Dish | BBQ Peach Salad with Arugula & Goat Cheese

I was torn between doing a restaurant rating and/or a dish. I went to Starbelly the other night for dinner - one of my absolute favorite restaurants in the city - and they never cease to amaze me! I don't want to say too much about Starbelly as this is not a rating (5 stars hands-down!) but I had a salad with my dinner that I just had to try and duplicate. This is my attempt at recreating their incredible BBQ Peach Salad.

BBQ PEACH SALAD WITH ARUGULA & GOAT CHEESE  |  Recipe inspired by Starbelly

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium ripe peaches, halved, pitted and cut into 8 wedges per peach
2 medium ripe avocados, halved, pitted and cut into cubes or wedges
6 cups baby arugula
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

1  |  Prepare grill to medium-high heat. For the dressing whisk together balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and salt, then add in olive oil until emulsified.

2  |  Place peaches on grill and cook 3-5 minutes per side or until grill marks appear. In the meantime, rinse baby arugula and pat dry with paper towels.

3  |  For salad; place arugula in a large bowl and toss with dressing until fully coated. Add goat cheese crumbles, grilled peaches, and avocado slices. Toss lightly and add freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Dish | Slow Roasted Tomato BLT's with Avocado + Baked Pomme Frites

Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday today. Ryan and I are getting out of the city today and heading to Sonoma for some small town festivities and fireworks with close friends. I'm really excited that we can finally use the vintage cooler I got Ryan for his birthday last month! It looks so handsome full of beverages and snacks and I plan on filling it with just that...

I made this meal the other night for a Summertime dinner and aside from the long cooking time, it all came together so quickly and with very little preparation. I saw this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Not Without Salt, and have been waiting to make it for a few weeks. Now that the weather is getting nicer and the tomatoes are looking more delicious by the week I felt it was time to finally attempt slow roasting these beauties.

SLOW ROASTED TOMATO BLT'S WITH AVOCADO  |  Recipe inspired by Ashley E. Rodriguez of Not Without Salt

8 barely ripe roma tomatoes (or any tomato of your choice)
6-10 sprigs of fresh lemon thyme
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 teaspoons kosher salt

1  |   Cut the tomatoes into 1/4" thick slices. Place those on a parchment lined sheet tray with a few sprigs of thyme. After a very light drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt (these will reduce by quite a bit so don’t overdo it with the salt) they go into a  225°F oven for about 4 hours or until shriveled around the edge while still maintaining a bit of juice. Because of the low oven heat these do not color at all but rather slowly concentrate their flavors and intensify.

Ashley makes a great recommendation: "If you don’t use all of your tomatoes simply cover the leftover with olive oil and place in the fridge. In fact, I highly recommend making a very large batch as these little beauties will find many great uses (pasta, antipasti, straight from the jar, cheese tray, grilled cheese, etc.)"

I feel kind of bad for assuming that the average reader will know how to make a BLT so for the actual sandwich I lightly toasted some potato bread, spread a little garlic lemon aioli on each side and layered butter lettuce, bacon, the slow roasted tomatoes and some avocado slices with a pinch of freshly ground black pepper to finish it off.

Now for the side dish! Baked pomme frites! I thought about frying these but figured baking would be a healthier option. As this was my first time making pomme frites it was a learning experience and I already have so many things I would do differently next time. For example, discarding the thinner outer pieces and using only the thick cuts that come from the center of the potato would be advised. The thinner pieces cook too fast and in my case ended up a little too crispy.

BAKED POMME FRITES

6 russet potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1  |  Preheat the oven to 450°F. Peel potatoes and cut lengthwise into quarter-inch thick slices. Cut again into 1/4-inch thick fries. Place the potatoes into a bowl with cold water; this will help keep the fries crisp. Just before cooking, drain water and place on paper towel, pat dry.

2  |  Put the potatoes in a bowl; add olive oil, 1 tablespoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Toss well and lay out in 1 layer on nonstick baking sheet. Bake until light brown. Cook for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, turning frequently until golden brown. Remove from oven, allow to cool for 1 or 2 minutes and serve.