Company's Coming Peach and Blueberry Cobbler

 

When we first moved down to the river, we were so excited to have our friends come see our new place on the water. We truly enjoyed showing off our delightful new town and including them in some water activities. As we tend to linger on the water if it is a nice day, I needed to make sure I could feed them good food that is flexible with our ever changing time table. And, I always want to be able to end the meal with a dessert that was fun, easy and no fuss. One that is always in rotation is a fruit cobbler.

It is a sure hit for last minute or even expected guests. This one is light, delicious and comes together oh so fast and can be assembled in one dish. You can use canned and frozen fruit if ripe fresh fruit is not in season. 

Company's Coming Peach and Blueberry Cobbler

2 cups fresh sliced peaches (or one 29 ounce can of sliced peaches, drained)
1 cup fresh blueberries or 1 cup frozen blueberries, not thawed
1 cup Bisquick mix if in a hurry (or 1 cup all purpose flour with 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil- if you want to be true scratch)
1 cup of milk
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted                                                                                                                                 1/2 teaspoon corn starch,optional (this rises to the top and makes the crust just a little crunchier)
3/4 to 1 cup of sugar, depending on sweetness of fruit

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
In an 8 x 8 baking dish, stir Bisquick mix (or flour, BP, salt and oil), milk, nutmeg
and cinnamon together until thoroughly mixed. Stir in
melted butter until crust mixture is fully moistened. In a medium
mixing bowl, stir corn starch, sugar, peaches and blueberries. Spoon peaches and blueberries
over the cobbler crust.
Bake for one hour or until crust is a golden brown. Let cool on stove top for at least 15 minutes. 
Serve warm topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Feel free to swap out for other fruits, such as blackberries with a squeeze of lemon and lemon zest, or strawberries and rhubarb (add 1/2 teaspoon of mace, if desired). Also, sliced pears with 1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger is a delicious change.

Prosciutto Wrapped Appetizer Dates

So often I am asked to bring an appetizer to a larger type gathering and just want to bring something easy but different from the usual fare. When our bi-annual neighborhood oyster roast was the event, I saw this treat being prepared by Ina Garten on a morning cooking show and knew I had found what I was looking for. Her recipe called for large, pitted dates with Danish blue cheese. I opted for less work with using pitted dates and Gorgonzola cheese as I am not a fan of Danish blue cheese.

These little bite size morsels are so delicious - the saltiness of the prosciutto, creaminess of the cheese combined with the sweetness of the date is very addicting. Needless to say, the guests swooped in and devoured the whole plate in minutes. 

Prosciutto Wrapped Appetizer Dates

Ingredients
24 large or 48 small dried dates (14 ounces)
6 ounces Gorgonzola cheese or even goat cheese or feta
1/4 pound thinly sliced prosciutto (8 to 10 large slices)

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. With a small paring knife, slit each date lengthwise and spread open just enough to fill. Fill
the cavity of each date with a small piece of cheese and fold the date over the cheese,
pressing it back into its original shape.
3. Cut a strip of prosciutto as wide as each date is long and wrap it around twice, enclosing the
date completely. Place the dates on a sheet pan and bake for about 8 minutes, until the
prosciutto is browned and the cheese starts to melt
4. Cool slightly and serve warm.

Sun Dried Tomato Chickpea Burgers

I noticed this recipe on the back of a sun dried tomato package & thought it sounded interesting.  Back when we were poor college students we often ate vegetarian meals, but somehow I had never successfully made my own bean burgers (that were edible).

When I saw this recipe on our recent boat trip we happened to have all the ingredients needed. I had dried chickpeas that cooked up quickly in my instapot, but you can just open a can.  The one item I didn't have was a food processor, so everything was meticulously chopped & mixed by hand, because if it says blended to a consistent texture, by golly I'm not going to be a rebel have a big chunk of almond lurking in there somewhere.  I'm weird like that 🤷‍♀️

Since we were trying to conserve on propane used by our boat's stove/oven, I skipped the oven bske and grilled the patties on an oiled cast iron pan for maybe 5 minutes a side, and that worked fine.  I think next time I'll add a little water to the mixture to keep them from being too crumbly.  And try as I might, I couldn't stick to the ingredient list: I added in crumbled feta cheese. 

