Dapper Kitchen: Easy Cheddar Herb Biscuits & Refrigerator Peach Jam

Captain Dapper is enjoying the tastes of summer.

I invited a couple of friends to Captain Dapper HQ yesterday for a little summer evening nosh and drink. This being a lazy summer Sunday, I wanted to make food that would be easy and casual. I also wanted to use what I had on hand, saving myself from the dreaded weekend grocery store visit. What I came up with was a little spread that included a tomato and mozzarella salad, grilled sausages and, because life is never complete without a little bread, cheddar rosemary biscuits. Inspired by an interview with Bridget Lancaster and Jack Bishop from America's Test Kitchen that I heard on Fresh Air last week, I also made a small batch of peach jam to go along with the biscuits and sausage.

Read on for my biscuit and jam recipes:

Cheddar Rosemary Biscuits
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/c cup milk
1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

Cut the coconut oil into the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt using a pastry blender until mixture looks like crumbs. Stir in milk, shredded cheese and rosemary. Form balls of down and press lightly between hands. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Making a quick jam is actually quite easy. The most time consuming part of the recipe is prepping the fruit. If you're in a big rush you can place the peach in boiling water for a quick second and then, when you remove it, the peel will slide off the fruit easily. I chose to go the old fashioned route: paring knife at the kitchen counter, peeling the peaches and eating a few slices as I went along.

Refrigerator Peach Jam
6 to 8 ripe peaches
1 cup sugar

Peel and slice peaches. Place peaches in medium size pot and heat over medium-high heat until the fruit is soft and has produced plenty of liquid. Add sugar, mix well and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring frequently. When jam has reached desired consistency, remove from heat and place in small containers. Can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.

The peach jam was equally good spread on the herb biscuits and with the sausages. You'll notice in the photo above that I chopped the sausages and served them as hors d'oeuvres. I realized at the last minute that I didn't have enough meat to go around so I grilled the sausages and then sliced them, stuck them with toothpicks and served them as finger food. This helped stretch what I had and also made the sausage easy to eat while standing around drinking and talking.

Images: Jason Loper