Top 10 Hits for Late Summer

The calendar boldly asserts that summer will officially be ending next week. Mother Nature, at least here in the Southwest, is stubbornly ignoring this suggestion, as temperatures here continue to hover around the 90s. No matter. There's plenty of great food to squeeze in before it's time to heft around sugar pumpkins and bottles of maple syrup. And speaking of great food, here are my top 10 suggestions for late summer meals and treats. Stay tuned all week, as I finish up with some more hot season favorites, plus a sneaky give-away one day.
Top 10
Strawberry White Chocolate Ice Cream Don't worry if you don't have an ice cream maker; these yummy scoops were made in a bowl in the freezer.

Salsa Verde Turkey Burger -There's a reason this burger won me a guest appearance on the Rachael Ray show. It's that good.
Corn and Black Bean Salad-Make this one when you've got leftover corn on the cob. Whip up enough for dinners and lunch the next day.Classic Cheeseburgers on Homemade Buns-Buttery and light, these buns will send your burger through the roof.Summer Squash Gratin Be sure you've got a multi-grain baguette to sop up all the tomato and garlic and parmesan juices.August Corn Chowder and Whole Wheat Rolls-If you can't sqeeze this one in this week, don't worry. They'll both be delicious all fall long.
Asian Chicken, Avocado and Orange Salad-Salad for dinner is a must in the summer, especially this Asian inspired salad with crunch wontons and a zingy dressing.
Raspberry Vanilla Ice Cream and Raspberry Sorbet-Make one or the other or both for a burst of fresh raspberry flavor.
Roasted Garlic, Tomato and Basil Flatbread-Think of a flabread coated with a roasted garlic spread and fresh tomatoes, basil, and Italian cheeses.Super Fast Summer Vegetable Fajitas- Take advantage of all the colorful lovely fall produce to create a quick and delicious southwestern dinner.

Coming First Light of Tuesday:

Tuesdays with Dorie

Chocolate Chunkers

Grilled Brats with Maple Glazed Apple and Onion Sandwiches

My favorite football game to watch is really not a football game. It's Lucy Van Pelt, offering to hold the ball for poor Charlie Brown. Somehow she wins his trust with her bossiness, and he approaches the ball with supreme confidence, another triumph of hope over experience. Except, it doesn't play out that way. Lucy always manages to wrest the ball away at the last minute, leaving round-headed Chuck on the ground, wailing "Ugh" to the cruel world. I could watch it a million times. As for real football, I like to watch the big moments only, so if I bring a book or a crossword puzzle and only look up when I hear people shouting. It plays right into my love of multi tasking. I also love to make "football food" in the middle of a televised game. Multi tasking again, but this time in the kitchen, so that makes all the football devotees happy. (Reading books and doing crossword puzzles in the middle of games absolutely does not.) This straddle-the-seasons meal consists of apples, and onions that are brushed with olive oil and maple syrup and grilled alongside some bratwurst sausage, served on a toasty crunchy multi grain baguette, with a squeeze of mustard to score the touchdown. I dedicate this brat sandwich to Lucy Van Pelt, the biggest BRAT of all. Hang onto it tight; it's so good, someone as bratty as Lucy might just wrest it away quicker then old Charlie Brown's football. This one's for Aggies Kitchen's Football event; enter your own or stop by to check out the game food soon. Money Saving Tips: Look for brat sausages on sale at your supermarket. I bought mine for $2.50; and you won't even need the whole package. Any thin baguette will work here. Albertsons's has a great multi grain baguette for $1.59. If you don't have real maple syrup, a glaze of pancake syrup or honey will work well.

Grilled Brats with Maple Glazed Apple and Onion Sandwiches

Estimated Cost: $6.50 for four

4 brat sausages (they usually come in packs of five or six)

1 large onion, sliced into thick rounds

2 granny smith apples, skin on, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds, seeds removed

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1 long thin baguette, toasted and cut into 4 sections

Yellow mustard, for serving

Preheat the grill for medium hot cooking. Place sausages on the grill. Sprinkle onion and apple with salt and pepper. Brush with oil and syrup. If your onions are holding together nicely, place them right on the grill; if not, set them on a piece of tin foil and place on the grill. The apples and onions will grill in about 15 minutes, turning once. The sausages need to be on the grill for about 20 minutes, with one turn. Make sure the sausages are cooked through by slicing into one. Serve the sausages, apples and onions on the toasted baguettes with plenty of mustard.

