IDEA ALLEY: Cooling gazpacho, peach pie set summer's table

Arkansas tomatoes and peaches
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Kelly Brant)
Arkansas tomatoes and peaches (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Kelly Brant)

Recipes that appear in Idea Alley have not been tested by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

In my book, there are two things that make Arkansas summers bearable -- Arkansas tomatoes and peaches.

This week's column showcases both.

If the weather forecast as of my deadline is accurate, you're going to want to keep this recipe from Melinda Ballmer handy for at least the rest of the week, if not the next two months.

Ballmer says this is best served chilled and suggests adding or omitting ingredients as desired.

"Though it's considered a soup, we often eat it with chips."

Gazpacho

2 cups diced, peeled cucumber

2 cups diced red, green, yellow bell pepper

2 cups diced tomatoes

½ cup diced red onion or more to taste

2 cups tomato juice (Ballmer uses Bloody Mary Mix)

½ cup red wine vinegar

2 dashes Tabasco sauce or more to taste (Ballmer uses a lot more)

1 or 2 diced jalapenos

2 to 3 cloves garlic, diced

1 lime, juiced as much as possible

1 to 2 cups cilantro, chopped

Put all ingredients into large bowl and mix well.

In batches put approximately ½ of ingredients into food processor and pulse for a few seconds. Combine large and small ingredients again.

The same day fellow editor Rex Nelson shared a Facebook post by Jamison Orchard in Nashville that featured a copycat recipe for Bryce's Cafeteria's peach pie credited to the Arkansas Gazette, I received an email from a reader who'd lost her recipe that was published in this column some years ago. At first I thought I had struck recipe gold.

But as Dorothy Trickey noted in her email, the recipe she found online is not the one that was in this column. And most of the recipes I found online were similar or identical to the one shared by Jamison Orchard.

I think the recipe Trickey is looking for was published in the summer of 2001. Irene Wassell wrote "Joy Carter of Little Rock, when requesting a recipe for fresh peach pie served at Bryce's restaurant in Texarkana, described it as "almost worth the drive to Texarkana." Wanda Click of Winthrop responded promptly with the recipe.

But search after search for Click's recipe came up empty. I'm hoping someone out there has it.

In the meantime, here's an edited version of the Facebook recipe.

Copycat Bryce's Fresh Peach Pie

1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for the peaches

2 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

2 eggs, beaten

4 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 or 6 peaches, peeled, seeded and sliced

Lemon juice

1 baked pie crust (well done)

Confectioners' sugar

Whipped cream

In a heavy saucepan combine the cornstarch, 1 cup of granulated sugar and the all-purpose flour. Add the milk and eggs. Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until thickened. Add the butter and vanilla. Cool.

Meanwhile, combine the peaches, a little sugar and some lemon juice and let them macerate.

Place the custard mixture in bottom of a baked pie shell and dust with confectioners' sugar, place sliced peaches on this making sure peaches are not wet (dry with paper towels). Top with 3 inches of real whipped cream.

REQUEST

• Crab Meat Cannelloni like that served at Lazzari Italian Oven in Jonesboro for Robin Ross. Lazzari's online menu describes the dish as "pasta rolls stuffed with chopped crabmeat, shrimp and scallops, covered in cream sauce and topped with a blend of Italian cheese, mushrooms and scallions."

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