Summer Salad with Peaches and Blue Cheese

 

It is pretty rare that I make a green salad that doesn't include some sort of fruit. In the fall, I love including apples and dried cranberries, or pears and figs. In the summer, the choices seem to be endless: strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, peaches! 

I especially like the combination of peaches and blue cheese and decided to make a salad featuring those ingredients. I threw in some red onion and cucumber for both crunch and flavor contrast. But how to make a truly winning salad? Add the amazing sweet and spicy almonds.

I brought this to a family dinner and a certain young male teen even took seconds!  It's really good.  

Take advantage of the beautiful summer produce still available, and make yourself a green salad with lots of fruit.

Summer Salad with Peaches and Blue Cheese

6-8 cups mixed greens
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette, or more or less to taste
2 thin slices red onion, halved into half moon rings
1/3 large cucumber, sliced into half moons
1 large peach, or 2 small peaches, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (or less)

In a small skillet over medium heat, toss the almonds in the sugar and cayenne. Stir frequently, or constantly, until the almonds are toasted and coated but not burnt. Watch carefully and stir!  Remove the almonds to a plate to cool.

In a large bowl, toss the salad greens and onions with the dressing until completely coated. Layer the greens on a large plate, and top with the cucumbers. Arrange the peach slices around the perimeter of the platter. Sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles. Break up the almonds into bite sized pieces and sprinkle on top of the salad.  Serves 6-8.

Coconut Cake and Custard Trifle

Necessity is the mother of invention, right? That's what happened with this recipe. It was SUPPOSED to be a coconut layer cake. Then this happened.

So, I decided to make the best of it. And, I think this trifle probably turned out better than my layer cake would have... partly due to the amazing coconut custard that I used for the filling. 

Not to mention all the crunchy toasted coconut layered in and placed on top!

This recipe uses some convenience products, like a boxed cake mix and cool whip. But the homemade custard more than makes up for any of that. And you don't even have to worry about getting the cake out of the pan nicely, because you'll just chop it up anyway! (There is nothing stopping you from using a homemade white cake and whipping cream. Do what you like best, and own it!)

This is so beautiful and impressive in a trifle bowl - but if you don't have one, any big glass bowl will work just fine. You could also use a glass 9x13 in a pinch - it will still taste good, but the presentation will be a little different.  Trifles don't look nearly as pretty when they're in an individual serving dish, but I can't overstate how delicious this is. 

If you have someone in your life who loves coconut, this is the perfect dessert!

 Coconut Cake and Custard Trifle

Cake:

1 boxed white cake mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup water

3 eggs

Custard:

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup whole milk

1 can (14 ounces) coconut milk

4 egg yolks

For assembly:

1 8oz. tub Cool Whip, thawed if frozen

1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut

For the cake, combine the cake mix, oil, water and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until well blended. Transfer the batter to either two greased 9" round cake pans, or a greased 9x13 pan. Bake according to the directions on the box for each pan type.  Cool completely, then cut into small, bite-sized squares.

While the cake bakes, make the custard. In a medium saucepan (not over any heat), whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add in the whole milk, and whisk well to dissolve the cornstarch. Whisk in the coconut milk and the eggs. Once well combined, place the saucepan over medium heat, and stir constantly until the first big bubbles burst, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook and stir for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let cool.

Toast the coconut by spreading it out on a large baking sheet and placing it in a 400 degree oven. Stir after about 4 minutes, then watch carefully, stirring every 2-3 minutes until it is all toasty. Coconut burns easily, so watch it carefully.

To assemble the trifle, in the trifle dish or large glass bowl, layer cake cubes, custard, cool whip and toasted coconut. Repeat layers, ending with about 1/2 cup of toasted coconut on top.   (You will likely have leftover cake cubes. You can freeze them for later or serve them with ice cream at another time!)

Serves 10-12.

Sheet Pan Garlic and Butter Baked Salmon with Vegetables

Wow, that was quite a hiatus. I didn't intend to take a summer blogging vacation, but alas, I did. However, no fear, I have plenty of recipes to share as I have continued to cook this summer! 

