Peach Sangria (Judy Ruf meets Bobby Flay)

We combined elements of my mom’s summertime favorite drink recipe with suggestions from Bobby Flay (and a few of our own ideas too, of course!) to create this refreshing and addicting summer beverage.  Enjoy poolside, atop a houseboat roof, or while playing lawn games!

 

Ingredients:

·        1 bottle dry white wine

·        1.5 ounce Brandy

·        1 ounce Cointreau

·        6 drops bitters

·        4 ounces (1/2 cup) O.J.

·        6 ounces (3/4 cup) pineapple juice

·        4 ounces peach puree (to make: peel peaches, remove pits, and puree in a blender w/a small amount of water)

·        fresh sliced peach, apple, pineapple, and grape chunks (any combo of these fruits will do, but the peaches are necessary, in our opinion!  experiment with other fruits as well, if you are feeling adventurous, or just want to get rid of extras you may have on hand.)

 

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a pitcher and stir to mix.  Refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to 48 hours.  This will allow the fruits to fully impart their sweetness into the drink.  Serve cold.

Consider adding Fresca, Squirt, club soda, or other fizzy element, if serving for outside refreshment on a hot day.  Alternatively, add extra bitters or herbal elements for more complex, indoor sipping. 

 

 

 

 

Artichoke Bruschetta

For a quick and easy appetizer, try this new spin on bruschetta. It’s a fun way to start an Italian meal and keep your tummy happy while waiting for the rest of the food to cook. It’s so simple, that we even made it while camping last weekend!! You miss out on the final broiling step, but it’s fun to toast the bread over the campfire using marshmallow sticks.

 

Ingredients:

· 1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts

· 3 cloves garlic, minced

· ¼ sweet Vidalia onion, finely chopped

· splash of dry white wine (optional)

· ¼ cup Parmesan cheese

· generous helping of freshly chopped basil

· pepper, to taste (NO salt, as the canned artichokes have plenty already)

· French or Ciabatta loaf, sliced

Directions:

1. Chop artichoke hearts into small pieces.

2. Lightly sautee garlic and onion with some olive oil over medium heat. Add artichokes and pepper. Cook for another five minutes or so. Add wine (if using) and simmer until liquid evaporates.

3. Meanwhile, lightly toast bread. You’ll want it under-done as it will be returning to the oven after toppings are added.

4. Spoon artichoke mixture on top of toasted bread. Top with Parmesan and broil until cheese begins to turn golden brown. Serve warm (although they still are quite tasty at room temp.—if they last that long before being devoured!)

 

 

You Can Always Change Your Mind

Here’s a line from one of our favorite Guster songs (Manifest Destiny) that often applies to Michelle deciding what she’d like to eat.  And many other decisions too, for that matter…

When you have trouble choosing, one solution  is to make a hodgepodge of random small plates ala Tapas style, which is just what we did for supper last night.

We started out with an arugula beet salad.  Nothing new for us, but always a favorite in the Fricks household.  The time-consuming part of this dish is the beet marinating process—a labor of love that was passed along to Dennis from his Grandma.  After that, it’s a breeze to toss together. 

BEET RECIPE

Ingredients:

 

·         Beets (minimum 2....up to 6)

·         Red Onion

·         1/2 cup red wine vinegar

·         1/2 cup white vinegar

·         1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt

·         1/2 cup sugar

·         1 cup water

·         1-2 shallots

·         rosemary sprigs

·         olive oil

·         glass jar with tight fitting lid (save old condiment jars)

Directions:

 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

 

