Ants not invited

So, we are given permission to spend one more lazy weekend sleeping in late, coloring our skins, and perhaps, catching the US Open. Starting Tuesday our work lives are revived with office cubicles filling back up with vacationed employees, and buses with a cautioning stop sign make the rounds filling up with children slouched over by weight of their backpacks.

If these are one of the last guilt-free dog days then why I am up early – shopping, planning, chopping and packing it up. This is what happens when romance creeps back into your life and you dust-off the tools of courtship. For me, this means an immediate morning beeline to the farmer’s market to secure nature’s best to assist in sprinkling a bit of Cupid’s magic over a budding pairing. It is my skill set as a chef I am using to seduce the moment, with a long view eyeing a roaring fire on a Valentine’s getaway.

For now, as the full moon graces our Labor Day weekend I am spending the morning plotting. In a few hours a soft cotton blanket will be spread out under the shade of Chestnut tree. The wicker basket that has sat idle for a few years now has been wiped down, and is being filled. A bottle of Prosecco is well chilled, and I pray the neoprene wine sleeve will keep it just right. I hope the china plates and champagne flutes don’t crack in transport, and no uninvited nibblers will spoil the fairy-tale being played out.

Most importantly, may the foods I make work their alchemist powers causing this end of summer weekend be the beginning of another season.
























Cherry Tomato and Potato Salad – 4 to 6 servings
3/4-pound baby new potatoes (mix of red and white)
2-tablespoons olive oil
1 pint yellow cherry tomato
1 small red onion – diced
1orange bell pepper – diced
zest of 1 lime
3 scallions – slice
1/4-pound sorrel leaves – roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Pre heat the oven to 350-degree.

Toss the potatoes with salt and pepper, and place a baking tray. Roast the potatoes until slightly blistered, about 20 minutes. If your potatoes are not particularly small cut them in have – ideally, the potatoes are should be around the size of the cherry tomatoes.

In a large work bowl place the cherry tomatoes, red onion, bell pepper, lime zest and scallions. Once the potatoes are cooked immediately toss with the tomato mixture. Allow the potatoes to now cool completely then add the sorrel. Correct seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve room temperature to chilled.