The Mystery Ingredient is….MEYER LEMONS!

 When Michael Lee West, prolific author, fabulous photographer & blogger extraordiaire, invited me to be part of her & her son, Tyler's (aka Bandwith) "Mystery Ingredient Party", I was tickled pink...no, make that YELLOW!!

 

 Michael Lee sent me this 'care package' of incredibly luscious lemon delights, to be used in the preparation of a special dish of my choosing! Thanks a million, ML, for such a kind, generous gift !! 

Just look at these beautiful jars...they are like little GOLDEN treasures, just waiting to add their enticing flavors to enhance a recipe.  They were almost too pretty to open but how exciting!  My imagination ran wild with ideas.
 

 Anybody who has read my blog for even a little while, knows how much I ♥ LEMON!
   
I'd rather eat something LEMON over chocolate any day.  I request LEMON meringue pie every year for my birthday, instead of cake.

If they made a LEMON perfume, I would buy it & honestly, wear it every day. 







Thank you so very much, ML, for inviting me to participate and for supplying the "mystery ingredients" as well.  I am honored & very grateful to be included in the stellar group of cooks.  

 


 

I googled & searched for recipes using preserved "Meyer Lemons"...did you know they are a cross between a lemon & a mandarin orange?  Our stores have just started carrying them recently. 
 
I found David Lebovitz's recipe for Israeli Couscous that included butternut squash, dried cherries &/or cranberries as well as Meyer lemons preserved in salt.

  BINGO! 

I knew that was the recipe I would try, since I've never cooked couscous before & love to widen my culinary horizons.
 


 

Aren't the tri-colors in the teeny-tiny pasta pretty?
 


 Here is the cast of players, sans the pine nuts that go on top, just prior to serving.
 

I found large packages of peeled & diced butternut squash at Sam's Club & divided it up into smaller servings & froze them in Ziplock Freezer bags.  It sure makes it easier to enjoy regularly!

I used the meyer lemon in oil to saute the onions & regular olive oil over the butternut squash, which bakes in the oven.  I used the citron lemon cypress flakes of sea salt over both.  What a nice kicky zing it gives!  

The cinnamon stick goes into the boiling water while the couscous cooks.  Then the ground cinnamon is added over the top of the dish, at the end.

You KNOW I had to use my special favorite Vietnamese  cinnamon...a gift from my sewing buddy, Carol (Mamacjt).
(thank you, Carol, for that gift & for introducing me to Penzy's spices)  I'll have to tell you all about Penzy's some other time.
I was having none of that gritty Sam's Club cinnamon for this special dish!





David Lebovitz said he wouldn't change a single thing in this dish & I agree.  It is both sweet & mildly tart at the same time...tart from the Meyer lemons then you get a sweetness from the butternut squash & the dried cherries.

  The cinnamon comes through in each bite & I thought the little pearl shapes of the couscous were fun to eat!  They kind of slide away from your teeth as you try to bite into them.
 


 Just look at the riot of vibrant colors in this dish! 

Orange butternut squash, YELLOW bits of lemon, GREEN parsley, dark, sweet tidbits of deep RED dried cherries & cranberries, BROWN flecks of cinnamon throughout & pale onion bits all mixed into the tri-colors of the pasta.

You can print the entire recipe HERE. 

 


 Thank you, again, Michael Lee & Bandwidth & Dr. Will, too!  
I will happily link up with Michael Lee  at Rattlebridge Farm for 

Foodie Friday this week, along with The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sundays & later next week, I'll join Yvonne's StoneGable Tutorials, Tips & Tidbits.
 




Be sure to stop by next Wednesday to see my tablescape for Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish party, where I share some more "LEMON LOVE"  in The Gazebo, outside.

Thanks for visiting & come back soon...we love company!

 Fondly,

Rett 

BLACK & WHITE DAMASK for Cuisine Kathleen

Cuisine Kathleen has issued a challenge for this week's 
"Let's Dish" party, using just white & one other color for our 
tablescapes.  I decided to use all black & white damask.
 I love damask & seem to have a great deal of it around The Gazebo House.

 Aprons, oven mitts, pillows...One of these days, I plan to completely re-do the guest room with it, even!






