We started off the new season of Girls Dine In with a bang.

The theme was The Fruits of Summer - each item contained some sort of fruit. I made the sangria the night before, then ladled it into mason jars and set out in a bucket of ice. That way, no one had to fish around a punch bowl trying to scoop up the yummy fruit. There were a few left over so I tossed them into the freezer. I had company this weekend and thawed them in the fridge. They tasted great! None of the goodness went to waste.

I love that!

White Sangria serves 16-20

2 cups water

1 large bunch fresh mint

1 cup sugar

6 cloves

6 cinnamon sticks

3 bottles dry white wine

½ cup Triple Sec

½ cup brandy

1 liter ginger ale

3 cups sparkling juice or water

1 cup orange juice

4 oranges, sliced

6 peaches, peeled and sliced

1 lemon, sliced

1 lime, sliced

Mix first five ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Remove the leaves, cloves and cinnamon. Pour into a large serving pitcher. Mix all of the remaining ingredients, cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve with fruit and garnish with fresh mint.

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Blueberry Lemonade

1 can frozen lemonade concentrate

½ cup sugar

1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

lemon slices for garnish

Put blueberries in a blender and blend until smooth. In a pitcher, add lemonade concentrate, sugar  and 4 lemonade cans of water. Stir well. Strain blueberries over the pitcher to remove solids. Blend Stir well. Serve over ice with lemon slices.

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While enjoying our drinks, we made these delicious Crab-stuffed Mushrooms with Fig Preserves.

Crab-stuffed mushrooms with Fig Preserves  serves 8

24 mushrooms

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 green onions, minced

¾  cup cooked lump crab meat

1 tbsp. Mrs. Dash garlic and herb seasoning

1- 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

¼  cup grated parmesan cheese

½ tsp. black pepper

¼  tsp. Tony’s seasoning

½ tsp. onion powder

¼ cup extra parmesan

½ cup fig preserves mixed with 2 Tbsp. water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms and dry with a paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems. Chop green onions. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared. Set aside to cool. In a bowl, stir together cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, Mrs. Dash, onion powder and Tony’s. Mixture should be very thick. Fold in the onions and mushrooms and the crab. Dip the mushrooms in melted butter and place on cookie sheet Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet. Sprinkle a bit more parmesan on tops.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps. Drizzle with warm fig preserves.

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The cooking kicked in to high gear. Debbie diligently stirred our Pistachio Risotto for a good hour. It was perfect and complimented the Pork tenderloin really well.

 The key to risotto is to stir until all liquid is absorbed, then add more liquid, stir, absorb, add, and repeat until it reaches a luscious velvety consistency. Labor intensive? Yup. Worth it? I think so!

Pistachio Risotto  yields 6 cups

¼ cup unsalted butter

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 tsp. saffron threads

1 ¼ cups uncooked Arborio rice

1 cup dry white sherry

5 cups chicken broth, divided

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

5 tbsp. coarsely chopped pistachios

1 to 2 cups chicken broth if needed as rice cooks down

Melt butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and sauté’ 5 minutes. Add saffron, sauté one minute. Add rice. Cook, stirring constantly 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add vermouth and 2 cups broth. Cook stirring constantly until liquid is absorbed. Repeat this process with remaining broth, adding it ½ cup at a time until liquid is absorbed. If rice still is not rich and creamy, continue adding small amounts of liquid and stirring it until it becomes a velvety consistency. Cooking time is 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese and pistachios.

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While the Risotto simmered, we plated our salads. I used what I call a Cheater's dressing. Bottled dressing with a little something added to give it a deeper flavor. I use this dressing all the time and I love it! Low fat, too!

Berry Chicken Salad serves 6

6 cups baby spinach

1 pint strawberries, sliced

2/3 cup walnuts

2/3 cup feta cheese

½ cup dried cranberries

Honey Balsamic Dressing:

½ cup Ken’s light balsamic salad dressing

¼ cup honey

Mix the dressing well and toss with the salad greens. Plate and top with berries, nuts, cheese and cranberries. Serve with triangles of dense zucchini bread ( I buy mine at Fresh Market) Make this an easy entrée by adding chunks of rotisserie chicken from your grocery.

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The girls made the Peach salsa to top our pork Tenderloin. Man it's good stuff. You can serve it with fish, chicken, over salad greens, on a taco, or with sweet potato chips. Healthy, too!

Peach Salsa

4-5 peaches, peeled and diced

½ cup red onion,  chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

1 tbsp. lime juice

1 tbsp. Wegman’s basting oil or any high quality oil of your choice

¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Combine everything in a bowl and refrigerate for one hour.

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Our Pork was tender and juicy, thanks to a quick sear in a hot cast iron pan on the stove, then finished in the oven on 425 degrees until pink. You don't want to overcook pork - that's a no-no!

Do I always cook with my tongue sticking out? That's not attractive at all. Gotta work on that habit!

