Labor Day 2010

Labor Day at Frog Hollow Farm was celebrated in glorious weather on the back porch and in the gardens. 

As always, my specialty cocktail was the hit of the party. 

This particular delicious Sparkling Sangria cocktail, pictured above, is from Michael Chiarello's recipe collection at Food Network.com. 

Our menu was pretty basic - with all that's going on around here lately we didn't have time to try any new recipes, and sometimes going back to basics works best for a barbeque. 

Here's our menu:

Aperitivo

Grilled Shrimp with Rosemary, Lemon and Garlic

Grilled Fontina and Mozzarella Sandwiches

Italian olives, local fresh cheese, and spicy salami

Tomato bruschetta

Spicy wings from Stella G's - a local restaurant

Roasted Red peppers - Rao's recipe

Dinner

Oven Baked Baby Back Ribs

Oven Fried Chicken (Barefoot Contessa Family Style)

Hot Dogs with relish, sauerkraut (my dad's request)

Hamburger sliders

Fresh corn-on-the-cob from a local farmer

Red potato salad (from my sister Colleen)

Caprese Salad (from sister-in-law Jan)

Green Salad with mustard vinaigrette (from sister-in-law Jan)

Delicious cheese and herb quiche (from sister Laurie)

Dessert

Colleen's Famous homemade apple pie with vanilla ice cream

Ricotta-Orange pound cake with strawberries

Fruit Strudel (from sister Laurie)

Chocolate Chip Cookies (from nephew Luke) 

Beverages

Ice cold beers:  Stella Artois, Beck's and Corona

Sparkling Sangria

An assortment of soda and sparkling waters

We're heading up to Vermont shortly - I'm hearing that I'll need to pack my sweaters along with summer outfits.  Packing for this trip is getting a bit overwhelming but we're stopping at the Woodbury Commons Outlets on the way up (FHFB wants to check out the Tommy Bahama store) and I'll probably pick something up at the Eileen Fisher store. 

Ciao, bella! 

The Vegetable Garden at Frog Hollow Farm

Some of my blogger friends have asked to see photos of our vegetable garden. This is really FHFB's garden, he puts all of the blood, sweat and tears into it and I just pick the goodies, find delicious recipes for them and get to take photos of the beautiful harvest. 
This might be a little boring if you're not into vegetables and flowers. 

Let's take a walk!

Zinnias

Sunflowers - lots of different colors

Asparagus, resting and going to seed

Tomatoes - but they're turning red now!

Butternut Squash - first time we've grown it!

Cinderella Pumpkins - I just love these pumpkins!

Blackberries ripening - they take a while.

Rediculous zucchini - I mean totally rediculous!  I'm finding fantastic zucchini recipes in my Pasta Fresca cookbook.  There's also a grilled potato salad that includes grilled zucchini, radicchio (and goat cheese if you want to add it) with a mustard vinaigrette from and old issue of Bon Appetit that's absolutely delicious.

I can send you the recipe if you like! 

Red Onions - for FHFB's favorite tomato salad.

Basil and Green Peppers

FHFB dries a lot of basil and also makes fresh, delicious pesto for the freezer.

Italian Flat Green Beans - the best tasting green bean around!

Cucumbers and Beets 

Herbs - parsley, sage, oregano, thyme, dill and pineapple mint.

Thanks for touring with me - I hope you enjoyed our walk through the garden.

Ciao, bella!

Ladies Luncheon in Pinks and Robin's Egg Blue

For the past 5 and a half months I've been inspired and awed by the beautiful tablescapes in so many of your blogs.  When  "The Tablescaper" posted a few weeks ago and asked 'Where Do You Keep It All', it got me thinking that I need to put out a little effort, like so many of you do each and every week, and try to design a tablescape with dishes and colors from my rather small (but always growing) collection.

After perusing my two shelves and one cupboard full of dishes and glassware, and being inspired by the pinks and blues of spring, I decided to see if I could put a tablescape together using pink and blue (mostly pinks)without it looking like a baby shower. Forgive my photos please, they are not the best - still need to learn about using a digital camera indoors.