mini peach cobblers

This peach cobbler for one recipe from Joy the Baker is perfect when you want a little sweet treat but not the sweat of a full blown cake or pie. As Joy mentions, I'd totally eat it for breakfast and I did eat it for a midnight snack. Nom.

Just cut peaches in half and remove the pit. No need to peel.

Combine some flour, brown sugar, old-fashioned oats, cinnamon and salt (Joy also likes shredded coconut and slivered almonds but I used what I had on hand.) Combine the dry ingredients with cold, cubed unsalted butter.

Pile equal portions into your peach holes, peach pits, peach ravines, what have you.....

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Bake. Top with ice cream. You're done! And your mouth is happy.

For more happy, spend lots of time on Joy's blog over HERE.

Peach Cobbler for One, Joy the Baker

1 ripe peach

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3 tablespoons old-fashioned oats

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon shredded coconut

1 tablespoon slivered almonds

2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed

Place a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Slice a peach in half and remove the pit.  With a small spoon, scoop out the the dark red pit center, creating just a bit more room for the crumble topping.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, salt, coconut, and almonds.  Add butter and, with your fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients.  Quickly break up the butter until it is well combined.  Some of the butter bits will be the size of oat flakes, others will be the size of small peas.

Place peach halves, cut side up, in a small, oven-safe dish.  Top each peach half with a generous portion of crumble topping.  Heap it on!

Bake for 20 minutes, until topping is golden brown.  Remove from the oven and serve warm with vanilla ice cream or cold milk.  Peaches are best served warm from the oven.

peach bbq sauce

A year ago there was a scandal in the food world. Well, the food world of those who read Bon Appetit magazine religiously as I do. There was a new editor-in-chief who was hired from a well known men's magazine to come in and clean ship. New design, new writers, new style. And boy, was it new. It looked EXACTLY like the magazine he was hired from. I didn't relate to the articles. I didn't care for the look. I wanted my old comfy magazine back!

And worse, there was rumor that the next cover would feature a celebrity, a first for a mag that typically had a dazzling plate of seasonal food on the cover. The celebrity....my gal Gwyneth Paltrow. Her cookbook, much beloved and mentioned here on this blog, had just been released. And while easy to look at, it wasn't as if she was a chef. She was no one in the food world. She was a home cook. Was that the point? The whole "stars: they're just like you and me!" bit? The blogs were in an uproar about yet another change to the magazine's point of view. 

And then the issue arrived in my mail box. I ripped page after page out. GP's recipes, different from her cookbook, were just want I wanted to make. Summer corn soup, fruit salsa with fish, and a delectable sounding peach bbq sauce. 

Change is hard and sometimes it has to be shoved down our throat to be accepted. I got used to the bold typeface and edgy photography. The new writing style which certainly skewed more masculine. After letting my subscription expire I subscribed all over again, now with a fancy free digital version I love to peruse on my iPad. 

But best of all, that controversial edition gave me a new sauce to try. Something easy to whip up and not from a bottle (though there are many GREAT bottled sauces out there). 

All you need is a few fresh peaches, ketchup, lemon, garlic, soy sauce and a little kick of something spicy. GP likes chilies in adobo. I had sriracha on hand this time. 

Chop the peaches and combine them with two minced garlic cloves, a squeeze of lemon, and half a cup of ketchup. I like about a tablespoon of soy sauce and half teaspoon of sriracha. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Add a splash of water or soy sauce to keep it loose if needed. Heat about 10 minutes while peaches soften.

 Put all that into a blender and blend until smooth. Done!

It's tangy but sweet with a spicy kick from whatever hot sauce you choose. GP marinated chicken breasts with half the sauce, grilled them, then topped the chicken with another layer. It's a great variation on the normal bbq sauce and could work on everything from fish to veggies.

Peach BBQ Sauce

from Bon Appetit June 2011

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped peeled fresh peaches or 9-10 ounces frozen sliced peaches, thawed, chopped
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons adobo sauce from canned chipotle chiles in adobo or 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 skinless, boneless organic chicken breasts
• Vegetable oil
  
• 
  

Preparation

• Combine first 5 ingredients in a small saucepan. Season lightly with salt and pepper and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer until peaches are very soft and flavors meld, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat; let cool. Pour peach mixture into a blender and purée until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place half the sauce in a medium bowl; add the chicken and turn to coat. Let marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes, or cover and chill for up to 8 hours, turning occasionally. Cover and refrigerate remaining sauce.
  
