Fresh Peach Crisp

I’m not a huge fan of peaches unless they are at their peak seasonally, which is now. Over the weekend the grocery store had locally grown peaches for only 49 cents a pound! I probably bought too many of them. I liked the peach blueberry crumbles I made awhile ago, but wanted to try to make a peach crisp. I found a Cook’s Illustrated recipe that sounded good. These were so delicious, I’m going to make them again this week. I do wish the filling was a bit juicier; maybe mine wasn’t because the original recipe calls for frozen peaches,which when thawed would produce more liquid. But why use frozen peaches when fresh ones are in season? I bet if I omitted the cornstarch I would get more of a bubbly filling using fresh peaches.

Berry Gratins

I’m trying to think of new and unique berry recipes. I liked the fresh fruit tartelettes I made, especially the strawberry meringue tartetettes, but I still wanted something new and different.

Flipping through the Cook’s Illustrated Cooking for Two 2010 cookbook I recently bought, I came across this recipe for berry gratins. They looked and sounded tempting. Berries covered in cream with a caramelized sugar crust? Sign me up. I didn’t have any gratin dishes and Cook’s Illustrated recommends baking them in two Le Creuset petite au gratin dishes, which I picked up for only $9 each. The recipe is kind of involved but not difficult. I made them in advance and let them come to room temperature before sprinkling with sugar and broiling. I didn’t have any white wine, so I used sherry instead (the only alcohol we currently have is vodka, sherry, and port; I chose to use the sherry).

These were good, very rich, at least to me. I was unable to eat the whole thing, because of my stomach. I definitely want to make these again.

Heirloom Bruschetta

I love bruschetta. Love it. It’s perfect to make in the summer because it is so light and refreshing As a bonus it’s quick to make and you don’t have to turn on the oven nor the stove. This was my dinner the other night and lunch the next day. Mr. Surly is lucky I can’t eat very much in one sitting, otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten any of this.

Of course you can just use any type of tomatoes (homegrown, roma, cherry, etc) you have lying around. But the better the quality of the tomato, the better tasting the bruschetta. I use heirloom because even though they are a bit pricier, the taste is worth it for bruschetta; it’s all about the tomatoes. If you’re feeling lazy you don’t have to seed the tomatoes, but then your bruschetta will be wet and soggy the next day (if it makes it that long).

If my tomato plants would ever grow some cherry tomatoes I’d use those. I’ve never grown vegetables before and I heard tomatoes were easy to grow. Well, my plants are growing, it’s just taking forever for them to flower and produce tomatoes. I certainly don’t have the prolific amount I was expecting. Does that happen to anyone else?

Dark Chocolate Espresso Bars

What is it about dark chocolate and espresso that is so magical when the two are paired? And why do I find myself craving chocolate more and more, the older I get? I have been craving chocolate espresso desserts recently. Since I haven’t been feeling well, I thought I could get away with buying some coffee flavored ice cream with dark chocolate chunks (specifically, Starbucks Java Frappuccino ice cream). It helped a little, but didn’t satiate my craving. Finally, I broke down and decided to make a simple dessert. While debating what kind of tasty treat to make, I remembered these bars. They are one of Mr. Surly’s favorite chocolate desserts. He’s not opposed to chocolate, but he’s not as into it as I am. “Perfect,” I thought, “I will make something Mr. Surly really likes, then I won’t be stuck eating the majority of the batch.” I’m pleased to say it worked--within days I watched, delighted, as these bars quickly disappeared. And I’m happy to report that I was not the one who ate more than half the batch.

These bars are dark, dense, and delicious, and the next day become even more fudgy. I cut mine into ~2 inch squares, which yields 16 bite-sized servings. Feel free to make your slices bigger. I love these plain, but they would be incredible with a small scoop of ice cream. Don’t feel guilty if you eat more than one at a time, I know I don’t.

Pasta Caprese

I have been looking forward to making this dish for some time. I was just waiting for my basil plants to grow big enough leaves. I started them from seeds and it took awhile for me to nurture them to produce decent sized leaves. I faithfully trimmed the small leaves until they finally started growing larger. As soon as that happened I was finally able to make this Cook’s Illustrated pasta caprese I’ve been drooling over. As usual of most Cook’s Illustrated recipes I’ve tried, it did not disappoint.

It was so light and healthy, a perfect no fuss dinner during the hot, steamy summer we’ve been experiencing. I had some the next day for lunch and it was even better the next day, all the flavors melding together. And it was so easy and quick to prepare, which is even more important to me, especially now since I’m on new meds that leave me extremely lethargic. Even the smallest things, like chopping vegetables, or preparing a salad are extremely tiring to me. I spent the first 3 days on the new drug just sleeping all day and all night. I’m having trouble concentrating so any new recipe I even attempt to try must be easy and simple, not just to make, but also to type out.

I know this says it is supposed to serve two, but I don’t know what they base their portion size on. Since experiencing GI problems, I know that I personally am not eating a “normal” portion size. But Mr. Surly eats enough food for two people. And I still had leftovers of this. Maybe it serves two if this is the only thing you eat. I served it along with a salad and breadsticks. But who cares if you have leftovers of something as delicious as this.