My Madison Bistro

After considering a dozen various dessert recipes for my parents’ Memorial Day weekend cookout, it was my three year old niece who inadvertently made the decision for me.

When I made my red velvet birthday cake, I sent leftovers throughout the family, so everyone could have some. I’ve never seen K turn down cake before, and considering her love of blueberries, I can’t say I was shocked to hear that she liked this cake.

Well, about a week later, she asked for cake. Confused, my sister-in-law and mom looked at each other, then explained there wasn’t any cake. And K insisted, “I want some of Sara’s cake!” (I wasn’t there, I’m paraphrasing what my mom told me, as well as what my dad told me. But we all get the gist of it, right?)

So, a pint-size toddler made the decision for me – I will be making red velvet cupcakes, from one of the recipes I’ve already posted here. Because I’m not doing something new, I thought I would share some of my favorite patriotic holiday/cookout recipes of all types prior to the weekend.

Simple Fruit Salad

Coriander Carrot Slaw

Grilled Baby Potatoes

Chicken & Fruit Salad

Sesame Chicken Pasta Salad – this dish tastes better when it’s made a day ahead of time

Pre-baked Pizza Crusts – top with your favorite pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings, then grill until cheese melts

Grilled Chicken

Bacon Jam – the perfect condiment to add to burgers, sandwiches, and even hot dogs

Steak Sandwiches – simply grill the vegetables and steak, slice, and serve in sandwich form

Soft Pretzels – great for parties

Red Velvet Cupcakes – topped with white icing and blue sprinkles, they’re perfect for the holiday

Red Velvet Cake – can easily make into cupcakes – keep the blueberries and raspberries for a festive touch

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream – a food-coloring free option

Tres Leches Cake – get some fruit with your cake

Salted Peanut Butter Cupcakes – chocolate + peanut butter = all-American favorite

Key Lime Cupcakes – they may not be red, white, and blue, but they use limes that only grow in the Florida Keys, making them truly all-American

Gluten- & Sugar-Free Chocolate Cupcakes – just about anyone can enjoy these

Homemade Oreos – perfect indoors or out

Party Cookies – an all-time favorite recipe

Chocolate Chip Cookies (with nuts) – the addition of finely chopped pecans makes these cookies taste extra buttery

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies (NY Times recipe) – start the dough a day or two ahead of time!

Hot Fudge Cookie Sundaes

Cherry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Millionaire’s Shortbread – my runner up for the cookout

Fudgy Brownies

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Bars – everyone of all ages will love these

Lemon Bars – end the meal with a sweet-tart finish

Frozen Key Lime Pie – for cookouts close to home

Crumble Apple Pie – easily turn this into a double crust pie, for a less messy alternative (simply double the ingredients for the crust)

Apple Tartlets

Fruit Tartlets

Tags: apples, bacon, blueberries, cabbage, Carrots, chicken, chocolate, cilantro, cookies, cream cheese, cupcakes, fruit, kiwi, melon, pasta, pie, Pizza, potatoes, pretzels, red peppers, steak, strawberries

I’m sore.

On Saturday, my mom and I planted the majority of my garden and container pots. I had done the raspberry bushes a few weeks prior, and my mom gave me a potted blueberry plant earlier in the month, but the majority of the work remained: flowers and herbs.

The weather was iffy for Saturday, so we really were on a timeline. Of course, I had given absolutely no thought ahead of time to what shades of flowers I wanted to plant. So we wandered through a local store’s garden center a bit, I figured out what I wanted, and then I realized that particular store didn’t have all the colors I wanted. Figures, right?

No worries, though, we had planned on two additional stops. Next up was a local greenhouse, to pick up the stargazer lilies (my favorite!) I wanted. I’d had them a few years back, but they mysteriously disappeared; imagine my excitement to finally get my favorite flowers back!

Alas, they were sold out. By this point it was raining, but we picked up the herbs I wanted, as well as some pepper plants for good measure.

On to the final store. To say it was busy was a gross understatement. Not a big fan of shopping crowds, we simply wanted to get out of there ss quickly as possible. We checked the flowers, no stargazers, no impatiens in the shades I wanted. At that point, frankly, I no longer cared about my color scheme, I wanted to get out, get home, and get planting.

Continue reading “Pearl Macarons with Blackberry Lime Curd”

Tags: blackberries, cookies, lime, macarons

I did it!!!

After last year’s failed attempt at finding a recipe for my favorite soup, I thought I’d never be able to make not just a decent broccoli cheese soup, but a really good version. It had to be thick and creamy – perfect for dunking warm bread – with a light taste of cheddar and some generous chunks of broccoli.

Then I made an outstanding beer cheese soup, and I realized there was hope. The secret, I suspected, was to use a combination of cheeses, similar to what I had done in the beer cheese version: some extra-sharp cheddar for flavor, and a mild melty cheese for texture.

Continue reading “Broccoli Cheese Soup”

Tags: broccoli, Carrots, Cheese, milk, Onions

Our projected high for the day is a good 35 degrees cooler than it was just a couple of days ago. It seems we can never find the happy medium that would make a perfect spring day.

But, I have to confess, I’m okay with the cooler temperatures right now. The near-record highs we experienced this week…well, I’m just not ready for that, yet. Though “normal” weather right now would be my preference, I don’t mind getting to make a few more “cool weather” meals.

Continue reading “Croque Monsieur”

Tags: Barefoot Contessa, Cheese, comfort food, gruyere, ham, parmesan