Coming Tomorrow:

Top 10 Recipes for Late Summer

Stay Tuned for a give away next week.....

Barefoot Thursdays: Grown Up Mac and Cheese

Make sure you write up your last will and testament. It's Barefoot Thursdays and time for a naughty treat that's dangerously decadent.... Join in and live dangerously with the rest of us.
It's not quite cool enough here for cheesy baked casseroles, but that didn't stop the Barefoot Bloggers from making one of Ina's most scrumptious dinners yet. And as far as macaroni and cheese go, this one is only just bad for you. Not particularly-extra-supremely bad for you, especially with just a few itty bitty tweaks. I won't tell you it's health food, but if you make a batch and eat a patch your pants will still latch.
I used half the bacon called for in the recipe, and then caramelized some onions in a bit of the drippings. I had to do that since the Quiet Man thinks that macaroni and cheese is boring. Fortunately, caramelized onions and bacon make everything taste fun! exciting! thrilling! superlative! Next I used a wee bit less butter, low fat milk, and not so much cheese as dear Ina would have liked. I also switched my cheese choices up a bit, since I'm cooking on a budget here folks. I swapped out swiss for the gruyere, parmesan for the blue (not on sale this week), and kept the cheddar. One important boost for this dish- I baked it a lot less than the recipe suggests. Long bakes can dry out mac and cheese, so I cook it just until the sauce is bubbling, then heat the broiler to finish the top.
Our lovely guests for dinner declared it the most divine macaroni and cheese in all of creation and then held me down (see why this recipe is so dangerous?) and made me promise to post the recipe here. So here it is-now go update your will and then get baking.
Money Saving Tips: This dish can cost a little or a lot- depending on which cheese you choose to use. I opted for what I could find on sale this week at the store, but that can change from week to week. Stay flexible in order to save some money, and you might just discover a cheesy winning combination in the process.
Grown Up Mac and Cheese with Bacon and Caramelized Onions
Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa
Estimated Cost: $7.00 for six servings
Notes: If you take my fat saving suggestions, it works out to about 1/2 tablespoon of butter, 1/2 cup low fat milk, 2 ounces of cheese, and less that one slice of bacon per person. Pretty reasonable for a cheesy pasta dish.
1 lb. small shells pasta
4 slices bacon
2 large onions, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups hot milk
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup shredded swiss cheese, divided
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese, divided
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs (Japanese style bread crumbs) or regular white bread crumbs
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Cook pasta according to package directions, taking care to not over cook. Place pasta in buttered 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, cook bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels, crumble and reserve. Wipe out saucepan with a paper towel and add onions-there should still be a little teensy bit of bacon grease in the pan. Cook onions over medium high heat, until nicely browned and caramelized, about 15 minutes. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for two minutes. Add warm milk and whisk until thickened, about two minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 3/4 cup of cheese; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add cheese sauce and bacon to pasta in baking dish and mix well. Top with remaining 1/4 cup of each cheese, the bread crumbs, and basil, sprinkling evenly. Bake just until sauce bubbles, about 10 minutes. Turn on broiler and broil just until the breadcrumbs on top are nicely toasted, about 4 minutes.
Coming Tomorrow:
Cat's Pajama's Oven Baked Cajun Fries

