The Common Plate

This past weekend The Seasoned Farmhouse, recreational cooking school in Clintonville, Ohio, was transformed into a lovely outdoor eating venue for their first ever “Elegant BBQ Event.” The front patio of the Farmhouse was clearly designed with a rustic chic theme in mind. Tables were adorned with white cloths, burlap runners, eclectic bottles and mason jars filled with dainty wild flowers and candles. Strings of garden lights provided a charming ambience complete with live bluegrass background music. Inside guests were served moonshine cocktails and the kitchen was abuzz as Chefs Tricia Wheeler and Sarah Lagrotterria were busily instructing and guiding their staff of assistants. In line with the Southern BBQ theme, appetizers included fried green tomatoes, hand-made pickle spears and a fresh watermelon feta & mint salad. After the moonshine cocktails, we ventured over to the craft beer tasting area provided by Homestead Beer Co. and I grabbed a cold Amber Ale (my husband chose the IPA) to accompany our barbeque. Dinner was a pork fan’s dream. Our plates consisted of Stonefield Naturals barbequed ribs, a pulled pork slider with slaw and a grilled spicy barbeque-basted sausage. Corn with homemade chive butter and baked beans were served as sides. Dessert included a few different options and was highlighted with large grilled sugared fresh Georgia peaches imported via The Peach Truck since the Ohio peach harvest is lacking this year.

All in all, a lovely evening for an outdoor “Elegant BBQ.” It’s good to know the Chef too because she sent me home with a bag of peaches as they had extra on hand. Inspired by the beautiful rustic evening, I put them to use in a simple Peach Crostata. I recall my Mother-in-law serving a plum crostata at a family dinner a few years ago and it struck me as such a simple yet classic dessert. Crostatas are basically open-faced, free form pies which can be made with sweet or savory fillings. I adapted a recipe I found at Every Occasions website and I think it is versatile enough to handle a variety of summer fruits. You really hardly even need a recipe….grab a pie dough (I admittedly used store-bought because I had one in the freezer), some fresh fruit, a bit of sugar, butter and a few spices that complement the fruit and there you have it!

Peach Crostata (Serves 6)

Ingredients:

1 pie dough

2 peaches, sliced with the skin on

2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp butter, cut into pieces

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 pinch nutmeg

1 egg, beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place parchment paper on a large baking sheet. On floured surface, roll out pie dough into a 10-12 inch circle. Transfer pie dough on top of parchment paper lined baking sheet. Pile sliced peaches in the middle. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp of sugar, the cinnamon and nutmeg over the peaches. Put small pats of butter over the peaches. Roll up sides and pinch together slightly. Brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle remaining 1 Tbsp sugar over the top of the dough. Serve warm just plain or with vanilla bean ice cream.