Fresh & Simple Peach Crisp

I love having people over for dinner at the last minute. I can run to the store pick up a few things (and a few bottles of wine) and put a great meal on the table. Unfortunately the dessert can always be a little tricky - Anything homemade usually needs to be done in advance and I hate finishing off a nice meal with a box of supermarket cookies.

That's when I turn to the classic fruit bakes, and this one is no exception. It's easy to make and you probably have most of the ingredients on hand. Getting the peaches off the pit was a bit of a pain, and if anyone knows a trick please let me know. 

Sorry I don't have a completed dish to show you - We were just having too much fun. This is what was left of my Fresh & Simple Peach Crisp. Wine and shot glasses are not included. 

Recipe is adapted from Texas Cowboy Cooking by Tom Perini

Ingredients:

5 fresh peaches, peeled and sliced

Juice from 1 lemon

1 tbs cinnamon, divided in half

6 tbs of butter (about 3/4 of a stick), cut into pieces

3/4 cup of flour

3/4 cup of light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place peaches in the bottom of an 8x8 square baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 tbs of cinnamon and lemon juice. In a bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and rest of cinnamon. I found it easiest to just mix and crumble with my hands. If the mix seems too dry and some more butter. Crumble on top of the fruit dish and bake for 30 minutes, turning the oven to broil for the last five minutes to crisp the top. 

Serve with ice cream if you're feeling really crazy. 

Sweet And Spicy Red Pepper Gazpacho

I haven't blogged about food in weeks because frankly it's just too hot. Sweating over a hot stove or a flaming grill is not the summer look I'm going for.

When I hit the summer doldrums I always turn to my favorite cool-off recipe, Sweet and Spicy Red Pepper Gazpacho. I could eat the stuff by the bucket (and I do). The one thing I love about this soup is it's easy to make. I don't want to break a sweat chopping stuff all afternoon. Everything gets thrown in the food processor and you're done.

A quick note about gazpacho. If you've never tried it, stop thinking of it like cold tomato soup. Cold tomato soup sucks. Gazpacho is sweet and refreshing and can have a spicy kick.

This recipe came from a friend who got it from the Food Network. I have no idea if this is the original version. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 red bell peppers, coarsely chopped
2 slices of white bread, crust removed, coarsely chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, without the seeds, coarsely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tsp sugar
8oz can of tomato sauce
28 oz can of stewed diced tomatoes
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 tbs of red wine vinegar
Salt
Cucumber, chopped (optional)
Red onion, chopped (optional)

Place bell peppers in a food processor and puree. Add next six ingredients, bread through stewed tomatoes, and puree until smooth. Add olive oil and vinegar and pulse until mixed well. Add salt to taste.

I like to top my soup with a little chopped cucumber and red onion to give it some crunch, but it's optional.  You can also add some chopped shrimp if you want to make it a meal.