2. Wash beets, dice shallots (use 1 if you use 3 or fewer beets and 2 if you use 4 or more beets), roughly chop rosemary

3. Place beets, shallots, & rosemary in a foil pouch with the olive oil (lightly coat all ingredients)

4. Roast for 30-50 minutes (skin should start to "crinkle" or pull away from the edible inside)

5. Remove from oven and let cool

6. Peel the skin

7. Cut into "coins" about 1 centimeter in width

8. Cut the red onion into pieces slightly smaller (in width) than the beets

9. Layer beets and onions in a glass jar (one with a lid that fits tightly) and set aside

10. Place both vinegars, salt, sugar, and water in a small sauce pan--this is the pickling liquid

11. Bring the pickling liquid to a light boil and maintain the boil for about a minute

12. Remove the liquid from the burner for about one minute

13. Pour the liquid over the beets and onions such that the vegetables are submerged

14. Tightly lid the jar(s) and place in the refrigerator for 3-7 days before serving (length of time depends on thickness of your cut on the beets)

15. EAT!!!

 

ARUGULA BEET SALAD

 

Ingredients:

 

·         Arugula

·         Marinated Beets

·         Goat Cheese, crumbled

·         Walnuts (toasted, if you’re feeling fancy schmancy)

·         And a splash of Balsamic vinegar for moisture (this is optional as the beets tend to be pretty juicy on their own)

 Directions:

Combine and then eat!  (We weren’t kidding about this being easy to make)

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Next we moved on to pate.  Yes, Michelle ate and actually enjoyed pate-- although not in its traditional form.  A cookbook we have recommended substituting lentils for the nasty livers.  We served ours 2 ways: atop toasted baguette slices and piped into cherry tomatoes.  You could also combine these variations by topping your bread with the pate and tomato slices.  This is probably the ideal method.  Serve alongside cucumbers for a nice cool and crunch contrast.

 LEMONY LENTIL PATE

  

Ingredients:

 

·         1 ¼ cups refrigerated steamed lentils (available at Trader Joe’s)

·         3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

·         1/8 cup onion, roughly chopped

·         6 large Kalamata olives, pitted

·         ½ Tablespoon capers, with juice

·         1 heaping Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice + zest

·         1 teaspoon Olive oil

·         ½ Tablespoon chopped fresh Rosemary

·         freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1.       In a food processor or blender, process all ingredients together until combination is a smooth paste.  Taste and adjust flavors to your preference.

**you can store leftovers in the fridge for about a week or so.  remove at least 1/2 hour before serving and allow pate to warm up to room temperature before eating

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The randomness continues…potato salad was our 3^rd course of the night.  Although it paled in comparison to the infamous dish prepared by Michelle’s grandma, we both licked our bowls clean.  Here’s why…

 

TANGY MUSTARD POTATO SALAD

 

Indgredients:

·         potatoes

·         caraway seeds

·         Whole grain Dijon mustard

·         Normal Dijon mustard

·         White wine vinegar

·         fresh thyme (from our garden!!)

·         Greek yogurt (or another creamy element like mayo or sour cream)

 

 Directions:

1.       Start by boiling your potatoes until tender and cooked through.

 

2.       Meanwhile, lightly dry toast caraway seeds in a small sauté pan to bring out their full flavor.

 

3.       Combine remaining ingredients in a proportion to your liking.  Stir in caraway seeds then add potatoes. 

 

4.       Serve warm or chilled.

_______________________________________________________________________________ 

And finally, we continued our endive boat obsession with a new spin off that included shredded chicken with some Asian flavors. 

 

ORANGE CHICKEN ENDIVE BOATS
 

Ingredients:

 

·         boneless skinless chicken breast

·         sweet onion, diced

·         jalapeno (we used the first from our garden this evening!!!), minced

·         shredded carrots

·         peanuts, chopped

·         freshly squeezed orange juice + zest

·         Lawry’s Sesame Ginger with Mandarin Orange marinade

·         splash of reduced sodium soy sauce

·         freshly ground black pepper

·         Belgian endive

·         Siracha, for serving (if you want to add a bit of a kick)

 

Directions:

1.       Boil chicken until tender.  Allow to cool and then shred into small pieces.

2.       Meanwhile, chop veggies and nuts.

3.       Lightly sauté onion, jalapeno, and carrots with olive oil.  Add peanuts and shredded chicken.

4.       Stir in OJ + zest, Lawry’s marinade, soy sauce, and pepper, to taste.

5.       Simmer for a few minutes and then remove from heat.  Allow mixture to cool while the flavors continue to meld.

6.       Spoon into endive cups and serve at room temp.

Gypsy Twinkle Fizzes

This post courtesy of our friend, Allie. She resides in the Chicago suburbs and has hijacked this blog due to obscene love for Dennis and Michelle and their food fantasy meanderings. She's actually writing this person in the third person and feels a little strange about it. Moving on...

