Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Summer Fest 2010: Week 4 -- Stone Fruit


Ah, stone fruit. It's truly the sweetness of summer, especially when you take a bite out of a ripe peach or nectarine and the juices dribble down your chin like when you were a child. It's the perfect peach pie or apricot crumble. A scented nectarine skinned and gently bathed in a syrup of lemon verbena. A tart plum upside down cake. There are endless ways to prepare stone fruit. Poach them. Grill them, cut into pieces and turn into a dessert kabob with pound cake (a la my cooking instructor friend Lorri Allen). Cook them into preserves.


With all these options, how do you pick one or two dishes? I had some ideas, but then I went to the Little Italy Mercato last Saturday and got to talking with my friend Mary Palmer of Taste Cheese. She mentioned a dish created by her friend Don Heiser of Firehouse Gourmet: Grilled peach parfait.

Basically, you grill peaches, chop them up and mix in agave syrup and nuts -- maybe some dried fruit, too. Then layer the mixture in a parfait dish with slices of burrata cheese, all topped with a sprig of mint.

That sounded delicious and different. So, off I went back home with peaches and burrata to play with this idea. And, while I love the burrata, I could also see replacing it with homemade vanilla ice cream, mascarpone, or vanilla- or honey-flavored Greek yogurt.

Grilled Peach Parfait
Serves 4

Ingredients
4 peaches (preferably freestone so the flesh will separate easily from the pit)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons agave syrup or honey
1 teaspoon Cointreau
1 teaspoon Sherry vinegar
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
1 pint blueberries or combination of berries
6 ounces Burrata, cut in thick slices
Mint or edible flowers for garnish

1. Wash and dry the peaches, then slice in half along the ridge and remove the pits.
2. Heat grill to medium, brush the peaches with butter on the cut side and place cut-side down on the grill. Close the grill cover and let cook for 4 to 5 minutes. When the peaches show grill marks, brush the skin side with butter and turn the peaches over to cook. Close the cover and cook for another 4 minutes.
3. Carefully cut the hot peaches into bite-sized pieces and place in a medium-size bowl. Add the pecans, agave syrup, vinegar, and rosemary. Mix well.
4. Layer the peach mixture, berries, and cheese. Top with garnish and serve.


And, once I started thinking about it, I remembered the Coconut Peach Gazpacho I made in July at a market-to-table cooking class I took at Cups in La Jolla. (Read more about this class in my Local Bounty column in the October issue of San Diego Magazine.) This is a wonderful sweet and savory chilled soup that I will certainly make again at home.

Coconut Peach Gazpacho
From Jesus Gonzalez
Serves 6

Ingredients

8 ripe peaches, diced (or seasonal fruit)
1 onion, diced
½ cup light coconut milk
¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice
½ teaspoon ground California chili
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into small dice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon agave syrup, or more to taste
1 peeled and diced apple

1. Set aside ½ cup of diced peaches. Add the rest of the ingredients up to the salt to a large bowl and  puree thoroughly in a blender.
2. Cut the reserved peaches into ¼-inch dice and add to the bowl along with the diced cucumber, mint, apples, and agave syrup.
3. Taste the gazpacho at this point. You may want to add a little more lime juice or agave. Remember that chilling will dull the flavor slightly.


So, let's see what my Summer Fest 2010 colleagues are cooking up:

Sara at Cooking Channel: Savory Stone Fruit recipes

Todd and Diane of White on Rice Couple: Riesling Poached Pluots

Margaret at A Way to Garden: What is stone fruit, anyhow? Plus: Clafoutis batter revisited

Caroline at The Wright Recipes: Ginger and Vanilla Poached Peaches

The FN Dish: Paula's Perfect Peach Cobbler

Alison at Food2: Peachy Party Foods

Kelly at Just a Taste: Peaches & Cream Cupcakes

Liz on Healthy Eats: Puttin’ Up Peach Pickles, Compote and More

Food Network UK: How to Poach a Peach

Judy of Divina Cucina: Chocolate Amaretti Baked Apricots

The Gilded Fork: Dossier & Recipes Featuring Peaches, Apricots, Nectarines, Plums, Cherries, Almonds, and Coconuts

Cate at Sweetnicks: Blueberry Peach Smoothies

Tara at Tea & Cookies: Making Peach Jam

Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef: Gluten-Free Peach-Blueberry Buckle

Paige at The Sister Project: A Summer Fruit Whatchamacallit (not a pie, not a crisp, but delicious)

