Late Summer Lunch

The Lunch Bunch

four friends who get together 

once a month to share

food and friendship

We've been lax this summer

new grand baby (me)

grandsons visiting (Joyce)

trip to Paris (Sally)

babysitting in Portland (JoAnn)

and although we've gotten together

it wasn't all four of us

and it wasn't at Linderhof.

It was good to be back together again!

With sunflowers in an old blue pitcher

and birds on the table

(a gift from the Lunch Bunch)

"pecking" at the sunflower seeds

And blue and white dishes

(naturally!)

A lace tablecloth

Damask napkins in silver rings

Bach and Mozart playing softly in the background

A new recipe

(always)

Chicken "lasagna"

From friend Francie

(although I made only half a recipe --

more than enough for four)

Served with halved baby zucchini

sauteed with oregano, garlic and onion

It received three "thumbs up"!

Dessert --

Blackberry roll

From Williams-Sonoma Fruit Desserts Cookbook

The first time I've ever "rolled"

I was intimidated

It's quite easy actually

And the result is superb!

And after . . . 

Dishes are done

draining

for I've got to rush to an assignment interview

The breakfast room

Just minutes ago

it was the scene of laughter and chatter

Now all is tidy and quiet!

CHICKEN "LASAGNA"

As written by Francie

I halved the recipe (although I did use two cups of chicken) and baked it in an 8 inch square

and I did use the olive oil rather than the butter!

From "Uptown Down South." I decided not to post this under Pasta because it is really chicken and egg noodles and is almost like a kugel. It is good comfort food and can be adjusted easily to be lower-calorie and low-fat.

12 ounces egg noodles
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon basil
4 cups chicken broth
5 cups cubed cooked chicken
4 cups cottage cheese
1 egg, slightly beaten
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated
Parmesan cheese, grated

Cook egg noodles according to package directions; set aside. Melt butter over medium heat in sauce pan; blend in flour, salt, pepper and basil and cook until smooth. Slowly add broth and stir until sauce is thick and bubbly. Stir in chicken; set aside. In separate bowl, combine cottage cheese and egg; set aside. In 9x13x2-inch baking dish, layer as follows: 1/3 of chicken mixture, 1/2 of cooked egg noodles, 1/2 of cottage cheese mixture and 1/2 of mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers, ending with chicken mixture. Sprinkle heavily with Parmesan cheese. If ready to use, bake uncovered for 1 hour at 350 degrees. May freeze. When ready to use, thaw casserole for 24 hours in refrigerator and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Serves 12.

My notes: I deleted the 1/2 cup butter and substituted 2 T. olive oil, decreasing the flour accordingly also; used Wondra flour and low-fat cottage cheese and also added some chopped parsley to the cottage cheese mixture. I made this in 3 smaller casseroles and froze 2 of them. For the chicken, I cooked skinless bone-in chicken breasts in a small crockpot the day before and cooled and refrigerated the chicken and broth together overnight. I think this would be just fine with a rotisserie chicken also (might want to decrease the salt in that case).

BLACKBERRY ROLL

12 X 9 inch sponge cake (recipe follows)

1/2 c. cream

1/2 t. vanilla

1 T. powdered sugar plus extra for dusting

1 cup blackberries

Bake the sponge cake and let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes.    When the sponge cake is still warm to the touch, use a thin metal spatula to loosen the edges from the pan.    With a long side toward you, gently roll the cake into a cylinder with the parchment paper still attached to the bottom.     Allow the cake to cool completely, about 45 minutes, then gently unroll it on a work surface and remove the parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the cream, vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until soft peaks form when the whisk is lifted 5 to 7 minutes.

To assemble, spread the center of the cooled cake with whipped cream, scatter the berries on top of the cream and reroll the cake.    Transfer the log, seam side down, to a long serving platter.    Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.

To serve, using a fine mesh sieve dust the top of the cake with a generous coating of powdered sugar.   Cut the cake crosswise into slices.

SPONGE CAKE:

vegetable oil spray

1/2 c. cake flour

3 large eggs, separated

2 T. butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. sugar

Preheat the oven to 350    Coat a 12 x 9 jelly roll pan with pray and line with parchment paper.    Measure the cake flour into a sifter and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the egg yolks, melted butter and vanilla.    Set aside in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, whip the egg whites until foamy.    Slowly add in the sugar and continue whipping until the egg whites are soft and shinny.

Pour the yolk and butter mixture into the egg whites and sift half of the flour on top.   Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the ingredients together.    Sift the remaining flour over the batter and fold in.

Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly.    Bake until the cake is golden, the center springs back when touched and the edges are beginning to pull away from the pan, 7 to 9 minutes for the sheet pan.

It's Thursday and I'm joining Susan at Between Naps On The Porch and Cuisine Kathleen for Let's Dish