Pineapple Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Peach Salsa  serves 6-8

1 pork tenderloin

1 cup Rothchild Pineapple Coconut Mango Tequila Sauce

¼ cup Worchester sauce

1 tbsp. canola oil

1 tsp.  garlic powder

1 tsp. dried rosemary

¼ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

1 – 1½ cups chicken broth

Combine oil and spices. Rub on pork. Sear the pork in a hot cast iron skillet in 1 tbsp. oil ( or use a grill pan or outdoor grill) until brown. Brush generously with the pineapple sauce, add chicken broth to the hot pan,  and roast in a hot oven (425 degrees) until slightly pink in the middle, adding more sauce every few minutes. (  your roasting time will depend on the thickness of the tenderloin. Check at 12 minutes, plan for total time of 15- 20 minutes) Take out of the oven and place back over a flame on the stove. Add a bit more chicken broth if all liquid has been cooked down. As it sizzles, slice the pork into 1 inch thick medallions and coat with the pan sauce.  Serve with Peach Salsa.

TIP:  Look for the Rothchild's sauce at Publix, Fresh Market, and occasionally at Costco. It is a versatile product you will find lots of uses for. I love it as a dipping sauce with grilled shrimp. Ooh - I just had a thought. Mix it with some o' that yummy peach salsa and you've got a dip to die for!

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Garlic Green Beans  serves 6

1 lb. fresh green beans, ends trimmed

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. minced garlic

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

Steam green beans for 6-8 minutes or until crisp tender. Drain. Melt butter in the pot, add garlic and cook one minute. Toss garlic butter with beans and salt and pepper to taste.

So, it goes without saying, yet I'm saying it anyway, to choose the freshest beans you can find. Crisp and bright green. Steam them lightly - a little crunch is what you want. The color adds to the plate and makes all the difference.

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These two troopers got their hands dirty (literally) making the truffles. With two ovens and four gas stove burners going, it was pretty steamy in the kitchen and the little guys were melting as fast as the girls could roll them. But, they tasted great and were a nice compliment to the Blueberry Cobbler.

Dark Chocolate Amaretto Truffles makes 30

10 ounces bittersweet (60% or more cocoa) chocolate, chopped fine

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp. liquor such as brandy, Grand Marnier, Kahlua or Amaretto

8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped fine

toppings:

fine chopped almonds, toasted coconut or cocoa powder

Place the 10 ounces of chocolate and butter in a medium size glass mixing bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Remove and stir, and repeat this process 1 more time. Set aside.

Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture over the melted chocolate mixture; let stand for 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, stir gently, starting in the middle of bowl and working in concentric circles until all chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth and creamy. Gently stir in the brandy. Pour the mixture into an 8 by 8-inch glass baking dish and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Using a melon baller, scoop chocolate onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and return to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Place the cocoa powder, nuts, and/or toasted coconut each in its own pie pan and set aside.

In the meantime, place the 8 ounces of chocolate into a medium mixing bowl which is sitting on top of a heating pad lined bowl, with the heating pad set to medium. Depending on the heating pad, you may need to adjust the heat up or down. Stirring the chocolate occasionally, test the temperature of the chocolate and continue heating until it reaches 90 to 92 degrees F; do not allow the chocolate to go above 94 degrees F. If you do, the coating will not have a nice snap to it when you bite into the chocolate. Once you have reached the optimal temperature, adjust the heat to maintain it.

Remove the truffles from the refrigerator and shape into balls by rolling between the palms of your hands. Use powder-free vinyl or latex gloves, if desired.

Dip an ice cream scoop into the chocolate and turn upside down to remove excess chocolate. Place truffles 1 at time into the scoop and roll around until coated. Then place the truffle into the dish with either the cocoa powder, nuts or coconut. Move the truffle around to coat; leave truffle in the coating for 10 to 15 seconds before removing. In the meantime, continue placing the chocolate-coated truffles in the cocoa or other secondary coating. After 10 to 15 seconds, remove the truffle to a parchment lined sheet pan. Repeat until all truffles are coated. Allow to set in a cool dry place for at least 1 hour; or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Truffles are best when served at room temperature.

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 This cobbler ( I'm sad to say, I didn't get a picture of it) is so easy to make and so good...if you try any recipe on this post, I'd recommend this one. It's awesome warm or chilled.

Fruit Cobbler

¼ cup butter

½ cup sugar

1 cup flour

¼ tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

½ cup milk

2 ½  cups fresh blueberries, blackberries or peaches

¼  to ½ cup sugar

¼ tsp. cinnamon

1 cup water or a compatible fruit juice.

Optional : 2 tbsp. bourbon

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix flour, salt and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture into a lightly greased, shallow 2 quart casserole, spreading evenly. Wash and drain fruit. Spoon fruit over the batter. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the fruit. Pour fruit juice over top. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes. During baking, fruit and juice go to the bottom and cake-like layers form on top. Serve warm with ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

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The best part of cooking with friends, is eating with friends! Hope to see you at our next Girls Dine In!