Mm mm peach cobbler

Hooray for summer!

Hooray, because, this is the best time of year for fresh, seasonal cooking. Tomatoes, peppers, green beans, okra -- all kinds of yummies in abundance!

This being Georgia, y'all can well imagine the peaches. I can smell them walking around the farmer's market. Sweet and tender and two-napkin juicy. And even though I know I'm running the risk of spoilage and waste, I can never resist the bursting half-peck paper bags. They call to me.

Miiisssty...

So despite the heat I was inspired to bake last night. Baking at night = not unbearably miserable. Chef Google hooked me up with this recipe for fresh peach cobbler, and get this: I even tinkered a little. I'm gettin brave y'all.

So here we go: I set out a stick of butter in a 2-quart casserole to start getting soft.

Total health food here

Then I put a huge, covered pot of water on medium. Once it was boiling I dropped in 5 peaches and let them go, covered, for 5 minutes. Meanwhile I added 1/2 cup sugar to my large mixing bowl, which got me to thinking. I bet a teaspoon of cinnamon would be brilliant in there. Only one way to know for sure right?

Looks brilliant!

When the peaches were sufficiently boiled I transferred them to a big bowl of ice water, where I left them for another 5 minutes. After that, the skins just fell off. Sweet. Then I sliced up 2 and 1/2 cups' worth, which was 4 and a half large peaches. I ate the leftover half, and gently combined the slices with the sugar mixture.

Screw the cobbler. Gimme a spoon!

At this point I turned the oven on 350° to pre-heat and set the peach filling aside for a few minutes. I sifted 3/4 cup of flour with 2 teaspoons of baking powder, while I melted the butter in the microwave.

NOTE: Here you see the biggest challenge I faced with this here cobbler. That would be finding a surface in my kitchen level enough that all the butter didn't run into one corner of the casserole.

I actually had to make shims.

Then I added a cup of sugar and 3/4 cup of milk to the flour mixture. The recipe instructs, "Pour batter over melted butter. Do not mix or stir together." So that's what I did, even though...

Is it just me, or is this kinda gross?

Then it says pour the peach mixture over the top of that. Okay... That helped...

Is it just me, or is this kinda awesome?

Then it went into the oven for about an hour. The house filled up with the cinnamon fragrance. My tummy growled like a sasquatch. And this came out:

Makes me think of church potlucks in my youth.

By the time it had cooled about 20 minutes, I could wait no longer. Into a bowl with a scoop of vanilla. I almost fell off the couch.

Oh. So. Worth. The effort.

Two things:

One, Doug promised if I made this he would try some. But he better get on the stick, because I can't stay the hell out of it. He may find it all devoured before he works up his nerve.

Two, this actually doesn't remind me of the church ladies' cobblers from back in the day. I remember a crust that was flaky and crisp, kinda pie-like. This has a cakey crust -- a lot like pancake, in fact. Which is not a complaint, just a "wonder" I guess. I wonder what kind of batter I'd need to get that old-school crispy cobbler?

Probably a really difficult one. But I'd love your suggestions!

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Peach-perfect dessert

First, thank y'all for the good wishes on the new gig. Just putting it out there has done a world of good in terms of making it feel real. Now, on to the deliciosity.

So you live in Georgia. You (conveniently) love peaches. But you're married to a picky-face who hates nearly all fruit. Hates fruit! I know. I don't get it either. Anyway at the farmer's market peaches come in ridiculous quantities, which means you gotta get creative if they're not going to spoil.

Last summer I discovered this peach pound cake, which was awesome. This not-even-summer-yet it's already too hot in the kitchen for baking. So now what?

Peachy caramel ice cream topping

What you need:

• 2 tbsp butter (not margarine)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• Splash of water or peach schnapps
• 1 peach, peeled and diced

Start by melting the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. As soon as it starts to bubble, add the brown sugar and stir. The brown sugar will melt, but the mixture will stay a bit gritty.

 It smells kinda strange. Be not deterred!

Here's where you add the water or peach schnapps. I didn't have the booze on hand so I used water. If you do try the schnapps, use a grill lighter to ignite and burn off the alcohol. The flavor will remain. Yum. Simmer until the mixture gets smooth, and coats your spoon.

 You can stop right now if you want plain caramel.

Now toss in the peaches and keep on cooking and stirring until the fruit is as soft as you like.

In hindsight, I should have cut these pieces smaller.

Spoon over ice cream, and if you're feeling fancy garnish with a peach slice.

I was decidedly not feeling fancy.

Yields enough topping for 5 or 6 scoops of ice cream.

Variations: I suspect apples, pears, and all kinds of berries would be super-yum in this recipe. Or try just about any fruit-flavored liqueur instead of/in addition to fresh fruit. Just be careful with that flambe, my friends. Scorched kitchen curtains have a terrible bouquet.

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A thousand pardons and a peach

Two weeks ago I started driving. Atlanta, Metropolis, Peoria, Metropolis, Atlanta -- in six days. It lacked to have killed me, but? Totally worth it!

A veritable Bradley speech pantheon assembled in Peoria to hang out and coach the current team. I stood in awe. I didn't take any pictures. I kept thinking I had found a bitchin' party. And lawyers love people who take pictures at parties.

Truth is I've poured all my smarts into the Bradley team since then. I've barely had jokes left to tweet. I apologize for neglecting this space; I have got to learn some balance.

Oh I've kept cooking meals and taking pictures. There's a good half-dozen recipes comin...

I just want to ease back in with the peach tea thread from last week. I'm lucky to have found some decent winter peaches. Canned ones also work - pour the juice straight in to boost the flavor. That's JUICE, not syrup. You're on your own with that stuff...

Today's tea is Lipton Black Pearl.

Next: boil water, slice peach. I don't mind the skin, but you can always do the old blanch-and-peel. Put some peach slices in your cup, with the teabag.

 The rest of that peach will be my snack in a minute.

Pour in boiling water and let it steep. I like super-strong tea, so I let it go at least 5 minutes.

The waiting is the hardest part.

I admit, I didn't get a good strong peach flavor out of this batch. It's hit or miss in winter, and I should have used more fruit. It was good though. I still drank it.

Take out the teabag and add some honey (I always leave the peach). Sip immediately to warm your face and fingers.

For iced tea, steep the peach and teabag longer (10-15 minutes) and use extra honey. Make sure the honey is all dissolved before pouring over ice.

Coming soon: Mama's got a new deep-fry pan. Get excited!