Awhile back, you may have read my review about the summer edition of EAT magazine.  I am coming back today to rave about this magazine. Things have been crazy in our house this month and as much as I love cooking, it is one of those things that is getting pushed to the back burner. I do not have time to stand in the kitchen all night slaving over a meal for my family. I also do not want to sacrifice our family mealtime (and our budget) by going out to eat or grabbing take out every night. (I will write all about the craziness in our house in my next post. Exciting things have happened here, but these things are taking up time, hence why my visiting of your wonderful sites has been non-existent lately.)

For the past couple of weeks, EAT magazine has been one of the most utilized books in my kitchen. I have been relying on it to provide me with ideas and recipes that will be good for my family yet also quick and easy to prepare. Each and every time I open a page of this publication, a recipe jumps out that fits my time restraints and meal needs.
If your time in the kitchen has been like mine lately…rush, rush, rush… then I suggest picking up a copy of EAT magazine. It has been what has kept us eating at home.

One recipe that went over very well with my family is listed below. I hope you enjoy!

Mu Shu-Style Pork Roll-Ups, EAT magazine

Recently, I have had a large number of hits on my blog from people who have found my little slice of the web by Googling things such as "Losing the Baby Fat". Next to my Monkey Bread post from long ago, the two posts I made about attempting to lose the baby weight have brought the largest number of Google hits to my site. I hate to break the news to those of you looking for advice on weight loss, but Dine and Dish is probably not the place you want to turn to for weight loss guidance. With posts about a delicious chocolate cake roll filled with a marvelous heavy whipping cream concoction, cakes with a richness only gained by using 5 sticks of butter, and scrumptious dishes such as this one…laced with heavy cream, my blog is the type that will make you gain weight just by reading it.

Chicken in Lemon Cream with Penne from Everyday Pasta (Giada de Laurentis)

Servings: 4 to 6

1 pound penne pasta
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, diced in to 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon herbes du Provence
pinch of salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon
pinch of freshly ground black pepper, plus 1/4 teaspoon
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 cups heavy cream
Zest of 1 lemon
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Season the cubed chicken breast with the herbs de Provence and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the chicken until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken and set aside. Pour off any excess oil from the pan. Add the chicken broth to the pan and cook over medium-high heat, using a wooden spoon to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the cream, lemon zest, and cayenne. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add the pasta, chicken, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, chopped parsley, and lemon juice. Toss to coat the pasta and chicken with the sauce and serve.

What kind of fool has her oven on during the middle of the day when it is hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk outside? You know what? I am that kind of fool. I am the kind of fool that was tempted last week by a Banana Cake photo and article I read on Just Baking. I am the kind of fool that bought extra bananas over the weekend, simply so I could have a few ripe ones to bake with. I am the kind of fool who is tired of making ice cream, milkshakes, and slushy drinks and wants to get back to some honest to goodness baking. You try this recipe and then let’s see who is calling who a fool, OK?

Adapted from a Recipezaar 

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Preheat oven to 275°.
2. Grease and flour 2 10 inch cake pans (Or use Wilton’s Cake Release…one of my favorite products!).
3. In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
5. In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy.
6. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in 2 tsp vanilla.
7. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.
8. Stir in banana mixture.
9. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in pre heated oven for one hou and 20 minutesr or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. (Oven temps vary…watch your cake as it may take more or less time)
10. Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes.
11. This will make the cake very moist.
12. For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
13. Beat in 1 tsp vanilla.
14. Add icing sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed until frosting is smooth and creamy.
15. Spread on cooled cake.

My son had his tonsils and adenoids taken out this week. Because of
that, and because of the major heat wave sweeping across the state, I
have been on a mission to make treats that are soothing to a sore
throat as well as cool and refreshing enough to help beat the heat. We
have made ice cream, sorbet, milkshakes, floats, Popsicles
and smoothies. Last night, I was in the mood for something different.
Remembering that Jacob had been begging for a slushy drink from Sonic
the day before, I decided to make our own slushy drinks right at home.
In my pantry, I happened to have a container of Kool-Aid to use to make
Kool-Aid Popsicles.
When I picked up the container, I noticed a recipe for Kool-Aid
Slushies. Quickly reading through the recipe, I realized that this was
exactly what we needed…something quick, easy, soothing and refreshing.

