Warm Goat Cheese & Peach Tartine – Open Face, Insert Summer

I usually don’t mention the time of year during these videos, since I have no way of knowing when someone will actually view them, but when it came to this goat cheese and peach tartine, I couldn’t help myself. For me, this is summer on a slice of bread. My apologies to those of you reading/watching this in February.

August is national goat cheese month (no, I don’t know who decides these things), and what better way to enjoy chèvre than by topping it with sweet, ripe, impossibly juicy peach slices? Mix in a little thyme and black pepper to keep things interesting, and you’re looking at a very special treat. Just make sure to use stale bread.

As I bemoaned in the clip, I used a fresh loaf, which while perfectly delicious, wasn’t perfect. Staler bread would have produced a crunchier stage for our co-stars, as there’s more then enough moisture provided by the cheese and fruit.

By the way, if you don’t have any day-old bread, but still want to enjoy this post haste, simply toss the toasted, olive-oiled slices into a 350 F. oven for a few minutes, to dry out and crisp up before you top with the cheese. Either way, you're in for a significantly tasty summer treat. I hope you give this a try soon (while it’s still summer!). Enjoy!

Ingredients for each Warm Goat Cheese & Peach Tartine:

1 thick slice French bread, sourdough or not

1 tbsp olive oil, or as needed

2 oz fresh goat cheese

3 slices fresh peach

fresh thyme leaves and freshly ground black pepper to taste

salt to taste

Next Up: Peach & Goat Cheese Tartine

Good and Gooder

Hello there! I wanted to share two cellphone shots I took this weekend, along with a couple of announcements. When I posted our watermelon agua fresca video last week, I got a bunch of comments on YouTube saying that cantaloupe makes an even better one. So, I had to immediately test one out, and...it's a tie. Both melons make marvelous agua frescas! 

Also, I've started playing around with the "cronut." This croissant/doughnut hybrid has all the food fetishists in a tizzy, and I was encouraged by this first attempt. Not sure exactly when it might make its official appearance, but stay tuned!

Watermelon Agua Fresca – It’s Like Water, But Fresher!

“Agua Fresca” translates to “Fresh Water,” which is kind of funny, since it’s made mostly from fresh fruit. Sometimes I do extensive research into why something has a certain name, but this time, because it's too nice to stay inside surfing on a computer, I’m just going to speculate.

I’m guessing that back in the day before modern plumbing and refrigeration, water may not have always been the best tasting beverage around. Drinking wine and beer all day is a fantastic alternative, but not necessarily when you have things to do, and empires to build.

So, they took some stale, tepid water, and freshened it up with some nice cold, sweet fruit. You have to admit, that sounds pretty plausible. Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. The bottom line is, there’s really nothing quite as restorative and refreshing on a sweltering summer day. I hope you give this delicious agua fresca a try soon. Enjoy!

To make 2 quarts Watermelon Agua Fresca:

5-6 cups freshly scooped watermelon

2 cups cold water

enough simple sugar syrup to sweeten to taste (recipe as follows)

Simple Syrup:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

(you can make any amount by simply using a 1 to 1 ratio, and heating until the sugar dissolves)

View the complete recipe