patterns & traditions
We spent last weekend at Kevin’s grandmother’s house in Grand Beach—a little lakeside town just over the Indiana-Michigan border. Grand Beach is only an hour’s drive or so from the Loop and it sits along the coastline of the same lake, but its tall, swishy, sunburned prairie grasses and its rolling hills and its fleet of golf carts, which commingle easily with cars on the roads, and its turreted vacation homes, many wrapped with wide porches, make it feel like it’s a world away from Chicago.
We’ve been going to the house for one weekend a summer for a while now—long enough to develop patterns and traditions. Kevin’s parents usually drive out on Thursday or Friday, settling in and stocking the house with groceries. Kevin and I usually jump in the car after work on Friday, arriving just in time for a quick cocktail on the deck as the big sun sends a brilliant twinkle across Lake Michigan as it dips below the horizon. Then, it’s off to Timothy’s, a restaurant with screened windows and a piano player. It’s always packed on summer weekend nights.
Dinner is followed by a visit to Oink’s, the local ice cream parlor, where the kitch-factor is very high (my favorite parking spot is called “Boss Hog,” while Kevin favors “Ham Radio”) and the ice cream is very good. A scoop of butter pecan for me, please. And by the time I pop the pointy tip of the sugar cone into my mouth, the work week feels miles away.
Saturday, everyone wanders into the kitchen as they wake up. We cup mugs of coffee, discuss just how delicious Oink’s was, and—eventually—lace up our shoes and head out for a long walk. Breakfast—this year, bagels picked up from Max & Benny’s on the way out of town the day before, along with a bowl of fruit, fresh from a Michigan fruit stand—is next and then it’s out to the pool. A taxing afternoon ensues: reading, dozing, possibly sipping a beer, playing a few hands of cards.
After a day in the sun, there is nothing better than showering up and getting beautiful for dinner—and that’s what happens next. This year, just before dinner, we took a walk down to the beach, which was basking in a lovely golden light.
Next up is dinner—probably my favorite part of the whole weekend. The menu has been the same for a few years—and that’s a good thing. Kevin’s dad ties a tenderloin of beef, into which he tucks thin slices of garlic just before putting it on the grill. To the grill, he adds a wheel of brie, a brilliant idea that Kevin and I have adopted as our own, and foil-wrapped ears of sweet corn.
The rest of us set the table, pour the wine, slice the bread, and pull the tomato-feta salad, assembled earlier that day, from the fridge. Like the brie and the beef and the corn, the salad is a staple. It also happens to be the perfect summer side—light and flavorful and colorful, each tiny tomato bursting with the taste of summer. The sweetness of those tomatoes, alongside the sour of the vinegar and the salt of the feta, gives every bite a perfect balance of flavors. I’m tempted to make it all the time at home, but you know what? I think it’s best saved for that special weekend in Michigan.
More photos of the weekend here.
Tomato-Feta Salad
Ina Garten
Serves 12
4 pints grape tomatoes, red or mixed colors
1 1/2 cups small-diced red onion (2 onions)
1/4 cup good white wine vinegar
6 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 1/2 pounds feta cheese
Cut the tomatoes in half and place them in a large bowl. Add the onion, vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, basil, and parsley and toss well. Dice the feta in 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes, crumbling it as little as possible. Gently fold it into the salad and serve at room temperature.
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You’re back! Great to read your post. I am obseesed with summer tomatoes and totally agree that they just burst with the summer sun
-Kerry
I vacation in Michigan every year so some of those shots just bring me back. Gorgeous!
Love summers in Michigan – especially since I live here. Next time travel a bit more north to Holland.
Beautiful!! Sounds like a lovely trip, and a perfect dish for my tomato surplus!
Weber!!!
I didn’t want you to think I hadn’t been paying attention lately ! I’ve been making this salad all summer, but with big colorful heirloom tomatoes and I use balsamic vinegar instead. The vinegar, oil, feta mess is so good you need bread to sop it all up.
This is making me totally crave a beach vacation… And a tomato and feta salad, too!
You are so lucky to be able to get together with family so often! Lovely, lovely salad.
What a perfect, simple summer salad.
I am wishing it was last Friday right about now. Great pics and perfect description of our lazy weekend. Funny you posted this- I just asked Mamma P for the recipe yesterday! See you guys soon. xo
Kristin, this is special. A great montage, both words and pics of the weekend. It remains a special time in all our lives (in spite of my reservations) I think we will do again next year!
Have a great weekend at home.
Even though I’ve lived on the prairies for much of my life, they’re still beauty every time I get out of the city.
There is a glorious amount of cheese in this recipe!
When a dish reminds you of a special place or special people, it’s hard to decide whether to leave it in that special spot or bring it into your home kitchen. Now that I think about it, there are a few things my friends and family make that I want to keep special, so I haven’t really tried my hand at making them. I thought it was because I’m lazy, but maybe not!
Funny how these great lakes act just like oceans. Love that.
Funny, too, how a tiny tweak on a standby salad can make all the difference. This is so similar to one we’ve been loving, and yet, the onions, the parsley, the whole shebang will be other and lovely. Looking forward to proving the point.
wow such deliciousness. those are some lovely photos!
What a wonderful post. It felt like a mini-vacation just reading it.
Gosh I miss those Michigan summers! I love your photos, Kristin! And the salad is looking pretty good too!
This salad looks so grea, it kind of reminds me of pico de gallo and love the pics!!
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