You know I am a fan of the dinner trifecta: easy, fast, delicious. This fits that bill perfectly, and bonus: only one pan! Have you gotten on the sheet pan dinner bandwagon? I've made a few but I was especially interested to try this one since it also involved a new way to cook salmon.

This couldn't be simpler; just fill up that sheet pan with cut up veggies,

 let them roast a bit, then add the salmon and the delicious garlic butter sauce, and roast some more. 

In the summer, especially, I love having "extra" roasted vegetables - they make a great mix in for scrambled eggs the next morning!

Go easy on yourself this summer and make this fantastic dinner. (Note: the original recipe called only for potatoes and asparagus. I used a mix of green vegetables and mushrooms. If you want to include potatoes - which would be delicious! - see the link to the original recipe below.)

Sheet Pan Garlic and Butter Baked Salmon with Vegetables

16 oz. fresh salmon (either leave as one piece or cut into 4)

1 1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic

1/2 Tbsp. parsley

3 Tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 cup melted butter

4 -6 cups chopped assorted vegetables (zucchini, onion, broccoli, summer squash, asparagus, mushrooms, etc)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

salt and pepper

Toss vegetables with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.  Spread out on a large sheet pan and roast at 400 for 10 minutes.

In a small measuring cup, combine the butter, garlic, parsley and lemon juice. Stir well. 

Remove pan from oven and move the vegetables around to make room for the salmon on the pan. Place the salmon amongst the vegetables then cover the salmon liberally with the butter garlic sauce. Dribble any remaining sauce over the vegetables.

Return to the oven and roast for 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon. If you like, you can broil the salmon for a minute or two to help crisp up the top. 

Serves 4. 

Recipe Source: Adapted from Cafe Delites

Chess Pie

When I found myself with extra buttermilk last month, I googled around for a few ideas. Chess Pie was one, and since I had never heard of it or made it before, I decided to try it. I'm glad I did! I love custardy desserts, and this one had just the right amount of sweet. The sugar on top carmelizes to make a nice crunch which is an added bonus!

Although I still haven't fulfilled a resolution (many years old now) to learn how to make pie crust, in this case, it worked to my advantage! For this pie, you want a cold crust so that the filling and crust bake together. The cold crust helps the filling bake more slowly. This is a perfect recipe for a frozen ready made crust! 

The only other "secret" to making this easy pie is to let it cool completely. This allows the custard to fully set up. I even refrigerated it for a few hours after it was cool. If it's not too hot to have the oven on where you live, I recommend this is a nice summer dessert. It would be especially nice with some berries on the side. 

And if it is too hot, just save this recipe for later!  :)

Chess Pie

1 - 9 inch pie crust

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

3 Tbsp. flour

2 Tbsp. cornmeal

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

4 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled

1 Tbsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Place the eggs, sugar, flour, and cornmeal in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the buttermilk, butter, vanilla, and salt and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute.

Place the prepared pie crust on a baking sheet. Pull out the oven rack halfway and place the baking sheet on it. Pour the filling into the crust. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the top Slide the oven rack back into place.

Bake at 350 until the center of the pie is barely set in the center, reaches 200°F, and a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes total.

Let cool for 3-4 hours on a wire rack, then wrap in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. Serves 8.

Apple, Pecan and Craisin Coleslaw

It's almost summer! This coming weekend marks the delineation between spring and summer, even though the equinox is not until June 21... and along with summer comes picnics, potlucks, food on boats, eating outdoors, grilling, and lots of memory making involving food.

This salad is sure to create some of those good memories. Although our family's favorite summer salad of all time is Oriental Coleslaw, this new version of cabbage salad got high reviews. It's a nice change of pace from the vinaigrette based salad. 

An easy homemade dressing added to bagged coleslaw (or shred your own like I did here) is fancied up with apples, pecans and craisins. I even toasted the pecans! Get ready for the rave reviews when you bring this salad to the next summer get together. 

