August Supper Club - Cold Buffet

In August, we met at Katharina's house for a Cold Buffet.

Katharina made a vodka-cranberry punch:

Lauren made a Quinoa Tabbouleh:

From Epicurious: 

Yield: 6 servings

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt plus more
• 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large English hothouse cucumber or 2 Persian cucumbers, cut into 1/4" pieces
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced

1. Bring quinoa, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
   
2. Meanwhile, whisk lemon juice and garlic in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.
   
3. Spread out quinoa on a large rimmed baking sheet; let cool. Transfer to a large bowl; mix in 1/4 cup dressing. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover remaining dressing and quinoa separately; chill.
   
4. Add cucumber, tomatoes, herbs, and scallions to bowl with quinoa; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle remaining dressing over.

 

Katharina made a potato salad and meatballs:

Sara made a rice salad:

Rice Salad (Insalatone di Riso)

This dish is a very typical Italian summer favorite, it is easily prepared with pickled vegetables (called "giardiniera" in italian) and canned tuna, cheese, fresh peppers and tomatoes, hot dogs, boiled eggs and much more...There are infinite variants of this dish and anyone can come up with their own, depending on their creativity and/or what was left in the fridge... :) This dish is often brought to picnics and pot lucks during the summer.

Ingredients for 4 people:

- 1 cup Riso Arborio (get an Italian brand, like Gallo or the one they carry at World Market)

- 1 jar Artichokes hearths in olive oil and spices

- 1 can tuna in oil (best in olive oil) 

- 3 boiled eggs

- 1 jar baby pickled cucumbers 

- 1/2 cup white cheese

- extra virgin olive oil

- salt

Cook the rice according to the instructions in salted water and immediately after draining, set under cold running water until cold. Pour the rice in a bowl with two table spoons olive oil and mix well, add more oil to make sure the grains don't clump.

Rinse the cucumber under running water, and drain the oil from the tuna. Discard half of the marinade of the artichokes, save the rest to add flavor to the rice salad. 

Cut all the ingredients in small pieces (cubes) and mix everything together with the rice. Adjust the salt, oftentimes it is not necessary to add any because of the salty nature of the ingredients.

Cover with plastic film and let sit in the refrigerator overnight, this brings out the medley of flavors of the salad. 

    

Rebecca made rye bread:

Sprouted Vollkornbrot 

Recipe from Peter Reinhart's Bread Revolution 

Makes 8 mini loaves

5C plus 2 Tbsp. sprouted rye flour

2 1/3 C sprouted whole wheat flour

1/4 Cup sunflower seeds, lightly toasted

3 Tbsp. whole flax seeds

1 1/2 Tbsp. cocoa powder

2 tsp. salt

3 1/2 cups water, at room temperature

3 Tsp. molasses

5 tsp. instant yeast

In the bowl of a mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, stir together the water and molasses and then dissolve the yeast in that mixture.

Add the molasses mixture to the flour mixture and stir until incorporated.  The dough will be coarse and wet.  Mix for 2 more minutes on low and then a few seconds on medium.  The dough will be wet and just firm enough to hold its shape.  Add more water or flour as needed to get this texture.

Cover the dough with oiled plastic wrap and let it for 1 hour at room temperature  It won't rise much. 

Grease 8 mini loaf pans.  

Transfer the dough to a floured surface.  Shape into 8 equal oblongs and place into the greased loaf pans.  Cover with greased plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for an hour.  The dough will not rise much.

Preheat the oven to 500F and place a baking pan on the lower rack.

Put the loaves in the oven on the middle rack and pour 1 cup of hot water into the baking pan on the lower rack.  Lower the temperature of the oven to 350F. 

Bake for 30 minutes and then rotate the loaf pans.  Bake for an additional 20-30 minutes until the crust is hard and the loaves soud hollow when thumped on teh bottom.  The internal temperature should be at least 190F.  The tops may crack.

Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool before slicing.

Kim made the best cake in the world:

Lauren made a honeydew melon-mint fruit salad:

I cut up some honeydew, added mint leaves, and some lime juice.