Grilled Peaches

One of my favorite summer desserts is not just ice cream, or cupcakes, or pies. Its a simple, fresh peach. Grilled. Its a super easy dessert that requires only 2 ingredients. Fresh peaches and sugar. I've waited all year long to finally be able to grill fresh, sweet peaches. And summer is the only time you get to have peaches at its prime. When selecting your peach to grill, you need to make sure they're slightly soft and over-riped to achieve optimum sweetness. Serve this with your favorite ice cream, but it goes best with vanilla ice cream. The warm peach goes so well with the cold ice cream. Grilled peaches with a side of ice cream is the quintessential summer dessert.

fresh peaches (slightly softened)

sugar

1) Cut peaches in half and remove the pit. Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of sugar on each half of the peach. Place peaches on a hot grill, cut-side up. Grill for about 5 minutes.

2) Carefully flip the peaches over to cook the sugar side. Grill for another 5 minutes, or until you get nice grill marks on your peaches. Serve immediately with ice cream.

Egg Drop Soup with Corn

Its been quite hot around our neck of the woods. So what in the world am I doing making soup??? I recently discovered that my daughter loves Egg Drop soup. She had an upset stomach one day and didn't feel like eating anything. But I had to feed her something. So she agreed to eat soup. I quickly whipped up this recipe after looking at a few different versions and she loved it. She kept asking for more. Today, I decided to eat something light for dinner and made this again, which she was excited to have.

6 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1 ear of corn, kernels removed (about 3/4 cup)

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil

1) Set aside 3/4 cup of chicken broth. Place the remaining broth, salt, ground ginger and corn kernels in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

2) Scramble together the eggs and egg yolk in a small bowl. Once the broth begins to boil, pour scrambled egg in the broth with a steady stream while stirring the broth in one direction to create threads.

3) In another small bowl, thoroughly mix together the 3/4 cup chicken broth and cornstarch. Pour mixture into soup. Stir until incorporated. Remove soup from heat and add sesame oil. Serve hot.

No-bake Creamy Peanut Butter Pie

There's been a lot of buzz around the foodie blogosphere about this blogger, Jennie. You see, her husband suddenly died from a heart attack, leaving behind Jennie and their 2 daughters. Before her husband passed away, she had been meaning to make his favorite Creamy Peanut Butter Cream Pie but never got around to it. So she asked her readers and other fellow bloggers to make the recipe in his honor and to celebrate his life.

I wasn't a follower of Jennie's blog, but I found this touching story through The Brown Eyed Baker. It helped me reflect on my own life and reminded me to not take everything I have for granted. Little things hubby does that annoys me, or the little things that my daughter does that upsets me are all trivial and will eventually resolve themselves. But I only have one time with them, and that time is NOW. I need to always remind myself to enjoy my time with them, because tomorrow is always so uncertain.

There was a time when hubby and I thought we would never be able to start our own family. And when our little princess came into our lives, she was the best gift we could ever imagine. I made a promise to myself to always treasure this gift. I still hold on to that promise everyday. Jennie asked to make this recipe for someone we love, and "then hug them like there's no tomorrow because today is the only guarantee we can count on." Words we should always live by.

Crust

8 ounces Oreo cookies, crushed into fine crumbs

pinch of salt

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter melted

4 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Filling

1 cup heavy cream

8 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Topping

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tsp. shortening

1) In a medium bowl, combine Oreo crumbs, salt and melted butter, tossing with a fork until evenly moistened. Press onto the bottom of a 10-inch spring-form pan (if using a 9-inch pan, spread the crust about 1 inch up the sides. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes.

2) While crust is in the freezer, place the 4 ounces of chocolate chips in a small bowl. Heat the 1/2 cup of heavy cream in a small saucepan and bring to a full boil. Pour heated cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for about a minute. Stir gently with a rubber spatula until completely smooth and glossy. Pour over the bottom of the crust, tilting the pan until it cover the entire bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with the chopped nuts and refrigerate while making the filling.

3) Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the 1 cup heavy cream on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to a medium bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

4) Using the electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together peanut butter and cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the confectioner's sugar until completely incorporated, scraping down the sides. Add condensed milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Continue beating on medium speed until fully incorporated.

5) Using a rubber spatula, fold in about 1/3 of the whipped cream to lighten the mixture. Very gently, fold in the remaining whipped cream until no streaks of whipped cream remain. Pour filling onto prepared crust.

6) Place the remaining 1/3 cup of chocolate chips and shortening in a small bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments until completely melted and smooth, stirring after each 30 seconds. Drizzle melted chocolate over the pie filling. Refrigerate pie for 3 days to overnight before serving.

Turkey Meatloaf Sandwich with Russian Dressing

I was searching through some recipes from Delish and came across this recipe that looked really good. I haven't made my Turkey Meatloaf in a while. And I have a couple of trays of ground turkey in the freezer that I needed to use up. And I've been craving for some meatloaf for a while. So I decided, enough justification! Its time to make some meatloaf. This sandwich was super yummy and super comforting. The Russian Dressing used as a condiment complimented the sandwich really well. I've always heard about making a sandwich out of leftover meatloaf and have been meaning to try it out. Leftover meatloaf happens often in our house, and I'm so glad to have found a great way to use them up.

Sandwich

Turkey Meatloaf

French Baguettes

lettuce leaves or shredded lettuce

1) Prepare turkey meatloaf according to directions. Cool for about 10 minutes. Slice a french baguette in half and place a 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick slice of meatloaf. Top with Russian dressing and lettuce.

