RIO OSO GEM PEACH

I have a method when shopping at the farmer's market: taste, taste, taste. A self interested method, I know. I taste my way from top to bottom, comparing as I go, and then buy afterwards. This past week, the first stall I tasted at had excellent peaches and plums. The couple of others I stopped by after didn't come close, and with my meter running, I was resigned to buy those peaches and plums. Until that voice. That chirpy, sing song, French voice. All of a sudden the market was oversaturated with green and red and my auburn hair converted into a black bob. Yann Tiersan's piano started to waft through the air and my mind turned to cracking creme brulee. Yes, I'm fantasizing about being in Amelie. If you haven't seen it, see it. It's an adorable frenchy french french film, with accordion playing, traveling garden gnomes, and ghost who only appears in photobooths...or so we think. This is all to say that the farmer behind a booth of peaches spoke out to me with that lilting, purring French accent, and I was immediately lured in. She held up a fat peach and insisted I try it, but warned "You might want to step back," due to its juiciness. The farmer's market is filled with hyperbole ("Sweetest corn on the planet!!" "Best Blood Oranges EVER!!!") so I took her gallic advice with a grain of fleur de sel. As I bit in, a spurt of juice poured out, and I did, in fact, jump back. She started laughing, probably at the look on my face, and proceeded to tell me about how these peaches were exactly like the ones from her childhood in France. Golden water balloons gushing out juice with the first bite. Your chin and shirt would not be safe. I immediately bought one for my afternoon snack, a Rio Oso Gem Peach.

The Rio Oso Gem peach was developed in Rio Oso, California, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 1926. Big, golden with a deep red blush; a honey sweetness with lovely peachy acidicty; and a firm, chewable texture that makes it perfect for noshing on, makes this my favorite peach of the summer. It's apparently a tough peach to grow, easily bruising, falling off the tree when it's ripe, so expect to find it exclusively at farmer's markets, or you could always buy one yourself (I might just do that actually). Enjoy!

MY INTERVIEW WITH MELISSA AND JOEY FROM FAMILY STYLE

Earlier this week I got to chat with Melissa and Joey Maggiore, the sibling stars of the new Food Network reality series, Family Style. Premiering tonight, August 26th at 10:30pm ET/PT, this “odd couple” of the restaurant world, share the same goal: to make their new Italian restaurant, Tommy V’s, in Carlsbad, Calif., a success. Melissa, the grounded front of the house, and Joey, the prankster chef, are often at odds, but pull through in the end. I ask the siblings about having to collaborate professionally (something I know a lot about), what are some of the worst pranks Joey's ever pulled, and what they like to serve on Sunday for their family. Enjoy!

What is like collaborating with your sibling? Are there boundaries that aren’t really there because you’re not working just with a professional colleague; do the lines get blurred? What are the challenges?

Melissa: There are no lines. That’s the problem. [laughs]

Joey: Melissa needs to stay out of the restaurant and let me do what’s right, but she doesn’t listen, so that’s the problem. [laughs]

Melissa: Yeah, right; yeah, right.

Joey: But I don’t think there’s a problem. We work very well together, and obviously we have a competitive side – like I said, we’re always trying to one-up each other, but it makes the experience better. I don’t think there are boundaries; I think we work together pretty well.

Melissa: I think that it actually becomes an issue at times, especially when we’re not only working with each other. There are other people around, and obviously when you’re running a business, everyone has to have a job description and do it. And if Joey and I were just business colleagues, there would be a line. He wouldn’t be able to talk to me that way sometimes, or what I said would have more relevance; but because he’s my brother, I’m running the front and if I run to the back, if he’s upset, he’ll just tell me off or he won’t do it – obviously he couldn’t do that if I were just managing the restaurant and not related to him. Sometimes the lines are blurry —

Joey: Sometimes your mouth gets in the way. Is that what you were going to say? [laughs]

Melissa: Yeah, right. Your mouth is always in the way. But I also think that times it makes it interesting or uncomfortable for some of the people who are working with us, because they still have to stay within those realms of professional conduct, and sometimes Joey and I overstep. I’m kind of nervous to see the show and episodes, because I’m sure we’ve overstepped, and we’re going to think, Oh my God, we shouldn’t have acted this way! [laughs]

What is the best or worst prank Joey has ever pulled? Best or worst, depending on what side you’re on.

