Raspberry and Peach Sorbet

After finishing up my last teacher workday I decided to treat myself to a pedicure, a very long overdue pedicure. Harris Teeter is right next door so I went in to grab a magazine and raspberry lemonade. I mean I always like Martha's ideas and photos but imagine my excitement when I read in the latest Martha Stewart that you can make raspberry sorbet in a food processor! Raspberry sorbet is my summertime favorite frozen thing ever!

After my pedicure I went back into Harris Teeter and grabbed some frozen raspberries. I couldn't just stop with raspberry and got some frozen peaches as well. Martha also had this huge spread about peaches and since I didn't have any good fresh ones around to bake with, I figured peach sorbet would work for now. And does it ever! Sooo good, both of them. Maybe I'll never have to buy the pricy sorbet in stores anymore!

Raspberry Sorbet

Makes 1 pint

12 oz frozen raspberries

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

Mix sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Pulse frozen raspberries in food processor until they are a very fine crumble. Add sugar water to the raspberries while the processor is running until it is smooth. Pour into freezable containers and place in freezer until firm, around 2 hours.

Peach Sorbet

Makes 1 1/2 pint

16 oz frozen peaches (or use whatever size you can find)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

Mix sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Pulse frozen peaches in food processor until they are a very fine crumble. Add sugar water to the peaches while the processor is running until it is smooth. Pour into freezable containers and place in freezer until firm, around 2 hours.

Day 3: On the search for the best peach cobbler

And perhaps I found it?!?

Over the years I've tried out a few peach cobbler recipes but haven't really loved any of them.  Mainly this is because I have such high expectations after having my grandmother's wonderful, perfectly crusted peach cobbler around all this time.  

So the recipes I have tried have failed to live up to hers.  Paula Deen's I had really high hopes for.  As a Southern lady I just knew hers would be perfect.  But the crust was like a thick cake on top, way overpowering.  So today I set out on google to find a good recipe and instead of looking at the ingredients I just google image searched "the best peach cobbler" and looked through the results.  Not too cakey, a little crisp, gooey, .... 

After some not so impressive photos and some really random photos of things not even related to peaches or cobblers I came upon the winning photo and recipe that can be found here on this blog.  It's good to discover recipes on other food blogs, I mean that is the whole reason of creating one right?

It looked a lot like my grandmother's so I decided to search no further.  Very easy to make.  I forgot the cinnamon, which I was sure was a necessity, but after tasting it I didn't notice.  Soooo good.  

And I actually had a real occasion to make this dessert for and a new taste tester!  I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it.  

So, I'm sort of impressed that I found so much to write about on a simple peach cobbler but I think this will be my official peach cobbler recipe from now on.  

Day 2: Grilled Peaches with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

Okay, I thought of this all by myself.  No Ina, no Martha.  

I've never actually had a grilled peach.  So I broke out my George Foreman grill that I got for Christmas but still hadn't used.  There was little prep: cut the peach in half, remove the pit, and put it on the heated grill.  Pretty simple.  

As it was grilling, I raided my fridge hoping and praying I had some heavy cream that wasn't expired.  To my surprise I found that I had one that hadn't even been opened yet and didn't expire until the end of this month.  Excitedly, I poured some in a bowl and started up my electric mixer.  I whipped and whipped and whipped.  Then after seeing no results stuck in my finger and tasted it...

...I definitely was whipping buttermilk.  

But it gets better.  On another shelf I found some fresh heavy cream.  I added about 1/4 cup of sugar and maybe 1/4 tablespoon of cinnamon (a good sprinkle).

By this time my peaches were ready and all I had to do was add a dallop (I love that word) of the whipped cream.  

My overall impression,  grilled peaches are okay.  Maybe it was my George Foreman grill, but they sort of had a weird taste that I wasn't expecting.  But the whipped cream was amazing!!!!  The cinnamon added the perfect warmth to the already sweet cream.  So even if I wasn't the biggest grilled peach fan I will definitely keep this whipped cream recipe in mind for my next peach creation.  And how good would that be on apple crisp or pie????