• Prepare a grill to medium-high heat. Brush grill rack with oil. Grill chicken until browned and almost cooked through, 4-5 minutes per side. Brush on all sides with reserved sauce; grill until glazed and cooked through, 1-2 minutes per side. Slice crosswise. Serve remaining sauce alongside.

vanilla ice cream with roasted peaches and amaretto caramel

Sometimes I get a flavor stuck in my head. Do you do that? Like, all I can think about is basil. How I’m going to use it. Recently, it was peaches. I wasn’t even thinking about peaches. It’s a little early for them. But there I was, wandering the farmers market and one vendor was selling fresh, fragrant summer peaches. I grabbed some right away. The drive home became about what I’d do with them….other than snack on them as is. Peaches. Mmmmm….

I’ve seen a lot of recipes for roasted strawberries lately. Roasting veggies and fruits under high heat brings out their natural sweetness and makes everything from pineapple to carrots even tastier. Sprinkle a little sugar on the fruit and a little salt and olive oil on the veggies first---even better.

Now, roasting peaches was in my head. Roasted peach ice cream sounded divine. But I’m a vanilla girl. I like the blank canvas of vanilla to top and swirl in whatever toppings I feel like that day (might I suggest frosted flakes, chocolate chips and Hersey’s chocolate syrup?). So vanilla ice cream topped with roasted peaches and……I remembered a Giada recipe where she sprinkled crunched up amaretti cookies on something peach. Cookies for crunch? No. CARAMEL! I needed a drizzle of caramel on top of this imaginary sundae. Booze it up with amaretto. Chopped up peanuts for a salty crunch?

PSA: This, my friends, was an actual thought process that went through my head during a ten minute drive. Associate with me as you will.

Normal person decision:Buy ice cream. Chop up peaches. Put on ice cream. Top with jar of store bought caramel. The end.

Leah’s mind: LET’S DO THIS!

Best thing about making your own ice cream? These five ingredients plus some sugar is all you need. Milk, heavy cream, egg yolks and sugar make custard based ice cream. Low fat and practically calorie free. (*snicker*)

I used the beloved David Lebovitz’s recipe from his beautiful book The Perfect Scoop (see recipe below). It isn’t difficult but there is some stirring, heating and tempering of the egg and cream mixture. I suggest distracting any littles with an activity so you have full attention to your custard making. Clean out mommy’s purse, anyone?

After some chill time and a brief spin in the ice cream maker—voila! Creamy, perfect vanilla ice cream. I’d stop right here but….those peaches are calling.

Simply slice them up, toss with a little brown sugar and bake at about 400 degrees for 20 minutes or so.

Making caramel sounds scary. It isn’t, but it does need your attention. No texting while carameling. Melt some butter.

Stir in sugar. I went brown here for a deeper flavor. Stir on medium heat to combine. At this point I stirred in two tablespoons of amaretto for an almond, and ok, boozy kick. You’ll cook the actual alcohol out but you are left with a hint of  “oh, this is adult caramel we’re having here.”

Stir in some heavy cream. It will bubble up a bit. This is because it is so happy. Turn of the heat and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly and thicken.

I chopped up some peanuts I randomly had on hand for some texture and a salty balance to all that sweet.

Pile these goodies together. Now all you need is a spoon.

Oh, and the recipes. Try mixing in your favorite flavors to this ice cream base. Rum would be good in the caramel or a few pinches of salt at the end. Try roasting apricots, pineapple, or berries. Cooking is about doing your own thing. (Note: baking is not. Be vewwy, vewwy afraid of baking) (I kid) (Kind of)

Vanilla Ice Cream

From David Lebovitz, The Perfect Scoop

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• pinch of salt
• 1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise (I omitted)
• 6 large egg yolks (save the whites for an omelet or to make your own pavlova)
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract (I used 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract)

1. Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of the cream, and salt in a medium saucepan.  Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warm milk and add the bean into the warm milk and add the bean as well.  Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.  In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
3. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream.  Put the vanilla bean into the custard, add the vanilla extract, and stir until cool over an ice bath.
4. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.  When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, rinsing and reserving it for another use, and then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Roasted peaches

·         3-5 fresh peaches, sliced

·         1 tablespoon brown sugar

Set oven to 400 degrees.

1.     Toss peaches and brown sugar to combine

2.     Roast for 20 minutes.

Amaretto caramel sauce

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons amaretto
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

1.     Melt the butter in a small saucepan over high heat

2.     Add the brown sugar and amaretto and cook, whisking until the sugar has melted and the mixture is smooth.

3.     Whisk in the heavy cream and cook until heated through and slightly thickened.

4.     Transfer the mixture to a bowl, let cool slightly.