Grilled Warm Potato Salad with Roasted Garlic & Black Olive Dressing

Lynn , whose blog has the wonderfully appropriate name

"Happier Than A Pig In Mud"

& her crazy pig Earl

are hosting another celebrity cook-along.

This month, its Bobby Flay, one of my favorite TV chefs.

I mean ,who doesn't love a GUY who cooks???

I made his Roasted Garlic & Black Olive Dressing

which I watched him serve over partially cooked, then grilled, new potatoes.

It was WONDERFUL!!!

I used LOTS of fresh PARSLEY from my herb pot on the deck.

I love being able to take 3 steps out the kitchen sunroom door

and just pinch off a handful.

I’ve got oregano and thyme growing in there, too.

Grilled Warm Potato Salad with Roasted Garlic & Black Olive Dressing

Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 8 cloves garlic, roasted, peeled and chopped
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup pitted and coarsely chopped kalamata olives
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
• 2 1/2 pounds red new potatoes, par-cooked and sliced in 1/2 or into rounds
• Canola oil
• Parsley sprig, for garnish

Directions

Whisk the garlic, vinegar, honey and salt and pepper, to taste, in a bowl until smooth. While whisking, add the oil until the mixture has emulsified. Pour into a large serving bowl and stir in the olives and parsley.

Heat the grill to high. Brush both sides of the potatoes with canola oil, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Grill until lightly golden brown on both sides and cooked through. Coarsely chop the potatoes and add them to the dressing. Toss to coat and serve.

Thanks for stopping by The Gazebo House!

Be sure to visit Lynn’s blog for some

really great recipes & lots of laughs, too.

Have you met her pet pig, Earl, yet???

fondly,

Rett

I'll also be linking to Michael Lee's blog

Designs by Gollum for her

Foodie Friday

Nicole's

Momtrends Friday Food

and

Yvonne at StoneGable for her

On The Menu Monday

My First Pieced Quilt

When I lived in FL, we had a very active quilt guild there.

I was interested in learning how to quilt but had only taken

"Stretch & Sew" classes waaaay back in the 80's.

One of the members took pity on me & my lack of skills &

helped me to get started on quilting.

This Friendship Star Quilt is the result.

She brought me the fabric and the free pattern

from the internet.

I wish I could find it again...I've looked & looked, to no avail.

See how the RED pieces make up the same Friendship Star pattern?

It normally hangs on my sewing room wall,

just above where I sit 95% of the time.

I always bring it upstairs for display during the summer

months, for Memorial Day, 4th of July & Labor Day.

Its good to rotate the way it hangs to avoid stretching.

I was such a terrified beginner, that I only stitched in the ditch (seams) at first.

I did some free motion quilting in the borders, too.

Later, I tried stitching inside the stars, following their lines...

sort of a reverse echo pattern, I guess.

This is what they looked like on the back.

Not the greatest idea, since I didn't think to use bobbin

thread that would BLEND in with the backing!

Live & Learn!

I made the label on my computer, using a photo of the two of us.

It was then printed onto Timeless Treasures fabric & both fused

as well as hand stitched to the back of the quilt.

Here we are at the quilt guild meeting.


Linda is having some health issues right now,
so if you're so inclined, would you mind sending
up a little "knee-mail" for her?

Thanks for visiting The Gazebo House today.
May you have many such wonderful memories
of the women in your life.

fondly,
Rett

I'm linking up to The Tablescaper's
Seasonal Sundays

The Princess is Coming! The Princess is Coming!

No, not THAT Princess!

MY little Princess, Ms. C.!

She's coming to visit her Nana & we're

having a tea party with cupcakes in the gazebo.

This fun little teapot came from T.J. Maxx years ago.

It reminded me of some McKenzie-Childs designs

with the whimsical roses & the black & white checks .

My baby sister & I found the black rimmed tray that it sits upon

when she was visiting us a few months ago.

She didn't think it "went" with my style of things

but I knew I had other items to pair it with

especially when I spotted those polka-dots.

You can never have too many polka-dots!

Each place setting has a different color & design on the plate

as well as a different teacup & matching saucer.

Chocolate cupcakes are her favorite &

they just HAD to have PINK icing!

EDIT to answer Carol's question:

I use the Wilton Buttercream Recipe

& tint it with their paste food coloring.

The little pink roses on this candlestick echo the

roses on the teapot as well as the fresh roses

at both ends of the table.

This little yellow boy & girl planter belonged to my mother

so its really vintage.

You can see the crazed surface easily in the photos.

The back view is just as cute, too!

I've set it right in front of Ms. C's spot

with her favorite teacup & plate.

She loves to add sprinkles to the top of her ice cream.

Last time, you should have seen the RAINBOW of colors on it

but I convinced her that just PINK would be better this time.

Thank you for your visit to The Gazebo House!
I’m happy to be joining:

Yvonne at StoneGable for
On The Menu Monday
Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for "Table Top Tuesday"
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for "Tablescape Thursday" &
The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays

THIRD of July Food!

On the Sunday before the July 4th holiday,

just the two of us were home for our evening meal.

Our strawberry dessert was made with CandiQuick instead of white chocolate.

It melts easily in the microwave & sets up to a hard shell when cool.

If you put the blue sugar in a shot glass,

it makes it easier to dip just the tip of the strawberry.