Day 1: Peach & Blueberry Crumbles

Ina's Barefoot Contessa at Home was the first place I went looking for more peach recipes.  Luckily I looked in the right place first :)  

I cut the fruit recipe in half since I wasn't willing to give up that many peaches on my first recipe.  This still filled up 5 small ramekins.  I kept the crumble recipe the same and used all of it.  What can I say? I like my peaches extra crumbly.  I baked two of them and have the rest stored in the fridge for now.   Tonight I'll probably bake them up and share them with some of my neighbors.  

If only I had some vanilla ice cream right about now....as Ina would say, "How gorgeous is that!!!"

Peach & Blueberry Crumbles

~Ina Garten from Barefoot Contessa at Home

For the Fruit

2 lbs firm, ripe peaches

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 cup fresh blueberries

For the Crumble

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 stick cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Immerse the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until their skins peel off easily.  Place them immediately in cold water.  Peel the peaches, slice them into thick wedges, and place them in a large bowl.  Add the lemon zest, juice, sugar and flour.  Toss well.  Gently mix in the blueberries.  Allow for the mixture to sit for 5 minutes.  Spoon the mixture into ramekins or custard cups.  

For the topping, combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas.  Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it is in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over fruit.  Place the ramekins on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  

A Peachy Keen Challenge

I have to admit that I'm partial to fruit desserts.  Over the weekend my dad went to Asheville and I jokingly told him to buy me something from one of the many wonderful farmer's markets.

On Sunday afternoon I was very happy that he had actually listened to me and bought home a huge basket of South Carolina yellow peaches.  I love fruit desserts but peach fruit desserts are on an entire different level for me.  Last summer I made a few desserts with peaches (summer fruit crisp  and peach and raspberry crisp) but having this many peaches I think that I need to try out a few more.  

So here is where the challenge comes into play: 

First up:

Summer Fruit Crisp

OK, another fruit dessert. It started out being a crostata. I made my pastry dough, put it in the fridge, cooked several other things, and by the time I got it out to roll the kitchen was 95 degrees and it just wasn't going to happen. So my Summer Fruit Crostata became a Summer Fruit Crisp. I think it was for the best really because the combination with Breyer's vanilla ice cream (the kind with the little vanilla bean specks) made everyone very happy.

Here is my recipe, I think, I threw it together pretty fast.

1 lb black plums
1 lb peaches
1/2 pint blueberries
zest and juice of one orange
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour

For the Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup oatmeal
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Peel the peaches and cut into wedges along with the plums. Add in blueberries and toss with orange zest, juice, sugar, and flour. Pour into baking dish.

Combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt, oatmeal, and the cold, diced butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the butter is pea-sized and the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle evenly on top of the fruit. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly.

Peach and Raspberry Crisp

My favorite fall dessert is Ina Garten's Apple Crisp.

My new favorite summer dessert: Ina Garten's Peach and Raspberry Crisp.

After the first bite I knew it was great. Then when my next bite included a raspberry it was more like love.

Peach and Raspberry Crisp

~Barefoot Contessa

4 to 5 pounds firm, ripe peaches (10 to 12 large peaches)

zest of one orange

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 cups plus 2 to 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 pint raspberries

1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick-cooking oatmeal

1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the inside of a 10 by 15 by 2 1/2-inch oval baking dish.

Immerse the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds, then place them in cold water. Peel the peaches and slice them into thick wedges and place them into a large bowl. Add the orange zest, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons of flour. Toss well. Gently mix in the raspberries. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. If there is a lot of liquid, add 1 more tablespoon of flour. Pour the peaches into the baking dish and gently smooth the top.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, salt, oatmeal, and the cold, diced butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the butter is pea-sized and the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle evenly on top of the peaches and raspberries. Bake for 1 hour, until the top is browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. Serve immediately, or store in the refrigerator and reheat in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until warm.