Tigress in a Jam: Nectarine Preserve with Summer Savory and White Pepper

Marilyn at Simmer Till Done: Cherry Apricot Pie with Ginger-Almond Crunch

Alana at Eating from the Ground Up: Stone Fruit Slump 

Now It's Your Turn!
This collaborative effort won't be much fun without you! The more info we all give, the more we'll all enjoy summer's harvest. Have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes? Starting with our posts of Wednesday, July 28, for five Wednesdays through 8/25 and possibly longer, you can contribute in various ways, big or small.
  • Contribute a whole post, or a comment—whatever you wish. It’s meant to be fun, viral, fluid. No pressure, just delicious. The possibilities:
  • Simply leave your tip or recipe or favorite links in the comments below a Summer Fest post on my blog any upcoming Wednesday, and then go visit my collaborators and do the same.
The cross-blog event idea works best when you leave your recipe or favorite links (whether to your own blog or someone else’s) at all the host blogs. That way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. Everyone benefits, and then we're all cooking with some great ideas. Or go big: Publish entire posts of your own if you wish, and grab the big red tomato Summer Fest 2010 badge above (illustrated by Matt of Mattbites). We'll also be tweeting using #summerfood as our hashtag. Here's the schedule:
  • 7/28: cukesnzukes
  • 8/4: corn
  • 8/11: herbs, greens, and beans
  • 8/18: stone fruit
  • 8/25 tomatoes
  • more to come if we all want it — stay tuned!

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14 comments:

  1. Way easy Nectarine (or Peach) Souffle Pie over at my blog... http://thepolymathchronicles.blogspot.com/2010/08/parlor-and-kitchen-pie-in-sky.html

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  2. i am roasting everything in sight. check out my post on balsamic roasted peaches...delicious!
    http://bit.ly/cUq2bQ

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  3. For Summer Fest: The peaches from our CSA just seem to get eaten – they are so good. No opportunities to cook with them.

    Since blackberries and stone fruits are both members of the rose family, I thought I would share my blackberry recipes.

    I have two pies made by different methods.
    No. 1 is good for making and eating right away.
    http://purplecook.blogspot.com/2010/08/blackberry-pie-no-1.html

    No. 2 is good for freezing.
    http://purplecook.blogspot.com/2010/08/blackberry-pie-no-2.html

    I also made blackberry ice cream.
    http://purplecook.blogspot.com/2010/08/blackberry-ice-cream.html

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  4. Pickled Peaches!
    http://sunchowdersemporia.blogspot.com/2010/08/southern-pickled-peaches.html

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  5. That gazpacho is such a creative idea. Sounds amazing!
    This week, I made peaches baked with blue cheese: http://4seasonsoffood.blogspot.com/2010/08/peaches-baked-with-blue-cheese.html

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  6. Oh, all these sound so good! Thanks for sharing!

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  7. The parfait sound yummy!

    I cooked up some Brandied Vanilla Apricots at It's The Way She
    http://itsthewayshe.blogspot.com/2010/08/put-summer-in-jar-summer-fest.html

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  8. That is one good-looking peach parfait, as in, grilled fruit + Burrata = be still my heart. Lovely summer dish!

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  9. The burrata cheese is such a great surprise in your mixed fruit parfaits. Sounds delicious!

    Here is my contribution to this weeks Summer Fest:

    Peach Pie Enchiladas
    http://su.pr/2GQnfW

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  10. I just made a savoury gazpacho for dinner -- Now I know what dessert could be!

    Here is my contribution to Summer Fest: Peach Crisp. It's lovely served hot out of the oven with a cold scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

    http://www.dollopofcream.com/2010/08/summer-fest-peach-crisp.html

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  11. Oooh . . . you had me at burrata. . .




    My entry into Summer Fest this week is my newest favorite cold dessert

    Nectarine Sorbetto, my version is made with raw honey
    http://heartlandrenaissance.com/2010/08/nectarine-sorbetto/

    and a favorite I’m saving up for cold wintry mornings,

    Ginger Peach Pineapple Fruit Butter
    http://heartlandrenaissance.com/2010/07/ginger-peach-pineapple-fruit-butter/

    Thank you for hosting! I can’t wait to dig into all the other recipes posted!

    Best,
    Sarah

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  12. Okay, I really love the peach and coconut gazpacho idea. I am totally trying that out this weekend.

    My contribution for summer fest this week is peach and pecan pie: http://mysocalledknife.com/2010/08/peach-and-pecan-bread-pudding/

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  13. I have never made gazpacho because Husband does not like cucumbers. But he is also allergic to all stone fruits...I would love to try this recipe - it embodies all the flavors I love and it is perfect for our hot, hot, hot Southern California weather. And the peaches are just right (which lasts for about 12 hours!).
    My site was down for two days and my post is late: Damson Plum Jam Spiced with Rum (or Cinnamon).
    http://bibberche.com/2010/08/plumjam/

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  14. Very interesting gazpacho! Here's my contribution to Summer Fest over at Green Thumb Geeks:

    http://www.greenthumbgeeks.com/2010/08/recipe-grilled-peaches-with-brown-sugar-glaze-over-vanilla-bean-ice-cream/

    ReplyDelete