Summer

Two of my absolute favorite foods are fried chicken and potato salad. There's something so unabashedly comforting about these foods that I am not ashamed to admit they're my favorite. I love them maybe because my mom would make them every year on my birthday or because it's simple and unassuming to prepare. And who doesn't love fried chicken and potato salad? Just the word fried is enough to make anybody like it. And creamy potato salad with the traditional mayo and eggs is always a crowd pleaser. It's typical summer picnic food in an old-fashioned way. Lucky my birthday is in July.

For me summer wouldn't be complete without these two classics. But there's nothing wrong with updating mom's recipes. I take traditional fried chicken and give it a healthy modern and slightly Southern twist. Dare I say it: I like skinless fried chicken! I use chicken tenders that I bread in the usual flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs but add cornmeal for an extra crispy crust. The potato salad: I like a runny, creamy, tart, and sweet dressing. In addition to chopped eggs, I also add crumbled bacon. Eggs and bacon go hand in hand after all. And finally give it a Scandinavian twist with chopped dill, which adds brightness. It's irresistible flavor will have your friends coming back for more. Get ready summer, Here I come!

Many projects I work on have a moratorium on sharing. Sometimes by me, other times by the publisher or editor who usually lets me know when I can start blabbing about it. Sometimes the lead times are long (a year or two in advance!), other times I just have to wait a month or two until whatever I photographed has hit the streets.

Of course, most of the time it’s ok to share a little bit via Instagram and Facebook, but I usually err on the side of caution and keep my mouth shut.

Which is painful when there are great recipes I want to talk about. Like this one. Oh my goodness, this one.

I am a peanut butter freak, and combined with an apple or banana it’s my standard sweet snack. I knew I’d love this recipe from Jenny Flake’s The Picky Palate Cookbook when we were reviewing the recipe list, and when Adam and his team began to assemble it I knew that the shape would photograph beautifully, and I knew that the shape would also fit in my stomach perfectly.

I think I ate the whole damn thing.

Slightly rustic and simply elegant, this easy dessert is a mainstay in this Farmer’s kitchen! The complement of basic ingredients with pretty fruit is what makes this dish so elegant. Peaches in the summer, apples in the fall, pecans in winter, and strawberries in spring, the dough for this tart is quite versatile.

Just shy of true pie crust dough, this tart dough is a perfect blend of the slightly sweet with just enough puff and flake. Sweet and tart peaches are the piece de resistance for this lovely dessert, and a glaze of peach preserves adds a beautiful sheen to the tart and makes the perfect dollop for serving.

Fresh from the farm peaches are wonderful just about any way you slice them. For this dessert, I leave the skin on, which helps hold the shape of the peach wedges. Arranging from a center floret of peach slices and concentrically ringing the dough with the fruit is quite beautiful if you roll the dough into a circle. If you roll your dough into a more rectangular shape, lines of peach slices make for a great presentation as well.

When summer roles around, I am in need of a much needed break from my daily routine. With that said, I do love routine; I meal plan, time manage my days, and don’t really like when a wrench is thrown into my day.

Summer is an opportunity for me to relax a little. Dinners are way more causal and the occasional “do-it yourself” sandwich bar may show up on the kitchen counter leaving everyone to fend for themselves.

The barbecue becomes my favorite household appliance and eating al fresco is a nightly affair. During the summer months, I do everything on the barbecue; roasted salsa, pizza, potatoes, fish, stone fruit, and the usual suspects of chicken, beef, sausage, and fish.

BBQ drumsticks are an easy meal. Paired with roasted “garlic bread” broccoli (the first time I made this, the kids named it), and some sliced melon, no one leaves the table hungry. Plus, clean-up is a breeze!

Hint: make extras, leftovers are a must!