I combined a variety of patterns for this table...polka-dots, stripes, florals & LOTS of damask!  I have several gift containers on the table for decoration, as well, since my daughter's birthday is this coming week & they just happened to fit the theme beautifully. 











I started out with the flowers in a juice glass that I inserted into the decorative wine tote, but then I changed my mind & decided to use this pretty vase that usually sits on my piano in the den.













 I intend to fill the polka-dot tin with my daughter's favorite cookies, as one of her gifts.  She rarely has time to bake these days.
 


You've seen my little teapot & cup combo before, HERE.  Since I cracked it, I have to just use it for decoration now. 
~insert sad face~
 


This book actually opens into a trinket box, to hold special mementos for her.  I'll have to think of something special to tuck inside of it.







The little monogrammed "L" plates are from Tuesday Morning, last year, as well as the napkins & damask plates beneath.  The white cups & saucers go with my American Antilier, 'Bianca Leaf' set of dishes.



 The flatware is my 'American Harmony' by Oneida.



 Even the cupcakes are BLACK & WHITE!
Devils food CHOCOLATE cupcakes with WHITE frosting.



 I found these edible papers in the damask pattern (Tuesday Morning, again) & just had to try them out.



At first, I cut them out with one of my stamping punches, but that wasn't working out too well.  Precise positioning was a problem.  I ended up using kitchen shears to just do round circles. 



 I know that Shelia, of the precious blog "Note Songs" has this same music themed vase, as I've seen it on her blog several times.  
Mine was a gift from my dear FL friend, Barb L. & sits on my piano most of the time.  "Hi Barb...and thank you again!"






I turned it a wee bit so you could see some of what is on the other sides. 




Every time I look at it, I remember the fun times Barb & I had together, golfing & shopping, when we lived in Florida.  She has her black belt in bargain hunting...I miss my shopping buddy!  



Obviously, I'll be linking to Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish party on Wednesday, as well as Yvonne's Tutorials, Tips & Tidbits & Susan's Tablescape Thursday & The Tablescaper's Season Sundays parties.

I've had some *issues* with my 10 year old computer this month & have not been able to visit these gals as much as I'd like, nor respond to comments left on my last post.  I fear it is time to bite the bullet & upgrade.  I hate change! 
I hope to do some catching up real soon!

Thanks for stopping by The Gazebo House.  Help yourself to a cupcake to take with you as you leave!

Blue Cheese Spread

 

 This past weekend, we had guests in from Chicago.  The gal is gluten intolerant, so I served a tray of fruit & cheese upon their arrival.  I struggle with what to make for them.

I really like these gluten free, rice crackers, made by Blue Diamond.  They have several other flavors, such a hazelnut as well as pecan.

They go well with my blue cheese spread, that I make the day before, so it can chill in the refrigerator overnight.  I try doing as much ahead of time as I can, so I am able to relax & visit with folks!

Blue Cheese Spread

3/4#  Blue Cheese, crumbled (I use 3 containers of Blue Cave)

1 small red onion, finely diced

1/2 Cup olive oil

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

2-3 cloves of crushed garlic

1 Teaspoon of dry mustard

Salt & Pepper, to taste

a handful of fresh parsley, chopped & one sprig left whole, for garnishing the top, if you like

Place crumbled blue cheese in a shallow dish, like a pie pan.  Sprinkle diced red onion & chopped parsley over the top evenly.

Mix together olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, mustard & S&P.  Pour over blue cheese mixture & cover with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate several hours, overnight, if possible.

You may serve it directly in the pie pan or transfer to a prettier container, such as a colorful crock.


EDIT to add:  You should probably mix the parsley in a bit before serving, if you allow it to remain in the pie plate.  It would happen naturally if you transfer the mixture to a different serving container. 

Be sure to provide a spreader type knife for self serve.
It will soften a bit, upon standing at room temperature, but still needs a sturdy cracker to enjoy with it.


 Print recipe HERE.



By the way, the amount shown in the little red ramekin in my photo is only 1/2 the recipe, as written.  If you like Blue Cheese, I promise, you will ♥♥♥ this recipe!

