Looking Forward to Summer Food.

Hello!  This is Alice, filling in for Jora again while she and her family are lounging on their favorite beach in the South of France!  When Jora asked me to post something here, she suggested the theme of summer, so I thought I'd talk about some of the summer recipes I'm looking forward to making in the next few months.  We don't really get our hot weather here until late July and August - around here, those are the days of popsicles, ice cream, tomato salads and grilled corn.
When I think about summer food, the first thing that comes to mind is a tomato and burrata salad - thick sliced heirloom tomatoes, sprinkled with sea salt, drizzled with olive oil and a tiny bit of good balsamic and topped with torn basil leaves and chunks of fresh burrata or mozzarella.  There's almost nothing I'd rather eat when it's hot.  Except maybe ice cream, but I guess that's not really fair.

We also eat a lot of chilled cucumber soup when it's really hot - which Jora introduced me to a couple of years ago.

The summer stone fruits haven't shown up in the markets yet, but when they do, I will definitely be making this  Peach and Creme Fraiche pie again.  If you're going to turn on the oven, you certainly want it to be worth while, and this recipe is easy and delicious.  Lemon Meringue pie is another favorite - the Joy of Cooking recipe is perfection.

I might also try my hand at lobster rolls this year for a little taste of the East Coast. They were everywhere in NYC last fall, but they're kind of hard to find here.

Some other tried and true favorites I'll be making -  Ian's Fresh Tomato Pasta, Farmgirl Susan's Tomato Pie, Zuni's Roast Chicken with Bread Salad (just go outside while the oven is on!), Chocolate Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, Summer Pudding and Fried Squash Blossoms.

For more inspiration - check out Mark Bittman's list of 101 Simple Summer Salads, or Deb from Smitten Kitchen's Summer archives.   I predict you'll be craving fried chicken and blueberry pie in no time!