Saturday Dinner

On Saturday our friend C came over for dinner. I'm proud to say almost everything I made came from either the farmer's market or my garden. It was an incredibly flavorful yet simple meal. It's so true what they say about good ingredients: with good ingredients you don't need to make complicated dishes.

I had picked up another bunch of beets at the farmer's market near my office so I made another beet, goat cheese and arugula salad:


I also got 5 ears of corn so I could make my grilled corn, tomato and avocado salad:


... which was fantastic, as always. SP told me he could eat this salad every day during the summer and C even asked for the recipe and took some home with him. I'd also gotten pickles from the pickle vendor at the market near my office:


These were half sours that went beautifully with the sliders:


Here are the last four coming off the grill (charcoal, of course) and our friend C lending a helping hand:


SP did a fantastic job cooking these mini burgers. He'd asked for sliders so I picked up some dinner rolls at the Amish bakery and ground beef from the butcher. Since the burgers were so small he got the fire very hot so they'd get a good sear on the outside while still staying medium-rare and juicy inside:


The thing I love about the meat from the Amish butcher is that it doesn't need any seasoning. The flavor of the beef really shines through, complimented nicely by a few slices of sharp cheddar cheese.


My plate, with two sliders, some beet salad, corn salad and a pickle:


Close-up shot of the beet salad:


I do love beets and goat cheese together. The arugula was from the farmer's market as well and was super peppery and spicy. I made the corn salad using avocados, cilantro and lime from the farmer's market and tomatoes from my garden:


I had my sliders with a little ketchup and mayo:


The rolls were soft, buttery and light - just perfect for the mini burgers. We all licked our plates clean and went back for seconds and thirds. By the time we finished eating we were so stuffed we didn't have room for the pumpkin gems C had picked up from the Amish bakery.

Here's the recipe for the corn salad. I realized the other day that I never posted my modified version.

Corn, Avocado, and Tomato Salad

5 ears corn, shucked
2 avocados, cut into cubes
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup finely diced red onion

Dressing:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lime, zested and squeezed
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
salt and pepper, to taste

Grill the corn until starting to brown in spots. Allow to cool slightly then remove the kernels from the cob with a knife. Combine the corn, avocado, tomatoes and onion in a large bowl. Add the dressing ingredients and gently toss to mix. Add more lime juice, salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.