Peach sandwich: who knew the peach could be so clever?

What a cool little dinner! While others were grilling their hearts out during the weekend just past, we grilled a little, too—on a nonstick grill pan (we dined outdoors, however—on our new front porch). Those peaches from our trees found their way into a zany dish, Country Ham-and-Peach Panini.

In yesterday’s blog I mentioned more try-outs were down the road for the peach recipes I discovered in the newest Southern Living designed to help us further adore those jewels of the South. The panini (without ciabatta bread on hand I simply used some whole grain slices) features slices of ham and cheese with the trimmings of Dijon mustard, black pepper, and honey. I spread the exterior o the bread slices with olive oil and tossed the entire assembled sandwich onto my stovetop pan. Within minutes we were just in heaven as Hubby sat in his new front-porch rocker and I in my swing and had our dinner as we watched Memorial Day wind to a close in the cool of the evening.

The peaches softened as they grilled. Combined with the honey they were a sweet balance-off against the salty ham and mustard. Who knew the peach could find itself in such a clever presentation? 

Country Ham-and-Peach Panini

8 ciabatta bread slices (or any firm white bread)

4 teaspoons coarse-grained Dijon mustard

freshly ground pepper

4 (1-ounce) fontina cheese slices

4 ounces thinly sliced country ham, prosciutto, or Serrano ham (I used low-sodium ham from the deli)

2 medium peaches (abut 3/4 pound) unpeeled and sliced (I went a little overboard and used 4 peaches, peeled and diced finely)

4 teaspoons honey (optional)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Spread each of 4 bread slices with 1 teaspoon mustard. Sprinkle with desired amount of freshly ground pepper. Layer with cheese, ham, peaches, and if desired, honey. Top with remaining bread slices. Press together gently. Brush sandwiches with olive oil. Cook sandwiches, in batches, in a preheated panini press 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown and cheese is melted. (Or use a preheated nonstick grill pan and cook sandwiches over medium heat 3 to 4 minutes on each side.) Serve immediately. Makes 4 sandwiches (I cut mine in half). (Source: Southern Living June 2012)

Crepelike, fruity pancakes just peachy for our holiday morning

These actually turned out more like crepes than pancakes, but Hubby loved them—said the lightness (and thinness) of them made consumption seem less guilt-inducing than if he were ingesting a big ole thick flapjack.

Besides, tasting the flavorful chunks of peaches contained in the slim cake was easier that way.

This was our Memorial Day holiday morning breakfast—Sweet Peach Pancakes, inspired by a paen to peaches in the brand-new Southern Living issue. (Plenty of other gotta-try peach inspirations besides this one were contained therein. Expect to hear about them in future blogs.) This one contained a mixture of soft-wheat flour and cornmeal for the batter.

The peaches are hitting us so fast in our backyard orchard, I can hardly hatch up ideas fast enough. We’ve gifted sackloads of spare peaches to several friends, but the orange glow out my window from all those beautiful orbs still dangling from peach-tree branches is almost blinding. Beautiful peach crop this year!

Sweet Peach Pancakes

3/4 cup all-purpose soft-wheat flour

3/4 cup plain yellow cornmeal

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

2 large eggs (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

butter for skillet or griddle 

canola oil for skillet or riddle 

3 medium peaches (about 1/4 pound) unpeeled and cut into 10 thin wedges (or 2 medium peaches, diced, may be substituted)

garnishes: sweetened whipped cream, syrup, fresh mint (I used diced peaches themselves)

In a large bowl sift together first 6 ingredients. In a medium bowl whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture; whisk just until combined. (If you are stirring in the diced peaches as a sub for the next step--placing sliced peaches on the griddle--add them at this time.) On a griddle or in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat melt a small amount of butter with oil. Place 3 peach wedges for each pancake on griddle; starting at outside edge of peach slices carefully pour 1/4 cup batter over each group of slices to form a circle. Cook pancakes 3 to 4 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look dry and cooked. Turn and cook other sides 2 to 3 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a baking sheet; keep warm in a 300-degree oven. Repeat procedure with remaining peach slices and batter. Add more butter and oil to griddle as needed.  Makes 10 pancakes. 

A peach of a beverage, with basil sprigs as the crowning touch

The dream was realized—our front-porch reno was complete. A ho-hum entrance to our vintage home was spiffied up by an expansive area complete with decorative railings and gingerbread trim. And a front-porch swing! Hubby and I had in mind some relaxing evenings of watching the neighborhood go by while we sipped a cool beverage.

The first cool beverage to sip while we test-drove our new swing had to be something special. I had a recipe in reserve: Peach-Basil Iced Tea. Two of the major ingredients were from my garden: 3 cups of peach nectar (made by pureeing peaches from our trees) and 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves. How would this blend work? To my knowledge I’d never had basil in a glass of tea.

