Grilled Peach Bruschetta

Things are still humming along at full speed over here at Le Petit Chef headquarters, and since I'm buzzing around like a good little worker bee...or am I the queen bee of this operation? Yes, I think I quite like the sound of that.

Anyway, my point is that this blossoming little business of mine is still keeping me crazy busy, but I reaallly don't want my blog to suffer and withdraw into oblivion (kinda like it has been recently, dang). So naturally, when faced with such a dilemma I did what any good food blogger slash personal chef with overachieving tendencies would do: I lugged my camera along to one of the dinner parties I catered last week in order to share one of my most favorite summer appetizers with you. 

I don't know where on earth I got the crazy idea that I could somehow sneak in a fully styled photo shoot while preparing a six course dinner for twelve. #ChronicMultiTaskerProblems.

In reality all I had time to do was set the platter down, wipe my hands on my apron, snap a few quick shots and sprint back to the kitchen, so what you see is pretty much what you get today, folks. But what you get is sweet, juicy, smoky, summery goodness in the form of Grilled Peach Bruschetta!

I die. I mean, it is that perfect in all it's simple glory. Crunchy, charred ciabatta spread with a thin layer of rich, creamy burrata (so good with ricotta or goat cheese too, btw) and topped the most wonderfully ripe grilled peaches combined with flecks of tarragon, freshly cracked black pepper, flaky sea salt and a finishing drizzle of honey: it's everything that dreams are made of in one heavenly bite.

*Bonus: if you wind up with leftover grilled peach yumminess, use it up as a topping for your favorite grilled meat- thick, juicy pork chops would be my top choice, but chicken or fish would be just as delicious too!

serves 10-12
Ingredients
1 loaf ciabatta bread, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
8 ounces burrata cheese, torn
3 medium ripe peaches, halved and cored
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon
Flaky sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Honey, for drizzling

Instructions
1. Preheat and oil a cast iron or gas grill. Brush 2 tablespoons olive oil evenly over ciabatta slices and grill over medium heat until crisp and lightly charred on both sides, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Brush peach halves with vegetable oil or spray with non-stick spray. Grill, flesh side down, until lightly charred, about 3-4 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly, then chop and place in a medium sized bowl.
3. Chop tarragon and add to bowl along with salt, pepper and remaining tablespoon of olive oil and mix to combine.
4. Spread a layer of burrata over each slice of ciabatta and top with a dollop of grilled peach mixture. Season with additional salt and pepper and drizzle with honey.

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(Spiked) Iced Peach Green Tea

This is the story of a neighborhood party that took forever to pull off, but which resulted in the discovery of my new go-to adult summer beverage, thereby making it well worth the wait. 

John and I had been talking with our neighbors about throwing this special sort of block party for quite some time. Months, actually. But this was not to be just any old shindig. There were rules, you see (probably why it took us so long to get all of our acts together).

 It's what is known as a "Progressive" dinner party, and I hadn't heard anything about this business until our friend and neighbor Robert spelled it out: you get a few neighboring houses together, each one serving 1-2 tapas/family style dishes with a paired beverage, and you progress from one house to the next, eating and drinking all along the merry way.

Um, a roaming party? I'm in.

To keep it interesting and eclectic each house would choose an ethnic cuisine to plan their menu around. The neighborinos chose Cajun and Mexican, respectively; we landed on Japanese. Seeking to diverge from the typical Japanese fare (sushi rolls, tempura, meh), we wound up serving an ahi tartare/tostada creation with avocado puree and a killer mango-jicama salsa. Oh, and there were wasabi mashed potatoes. Nailed it.

But back to the drink, which was truly the star of the show. Something Japanese. Hmmm. We could have gone down the sake road...but that would have been too easy. No, something more whimsical was in order. All I knew was that it had to be served in mason jars with cutesy straws, and John wanted something that we could just whip up in advance and keep in a large pitcher. Practical, that one. We were stumped.

And then, tucked away in the ever growing DVR list of food shows I never have time to watch was the answer, this little gem of a drink concocted by one Mr. Bobby Flay. I don't know what makes this drink particularly Japanese other than the fact that we swapped regular iced tea for green tea, but it had everything we were looking for. Mason jars? Check. Cutesy Straws? Check. Pitcher friendly? Check!

Not to mention the fact that it's a total crowd pleaser.

Who doesn't love a boozy iced tea loaded with fresh summer peach flavor? And wait, what's that? A little champagne topper to boot?

Now you see why I will be sucking these babies down all summer long.

adapted from Bobby Flay
serves 12
Ingredients

8-10 bags peach green tea
6 medium ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped plus 1-2 peaches, sliced, for garnish
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup plus 1/2 cup sugar
20 ounces gin (or more if you like a stiff drink)
Bitters, to taste
Champagne or sparkling wine, for serving
Ice, for serving

Instructions
1. Brew tea bags by steeping in 6 cups hot water for up to 5 minutes. Remove and discard tea bags and chill completely.
2. Puree peaches, lemon juice and 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl, discarding solids. Set aside.
3. Make a simple syrup by combining remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
4. Pour chilled tea, peach puree, simple syrup, gin and bitters into a pitcher, stirring to combine. Refrigerate until well chilled.
5. To serve, fill glasses with ice, top with iced tea mixture and top with a float of Champagne. Garnish with peach wedges.

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Grilled Peach Salad with Bacon Dijon Vinaigrette

Now that Memorial Day has come and gone grilling season is officially here! We are certainly not letting the dreaded Santa Barbara "June Gloom" get in the way of our grilling ambitions here at home...we've already dusted off the grill to host a steak taco night and recreated these Spiced Salmon Kebabs from Bon Appetit for a quick and healthy weeknight meal...highly recommended!

And speaking of healthy, there's no reason why salads shouldn't benefit from a little BBQ goodness. Salads can sometimes feel a bit obligatory, at least for me. So I always like to mix it up and include fun, creative ingredients that actually make me excited to get my greens. Adding ingredients like fruit, nuts and cheese (and yes, bacon) add that perfect touch of indulgence and can transform a salad from something that feels like of a chore to eat into something much more exciting. 

In the spirit of summer, I put my peaches on the grill to achieve a smoky sweetness. It paired beautifully with the bacon and creamy goat cheese. And in the spirit of bacon, I reserved a little of the bacon fat and used it to create a simple vinaigrette. I hope you enjoy my grilled peach salad recipe, let me know what grilled fruits you would add to a salad in the comments!

serves 2
Ingredients
3 cups fresh spinach
1/2 medium shallot, thinly sliced
1 peach, cut into quarters
2 slices bacon
2 oz. goat cheese
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp white balsamic vinaigrette
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions
1. Oil a gas grill or indoor grill pan and heat to medium high. Brush peach slices with olive oil and grill for 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Cut each slice in half and set aside.
2. Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until done, drain on paper towels and chop when cool. Reserve 2 tsp of bacon fat.
3. To make dressing, whisk dijon, honey, white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, bacon fat, salt and pepper.
4. Add spinach and shallot to a salad bowl and toss with dressing. Top with bacon, goat cheese and grilled peaches and serve.

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