Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos

One of my favorite summertime appetizers, this simple recipe warms up appetites and the grill. Simply start with 2 ingredients, embellish as wanted.

Ingredients:
Jalapenos
Cream Cheese
Optional:
Garlic pepper spice
Bacon (because everything is better wrapped in bacon).

Cut jalapenos in half lengthwise, de-seed, and soak in water for 10 minutes to lessen the heat if desired. Fill with cream cheese and fixins', grill for 10 minutes on medium heat until the sides are charred a bit - this will also lessen the spice heat of the jalapenos.

And there you have, a beautiful start to your grilling night.

Wine/Beer Pairing:
A cold beer of your choice.

#1 Herb Drying Tip

Bushels of basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary and bee balm stand tall in my garden. A little tip: When drying herbs to save for winter months, it is best to pick early (cut quite a bit) rather than later in the season. The reason why is the herbs have a more potent flavor right now, that will enrich your dried herbs.
Other Steps for Drying:
- Dry in a airy place (the standard, Italian-themed kitchen sink works perfectly).
- Tie a piece of twine or string, let hang for roughly a week, or until dry. 
- When dry, place in jars, date and save for winter.

It can be a lengthy process, harvesting, rinsing, drying and crushing - but sprinkling homegrown, organic thyme on your wintertime dishes is like a touch of sun in the middle of winter. 

Also, my new favorite herb this year: pineapple sage - not sure what to cook it with but it smells amazing. Perhaps pineapple sage smudge sticks?

When Life Gives You Lemons...Make Limoncello

I'm entertaining the idea of entertaining for an all-out garden-esque dinner party later this summer when Wisconsin's fruits and ripe and ready to devour. In prep for the picnic table party, I decided to make my own twist on an after-dinner drink: Limoncello.

Limoncello is commonly served in Italy as a digestive (deee-gesteeve they would say). I fell in love with the citrus concoction while studying there. Turns out - quite simple to make.

What you need:
Lemons
Sugar
High Proof Alcohol (Everclear is best, Vodka will do)
Jars with lids
Twine

I made my batch with Vodka, but realized that Everclear would be better because the high alcohol content soaks up more flavor. The cool-looking way to make this stuff is: use 1.5 lemons per jar. First, grate 1/2 of lemon peel and mix with the alcohol. Then, develop a contraption to hang another quartered lemon above alcohol, then sealing the lid (twine). Do not let the lemon touch the alcohol - just dangle above. Let sit on counter, wait a month for science to work its wonders!

Updates coming...in a month.

Cheers,
Holly