Category Archives: Where Women Cook Community

Time for another FABULOUS meal of recipes from the readers and fans of Where Women Cook! (I might gain eleventyhundred pounds just by reading them all. And I’d do it happily! Thank you all for your submissions. I think we’ve got one more humdinger meal to post tomorrow, so make sure you tune in! XO

Today I thought we would do a big meal for a crowd.

And when you have a big crowd I LOVE serving things that you can hold and eat with your hands like tacos and sandwiches, especially in the summer. I especially love steak sandwiches and few things pair with them better than roasted peppers and onions. Which makes this Smoky Steak Sandwiches w/ Peppers & Onions pretty much a home run.

Smoky Steak Sandwiches w/ Peppers & Onions (By Cottage in the Oaks) (You should go read the recipe as originally posted. This is a humorous recipe writer…I love that!)

1 large red onion, sliced into strips
1 large red bell pepper, sliced into strips
1 large green bell pepper, sliced into strips
4 tbs. olive oil
Hickory Smoked Sea Salt, to taste {Williams Sonoma}
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 lbs. thinly sliced New York strip sirloin
6 French sandwich rolls, sliced lengthwise leaving one side intact
12 slices provolone cheese

Place a grill pan or grill wok on a medium-high grill and warm it up.

Stir together the onions, peppers, and 2 tbs. olive oil in one bowl. Season with the Hickory Smoked Sea Salt.

In another bowl stir the sliced steak with the other 2 tbs. of olive oil. Season with the Hickory Smoked Sea Salt & the freshly ground pepper.

Transfer the onions and peppers to the grill pan and cook for about 10 minutes, or until they are brown and soft. Be sure to stir and toss as you are cooking them. Put peppers & onions into a bowl and cover with foil to keep warm.

Transfer meat to the grill pan in two batches. Cook each batch about 5 minutes or until brown. Return all meat and veggies to the pan and stir to combine–cook for just a couple of minutes.

Place rolls on the grill cut side down to toast. Take rolls off the grill and place on foil. Put meat and veggie mixture onto roll and then add 2 slices of provolone cheese. Make a little ‘boat’ out of the foil. Once all sandwiches are ‘boated’ place them onto the grill to melt the provolone for about 3 minutes.

When I am having a lot of people over I often like to have two or three entrees. Sometimes I make them wildly different and sometimes I make them similar but different enough that you have a variety. For example, if I was throwing this dinner for my husband’s birthday I would add these BBQ Pork Sandwiches to the menu as well.

BBQ Pork Sandwich Recipe (By A Crazy Creative Life)

2 lb. pork loin or shoulder (you can substitute a chuck roast if you prefer beef)

Sauce:1 onion, chopped
4 garlic gloves, pressed or chopped
2 Tbsp. mustard
24 oz. bottle ketchup
1/2 cup worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. liquid smoke or smoked salt
1 tsp. salt (omit if using smoked salt)
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (1/4 tsp if serving just adults)

Place all ingredients in a crockpot or dutchoven. Cook on low heat for 8 hours. Add water if needed to keep it from drying out. Pile high on a bun with mayo or coleslaw.

And to shake things up, let’s add some Blackened Chicken Tacos to the mix, shall we?

BLACKENED CHICKEN TACOS (By Angela Lopez)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Vegetable oil
Corn tortillas, lightly brushed with oil

DRY RUB:
2 T. chili powder
2 t. cumin
2 t. brown sugar
1 t. salt
½ t. black pepper
½ t. oregano
½ t. cinnamon

Mix dry rub and set aside. Brush underside of chicken with oil and season to taste with salt. Flip over and apply dry rub to other side of chicken. Drizzle lightly with oil. Place chicken on grill over white-hot coals or on gas grill heated to “high”. Watch closely as the blackened side forms a crust, this only takes about 3 minutes. Carefully flip chicken and place cover on grill. Continue to cook for 6-7 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken. When juices run clear, remove from grill and let stand for a few minutes before slicing. Meanwhile, place tortillas on grill to heat. They will bubble slightly when time to flip. Remove and build your tacos with slices of chicken and toppings such as guacamole (avocados are good for you), pica de gallo, and “light” sour cream. Makes 4-6 servings.

I love having a lot of different sides and salads when I serve a crowd, so I picked more than I would if it were just a few people over for dinner. Two of these that fit the bill are Toasted Rice Salad with Mango Dressing and Corn and Bacon Saute.

