Memorial Day Picnic Review

Homemade French Bread
Source: Rose Levy Berenbaum's The Bread Bible

I can't really review this recipe yet. The bread is currently in the oven. Nope, it didn't make it to the picnic, mostly due to lack of planning on my part. I seem to always have had a problem reading a recipe FIRST, MAKING SURE I have all the ingredients, THEN starting the recipe. Ooops . . .

Anyway, I have made recipes from The Bread Bible before, and they've turned out beautifully, so I have no doubt that, had I followed the instructions more carefully, this French bread would've turned out. I'm not going to write out the instructions here, because they're so long (but VERY detailed - it's almost impossible to screw up!).


Chicken-Tomato-Basil Couscous Salad
Turned into Chicken-Tomato-Basil Rice Pilaf Salad

Ingredients

• 1 (6.09 oz) package plain instant Rice Pilaf 
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth 
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken 
• 1 cup chopped green onions 
• 1 cup seeded and diced vine-ripened tomatoes 
• 1/3 cup fresh basil, chiffonade 
• 1/3 cup olive oil 
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Prepare rice pilaf according to package directions, using chicken broth instead of water, and omitting the butter, and allow to come to room temperature.
2. Add chicken, onions, tomatoes, basil, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Serve cold.

My comments: this turned into rice pilaf salad, because The Mister attempted to help me make it. I handed him the box of instant couscous, and the chicken broth. It turned out very clumpy and mushy. He went out and bought another box. The same thing happened again. Then we realized that the recipe called for 10 ounces of couscous. The boxes we were buying were only 5.9 ounces! I went out to buy another box and mistakenly bought rice pilaf by mistake. Anyway, rice pilaf or couscous, it turned out delicious. As you can see, we added chicken, omitted the red pepper flakes (didn't have any), used different tomatoes, and different vinegar. I would like to try this with couscous, and I think I will also add in some diced mozzarella next time. 


Macaroni Salad with Shrimp Based on Cold Tuna Macaroni Salad

Ingredients

• 12 oz elbow macaroni 
• 3 stalks celery, diced 
• 8 oz canned tiny shrimp, deveined, drained of water 
• 1 1/2 cups mayo 
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar 
• 1 tablespoon white sugar pinch black pepper

Directions

1. Fill a medium saucepan about 3/4 full of water, and bring to a boil. Cook pasta about 6 minutes, or until al dente. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
2. Add in diced celery and drained shrimp.
3. In a small bowl, combine mayo, vinegar, sugar and pepper, and stir into macaroni salad.

My comments: I really liked this. Next time, I will look for fresh or frozen tiny shrimp. The canned stuff that I bought was really tough and rubbery. I will also add more pepper next time. 


Chocolate Chip Cookies
I've already blogged about these before. I don't make any other chocolate chip cookie recipes. I get about 48 cookies out of the recipe (and would probably get more, if I didn't eat about 6 cookies' worth of dough while I'm making them). They're from The Professional Pastry Chef by Bo Friburg. 


We had a really nice time, eating lunch in Washington Square in the middle of Philadelphia. It was a GORGEOUS day out, if a bit excessively hot. Our plan was to walk from 6th and Spruce to 9th and Carpenter (to DiBruno Brothers) and buy a baguette and some cheese to add to our meal. However, upon arriving, we discovered that they were closed due to the holiday! Oops! Probably something we should've checked on first, but we didn't even think about it until we were about halfway there, and saw so many other closed stores. 

However, on South Street between 9th and 10th, there is a Whole Foods Market, where we were able to get a baguette. He got a Wisconsin Cheddar (which he said was "OK," it was mild and he prefers them sharper), and I got a triple cream Brie, which I LOVED (actually, I'm still loving it -- it's not done yet!). We had also brought along some strawberries, which were at PERFECT ripeness! So juicy and sweet!