Sweetie Pie

Relish to the Rescue

Sweet Red Pepper Relish came to my rescue when nothing was going quite right in the kitchen.  The recipe is so simple and straightforward I knew I couldn't mess it up.

After a big fat focaccia failure  learning experience, I needed a quick fix to make me feel like a successful home cook again.  I like this recipe because it only requires 1 sweet red bell pepper.  Coincidentally, that's exactly how many peppers I had from my garden.  I will tell you the ingredients you need, and assure you that the results are wonderful.  However, if you want full instructions you'll have to click through to Savory Sweet Life.

Red Pepper Relish needs only the pepper, half an onion, some sugar and vinegar.  That's it, but I have to recommend that you go ahead and make some roasted garlic while you're at it.  This sweet hot relish is so divine with roasted garlic and cream cheese on a cracker or pretzels.  You won't believe how easy it is to make, how fast you eat it all up, or how amazing it is on a sandwich.

(I'm still working on the focaccia bread and will let you in on the recipe next week.)

Peaches and Ginger: A Summer Romance

It's peach season here in South Carolina.  I bought a nice little bag of peaches at the All Local Farmers Market on Saturday and they have been quietly ripening on the dining room table.  How fortuitous that my August issue of Food and Wine should arrive yesterday with a whole spread of peach recipes!  Naturally I chose the most pie like one to try first.  This tart allows you to preserve the freshness of the peaches by not cooking them at all.  Only the crust and custard are cooked, and fresh peaches are laid on top.

Start with the crust.  It's made with vanilla cookies ( I used Nilla wafers) and almonds whirled into submission in the food processor and pressed into crust form.  This bakes while you assemble the custard.  It's a simple cream cheese layer, but I did the peaches a favor and added a teaspoon of fresh grated ginger.  Peaches and ginger like each other.  They get together when the weather heats up and create desserts that make your taste buds sing.

This pops into the oven so that ginger can mellow out while you deal with peaches.  Wash, peel and slice, then toss them in sugar.  This is a dessert that won't last long, so enjoy it while it's fresh.
Peaches and Ginger Tart

Adapted from Food and Wine magazine August 2011 page 60

2 cups vanilla cookies such as Nilla wafers

1/2 cup smoked almonds ( or roasted almonds if you accidentally buy those instead)

1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sugar

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sour cream

1 egg

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

2 ripe peaches, peeled and sliced into pretty wedges

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the vanilla wafers, almonds and 2 T sugar in a food processor and chop into fine crumbs.  Add the melted butter and pulse until evenly moist.  Press the crumbs into the bottom of a 9 inch tart or springform pan.  A measuring cup is a great tool for pressing the crust down and making nice edges.  Bake for 10 minutes.

Clean out the food processor and add the cream cheese, sour cream, egg, 2T sugar and ginger and blend until smooth.  Pour the custard into the crust and bake for 15 minutes, until set.  Let the tart cool slightly and then transfer to the freezer to chill for about 15 minutes.

Slice the peaches into a bowl and toss with the remaining 2T sugar.  Arrange the fruit in concentric circles over the custard.  Remove the ring from the tart pan, present and serve!

 

Gazpacho

When it's too hot to even consider turning on the stove or the oven (!) there's nothing like a refreshing bowl of cold tomato soup.  There's absolutely no cooking involved and eating it will make you feel as cool as a cucumber.

This recipe is from Andalusia, the southern region of Spain.  It gets just as hot there as it does here in South Carolina, but most homes there do not have air conditioning.  It's no surprise that such a simple and wonderful recipe for scorching summer weather would come from another famously hot climate. 

The hardest part of this recipe is peeling and seeding the tomatoes.  The best way to accomplish this is to blanch them in boiling water for a few seconds and then plunge them into an ice bath.  The skin will slip and slide right off.  I seeded mine over a sieve on top of the blender to save all the flavorful tomato juice.

Gazpacho can be served in a tall glass like a Bloody Mary, or in a bowl with lots of delicious garnishes for a complete summer meal.  There are just tons of variations on this recipe, but the basic ingredients are the same.  You will need ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, garlic, peppers, olive oil and some bread.
Gazpacho

3 pounds ripe tomatoes peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

2 cucumbers peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

2 slices white bread, crusts removed

1 small red onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 sweet peppers

6 Tablespoons olive oil

3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Place all the vegetables and the bread in a blender and pulse until it is well combined.  It should be approximately the consistency of a slurpy or milkshake.  Pour the gazpacho into a glass or ceramic bowl and add the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Refrigerate for several hours before serving.  Garnish with chopped cucumber, tomato and croutons.   If you're really hungry you can add some chopped hard boiled egg and bacon on top.

 Because the tomatoes and cukes are peeled, the soup will not have much color, but the taste is lively and bright.  You could vary this recipe in many ways.  I followed this recipe, which I found here, but it's not necessary to measure the ingredients exactly.  Just follow the basic proportions, then adjust it to your liking the next time.