Here's my vinaigrette recipe, which has an adaptation (see bottom of page) for use as a marinade for mushrooms. It helps if you have fresh herbs to use, especially fresh basil, although it works well with just thyme. I use large button mushrooms and cut them in half (sometimes in quarters, for skewers) and grill them briefly after marinating. That gets rid of the raw flavor from the garlic and helps infuse the flavors into the mushrooms. I cool them first if I'm using them on a salad - otherwise I serve them warm, right after grilling. They're good cold, however. I generally let them marinate 30 minutes to an hour before grilling.

Lars

Lpink....
Just this evening I was browsing channels and on a travel channel came across an episode in a series on Scandinavian cooking. A young lady was cooking some wonderful food on the deck of a yacht moored in a Swedish harbour and apart from the delicious vegetables she cooked topped with a piece of cod, the dessert she made really caught my eye.

She said it was something her mother used to make and it goes like this:

nectarines....1 per person (she used 4 for 4 people)
butter - about 1 heaping TBS
sugar - about 2 TBS
almonds - one handful of thin flat slices
lemon juice - squeeze of half a lemon
whipped cream - 1 dollop per person

1. Slice nectarines - each one into 8 wedges

2. Put butter and sugar in a large non-stick frying pan or wok, stir gently over heat until well blended and a bit bubbly.

3. Add nectarine slices, turning gently in the sauce and let cook for a minute or two. Add almonds and squeeze half a lemon over the pan, and stir.

4. Scoop out onto dessert plates and top with a dollop of whipped cream.

SharonCb

Yeah, I've heard the cooking of Scandanavia is pretty good. I did some investigating two years ago when I got invited to a scandanavian pot luck! I brought blue cheese spread on rye krisp, and potato-beet salad, yum! Those nectarines sound divine. My mom used to make us grilled peaches for dessert when I was a kid, sounds similar. I could even add a sprinkle of cardamom, which I love. Or make this recipe for cardamom cookies that I have and have never tried. Grilled nectarines in a little glass dish with a cardamom cookie on the side, sounds very elegant. I was toying with making the peach-raspberry pie that I love, but that seemed too rich. I love to make it though, I throw together a bag of frozen raspberries, a bag of frozen peaches, a glop of brown sugar, a dash of cinnamon, dot with butter and then use a pre-made crust. "Homeade pie" that always gets me raves at potlucks, all in about 10 min. to prepare.

Those mushrooms sound awesome Lars, thanks! It will give me a chance to use up some of the basil I froze last summer.

Pink, I just got the new grocery flyers..someone had rhubarb on sale..so maybe just maybe you can check your local stores online flyers and "see" if they've got it.

I'm not a huge fan of rhubarb..but I love the idea of the cardamom and grilled fruit.

Yes! I do have the absolute best Marinated Mushroom recipe!
1 lb mushrooms
3/4 cup salad oil (I use cannola)
1/3 red wine vinegar
3 Tbls chopped green onion
1/2 tsp sugar
2 Tbls lemon juice
1 tsp dried Tarragon
1 small garlic (1 piece not bulb) finely diced
1 tsp salt
clean mushrooms, mix the rest, pour over and marinate overnight and up to two days.
I put them in a tupperware and ever so often shake it or turn it upside down for a second to keep the mushrooms wet. Serve with toothpicks or little forks. It is a great recipe. I have had it at least 20 years and got it from a friend who got from a friend....

I'm rethinking the appetizers because I want to sit in my living room, and there's no room there for anything more than finger food. So I'm thinking about maybe doing the marinated mushrooms mixed with sundried tomatoes and spooned into those filo cups. Maybe those and some deviled eggs and I'll buy stuffed grape leaves at the market. Not very inspired.

I'm going to the farm market Saturday where I can buy these special cookies called "apees" that I can only get at this one booth. They are very, very thin crispy cookies cut in shapes and decorated with colored sugar. As nice as cardamom cookies would be too make, I don't want to spend that much time in the kitchen.

Come to think of it, I can mix the peaches with my homeade strawberry rhubarb sauce from last spring! That's the ticket. I need to use that up anyway. If I was more ambitious I'd make crepes.

It's not a birthday party, it's just some friends coming who I have never had over to my house. I'm going to need to spend the bulk of the day cleaning anyway!