Peach Pie

PEACH PIE

Double pie crust (recipe below)
1 egg, beaten
 5 cups sliced peeled peaches
 2 tablespoons lemon juice
 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
 1 cup white sugar
 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
 1/4 teaspoon salt
 2 tablespoons butter

CRUST:

1 1/4 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c shortening
5 T water

Preheat the oven to 450

Line the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate with one of the pie crusts. Brush with some of the beaten egg to keep the dough from becoming soggy later.

Place the sliced peaches in a large bowl, and sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix gently. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Pour over the peaches, and mix gently. Pour into the pie crust, and dot with butter. Cover with the other pie crust, and fold the edges under. Flute the edges to seal or press the edges with the tines of a fork dipped in egg. Brush the remaining egg over the top crust. Cut several slits in the top crust to vent steam.

Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce the heat to 350 and bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes, until the crust is brown and the juice begins to bubble through the vents. If the edges brown to fast, cover them with strips of aluminum foil about halfway through baking. Cool before serving. This tastes better warm than hot.

Haylee’s Note:
I don’t think I have ever bought a premade pie crust.  The original recipe calls for a store bought one, but I just assume do the work myself—it taste better, it is cheeper, and it is actually really easy.  We LOVED this recipe.  You can get the original recipe HERE.

Peach Dessert

PEACH DESSERT

Crust:
2 packages graham crackers
2/3 c. sugar
3/4 c. square melted butter

Put graham crackers in the blender to make a powder. Add sugar and butter. Mix the press down into the bottom of a 9x13 pan

Filling:
3 oz. cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
1 c. whipped cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix cream cheese, vanilla, and 1/2 of the powdered sugar. In separate bowl whip the cream. Slowly add the two together and add remaining powdered sugar. Pour filling on top of the crust and add fresh sliced peaches to the top.

Haylee’s Note:
This is one of my favorite summer desserts ever!! Nothing beats juicy, delicious, fresh peaches…except for juicy, delicious, fresh peaches on top of a yummy dessert!! Give it a try, you will be hooked!

Ioana’s Peach-Tomato Salad

IOANA’S PEACH-TOMATO SALAD

2 Roma tomatoes, cut into wedges
2 small peaches, pitted and cut into wedges
1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Toss tomatoes, peaches and onions in a salad bowl. Drizzle with vinegar and oil, and season with sugar,salt and pepper. Mix well. Let it stand for about 10 minutes, for the flavors to combine.

Haylee’s Note:

Wow!  The flavors in the salad are amazing!  And this recipe is truly perfect for summer!  I love that it is so quick to fix, and it is a flavor powerhouse!  I doubled the recipe and took it to a family dinner!  It was a hit, everyone loved it!  Thanks for the recipe Ioana!

Watermelon Pirate Ship

WATERMELON PIRATE SHIP

I know this isn't a recipe, but I had to share my dad's GREATEST idea ever for cutting out watermelon. He just used a metal (bendable) ruler and scraped the whole water melon out in like two pieces! It was amazing! Darin had to bring a side dish for a pirate themed potluck, so this is what he took!

For the pirate ship part I just took pieces of paper and put them onto BBQ squewars and topped it with a skull and cross bones flag.

Sabayon

SABAYON

1 large cook vanilla pudding (not instant)
3 Tbsp Grand Mariner
8 oz cool whip or whip cream

Cook pudding according to directions then add grand mariner. Put plastic wrap over the bowl and let cool. When cool at the cream. Serve over vanilla bean ice-cream with fresh berries.

Haylee’s Note:
I REALLY love this dessert!! So much in fact that this is what we served at our wedding reception! If you want to make this recipe and exclude the grand mariner—don’t even bother making this recipe because the grand mariner makes the whole dessert!

