Peach Blackberry Pie

I used to claim my peach pie was the best I ever had.  In fact, I think the recipe may be called Best Peach Pie, I was so confident.    This year though, when I started to make The Pie, something seemed lacking.  It didn't have that WOW factor I thought it once I had.  I felt like it was undercooked.  I didn't like how hard the top of the pie was.  I searched for a new recipe.

It took me last than 10 minutes to decide to try a this recipe.  Since then, we've made it no fewer than 4 times this summer.  We loved it that much.  I made a few tweaks after the first time to get the crust not to get so dark, but other than that, it's been good to us.  Curtis tried his hand with it one day, thinking he could improve on it.  The only thing he thought that really improved it, was slicing the peaches more thinly and more carefully arranging them in the pie crust (instead of my dump and clean out with a spatula method).

Now I feel like once again I can claim my peach pie is the best I've ever had.  It's perfect this time.  Really.  At least until one or two or five summers from now when I decide it isn't.

This does take a chunk of time to make, mostly because the crust is so fussy.  It's a wonderfully rich butter crust, but it does have to chill twice and blind bake before filling it with fruit and baking it again.

Peach Nectarine Pie
adapted from In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite by Melissa Clark
Crust:
2 1/2 c flour
1/2 t salt
1 1/4 c butter (20 T)
4 - 10 T water (I know that's a big range---I've used between 5 - 6 usually, sometimes more)
Filling:
2 1/2 lbs (6 c) peaches, sliced thinly (we leave the peel on, but we're just like that)
1 T lemon juice
1/2 c sugar
1/3 c brown sugar
pinch of salt
2 1/2 T cornstarch
1 T vanilla
2 c blackberries
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
coarse sugar (Demera or "raw" or decorators's sugar)

For the crust:  Pulse together the flour and salt in a food processor.  Add the butter and very briefly pulse---just until butter breaks up into chickpea sized chunks.  Add the water, 1 T at a time and pulse just until the mixture holds together (you do not want the mixture forming a ball and spinning around the sides of the food processor bowl).  Form the dough into a two balls, set each on a piece of plastic wrap and flatten into a disk.  Firmly cover/seal the dough with the plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator at least an hour before rolling out and baking.

If you've refrigerated the dough for significantly more than an hour let rest on the counter a minute or two before rolling out.  You can tell if you need to do this if the dough is too hard to roll and immediately breaks apart when you are rolling it.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out one ball of pie crust to fit a 9" pan (the dough should maybe be 13 - 14 inches in diameter).  Place in 9" pan and flute the edges.  Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes or as long as overnight.  With the second ball, roll out thinly and cut out 10 - 15 shapes using a cookie cutter.  I choose flower shapes---both big and small (mostly because I didn't want Christmas or Halloween themed shapes on my summer pie).  Transfer to a baking sheet lined with waxed paper and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the filling:
Combine the peaches in a large bowl with lemon juice.  Gently stir in the sugar, brown sugar, and salt, and allow to macerate (sit unattended) on the counter for 30 minutes.  While the peaches macerate, prebake the crust in a preheated 375 degrees oven.  Line the crust with foil and fill with pie weights.  Bake for 25 minutes or until the edges of the crust begin to crisp.  Remove the weights and foil and bake an additional 5 minutes to crisp the bottom of the crust.

Once the peaches have finished macerating (I just like using that word!), add the cornstarch and vanilla to the fruit and stir until the cornstarch dissolves.  Add the blackberries and very gently toss.  Scrape the fruit into the pre-baked pie shell.  Arrange the pie crust cutouts on the tope, touching at places but not totally covering it.  Brush the cutouts with the egg white glaze and sprinkle lightly with the coarse sugar.  Bake in a preheated 400 degrees oven (yes, this is higher than before) for 40 minutes.

