A Simple Summer Dinner

Welcome back Dear Friends,

Dear Readers.

So, I hope you liked the Crisp recipes.

And perhaps you need a dinner to precede them ?

I just made and enjoyed,

seconds and all,

A Simple Summer Dinner

And it's

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!

First off marinate a nice

 Flank Steak 

in 

olive oil, garlic & soy, 

for a few hours 

or overnight.

Later you'll grill it 

medium rare  and fan it in slices.

To accompany the Flank Steak...

 Smokey Eggplant with Peppers, Vidalia Onions, and Mint.

To make this, sweat 1 1/2 sliced Vidalia Onions, 

a nice selection of red, yellow, and poblano peppers, 

and a handful of garlic cloves in olive oil. 

Season this with salt, pepper, thyme, 

hot chili flakes, the skin of a lemon, and smoked paprika.

This will take around 15 minutes. 

We want this mixture to soften. 

I then added an eggplant that I'd cubed. 

Corrected for seasoning,

I cooked the eggplant until it was done. 

Before it was finished I deglazed with 

the Moscatel Wine Vinegar that I am so fond of.

Then I mixed in a giant handful of 

a chiffonade of mint

and garnished with 

a beautiful, aromatic 

mint bud.

Plate the fanned steak slices,

add a dollop or two

of the eggplant 

and enjoy!

Ah yes! The Summer Crisp!

Surrounded by the bounty of summer produce

I've been making delicious & easy

Summer Crisps!

Here are a couple of variations on this theme

that I think you'll adore.

Strawberry, Blueberry, Cherry & Peach Crisp

with a Ginger Snap Topping

Here's what you do.

Grab two large bowls. 

Into the first bowl throw a pint of cleaned blueberries, and then equal parts

quartered strawberries, pitted cherries, 

(you can pit the cherries by smacking them the same way you'd 

break down garlic... with the side of a chef's knife)

and sliced peaches.

To that add

the zest of a lemon, a cup or two of brown sugar, enough flour to coat,

and three or four tablespoons of finely chopped ginger. 

That's it for bowl number one and your fruit mixture.

For the crisp topping...

Melt a stick of butter and then let it cool.

While it's cooling 

throw chunks & pulverized Ginger Snaps into bowl number two.

Add brown sugar to taste, a pinch of salt, and flour to coat. 

Then pour in the melted butter and mix. 

The fruit then goes into buttered ramekins.

The topping goes onto the fruit. 

The ramekins go into a 350 degree oven for around 35 minutes 

until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is crisped. 

This delicious summer fare is best served with 

a dollop of vanilla ice cream 

or some lovely whipped cream.

A really delicious variation on this...

The Strawberry, Rhubarb, Jalapeno Crisp with a Cornbread Topping

Here you can just substitute the fruit for the fruit,

the jalapeno for the ginger

(Be generous with these accent ingredients as they will easily melt into the background. 

You really want these to be fairly pronounced.),

and the cubed cornbread for the chunked and pulverized Ginger Snaps.

Do not used too much cornbread as I did 

or it will sop up all of this delicious summer fruit.

Regardless,

here are a couple of wonderful summer desserts 

that are easy to make

and a joy to serve. 

Enjoy!

The Pre Dessert!

This was spectacular!

Just look at it.

After a lovely meal filled with intense flavors,

what could one possibly serve to transition from savory to sweet?

 Our

Pre Dessert:

Lapsang Souchong Gelato 

served on a bed of Coffee

with a Berry Coulis

and Salumi Chiffonade.

I thought it was gorgeous.

The gelato... amazing!

Honestly, I'm not sure if I could've done without the salumi or not.

But it was very, very good!

The Best Pre Dessert in Rome.

At 

Il Convivio.