Melissa: The worst prank Joey’s ever pulled? In my life, and this one’s just downright mean. I was at home one day, and my brother came over, and he had these lottery tickets --

Joey: [hysterical laughter]

Melissa: and he said to me, Oh I got these lottery tickets. So I was like, Why is he giving me a lottery ticket? And he says, You never know Melissa, we might win. Well let me just preface this by saying that I was going through some problems – I just got divorced, picking up pieces of my life, could’ve used the extra money – and I scratched the ticket and I couldn’t believe it! I had to rub my eyes a couple times. It looked like I won $100,00 or something. And I started crying, I was so excited. And I looked at Joey – it was a fake lottery ticket. I’ve never been so mad in my life.

Ooh that’s awful, Joey.

Joey: [still laughing] Yeah, you know, we had a few laughs.

Melissa: And in terms of pranks on the show, take your pick. Joey made me eat raw cow tongue, he made me eat this disgusting crockpot thing, so believe me, every day is like torture.

Joey: No, the funniest one was the funnel trick. You’ve got to tell her about the funnel trick.

Melissa: Oh, the funnel – I’ve tried to forget that.

Joey: So there’s this trick in the restaurant, where I told her, Look, if you can grab a quarter and put it on your head, tilt your head back with a funnel in your pants, if you tilt your head down and get the quarter in the funnel, you win ten bucks. Well while they tilt their head back and shut their eyes, you get a jug of water and pour it down the funnel, so it goes down their pants. We actually got that one on camera so it was pretty funny. [laughs]

Melissa: Yeah, except that I was working that night and I had to go back out there with wet pants, like a wet crotch area. It was terrible.

What is your favorite Italian dish to make at home, for your family or when you guys are hanging out?

Joey: My favorite dish is called sugo, which is basically a Sunday pasta dish – braised short ribs, homemade meatballs, and you cook it all day long. It’s something that the kids grow up on, for me it’s a real tradition in our home.

Melissa: Every Sunday we try to teach our kids a new dish, my daughter and I cook a lot. I love sugo, but my go-to is really simple – aioli. I do it all the time – pasta, olive oil, garlic, a little red pepper. I cook really simple at home, with a lot of seafood. Any pasta with seafood is great for me.

30 SECOND RECIPE

Perfect with those late summer peaches, the sweet shrimp, tart lime vinaigrette, and bright pop of fennel and cilantro make a lovely salad for lunch.

For One Salad

5 shrimp

1/4 yellow peach, thinly sliced

1/4 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced

Small handful cilantro leaves

1 bunch arugula

1 tablespoon lime juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

Sriracha (optional)

Assemble the peach, fennel, cilantro, and arugula. To make the vinagrette, whisk the lime and oil with some salt and pepper to season. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and saute them until just pink on each side. Add the shrimp on top of the salad, pour a little dressing on, and if you like, drizzle with a little sriracha. Enjoy!

BERRIES WITH LAVENDER CREAM

Hardly a recipe I know, but when it's so hot outside, sometimes I can't bring myself to do much more than this. But when the berries are bursting with that sweet berry goodness, messing with them too much runs counter to the whole idea of summer. A bit of orange juice and zest to slightly macerate the berries, and barely sweetened cream that's been infused with lavender and honey make this berries the perfect dessert for after a barbecue. Enjoy!

3 pints berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries)

1 orange, zested and juiced

1 cup cream

2 tablespoons lavender

1 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

Over low heat, bring the cream and lavender to a simmer for ten minutes. Turn off the heat, and once the cream is room temp, pop it in the fridge to chill. Once chilled, strain the cream, add the honey and vanilla, and whip to soft peaks. Slice the berries or leave them if you prefer, cover with the juice and a teaspoon of the zest and mix with your hands. Plate the berries with a dollop of cream. Enjoy!

