Prime Cuts

Though it might not feel like it outside, the end of Summer is rapidly approaching. Kids will soon be returning to school, temperatures will start to cool, and the leaves will begin their colorful Autumnal throwdown.

Before this happens, there are countless wonderful things left to enjoy during Summer?s swansong. Ride rollercoasters. Run through the sprinkler. Build a sandcastle. Enjoy as much of the sweet, syrupy goodness of summer fruits as possible.

Cherries. Plums. Strawberries. Blackberries. Peaches.

Nectarines?

Oh, yes. The Nectarine. “What the heck is a nectarine?”, you might ask. The not-so-distant cousin of the peach. Smooth-skinned, and often sweeter than its fuzzy counterpart, nectarines are often overlooked in favor of peaches and plums, which is more than a little unfortunate. Nectarines are delicious as all get- out, have firmer flesh than peaches (which makes them ideal for baking), and have a wonderfully spicy quality, which really sets them apart from other stone fruits.

Like peaches, they come in several varieties. Yellow and white, Freestone & Cling. Which version you prefer is all up to you; each is wonderful. If you have a favorite recipe for peaches, try substituting nectarines. Their subtly different taste will have everyone asking about your “secret” ingredient, about that extra little something special that you added this time. How about a Nectarine Cobbler? For Sunday Brunch, how about a Nectarine Bellini? Or how about … a sublimely sweet Nectarine Pie, kissed with the
zing of candied ginger?

Melissa’s Sweet Summer Nectarine Pie

A couple of notes before we get started. I’m giving the recipe for my homemade pie crust (which is easy as, well … pie), but you’ll get darned fine results if you use refrigerated crust (don’t beat yourself up). Also, if you can get your hands on some ginger ice cream, it makes the perfect accompaniment. On we go!

Easy-As-Pie Pie Crust

Ingredients

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) VERY cold, unsalted butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening
6 to 8 tablespoons (about 1/2 cup) iced water

Preparation

Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse until the butter pieces are about the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cut the dough in half. Roll out one piece into a circle and place in a 9” pie pan. Line the pan with aluminum foil and fill with beans, rice or, if you actually have them, pie weights (this will keep the crust down in the pan and prevent it from bubbling up). Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, then bake for about 7-10 minutes, or until the crust feels a little bit set (this process will keep the filling from making the crust soggy later on).

Fab Filling

Ingredients

5 cups peeled, pitted and sliced white nectarines (yellow are fine if that?s all you can find) — about 5-6 large fruits
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons chopped candied ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, small-diced
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 egg lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons cream, for glazing the crust
A little extra granulated sugar for sprinkling on top

Preparation

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the nectarines, sugar, flour, candied ginger and cinnamon. Toss to coat. Fill the cooled pie shell and dot with the small-diced butter.

Roll out the other pie crust and cut it into wedges with a pizza cutter (or not, it’s up to you). Brush a little bit of egg white onto the edge of the bottom crust, then place the wedges on top, slightly overlapping each piece on top of the nectarine filling. Fold back the points to create an opening at the center of the pie (not only does this look nice, but it will help the pie to vent while it’s baking). NOTE: if you choose to skip this and go super-simple, be sure to cut some slits in the center of the pie, so that steam can escape.

Brush the top crust with the beaten egg/cream mixture, then sprinkle with a little sugar. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake til the pie is golden brown, about 30 minutes more. Serve warm or at room temperature (and get yourself a scoop of good vanilla or ginger ice cream to go alongside it).

A little extra effort? Maybe. But it’ll be completely worth it when you see the looks of delight on the faces of your friends and family … that is, if you don?t keep it all for yourself!

When she’s not serving up goodness here at Prime Cuts, Melissa makes things easy as pie for her clients at Honeybee Consulting. Feel free to visit her there, or find her buzzing about all kinds of other tasty morsels on Twitter @startabuzz.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to receive future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Photo by: platinum

This summer isn’t over yet and this refreshing cocktail is the perfect drink for a hot summer night that goes perfectly with dessert or fruit. The recipe is very easy and the simple syrup can easily be replaced with regular sugar and a touch of water to dissolve it and mix with the juice.

