Quiet Weekend

This weekend was pretty quiet.  I had a class on Saturday at the library but we rescheduled it hoping for better attendance.  The date was probably a poor choice since Saturday was the end of the first week of school in Fulton County. 

My husband had volunteered to make some stands for an upcoming church production since he thought I would be gone.  Not a problem, I can always find ways to entertain myself!  He said he had one helper coming over and they'd just grab lunch at Chick Fil A.  I like Chick Fil A, but the more I thought about it the more wrong it seemed.  I told him that I'd make lunch. 

I started with another peach cobbler since they are quick and I'm getting pretty good at them.  I made one Friday to take to my hair salon.  I used a few more peaches than called for and this is pretty good.  Especially warm. I had it without ice cream or whipped cream. 

Peach Cobbler from Paula Deen

4 cups peeled, sliced peaches
2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/2 cups milk
Ground cinnamon, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.
4. Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.
5. To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Once I had the cobbler baking I went to the office to do a little work for a cooking class I have today.  A woman contacted me because she wanted to learn some kitchen basics. We will be working on some basic knife skills, some pan sauteeing, some roasting of meat and vegetables.  We'll be doing this at her home and it should be fun.

While I was working upstairs I heard someone come, the helper I assumed.  My husband came up and said that he had 3 helpers, not 1 and did I want them to go get lunch.  I replied that we were fine with more people.

I had planned a recipe from Giada for lunch using the grape tomatoes and basil from the garden.  We would also have some watermelon for a salad and the cobbler.  I used rotini pasta with this recipe.

Spaghettini with Checca Sauce from Giada De Laurentiis Everyday Italian

8 ounces spaghettini or angel hair pasta
4 scallions (white and pale green parts only), coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (12-ounce container) cherry tomatoes, halved
1 (1-ounce) piece Parmesan, coarsely chopped
8 to 10 fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often, about 8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine the next 7 ingredients in a food processor. Pulse just until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped (do not puree).
3. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water. Toss the pasta with the tomato mixture and fresh mozzarella in a large bowl. Add some of the reserved pasta water (about 1/4 cup) if the sauce looks dry. Serve immediately.

The helpers were very happy with the lunch and I heard they taunted the one that left before lunch with words of "warm peach cobbler" .

Sunday we had reservations to go out to dinner at Restaurant Eugene. It was excellent.  I had a roasted pepper soup with blue crab, halibut with tomatoes, eggplant and polenta and a smoked, baked chocolate mousse for dessert.  I need to make the soup!  My husband had a wedge salad with blue cheese, sturgeon with risotto and a brownie with toasted coconut ice cream.  We will go back again, we had a wonderful, relaxing meal.