Late Summer Roasted Red and Yellow Pepper Soup

I pledge my everlasting affection and devotion to this roasted pepper soup.I don't mean to start this post with gushing, but this stellar soup has that effective on me. If it was served at a restaurant, I would never order anything else there, and I'd gush to the waiter and embarrass myself. There's nothing unusual or exotic in this soup: it's just peppers, onions, carrots, tomatoes, and garlic.... But once you roast those peppers, all of the humble ingredients are elevated by a smoky sweetness, heightened by a speck of honey, and made rich with a wee bit of cream. It's a definite MUST MAKE before the season slips away. Peppers are at their best in late summer, so seize the day-make this soup on a sunny breezy evening before you head out for a pleasant bike ride or walk around the neighborhood. I'm making it again tonight, and this time I'm going for a double batch so I can gush over leftovers tomorrow.
Money Saving Tips:
Make this only when the bell peppers are on sale for $1 or less. You can make it with canned roasted peppers in a pinch. If you don't have fresh basil, add some dried with the honey, or try swirling some bottled pesto in with the finished soup. If you don't want to add cream, fat free evaporated milk is a great stand-in.

Roasted Red and Yellow Pepper Soup
Estimated Cost: $6.00

3 whole bell peppers
1 tablespoon each butter and olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian style diced tomatoes, undrained
1 teaspoon honey
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 to 1/3 cup heavy cream or half and half
fresh basil, if desired

Roast bell peppers until blackened in most places. (I usually do it over a gas flame, but you can also do it in the oven at 450 degrees.) Place peppers in a ziptop bag for ten minutes. Remove from bag, remove stem and seeds and peel peppers, scraping with a knife. Chop coarsely. Heat olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add peppers, onion, garlic, and carrot. Saute until vegetables are softened, about five minutes. Add tomatoes with juices, honey and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until all vegetables are softened. Blend soup in blender, food processor, or with immersion blender, until not almost smooth, but with some chunky texture. Add cream and heat until just below a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with fresh basil, sour cream and croutons if desired.
Coming Tomorrow:
Grown Up Mac and Cheese with Caramelized Onions and Bacon

Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Malted Cookies with Peanut Butter Whoppers

I hope you're as mad about cookies as I am. Because it's Tuesdays with Dorie and I've got a whopper malted cookie that will make you stark raving mad. Actually, my love affair with cookies is no TWD summer luvin' fling. I have a deep and abiding love for the little sweet circles. I like them better than all the brainy superfoods and healthfoods and edamame and tofu. I wish I could eat cookies every day and still not get the chubs and live to be 103. Since I can't, I make them every week instead. Without fail. Sunday night you're always going to find my cookies at my place and you're all invited. I'll give you my address later. Promise.

I made my cookie batch, knowing it would be a soft, cakey cookie due to the addition of milk. I added a whole extra cup of flour to my dough and they were still plenty pillowy. For kicks, I added some Peanut Butter Whoppers (find em' at Wal-Mart) to half of my dough, and used Chocolate Ovaltine for the malted milk powder. Wowee. With plain whoppers or peanut butter whoppers, this is one good cookie. When I was laying my little 5 year old cowboy down to bed, he asked me if he could have eight cookies in the morning for breakfast. When I told him he could have just one with his wheaties, he told me to hide the rest so Dad wouldn't take them to work. Can you see why I love this kid? He has inherited my sweets greediness, my weakness for thinking of food when I should be counting sheep, my sneaky craftiness for hiding the best treats. All those irresistible flaws in one little person! That little sweetie doesn't fall far from the cookie jar.
Go here and get the recipe. (Remember I added a whole extra cup of flour, and I used half whole wheat for all the flour. I also poked extra whoppers into the tops of the baked cookies.) Make them soon. For my fellow penny pinchers, the estimated cost is $5.00 for the full batch. I can't stop thinking about them and can only hope I can make it Sunday before I succumb to the dark side and make them again. Coming Tomorrow:

