Memorial Day meal = Memorable meal :)

There is nothing better than a wonderful weekend at the Cape full of family, friends and beautiful weather. One of the warmest Memorial Day's I can remember with lots of beach time and relaxing on our new three season porch. Perfect for napping, cocktails and chatting. When being surrounding by the one's I love, I can't help but want to share my passion for cooking. After getting sick over a month ago and wrapping up the end of the school year, I have neglected to allow time for my favorite activity ... cooking! So this weekend I was ready to get back into the kitchen and fire up the oven. Sunday night dinner consisted of delicious seafood spread with smoked shrimp (a classic family favorite from Cataumet Fish) and a homemade roasted red pepper bean dip for appetizer. For the main course we enjoyed broiled lobsters, corn salad, a salad of greens, and roasted garlic cilantro butter to accompany warm Portuguese Bread. This was certainly a meal to remember. To top off our gluttonous ways, a quart of Somerset Creamery vanilla ice cream accompanied warm apple & mixed berry pies. So so yummy!

Beginning with the appetizer course I would first love to share my bean dip recipe.

Ingredients:

1.5 can's of white beans (drained)
2 heads of roasted garlic (or get about 18-20 cloves of roasted garlic out of the salad bar at Whole Foods)
1 clove of raw garlic, diced finely
1/2 jar of roasted red peppers
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
the juice of 1/2 of a lemon
2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro (could also use parsley)

Add all the ingredients into a food processor. Stream in extra virgin olive oil to reach desired consistency (about 3-5 tablespoons). To accompany the dip I would suggest making bread chips for dipping, similar to pita chips. You take sliced bread (in this case I used a loaf of Portuguese bread) and cut it into an appropriate size for dipping. Spread the 'chips' on a baking sheet. Bake on 400 degrees for 3-4 minutes. Keep a close eye on the oven as not to burn the chips.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ashley's corn salad:

Husk one ear of corn per person (give or take). In this case I used 8 ears for 10 people. Boil the corn for 10 minutes once placed into the pot of boiling water. Drain the water and let the corn cool. Cut the corn off the cob and place in a mixing bowl. See tip below to take the bite out of red onion.

Tip of the day: soaking a red onion in a bowl of ice water for 10-30 minutes will take the bite out of it. Cut the onion in half and place in a bowl filled with ice and water.

After the onion has soaked, drain the water and dice finely. You want a little bit more than 1/4 diced onion to 3/4 of the corn ratio.

Add in one box of crumbled feta cheese and 1/4 cup chopped cilantro.

Lastly add 1/2 cup of light mayonnaise. The mayonnaise is used as a binding agent, so add it in as you go. It should very lightly coat the corn and hold everything together.

Let sit in the fridge at least 4 hours before serving. Making this the night before is best for flavor.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roasted garlic cilantro butter:

Making a yummy variation to regular butter or margarine is always a fun surprise at a dinner party to spread onto bread. This time I was already roasting 2 heads of garlic for my bean dip, so I threw in an extra head for my butter.

-Let a stick of either margarine or butter come to room temperature (usually 30-60 minutes). -Peel off the wrapper and place in a mixing bowl.
-After roasting a head of garlic and letting it cool, push out each clove of garlic from its casing into the bowl.
-Add in 2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro.
-Mix with fork or spoon.

Place medium sized sheet of saran-wrap on the counter and scoop the butter mixture in a log shape onto the wrap. Fold over the sides and roll into a log shape (similar to that of a regular stick of butter). Place into the refrigerator for 6-24 hours before using. The saran wrap should easily peel off and you can serve on a butter plate!

ENJOY :)