With stone fruit back in season, fresh peaches are reappearing in recipes around Barrington. They’re playing a special role in this week’s Heinen’s Sunday Supper, shared by none other than Kelly Donlea, the Chief Operating Mom of one of our favorite foodie families.
For a look at Sunday Suppers around Barrington, Heinen’s Grocery is offering a gift card to one local family each week to shop for ingredients and prepare a special Sunday meal. In turn, each participant will share their photos and thoughts at 365Barrington about their family’s favorite dishes and the personal significance of gathering weekly for Sunday Suppers.
Dinner with the Donleas
by Kelly Donlea, Barrington mom, chef, cookbook author & founder of OrganizingDinner.com
Family dinner is one of the most honored traditions at the Donlea house. While what goes on the table is important to me, it comes second to the goal of how many times we make it to the table as a family each week. The stress of a perfect dinner can mean that you miss the moment, or that the cook can’t sit, and we value, above all else, the time together.
For me, the key is being organized and having Heinen’s Grocery on my chauffeur route where I can get organic produce and the best meats, making dinnertime easy. When the ingredients are high quality, the amount of preparation, or “masking” is minimized, as they can be served after simple cooking with light seasoning. And with the fresh packaged extras available at Heinen’s, I can easily supplement a course or two with prepared items that will make an ordinary meal extraordinary.
For Sunday Suppers I do try to make things a little more special. Even if we are landing at the table after a long day of church, birthday parties and baseball, a fresh flower arrangement, some candles, or using our good china can add festivity to the night.
Seafood is always a draw for a special occasion dinner and, for that, there is no better place than Heinen’s. They source their fish from the best possible ports, and have them shipped overnight for the freshest fish-to-table option in our area. One of my favorite fish-accompaniments is Peach Pepper salsa and, with peaches coming into their season, I knew that would be the base of our Sunday meal.
This salsa can top most any type of whitefish or shellfish prepared with a honey-lime-soy sauce and garlic marinade. When I saw the size of the scallops in the case at Heinen’s, I knew that would be my choice.
Their peaches were perfect, which can be hard to find up until this time of year, and the rest of the produce, including onions, garlic and green peppers were, of course, perfect too. I grabbed some baby artichokes from the prepackaged vegetable case, some fresh organic cilantro and a bag of Heinen’s brand organic brown rice. One cheese they had out for sampling was Vermeer by Beemster.
I am always on the hunt for a perfect dry Gouda, and this full-flavored Gouda variety is one of the best I’ve ever tried.
A Vermeer has lower sodium and fat than a traditional gouda, so even better. I grabbed a block to use in my artichoke stuffing and enjoy as a meal appetizer.
I blended the Vermeer with panko, garlic cloves, fresh basil and cream cheese for the artichoke stuffing.
I served the scallops and artichokes with a side of Cilantro-Lime Rice.
I enjoyed a fruity, crisp La Merika Chardonnay that Heinen’s had on special for just $7.99/bottle.
For dessert, I made a stop at Heinen’s Bakery and my kids loved every bite of Heinen’s Raspeberry-Stuffed Pillow cookies.
Heinen’s Grocery is located at 500 N. Hough Street, between E. Main Street and Route 14 (next to Meathead’s) in Barrington, Illinois. They’re open 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit Heinens.com.
CLICK HERE for Kelly’s Sunday Supper Recipes……