Porch Party
How I love my new porch and this pretty patio set I scored at the Rosebowl Flea. It was a "worse for the wear" white but I had it made over by the amazing guys at Sundial Powder Coating who you may remember also transformed this iKea cart. Now I have the perfect place to entertain on a lovely spring or summer day.
A salad is a great choice for a small or large group. Easy to make ahead (just do not add dressing till right before serving) and you don't have the worry of timing a complicated entree.
For my "cobb-ish" I started with a mix of baby spinach and butter lettuce, then added red onion, avocado, bacon, chicken and goat cheese instead of blue. Then dressing was made with aioli mustard (from Trader Joe's, love this stuff), red wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, a dash of Worcestershire Sauce and salt & pepper.
I've mentioned fried green tomatoes before, they are a southern favorite and easy to make. Green tomatoes are just red tomatoes that have not yet ripened. I was able to find some at my local Sprouts.
I mix corn meal and flour, some bay seasoning and garlic powder and then dip the sliced tomatoes into a mixture of egg and low fat buttermilk, then dredge in your dry mix, then put into a hot pan. I used the left over bacon fat (from the salad) to fry them. This is really the key for a true southern style taste. On top, a cilantro dressing with a touch of sriracha mixed in.
I made my life easy by picking up a ready made "mini" cherry pie, also from Sprouts. Everything else I picked up at Trader Joe's, naturally. Check out this book, it had the best reviews of the many TJ's cookbooks I discovered.
all photos & content © Lara Rossignol
Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 6:00AM
Reader Comments (5)
I would love an invite to dine on that porch, so lovely!
What a lovely, dreamy spot! I am so jealous! Also, I love fried green tomatoes and yes, it is all about the bacon fat!
You use color so well, just love the orange, blue, pink and green. Well done!
I could live on that porch.
What a wonderful blog! I saw the title and had to find out more about you--my mother's first Siamese cat, Mildred, was a daughter of Pyewacket and Mom was always so proud of her "Hollywood connection". Your Cobb-ish salad looks divine, although I'd lose the goat cheese and stick with feta. Yum!