Too much of a good thing…

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Too much of a good thing…

Hello Fellow Non-Travelers!

As I am entering my fourth week of “Shelter in Place”, I am reading around the country as both dairies and cheesemakers alike are struggling. Unlike a manufacturing plant or a small business, dairies do not have the ability of just “stopping” the milk from flowing. Dairy cows can produce up to 20 quarts of milk per day and they need to be milked. Many of these dairies are in contracts with cheesemakers, so again, it is hard to stop this locomotive, especially when you understand that this situation could turn around quickly and that the demand could then outweigh the supply. Not an easy (nor quick) fix.

So both dairies and cheesemakers need your support!

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Ah, Summertime!…

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Hello fellow traveler! 

I don’t even need to step foot outdoors to know what I am going to share this week! I just simply have to look at the calendar and the outside temperature to know what I want to eat!

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Living in the ‘Farm to Fork’ capitol, we get some amazing produce year round, but tonight I am focused on the Heirloom Tomatoes and Peaches that I just picked up from my local Farmer’s Market.

Sure, I guess it would be easy enough to just make a Caprese Salad with the tomatoes, and a simple tart using the peaches, but I am in the mood for something different…that is just as simple and delicious.

Sometimes when searching for the perfect recipe for using an ingredient, instead of searching a cooking magazine, network, or celebrity, I will just put something like ‘Fresh Mozzarella Recipes’, then filter by images until I spot a recipe that catches my attention (and appetite). 

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The first recipe that I searched for was to use the peaches. Oh sure, there were lots of recipes for grilling peaches, tarts, and galettes, but when I spotted the recipe for Peach and Beet Caprese, I knew I had a winner! 

I always have fun with the recipes and never can seem to follow them line for line, so here are a few of my notes for this one.

I chose to roast my own beets, but remember the red ones can bleed on to the cheese, so if you want to avoid that, just stick to golden beets. 

Now that I had my side dish, I was searching for a main entrée that I could use the tomatoes on. Then I spotted a Grilled Fresca Pizzette. It was the word ‘Grilled’ that caught my attention as I envisioned it on the BBQ grill as an easy and no fuss meal.

Here are some notes I took on this recipe:

First, I did not make my own crust, instead I used a Stonefire Naan Bread. Second, I did not cook it in the oven, I found that cooking it on a pizza stone on the grill gave me the perfect indirect heat that I needed, and what’s better is they made the perfect ‘personal size pizza’ 

I get asked a lot for cheese & wine (or beer) pairings, so with the salad I enjoyed a Bogle Winery Phantom Chardonnay, but I still enjoy a good beer with my pizza, so I chose Ruhstaller 1881 Beer. Both are locally produced and paired great.

Summertime – What a great time of the year to enjoy some of my favorite foods!