I'm joining Michael Lee at Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday, as well as The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays &
StoneGable for Tutorials, Tips & Tidbits on Thursday.
For the first time, I'm joining "The Scoop" party via Debbie at
Confessions of a Plate Addict.  




Please visit these other blogs for some wonderful inspirations & thanks for stopping by The Gazebo House! 
I hope you had a wonderfully patriotic July 4th celebration.

 

fondly,

Rett

Happy Birthday, America!! *♥*♥*♥*

We're ready for the 4th of July celebrations!!

There will be parades with all of

America's Armed Forces represented.

Lots of FUN for all ages!

  My son-in-love made the go-cart, above.

All these parade photos are from

our town's Memorial Day this year.

Inside The Gazebo House, 
we are fully decorated in RED, White & BLUE!



My pretty cobalt Galaxy Blue plates with 14K gold stars & rims (made by Sakura--hand wash only) join forces with all my red polka-dot items & lots of my white milkglass collection.



Little spreaders, with gold stars on the handles, are ready for appetizers of hummus & cheese.



The battery operated tea light inside this teapot

will get turned on at dusk,

to add a pretty, warm glow to the bakers rack.



 My FLAG tray that I found at Sur La Table

(half price sale when I went shopping HERE)

will be put to good use, carrying treats in & out of the gazebo.
 

I found these cute, star shaped pretzels,

coated in white chocolate. 

I bought every bag I could find!

They are YUMMO!



The Libby star shaped candy dishes are from the Dollar Tree.

  They come out for ALL patriotic holidays,

as well as Christmas time, too.



 Ms. C. loves to use the little scoop

from my sugar shuttle to

serve herself a small handful of M&M's.



More stars appear on some serving pieces,

along with more spreaders. 

The felt stars are just for decoration

at the moment & will be removed

prior to the placement of food.

I put this little ceramic 
Navy Sailor, (made by NAPCO)
 that belonged to my Mom,
beneath a cloche, to give him a proper 
place of honor.

Thanks Sis, for passing it on to me, 
especially since my sweet hubby 
was in the Navy during WWII. 

Little tip:  I used my document shredder
to slice a piece of RED tissue paper
into shreds to surround him.
 

I was only able to find one other like it, online.
I think he is called a "smoker"
but I don't know the history or value, 
except to say he is priceless to me!

A quilt is being used for the tablecloth inside the gazebo.

It will serve double duty later on, once the fireworks start.

It can get a little chilly out there once the sun goes down!

We have other quilts with STARS,

hanging around the house.

Can you tell I ♥♥♥ STARS?!

 

We have a GREAT view of 3 different communities

with fireworks displays from our perch in the gazebo &

will open the great room windows &

turn up the stereo, 

with Tchaikovsky's famous 1812 Overture playing

...an annual tradition.   



There will be several cheeses & assorted fruits,

again, keeping with the RED, WHITE & BLUE theme.

(well, okay, grapes are PURPLE not BLUE,

but work with me here, k?)

I'll share my recipe for

BLUE CHEESE DIP

on Friday.
Click HERE to find it.

If you ♥ LOVE ♥ Blue Cheese,

you won't want to miss it!

 

 My wrought iron silverware caddy

has both RED & BLUE flatware,

as well as patriotic napkins, at the ready.
 

 Desserts for the grandkidlets are always easy...

♥♥♥ CUPCAKES!! ♥♥♥
 

The adults will, hopefully, enjoy these cherry cheesecake parfaits,made with crushed graham crackers,

Dream Whip & cream cheese filling & tart CHERRY RED pie filling.

 The full recipe can be found HERE. 

They are not hard at all. 

Putting them into individual little dishes

makes it so much easier than

trying to serve pie slices.

I hope you have a WONDERFUL

celebration of our Nation's Birthday &
remember, be SAFE!!
 

Thanks to love2dreamdoyou.blogspot.com

for this wonderful hint to prevent sparkler burns!

I'm joining Cuisine Kathleen's meme, Let's Dish,
Yvonne at StoneGable for Tutorials, Tips & Tidbits as well as
Susan at BNOTP for Tablescape Thursday &
Michael Lee at Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday & 
The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays. 

Thank you, Ladies, for hosting

such wonderful parties each week!