Ingredients:

2 oz Vodka- any vodka will be fine, just make sure it isn’t flavored. The pineapple will be flavor enough!
1/4 cup crushed pineapple with juice. You can buy the canned pineapples and use the cubes and the juice. or buy fresh pineapples and cut those to use as the garnish and use pineapple juice from a bottle. Either is fine, but the ones in the can are easier and soak up more of the juice and have a better consistency.
1/4 oz simple syrup

Preparation

In a shaker with ice, combine the vodka, pineapple juice, a couple cubes of pineapple and simple syrup. shake well and strain into a chilled martini glass.  Garnish with pineapple slices and a cherry.

Cheers!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to receive future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Photo by: the bridge

Today Melissa Delgaudio shares her a little piece of grilling dessert awesomeness with us.  Melissa is going to be a new regular contributor ’round here.  By day Melissa is Principal of Honeybee Consulting.  You can usually find her hanging out over on Twitter.

It’s Summer and backyard chefs across the country are reveling in Weberific, char-grilled glee. True, it might seem that there are few things in life as laden with awesomeness as a great burger or steak right off the grill, but if you just open your mind…grilling can be oh, so much more.

More, you ask? Why yes! While there are limitless things that can be cooked on your trusty grill, few will leave you so satisfied and awash in post-meal ecstasy as fruit. Yeah, you heard me: FRUIT.  During the summer, the possibilities are only as limited as your imagination. Pineapple?  You bet.  Bananas?  Sure.  But those are fruits for another day.  I’m here today to talk about peaches and the sweet, magical deliciousness they’ll bring to your table.

Peaches. Sweet, delicious peaches.  Loaded with their own natural sugars and juices, they’re the ideal candidates for grilling.  And they’re nearing the peak of their season, so now is the perfect time to bring them to the table.  Whether you choose a juicy golden peach from Georgia or South Carolina–slightly acidic and a little tangy with notes of butterscotchy goodness–or a sweet, perfect white peach, ripe with undertones of raspberry-like perfection, from Central California, your results will be sublime, I promise you.

Ingredients

4 ripe peaches, halved with stones removed
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons sugar
Pinch of Kosher or sea salt
Vegetable (or some other neutral) oil
Your vanilla ice cream of choice

Preparation

Heat your grill to high (and remember to clean your grates … you don’t want your fruit to taste like the blackened tuna you made earlier). While it’s warming up, mix the butter, cinnamon, sugar and salt in a small bowl until thoroughly combined. Lightly brush the cut side of each peach with oil, to prevent sticking. Grill peaches ‘til they’re golden brown and just cooked through (about 3-5 minutes). Top each half with a couple of teaspoons of the butter mixture and serve to your salivating dinner guests with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Devilishly simple, sweetly seductive. Grilling fruit will tantalize your taste buds and open your mind to all that grilling can be.

Enjoy!

Photo by: mccun934

I recently had a family reunion back in Chicago and my wonderful aunt Regina introduced me to this fabulous watermelon salsa recipe.  Before tasting, I had no idea it was made of watermelon. Even when I did try it, it took me a minute to figure out what ingredients were creating this sweet yet tangy deliciousness in my mouth. I hope you enjoy this very refreshing and healthy summer treat!

Ingredients

3 cups chopped watermelon
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp chopped green onions
1 tbsp chopped jalapeno pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt.

Preparation

Mix well, chill overnight and serve. Regina likes it best with Lime Tortilla chips. (I agree!)

Enjoy!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to receive future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Photo by: ehow

One of Justin’s favorite salads lately has been any combination of apple, pear, walnut, dried cranberry and blue cheese in a salad.  So, Justin has put together this recipe for you which combines all of these great flavors into a single salad.  There are no specific measurements for this salad as it should be based on what flavors you like more than others.  As always, we hope you enjoy

Apple and Walnut Salad with Blue Cheese Crumbles

Ingredients

Spring Mix
Red Onions, cut into thin rings
Granny Smith Apples, cored and cut into bite-sized chunks
Pears, julienne
Dried Cranberries
Unsalted Walnuts, chopped
Blue Cheese crumbles
Apple Cider Vinegar, drizzle
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Lightly toss salad to ensure all ingredients are thoroughly mixed together with the apple cider vinegar and serve.  If you don’t like apple cider vinegar, you could substitute a cranberry walnut dressing or anything similar to that flavor profile.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to receive future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Photo by: Suviko