Around 30 minutes into baking time, check the edges of the crust.  If it appears to be browning to quickly or getting to dark, very, very lightly tent a piece of foil over top.  After the initial 40 minutes of baking at 400 degrees, lower the oven temp to 350 and bake an additional 15 - 40 minutes, until the filling is bubbling.   You want to leave the pie in the oven as long as possible so the cornstarch activates and thickens the filling.  However, if you are concerned that the crust just won't taste good because it's so dark, take it out of the oven.  It will be more edible with a runny filling than with burnt crust.

Peaches and Cream Popsicles

While the kids loved the peach mango popsicles, my mom and I loved the peaches and cream popsicles. I plan to keep serving these to my kids, in hopes that they'll eventually like them.

The fact that these have Greek yogurt in them thrills me. I like the idea of getting some calcium and protein with the fruit.

Can't say much more about them than that. Great popsicles!

Makes 6 popsicles.

Peaches and Cream Popsicles

from mybakingaddiction.com

2 -3 peaches, pureed (equal to 1 c of pureed peaches)

1 peach, diced (equal to 1/2 c of diced peaches)

6 T milk

1 (5.3-oz) container of Greek vanilla yogurt

2 t agave nectar or sugar (or more depending on sweetness of peaches)

Mix together pureed peaches, milk, yogurt, and agave nectar until smooth. Stir in diced peaches. Fill popsicles molds and freeze, 7 -9 minutes in the magical Zoku popsicle maker or 4 hours in the freezer.

Peach Mango Popsicles

Did you know that the 8th year wedding anniversary is popsicles? OK, maybe officially it is bronze, but bronze schmonze. In our house, it was popsicles! For our anniversary I got Curtis a Zoku popsicle maker.

Maybe this was one of those gifts that was as much for me as it was for Curtis. Maybe I loved the idea of having healthy popsicles for our kids in 7 minutes (how long it takes for popsicles to freeze). Maybe this was the first anniversary gift I had ever gotten Curtis. Maybe I won't get him another one for another 8 years, say for our 16th anniversary which I hear is an expensive saute pan year. :)

We've enjoyed many popsicles many times this summer. The kids' favorite (besides straight up orange juice popsicles) are the Peach Mango Popsicles.

Peach Mango Popsicles

from Whole Foods Market website

1 mango, peeled, seeded, and pureed (it should equal 1 c pureed)

2 -3 peaches, pitted and pureed (it should equal 1 c pureed)

1/4 c water

2 T sugar (or agave nectar would work too, use less agave nectar than you would sugar)

lime or lemon juice, to taste

Combine fruits in a medium bowl. In a small pan, heat water and sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add to the fruit. Add lime or lemon juice to taste.

Fill popsicle molds. (Magical Zoku molds take 7 minutes to freeze! Otherwise, freeze until set, 3 - 4 hours).

Roasted Chicken with Peaches

There are not many things I make that Curtis complains about while he watches me make them. I think those he does complain about, before trying can be grouped together in one of two categories: shellfish, and fruit in anything but a dessert. Needless to say, when Curtis saw this, he winced and told me that was a waste of perfectly good peaches.

I am pleased to report, that although Curtis complained before trying them, after trying them the complaining ceased. He decided he really liked this recipe. It helped that I substituted chicken breasts for the thighs. While I am usually a thigh girl, in this recipe I actually prefer breasts (we had both when I made it). We served this with crusty bread (you could also serve it with rice).

Everyone liked this and it's a nice dish to make when you just can't enough of the peaches that start showing up in the heat of the summer. You can make part of this ahead of time. Mix together everything but the peaches and refrigerate. Slice and add the peaches just before roasting.

This seves 4 - 6

Roasted Chicken with Peaches

adapted from In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite by Melissa Clark

1 lb peaches (they can even be hard, any stage of ripeness works), pit removed and sliced 1/2" thick

2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" strips

1/4 T olive oil

1/4 c red wine or chicken broth

1/4 c fresh basil, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1" piece fresh ginger, grated

1 t salt

1 t pepper

crusty bread or rice, for serving

In a 9 x 13" pan, toss together the peaches, chicken, olive oil, red wine, basil, garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper. Roast in a preheated 400 degrees oven for 20 - 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the peaches have softened. Serve with crusty bread for sopping up juices or with rice.