This lovely little ditty was coined by Dennis as an impromptu mix to satiate thirsty visitors, and to start the day off right. Originally stolen (aka, "revised from") a Bobby Flay brunch cooking show (Brunch at Bobby's, thank you for this mimosa spin-off!) episode. Named by Allie though, because she has a penchant for strange names with ear-pleasing linguistic sound combinations.

 Gypsy Twinkle Fizzes

 

Ingredients:

- 1/2 bottle of dry champagne

- 1 8oz can of pineapple juice

- 6-10 oz grapefruit juice (depending on how tart you like it, this is definitely not overly sweet but for all of us, it was perfect. I don't even know how much he used. It's a mystery)

- 2-4 oz of gin (probably more. He used normal, dry gin. He initially refused to tell me the actual name, and then he did. Hendricks, he says. WE'RE SPONSORED BY NO ONE!)

- starwberry and basil leaf garnish (ungggg yum)

 

Directions:

1. Shake, mix, and wiggle? There's really no science to this, but just pour things into a cup and consume. At least that's how I cook. Can you tell why I don't have a food blog? I took some pictures, though.

 

 

Yet another spinoff, gyspy twinkle (toes) fizzes

 

And the reason for the visit? GLOW RUN 5K!

 

 

Dennis and Michelle (the mastermind's behind A Little More Pepper) and Sarah and Allie!!

 

Mediterrrrrrrean Chicken (because this title is incredibly difficult to spell and needs ample double letters)

<30 minutes from start to finish to whip up this all-in-one dish dinner.  Thanks to Food Network magazine’s “Weeknight Cooking” section for the inspiration.  Of course we couldn’t resist making a few changes to the original recipe! Especially if you are cooking for 2 (or just you!), we found a trip to the salad/olive bar a convenient way to get the olives, peppadews, artichoke hearts, and greens for the salad.  You might even be able to find the feta cheese too.  This way, you can get exactly the amount you need without ending up with lots of strange leftover veggies. Serves 2. 

Mediterranean Skillet Chicken

 

Ingredients:

·        2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

·        3 cloves garlic

·        ½ small red onion, cut into wedges

·        ½ can (1 cup, give or take) artichoke hearts, quartered

·        1 teaspoon dried oregano

·        freshly ground black pepper

·        ¼ cup chicken broth

·        10 Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced in half

·        4 peppadews, cut into thin strips (save brine for serving)

·        fresh chopped parsley

·        crumbled feta cheese

·        spinach + arugula (or really any combination of greens, if you’d like to serve this dish as a salad) 

Directions:

 1. Wipe out skillet and return to medium-high heat. Lightly sautee garlic with red onion for about 2 minutes.  Add artichoke hearts and cook until onions just begin wilting (approx. 5 minutes longer). While veggies are cooking, season with oregano and pepper (NO SALT!!  The brined veggies have plenty in them already).

2. Return chicken to skillet and add chicken broth and olives.  Bring to a gentle simmer.  Cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through and flavors have had a chance to blend together (approx. 5 minutes more).

 3. Plate chicken and veggie mixture on top of salad greens.  Garnish with peppadews (along with a splash of brine from the jar), parsley, and feta.  You might also consider adding balsamic vinegar as a dressing like element, if the dish is too dry for your liking.

