Photo credit: Diane Larimore Garcher (swiped by me from Facebook)

These are peaches from my cousin, Diane’s, two trees. Earlier this summer, my dad went up to Prescott Valley to visit Diane and she sent a bunch of peaches home with him. This all occurred back in mid-August while I was in Alaska.

Upon our return to Arizona, my sister, Sloane, picked us up from the airport. As we were driving home, my dad called Sloane’s cell to see if “we’d made it.” I was assuring him, that indeed we did, when he said, “Hey, what are you doing tomorrow? I’ve got a bunch of peaches from Diane – how about I bring them over and we can peel them.”

WHAT?!  I’ve been out of town for two weeks. I landed a mere 25 minutes ago. The day is gone, it is dark outside. I spent the last 10 hours sitting on shuttles, stuck in an airport, languishing on an overbooked airplane, and standing at a carousel waiting for luggage (I know that word “carousel” sounds like such FUN. It is not!)  And my dad honestly thinks I may actually want to just hang out and peel peaches with him in a few hours!

Yeah, thanks. But, no, not so much!

Although clearly disappointed with my obvious lack of enthusiasm – my dad peeled the peaches himself, packaged and froze them, and then brought them to my house later in the week. Upon their delivery, he said, “Maybe one of these days, you could make me a peach pie with these.”

Wow, parents really never lose the knack.  They know exactly how to lay on the guilt, don’t they?

Anyhow, yes, I made the pie and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.  Thank you, Dad. And, thank you, Diane, for the luscious peaches – they were divine! xoxo

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This is the final recipe from the grand lobster bake I hosted a week and a half ago.

First off, a few disclaimers. The photo above and 2 more in the body of the recipe (you will easily spot them!) is not my own but from an article in Fine Cooking. This recipe is inspired by the recipe in that article, created by the renowned baker and cookbook author, Rose Levy Beranbaum.  The reason for the snatched photos – yeah, I didn’t take enough while assembling the pie and when I served it at the lobster bake, I was in such a rush, I didn’t get a quality photo of a sliced piece either. No matter, this is one incredible pie~

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Ready to make your pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving? Yeah, sorry I didn’t get this recipe up before the big feast. But maybe you will need to make a pumpkin pie for Christmas, in which case, this is perfect timing!

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Weekly Tip #5

When beating the eggs for your Thanksgiving pumpkin pie or any other custard pie, brush a little of the beaten egg over the pie shell and set it in the freezer for 10 minutes. This helps seal the crust and keeps it crisp.

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Way back in March when I started the limoncello process, I knew I wanted to make this pie. It will be the end of our Memorial Day dinner. Apple pie may be America’s pie, but this can’t be beaten in the summer. It’s pretty, cool, delicious, and refreshing… all-American for sure!

I learned an awesome technique for “applying” the meringue to the top of the pie from one of my favorite and most inspirational blogs, Zoe Bakes. Click here to see Zoe’s original step-by-step instructions with amazing photos. It actually made my mouth drop open when I first saw this gorgeous cake back in January.

I’ve found another fantastic recipe using the sweet Italian liqueur – a cheesecake square recipe from the ever-beautiful and talented Giada De Laurentiis.  Feel free to go to www.foodnetwork.com and make it yourself, or wait until I post the recipe here, which will be soon because I am already craving another limoncello masterpiece.

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You know how sometimes one of your children (who you love dearly!) demonstrates a trait and you think, “Did I really birth this child, do they belong to our family?”  Admit it, you do, it doesn’t mean you love them less or would trade them for all the tea in China, but you still wonder!  For me, that child is Connor and that trait is his complete distaste and dislikes for all things berry.  He doesn’t like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, marionberries, or any sort of berry. This is completely out of sink with everyone else in our family, heck I don’t know anyone else in my entire life who doesn’t love berries!  But, of course, I love Connor all the same and because of that deep and undying love, I happily made this unberry dessert, especially for him for Easter…. and berry shortcake for everyone else, everyone else who is normal…

Connor rocking the “kaleidoscope on a rope” he found in his Easter basket… that’s right, I still make my 18 and 22-year-olds baskets and force them to search for them!

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Piping on the mashed potato-squash topping.

Shepherd’s pie, also known as cottage pie, just screams “Autumn!”  This version with its sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and maple flavor puts it over the top.  The entire dish can be made a day ahead, just leave off the sprinkling of paprika until immediately before putting it in the oven, cover and refrigerate and add about 15 minutes to the baking time.

This recipe can easily be switched out to use leftover turkey after Thanksgiving.  Just omit the sweet Italian sausage. Then once the maple breakfast sausage is browned, stir in 1 pound of shredded or chopped turkey meat and proceed with the recipe. If you have leftover mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and/or squash – mash them all together to make 3 to 4 cups and use that for the topping, in place of or in addition to, the roasted and mashed potatoes and squash in the recipe. And if you have leftover vegetables such as corn, green beans, cauliflower, etc. substitute for or add them to the corn, broccoli, and red peppers… you get the idea – be creative!

Autumn Shepherd’s Pie

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
8-ounces maple sausage breakfast links, cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 cups peeled and chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed dried rosemary
2 cups broccoli florets
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/3 cup fat-free half and half
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup minced fresh Italian parsley
5 dashes hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
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