It just so happens that Peaches are in season (well sort of)! A friend of mine happened to be driving though the Texas Hill Country (down by Fredericksburg) and was gracious enough to pick me up some fresh peaches. It’s like the peach capital of Texas down there…. As soon as I saw them I knew exactly what I was going to make!

When we took out trip down to Fredericksburg Texas the other month the peaches were just becoming ripe and now we are at the end of the season, a somewhat sad reminder that the end of summer is slowly drawing near. While those of us in Texas would never guess that as 100 degree plus days seem to stretch late into the weekly forecast the end of the peach season here in Texas tells us that cooler days are not too far away.

I do have to admit Peaches are one of my favorite fruits. They look extremely beautiful, they smell fantastic, and they can be used for a million different delicious desserts from a simple peach cobbler to a delicious smooth and creamy ice cream.

With my vacation fast approaching (sometimes it feels as though it couldn’t come fast enough). This is why I wanted to share with you the recipe that I will be using to enjoy the peaches that were graciously brought up for me the other day.

That’s right Peach Sangria! I love Sangria during the summer (especially Peach Sangria) because it is such a light and refreshing drink. Peach Sangria for me is best enjoyed while on vacation; at a time when worries and schedules melt away and the fleeting days of summer seem to last forever.

This Peach Sangria recipe has been my go to recipe for pretty much every big summer vacation I’ve taken in the past couple of years. So if you happen to have a friend (or if you yourself decide you want to) stop and pick up some of the last fresh Peaches here in Texas I suggest you make yourself a large pitcher of Peach Sangria and do a little nothing for the next couple of hours or days (that’s really up to you).

Peach Sangria
Makes 10 tall drinks

Ingredients:

6 peaches skinned and sliced
1 cup peach schnapps
½ cup fine sugar
750ml bottle of rose wine
4 cups 7 up or other citrus flavored soda
1 cup rose champagne

Directions:

Place ingredients in a pitcher and stir with a spoon until well combined. Refrigerate for about 2 hours. Sit back drink and relax!

For years now I have loved going to the farmers market. I find that it is a relaxing experience as you take a moment in life to step outside and enjoy the beauty that is around you. I also find it a great way to stay current with what fruits and vegetables are in season in your area.

This weekend I found one of my favorite in season treasures; watermelon. Watermelon to me is one of those fruits that you can enjoy year round without too much disappointment but once a year this refreshing treat really hits its stride as it becomes juicier and sweeter then ever. I also feel that watermelon is definitely a summer must have! What kid doesn’t remember seeing who could spit the seeds furthest?

My intentions for this watermelon, however, went beyond that of a seed spitting contest (especially because I picked up the seedless variety) and into something a little spicier….

Seeing as how this watermelon was born and raised in Texas I felt that it deserved to be turned into something that is purely Texas at heart, a salsa. Not just any salsa my friends; no, this watermelon was predestined to become one of our family’s favorite Texas traditions. Watermelon Salsa!

Watermelon salsa is not only sweet and refreshing but spicy as well! It’s the best of both worlds! Trust me once you make this you won’t be able to stop eating it. Our family tends to run out of chips quickly once this Texas masterpiece has been created.

To begin your watermelon salsa, combine the lime juice and sugar in a bowl. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved. This is part of that sweet and refreshing feel.

Now… you can use the lime juice from the bottle if you want to save time, as it doesn’t really change the flavor all that much. However, the fresher the ingredients the fresher the taste.

Next add your chopped watermelon. I like to chop this somewhat fine but you will want to still have it be a little bit chunky as this will give your salsa some crunchiness. Running this through a blender will totally make a runny soupy salsa and no one in Texas likes that!

Add some chopped onion.

Then some chopped mint, cilantro, and your jalapeño. Make sure to only use the mint leaves and not the stems (Unless you want an “earthy” flavor to your salsa).

Also, when chopping the jalapeño be sure to mince this well. It will keep the flavor of your salsa even. Large chunks can cause one bite to be sweet and the next to be nothing but hot!! This is also your heat control switch for your salsa. If you like things hot go ahead and use the whole jalapeño. If you’d like to keep your taste buds for a few more years and like your salsa a little milder, then only use 1 tablespoon instead.