DELICIOUS!!

I also made this Hula Kabobs recipe

which came from Val So Cal

Thanks for sharing it, Val!

I made a few additions & substitutions based on what I had on hand.

Go see her gorgeous shot of the ones she made!

Hula Kabobs

• 1 kielbasa cut into 1 inch chunks
• half of a pineapple, cut into chunks
• 1 red or green bell pepper, cut into chunks
• 2 teaspoons sherry (optional)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 red or white onion, cut into chunks
• 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 3 to 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1) In a shallow dish, (I used a gallon zip-lock bag) mix soy sauce, brown sugar, sherry, sesame oil, ginger and
garlic powder. Stir in the kielbasa, pineapple, peppers and onion and stir
until well coated.
Cover and marinate for at least 2 hours.

2) Preheat the grill to med-high heat.

3) Lightly oil the grill grate. Layer your kielbasa and veggies onto the skewers.
Throw away any remaining marinade!
Grill 15 to 20 minutes or until veggies are tender.

Keep a close eye on them because the brown sugar content

will cause them to burn if you're not careful.

This photo was taken before going onto the grill.

You can see, I added some white button mushrooms (which were NOT marinated)

just as I was threading them onto the skewers.

Onto the grill, smelling so good!!!

Ready to serve with rice pilaf & a side salad.

Oh & don't forget that dessert!

Thanks for stopping by The Gazebo House.

I hope you had a wonderfully safe & happy 4th of July!

fondly,

Rett

I'm joining Marty's

Tuesday Tabletop

just because this looked so pretty on the back patio table

with the matching patriotic colored flowers.

I will also link up to

Michael Lee's

Foodie Friday

& The Tablescaper's

Seasonal Sundays

&

Yvonne at StoneGable for

On The Menu Monday

Patriotic Pettiskirt for Sweet Granddaughter, Ms. C!

My granddaughter, sweet Ms. C, fell in love with the

pettiskirt featured in the Chasing Fireflies catalog.

They wanted $98 plus shipping!

YIKES!!!

I told my daughter "I can make it for much less".

After ruffling & sewing & ruffling some more for DAYS on end,

I COMPLETELY understand why that thing cost so much!

It is extremely labor intensive.

Not hard to do, just long hours of repetitive sewing,

while continually manipulating the gathered chiffon

as it twists & turns on itself.

The little white blouse will get tucked in,

which is why I didn't put more rows of ruffles

around the bottom.

What this Nana Rett won't do for that Angel, huh?

Thanks for stopping by & letting me share my projects

with you. I have a patriotic quilt to show you for the 4th

so be sure to stop back then.

I'm linking to

The Tablescaper for her

Seasonal Sundays

fondly,

Rett

p.s. Would you believe my daughter has already requested that

I make Ms. C a BLACK one for Halloween??

I think I've created a monster!

GREEK SPINACH & OLIVE PASTA SALAD

As promised, here is the recipe I brought to the Fathers Day event.

I liked the one that we buy at Mustard Seed Market &

tried to duplicate theirs.

Ask my sister Fritzi...It is much better tasting after it has chilled.

She tasted it while it was warm & gave it a "thumbs down"

only to find she really liked it the next day!

GREEK SPINACH & OLIVE PASTA SALAD

---

1 box spiral or ziti or bowtie pasta (bowties are pretty, but difficult for the kids to eat)
1/2 lb. feta cheese, crumbled (I used a 6 oz. container)
1 bag washed baby spinach, stems torn off
1/2 C. (approx.) of pitted Kalamata olives from the deli...about 20 or two scoops, including the juice

grape tomatoes (I used the whole little plastic container)

1/2 C. olive oil (may need more if you think its too dry)
1/4 C. red wine vinegar *See note at bottom
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3-4 cloves fresh garlic, minced (we LOVE garlic, so use more if you want)
1 tsp. finely chopped fresh oregano

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/8 tsp. black pepper (I just gave it a few good turns of my pepper grinder)

Mix oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and spices in a jar.

I whisked them in the bottom of the serving bowl before I even started cooking the pasta, so they could marinate awhile together.

Combine cooked, drained pasta, tomatoes, olives along WITH their flavorful oil and cheese. Cover & chill for several hours. Before serving, add spinach and toss to mix. For transporting to an event, I put the spinach all across the top & just mixed it into the pasta before serving. Otherwise, it will wilt & not look so pretty. You may want to sprinkle a bit more cheese on top too, just to make it look nice.

*I also used some balsamic vinegar along with the red wine BUT it turned the pasta a beige color. It made it look like whole wheat pasta which is okay, but if you want it to stay pretty white, don't use balsamic unless you can find the white balsamic vinegar.

You could easily make up the dressing & keep it in a jar in the fridge & just pour a wee bit over some cooked pasta & throw in some tomatoes & fresh spinach & feta for a DELICIOUS easy, quick summer time salad. I promise you, you won't be disappointed. It IS yummy! The more garlic, the better, too! *wink*

Click HERE to print recipe.

I'm joining other food lovers at Michael Lee's blog

Designs by Gollum

for

"Foodie Friday"

&

Yvonne's

StoneGable

for

"On The Menu Monday"

Be sure to stop by & see what others are cooking!

Thanks for visiting The Gazebo House.

fondly,

Rett