MY INTERVIEW WITH AARTI, THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR

Earlier this week I got to chat with The Next Food Network Star and LA Native, Aarti Sequeira, as well as judge Susie Fogelman to discuss what's next for the winner.

Aarti with the judges, and Susie Fogelman on the far right.


What went through your mind when you were announced the winner? What was the first thing that popped into your head?

Aarti: I think I yelped. I’ve watched it over and over again, and I think I just went ‘Oh!.' So I don’t think it was a really coherent thought, and if it was it was probably a word I should not repeat. It was really just a bittersweet moment, I was so happy, so happy, and also so sad for Herb and Tom, because I thought, These are my brothers now. Me winning means that they don’t win, but there’s always good stuff happening. Tom now has a show on Food Network, I’m so excited for him, and I’m positive that something’s going to happen for Herb, because he’s just too talented not to be scooped up.

How will Aarti Party differ from your web series?

Aarti: On my web series, Aarti Party is a cooking variety show. It was a great way for me to showcase the talents and abilities of my friends, because I live in LA, my friends are a lot of amazing actors and performers. So I think that would be the biggest difference, because with Aarti Party on Food Network, we didn’t have time to really get around to that. But it’s still my hope that in the future I can do that because it’s something that I really believe in it as a great vehicle for people who don’t normally watch cooking shows, to watch them. Teenage guys were watching my show, and I’m like, Your future wives will thank me when you’re making them dinner!

Does the selection of Aarti show a trend in Food Network representing more multicultural cuisine, cuisine from different parts of the world?

Susie: Absolutely, but I think it’s a growing appetite - it’s a pun intended, I should say based on what people are interested in. I think that peoples pallets are you know; what is the number one condiment now? I think it’s salsa. Where it probably used to be ketchup. Don’t hold me on that but I think it’s probably true and I think that Latin flavors, we obviously have Marcella on air that is doing a show about Mexican food and I think that Cooking Channel, our sister network, has a lot of programming on that is more global. So we do think that this is right in line with what Americans are looking for and I think we need to do it in a way that is not intimidating and is approachable and inspiring. I think if we strike the right balance with that we could have a real homerun on our hands, and I think it is definitely answering the call of what people are thinking about today.

When did you see Aarti kind of emerge ahead of the rest of the pack? When was that moment for you?

Susie: Aarti kind of had me at hello, to be honest. She has such a kind spirit and I think it started, but you try not to get too excited in the beginning because I think that certainly for me I wanna make sure that, you are as fair and un-biased as possible; because anybody could become a front runner. Anybody could have a bad week; anybody could have a great week. You know confidence is a really big issue in this job, so I feel like I kind of loved Aarti. There wasn’t any one moment; the first time I met her in all seriousness she had me at hello. Her accent is beautiful, her smile is beautiful, I was so intrigued by her background and how she brought these flavors to American cuisine. She had a lot of check marks in the boxes that mattered to me, but I’ll go back to the confidence thing. You have to confident in this job and if you cannot maintain that and sustain that it’s the kiss of death so I think I worried. There was no one epiphany when I was like, She’s our girl. I really sort of fell for her in the beginning but needed to see that she can go the distance. There were moments that I thought; wasn’t it interesting for those of you who watched the episode about the Iron Chef competition - wasn’t it interesting how Bob and Bobby were really focused on how her calm demeanor and then obviously her lack of commentating looked like she sort of snowballed that whole thing? When in actuality she brought in the most delicious flavors and did a beautiful job presenting them. I think when you’re sort of about to count her out she comes back really strong and she did that enough in order to be impressive.


Be sure to tune in this Sunday and check out the Season Premiere of Aarti's new show on the Food Network, Aarti's Party, at 12pm. On the season opened, Aarti journeys back home with recipes inspired by her family in India. First, she cooks up Sloppy Bombay Joes, an all-American classic updated with warm Indian flavors like garam masala and cumin. As a refreshing starter, she prepares a crisp Massaged Kale Salad with pumpkin seeds and honey. For an indulgent end to this savory meal, Aarti whips up cool Creamy Pistachio Pops. Sounds delicious!

30 SECOND RECIPE

Crunchy, toasty, sweet, awesome. What else is there to say?