Now it’s time for the final ingredient; chopped cucumber. Once all of your ingredients are combined gently toss the salsa until everything has been combined. This will taste great right out of the box; but if you want to really get a great tasting salsa (and I mean GREAT TASTING SALSA), let it sit in the fridge overnight.

Bring out the Margaritas and now you’re ready to party Texas style!

This is a little bit of Texas from me to you. I hope you enjoy it!

Watermelon Salsa Recipe

Ingredients:
• ¼ cup lime juice
• 2 tablespoons browns sugar
• 3 cups chopped watermelon (about ½ full sized watermelon)
• ½ cup minced red onion
• ¼ cup mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons minced jalapenos (about ½ jalapeño)
• 1/3 cup cilantro
• ½ cucumber
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Whisk the limejuice and sugar until sugar has completely dissolved.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients in a medium size bowl. Toss gently. Refrigerate overnight.

To continue this week’s Mother’s Day Brunch recap I bring you the second recipe I prepared for that special day. A frittata is a type of Italian omelette, the main difference between the traditional omelette as many American’s know and the frittata is the way in which it is prepared.

A frittata was originally prepared by partially cooking on the stove and was finished on the grill. While this may produce a slightly better tasting outcome, now a days it is significantly easier to prepare fully on the stove. A frittata pan can be found at many retailers throughout the country; however, they are generally extremely expensive.

The difference between a frittata pan and a regular pan is the fact that it has two pans on top of each other which have been locked in the back on a hinge to make it easier to flip without spilling. I personally do not own one of these pans as I don’t feel that shelling out $150 on a pan that has only one purpose is a great idea. I like to take two pans (that are of the same size) and put them over each other. This is fully capable of yielding you the same final results only less expensive as you can see above.

I found this recipe a while back on the Williams-Sonoma website while I was doing a little online shopping for my kitchen. I made some slight adjustments and produced a result that anyone’s mother would adore! I decided to make this recipe for two reasons. The first being that asparagus is currently in season, and the second being that you can easily add or subtract ingredients within a frittata to create completely different flavor combinations without significantly changing the structured output. Experimenting is highly encouraged!

The first step in creating a frittata is preparing your egg mixture. For this particular frittata we used eggs, chives, tarragon and pancetta (oh how I love pancetta; the saltiness of this meat really adds great character to the dish!)

Once the eggs have been mixed thoroughly we add the goat cheese and asparagus. Adding this now instead of the step before will keep the goat cheese from becoming dissolved in the mixture as you beat the eggs and will give you small spots of cheesy gooeyness! You will then put this in your improvised frittata pan and cook for 8 minutes. Flip, and cook for another 10 minutes, then flip again…..

Place your fully cooked frittata on a serving platter and let it cool. Your frittata, or fancy omelette as my wife refers to them as, will be perfectly prepared and ready to devour. Bon appetite!

Asparagus & Goat Cheese Frittata
Adjusted slightly from Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients:

• 12 eggs
• 3 Tbs. finely chopped fresh chives
• 1/4 tsp. finely chopped fresh tarragon
• 3 oz. cubed pancetta
• 1/2 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 6 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
• 2 lb. asparagus, tough ends trimmed, spears steamed until just tender and cooled
• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 leek, thinly sliced and rinsed well

Directions:

1. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, chives, tarragon, pancetta, the 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper. Stir in 4 oz. of the cheese. Cut enough asparagus ends into 1/4-inch lengths to measure 3/4 cup and add to the egg mixture. Reserve the remaining asparagus spears.
2. In the deep half of a frittata pan over medium heat, melt 1 Tbs. of the butter. Add the leek and salt and cook until the leek is tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer to the egg mixture.
3. In the deep half of the frittata pan over medium heat, melt 1 Tbs. of the butter. Add the egg mixture and cook, scraping the sides and bottom of the pan with a rubber spatula to allow the uncooked eggs to flow underneath, 3 to 4 minutes. Place the shallow pan upside down on top of the deep pan and cook for 6 to 8 minutes more.
4. Remove from the heat, uncover the deep pan and arrange the reserved asparagus spears on top of the frittata in a spoke formation. Meanwhile, set the shallow half of the pan over medium heat and melt the remaining 1 Tbs. butter.
5. Place the shallow pan upside down on top of the deep pan and flip the frittata into the shallow pan. Cook, covered, for 10 to 12 minutes. Flip the frittata back into the deep pan, then slide the frittata onto a serving plate. Let stand for 5 minutes. Top the frittata with the remaining cheese and serve.

My long wait for our local farmers market to open has finally come to an end. Every year I look forward to the market as I feel it’s a great place to explore your culinary creativity as well as chat with local people about their favorite recipes. You might be surprised by what you can learn at this place. Today I happened across one stand in particular that had some beautiful cherries which definitely caught my attention! After months of dull colored fruits and veggies the big bold colors of perfectly ripe cherries got my mind to begin racing through the recipe rolodex.

I mean look at these! Whoever can look at this and say that there is not beauty in nature is completely nuts if you ask me (I love the deep burgundy color of cherries). Actually the only thing I hate about cherries is trying to decide which recipe I want to use them in. The possibilities are endless!

I began to think…

Maybe a delectable ice cream…

Or I could possibly make some great tasting muffins…

What about some sweet breakfast scones?….

Each of these have always been a great option in the past…

Suddenly my mind was made up for me.

I decided that the indecision I was left with gave me only one option; a compote! Compotes are perfect because they can be used time and time again on all of the aforementioned items and are quick and simple to make. Who doesn’t love that?

The first step in making a fruit compote as you can see is to combine sugar, butter, and fruit. Bring this to a boil and then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Simply allowing this to cook until the fruit has become slightly softened is all that is technically required to make your typical fruit compote. See, I told you this was simple, didn’t I?

Me, however, I like to add little more complexity to my compotes. Adding a quarter cup amaretto or other flavored liquor to this mixture and allowing the alcohol to evaporate will bring your fruit compote an added level of sophistication that you will undoubtedly crave. The subtle notes of almond mixed with the sweet flavor of cherries will make your plain ole vanilla ice cream not so…well…”vanilla”. Topping a lemon cake with this compote and adding a big scope of ice cream to the side of it will get you what I like to call “complete afternoon satisfaction”…. I suggest you take the time to get some of this soon as you can.

Amaretto & Cherry Compote

Ingredients:

• 1 lb dark cherries; pitted and halved. (Stems removed of course)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• ¼ cup amaretto

Directions:

1. Combine the cherries, butter, and sugar in a pan and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the cherries have begun to soften (about 5 minutes).
3. Remove from the heat and slowly add ¼ cup amaretto while stirring softly.
4. Cook on medium low for about 2 minutes as alcohol evaporates.
5. Serve immediately or cool in a refrigerator and then serve, the choice is yours.

So this month Artichokes are in season. I personally have a love hate relationship with artichokes. I love how easy they are to prepare. However, their flavor by themselves has little to be desired as they tend to be pretty bland to the pallet. The thing I think redeems artichokes, beside the fact that it’s fun to peel back the leaves, is that they make awesome dipping vessels. The artichoke is nature’s natural scoop, perfect for shoveling massive amounts of whatever dip or sauce you have made to go with them without altering the flavor all that much.

When I was dating my wife (what seems like forever ago) her family introduced me to the pairing of the artichoke and hollandaise sauce. Ever since then I have not been able to find a better dip or sauce to replace it! The sweet and tangy flavor of the hollandaise sauce melds perfectly with the slightly bland nutty flavor of the artichoke.

