Stone Fruit Sangria

I have been munching on local peaches and nectarines constantly for a month now. Sometimes I have two or three a day. They have been major juice bombs, and basically, I have been making a huge mess eating them. My neighbor and I have a tradition of making Sangria on our movie night. Typically, I would use oranges, grapefruit, lemon, and lime, because I love citrus fruits so much. With my latest obsession with these local nectarines and peaches though, I decided to make my sangria with them. I also added some fresh cherries that I had in the fridge....and where as they are not local, I am enjoying them while they are in season. I used white wine, but you can certainly use a red. I would personally use a Pinot Noir.

What You Will Need:
1 bottle of a lighter white wine (I typically use a slightly sweeter Riesling or Pinot Grigio)
1 nectarine, pitted and sliced 1/4" thick
1 peach, pitted and sliced 1/4" thick
10 cherries, pitted and halved
1/3c brandy (I used Korbel)

1/3c orange juice

Place your fruit in your pitcher that you will be serving from. Add the brandy and orange juice and marinate for 30 mins. When you are ready to serve, pour your wine into the pitcher. I serve mine in a wine glass with ice.

Bison Meatloaf

I'll have to admit, I love meatloaf. My mom made great meatloaf growing up, so I was never scarred from a dry, unflavored meat block. I have stopped buying beef for quite a while now. Occasionally I will buy Bison instead; packed with flavor, iron, and leaner than the leanest of beef. The thing I like about Bison is that no matter how much you cook it, it is still tender and juicy. Bison to me is also not gamey. Here is my meatloaf for 2 (with lunch the next day). I packed it full of crimini mushrooms, red onion, and served it with homemade mashed potatoes and garlic sauteed spinach (and pinot noir).

What you will need:

1 pound ground bison

1 1/2c crimini mushrooms, small diced

1c red onion, small diced

1T fresh sage, chopped

1T fresh thyme, chopped

1 egg

3/4c tomato sauce, divided

1/2c breadcrumbs*

1/2t salt

1/2t black pepper

1/4t dried crushed red pepper flakes

* I highly recommend panko bread crumbs. If you are like me and have to use gluten free bread crumbs, add a little extra.

Preheat the oven to 375. In a medium skillet, heat 1T of olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and mushrooms. Saute for about 5 minutes. This will remove the water from the mushrooms and leave the onions translucent and tender. Remove from heat, add sage and thyme, and cool slightly. While that is cooling, in a bowl, mix the bison, egg, breadcrumbs, 1/2c tomato sauce, salt, and pepper. Shape into a roughly 6x3 loaf and place it in a baking pan. Place in the oven for 30 mins. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4c tomato sauce with the red pepper. Pour over the meatloaf. Continue to cook for 20 minutes longer. Rest for 5 minutes.

Moroccan Harissa Chicken with Roasted Red Onions and Chickpeas

Ok, first off...The lighting fixture went out in my kitchen a couple of days ago, and I have been waiting on a new one that has been ordered. Cooking in the dark is a little bit of a pain, so please excuse the crappay photos.

Anywho, I bought some local whole chicken legs that were on sale. This recipe would work well with a white fish (such as tilapia), salmon, pork, or big chunks of vegetables (like eggplant, squash, potatoes). Harissa is a North African paste made from Piri Piri chili peppers, tomatoes, and paprika. It has a wonderful sweet and(very) spicy flavor. I bought a prepared bottle of Harissa from Whole Foods Market and altered it a little.

What you will need:

2 1/2 pounds chicken legs (about 4)

1/3c prepared Harissa paste
1/4c plain Greek Yogurt

1T lemon juice

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained*

1 red onion, diced very large

1t olive oil

Salt and Pepper-to taste

Preheat the oven to 425. Mix Harissa, yogurt, and lemon juice together. Pour over chicken legs and marinate for 1 hour at room temperature (yes, it's ok). In a bowl, add the chickpeas and red onion. Drizzle olive oil, toss, and season with salt and pepper. In an even layer, place chickpeas and onions in a baking dish (one large enough to eventually put the chicken in). Roast for 10 mins. Remove from oven and lay chicken legs on top of the chickpeas and onions, skin side up. Put back in the oven and continue to cook for 40 mins.

My fiance and I loved this. The yogurt toned down the heat a little, the lemon brightened, and the chickpeas had a slight chew and were packed with flavor. Honestly, I will probably roast chickpeas as a snack in the future.

I served it with wild rice that I cooked according to package, then added 1t onion powder, 1t garlic powder, a pinch of ginger, and 1/2c of raisins. I also sauteed some zucchini.