The Kitchen Window

The Kitchen Window
Antique Milk Bottles with Herbs and Flowers

Welcome!

Welcome to the Frog Hollow Farm blog! I've been blogging since January 2010 and have switched from Blogger to Word Press, but I'm back to Blogger because, for me, it's easier to use. My husband and I live on a little farm in Northwest New Jersey. We have some chickens and a very large vegetable garden with asparagus and raspberries, and rows and rows of sunflowers, snapdragons and zinnias. Traveling, entertaining, gardening, spending time with family, studying Italian, blogging and reading keep us busy and happy. With all of this going on, moving towards a simpler life seems almost impossible but it's definitely a daily goal.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Dinner and Dessert Menu for the Weathermen on the Porch at Frog Hollow Farm

It's raining outside - and I'm supposed to be on my way to my yoga class but I've decided that I don't want to get wet, so I'm here posting Part 2 of the Weathermen's Barbeque menu.  Don't get me wrong, I love yoga and feel great whenever I practice either in a class or on my own, but today is just not a yoga class day for me. 

Okay, now for the dinner menu from our gathering on Saturday here at Frog Hollow Farm!!  Several of these recipes are from Ina Garten's collection.  I just love her style and everything about her!


Dinner 



I made this the day before, and just heated it briefly in the oven before serving.

Hot Dogs/Hamburgers
(for those people who only eat hot dogs and hamburgers at a bbq)

I cheated on this, using Marie's coleslaw dressing, 2 packages of pre-shredded coleslaw mix and shredded red cabbage - Marie's coleslaw dressing is really delicious!




Green Salad

Rigatoni with Cabbage and Fontina in the Oven
(absolutely stick to your ribs delicious recipe from my good friend Liz)


All of the dishes, except for the meats, are vegetarian since several of our guests did not eat meat.  The pasta dish was a bit heavier for the summer but FHFB insisted (as all good Sicilians would) that we have a pasta dish on the menu.  I wanted to serve something that I could prepare the day before and just heat up briefly before serving.  It might have been a bit much with the szechuan noodle salad, but the dishes are so different that I don't think it was too much pasta. 

My friend Liz served this pasta dish to us a few weeks ago at her house on Hunt's Pond.  It was delicious then and now is a staple recipe for us both - we have been talking about putting together a cookbook of our favorite recipes since our days of vacationing in Wellfleet, Cape Cod with our families.  With five kids we often cooked dinner each night, and we have developed quite an inventory of absolutely delicious recipes. 
(I often wonder how we did all that cooking while drinking all those margaritas.)

On Saturday, our bar was set up with icey cold lemonade, refreshing margaritas, bottled beer, various sodas and sparkling water. 


For the lemonade, I used a frozen lemonade mix since we were serving about 25 adults, and added sparkling water instead of regular water.  Earlier that week I made lemonade ice cubes with blueberries and sprigs of mint.  I added these to the lemonade along with sliced lemons.  It looked and tasted so delicious and refreshing. 

The margaritas were from the Frog Hollow Farm Margarita recipe and were made ahead of time, except for the ice that was added when each blenderful was made.  Just like with the lemonade, I had frozen limeade ice cubes prepared ahead of time with thin slices of lime for guests who wanted to keep their margaritas cold since the day ended up being hot, hot, hot!!

Dessert

I've made these before and included the link on a prior post.  I can't stop making them, they are so delicious and so easy to make!

Blueberry Tarts
These were catered from the pastry chef at Mattar's Restaurant, a local restaurant nearby

Sliced Watermelon
refreshing

I think that FHFB and I are still recuperating from the day.  We love entertaining on our porch, and love sharing our home with friends.  One thing that I still struggle with is simplicity - planning and executing a party without feeling overwhelmed and tired.  My daughter Katie (and the new boyfriend Sean!!!) drove over from Brooklyn to be my kitchen slave for the day - and thank goodness she did.  All of the dishes were washed, the food was put away, and the kitchen was in order at the end of the night.  Without her help I would probably still be cleaning up. 

Thank you sweet Katie!! (and Sean)!

It's still raining, yikes, but I do have to get myself up and out in about 30 minutes. 
Thank you so very much for stopping by!

Ciao, bella!

7 comments:

  1. Um, can I come eat at your house?? ;) Your menu looks smashing...I've never tried coconut cupcakes, but I bet they are delish!

    I wanted to stop by and say thanks for your comment on my Keyring Photo Album project at The Shabby Chic Cottage. :) Hope you'll stop by my blog sometime!

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  2. Oh wow! Yum Yum!
    I love yoga too...but food is more fun! LOL
    hugs,
    Olivia

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  3. Hi Anne Marie! I just finished reading Claudia's blog post. I have not met you before and this is my first time to visit your blog. I started blogging in January of this year as well, and I am loving it! We appear to have very similar interests, so I am your newest follower. I hope that you will come to visit me when you have a chance!

    Love,
    Susan and Bentley
    xxoo

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  4. oh my dear...this all looks so wonderful...all of it...i will be trying several of your recipes....and those little cupcakes :- )

    wish i lived right around the corner :- )

    sending love to you this july afternoon

    kary
    xxx

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  5. How wonderful Ann Marie, everything looks delicious! I am planning our weekend entertaining menu now, simple, easy, fresh and delicious is what I am hoping for. It is so hot out these days I just want to grill, drink and swim. I love your menu and I'm glad your daughter helped
    Xoxo

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  6. Goodness, an incredible menu! I will be trying the coconut cupcakes as well as several of the others. I can only imagine the time you spent preparing all of this. I'm so glad your daughter & Sean helped! I am pretty new to the blogging world and will be your newest follower. Stop by sometime and have a wonderful week!
    Pat

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  7. Wow! Another incredible menu!!! That's a lot of food.

    - The Tablescaper

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