Mountain Delights

Derek and I were lucky enough to spend a long weekend with some of our closest friends in the mountains of western North Carolina.  One of the many perks of the weekend was the continuous supply of delicious food and drink that everyone made all weekend long.  For our part, my friend Taryn and I made a brunch of homemade biscuits, veggie scramble, a wide array of breakfast meats, and some zingy bloody maries.  Later in the weekend, Derek and I put together a dinner of plum-goat cheese-prosciutto-arugula toasts, barbequed pork sandwiches, peach-tomato-corn salad, and peach slump with burnt sugar brandy ice cream for dessert. 

Bloody Maries

The last time I was back to visit my parents, and my mom had me go through her pantry of can goods from their garden to see what I would want to take back with me, I debated for a while about taking tomato juice.  What would I use juice for that I couldn’t just use stewed tomatoes for instead?  The, it struck me, bloody maries.  How great would a bloody mary be with homemade tomato juice canned from tomatoes fresh from the garden?  No added flavors, no vast excess of sodium, no preservatives like the store-bought kind often has.  The recipe below is where that dream landed me.  I put exact amounts as a starting place, but feel free to change it up if you like yours spicier or saltier or horseradishier.  

Ingredients:

-1 quart tomato juice (I am lucky enough to have my mom’s home-canned, but store-bought works too)

-1 Tbsp celery salt

-1 tsp pepper

-1/4 c Worcestershire sauce

-3 Tbsp horse radish

-3 Tbsp hot sauce

-1/4 c green olive juice
-juice of 2 lemons

-vodka

-green olives

->Mix first seven ingredients in a large pitcher and pour over ice in glasses, leaving room for vodka.  Add vodka to your particular taste and state of mind and mix…  Garnish with green olives threaded on straws or your other favorite pickled veggies.  

Goat Cheese Toasts with Plum Jam, Prosciutto, and Arugula

These are a great quick bite to throw together as you begin cooking your main course so that you can keep your dinner guests occupied and satisfied in the meantime.  Switch up the cheese or the jam for all different combinations. 

Ingredients:

-1 baguette

-olive oil

-4 oz goat cheese (herbed or plain)

-4 oz plum jam

-1/4 lb prosciutto

-arugula

->Heat oven to 400.  Slice baguette on an angle in ¾-inch slices.  Place on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt.  Toast in the oven until golden brown.  

Remove from oven and slather with a smudge of goat cheese.  Add a dollop of jam.  Top with a leaf of arugula and a sliver of prosciutto.  Plate and use to fend off hungry guests until dinner time.  

Tomato-Corn-Peach Salad with Balsamic Glaze

This salad utilized our small late crop of sweet corn and the tomatoes and peaches that are at their peak in our area in the late summer.  The three flavors of the sweet corn, peaches, and cherry tomatoes are great compliments to one another.  The salty feta and sweet tangy balsamic glaze are a nice added contrast. Best of all, it’s not just tasty, but very easy to throw together. 

Ingredients:

-1/2 c balsamic vinegar

-1 Tbsp brown sugar

-5 peaches, pitted and cut in chunks

-1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

-2 ears corn, kernels shaved off

-1 bunch basil, chopped

-3 oz feta cheese

-salt and pepper

-> Place balsamic and sugar in a small sauce pan over medium heat.  Simmer to reduce by about half. 

Meanwhile, combine peaches, tomatoes, corn, and basil.  Crumble feta cheese over the salad and mix gently. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with balsamic reduction when ready. 

Peach Slump

This recipe is a twist on a pin[test] for a blueberry slump.  After trying it out, I would highly recommend it.  The topping is like a sweet biscuit with crunchy and chewing bits on the outside and a moist dough interior.  The fruit topping is built-in, but lives on the bottom for this dish.  The biscuit topping sops up all of the sweet peachy juices for a perfect bite every time. 

Ingredients:

-2 c flour

-1 3/4 c sugar + more for sprinkling

-4 1/2 tsp baking powder

-1 tsp salt

-4 Tbsp butter, frozen

-1 1/4 c milk

-6-8 peaches, pitted and chunked

-juice of 3 lemons

-ice cream of choice (we used Burnt Sugar Bourbon)

->Mix flour, 1/4 c sugar, baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt.  Grate frozen butter on the largest size of your grater.  Quickly add to flour-sugar mixture.  Mix in with pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers until the mixture is the texture of rough cornmeal.  Add milk and stir until just mixed (i.e. until all of the dry mix is wet with the milk).  Do not over mix.  Place in refrigerator until ready to use. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine peaches, remaining sugar, remaining salt, and lemon juice in a medium skillet that is oven-proof.  (If you prefer less sugar here, I think you could get away with less.  Our finished product was very sweet.)  Bring to a boil and then simmer until sugar is dissolved and peaches are tender. 

When peaches are ready, turn off stove, put large spoonfuls of the biscuit mixture on top of the stewing peaches.  Sprinkle with sugar.  You may want to put the skillet on a shallow pan before placing in the oven in order to catch any potential overflow.  Bake in the oven until biscuits are browned on top and peach mixture is thick and bubbly.  Top with ice cream and serve. 

TIP:  If you don’t have an oven-proof skillet (because the handle is plastic or rubber-coated), cover the handle completely with aluminum foil, and it will be safe in the oven.