All I can say is, Hubby and I, with our chilled glasses in hand and the gentle breezes whistling by us, thought we were in heaven on our new front-porch perch. The knock-your-socks-off beverage was refreshing and delicious. Our place is now staked out to spend the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend!

Peach-Basil Iced Tea

2 family-sized tea bags

1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, rinsed

2/3 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)

3 cups peach nectar (this can be purchased on the grocery aisle, but I enjoyed using my own peaches

      that in my blender I puréed to a fine liquid)

crushed ice

garnish: fresh basil sprigs

In a large saucepan bring 8 cups water to a boil. In a pitcher pour boiling water over tea bags and basil. Cover and steep 6 minutes. Remove and discard tea bags and basil. Add sugar; stir until dissolved. Stir in peach nectar. Serve over crushed ice. Makes about 3 quarts. (Source: Southern Living February 2011)

Those nostalgic lemon bar cookies morph into a coffee-cake recipe

I’ve been utterly agog over the fact that with my new mini herb garden installed, I can walk a short distance to my step-side flower bed and trim off fresh rosemary (and other herbs) for recipes.

Except for that, I probably wouldn’t have given a second glance to this recipe for Lemon-Rosemary Coffee Cake. When coffee cake is involved, I crave peaches or blueberries or nuts. My first thoughts don’t turn in the lemon direction.

But the magazine photo that accompanied the recipe looked lovely; Hubby’s birthday was being celebrated, and I needed to bake something for his birthday morning. Rosemary in my mini herb garden was readily available. 

Who knew that this was going to emerge tasting as though it was a coffee-cake version of those delicious baked lemon square bar-cookies my mother used to make? With powdered sugar for the topping? Yes—that’s what it was: lemon-bar cookies made into a coffee cake with rosemary woven into the mixture and with rosemary sprigs sprinkled over the cake.

For Hubby it made an amazing birthday breakfast. Since he had watched them grow from his very earth, he didn’t even blink at the fact that the coffee cake had green weedlike garnishes sprinkled on it. 

Lemon-Rosemary Coffee Cake

Parchment paper

3 large lemons

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups sugar (or sugar substitute)

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/2 cup very cold butter, cubed

1 teaspoon baking powder

12 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup buttermilk (Greek yogurt may be substituted)

1 large egg

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

1 (10-ounce) jar lemon curd

powdered sugar

garnishes: fresh rosemary sprigs, lemon slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper. Grate zest from lemons to equal 1 tablespoon. Cut lemons in half; squeeze juice from lemons into a bowl to equal 5 tablespoons. Reserve zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in bowl of a food processor; pulse 3 to 4 times or until blended. Add butter; pulse 6 to 7 times or until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 1 cup flour mixture. Transfer remaining flour  mixture to bowl of a heavy-duty electric stand mixer. Add baking powder and baking soda; beat at low speed until well-blended. Add buttermilk, egg, and 1/4 cup lemon juice; beat at medium speed 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until batter is thoroughly blended. Stop to scrape bowl as needed. Stir in rosemary. Spoon half of batter into prepared pan. Whisk lemon curd in a small bowl about 1 minute or until loosened and smooth; carefully spread over batter in pan. Top with remaining half of batter. Stir together reserved lemon zest, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1 cup flour mixture; sprinkle lemon zest mixture over batter in pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in the center emerges clean. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Gently run a sharp knife around edge of cake to loosen; remove sides of pan. Cool cake completely on wire rack (about 1 hour). Dust cake with powdered sugar just before serving. (You may sub a 9-inch round cake pan for the springform pan. Line bottom and sides of cake pan with aluminum foil. Allow 2 to 3 inches to extend over sides; grease foil well. Proceed with recipe as directed through baking instructions. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Lift cake from pan; use foil sides as handles. Carefully remove foil. Cool and dust with powdered sugar as directed.) Makes 8-10 servings. (Source: Southern Living, February 2012)

Spicy slaw and tangy chicken make a great summer kick-off

I’m not sure I recall a time in which I’ve cooked my way through an entire magazine, but for some reason each and every recipe in one recent issue has been a standout. I’d start to file it away in my plastic magazine-keeper, but then some lone, unprepared food item would call to me. I’d have to give in.

This is what happened with today’s featured item, Hot Sauce Fried Chicken with Pickled Okra Slaw. Not my kind of thing, I mused as I’d flip by it time after time on my way to look up another selection. Pretty soon, however, everything else in my February 2012 issue of Southern Living got crossed off the “been-there-cooked-that” list. I kept studying the picture of the crispy golden chicken with its colorful side. Well, I do love coleslaw, I finally reckoned. Adding sliced pickled okra to the chopped cabbage sounded as though it was the most novel of proposals.

