Lost June: Call if Found-7/6/10

I love the month of June, don't get me wrong.  Graduations, weddings, and Father's Day are all great events.  I just don't cook much in June.  For the last two years, we've done the bulk of our summer traveling in June and it throws off any attempt on my part to cook anything of real consequence.  We headed up to my parents' house in New Hampshire on the 10th for my brother's burial service and some much needed family time.  The bulk of the first week there was dealing with the graveside service and another memorial service at his work.  This was really draining on all of us and much like when we were up there immediately after my brother's death, we had lots of food given to us and didn't do much cooking at all.  The second week was much more relaxing but Richard had headed back to Atlanta so I spent a lot of time visiting old friends and hanging out with my parents.  I made a killer strawberry-rhubarb pie one night.   I was really proud of how it turned out.  Mom drove back with me to Georgia since Richard and I had driven the car up and she didn't want me to drive home alone with Eyrleigh.  We got home just in time for my birthday, July 1st.  So yes, I did not make a single cooking magazine recipe in June.  But, you know what, that is okay.  Tonight, I got July off to a thematic start.  I had written in my menu plan from this month's Bon Appetit magazine Grilled Chicken and Peaches with Chipotle Peach Dressing but when I was picking up the ingredients, I decided to stay with peaches and add the Deep dish Peach Pie with Pecan Streusel Topping for dessert.  I mixed it up with some Quick-Pickled Cherry Tomatoes with Dill.  At the last minute I invited my friend Christina and her young son, Tyler, one of Eyrleigh's best buds to come for dinner so I was glad to have a nice dinner planned.   I made the Quick-Pickled Tomatoes and peach pie while Eyrleigh took a nap and was able to have fun swimming with the kids right before we threw the chicken and corn on the grill.  The chicken was good, though I found the glaze did not adhere well to the chicken.  The grilled peaches were great though and mixed with the cooked chicken served well as a glaze.  The pickled tomatoes were also good but again, how many pickled tomatoes can one eat?  I thought they would make a great addition to a more complex salad. 
Another summer favorite, Grilled Corn with Honey-Ancho Chile Butter, was devoured by the kids.  I actually didn't give them any of the rather spicy butter but they sure loved the corn.  The adults loved the butter than had a delightful mix of spice and sweet and worked well with the meaty mid-summer corn.
The peach pie gets my vote for best dish of the meal, maybe even the month and it's only the first day.  This pie was excellent.  The soft sweet peaches melted in your mouth and layered perfectly under the crunchy pecan strudel.  I'd let Eyrleigh help me spread the crust and there had been more than a few patch jobs in it and it was still outstanding.  Wow, I'm getting hungry just writing about it.  Off to have more pie.
Grilled Chicken and Peaches with Chipotle-Peach Dressing-A-
Quick-Pickled Cherry Tomatoes with Dill-B
Deep Dish Peach Pie with Pecan Streusel Topping-A

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