Summer Dinner Party

Photo from FoodNetwork.com

Saturday was one of those perfect summer days, where it's warm but not too hot, the day seems to go on forever, and you check every box on your to-do list.  John and I took our engagement photos with the obscenely talented Avi Rothman.  While I can't share them yet, I can say that the proofs are everything I hoped they would be.  Oh, and there may or may not have been a lot of blue and yellow frosting.  Everywhere.

Camera phone photo by Avi Rothman

On Saturday night, we hosted Avi and the neighbors for a quintessential summer dinner on the patio.  Fried chicken, potato salad, and heirloom tomatoes with homemade ranch dressing.  Do you ever have a meal that's so tasty you miss it when it's gone?  It was like that.  We followed it up with a nectarine and blackberry pie, a scoop of ice cream, and some gooooood sleep.  We're right smack in the middle of summer, so if you want to make your own patio dinner from heaven, here are the recipes.  I also threw in our beer and wines for the evening.  I realized that I do my fair share of wine drinking, and that you might want to know what's in my glass...  Now you know!

Chicken Enchiladas

 

Buenos noches!  Tonight was an enchiladorama...  But before I take you straight to Tex Mex heaven, there's something you should know about me.  I'm a runner.  In a few short weeks I'll be pounding the pavement in my third marathon, and I don't know how or why that happened, but it is a fact that three mornings a week, I find myself exercising on the mean streets of Culver City at an hour when it's still dark out.

I don't do this alone, which brings me to tonight's dinner.  11 of my running pals and I have decided that it's a good idea to enter The Relay, a 200 mile relay race.  On foot.  Through the night.  In the cold.  I want my mommy.  So tonight we had our first meeting, and in order to keep people from fleeing, I made enchiladas.

If you're squeamish about having guests over on a weeknight, you're not alone.  Life is hectic, and getting an impressive dinner together after a long day at work is daunting.  But there are two words that will keep your reputation as a domestic genius in tact:  Make Ahead.  All the dirty work for this meal was done the night before my guests came over, so all I had to do today was heat and greet.  Copyright that phrase please, I just thought of it.

Start with chicken.  I bought a whole chicken already cut into 8 pieces, but you could also buy a whole chicken and cut it yourself.

Cover the chicken pieces in a pot with water, and boil them for half an hour.  Doesn't boiled chicken sound appetizing?  Why no it doesn't, but this chicken will get mixed with all kinds of yummy flavors and baked into deliciousness, so fear not.  Once the chicken is cooked through, let it cool, and shred the meat with two forks.

Sunday Night Roasted Chicken

Here at Casa Butter we are definitely creatures of routine, but Sundays are practically a ritual. Go for a long run. Eat eggs. Menu plan. Grocery shop. Hearty dinner. Food Network. I save some of my best cooking for these hearty Sunday dinners, but I truly believe that your best cooking doesn't have to be complicated or tedious. This Sunday I made roasted chicken and a gorgeous mix of winter vegetables. Here's how it all went down.

First, preheat your oven to a roasty 475 degrees. The best thing I did all season was spend the $8 on an oven thermometer. It will tell you how hot it really is in there, which is important when roasting.

You may recall my recent trip to the farmers' market, and you may have thought I was nuts for buying so much, but roasting vegetables makes them tasty and easy to munch on throughout the week. I had these beauties...