A classic hollandaise sauce is a rich egg yolk based sauce that is flavored with lemon or vinegar or in my case both. Hollandaise sauce is typically served with vegetables fish or eggs (it’s the secret ingredient in Eggs Benedict). This sauce seems as though it should be pretty simple and straight forward to make. Simply use a double boiler to thicken the egg yolks as you add water, butter, vinegar, lemon juice and salt. But don’t be deceived! These pretty simple directions cause one to believe that hollandaise sauce can be prepared without much thought. However, if you let the water begin to boil or add the ingredients too quickly you can easily end up with a curdled or separated mess!

Allowing the water to boil in your double boiler (I know that pretty much defeats the purpose) will cause your sauce to curdle (don’t you love that about eggs?). If you add the ingredients too quick your sauce begins to separate leaving you with an oily slop resembling that of oil on water (if you have ever prepared this sauce before chances are you know what I am talking about)! Well fear hollandaise sauce no more! I’m here today to alleviate all of your hollandaise sauce nightmares.

Now, for the good news; if your sauce has begun to separate or curdle you can still save it! What? That’s impossible you say? Well you’re partially right. If your sauce has begun to curdle your options are pretty limited. You can start over (which I guess would probably ruin your day), or you can use a short cut and use a blender to blend it. Now the texture will be a little bit different depending now how curdled you let it get but this way but you can still salvage your sanity.

The real saver is what to do if your sauce begins to separate. You can salvage this mess and no one will be the wiser! Simply add 1 or 2 tablespoons of whipping cream and beat the sauce with a whisk until it becomes smooth again. You will have saved the day and feel like a superhero when you are done! Well at least that’s how I felt.

Classic Hollandaise Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons boiling water
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in the microwave and keep it warm.
2. In a separate bowl heat the vinegar and lemon juice until just warmed.
3. In a small saucepan boil water.
4. Using a double boiler whisk together the egg yolks begin to thicken. Slowly add 1 tablespoon of the boiling water and beat constantly until sauce beings to thicken. Repeat this process until 4 tablespoons of water have been added.
5. Slowly add the warmed vinegar and lemon juice and briskly beat with a whisk. Remove the double boiler from the water and continue to beat the mixture as you slowly pour in the melted butter. Finish by adding the salt again beating the sauce until it is thick.

My favorite of all fruits is finally in season. The pineapple hands down is my favorite fruit! Not only is the color of this magnificent fruit one that reminds me of summer and happiness but the flavor is one that cannot be rivaled by any of its fruity cousins. The uses for pineapple are nearly endless. From making kabobs to adult beverages to being grilled strait up, this delectable flower cannot be beat! I must admit though one of the things I find to be the coolest (though I’ve never done it) is that you can grow an entire replacement plant and fruit from simply cutting off the top and following a few steps to get it to grow more fruit! How awesome is that? (Only downside is it takes nearly 2 to 3 years before you really get to enjoy it) But hey, if you got the time, why not? Don’t believe me? Check it out here.

Ranging in color from red to white to pink, the Grapefruit was clandestine to be one February’s most color appropriate fruits. Growing in clusters, similar to grapes (in which they get their name), the semi tart yet sweet and tangy flavor is the perfect fruit for awaking the taste buds after a long winters sleep. While many people simply enjoy the flavors of this unique cousin to the orange and lemon in the morning with little more than a splash of brown sugar, (which by the way is fantastic), the range of the grapefruit is much more than that. It can be used to make anything from a refreshing Grapefruit Soda, to an extravagant Sorbet. However, this citrusy knockout doesn’t stop there; the grapefruit is known to contain pectin, a fiber that has been proven to lower cholesterol, and also has one of the highest concentrations of antioxidants. So not only can you stave off kidney stones due to an unusually high PH value but you can also lower your cholesterol and boost your immune system! I’m waiting for the day they start putting this stuff in a pill and sell it to the big pharmaceutical companies for millions!

January is the peak season for Blood Orange harvests. These delicious raspberry kissed oranges have a flavor that is pleasing both visually and tasting. I believe that this is in part due to the continual punishment of eating nothing but bland flavorless potatoes or it could be because as the bitter cold snap sets in we all long for something that reminds us of warmer times. Aside from their unique color blood oranges have a flavor that is remarkably delicious and have the ability to make anyone dream of warmer days.