Summer Dinners - no. 11

Peach cobbler in popsicle form? That’s right! It’s that last taste of summer we all long for…the juiciness of tree-ripened peaches with a hint of cinnamon and swimming in melting vanilla ice cream. Except it’s all those flavors in a popsicle! You are going to love this Peach Cobbler Popsicle recipe, because I really have saved the best for last in this summer dinners posting.

But before we get to dessert, let’s have dinner. This week’s Summer Rice Bowl recipe has been my favorite of the summer. It fed the three of us (all adults) with abundant leftovers. Possibly, the only thing better than eating it hot for dinner, is eating the leftovers cold as a salad, the next day. After dinner, I stirred all the ingredients together and refrigerated them overnight. The next day, for lunch, I simply mixed in some of Trader Joe’s Green Goddess Salad Dressing (refrigerated section of the store), and it was fabulous! Don’t be daunted by the long ingredient list, or the little extra prep work to make this. Your taste buds will thank you in the end. And it just feels right to be cooking with so much flavor and freshness during the summer months. Classic White Platter available here.

Summer Rice Bowl

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 bottle Caesar salad dressing

1 1/2 c. rice

3 1/3 c. chicken broth

1 T. butter

1/3 c. pine nuts

1/2 t. Herbes de Provence

1—15 oz. can chick peas

1 large clove garlic, minced

3/4 t. red pepper flakes

1 T.+ olive oil

salt and pepper

1 pint heirloom grape tomatoes

balsamic vinegar

2-3 chives, minced

2 yellow bell peppers, cored and sliced into 3/8” thick slices

2 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and chopped into 1/2” chunks

1/2 of a small head of radicchio, sliced very thinly

1 avocado, peeled, pit removed and sliced

lemon wedges (opt.)

1/4 c. coarsely chopped parsley

Place chicken breasts in a Ziploc bag and pour salad dressing over. Seal. Refrigerate 1-3 hours to marinate.

In a small bowl, combine heirloom tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and minced chives. Set aside.

In a small skillet, heat 1 T. olive oil over medium heat. Add chick peas, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, and sauté until beans are crispy. Set aside.

To make rice, in a medium saucepan, combine: rice, chicken broth, 1 T. butter, pine nuts, and Herbes de Provence. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff with fork.

While rice is cooking, toss sliced peppers and zucchini with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Heat grill, and grill squash in a grilling basket until tender. And grill chicken breasts until juices run clear. Slice chicken.

To assemble: heap rice on platter and add all remaining ingredients in sections atop rice.

Serves. 4-6.

Our local farmstand is bursting with ripe, heirloom tomatoes. The stand has a most impressive display of them…all in identical boxes, and all sitting next to each other on long tables in the shade of their porch. Every summer we look forward to walking past all the tomato boxes, reading their labels and descriptions, and choosing the ones that tempt us the most to bring them home. They must grow and sell at least 50 different varieties, each one more tantalizing than its neighbor. This Heirloom Tomato Pizza is best served in the late summer, or early fall, when tomatoes are at their peak of flavor. The White Garlic Pizza Sauce in the recipe is the perfect, creamy accompaniment to the tangy tomatoes. Pizza Peel available here and Mezzaluna available here.

Heirloom Tomato Pizza

1 pizza crust, store bought or your favorite homemade crust, prebaked

cornmeal

For White Garlic Pizza Sauce:

2 T. butter

2 T. flour

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 t. dried oregano

1 c. half-n-half

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

8 oz. shredded mozzarella

4 large heirloom tomatoes, sliced

red pepper flakes

To make White Garlic Pizza Sauce:

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and oregano and sauté for 30-45 seconds. Add flour and stir. Slowly add half-n-half in small portions, whisking continuously after each addition until smooth and thickened. Add 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Dust baking sheet with cornmeal and place crust atop. Spread White Garlic Pizza Sauce over prebaked crust. Top with mozzarella cheese and sliced tomatoes.

Bake for 8-12 minutes, until cheese is melted, but tomatoes still look fresh. Top with red pepper flakes to taste.

Makes one, 12-14” pizza.

Here’s the last dinner conversation starter of the summer. And here we turn our thoughts a bit more to what’s ahead.

And here’s what you’ve been waiting for…the Peach Cobbler Popsicle recipe. It is THE BEST! As our daughter said, “It tastes JUST LIKE peach cobbler…except it’s cold!” And like peach cobbler, it only has a few ingredients, but something about the combination of them is just perfection on a summer evening. Enjoy! Classic Popsicle Mold with Summer Popsicle Sticks available here.

Peach Cobbler Popsicles

1 pint vanilla frozen yogurt, softened

3 T. honey

1 t. cinnamon, divided use

3 large, ripe peaches

2 t. sugar

Peel peaches. Remove pits and slice. Place in food processor with 1 T. honey, 1/2 T. cinnamon, and 2 t. sugar. Pureé coarsely (you want small chunks of peaches remaining).

In a medium bowl, combine softened frozen yogurt, 2 T. honey, and 1/2 t. cinnamon. Stir/whisk until all lumps are gone. Pour mixture into popsicle molds, filling about half way up mold.

Divide peach pureé between molds. And then top pureé with the remaining softened frozen yogurt mixture. Insert sticks. Freeze.

Makes 8 popsicles.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the Summer Dinners blog post and email series. I hope you’ve spent many, relaxed summer evenings around your patio table or picnic table with the ones you love, lingering over the last bits of food, and lost in conversation. I hope you’ve made sweetly simple memories that will last a lifetime.