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Parties That Cook’s Memorial Day Recipe: Greek Salad with Grilled Halloumi Cheese

Memorial Day Weekend: Here.
Swim Suit Season: Fast-approaching.
Easy Recipe That Will Prepare You For Both: You Got It!

This Greek Salad makes the perfect side (or entrée, if you’re into that vegetarian stuff) for your Memorial Day barbecue. You can prepare the simple dressing in advance, if you’re on the go, and just re-mix when ready! The understated flavor of the dressing really lets the ingredients shine. Cherry Tomatoes and Kalamata Olives balance each other out, while Cucumbers add a crisp texture to the mix. The best part: you won’t feel left out of the grilling festivities! Addictively delicious Halloumi Cheese is best served hot off the grill.

Looking for more fun (edible) things to throw on the grill this weekend? Check out this unbelievably relevant blog from last year! 20 Unconventional Summer Grilling Ideas

Greek Salad with Grilled Halloumi Cheese and Kalamata Olives
This recipe can be found in our Soups, Salads, & Pasta Recipe Section!

Ingredients
Dressing:
2 Tablespoons shallots, finely chopped 1 teaspoon oregano, chopped
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar

Salad:
1 pint cherry tomatoes cut in half or 3 medium heirloom tomatoes (if in season)
1 medium English cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced lengthwise
9 ounces Halloumi cheese, drained and patted dry
1 Tablespoon olive oil
4 cups baby arugula, washed and dried

Methods/Steps
Prepare Ingredients: Finely chop the shallots and the oregano and place into a medium bowl. Juice the lemon into the bowl. Add the red wine vinegar and the mustard and whisk to combine well.

Emulsify Dressing: Slowly whisk the olive oil into the bowl. Season the dressing with the salt, pepper and sugar. Taste and re season if necessary.

Prepare Salad Ingredients: Cut the cherry tomatoes in half (or in 1” dice) and the cucumber into cubes. Place into a bowl. Pit the olives, slice them lengthwise and add them to the bowl. Set aside.

Grill Cheese: Preheat grill pan. Slice the Halloumi into 8 equal pieces. Brush with olive oil. Grill until grill marks form, about 30 seconds per side. Transfer to a cooling rack. Slice into bite size pieces if desired.

Plate Salad: Lay out all of the first course plates in a single layer. When you’re about ready to eat, toss arugula lightly with half the dressing. Divide arugula among salad plates. Toss the tomatoes, cucumbers and olives with some of the dressing and evenly distribute among plates. Distrubute the Halloumi, wipe the rim clean and serve immediately.

Serves/Makes
Serves 8

Parties That Cook Keeps It Classy with this Mother’s Day Recipe: Sweet Pea and Mint Galettes

Now that you’ve handled Cinco de Mayo AND the Kentucky Derby, you’ve got another big holiday on your radar: Mother’s Day. Sure, you can bring what you brought to last year’s get-together, but nobody needs to see you eat an entire edible arrangement by yourself…again. This year, keep it classy with Sweet Pea and Mint Galettes. They’re light enough to be served with a large spread of appetizers, and delicate enough for the fanciest of tea parties. The best part is, if you have any vegetarians in your group, this dish is completely customizable! Put some of the batter aside, and just nix the prosciutto. The Sweet Pea and Mint flavors, alone, can carry this dish to the head of the table. And hey, if everyone’s down with meat, even better.

Are tea parties not your scene? This versatile dish can also be seen in action at our Cooking with Cocktails class in Portland!

Sweet Pea and Mint Galettes with Prosciutto and Sour Cream Recipe
This recipe can be found in our Appetizer Recipe Library!

Ingredients
Galettes:
10 slices prosciutto
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups frozen peas, divided in half
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cups milk
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon mint leaves
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

Canola oil or nonstick spray for cooking galettes

Garnish:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
Reserved ½ inch pieces of proscuitto

Methods/Steps
Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Cook Prosciutto: Lay prosciutto onto a sheet pan. Place pan in the oven and cook until crisp, about 12 minutes. Let cool. Once cool, chop half the prosciutto into small 1/4-inch bits and transfer to small bowl – will use later for batter. Chop or break the remaining pieces into larger pieces, about 1/2 inch bits and place in small bowl, cover with plastic and set aside to use as garnish.

Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, mix together flour and baking powder; set aside.

Blend Wet Ingredients: Put half of the peas into a blender. Add the cream, milk, melted butter, lemon zest, mint leaves and salt; blend for 20 seconds. Add eggs, and blend a few seconds more, just until they are fully combined.

Combine Ingredients: Pour pea mixture into flour mixture, add the remaining whole peas and reserved ¼-inch bacon pieces, fold to mix. Add the lemon juice. Helpful tip: Do not over mix or the galettes will be tough.

Cook Galettes: Pour 1 tablespoon of canola oil into non-stick pan or spray with nonstick spray. Working in batches, drop a tablespoon of batter into pan, being careful not to overcrowd. Cook until underside is golden, about 2 minutes. Turn pancakes over and cook until other side is golden and pancake is cooked through, about two minutes more. Transfer to a cooling rack over a sheet pan. Repeat with remaining batter, adding more canola oil as needed between batches.

Mix Garnish: Combine sour cream, salt, and lemon juice.

Serve: If necessary quickly re-warm pancakes in the oven. Remove from oven and top each pancake with a dollop of sour cream and a piece of proscuitto that was reserved for garnish. Transfer pancakes to a serving platter. Serve immediately. Recipe created by

Serves/Makes
30-35 2-inch Galettes

Recipe created by Parties That Cook® | www.PartiesThatCook.com