Do ahead: toss together the chicken, olive oil, red wine, basil, garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to roast, then toss with the peaches (don't slice the peaches ahead of time, just slice them when ready to roast). Roast as directed.

Purslane and Peach Salad

If you've been following this blog for awhile, you know my parents' had what I considered a massive garden when I was growing up (and they still do---just with some flowers and raspberry bushes thrown in now). One summer, I remember that we were required to work in the garden an hour every day. Most of this was spent picking off potato beetles to later drown in motor oil or pulling weeds. I spent a lot of time pulling this weed. Little did I know that some 20 years later I would be paying money to buy purslane, the weed I spent hours trying to rid my parents' garden of.

Purslane is really healthy for you from what I understand--healthier than spinach, in fact. It's high in Omega-3's. Plus, it's completely free if you have a garden to weed (just goggle it first to make sure you are in fact planning on eating purslane and not something else). I made a simple salad of ours. I saw lots of more elaborate recipes--eating purslane is more common in other cultures. I didn't feel like elaborate though and made the simplest recipe I could find that looked good: Purslane and Peach Salad.

Curtis loved it. J ate some of it (he is actually eating salads now, glory be!!). M and little I didn't, but they aren't salad eaters yet (I still have hope). Curtis loved the texture of the leaves and it wasn't too bitter (like summer arugula often is).

I found this recipe off of seriouseats.com. It's not so much of a recipe as just a few things thrown together. Perfect for a side salad that presents wonderfully and requires minimal work.

Purslane and Peach Salad
from seriouseats.com

purslane
a peach (or two, depending on how much purslane you have), sliced or cut into chunks
one small red onion, thinly sliced.

Combine all ingredients. If you are using a particularly juicy peach, you won't need any dressing. Otherwise toss very lightly with good extra virgin olive oil or grapefruit balsamic vinegar (if you can find it).

Stone Fruit and Arugula Salad

Your small tender leaves
Jagged and peppery recalls
Cooler days to come

Crisp, ripe stone fruits dance
with pungent cheese, hazelnuts
unexpected joy

Yes, this salad inspired haiku. Probably more if I sat and thought about it for too long. I wouldn't have put this combination together. When I think of fruits on my salads, I think strawberries, oranges, occasionally blueberries. It never occurred to be to add stone fruits like peaches, plums, and apricots. I am sure you could just choose one of the fruits and skip the others, but why?
Hazelnuts I always just paired with chocolate or raspberries or other dessert things. This combination is great.

Stone Fruit and Arugula Salad
adapted from Williams-Sonoma Cooking from the Farmer's Market

2 T rice vinegar
1 t honey
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
6 c (more or less, I never measure my greens...), baby arugula
2 small firm (but yet ripe) plums, halved, pitted and sliced 1/4" thick
2 small firm (but yet ripe) apricots, halved, pitted and sliced 1/4" thick
2 small firm (but yet ripe) peaches, halved, pitted and sliced 1/4" thick
1/4 c hazelnuts
1/4 c firm blue cheese, crumbled

Toast the hazelnuts: Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Place hazelnuts on rimmed baking sheet and toast 7 - 10 minutes, or until nuts are fragrant and skins flake off easily (test one or two nuts carefully). Remove from oven and dump nuts on one half a dishtowel. Fold dishtowel over to cover and roll the nuts between the top and bottom layers of the towel. Roll nuts that still have skins clinging to them between your fingers. If not all the skin comes off, that's fine, but most of the skin should. Coarsely chop skinned hazelnuts and set aside.

In a small glass jar, combine the vinegar, honey, olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Shake vigorously until vinaigrette is emulsified. Set aside. (You can also do this by slowly drizzling olive oil into vinegar and honey, whisking constantly to emulsify. I find the shaking route much easier and more effective).