Toasted Brown Rice Salad w/ Mango Dressing (By Storybrook Woods)

1 cup brown rice, uncooked
half cucumber, diced
1 ripe tomatoes, diced
1/8 cup sliced green onions or chives (I used chives, including the flowers)
6 basil leaves, torn into small pieces
1/2 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese
mango dressing*

In a heavy dry pan, toasted uncooked rice by pouring the rice in pan and setting it on a med/high heat. Wait until you start to smell the rice brown, then stir every few seconds to brown all the rice and keep it from burning. When browned, cook the rice the way you like to. (I bake it in the oven, with 2 cups of water, covered @400°F for 1 hour.)

When rice is cooked, set it off to the side for 30 minutes, leave covered. Then toss rice with 3 TBL. olive oil, to help keep it moist.

Toss cooked rice with the rest of the ingedents. Enjoy!

Mango Dressing
1 mango, cubed and purred, including the flesh of the pit. I just do this with my hands, mashing it up and squeezing the juice and flesh off the pit.
1/4 cup olive oil
Juice of one lemon
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped or crushed
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together and then adjust to your liking.

Corn and Bacon Saute (By A Well Seasoned Life)

1/2 of a medium onion, chopped
6 slices bacon, diced
1 tsp. olive oil
16-oz. frozen corn
Seasonings: kosher salt, coarse black pepper, dried thyme
4-5 green onions, sliced

In a large skillet, saute the onion and bacon in the olive oil on medium-low until bacon starts to get crisp, about 10 minutes. After the bacon is crisp, remove the bacon-onion mixtue with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the corn and seasonings to the skillet and cook on medium-high heat until the corn is heated through and any moisture is cooked out. Return the bacon-onion mixture back to the skillet and stir it all together. Remove from heat. Add the green onions.

Because steak and BBQ sandwiches can be a bit heavy, this light and refreshing Watermelon Salad with Ricotta Salata is is perfect to lighten things up!

Water­melon Salad with Ricotta Salata (By Cooking in Stilettos)
Inspired by “The Hamp­tons” episode of Giada’s Week­end Adventures

1 small seed­less water­melon, rind removed and cubed (should be 3–4 cups or one medium size “tub” from the gro­cery store)
I small red onion
1/2 cup of ricotta salata, shaved
Juice and zest of one lemon
3–4 mint leaves, chopped
1/2 tbsp. of olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Arugula for serving

Thinly slice the red onion into half moons and put into bowl.

Juice the lemon directly into the red onion and let the onion mar­i­nate for 15 minutes.

After 15 min­utes, add the olive oil to the onion and toss.

Add the red onion, includ­ing the lemon juice mari­nade to the cubed watermelon.

Add the shaved ricotta salata, zest and mint and toss all ingre­di­ents together.

Salt & Pep­per to taste

Serve over arugula and enjoy.

I almost fell out of my chair when I read this recipe for Frozen Blueberry Crisp. Who doesn’t love fruit crisps? But it isn’t JUST a crisp! Dig into it and you will find some lovely ice cream. Not only brilliant but a truly fabulous summer dessert!

Frozen Blueberry Crisp (By Cook Kosher)

56 ounces vanilla ice cream

Crumble:
½ cup sugar
½ cup flour
1/4 cup margarine (1/2 stick)
¼ cup sliced almonds

Blueberry sauce:
1 (12 ounces) package frozen blueberries
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
2 tablespoon water

Garnish:
Confectioners’ sugar
Fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

To prepare the crumble, mix the sugar, flour, and margarine to form crumbs. Spread on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 15-25 minutes, mixing with a fork halfway through. Let cool and break into crumbles.

Preheat oven to 400˚F. Toast the sliced almonds on a baking sheet for 8-10 minutes. Combine the ready crumble with the toasted almonds.

To prepare the blueberry sauce, combine the blueberries, vanilla sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend all ingredients well.

To assemble to blueberry crisps, place 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream on the bottom of a ramekin. Top with 1 tablespoon of blueberry sauce. Add a second scoop and ½ tablespoon of sauce. With the back of a spoon, smooth down the ice cream and sauce to an even layer. Sprinkle with loads of crumble. Freeze.

To serve, garnish with confectioners sugar and fresh blueberries.

I’m now totally full from just assembling this post!

See you tomorrow!

xo

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