Ultimately I gave in. I’ll have to say that, to begin with, this was just a superb way to prepare fried chicken. Rolling the chicken breast first in the seasoned flour, then in the egg/hot sauce mixture, and then in the crushed saltine crackers with baking powder added made for a wonderfully crunchy crust that really adhered to the chicken. This was absolutely delicious either warm or cold. The next day I yanked a piece straight from the fridge and didn’t even give the first thought about microwaving it. Great chicken.

The slaw with the pickled okra truly was unique; the spicy-ness of the okra paired well with the chicken’s (hot-sauce-induced) tangy crust.

Hot Sauce Fried Chicken with Pickled Okra Slaw

6 (4-ounce) chicken breast cutlets

1 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided (or salt substitute)

3/4 teaspoon pepper, divided

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided

30 saltine crackers, crushed

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 large eggs, lightly beaten (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)

1/3 cup hot sauce

peanut oil

1/2 cup sour cream (I used fat-free)

1/2 teaspoon sugar (or sugar substitute)

1 (16-ounce) package shredded coleslaw mix

1/2 cup sliced pickled okra

1 (4-ounce) jar diced pimiento, drained

Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Place 1/2 cup flour in a shallow dish. Stir together cracker crumbs, baking powder, and remaining 3/4 cup flour in a second shallow dish. In a third shallow dish whisk together eggs and hot sauce. Dredge chicken in flour, dip in egg mixture, and dredge in cracker mixture. Press to adhere all to chicken. Pour oil to a depth of 1 inch into a 10-inch cast-iron skillet; heat to 360 degrees. Fry half of chicken 3 to 4 minutes. Turn and fry 2 to 3 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and done. Repeat procedure with remaining half of chicken. Stir together sour cream, sugar, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss together coleslaw mix, pickled okra, diced pimiento, and sour-cream mixture. As you serve, drizzle additional hot sauce around chicken and slaw. Makes 6 servings.

Simple Onion Soup heartwarming on summery as well as cold days

While I'm on the subject of onions (after yesterday's post about the homemade onion rings), I’ll go on and tell you about this wonderful onion soup I made from—guess what?—onions from my garden again.

Hubby and I have a terrific memory of dining on French Onion Soup during a winter picnic shortly after we were married. One Saturday, B.K. (before kids), we decided to chunk the usual weekend household chores and instead stuff a blanket in the car and head off on a winter outdoor outing. We found a picnic spot about 90 minutes from our home and enjoyed some heartwarming soup on a cold day.

In the (many) years since, French Onion Soup has always evoked a special recollection. When I saw this recipe for a similar dish, I decided the time had arrived to walk down memory lane (and use up those beautiful onions the Good Lord helped us grow).

Simple is the correct word for this terrific menu item. Brown the onions in butter, add broth (I subbed chicken broth for the beef), and pour over toasted whole-wheat bread, with cheese sprinkled on.

Our warming outdoor temps right now definitely do not bespeak of winter, but the enjoyment of this Simple Onion Soup certainly can span the seasons.

Simple Onion Soup

1 tablespoon margarine

3 cups yellow onion, thinly sliced

6 cups lower-sodium beef broth (I used chicken broth)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

6 pieces, whole-wheat bread, toasted and cut into strips

In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat margarine. Add onions; sauté until onions are caramelized (light golden brown). Stir in broth and pepper. Bring to a boil; simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer the soup to an oven-safe dish. Place bread in the soup. Top with cheese; broil until the cheese is melted. Makes 6 1-cup servings. (Recipe source: Chickasaw Nutrition Services)

Dig up an onion, dip and dredge—healthy homemade onion rings

We thought this would be funner than fun—homemade onion rings prepared from the onions out of our own garden.

The inimitable cook Paula Deen helped with this endeavor—through her recipes featured in a recent edition of Prevention magazine. Deen has been “lightening up” because of her well-publicized  diabetes diagnosis, so many of her food preparations are makeovers—healthier ways to stir up classic (and often fat-laden) Southern meals.

In this one she took the onion ring to new heights, as far as I’m concerned. These are baked in the oven after being coated with a seasoned mix of flour and bread crumbs.

I liked these better than the heart-hampering ones you might get at the local greasy spoon. And the freshness of slicing up a just-picked onion from our own onion rows—priceless!

Crispy Creole Onion Rings

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons Creole seasoning

2 large egg whites (I used 1/2 cup egg substitute)

2 cup panko bread crumbs

2 large sweet onions, slice and separated into 1/2-inch-thick rings

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Coat 2 rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray. In a small bowl whisk together flour and 1 teaspoon of the seasoning. In another small bowl lightly beat egg whites. In a third small bowl combine panko and remaining 1 teaspoon seasoning. Dredge onion rings in flour mixture. Gently shake off excess. Dip in egg; let excess drip off. Dredge in panko mixture to coat; place on prepared pans. Coat onion rings lightly with cooking spray. Bake 6 minutes. Turn onion rings and bake until they are lightly browned for 4 to 6 minutes longer. Serve immediately.