Categories
Dessert

HONEY ROASTED PEACH BUTTERMILK ICE CREAM

Honey-Roasted Peach Ice Cream

Whenever nothing else in the world makes sense, one thing in life that remains constant is food. No matter what your day may bring, what challenges lies ahead; we can always find balance in the kitchen. Nothing is more reassuring than a morning cup of coffee, constantly stirring a pot of risotto will always be relaxing, and eating vegetables straight off the plant will always be energizing and empowering, giving us the strength to make it through another day.

In the kitchen, the combination of community and food comes together in a beautiful way. It’s a place where you share your life, your challenges and your successes. It’s a place of peace. We never know what tomorrow will hold, but I know I will be holding a cup of chicory coffee wrapped comfortably in both hands and tremendous faith in my heart to make it through whatever comes my way. For that I am sure of.

Another thing I’m sure of is the combination of fresh peaches, tart lemons and floral honey… and creamy ice cream. I am very sure of ice cream.

Honey-Roasted Peach Ice Cream

Recipe: Honey-Roasted Peach Buttermilk Ice Cream

Makes 1 Quart

Note: Notice this recipe calls for no actual buttermilk. The combination of peaches roasting in the lemon juice and adding those lemon-soaked peaches to the ice cream base while it’s churning creates wonderfully tangy buttermilk (which also cuts the sweetness of the ice cream.)

For Roasted Peaches:

1 ½ pounds (or 4 large) unpeeled, pitted, halved peaches

2 tablespoons of local honey

Juice of ½ a lemon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Toss all of the ingredients in a bowl making sure to coat the peaches in honey and lemon juice. Place the peach halves cut side up on a roasting pan fitted with parchment paper. Roast peaches for 20-30 minutes until the peaches slightly char.

Cut peaches into chunks and set aside.

For Ice Cream:

2 cups of heavy cream

6 egg yolks

½ cup of sugar

Roasted peaches (recipe above)

1 tablespoon of honey

In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is pale yellow and thick.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan allow the heavy cream to heat just until it simmers. Add the hot cream in a steady stream to the egg mixture, whisking constantly.

Over a double boiler, heat the ice cream base just until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 8 minutes.) Once the entire mixture has thickened, cover and place in the fridge until chilled.

Using an ice cream maker, add the chilled ice cream base to the ice cream machine. Once the mixture has thickened, add the roasted peaches 1 tablespoon at a time and 1 tablespoon of honey. Once the machine has finished, scoop the ice cream into a freezer proof container and freeze for at least 2 hours. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Categories
Dessert Uncategorized

THE PEACH TRUCK

Poached Peaches

There are few joys in life that are greater than the first peach of the season. A wave of childlike giddiness rushed over me as Michael and I pulled into the Franklin Farmer’s Market on a steamy Saturday morning. The Peach Truck sign caught my attention, and I immediately turned the wheel of the car in its direction (did I mention I was riding shotgun? My hand should have been slapped, but I believe Michael was amused at me bouncing out of my seat in excitement, and all was forgiven.) Ten peach enthusiasts were in line in front of me, all beading at the brow, but no one seemed to mind as long as we could take home a brown paper sack filled with fresh peaches.

Fresh Peaches

Patient waiting paid off as a young lady handed me a brown paper bag stamped with a tiny farmer’s truck and The Peach Truck logo. She let me know I should keep the peaches in the paper bag on the counter until Monday and let them sit in the fridge to ripen the fruit. Politely, I nodded knowing full well the moment I was out of her line of sight one was going directly into my mouth.  Michael dealt with the “business” side of things and handed the sweet lady cash for my treasures. By the time he turned around, I was nose deep in the bag, inhaling the honey and flowery aromas coming from the peaches.

Fresh Peaches

Immediately my mind began racing with endless possibilities: peach tart, peach pie, roasted peaches, muddled peach lemonade, grilled peaches with brown sugar. On and on the list went, and finally, the perfect preservation of the peaches pervaded. Vanilla poached peaches. Poaching peaches slightly softens the fruit and allows for the skin to easily be peel away, exposing the blushing flesh. It’s the next best thing to eating a peach right off The Peach Truck. It’s the best dessert for the greatest summer fruit: the precious peach.

Recipe: Inspired by Seasons by Donna Hay

Serves 6

Note: Add leftover vanilla pods to sugar for vanilla sugar or save in a bottle of rum or vodka in the pantry for at least 6 weeks and you have your own homemade vanilla extract! Also, the sweet vanilla-peach infused syrup is wonderful in sweet tea.

