My two best teacher friends are coming to dinner tonight and I want it to be special. For 10 years of my life I was with them almost everyday at Hillsboro High School and although I miss the day-to-day contact, it’s a lot of fun to get to have a girl’s night out.
Planning a dinner for good friends is about my favorite thing to do, and these ladies both know their way around a kitchen, so I have a real challenge on my hands.
Our garden is full of a lot of gorgeous arugula. It’s much better than the stuff in the store and it grows from May till first frost! Every April I toss out some seeds.
There are two wonderful arugula salads that I’ve enjoyed in Nashville restaurants. One is arugula with warm lentils that was served in a now long gone little Green Hills restaurant. It’s a perfect combination of warm, salty, and crunchy, and it’s a great fall dish, but I’m looking for a lighter salad so I think I’ll go with the second. I just had it recently, and it’s already become a favorite. Here’s a recipe to make one serving, it’s easy to increase to serve a crowd or a few friends:
About 1 ½ c arugula
1 Tbsp golden raisins
1 Tbsp Marcona almonds
shaved Pecorino Romano cheese
a few drops of good Balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
Directions
Mix the arugula with raisins and almonds, and shave 3 or 4 strips of cheese on top using a vegetable peeler.
Hit it with a few drops of vinegar and salt and pepper and it’s just about the best salad you’ll ever eat.
This one probably won’t make the first cookbook. I don’t want to frighten new cooks with ingredients that may not be grocery staples.
Now I’m off to the store. My friends both love seafood and since my salad seems sort of French, I’m hoping to find fresh mussels, for moules frites. I’ll see what else looks yummy and plan a delicious dessert.
My son is discovering that he loves to entertain friends for dinner. It’s been fun for me to see what recipes he picks. I added a few new seafood dishes to the cookbook and since his girl friend adores seafood, I hope he’ll give them a try!
