Gaspacho, Steak, Corn and Potatoes!

Wine:

Muralhas de Moncao Vinho Verde Branco 2008
Chateau St Jean 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon
Macvin du Jura Domaine Rabet Dessert Wine

Bea joined us for dinner. The weather has been drive with your top down, enjoy wine on patio overlooking the city weather. We started the evening outside. We decided to grill some steaks. This could only mean DRY AGED Porterhouse from Harvey Guss Meats!

Summer also means tomatoes every way you can make them. The recipe for Yellow Tomato Gazpacho from The Sunday Supper at Lucques Cook Book is my very favorite. We have made it many times.

Summer grilling steaks demand Corn on the Cob – Grilled.

With the corn and steak we made a favorite: Potatoes with Onion and Balsamic recipe that Cathy invented.

We finished with Chocolate Cupcakes.

Cathy Potatoes
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3 pounds potatoes ¾ inch cube skin on
2 medium red onions or 12 cippolini onions chopped
Salt and pepper
6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 - 6 Tbl melted butter

Mix all ingredients well back uncovered at 350 till crispy!

Yellow Tomato Gazpacho
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From Sunday Suppers at Lucques

2 1/2 pounds ripe yellow tomatoes
3 Persian cucumbers, or 1 hot-house cucumber
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and cut in half
4 sprigs cilantro, plus 12 cilantroleaves
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons diced red or orange sweet pepper
3 tablespoons diced red onion
18 small cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Super-good extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

This recipe was developed by Julie Robles, longtime Lucques cook, then sous-chef, then chef de cuisine. It's one of those magical recipes in which you combine a few simple ingredients and end up with an unexpectedly dramatic result. It's a foolproof recipe, but, tasting it, you'd never know how easy it is to make. As long as you have a blender (it doesn't work as well in a food processor) and really great tomatoes, this refresh ing gazpacho is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

Blanch the yellow tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds. Cool the toma¬toes in a bowl of ice water a few minutes, and then use your fingers to slip off their skins. Remove the cores, and chop the tomatoes coarsely, saving all the juice. Reserve the ice water.

Seed and dice three tablespoons' worth of unpeeled cucumber, as prettily as you can manage, for the garnish. Set aside. Peel and coarsely chop the remaining cucumbers.

You will need to make the soup in batches. Place half the yellow tomatoes, coarsely chopped cucumber, jalapeno, cilantro sprigs, garlic, vinegar, and olive oil in a blender with i% teaspoons salt and some pepper. Process at the lowest speed until broken down. Turn the speed up to high, and puree until the soup is com¬pletely smooth. If the soup is too thick, add a little of the reserved ice water. Strain the soup and taste for seasoning. Repeat with the rest of the soup ingredients. Chill the soup in the refrigerator; it should be served very cold.

Toss the diced pepper, diced onion, and diced cucumber together in a small
bowl.

Pour the gazpacho into six chilled soup bowls, and scatter the pepper mix¬ture over the soup. Season the cherry tomatoes with salt and pepper and place three cherry tomato halves and two cilantro leaves at the center of each bowl. Fin¬ish each soup with a drizzle of super-good olive oil. To serve family-style, place the soup in a chilled tureen or pretty pitcher and garnish with the tomato halves and cilantro; pass the diced vegetables on the side.