Poppy Seed Cake

POPPY SEED CAKE 1 c. buttermilk 1/3 + poppy seeds 2 tbsp. orange zest 1 c. sugar 7/8 c. butter 1 tsp. vanilla 1 c. powdered sugar 3 eggs (separated) 2 c. flour 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. soda Combine and set aside the buttermilk, orange zest, and 1/3 c. poppy seeds. Cream the sugar, butter vanilla, powdered sugar, and egg yolks. Cream for 6 minutes then add to the buttermilk mixture. Mix the flour, salt, and soda, then sift into the mixture 1/3 at a time until blended. Beat the egg white until stiff and add to mixture 1/2 at a time. Pour into 3 8” grease and papered pans. Bake at 325 for 25 minutes. FROSTING Cream: 1/2 c. butter 8 oz. cream cheese 1 tsp. vanilla Add powdered sugar until smooth. When the cake is cool, frost with frosting. Put one layer of strawberry on the first layer of cake, then one layer of kiwi on the second layer of cake, then top with both kiwi and strawberry for the top. Decorate and blow poppy seeds onto the sides of the cake. Layer with kiwi: Layer with strawberry: Decorate with both on top: Haylee’s Note: This is one of my all time favorite cakes!! I think it looks so pretty and it tastes delicious!! My mom had a cake similar to this in Park City and she asked for the recipe but it was “secret” and wouldn’t give it to her. So, she made up this recipe, and it is AMAZING!!! Way to go Mom!! This actually is the cake that we had at our wedding, minus the fruit because is would make the cake go soggy if it sat too long! You have to give this one a try!! I know you’ll love it!!

Freezer Jam

FREEZER JAM

3 3/4 c puree fruit
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. ultra gel*

Wash and prepare fruit by chopping, processor, or crushing. Add sugar and lemon. Gradually add gel stirring constantly. Let stand 10 min. Stir again. If thicker jam is wanted add more gel. Yields 2 ½ pints. *Gregory’s is much cheaper.

Haylee’s Note:
I had no idea that making jam could be so easy!! I used my brother’s strawberries from his garden to make this jam and it turned out really yum!! That is a lot less expensive than buying jam and it tastes better too!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1 pound strawberries with stems (about 20), washed and dried very well

Put the semisweet and white chocolates into 2 separate heatproof medium bowls. Melt the chocolates in a microwave at half power, for 1 minute, stir and then heat for another minute or until melted.

Once the chocolates are melted and smooth, remove from the heat. Line a sheet pan with waxed paper. Holding the strawberry by the stem, dip the fruit into the dark chocolate, lift and twist slightly, letting any excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Set strawberries on the parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries. Dip a fork in the white chocolate and drizzle the white chocolate over the dipped strawberries.

Set the strawberries aside until the chocolate sets, about 30 minutes.

Haylee’s Note:
Who doesn’t love chocolate covered strawberries!? And I know most people don’t really need a recipe for this little number but I found this recipe on Food Network. Click here for the original. You can also use milk chocolate like I did!

Pink Grapefruit Sorbet

PINK GRAPEFRUIT SORBET

2 c. sugar
2 c. water
1 1/2 c. fresh grapefruit juice
3 strips grapefruit zest.

Combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 3-4 minutes. (Make sure sugar completely dissolves). Add grapefruit juice and cool completely. Pour mixture into ice-cream machine for 20-30 min. Put in freezer for another 2 hours for firmer sorbet. Serve cold and garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Haylee’s Note:
I really liked this. I just got this recipe with my ice-cream machine. It is really sweet and really tart, but I liked it. I would be better on a warm day rather than a snowy day in APRIL! (can you believe this weather). I had never made sorbet before and I was surprised how easy it was. I also added 1-2 drops of food coloring to make it a little more pink.

Pineapple and Cottage Cheese

PINEAPPLE AND COTTAGE CHEESE

1 ring pineapple
1/2 c. cottage cheese
Maraschino cherry

Put pineapple on bottom, spoon cottage cheese on top, and top with a cherry!

Haylee’s Note:
I know this isn’t really a recipe, but I love eating this for breakfast! My grandma used to make this for us up at our cabin, and I thought it was so fun to get a cherry on top! It made it seem like an ice-cream Sunday, without the sugar and fat! Enjoy!

Grilled Pineapple

GRILLED PINEAPPLE

1 large pineapple (or one can pineapple)

Optional Glaze:
2 tbs honey
2 tbs orange juice
1 tbs. lime juice

Spray grill with cooking spray. Grill both sides of pineapple. Serve warm.

Haylee's Note:
I didn't make my pineapple with a glaze, but I thought that it would be good. I think I will try it with the glaze next time. Make sure that you only make what you need though, cold grilled pineapple isn't as good as warm grilled pineapple.

Fruit Kabobs

FRUIT KABOBS

Your choice of fruit (usually what is in season)

Cut up fruit into 1" pieces. Assemble on skewer. Stab into end of watermelon.

Haylee's Note:
I saw this at my friend Ali's baby shower that my friend Megan hosted. It was very cute. The next step I want to try is making a 4th of July fruit kabob that I saw online. They sliced the watermelon, then used cookie cutters to make stars. They also had blueberries so they were red, white, and blue. Very cute!