Oh yes it's ladies night! ("Cream" of zucchini soup and burrata salad)

What girl doesn't love her besties?  I have such a wonderful support system that is taking good care of me after my out of no where break up, and every person on my team shares number one in my book!  My three best friends from high school and I had a ladies night last weekend.  They are all home with their very active munchkins all summer so they just wanted a break.  I was moving from a renovated 3 bedroom 3 bath home to a basement apartment and I wanted out.  We all gathered at a condo downtown to relax and have fun.  I, of course, offered to cook.  I was trying to find something relatively healthy that would use some summer ingredients and also please a very picky friend.  Well 2 out of 3 ain't bad!

I found this recipe for zucchini and rosemary soup on Epicurious and this amazing Burrata salad on Foodie Crush via Pinterest and was ready to roll.

The picky one wouldn't eat the salad but everyone else was pleased.  

 "Cream" of Zucchini Soup (serves 6)

So "creamy"!

2 tbsp of butter

4 zuchini sliced into rounds

1 russet potato sliced into rounds

1 onion chopped

5 cloves of garlic minced (I like garlic)

4 cups chicken broth

3 tbsp of chopped fresh rosemary

olive oil

salt and pepper

optional toppings :

Green onions

croutons (I made my own)

bacon bits (I made my own)
dollop of daisy

walnuts

cheese of your choice

• melt butter and a drizzle of olive oil in a soup pot.  Add onion and saute until translucent.
• add in garlic and rosemary and zucchini and saute until zucchini is starting to brown, like 7 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper
• Add potato and broth and bring to a boil for 15 minutes.  
• Puree the soup with an immersion blender
• Ladle into bowls and serve with desired toppings

You will not believe how creamy this is without having any cream in it!

Burrata salad (serves 4)

I forgot my friend thinks cold things are weird!  More for us!

one container of Arugula

One container (contains 4) of burrata

One bundle of Asparagus

one container of cherry tomatoes

One loaf french bread
Package of Prosciutto

Olive oil

one tbsp Balsamic vinegar

creole seasoning

Salt and pepper

• toss the asparagus and tomatoes in two tbsp of olive oil, the balsamic and season with salt and pepper.  
• Roast on a baking sheet under the broiler for 5-10 minutes (to your liking of doneness)
• Slice french bread into rounds and sprinkle olive oil and creole seasoning.  Put in the oven for the last few minutes of veggie roasting to toast.
• arrange arugula in salad bowl and top with a ball of burrata, a few asparagus spears, a handful of tomatoes, 2-3 pieces of proscuitto and one of the toasts.  No dressing needed, but a squeeze of a lemon may do.

Cards against humanity followed with the most winning combo ever!

Have you ever had such a perfect play in this game?

It was such a good time and I hope it happens again soon!

Happy cooking!

Missy