Even though the amount of basil & cumin seemed like a lot, the flavor was well balanced and no single ingredient was overwhelming. Served on toasted buns with cucumber slices and  plain yogurt liberally dolloped on top, these made a very tasty lunch.

From a California Sun Dried Tomato package.  These were soft, dry packed tomatoes in a plastic pouch, not the type that are oil packed in a jar. I imagine either type would work, but I'd drain the wet packed ones very well before using.

Sun Dried Tomato Chickpea Burgers

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and patted completely dry

1/2 cu chopped yellow onion

5 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 cup California Sun Dry tomatoes julienne cut

1 cup chopped fresh basil

1 cup ground almonds

1 1/2 Tbl ground cumin

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 1/4 tsp each sea salt & black pepper

In food processor blend chickpeas, onion, garlic, tomatoes, and basil until smooth.  Add ground almonds, cumin, turmeric, salt & pepper and continue to blend until all is incorporated.  Transfer to a bowl, cover, refrigerate 20 minutes. Next mold the mixture into 5 patties. Place patties onto greased baking sheet, brush each side with olive oil and bake 30-35 minutes at 400deg F.

Heavenly Chicken Cacciatore

 My husband's cousin was a retired Episcopal priest that lived in Florida and would come to visit us for one week a year. Sometimes we would drive him up to Montauk to visit with his sister. In recent years Bill would bring him down here , which I think he loved the most.

Every year when he came to visit, he insisted that I make him this dish, simple but truly delicious.

He called it heavenly - I figured he should know! Sadly, he passed away the year before last. We will truly miss him and all of his stories.

Heavenly Chicken Cacciatore

1 3-3 1/2 lb chicken cut up into ten parts (cut the breasts in half)

2 tablespoons nuetral oil, divided

1 large onion sliced thin

1 large green pepper, sliced in strips

12 ounces of button or cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thin

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1 12 oz can on diced tomatoes with juices

1 1/2 teaspoons oregano or Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder and onion powder (optional)

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat one tablespoon of oil in pan until just before smoking.

Salt and pepper chicken and place skin side down, browning for 5-7 minutes, flip and brown second side. (may need to do in batches).

Place chicken, skin side up in large casserole dish to cool slightly. After it cools slightly, I usually remove the skin as I find it can turn rubbery as it cooks. Healthier that way too!

Heat remaining oil in pan (may not need whole tablespoon if chicken rendered a tablespoon of fat).

Add onions, green pepper,mushrooms and garlic and saute until onions are cooked and translucent. Add tomatoes and spices and heat until a slight boil.

Pour over chicken, cover with foil and bake for 2 hours.

We always had over thin spaghetti with Parmesan and lots of crusty bread.

Rest in peace Reverend Edmiston - this will always be your dish.

Adapted from 365 Ways to Cook Chicken

Tequila Pickled Red Onion

I picked this recipe up at a mini-class on Latin American Street Foods hosted by Culinary Institute of America.   They make a great condiment for just about anything, not just Mexican food.  Maybe on top of a cold cut sandwich.  Or alongside a grilled steak or chicken. It adds a gourmet touch that feels a little bit fancy, even though it's so easy to throw together.

1-1/2 Tbl black peppercorns

4 fresh thyme sprigs

1-1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

1/2 cup tequila

1/4 honey

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1-1/2 tsp kosher salt

Add peppercorns and the to a 1 pint canning jar, top with red onions. Combine tequila, honey and vinegar in small saucepan, bring to a boil over medium heat.  Stir in salt until dissolved. Carefully pour hot tequila mixture over onions, making sure to cover onions completely.  Close jar, let stand 1 hour or until mixture reaches room temperature.  Shake jar to disdolve salt. Refrigerate at least 24 hrs before using.

