Crostini (p. 642) and Apple or fruit crisp (p. 692)

One of my favorite dishes in the summer is one of the most simple--I slice a tomato, sprinkle it with plenty of feta cheese, and then douse it in balsamic vinegar and olive oil. This combination is best over crusty bread. I thought that Crostini (p. 642) would be perfect.

I cut a loaf of french bread into slices and brushed them with olive oil



And popped them in the oven to toast:



Incredibly simple and really good. I think the crostini would be even better sprinkled with garlic powder and shredded Parmesan cheese.

I've really been trying to make progress on the under-represented chapters of TJOC. I'm almost at 50% on some chapters while I haven't made a single recipe out of other chapters. And the dessert chapters are easily some of the chapters in which I'm most behind.

One of the benefits of living in Colroado is the cheap peaches. I picked up a few pounds of them at the grocery store and looked for a good recipe. Apple or fruit crisp (p. 692) looked promising.

I really hate peeling peaches. I'm sure there is is a trick to it but I don't know what it is. I peeled 2.5 pounds of peaches, cut them into chunks and spread them in the baking dish.



I combined flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl and then added cold butter:



I used my pastry blender on it until it resembled crumbs. How do you make pastry in a food processor? Is it easier? I always do mine by hand.

I spread the mixture on the peaches:



And baked it:



The crisp made the whole house smell like peaches which was delicious. The crisp was REALLY good and was even better with vanilla ice cream. TJOC mentions that almost any fruit can be used in this recipe but I think peaches are perfect. The recipe was INCREDIBLY easy and only took about 5 minutes of active time (not including peeling the peaches).