Compotes A Perfect Summery Treat

June brings an abundance of fruits in harvest.There are blueberries and strawberries, cherries and peaches.These are some of the season's best ,all ripe and waiting to be picked.One of the best dishes to make with all this extra fruit is compotes.This is an easy recipe and oh so versatile. Compotes has been around since the MiddleAges.It's basically stewed fruit that originally came from a Byzantine recipe.It reached it's heyday during the reigns of Louis XIII?In fact the name comes from the French word for mixture. A simple compotes takes only ten minutes or less to cook up.Fruit is cut and pitted and placed in a medium saucepan with a quarter of a cup of both sugar and water( you can use less water if you want a thicker compotes)'Any fruit can be used.You can even try combos such as blueberry and peaches or a straw berry rhubarb mix.The finished product can be stored in the fridge.It's a great way of using all that extra fruit after a day of serious picking. Some gourmets disdain compotes, claiming they're too old fashioned for modern tastes.They are far from being right.Compotes are excellent in crepes or perfect topping ice cream.Whip up a cherry compote with brandy to create a fantastic cherries jubilee. Try. A strawberry one with vanilla ice cream for especial parfait.Compotes is also good topping plain pound cakes and cheesecakes. Compotes can also be served with puddings or topping an ice cream pie. Surprisingly compotes are a great side with any beef or pork dish. try a cherry or blackberry one with beef ribs or roast pork topped with a peach compotes.Their sweetness brings out the savory , earthy side of the cuts. If you have fresh picked fruit , then make a simple but elegant compotes. they are delicious to have whether on ice cream or pound cake.You can even have it with barbecue fare.Either way, it's a great way of having the fruit of the season in a new way.

Memorial Day Thanks

Today is a day of remembrance. Before or after your barbecue ,remember any fallen veteran with a bouquet of flowers or a flag. For the  ones just returned, think about a foodie thank you. Get together with your school or church to organize a thank you dinner or barbecue for the returning soldiers and their families. It doesn't have to be a grand gesture . Just the usual barbecue fare along with some salads, plus a whole helping of gratitude will do the trick. Also organizing bake sales for returning vets and their families to have a vacation together would be a nice idea too. Another is just giving out gift certificates to restaurants is another gesture that says "thank you"/.

Sadly there will always be some  kind of conflict. Bravely , there will be those who are willing to sacrifice their lives for us. Treat them with the utmost respect, If they are still in your life and your town, then treat them to something special. It's just a small token for a large contribution.

Elegant Barbecues

This is the start of the summer weekend and the beginning of many barbecues. This tradition is usally a low brow feast  however it can be amped up a notch . Instead of the usual burgers and dogs followed by slaws , think upgrade  .Try fun but elegant food for a different spin. It'll be a different spin on the average get together.

Burgers are a standard at any cookout  Take them up a notch with Kobe beef. You can get them online  and serve  them on a brioche bun. You can buy brioche at any French bakery or make them yourself. The meat also comes in hot dogs too so you and your guests can enjoy a more upscale version of the American classic. Another elegant choice  is  grilled salmon. SInce the fish has a powerful flavor , just serve it with lemon. You can also try lobster on the barbeue too.It's easy to prepare - just split in half and cook over an open flame for six to eight minutes. Serve with melted butter to keep the meat from drying out.

WHat would go with any of these main dishes? Salads  however not just your usual kind , sopped with mayo. Stay away from these gloppy kind and think again elegant. A simple asparagus salad works. Try one with roasted stalks and then a simple lemon and olive oil dressing You can sprinkle on shards of percorino cheese or add diced red and green peppers for more flavor. You can also make a modified Waldorf salad. The original recipes calls for a variety of fruit such as grapes and apples. and lettuce with a mayo dressing. Nix the mayo and serve with a simple light olive oil and lemon dressing.Another idea is filling lettuce cups with caviar and then adding a small dollop of sour cream or crenels fraiche. Give your barbecue an elegant twist with lux ingredients. try grilled lobster or Kobe burgers with a delicate salad. Yo'll feel like a millionaire ,with this upgrade on classic out door fare.

Cake Pops Savory Style

Cake pop makers can be fun yet they can be limited in use. After all how may occasion call for these mini treats. Yet you can turn your gadget into an appetizer and hors oeuvre maker. It can even be used for fun poolside snacks or a different spin on dinner. How? Go savory instead of sweet.

It's the entire premise of a new cookbook entitled Savory Bites From Your Cake Pop Maker (Ulysses Press) written by author Heather Torrone. Ms. Torrone,a New Jerseyian is a graduate of the new York Institute For Culinary Institute. She has come up with dozens of fun and tasty easy recipes that turns your average cake pop maker into something special. Thanks to her creativity, even a novice can whip up tasty bites that range from gourmet to fun. She covers all the bases from breakfast to lunch and dinner. There are also savory vegetarian bites as well as burger and crab cake bites.There's also a section on desserts but more like fried iced cream and pop version of apple and sweet potato pie Any one of these would be perfect for a poolside party or summer night gathering. A variety of different ones would be great at any shower or grad party.

The recipes are pretty easy to make, thanks to the cake pop maker doing most of the work. The assemblage is simple with most of the balls just being rolled like mini meat balls. The dough for the cake pops is a simple water and flour recipe. Some also call for ready made crescent rolls. There are some great recipes for both young and old. Kids will love the pizza pops , mozzarella popped into pizza dough squares. These are served with a marinara dipping sauce. Grown ups will appreciate the cool retro sophistication of spinach and salmon bites as well as the beef tenderloin with the cream brandy sauce. All will gobble down the cheeseburger and chicken burrito pops.

