One of the challenges of summer in Arizona is finding a cocktail that can quench your thirst. I wish I could find the original link that suggested this drink, but my memory fails me. Regardless, Mint Julep Iced Tea is one of THE most refreshing drinks during the cray hot summer here in Scottsdale.

1. Using my 10 cup coffee maker, I use 1 of the gallon family sized tea bags and 10 cups of water and make some really strong tea.
2. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar (don’t bother with fake sugar, ruins the bourbon)
3. I take a package of mint (1-3 oz package from produce section at grocery store), chop it up, then I place it on a flattened coffee filter, and roll it up. Then roll it in a second coffee filter. I then tie the ends with string.
4. Place mint in tea and let cool in fridge for 1 hour or so.
5. After cooling, I’ll add about 2 quarts of water to the tea/mint mixture.
6. To this mixture, I’ll add anywhere from 12-30 ounces of whiskey. (basically anywhere from a ratio of 5to1 to 3to1). Personal favorites are Bulliet, Evan Williams Barrel Select, or Maker’s Mark.

I needed another salad for Christmas dinner, but was stumped as to what to fix. After bouncing ideas off my Brother in Law, we came up with an ingredient list of cucumbers and onions. After another cocktail, we decided that a balsamic vinaigrette would be the perfect accompaniment.

Cucumber and Onion Salad

3 seedless hothouse cucumbers

1 sweet onion (vidalia, Texas 1015, etc)

.75 cup good olive oil

3 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

.5 Teaspoon salt

.25 Teaspoon pepper

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard

Slice cucumber and onion very thin. I use a mandolin to get them consistently thin. Take ingredients for vinaigrette and place in shaker or whisk in a bowl. I use a zip bag to mix the vegetables and the dressing. After mixing, I like to let it sit for an hour or two in the fridge before serving.

I love this time of year. Cranberries are plentiful, but new recipes can be difficult to come by. I had a desire to do something new, and it came to me: Buckle. I’ve made blueberry buckle before and figured it would be a great place to start with some cranberries. So, I replaced the blueberries with cranberries and the lemon zest with orange zest. I left everything else the same. I think I actually prefer the cranberries to the blueberries because the tartness of the cranberries plays better with the sweet strudel topping.

I decided to get a bit creative last night. Found some leftover rice and a bunch of vegetables needing to be used before going bad. Here’s what became of those leftovers.

2 cups cooked rice

2 cups chopped of some Thai leafy cabbage (sorta like spinach, but more bitter like greens)

4 oz sliced mushrooms

1 anaheim pepper, chopped

2 tomatoes, choppe

4 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 shredded cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

I mixed it all together and placed it into a 8 inch casserole dish that had been oiled. Baked in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes and let it rest for 5 minutes after removing.

Overall, a nice side dish for some grilled chicken and steamed broccoli.

If you’re not already aware, I’m a big fan of Cooks Illustrated. I like their philosophy, and, other than their complete and utter facination with charcoal, I usually agree with their conclusions. (We’ll talk barbeque some other time. Texas BBQ is very foreign to those east coast chefs. We can forgive them for now.)

After smoking chickens and a pork loin, and the previously mentioned summer vegetable gratin, I decided to make a fruit cobbler. And, after a quick peak at the Cooks Illustrated online recipe guide, I quickly decided on peach-blueberry cobbler. Of coarse, as with any recipe, I changed it a bit. I ended up adding not only peaches, but some very ripe nectarines as well. I also doubled the recipe.

With some home-made vanilla ice cream courtesy of Alton Brown, dinner was a complete success.

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees.

2. For the filling: Peel peaches, then halve and pit each. Using small spoon, scoop out and discard dark flesh from pit area. Cut each half into 4 wedges. Gently toss peaches and sugar together in large bowl; let stand for 30 minutes, tossing several times. Drain peaches in colander set over large bowl. Whisk 1/4 cup of drained juice (discard extra), cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt together in small bowl. Toss peach juice mixture with peach slices and blueberries and transfer to 8-inch-square glass baking dish. Bake until peaches begin to bubble around edges, about 10 minutes.

3. For the topping: While peaches are baking, in food processor, pulse flour, cornmeal, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, lemon zest, and salt to combine. Scatter butter over and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about ten 1-second pulses. Transfer to medium bowl; add yogurt and toss with rubber spatula until cohesive dough is formed. (Don’t overmix dough or biscuits will be tough.) Break dough into 6 evenly sized but roughly shaped mounds and set aside.

4. To assemble and bake: After peaches have baked 10 minutes, remove peaches from oven and place dough mounds on top, spacing them at least 1/2 inch apart (they should not touch). Sprinkle each mound with portion of remaining 1 teaspoon sugar. Bake until topping is golden brown and fruit is bubbling, 16 to 18 minutes. Cool cobbler on wire rack until warm, about 20 minutes; serve.

Decided I needed some salad the other day and when I looked in the fridge, found a head of cabbage. Time for some cole slaw.

1/2 head of cabbage sliced thin and chopped

1/2 cup of miracle whip (I like my slaw a little sweet)

1/2 cup of sour cream

1 Anaheim Pepper

salt

pepper

2 T of a pesto like herb mixture. This was something I created from some herbs that were getting ready to go bad. Some parsley, thai basil, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper and lemon juice. Toss all into food processor and drizzle oil in last. Phenomenal mixture of spice that really took the cole slaw to the next level.

Mix all ingredients and let sit in fridge for an hour or so.

After a trip to the Farmer’s Market last weekend, I had a bounty of great vegetables. So, it was time for a veggie frittata.

1 red onion, sliced thin

1 orange bell pepper

1/2 pound asparagus

2 cups whole spinach leaves

3 small red new potatoes (cooked)

2 jalapena  peppers

1 anaheim pepper

I sauted everything but the spinach in some olive oil until almost done. Added spinach and cooked for a few more minutes. Then added 8 eggs and 1/3 cup of half and half. Seasoned with salt, pepper, and some fresh rosemary. I cooked it on the stovetop for about 5 minutes and then tossed it in the oven (400 degrees) until the 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese melted and the egg was completely cooked.

What a great meal.

The fam was watching the food channel and I was working in the other room. In passing I hear discussion of cookies that have been spiced up. Inspiration born. Off to the kitchen to see what’s available. Cocoa, yes. Chocolate chips, yes. Mexican chocolate, yes! Ground chipotle, yes. Now that I’ve determined I have something to work with, it’s back to the computer to look at cookie recipes and see what we can find to modify. Ultimately, I find something that can act as a base, and away we go.
Triple Chocolate Chipotle Cookies

Heat oven to 350. (I use the convection setting to speed cooking and allow 3 trays at a time)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter (or 1 cup shortening)
2 cups brown sugar
1.5 cups sugar
4 eggs
1.5 cups chocolate chips (melted)
Cream sugars and butter. Add eggs 1 at a time to mixer. Add melted chocolate.

2 tsp chipotle powder (for flavor without heat, try Ancho chile powder)
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup mexican chocolate (or use 1 cup of cocoa if unavailable)
1 T water
1 T vanilla
Add the above ingredients one at a time and mix thoroughly. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl.

4 cups flour
1 T baking soda
1 tsp salt
Mix dry ingredients together and then add a cup at at time to above mixture. Scrape bowl between to get everything together. Cookie dough will be stiff.

I use a small dipper (2 tsp) and get 28 cookies on a half sheet pan.
Makes about 160-180 small cookies.

Bake for 8 minutes in regular oven. I bake 3 trays for only 7 minutes in a convection oven.

Thanks to Dirty Sugar Cookies for the inspiration.

I had picked up some cheap flat beef the other day and was trying to decide what to do with it, and then I remembered that my mother used to make swiss steak. Cheap, hardy meals were the plan so I figured some thin round steak or similar was what she used. It also had a bit of tomato based gravy to go with the mandatory mashed potatoes served with most of the meals I ate growing up. So, off the the laboratory, (kitchen) I went. The meats going to be a bit tough, so I figure, crock pot meal. Slow, easy cooking to tenderize without having to pound the crap out of it. For flavor, dredge in a flour and spices mixture and then browning in some oil to give depth to the flavor. As for a cooking liquid, I decided to just use chopped tomatoes, onions and mushrooms and not add any other liquid. I figured the moisture from those would be more than enough. Now, after 4 hours of cooking on high, the flavors seem fine, but I think another 4 hours on low will be just the ticket to finish the tenderization process.

2-3 lbs cheap flat steak, round or similar

2 cans chopped tomatoes with juice

1 lb mushrooms, large chopped

1 onion large chopoed

Dredge for meat:

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp each garlic powder, salt, pepper, onion powder,

1/2 tsp each ground red pepper, sweet hungarian paprika

Trim the meat of the worst of the gristle and fat, but some fat will contribute to flavor. Dredge in meat in the flour mixture and set aside. In pan on stovetop heated to medium-high, add a 1T of oil and heat until smoking. Add meat a few pieces at a time to prevent crowding and to allow for enough heat to create a brown crust. Flip after a minute or two and then remove. Repeat until all meat is browned.Toss onions in crock pot, put meat on top of onions, then pour remaining ingredients into crock pot and cook on high for at least 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Check flavor after 4 hours and adjust as necessary. Possibly more salt, more paprika, or more pepper. I’m going to server over noodles, but mashed potatoes would work just as well. enjoy

Editor:

OK, so I changed my mind and just added angel hair pasta to the pot. Let it cook for about 30 minutes and wow. HMMMM MMMMM good.