This recipe for slushy drinks hits the spot with both kids and
adults alike. As an adult, you may wish that your beverage had a little
rum or something in it, but even without the addition of alcohol, you
will appreciate how this tasty treat cools you off.

Kool-Aid Slushies

Place 1 cup water, 1/2 cup of your favorite flavor Kool-Aid soft drink mix and 1 cup ice cubes in a blender container; cover.

Blend on high speed until smooth. Add an additional 2 cups ice
cubes; cover. Blend, using pulsing action, until smooth. Serve
immediately. Store leftover slush in the freezer.

Recipe makes 7 (1/2 cup) servings.

Alpha Mom - a modern mom who is confident and in control, a well informed decision-making multitasker. Hip, educated, technologically savvy, type A–personality mom.

I know that this is completely against all things good about the feminist movement, but I have always wanted to be like June Cleaver, or our modern day example, (minus all of the random murders, drug issues, etc) Bree Van de Camp. I would love to be the mom that always has linens on the table adorned with a beautiful centerpiece of fresh cut flowers from my garden in the middle. Having a plate of fresh from the oven cookies available whenever the little ones come in from playing in the picket fenced yard would be ideal. Having my home be in tip top shape, laundry never piling up, and my kitchen sink always shiny would be standard behavior for me. I would be the Alpha Mom… complete with the hip clothes, ever full PDA and a shining disposition.

I read an article in a small local magazine this week about the Alpha Mom and her opposite… the Slacker Mom. As much as I try to be like the Aplha Mom, I have discovered that my tendencies tend to be more Slacker Mom oriented. An example of this would be last nights dinner.

Alpha Mom - Alpha Mom would have looked at her menu for the week early on in the day, making notes of what meat needs to be thawed and what advanced preparations need to be made for dinner to be a complete success.

Slacker Mom - Slacker Mom remembers at 4:30pm that Calzones is on the menu. She completely forgot to start the bread dough and at this point, it is too late for it to rise and be ready by the 5:30pm dinner time. She looks in her fridge and realizes that there is no meat thawed, so she quickly takes some chicken out of the freezer, sticks it in the microwave and uses the handy defrost feature.

Alpha Mom - Alpha Mom would pull out her binder of organized recipes, or better yet…she would look on her PDA recipe program and pull up the perfect, tried and true Calzone recipe. After remembering that her recipe requires fresh Basil, Alpha Mom would put on her matching gardening gloves and head out to her bountiful herb garden in the backyard. She would clip some fresh Basil from her flourishing Basil plant and happily take it inside, ready to be added to the recipe.

Slacker Mom - Slacker Mom is in a rush and barely has time to look through recipes. She pulls up Recipezaar and pours through the Calzone recipes, hoping to find one that does not require a yeast based crust or store bought pizza crust. Once she finds a recipe that will work she notices it uses Basil. She looks at her barely thriving Basil plant and realizes that she does not have enough basil. She remembers that her neighbor is on vacation and that her Basil plant is like Alpha Mom’s…huge, bushy and flourishing. She crosses the street and sneaks into her fenced yard…snipping several Basil leaves off the plant and then returns home, pleased at her sleuthing abilities.

Alpha Mom - Alpha Mom doubles the recipe for her Calzones so that she can freeze some for her family. This way, her family can enjoy hot, fresh from the oven Calzones any time they wish.

Slacker Mom - Slacker Mom cannot think past 2 hours from now, let alone think about what her family can have for lunch a month down the road.

Alpha Mom - Alpha Mom has the kitchen back in order, her makeup and hair freshened up, and a smile on her face…ready to greet her loving husband at the door when he returns home. Dinner, complete with salad and fresh vegetables, will be hot and on the table by the time he comes downstairs after changing out of his work clothes.

Slacker Mom - Slacker Mom barely looks up when her husband comes home from his week long business trip. She and the kitchen are covered in flour and dough and dishes are everywhere. The kids are causing a commotion in the background, probably cutting each others hair or something, and the Calzones have yet to be baked.

Alpha Mom - Alpha Mom and her family enjoy a nice dinner outside on their patio…sipping lemonade, having intellectual conversation, and listening to brilliant little Timmy spouting off Fibonacci number sequences.

Slacker Mom - Dinner is served, outside on the deck. Calzones is it…no veggies, no salad…no intellectual conversation. In fact listening to the kids argue about who acted best while daddy was gone is the complete extent of the conversation.

I think you get the idea. I am definitely not the Alpha Mom. I am also not a complete slacker like I make myself out to be. I at least had a menu for the week. I did not give up and run out to McDonald’s for dinner. I was resourceful enough to know which neighbor to steal Basil from. I tried a new recipe, and it is one that will now be my standard Calzone recipe. If I was the Alpha Mom all the time, I wouldn’t have needed a recipe without the yeast based dough. Because I am not the Alpha Mom I discovered a Calzone recipe that has the most tender and delicious outer crust. The filling was a nice change from the typical Calzone and the reason why no intellectual conversation was heard at dinner time was because everyone was too busy stuffing their faces full of these delicious Calzone’s.

If you, like me, aren’t the Bree Van de Camp of your block and need a recipe that does not require a lot of advance preparation, go with this slacker…these Barbecue Chicken Calzones will be a hit with your brilliant family.

Barbeque Chicken Calzones (Adapted from Recipezaar)

Dough

2 ½ - 3 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

3 teaspoons fresh basil

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup butter , melted

2/3 cup warm water

6 teaspoons instant powdered milk 2 eggs

Filling

2 teaspoons margarine or butter

1 onion , diced

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts , cooked and diced

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 1/4 cups barbecue sauce

1. Combine 2 ½ cups flour, baking powder, sugar and basil.
2. Add milk powder to water and stir until disolved, add to dry mixture.
3. Add eggs and melted butter and mix well. Add more flour until dough is easy to work with. Not dry, but not super sticky.
4. Set aside while making the filling.
5. For the filling: Cook onions in butter over medium heat until onions are tender.
6. Add chicken and cook through.
7. Remove from heat and stir in barbeque sauce and cheese.
8. Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll out into 6 inch circles.
9. Place ½ cup of filling in each circle.
10. Fold dough in half and seal edges tightly.
11. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until top begins to brown slightly.
12. Serve warm with extra barbeque sauce to dip in if desired.

I do not deal well with rejection. Honestly, who does? I have yet to meet a person who actually likes rejection. Some sales people feed off of rejection and it pushes them to try harder, but I really doubt that they actually enjoy being rejected.

This week I started sending my resume out for a new job that I can do from home. This is the first time I have had to do the whole resume thing in my entire 12 year career. I created a resume when I graduated from college and landed a nice little job in the Human Resources / Staffing field. From then on out, the jobs I have had have been based on referrals from other people. New opportunities have just landed in my lap and I have been blessed because of them. Even once my first child was born and I decided to become a stay at home mom, opportunities came forth in the recruiting field that enabled me to be a stay at home mom while earning a bit of money on the side. As of this past January, I ended up resigning from my home based recruiting position because being on the phone so much was becoming too difficult with three very loud children in the background. It is hard to remain professional when you have a toddler tugging on your leg to hold her, or a three year old wanting to talk to whomever you are trying to hold a professional conversation with.

The problem is…we are really missing the money I was making. My husband referred to the fund that we put the money into as an "Oh Shit" fund while I referred to it as an "Ocean" fund. The contribution I made helped to pay the bills, but it also allowed us to play more… go on dates, vacations, buy higher quality ingredients for recipes I was trying out, etc.

I know I could return in a heartbeat to my recruiting job working from home again, but I need a change. My life has changed and the dynamics at home have changed. My number one reason for being at home is my children and, wishful thinking, I need a job that will not be a huge interference in my family life (I know…me and every other SAHM in the universe is wishing for just that!). That leads us to me branching out on my own…networking, sending out resumes, and facing the rejection that is sure to come.

One area I rarely get rejected in is with cooking. The kitchen is my domain and no matter what I make I typically have at least one grateful person on the receiving end of my trials. Sometimes, with those kitchen disasters, it has been our dog…but even then he would gobble up whatever I ruined with his tail wagging and a twinkle in his eye. I rarely feel rejected in the kitchen which is why I think I feel so comfortable there. I know that no matter what, the kitchen will always feel like my safe haven away from the world.

For a hit of your own and to feel accepted in the kitchen, give this recipe from the August 2007 issue of Gourmet magazine a try. Not a hint of rejection will be felt after you watch your recipients lick their plates clean.

Grilled Pork Chops with Garlic Lime Sauce

1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
6 (1/2-inch-thick) boneless pork chops

Whisk together lime juice, garlic, red-pepper flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, then add oil in a slow stream, whisking well. Whisk in cilantro.

Prepare a gas grill for direct-heat cooking over medium-high heat. Pat pork dry and season with salt and pepper. Oil grill rack, then grill pork chops, covered, turning over once, until just cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes total. Serve drizzled with some vinaigrette, and with remainder on the side.

Cooks’ note: If you aren’t able to grill outdoors, chops can be cooked in a hot lightly oiled large (2-burner) ridged grill pan over moderately high heat.

Makes 4 servings.

Gourmet
July 2007

Isn’t it funny how marriage has its peaks and valleys? I am happily married. I married a wonderful man who works extremely hard every day away from home to provide for us. When he comes home, he happily shares in the housework, the cooking, the taking care of the kids, etc. I am spoiled and blessed all at once.

Even though I do consider myself to be happily married, there are times when my husband and I can’t stand each other. We get in those moods where every little thing the other one does bugs the heck out of each other. My husband, for example, likes to finish whatever I am doing. If I have a pot on the stove simmering something and the lid is supposed to stay on during the entire time, he comes into the kitchen and takes over…lifting the lid and stirring the pot. He thinks he is being helpful when really he doesn’t understand that I have things completely under control. I, of course, cannot imagine anything that I could possibly do to annoy him. OK - well maybe the beating him up in the middle of the night gets annoying, but besides that I am really the non-annoying one out of the two of us. (Kidding, of course!)

At times, we are annoyed with each other. Those times I will call our valleys. Then we have our peaks. The past few weeks we have been on a really high peak. Everything is clicking. We are communicating, loving, having fun, and enjoying each others company. The kids are happy, we are happy and things are just going swell.

We just came off of a wonderful weekend. We did not do anything overly special. We just spent a lot of time together…shopping, working around the house, going to the pool, watching movies after the kids went to bed and cooking. Yes… we did a lot of great cooking over the weekend.  Cooking is something we do really well together and it is one of my favorite things to do with my husband. We made a lot of delicious dishes over the weekend, but one of the things we made stood out because of its simplicity. The dish that stood out was not overly complicated at all… in fact it was a simple recipe.  We decided to try this recipe after sitting together on the couch, pouring over the August 2007 issue of Food & Wine magazine. We were looking through it together and were bookmarking recipes we wanted to try. It just so happened that we needed a quick idea for lunch, and the recipe for Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with Mozzarella, Tomato and Basil  jumped out at us. What made these sandwiches delicious was the marriage of great ingredients that might not taste great alone, but put together are wonderful. Ingredients that blend well together to make a great tasting, yet not complicated, sandwich…. very similar to a good marriage. Two people who are better together than they are apart and while together, create a full life, where the peaks outweigh the valleys and the valleys make the peaks all the more better.

Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with Mozzarella, Tomato and Basil (Food and Wine August 2007) 

I have been delinquent. I have been tagged by four people for 3 different meme’s! In the next few posts, you all are going to get more information about me than you ever wanted to know. Here is meme one and two.

I was tagged by my friend Kate from one of my favorite blogs, Kate in the Kitchen, for a fun meme.

What were you doing 10 years ago?

1997 was a good year. I was really enjoying being a single, independent gal living in the city. I lived in a house with my then roommate Peg and met my husband through her. I was also working for a company called Cerner Corporation as an Organizational Development Specialist.

What were you doing 1 year ago?

In the summer of 2006 I was a sleep deprived new mom, loving every minute of life with an infant again.

Five snacks you enjoy (I’m not a big snacker, so this one is kind of hard):
1. Dove Milk Chocolate
2. Bananas
3. Cupcakes
4. Bread
5. Diet Coke

Five songs that you know all the lyrics to :

1. Jesse’s Girl by Rick Springfield
2. American Pie
3. Jack and Diane by John Mellencamp
4. Brick House
5. Bop With You Baby by Dan Seal

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:

1. Make sure everyone in my family has enough for what they need
2. Buy a house by the ocean
3. Stock enough away so my kids can live comfortably
4. Start my dream business
5. Pay off bills

Five bad habits:
1. Procrastination on things like emptying the dishwasher, cleaning toilets, etc, 2 Brushing my teeth with the water running, 3 Cracking my knuckles, 4 Nibbling while cooking, 5 Trying to do it all while really not accomplishing anything

Five things you like doing:
1. Entertaining
2. Traveling
3. Reading
4. Photography
5. Cooking

Five things you would never wear again:
1. Blue eyeliner
2. A Bikini
3. Banana Clip
4. A cheerleader sweater - thanks for this one Kate!
5. Platform shoes (just can’t physically do it anymore!)

Five favorite toys:
1. Anything in my kitchen drawers and cabinets
2. My ipod
3. My Nikon D80 Digital Camera
4. My laptop
5. My Letratag Plus Label maker

OK - here is the next one. I was tagged by both Margaret of Kitchen Delights and Deborah of Taste and Tell for this one. The goal is to share with you all 8 things you don’t know about me. 

1) I am the youngest of 5 kids. I have a nephew who is 2 years younger than me and I was embarrassed by that growing up. When we would be together, I would make him tell people I was his cousin, not his Aunt because if they knew the truth I thought they would think we were weird!

2) I flunked macro Economics in college. Yes…flunked with a capital F. I was a great student and got good grades, but for some reason Macro Economics and I just didn’t click. Luckily I took it again and passed.

3) If I could afford it (financially and sanity wise) I would have another baby. I know I can’t afford it (financially and sanity wise) so I think Ella is our last one.

4) I have what I think would be a really good business idea involving kids and cooking, but have no idea how to implement it.

5)  I once had a 1 hour phone conversation with a telemarketer. Obviously this was when I had a lot more time on my hands. I have no idea how we started talking, but we did and ended up talking for a good hour.

6) I was diagnosed last year with Rhumatoid Arthritis. So far, it has only effected me slightly so I haven’t started any medication for it. Hopefully it stays that way!

7) One of my favorite things to eat is strawberries piled with sugar and whipping cream poured over the top. I rarely have it… like once a year, but when I do I’m in heaven!

8)  I often have what is called night terrors…where in my sleep I see things and think they are real. (Like snakes coming out of the ceiling, people standing in our room, etc). If my husband tries to calm me down when I am screaming by holding onto me or grabbing me, I think he is the "bad guy" and will starting hitting him. We now have this little situation worked out. He knows just to let me work through it or risk his life! The strange thing is I don’t remember any of it when I wake up.

That’s it!  

I have never been a huge fan of peanut butter cookies. It isn’t that I don’t like the flavor of them… it is just that they are so inconsistent. You never know what you are going to get when you bite into a homemade peanut butter cookie. Is it going to be crunchy? Will it have peanuts in it or be nut free? Will it be soft and tender with a chewy center? You just never know.

In the August 2007 issue of Gourmet magazine I was reading an article about The Willows Inn…a beautiful Bed & Breakfast on Lummi Island, which is a two hour drive from Seattle and a 1 1/2 hour drive from Vancouver.  The chef at The Willows Inn graciously provided Gourmet magazine with some of their most popular recipes. One of the recipes he shared is a recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies. Normally, I would have flipped right by this, but when I read that the Gourmet food editor who tested the recipe then slipped the recipe into his own recipe file as the peanut butter cookie of choice, I had to give it a try.

This recipe makes 40 large cookies. We are talking 1/4 cup of dough per cookie people, so they are really good size. The recipe also says to bake the cookies for 30 minutes. This did not work for me at all as my first batch that I finally took out after 20 minutes were brown and crispy.  The next batch I left in for only 11 minutes. I took the cookies out when they looked like they could maybe use one minute more (which is my secret to a great cookie) and left them on the cookie sheet for 3 minutes. During that three minutes they firmed up and became the most delicious, soft and chewy peanut butter cookies I have ever had. They had a slightly crispy outer edge too, which tops my criteria for a great peanut butter cookie.

If you are still on the hunt for a great peanut butter cookie recipe and you like your cookies soft and chewy on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside, then give this recipe for Britta’s Peanut Butter Cookies a try. May your search for the perfect peanut butter cookie recipe end right now.

Britta’s Peanut Butter Cookies

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 sticks (3/4 pound) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups creamy peanut butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs plus 2 large yolks
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Beat together butter, peanut butter, sugars, and oil with an electric mixer at high speed just until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes in a stand mixer or longer with a handheld. Add whole eggs, yolks, and vanilla and beat until just incorporated. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing until well incorporated.

Scoop scant 1/4cups of dough about 2 inches apart onto 2 ungreased large baking sheets. Flatten mounds with floured tines of a fork, making a crosshatch pattern, into 2 1/2-inch cookies (about 1/2 inch thick).

Bake, switching position of sheets halfway thorough baking, until slightly puffed and golden around edges, about 30 minutes total. Transfer cookies to racks to cool.

Switch an oven rack to middle position and make more cookies with remaining dough on a cooled baking sheet.

Cooks’ note: Peanut butter cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature 5 days.

Who needs an excuse to make something cool and refreshing like sorbet? I don’t, but just for kicks and grins I will give you the top five reasons why sorbet was on our dessert menu today:

1. The temperature today, where I live, topped at 92 degrees Fahrenheit… it was H-O-T hot! Hot chocolate just won’t do today…an icy treat was in order.
2. My 5 year old is having his tonsils and adenoids taken out next week. He is looking forward to eating ice cream, Popsicles, and now, sorbet, while he recovers. I have been experimenting with various recipes to try that he will be able to eat post-op.
3. It is just seems fancy to say we are having sorbet for dessert
4. With all the fresh fruits in abundance, I am always looking for new and interesting ways to use them up.
5. The lovely Laura over at Eat Drink Live announced that the theme for this months Hay Hay It’s Donna Day is…sorbet!

There you have it… the top five reasons why I decided to give sorbet a try today. I have never participated in the Hay Hay It’s Donna Day event and since my husband has been raving about the sorbet he gets at one of his favorite New York City restaurants, I decided to surprise him and make some at home. I knew that a lot of people participating in the event would be making sorbets out of the fresh fruits of the season…strawberries, raspberries, etc. As much as I love summertime fruit, I know how much my husband loves apples so I thought he would most enjoy an apple sorbet.  Apple just seemed too plain though, so on a whim I decided to throw in some pears as well. The result was a sweet, icy sorbet…rich with flavor and the perfect end to a fantastic dinner al fresco on the deck. You don’t need an excuse… go ahead and try it!

Pear Apple Sorbet

2 Granny Smith Apples, cored and roughly chopped

2 ripe Pears, cored and roughly chopped

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup apple juice

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine apples, pears, sugar and 1/2 cup water; cover. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Press mixture through a sieve placed over a bowl. Discard apple and pear skins and stir in apple juice and another 1/2 cup water. Place mixture in a food processor and pulse 3-4 times until any big chunks are smooth.

If making without an ice cream machine, pour into a shallow container and freeze 6 hours, scraping with a fork once or twice to break up crystals. If using a machine, churn until firm enough to scoop.