First Dinner Party!

I had my first dinner party last night and wanted to make everyone something fresh and "in season" for dinner. Nothing fancy...in fact, the recipes were all quite simple.  

Here are my guests! Shay loved the veggies, Caden loved the hummus, and Conor loved the crackers. Kyle and Jim loved the beer and wine. ;) 

My goal was to stick with the theme of "light & fresh" when it came to the spread. I figured it's summer and that's what you should do...right? Most of our items originated from either our garden or my mom's friends' garden, and then we picked up a few staples at Whole Foods and Wegmans. 

• Cranberry block cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, & grapes served with a variety of crackers. 

• Homemade spinach/kale/artichoke dip served with warmed naan bread.  

• Lemon & pine nut hummus served with sliced cucumbers and yellow bell peppers. 

• Caprese salad with slices of the world's freshest tomatoes and basil. Yum! ;) 

• Roasted summer squash, zucchini, brussels sprouts and asparagus with grilled BBQ marinated chicken. 

• Peach and plum pie served with whipped cream -- paired with moscato wine.

  

To give you some background, my mom brought over a bunch of fresh tiny peaches and plums from a coworkers garden. Conor and Caden weren't devouring them like they usually do with store-bought peaches and plums (sadly), so they were getting real ripe, real fast. 

While searching for fun desserts to make with fresh in-season fruits, I found this peach and plum pie recipe. The author writes, "As peaches recede at the end of the summer season and plums come on strong as we inch towards fall, this pie was designed to bridge the seasonal gap. The two flavors compliment each other perfectly, and make the most of the last of the peaches." I thought it was perfect.

So bam - I made a peach and plum pie on a whole wheat crust; and paired it with this moscato dessert wine from the Andretti Vineyard in Napa.  

Pie Ingredients:

• 2 wheat pie crusts - 1 chilled in a pie plate, the other rolled out flat 
• 7 little yellow and magenta plums cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 peaches, with the skins removed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 5 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 1 egg
• 1 lemon

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Dice up the peaches and plums (I removed the skin of the peaches only) into 1.5 inch pieces. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar and cornstarch. Then coat the fruit with the mixture. Do not over-mix it into mush. 

Below are the diced yellow and red plums. Look at those bright colors!

Pour the mixture into the chilled pie crust and before placing the other on top, zest a little bit of a lemon. I feel it accentuates the flavors. 

Then place the second pie crust on top, pinching the edges together. Make about 4 slices in the top/center. Brush egg wash on top to brown it.

Place the pie onto a baking sheet to catch any drippings and put it in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Then rotate it, reduce the heat to 325 and bake for another 25 minutes. Let it sit and serve with whipped cream or ice cream. Or if you're like us, serve it with some sweet dessert wine. ;)

Enjoy!

xo,

Shaz

PS Flashback Friday pic! Wine tasting with my besties out in CA in 2011. I miss you all so much.