Cornflake Crusted French Toast

1 brioche loaf, sliced into one inch slices

3 eggs

2 cups whole milk

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups corn flakes

Beat together the eggs, milk, and spices. Crush the cornflakes with a rolling pin. Dunk the bread in the egg/milk mixture and place it on top of the cornflakes. Pat the bread down, flip, and pat again. Place the coated bread into a well greased pan heated over medium heat and cook until browned on both sides. Plate with butter and syrup and devour.

MELON TIME

My brother is searching for new khaki pants, the heat has started kicking up again, and I jealously watch coeds go book shopping, missing those days dedicated solely to intellectual absorption, so I guess this means summer's waning a bit. Apparently fruit didn't get this news. Melons abound, so ripe you just look at one sideways and it bursts (seriously, I cracked a watermelon like this yesterday). Juicy, sweet, all Songs of Soloman-y. Perfection. It's like September isn't two weeks away. September is so far away, it might never come. At least that's what I tell myself as I wipe my dripping chin and spit a few seeds out. No matter if it isn't true. I'm just going to go all ostrich on this melon and bury my head in it.

If you haven't gotten a chance to swing by a farmer's market, here's your moment. I hit the melon jackpot this week: green hued ogdens are rich with juicy honeydew flavor, and the golden cavillons and ambrosias are like cantaloupe concentrate (just picture them on a plate with some sliced prosciutto); the yellow watermelon has a rind straight our of Yoshi story and a bright, crisp texture, while the deep red watermelon is sweet sweet sweet. When I can't fit any more slices in my mouth, my only recourse is to liquefy them. I bring you my favorite summer drink: Ambrosia Agua Fresca.

The combination of ambrosia melon (basically cantaloupe x10 in flavor), yellow watermelon, mint, lime, and agave nectar is refreshing and in that perfect place of not too sweet. Nothing saddens and repulses me more than the promise of a fruit, but a mouthful of sugar water. Yuck. This agua fresca completely hinges on the quality of fruit, so feel free to shake it up an pick whatever's best that day: red watermelon, honeydew, even berries if you'd rather. Just adjust the agave to taste and let it sit for a few hours to let the flavors mingle. Enjoy!

Ambrosia Agua Fresca

3 cup yellow watermelon

5 cups ambrosia melon (or anything cantaloupe-y)

3 cups water (or to taste)

6 tablespoons agave nectar

3 limes, juice

4 sprigs mint

Combine the fruit in a blender and whiz until pureed. Strain, add the agave and lime, and whiz again. Strain into a pitcher and add the water one cup at a time, tasting with each addition to make sure it doesn't taste diluted. Toss in the mint and refrigerate for a few hows to let the flavors mingle.

30 SECOND RECIPE

Pimientos de Guernica

I have been nose deep in Mark Kurlansky's writing for the past month. "Salt" enthralled me, so I immediately moved on to the equally entertaining "The Basque History of the World," and look forward to tackling "Cod" immediately after. As I've been working my through his history of the Basques, I've been dog earring the pages containing recipes, licking my chops over the Itxassou cherry cake, hare with walnuts and chocolate, and the onomatopoeic pil pil, named for the sound the salt cod makes as it's being stirred into oil. My attention immediately turned to the Pimientos de Guernica for their simple "Basque" loveliness. The perfect tapas dish, it's historically made with Vizcayan choricero peppers, but conveniently made with Spanish padron peppers I found at the farmers' market. Most are nutty and sweet, but every now and then one is packed with some Iberian heat.

2 cups pimientos de padron or pimientos de choricero

1/4 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

Salt

Rub the peppers with a cloth, heat a pan over a medium high flame, add the olive oil and immediately add the peppers. Let them sizzle for a few minutes and add the garlic; turn the peppers as you need, until they are blistered and browned all over. Sprinkle with a bunch of salt, serve on a plate with a Rioja White. Enjoy!

THE DOLLYCAKE REVEALED

On today's episode of Kitchy TV, I shed a little light on the history of my couture dolly cakes and show all of the work it takes to make a Proenza Schouler S2010 creation.