Gyros at Home

 It's a good feeling when you try a new recipe, take one bite and know it's one that will enter into your regular menu rotation.  You've made a treasure hunt through old cookbooks, magazines or the internet and found some nugget of yumminess.  I had that experience today; I finally found a good recipe for Gyro meat to slip inside a pita with lettuce, tomatoes, onion, cucumbers and feta cheese,  slathered with tzatziki sauce. Restaurants cook their Gyro on a vertical rotisserie-type spit, slicing off thin slabs to make a customer's order. Since I don't have a rotisserie cooker as called for in the original recipe write-up, I used the method of shaping the mixture into a meatloaf.  That worked just fine! When its done slice the meat thinly; somehow that brings out more flavor.

This recipe was originally found at https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/gyro-meat-with-tzatziki-sauce-recipe-2047710          I have changed the spices as noted to add the flavors that are, in my experience, more well rounded and authentic.  My opinion: the rosemary and thyme (my two least favorite spices)  quickly overwhelm this dish, so I will use them sparingly next time.

(And go get the 5-minute bread recipe from earlier in this blog & make your pita breads.  Nice & fresh!)

GYROS

1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded

2 pounds ground lamb  (I used Meatloaf Mix from our local grocery store.  It's a combination of ground beef, ground pork and ground veal.  I suspect ground chicken or turkey would also work, but I haven't tried that yet)

1 tablespoon finely minced garlic

1 tablespoon dried marjoram

1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary    (I used 1/2 tbl dried ground rosemary)

(I added 1 tbl each Italian Oregano,  Coarse ground cumin and dried thyme)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Tzatziki Sauce:

16 ounces plain yogurt

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped

Pinch kosher salt

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced

Process the onion in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds and turn out into the center of a tea towel. Gather up the ends of the towel and squeeze until almost all of the juice is removed. Discard juice. (Lois' note: No, don't throw it away!  Freeze it to be added to soup or sauce some day!)

Return the onion to the food processor and add the lamb, garlic, marjoram, rosemary, salt, and pepper and process until it is a fine paste, approximately 1 minute. Stop the processor as needed to scrape down sides of bowl.  (Lois' note: I was surprised, but 1 minute of processing or less is really all that was needed.More would make it like baby food paste)

To cook in the oven as a meatloaf, proceed as follows:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the mixture into a loaf pan, making sure to press into the sides of the pan. Place the loaf pan into a water bath and bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 to 170 degrees F.   (Mine was done in 30 minutes)   Remove from the oven and drain off any fat. Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack and place a brick wrapped in aluminum foil (I used a loaf pan filled with water)  directly on the surface of the meat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes and feta cheese.

(The loaf pan in the oven method works so perfectly well; I see no reason to use these other methods.  But that's just me.)

To cook on a rotisserie, proceed as follows:

Form the meat mixture into a loaf shape and place on top of 2 overlapping pieces of plastic wrap that are at least 18 inches long. Roll the mixture in the plastic wrap tightly, making sure to remove any air pockets. Once the meat is completely rolled in the wrap, twist the ends of the plastic wrap until the surface of the wrap is tight. Store in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight, to allow the mixture to firm up.

Preheat the grill to high.

Place the meat onto the rotisserie skewer. Place a double-thick piece of aluminum foil folded into a tray directly under the meat to catch any drippings. Cook on high for 15 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium and continue to cook for another 20 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165 degrees F. Turn off the heat and allow to continue to spin for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes, and feta cheese.

Tzatziki Sauce:

Place the yogurt in a tea towel, gather up the edges, suspend over a bowl, and drain for 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Place the chopped cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the drained yogurt, cucumber, salt, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and mint. Serve as a sauce for gyros. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups