Stone Fruit Summer Roast

Summer is about to end, though here in Los Angeles it feels as if it never will. If I could get some rain we will be happy campers, so will LA! The end of summer brings some amazing stone fruits, especially at this time when it is so warm, they get so juicy and delicious. There is no better way to honor the summer than creating a simple roasted fruit dessert.

We roasted some wonderful pluots, peaches, and nectarines, topped it with some sweet goodness and sprinkled some fresh mint! If you don’t want to use these specific fruits, you can use whatever large stone fruit you like. Delish!!!

Ingredients: Serves 3-4

2 peaches
2 pluots
2 nectarines
¼ cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon almond extract
5 -7 mint leaves
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash and cut fruit in half, removing the center stone. Place fruit cut side down. Bake in oven for 20 minutes, flipping fruit oven half way through.

While in the oven, make simple syrup, boil water and sugar for 5 -7 minutes. You want the syrup to start to become sticky and a bit gel like, not super gooey though.

Next make whip cream by combining heavy cream and almond extract and whipping with an electric mixer until it starts to form peaks.

Lastly chiffonade mint by rinsing the leaves, then roll up and slicing in small strips.

To create the beauty that is this dish, loosely arrange fruit cut side up, pour some simple syrup over but not too much! Plop some dollops of whip cream on, and then sprinkle the mint.  This is a guaranteed dish to wow anyone, and is so simple to make.

Cheers to the end of summer!

Peach Granita Dessert!

For the end of summer, we need to grasp onto the last rays of sunshine, the last warmth, and never let it go! This dessert is very simple. It is within this simplicity that lay something so delicious, and grabs onto the true taste of summer. Enjoy the peach granite dessert we have put together for you!

Preparation takes a few hours.

Ingredients: serves 4-6
6 peaches
¾ cup water
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 kiwis
1 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate
Sweetened condensed milk
 

 



Start by preparing the peaches, and by setting aside a baking tray.

Peel the peaches, cut up into pieces, while removing the center pit. Remove any extra hard pieces that may be left over. Puree the peaches in batches of thirds, so 2 peaches, roughly a third of the ¾ cup water, a bit of sugar etc., until everything has been liquefied together and poured onto the baking tray.

Place tray in the freezer so that it lays flush. Let freeze for a few hours.

Once frozen, prepare dessert by using two forks to scrape the frozen peach purree apart so it is like shaved ice. Peel and chop up the four kiwis. Place some of the granita into a bowl, and top with kiwi bits, and then shave some chocolate on top. The finale is drizzling some condensed milk over the top!

Voila!

Spicy Kimchi Slaw Fried Chicken Sandwich! Freedom!

We hope that you had a wonderful 4^th of July! It never quite feels like summer until the 4^th happens, so now that it is really summer we will fry, grill, live in bathing suits, have a tan, and be lazy (when not working lol). To end the weekend off properly we offer you a delicious fried chicken sandwich with a spicy kimchi slaw.

Eat it!!

Ingredients: makes 4
8 chicken thigh fryers (no bones)
1 cup flour
3 eggs
4 brioche buns
1 cup shredded cabbage
1/3 cup shredded carrot
3 Tablespoons kimchi
2 Tablespoons +1 teaspoon siracha
1 Tablespoon kimchi liquid
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups vegetable oil

Start by making your slaw so that you can let it chill in the refrigerator. Combine shredded cabbage, shredded carrot, mayonnaise, siracha, kimchi, and kimchi liquid in a bowl and then chill in the refrigerator.

To get the chicken ready fill a deep pot with the oil and heat on high heat, and bring to 300 degrees. Make sure that the oil doesn’t come higher than half way up the pot. While letting the oil heat prepare the chicken.

Season chicken with one teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon of pepper, and the paprika on both sides. In a bowl combine eggs, 2 Tablespoons water, and one teaspoon siracha. On a plate combine flour and cayenne pepper.

Create a station from left to right that goes chicken, egg, flour, and then plate. You are going to dip your chicken one piece at a time in the egg, let extra egg drip off, and then cover completely in flour, lastly place on plate. Complete with all 8 pieces.

When oil is at the proper temperature drop your chicken in the oil with tongs, you can lower the heat to medium high, and make sure the chicken is completely submerged in oil. Let cook for 6 minutes.

When done lay chicken on plate with paper towel, and check one of the pieces.

To assemble simply cut bun in half, lay a healthy helping of slaw, and then two pieces of fried chicken on top!

Voila! Happy Summer!

xo

Summer 2014

Happy Summer! It is officially the summer and I cannot wait. Every summer my goal is to be super tan and to eat peach rings and spicy peanuts. I usually get one down, none of which have been the peach rings, but one can only try.

We hope you have a wonderful photo, and take a peak at this wonderful photographer which we recently found named Clark Little!

Happy Summer!