“Let the Games Begin.”

Stop. Wait, Don’t light the Flame yet.

Being Foodies, we all know the Games of the XXX Olympiad cannot officially begin until we have our menu planned for tonight’s opening ceremonies. Luckily this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe choice, with a tweak or two, fits nicely into my All-American lineup.

The star is Barley, which Dorie calls “an odd-man-out kind of grain” in the French (and, American) kitchen.  Also called “groats”, barley is a hardy, earthy grain, commonly used for animal fodder and beer. This week we’re using its most polished version, Pearl Barley, to create Lemon Barley Pilaf. Since we are still suffering 110 degree temperatures here, I preferred Dorie’s Bonne Idee and made a cold Ham & Barley Salad.

 

A delicious cold Summer entrée: HAM and BARLEY SALAD.

 

I cooked the barley, as suggested, and let it cool to room temperature before putting it in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, I cored, seeded and cut one red bell pepper into small cubes and sliced a dozen black olives. I tossed that together with 3 cups of diced ham (a 1 1/2 pound center-cut slab) and refrigerated it also.

 

A look at the butter, finely chopped onion, salt, pepper and pearl barley as it initially cooks before the broth, water and bay leaf are added.

 

For the dressing, I made a lusty whole-grain mustard vinaigrette:

 Ingredients:

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

3 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1-2 teaspoons salt (since the ham is salty, back off a bit, if you wish)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3-4 drops of Sriracha

 Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until thoroughly blended.  Chill. Just before serving, pour lightly over the combined barley, ham and  vegetables until thoroughly coated and to taste.

This salad will make 4 ample servings. I plan to add sliced heirloom tomatoes (seasoned), chunks of American swiss cheese, and crusty country bread to the plate. Beer, wine or soda all compliment this menu.

For dessert, it’s Blueberry-Nectarine Pie from Greenspan’s Baking with Julia paired with Vanilla Ice Cream, Philadelphia-style, from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop.

 

After adding the broth, water and bay leaf, everything comes to a boil and then simmers, covered, for 45 minutes (longer than Dorie suggested).

 

You can’t miss the Olympics, even if you try.  NBC will broadcast 272 1/2 hours, starting with the opening ceremony tonight (Friday). MSNBC has 155 1/2 hours with NBC Sports picking up 292 1/2 hours of team sports. CNBC has 73 hours of boxing. Bravo has 56 hours of tennis. There’s more: NBCOlympics.com will live stream every event for a record total of 5,535 hours.

With memories of and honoring the Israeli athletes murdered forty years ago  at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, my wish is for a safe, harmonious, and peaceful global competition during the next two weeks.

I’ll be hooting and hollering for my country’s athletes just as other FFWD bloggers, Paula, Andrea,  Mardi, Rose, and Cakelaw, to name a few, are cheering for theirs.

Isn’t this our World at its best?

 

Image by http://shaunelle-kitty.blogspot.com