It's Almost September....And You Know What That Means!

The fall is almost here and honestly, I am very excited!  I love cool fall days with some good friends, some hearty foods & wine, and above all- FOOTBALL!   And boy do I have a delicious recipe for you!  Courtesy of Real Simple, ham & cheese quesadilla's are absolutely divine!  So easy to prepare and so yummy.  This recipe is for two but can be doubled, tripled, whatever.  Required ingredients are:  6 tortillas, 1/2 lb black forest ham, 1/4 lb fresh mozarella & a ripe cantaloupe cut into small pieces (if you so choose). 

Directions Are To:

1. Heat the broiler on high
2. Grease a cookie sheet with some spray butter
3. Slice the mozarella into thin slices (about 12 slices)
4. Place a tortilla on the cookie sheet
5. Place 2 pieces of ham & 2 slivers of mozarella onto tortilla & fold in half
6. Repeat with additional tortillas until finished
7. Place cookie sheet in oven for 5-6 minutes (or until the tops of the tortillas are browned)
8. Take out, slice each quesadilla into 1/3rds and serve with the cantaloupe

This recipe is bsolutely delicious and doesn't take too much time, which is always key.  My husband and I had this for dinner a few nights ago and really enjoyed it!  However, it can also be served as an appetizer when friends are over to watch the game or over for a few cocktails on a Friday or Saturday night.  There are a couple beverages I would serve with this tasty dish and they are...Hoegaarden (a pale ale) with an orange wedge ($9 for 6 12 ounce bottles) or some Rutherford Grove Sauvignon Blanc ($14/bottle). 

Enjoy & drink up!

Hot Summers Equal Cold Drinks & Gazpacho!

Although gazpacho by definition is a "cold Spanish tomato-based raw vegetable soup" according to Wikipedia, I feel there are a variety of ways to make Gazpacho.  Whether its cream based, tomato based or simply broth based, to me gazpacho just represents cold soup regardless of the ingredients. 

I was at a baby shower two weeks ago and can honestly say I was not sure if I was going to try the cold spinach soup that was offered as an appetizer but I am soooooo happy I did!   It was absolutely delicious.  It was a cream based spinach soup and it was devine with a capital D!   It was a really hot day and most of the shower was outdoors so this soup was refreshing and tasty and just what we all needed.  Although the recipe was homemade and I was unable to acquire it before I left the shower, I found this similar recipe for Cold Spinach Soup on the New York Times website and felt it was a close second to what was actually served.  Enjoy! 

In addition to the gazpacho, the hostess was also serving watermelon rasberry & strawberry bellini's with fresh fruit.  Although you would think the combination of these fruity drinks and the spinach soup appetizer would be an odd combination, it was just all around delicious and really took the edge off the disgusting heat that we were all dealing with.  Gourmet Sleuth is a great place for various food & drink recipes and they have a variety of bellini recipes for your entertaining pleasure.  :0 )