Russian Dressing

3/4 cup mayonnaise

3/4 plain yogurt

1/2 cup ketchup

2 Tbsp. cider vinegar

3/4 tsp. black pepper

1) Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Dressing can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Beef Short Ribs with Tortellini & Marsala Cream Sauce

Every week, especially after church, my parents would treat us all to lunch. Its become a tradition of ours ever since hubby and I got married. There are a handful of restaurants we frequent with them, one being the Olive Garden. Most often, I order their Braised Beef and Tortelloni. So I was excited to have found this recipe when I was looking for some new recipe ideas from The Little Kitchen through The Novice Chef.

This was her version of Olive Garden's dish. Its a pretty complex recipe, but I was glad to have tackled the challenge because it came out soooo good! I didn't have Tortelloni, so I substituted it with Tortellini, which is practically the same, and it came out great. This will definitely be a repeat recipe for me.

2 lbs. boneless short rib

salt & pepper

2 Tbsp. oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 tsp. dried thyme

2 Tbsp. minced fresh basil

3 Tbsp. all purpose flour

2 cups Marsala wine

2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

2 cups chicken broth

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

2 bay leaves

2 Tbsp. oil

2 cups bella mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

9 oz package refrigerated cheese tortellini, boiled according to package directions

1) In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Season beef with salt and pepper. Brown beef on all sides, about 7-10 minutes.

2) Add garlic, onion, carrot, thyme and basil and cook until onions are translucent, about 4-6 minutes. Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

3) Slowly whisk in Marsala wine and vinegar. Scrape the browned bits that have formed on the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for about 5 minutes for the alcohol to evaporate. Stir in tomatoes and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.

4) Transfer beef and sauce into a slow cooker. Stir in broth and bay leaves. Cover and cook for 8-10 hours on low, or 4-6 hours on high.

5) Remove beef from the broth and transfer to a platter. Strain the braising liquid through a sieve. Discard the solids.

6) In a large skillet, heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.

7) In the same skillet, add the strained braising liquid and return over medium heat. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add cooked mushrooms, diced tomatoes and heavy cream. Continue to cook for another 4-5 minutes. Toss with cooked tortellini. Serve topped with more diced tomatoes.

Banana-Cue

All of the Filipino dishes I make in this blog are reminiscent of my childhood days in the old country. This recipe is one of them. Banana-Cue is a street food often sold as an afternoon snack. I remember numerous stands of food vendors selling their specialties outside the gates of my elementary school, ready to sell their goodies to hungry students after a long day of school. Many of the food stands sold sweets, such as banana cue. My parents rarely allowed us to buy street food for sanitary reasons. They always feared that I would get sick by the way some vendors prepared their food. I guess that's one of the reasons I chose my career in food safety. But when we managed to convince my parents to buy us an afternoon snack, we were often treated to banana cue.

Filipinos have a strange way of naming their foods. Our Filipino barbecue is usually served on a stick. Therefore, everything else served on a stick always ended with a "cue." Hence the name "banana-cue." Its made of a saba banana that is only found in the Philippines. Saba is mainly a cooking banana and is one of the most important banana variety in Philippine cuisine. We're lucky enough to have an abundance of them in our local Filipino grocery store. And when I saw them during my recent trip to the Filipino store, I decided it was time to introduce this yummy snack to hubby and my daughter.

3 ripened saba banana (make sure its not over-riped), cut into 4 pieces

3/4 cups brown sugar

3 Tbsp. oil

1) Heat oil over medium-low heat. Add banana pieces and cook until they start to brown on all sides, about 3-5 minutes.

2) Stir in brown sugar. Continue cooking until sugar begins to melt, stirring occasionally. Once sugar has completely melted, continue stirring until all banana pieces have been coated with the sugar. Remove banana pieces and place on a plate lined with parchment or wax paper. Cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Serve threaded on a wooden skewer.

Mango Coconut Ice Cream

I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't taken full advantage of my ice cream machine this summer. It was National Ice Cream month last month and I only made one new recipe, Blueberry Pie Ice Cream. Although I have some great new recipes I've bookmarked. Then this recipe popped up on my reader last week from The Novice Chef.

One of my favorite new cheesecakes at the Cheesecake Factory is their Mango Key Lime Cheesecake, made with a coconut macaroon crust. Mmmmmm!!! I haven't lusted for a cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory in a long time and when I had my first bite of this decadent dessert, I was hooked. The flavors blended together so well. This recipe reminded me so much of my new favorite cheesecake. I just had to make it.

The original recipe is a sorbet. But I decided to use the flavors of the original recipe and make it into an ice cream using elements from my Mango Kulfi recipe. It came out to be a rich and creamy, tropical flavored dessert that was so yummy. Love this one.

2 medium ripe mangoes, seeded and chopped

1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

1/2 can light coconut milk

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups heavy whipping cream

sweetened shredded coconut for garnish

1) Place mangoes, lime juice and coconut milk in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Set aside.

2) In a bowl of a electric stand mixer, whip heavy cream with a whisk attachment until it forms stiff peaks. Gently fold in condensed milk just until combined. Fold in coconut mango puree until well combined.

3) Place mixture in ice cream freezer container and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Place ice cream in an air-tight container and freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight. (*NOTE: You may need to freeze mixture into 2 batches). Top with shredded coconut when ready to serve.

Easy Fruit Dip

My sister-in-law had served this dip at one of our nephew's birthdays. She had mentioned that it was simply a mixture of cream cheese and marshmallow fluff. Then I was searching for recipe ideas from the Brown Eyed Baker and found this recipe. I had some strawberries that were starting to wilt, so I thought I'd eat them up before they all go bad and this dip would go well with them.

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 jar marshmallow fluff

1) In a medium bowl, stir together cream cheese and marshmallow fluff until well combined. Serve with your favorite fruit.