Bon Appétit – RSVP Redux (June and July)

The ever-fabulous Barb of Vino Luci Style (who is also my friend and my web designer!) recently began to highlight recipes from Bon Appétit’s RSVP section.  When I saw her gorgeous Blueberry Cornmeal Cake from the May issue, I knew that I wanted to join in the fun too.

For those who don’t know, the RSVP section features recipes for dishes readers have tried at restaurants or on their travels and would like to recreate at home.  When Gourmet was still around, I wrote to them requesting a recipe for a pasta dish we had eaten in Todi, Italy and it has since become a firm favourite in both my and my parents’ household – I love the idea of recreating fabulous food moments from travel destinations at home so Barb’s idea to make a dish a month from RSVP was right up my alley.

To catch up, I am posting both June and July’s entries in one post.

From June’s issue, I chose the “Raspberry Smash” cocktail.

I was intrigued by the mix of champagne and vodka – wasn’t sure how that was going to work but it was really refreshing.  I used frozen raspberries since that’s what I had and they worked fine.  I think that might have contributed to the Kool Aid-like colour!!  We also used prosecco in place of champagne – again, a perfectly acceptable substitute.

Raspberry Smash

from Bon Appétit June 2010

Smashing (called muddling in the bartending biz) the raspberries with the vodka, sugar, and lime wedges brings out the berry flavor.

Yield: Makes 2

Ingredients:

2 lime wedges
Sugar (for dipping)
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
6 tablespoons vodka
4 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 cups ice cubes
1/4 cup chilled Champagne

Preparation:

Run 1 lime wedge around rims of 2 old-fashioned glasses. Dip rims in sugar. Place both lime wedges, raspberries, vodka, and 4 teaspoons sugar in cocktail shaker; using muddler or wooden spoon handle, smash fruit mixture. Add ice; shake 10 seconds. Divide between glasses (do not strain), top with Champagne, and serve.

Adapted from Bella Vista restaurant in Santa Barbara, California

From the July issue, I chose a simple pasta dish with flavours I love – cilantro, lime and feta cheese being the major players.  A splash of tequila and some sautéed shrimp make this a perfect summer’s dinner.

We all agreed that this dish could use a bit more “kick” – not necessarily spice but perhaps some lime zest tossed with the pasta at the last minute.  In any case, it was really tasty and I can see myself making this pesto again and again.  This took literally 30 minutes to make, so perfect for those summer nights you don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen!

I can hardly wait for my August issue of Bon Appétit to arrive 🙂

27 thoughts on “Bon Appétit – RSVP Redux (June and July)”

  1. Pingback: Tweets that mention Bon Appétit – RSVP Redux (June and July) -- Topsy.com
  2. Since I’ve just referred to Nigella in my comment on your pavlova post it seems appropriate to say that this drink reminds me of her recipe for “Slut Red Raspberry Jelly” – never made it but the name is fabulous!!!

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  3. SMASHING!! Problem solvered – now I know whatz on the menu for someone’s cantina birthday party coming up in July.

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  4. Very nice. I don’t actually get Bon Appetit so the RSVP section was new to me. What a neat idea and of course bring it here puts another spin on the recipes.

    Jason

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  5. Both of those recipes look awesome… but I’m particularly loving the refreshing look of that pesto! Downright perfect for all that hot weather we’ll be getting soon.

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  6. I agree with everyone. Those dishes both look and sound delicious. What fantastic colors. Yummy. I want to try both.

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  7. Oh how I miss summer. It is 7 degrees in Melb today and much closer to 3 if you factor in the wind chill. Reading this post has made me long for the sun.

    The drink looks divine – awesome colour. I am trying to imagine the taste of the feta with the cilantro and lime – I think it would very more-ish.

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  8. MMm that pasta dish looks amazing! I’m a spicy girl so some hot chili flakes would be a perfect finishing touch for me…with some grated parmigiano…just the way we’ve always done it at home. If you really like heat, jarred spicy homemade peppers always do the trick!

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  9. I made the Linguine with Shrimp and Cilantro-Lime Pesto too. Your picture is great. Great idea for your blog–cooking the RSVP recipes. I still have a lot to learn about food photography. It is not easy!

    Reply

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