Apple, Pecan and Craisin Coleslaw

1 large apple, chopped (Honeycrisp or Gala work well)

1 cup craisins

1 cup chopped pecans

2 - 11 oz. bags prepared coleslaw (or shredded cabbage and carrot equivalent)

4 green onions, sliced

3/4 cup mayo

3/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp. honey

1/2 tsp. salt

In a large bowl, toss together the coleslaw, craisins, pecans, green onion and apple. 

In a large measuring cup, whisk together the mayo, sour cream, vinegar, honey and salt. Pour just over half the dressing over the combined veggies and toss to coat. Add more dressing as needed. 

Refrigerate if not serving immediately. You may need to add more dressing before serving if the coleslaw has been sitting awhile.  Serves 10-12.

Chocolate Banana Muffins

Banana muffins are a mainstay at our house, sometimes filled with chocolate chips, mixed berries, strawberries or just "plain." But this new to us variety will become a regular part of the rotation.

Not only do these muffins have chocolate, they have coffee, too! And a nice combination of butter, buttermilk and yogurt, so they are super moist and extra delicious. I gave some of these to my brother's family and I heard that my niece hoarded hers. (So of course I made her more!)

These muffins go equally well with coffee or a tall glass of milk. They're great for breakfast on the go, or for a quiet morning at home. Or for an afternoon snack! Just try them - I know you'll love them.

Chocolate Banana Muffins

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 bananas, very ripe and mashed
1 - 6 oz. container banana or vanilla yogurt
2 eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup coffee
1 Tbsp. vanilla 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, cinnamon and salt.

Place the butter in another bowl, and microwave at 50%  power til melted. Let cool slightly, then add the sugar and mix well. Add in the yogurt, eggs, bananas, buttermilk, vanilla and coffee and stir until combined. 

Gradually add in the flour mixture, whisking well until all the flour is incorporated.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake at 350 for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Makes 18 muffins.

Balsamic Red Wine Beef Ribs {Instant Pot}

I love using the Instant Pot for cuts of beef that take a long time to braise. It's still not a freaky fast dinner, even in the IP, but a lot faster than the oven. And beef short ribs turn out so tender! I love the combination of red wine and balsamic vinegar, and it turns out to be a winner when used with these ribs.

First, the ribs get a good sear in your IP, then you saute some onions and garlic in the delicious leftover beef left behinds in the pot. (Beef left behinds is a technical cooking term.) Add in some red wine (pour yourself a glass first!) and deglaze that pot (which means getting all the beef left behinds stirred up) then cook the beef in the winey goodness. At the end add the balsamic to create a delicious sauce. 

If only I had TWO IPs so I could also make the mashed potatoes!  That would be a little much, even for this appliance loving cook. So I made them on the stove. Saute or roast some green veggies, and you'll have a super delicious dinner on your hands. And in your mouth. 

Balsamic Red Wine Beef Ribs 

2 pounds boneless beef short ribs

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2/3 cup red wine

1 tsp. rosemary leaves, crushed

1 tsp. parsley

1 1/2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Preheat the Instant Pot on Saute. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Place them in one layer in the pot and let them sear. Leave on this side for about 5 minutes, then flip and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove to a plate, and repeat if you have remaining ribs. 

Add onion and garlic to the pot and saute for 5 minutes. Add in the red wine and deglaze the pot, (stirring up all those brown bits that have caramelized at the bottom).

Put the short ribs back in and add the rosemary and  parsley.

Seal the Instant pot insuring that the venting switch is set to "sealing."  Press the Soup/Stew option and set the time to 35 minutes. 

When cooking is completed, let the pot release naturally for 15 minutes. Then, carefully, release all the steam and remove the lid of the pot.

Remove the meat, then skim the sauce off with a spoon to remove the fat.  Add in the  balsamic vinegar, and turn the pot to saute.  Allow to boil until it has reached a glossy and glaze consistency. Serve ribs over mashed potatoes, and covered with glaze.