Guest Blog – The Contessa – I hate Summer!

to 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/Sg1YYyUrqDI/AAAAAAAADCk/YyXSSoMrgt4/s320/076.JPG” border=”0″ />Guest Blogger – The Contessa writes:
top:2px;padding-right:5px;font-family:times;”>Spring has sprung in New York and all the flowers are in bloom. But we’ve already had some 90 degree plus days and that’s not spring, that’s summer. I HATE SUMMER! There – I said it and I’m not going to apologize for it. Let me explain….As a child, I never got sick during the school year. All my childhood diseases…mumps, chicken pox and whopping cough I managed to get right in the middle of Summer. As an adult, my one major surgery and my heart attack both happened…you guessed it…in the summer. I hate bugs, humidity and sweaty people. I HATE SUMMER.

However, there are a few things I love about summer…fresh veggies, my central air conditioning, a crystal clear swimming pool, Saratoga Springs and cold plates.

to 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/Sg1YY_iFxXI/AAAAAAAADCs/i1mAwtk6SZ0/s320/173.JPG” border=”0″ />Cold plates I’m sure are not my invention but I sort of perfected what I consider to be the perfect summer meal without turning on any heat at all. Basically they are a mixture of whatever I have handy that goes together to make an interesting meal…. I usually start with a meat or fish. Meats can be any nice cold sliced meat such as roast beef, ham, turkey or chicken. If I’m in a particularly Mediterranean mood, I add salami, prosciutto or pepperoni. If I’m not in a meat mood, I use fish…cold, iced shrimp or cold salmon (my favorite). You can also use crab, sardines, smoked salmon or trout and if you really want, raw oysters or clams. I also like to use tinned smoked oysters.

to 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/Sg1YYqnQ8XI/AAAAAAAADCc/pj9DVFkTrME/s320/029.JPG” border=”0″ />Now the rest of the plate can be whatever you have available….grapes, strawberries, pate, pickles, cornichons, avocado, artichoke hearts, olives, coleslaw, corn relish, 3 bean salad, macaroni salad, grilled veggies, hard boiled eggs, chow-chow, and of course almost any kind of cheese….cottage, swiss, brie, cheddar, feta, etc. To finish it off, I always add some fresh veggies…tomatoes, radish, green onions, cucumber, mushrooms and carrots.

to 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kcTb8DnPVW4/Sg1YYhXe9iI/AAAAAAAADCU/vNJlgrrqK0I/s320/003.JPG” border=”0″ />A nice cold plate on a hot day is one reason why I LOVE SUMMER!

The Contessa,
Guest Blogger – Diva of the Day