Summer Sips & Bites Part II

Now that I've teased your palate with the edible from last weekend, I think it's time to show off the drinkable. My mother certainly has provided me with invaluable recipes and kitchen tips over the years, but it's time to honor my father with a post dedicated to his own version of sangria.

As a general rule, sangrias should be sweet (but not overly so), fruity (but not overpowering), and entirely refreshing. They should also be relatively simple to make, contain as few ingredients as possible, and not cost a fortune. To me, this drink represents summer in a glass. I can't tell you what kind of wine we use -- part of the secret -- or the quantities of the other "special" ingredients, but I can tell you this: made in advance, with enough time for the wine base to acquire as much citrus juice as possible, sangria can taste so smooth that you'll hardly remember you're drinking anything alcoholic.

Allow me a moment to introduce my newest (and current favorite) kitchen toy: the mandoline. Purchased with the remnants of a wedding giftcard that I'd saved for delayed gratification, this little gem made the sangria-making experience a whole new kind of pleasure. Normally, slicing citrus fruit is everyone's least favorite chore: slippery and tough, the oranges, lemons, and limes have caused me some rather painful moments in the past.

But no longer! After cutting each fruit in half, I simply set the height of the slicer, wet the slide, and got to cutting perfect little slices.

"Peasant Food"

J and I have lately had the pleasure of sharing a delicious meal with some friends while also partaking in some good dinner conversation. It will come as no surprise that the subject of food was a frequent topic, and in the midst of nattering on about copper pots and gas vs. electric, someone dropped in the phrase "peasant food." Fear not, foodie friends, I'm not talking about pseudo-country-style, over-seasoned, baby-portioned, restaurant interpretations of medieval fare. I'm talking about simple ingredients combined in a single dish, the likes of which have been enjoyed by the international middle and lower classes for centuries. Yep, real household versions of much older dishes.

Coincidentally enough, I'd been planning to attempt chicken pot pie as this week's challenge -- a true bit of peasant cooking indeed. So with mild trepidation, I began:

Empty dish awaiting its cargo

Is that pastry dough? From scratch?!