4. We found Naan bread (whole wheat from Trader Joe’s) to be an excellent pairing with this dish as a starch element.  All of the ingredients stacked atop the Naan in any combination were delicious-o! 

Mint and Lime

Although we are still are in shock about accumulating snow in the month of May, the beautiful weather today put us in the mood for some summertime grilling (it’s about time!!).  We’re going all out with citrusy flavors and fresh summer herbs with this lime and mint accented meal. Our recommendation is serving with a crisp and refreshing white wine.

For starters…. a grilled melon salad.  Who would have known that warm melons could be so tasty?  Hope you enjoy this unique and refreshing starter as much as we did.

Grilled Melon Salad

Ingredients:

 

· watermelon, cantaloupe, and/or honeydew (approx. 3 dozen chunks chopped or scooped w/melon baller)

· 1 TBSP honey

· 2 TBSP lime juice

· 1 heaping TBSP fresh mint, minced

· fresh ground black pepper, to taste

· ¼ red onion, finely chopped (and pickled in advance, if you are feeling adventurous!)

· feta cheese

· arugula

Directions:

 

1. Slice or scoop melon pieces and thread onto kebab skewers.

2. Stir together honey, lime juice, and mint in a small bowl.

3. Brush majority of honey dressing mixture onto fruit kebab skewers.

4. Grill and brush with remaining dressing during the process. Remove from heat after fruit is sufficiently charred.

5. Spoon over a bed of arugula and top with feta cheese, chopped onion, and fresh ground black pepper. 

Dennis also concocted a tasty lime and mint marinade for fish that we served with an avocado relish and cumin infused rice.  Some might compare it to a mojito in main dish-fish form.  Yum!

For our main dish, we used frozen tuna filets from Trader Joe’s (defrosted…of course!), but we think this dish would also be very tasty with Swordfish, Mahi Mahi, or any other tough, steak-like fish. Use your imagination!  Start by preparing the fish marinade.  While your seafood is soaking up all the tasty juices, begin to prep the rice and avocado mixture as a topping.  These can sit while you are grilling your fish to perfection.

 

Fish Marinade:

1/3 cup lime juice
1/3-1/2 cup mint leaves (finely chopped)
1/2 tsp agave nectar (or 1/2 tsp honey)(or 1/2 tsp brown sugar)(or 1/2 tsp normal boring white sugar… but you should really have one of the other ingredients)
2 tsp+ lime zest
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper (or more, if you like pepper)
8 drops of rice wine vinegar (or 5 drops of white vinegar)
1/4 tsp soy sauce (a little more if desired)
1 TBSP finely chopped red onion.

Add all the marinade ingredients to a plastic bag....but probably mix them in a bowl first because it's easier.
Add your fish to the bag....and just put it in the bag.
Mess the bag about.
Let sit....
Mess the bag about.
Let sit....
Mess the bag about.
Let sit....it should sit for a minimum of an hour, but more time is just fine.

Grill....seer on each side for about 3 minutes. Grilling is very subjective based on the size of the fish and heat of the grill....just be careful not to overcook or fish will become tough and dried out.

Cumin Rice:

Prepare brown rice as you normally would, while stirring in approximately 1 TBSP cumin seeds for each ½ cup dry rice you plan to use.  Cumin seeds should be added at the same time as you add rice to the boiling water.  You should end up with a nice earthy and deep flavor in your rice that pairs nicely with the fish and relish.  Feeling boring…omit cumin and serve with normal brown or white rice.

 Avocado Relish:

1 avocado, pitted, peeled and diced

2 stalks celery, sliced

¼ red onion, finely chopped

lime juice

dash soy sauce

2-3 drops agave (feel free to sub. a few drops of honey for sweetness, instead)

fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Couldn’t be easier...gently stir all ingredients together and refrigerate until using.  For us, the citrus from the lime juice kept the avocado from browning in the meantime.  If you’re avocado is a bit under-ripe, you may consider adding a bit of Greek yogurt or sour cream to add moisture to the relish.