2 pounds of ripe peaches, thoroughly washed

3 cups of water

2 cups of sugar

1 vanilla bean

Make a long slit through the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out all of the vanilla seeds. Reuse the leftover pod for vanilla sugar or homemade vanilla extract.

Slice a shallow “x” into the base of each peach. Set aside.

Place water, sugar and vanilla seeds in a medium-sized saucepan over low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to high, bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. Add the peaches to the poaching liquid. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the peaches are soft to the touch. Take the saucepan off the heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Peel the peaches, place in a sterilized Mason jar and pour the syrup over the poached peaches. Keep in the fridge until ready to use. Serve over ice cream, muddled in lemonade, or all by themselves!

Categories
Dessert

A RUSTIC PEACHY KEEN TART + A COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY

Peach Tart

This cookbook came into my life at the perfect time. And by the perfect time, I mean the first week of peach season. On the cover of Southern Living: Feel Good Food, staring right smack dab at me is a perfectly poised peach pie, just begging to be devoured. Flipping through the rest of the book is a delight as classic Southern dishes are given modern-day spins from the South’s most trusted Test Kitchen. Chapters in the book are based on emotions with recipes that are “Gracious”, “Indulgent”, and “Celebratory.” Feel Good Food celebrates and honors Southern memories, traditions and dishes.

You know the saying; “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” Well, in this case, you can judge a book by its cover if its cover is a picture of a glorious peach pie from the South’s most trusted Test Kitchen.

Southern Living Feel Good Food

To enter to win a copy of Southern Living: Feel Good Food, just leave a comment below of your favorite feel good food between now and midnight, June 16th. The winner will be chosen randomly and will be announced right here and on Twitter on June 17th! I will contact the winner through email to get their mailing address to have this wonderful book shipped on over. Limit 1 comment per person, pretty please! Good luck, ya’ll!

Congrats to Jenny who won the Southern Living Feel Good Food Cookbook! I’ll be emailing you to get the details! Thank you for everyone who shared your favorite feel good foods! I loved reading over each comment!

Recipe: Southern Living: Feel Good Food

Serves 8

Note: To make a rustic tart, just follow the recipe for the dough and filling recipe as follows and create 2 tarts with the dough and divide the peach filling between the 2 tarts. After rolling out the dough, place the filling in the center and roll up the edges around the fruit. Seal the edges by pinching them together, brushing the egg wash on the edges, and continue with the rest of the recipe as follows.

1 1/3 cups of cold butter

4 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, divided

1½ teaspoons of salt

½ to ¾ cup ice water

8 large fresh, firm, ripe peaches (about 4 pounds)

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

½ cup of granulated sugar

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon of salt

1 ½ tablespoon of butter, cut into pieces

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 ½ tablespoon granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Cut 1 1/3 cups of butter into small cubes, and chill 15 minutes. Stir together 4 cups flour and 1 ½ teaspoon of salt. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until mixture resembles small peas. Gradually stir in ½ cup ice water with a fork, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened and dough begins to form a ball and leaves sides of bowl, adding more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary. Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap; press and shape dough into 2 flat disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap, and chill 30 minutes to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place 1 dough disk on a lightly floured surface; sprinkle dough lightly with flour. Roll dough to about ¼-inch thickness. Starting at 1 edge of dough, wrap dough around a rolling pin. Place rolling pin over a 9-inch pie plate, and unroll dough over pie plate. Press dough into pie plate.

Roll remaining dough disk to about ½-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 3 (1 ½ – inch wide) strips and 8 (¼ -inch wide) strips using a fluted pastry wheel.

Peel peaches, and cut into ½-inch thick slices; cut slices in half. Stir together brown sugar, next 3 ingredients, and remaining ¼ cup flour in a bowl; add peaches, stirring to coat. Immediately spoon peach mixture into piecrust in pie plate, and dot with 1 ½ tablespoon butter. (Do not make the mixture ahead or it will become too juicy.)

Carefully place dough strips over filling, making a lattice design. Crimp edges of pie. Brush lattice with beaten egg; sprinkle with 1½ tablespoons of granulated sugar.

Freeze pie for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a jellyroll pan in oven for 10 minutes. Place pie on hot jellyroll pan.

Bake at 425 degrees on lower oven rack 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees; bake 40 minutes. Cover loosely with foil to prevent excessive browning, and bake 25 more minutes or until juices are thick and bubbly (juices will bubble through top.) Transfer to a wire rack; cool 2 hours before serving.