If you're bored with your cake pop maker then buy Savory Bites For Your Cake Pop Maker. You can make everything from fun to super sophisticated. It;s a great way of not just getting your money;s worth but making tasty and unusual appetizers and hors oeuvres

A True Summery Sangria

The summer calls for sangria to accompany rich seafood paellas and grilled spicy  chops. It is the perfect drink also for cooling down on hot nights. Yet it doesn'thave to be cliched as it has been for decades.It can be as light and refreshing, great for the steamy season ahead.

Most people know sangrias as an almost Hawaiian Punch creation loaded with fruit. Eric Asimov  goes well past this in yesterday's The Our Column in the Wednesday Food and Dining section of The New York Times. Sangria, he discovered was usually served in a sprinkling of Spanish restaurants that opened up in New York after the 1939 Spanish Civil War. It was reintroduced after the 1964 World's Fair.What was introduced then is what Americans have been drinking ever since. Unfortunately it's more of an Americanized soda pop version of the drink, made with Rioja and a ton of fruit chunks. It's a lot different in its' native region, After all sangria (translates from blood in Spanish) has been around for 2,000 when the Romans cultivated vineyards in Spain.

Mr. Asimov has discovered a sangria that is perfect in true flavor. Thanks to bartender,Rafael Mateo, at the Spanish  Pata Negra in Manhattan's East Village. Mr. Mateo uses a base of garnacha instead of Riojo because it's not tannic, Layered onto that is rose and orange liqueur along with the surprising addition of orange soda for bubble and fruit flavor. Cut fruit is added only at the very end instead of being put in in the beginning and left to soak. There is another recipe, Sangria Penedes that would be perfect after a grill of lamb and beef chops. This has grapefruit  juice tossed in along with Mathilde or any other peach liqueur Cava and one peach , diced and added later for flavor and decoration.

Sangria is a great summer drink. If you're going to have it with a barbecue or paella , make up a pitcher of the real stuff. It's the perfect way to kick back and enjoy a warm summer evening.

The Gin And Tonic Game

It could be that summer is here. It could be a renewed fascination with all things Fitzgerald and Gatsby. Whatever the reason gin is king again and that means a return to classic drinks. One is the summery G and T or gin and tonic. This cocktail is suddenly hot again and is the thirst quencher of the Summer of 2013.

Gin was the highlighted subject of an article in today's New York Times Wednesday Dining section The entire section is dedicated to summer cocktails(more in days to come) and Dining regular Jeff Gordonier wrote about this classic. Gin is making a comeback, possibly more because of Baz Luhrman;s The Great Gatsby and people wanting to relive the  carefree,crazy times of the Twenties. The big drink of the era was the gin and tonic,an insanely simple mix of just two ingredients. Gin however   is not just gin these days. There's one named after the famed writer of the day Dorothy Parker.  This is a  pure gin but there are some that are anise flavored as well as some with a lavender taste.

Gin and tonics should be just that. However Mr. Gordonier has tried the drink with a muddled kumquat  found at his glass' bottom. There are recipes that call for a grapefruit slices and basil. There's also one with lemon and lime twists  from Manhattan's Spanish restaurant Cata. This eatery has dozens of varieties on the classic G and T. The drink is the perfect foil for tapas, going well with the salty and oily nibbles. Another kind is gin and tonic made with fresh made tonic ,The last comes from cinchona or quinine and it gives the drink an iced tea hue. It's one of the best versions out there, with artesanal tonic complimenting well made gins.

Gin and tonic is the perfect summer drink .It will brink you back to the Twenties when gin was king. Create the perfect one with good quality ingredients. Then sit back and feel like a Fitzgerald character at a glam warm weather soiree.

Marshmallow Heaven Plush Puffs

The is the season for toasted marshmallows out by the barbecue. This treat can be tasty yet there are ways of elevating it to a truly gourmet level.  That comes in the form of Plush Puffs , flavored artesanal marshmallows. They can make any backyard or even  campfire dessert special and flavorful.

Plush Puffs is a Burbank California based company started by Ann Hickey-Williams and Justin Leavens  who acted as the company's guinea pig tasting all the different flavors. Ms. Hickey -Williams actually started in the health field and switched to candy making. She has filled an artesanal niche , creating all sorts of interesting flavors. This is not your folks Jet Puffs. These are small fluffy squares, similar to what you;d see in Europe. There are all sorts of diverse flavors , from mint to coconut to vanilla. Unusual flavors like maple bacon and pumpkin pie. There is even the ironic s'mores flavor, Plush Puffs also offers two pound marshmallows in flaovrs such as CHocolate Chippetta, Peppi Mint and S'Mores/ Imagine these toasted or better yet , split apart for guest and toasted.

The flavors are sublime and different. Some taste better toasted  while others are just good as they are.The maple bacon is better toasted and is a great end to any meat lover's barbecue. It also holds up well to serious burning. I like the lemon which has a flavor reminiscent of lemon meringue pie. The coconut is good  too as is. It's a bit intense when it's toasted and melts right off the stick. It would be good melting in a cup of hot Dutch cocoa as well. I  would love to try the mint and the cinnamon, the last  perfect in a cup of hot late or cappuccino.

Plush Puffs are a great end to any summer barbecue or just as a snack. Order these artesanal gem. These are  the marshmallow that summer memories are made from.