potato Salad

Some of us really like potato salad, in all it’s many variations. Basically if it has potatoes, it must be good.
But some of us aren’t big fans of mayo, so when a potato salad must be made, we like this lighter, Mediterranean version!

Prep time: 10-15 mins Cook time: 10 mins

ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
6 tablespoons olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons drained capers
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
8 tablespoons sliced green onions

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Avocado Potato Salad

Monday night. It’s Peter’s night to cook for Lisa. At 4:00 pm he says “Can you look in the fridge and come up with a fancy dinner I can make for Lisa using what we already have? She’ll be back at 5:30” I grab my laptop, hustle into the kitchen, take stock of what’s there and head over to Epicurious to use their awesome advanced search feature. Based on what we have this is how the four course meal shapes up: Chicken Veggie Quiche, Avocado Potato Salad, Avocado Soup and a Berry Reduction Sauce over ice cream for dessert!

See the Chicken Vegetable Quiche entry for a photo of the salad next to a slice of quiche!

Ingredients:

3/4 pound small red potatoes (about 6)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
3 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1 firm-ripe California avocado

Preparation:

In a saucepan cover potatoes with salted cold water, simmer, covered, until tender, 15 to 20 minutes
Drain potatoes in a colander and quarter
In a bowl stir together warm potatoes, oil, lemon juice, zest, chives, and salt and pepper to taste.
Pit and peel avocado and cut into 3/4-inch pieces.
Add avocado to potato mixture, gently tossing to combine

Hot Lemon Soufflé

Best served hot. Really. We (five of us today) managed to devour this soufflé (that technically serves eight) straight out of the oven.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
4 egg yolks
grated zest of 3 lemons
5 egg whites
powdered sugar for sprinkling

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