Late Summer Roasted Red and Yellow Pepper Soup

Cajun Grilled Chicken and Vegetables

I don't usually buy spice blends, since it seems like you are paying a lot of money for a mysterious mixture that is almost always dominated by cheap salt. So this one I didn't buy. When I attended the Charter School Conference in New Orleans this summer, as part of our welcome gift bag, was a bottle of Cajun Spice Blend. There was no brand name on the bottle-just a welcome to NOLA sticker. It's been sitting in my cupboard since June, waiting for inspiration to strike. For me, that inspiration comes when my back is up to the wall and my defenses are weak, typically after 6 PM, hungry wailing children, mournfully quiet husband, my internal grouch thermometer rising.
I armed myself with my Cajun spice blend and prepared for the battleground that is dinner on a weeknight. Hup two three four. Dinner was on the table in 20 minutes, looking spiffy, healthy and utterly delectably sweet and spicy from the Cajun spices and caramelized brown sugar. Another victory, troops. Make it for Monday night and you'l win the battle and the war. For another great grilled zucchini recipe with Cajun spices and parmesan, check out My Sister's Cucina.

Money Saving Tips: To make your own Cajun spice blend, just combine 4 teaspoons each salt and paprika, 3 teaspoons each garlic powder, onion powder and pepper, and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons each cayenne, thyme and oregano. If you've got vegetables from the garden and chicken in the freezer from a sale, this recipe will be dirt cheap.

Cajun Grilled Chicken and Vegetables
Estimated Cost $6.50
Notes: Serve with minute brown rice or couscous for a lightening fast complete meal.

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken

1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise, about 1/4 inch thick

1 summer squash, sliced lengthwise, about 1/4 inch thick

1 red pepper, seeded, stemmed and cut into 4 large slices

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup brown sugar

4 tablespoons Cajun spice blend
Preheat grill or broiler. Arrange chicken and vegetables on a large baking sheet. Brush with olive oil on both sides and sprinkle with brown sugar and Cajun Spice blend. Grill or broil chicken and vegetables about 4 minutes per side, or until done. Let rest for two minutes and serve.

Coming First Light Of Tuesday:

Tuesdays with Dorie

Chocolate Malted Whopper Cookies

Blueberrry Maple Overnight French Toast

Last month, I spotted a tasty recipe on Corner Cooking and I knew, I just knew without trying, that it would be something to hang onto for keeps. I copied it right away in indelible ink into one of my favorite cookbooks. And now you see the way that I organize important recipes. I've never had a knack for hanging onto pieces of paper. They're as slippery as falling leaves to me. I was the grade school child that had to have the permission slipped pinned on the front of her Holly Hobbie iron-on T Shirt. And even then, I usually ripped it off to read it, lost it on the walk home and forgot all about it. Thank goodness my 11 month-older sister Michelle and I were in the same grade. She was the ideal-child type, and usually asked her teacher for an EXTRA permission slip, knowing full well I would lose mine.
I can never lose this recipe for overnight French Toast. I made it one night when we had 12-yep TWELVE, twelve overnight guests spending the night in my house. I know you'll want to blame me and my extraordinarily large Italian family, but this time it was Quiet Man's uncle in law's father's funeral, so it was his big family this time. Dizzy now? They were wonderful guests, willing to sleep on cupboard shelves in Star War's kid-sized sleeping bags. The least I could do was make them a lovely mapley french toast breakfast, bejeweled with sweet blueberries.

Trust me: write this recipe down in permanent ink and pin it to the front of your shirt. You'll want to have it forever. Money Saving Tips: This is perfect for those day old loaves of french bread you can buy for less than a dollar at the market. Use frozen berries like I did, if fresh are too expensive.

Overnight Blueberry French Toast

Adapted from Corner Cooking

Estimated Cost: $3.00

1/2 cup flour
1 and 1/2 cups low fat milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt
6 eggs
about 3/4 of 1 loaf french bread sliced about 3/4 inch thick
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

In a large bowl, combine flour, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and eggs. Grease a cookie sheet. Place as many slices of bread as will fit on your cookie sheet; reserve the remainder for another use. Pour milk mixture over bread pressing down bread with fork to soak in. Flip bread to other side. Cover with saran wrap and place in the fridge overnight. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle tops of french toast with blueberries. Bake for 25 minutes, or until nicely browned. Serve with maple syrup and powdered sugar.
Coming Next: Super Fast Grilled Cajun Chicken and Vegetables