In a large bowl, toss together the arugula, fruit, and hazelnuts. Add half of the vinaigrette and toss gently. Taste and add more vinaigrette if necessary to assure the arugula is lightly coated with dressing. Sprinkle with blue cheese and serve.

Peach Streusel Coffee Cake

I am loving the peach season this year. I am a little sad I will miss the peak of the peach season (and most of the freestone season). However, I am making the most of it while I can. Little I is my peach lover this year (well, M is, too). I can hand him a peach and he will somehow suck the thing to the stone. I think he's my little peach vampire.

A week ago, we got some small, not very ripe freestones at the Farmer's Market. We were slow in eating them because they took a while to ripen. I decided to make the last three into a recipe. Since they were small, I probably should have used 4 or 5, but I only had three. I sliced the peaches pretty thinly (1/4" thick at the most) to make it stretch over the whole cake. I used a 9" springform pan, but a regular 9" square baking pan would work too.

We loved this! Curtis has yet to taste it, but I shared it with our neighbors for an impromptu coffee break. It was fabulous! I'll make this again if I can wrangle up more peaches this afternoon at the Farmer's Market.

Peach Streusel Coffee Cake
from The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book

Streusel
3/4 c flour
1/3 c brown sugar
1/4 c sugar
1 t cinnamon
6 T cold butter, cut into small pieces

Cake
1 1/2 c flour
3/4 c sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 egg
4 T butter, melted
1/2 c milk
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 t almond extract
1 lb peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced 1" thick

For the streusel: In a small bowl, stir together flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Add the butter and mix using your fingers or pastry blender until coarse crumbs form. Set aside.

For the cake: In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, beat with an electric mixer or by hand with a whisk the eggs, melted butter, milk, vanilla, and almond until creamy, about 1 minute (My mixture never completely became creamy--the butter separate because of the other cool ingredients, but it all worked out fine). Add the flour mixture and beat until just evenly moistened. Do not overmix. Pour the batter into a greased and floured 9" springform or square baking pan. Spread it evenly with a rubber spatula. Arrange the peach slices attractively over top (concentric circles or rows, depending on pan). Gently press peach slices into batter. Sprinkle evenly with streusel.

Bake in a preheated 350 degrees oven (325 degrees if using a glass baking dish) for 40 - 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 - 20 minutes. Remove the sides of the springform pan and serve, warm or at room temperature.

Best Peach Pie Ever

Ok, I know there's a bit of superlative going on with the title, but it's true. There is no picture, because the pie didn't last long enough to survive for a picture.

Peaches are back in Central Texas, and boy, are they wonderful this year. After having 3 years with very few peaches, the peaches are everywhere. When I go to the Farmers' Market on Saturday, I have lots of peach choices. (However, for me, the choice is a no-brainer. I like Rocky Hill Orchard's at the Barton Creek Farmer's Market peaches best--partly due to a very convoluted family connection. Plus I just like how their peaches taste).

It's early in the peach season though, which means the peaches are cling. That means, you can't just slice the peach in half and easily remove the stone (pit). It took a little for me to come up with a method for slicing peaches, but I figured it out. I cut the peach in half (as if the stone will pop out for me). Then I slice it vertically in slices, so the first cut is in the middle of each slice. I do this around the outside of the peach, cutting as far as possible (until reaching the stone). The stones I save for the kids to suck the last remaining peach off of. This is rather messy, but it works great for giving slices for a pie.

Fresh Peach Pie
from the Shenk Cookbook

9" unbaked pie crust
3 c fresh peaches, sliced (peeling is optional--up to your preferences)
1 egg, beaten
1/3 c butter, melted
1 c sugar
1/3 c flour
1/2 - 1 t cinnamon (we always use the full teaspoon)

Spread peaches in prepared pie crust. Mix together remaining ingredients. Spread over peaches in crust. Bake in preheated 350 degrees oven for 45 min- 1 hour, or until top of pie has cooked through (it will be a little crusty).