Summertime Peach Cobbler

GAHHH, why isn't EVERYTHING made out of peaches?! It's the peak of summer and I cannot think of a single food that I love more.

I love peaches.

SO SO MUCH!

They're a real peach.  I guess that's where that saying comes from.

You can grill them, you can put them in salad, you can make my very favorite desserts out of them.  You can bob for them. You can eat them with a man named Bob. They'd even brighten up some corn on the cob. (Sorry, I momentarily channeled Dr. Seuss there. I'm on a peach sugar high). Anyway, there is really nothing that a peach can't make better. Even RK, who claims that he has always disliked peaches, now loves them. They are perfect. We are in love. WE are a real peach.

I am also in love with this cobbler recipe. It is SO simple. Nothing fancy. It just focuses on the flavor of the peaches and the simplicity of a perfect pastry topping. Just use very ripe, fresh peaches and you will have the perfect summertime dessert! Rich's grandmother's china is optional, but encouraged.

Ingredients:

For the peaches
8 fresh peaches, peeled, and sliced into thin wedges
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

For the pastry
1 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoon chilled butter cut into small cubes
1/4 cup boiling water

For the topping
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Flaky sea salt (optional)

Method:
In a large mixing bowl, combine peeled and sliced peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss everything together until the peaches are coated evenly. Pour into a greased baking dish and bake in an oven preheated to 425 degrees for about 10 minutes.

While the peaches are baking, in another large bowl, combine flour, remaining sugars, baking poser, and salt. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, cut in the chilled butter and blend until the mixture resembles course meal. Stir in the boiling water until just combined.

Remove the peached from the oven and top with spoonfuls of the pastry topping. Sprinkle the entire cobbler with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake until the topping is golden and the peaches are bubbling, about 40 minutes.

Remove the cobbler from the oven and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. This is totally optional, but I did it and it was delicious.

Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream!

Pickled Nectarine Salad with Arugula and Burrata

Oh, Monday- how I am never happy to see you. What a lame day of the week. It comes after a weekend usually filled with a few too many cocktails and indulgent food choices (if you couldn't tell by my previous post....) and by the time the weekend is over, Rich and I are usually scrambling to find a way to give our bodies just a little bit of nourishment after the three days of abuse they have been through. We're worn out, cranky, and going through carb withdrawals. If we had real jobs we probably would have killed each other by now. Can you imagine the two of us heading out the door Monday morning with our to-go coffee cups and a newspaper. In another lifetime, maybe.... but hopefully not.

Really, Monday's only redeeming quality is that the mail comes again (you know how I feel about the mail- it's the best.) Between all of my ridiculous monthly subscriptions (see: glossybox, birchbox, barkbox) the fact that I am a pretty devoted online shopper, and Richard and I both crossing our fingers for commercial residual checks.... the mail is a pretty exciting part of my day. Especially when Bon Appetit comes. Lucky for me, and my post weekend, salad craving, body, this month's issue had a recipe for the most delicious summer salad!!! Nectarines, arugula and burrata... some of my absolute favorite ingredients and they paired together absolutely perfectly. I switched up the recipe a bit and it turned out super yummy!

summer lunch. kale smoothie and this delicious salad.

Ingredients:

1 nectarine, thinly sliced (can be replaced with thinly sliced peaches)

1/4 small onion, thinly sliced

Kosher salt 

Freshly ground pepper

2 cups arugula

1/4 cup hand torn basil leaves

1 tbsp olive oil

4 oz burrata torn into 1 inch pieces (can be replaced with burrata's less creamy, less delicious cousin, mozzarella, though I wouldn't recommend it.) 

Method:

Toss nectarines, onion, vinegar, salt and peppers in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes to get a nice pickled flavor. 

Remove the nectarines and onions from the vinegar and toss them with arugula and basil. Place the salad on plates, top with burrata and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and enjoy!

Figs on Toast & Figs for Days

I am serious. This is going to be the first annual Ginger in the Kitchen: Fig Marathon.... kind of like when they play 12 episodes of America's Next Top Model, but even BETTER!

I was at Whole Foods on Monday (surprise!) and the fig display and I had a serious moment.... the kind that makes you a little swoon-ey, but not full blown love at first sight. You see, figs and I have a complicated relationship. I think they are really pretty and sweet, but I just don't know what they've got going on inside (besides jammy deliciousness.) This could be because as a child my life was ruined by Fig Newtons (gag!!!!) or because as an adult I just don't know what the hell to do with them! They look lovely on a cheese bored, and man, are they perfect stuffed with some blue cheese, but we have really never taken our love any further than that. So, in an effort to deepen our relationship and see what these tiny, little fruits are made of..... I bought 3 pints. Let the fun begin.

I decided to start easy. I used to hate avocados (except guacamole.... I'm not completely crazy.) Then the avocado toast craze happened, and being the on trend lady in the kitchen that I am, one day I gave it a try. My life was changed. Holy delicious! Avocado toast taught me two things that day: 1. I should always listen to Gwenyth Paltrow and 2. If you don't know what to do with it..... put it on toast!

Back to figs......

Put them on toast!

You can't really go wrong here. Figs pair well with endless ingredients. Here's a few delicious combinations to try:

Grilled peaches, grilled figs, ricotta cheese, and wildflower honey. 

Figs with arugula and goat cheese drizzled with balsamic reduction.

Grilled figs with creamy blue cheese, prosciutto, and thyme. 

I placed each combination on lightly grilled and sliced baguette. The figs were super yummy grilled... just heat your grill to medium, lightly brush the figs with olive oil, and then grill them over medium heat for a couple of minutes on each side or until you see some nice grill marks. I did the same with the peaches, too. Then, just pile everything on your sliced baguette, and voila! This is such an easy, delicious appetizer! You are sure to be everyone's favorite hostess... and figs and I have just taken our love to the next step!

Stay tuned! Fresh fig ice cream and savory fig jam to come! It's a love affair in the making.

Summer Peach and Basil Ice Cream with Mascarpone

A couple's first minor appliance (see: crock pot, toaster, electric wine opener) purchase together is a big deal. Making a decision to buy something with your significant other says that not only can you agree on at least (this) one thing, but also that you see your relationship withstanding at least the limited warranty period of said item... So, for Rich and I, that special day where we took our relationship to the next level by putting a $50 price tag on it, came just after the three month mark. And with that purchase, not only were we ready to bet $50.00 dollars our love would last at least twelve months (barring user error or an act of God) we were also committing to gaining the "new couple 15" together... with our very own ICE CREAM MACHINE. 

We were really serious about eating ice cream... not as serious as we were about each other, though, because we got engaged 5 months later. Our ice cream maker didn't make it through the engagement (or it's own warranty period), but being the dreamboat that Richard Keith is, the week of our wedding I came home to a brand new, much nicer, commercial grade ice cream maker. You know, one of the ones that you lust over in Williams Sonoma.... Which of course made me want to make ice cream even more! 

So, with the monsoonal heat wave kicking in, it's time for my newest flavor...

summer peach and basil ice cream with mascarpone

With the hot weather in LA the past couple of weeks and my boarder line unhealthy obsession with peaches (I don't know if my mother deprived me of them as a child, but I just want to eat 9 a day) making peach ice cream was is a given. Right now there are about 10 in our fruit bowl at all times, causing me to be turning everything edible into some sort of peachy creation. They're being grilled, chopped, baked.... and I realized today that it was time for them to be frozen, too!

Ingredients:

4 medium sized, ripe peaches

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup basil leaves

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cups sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 egg yolks

1 cup mascarpone

Method:

For the peaches: 

Preheat oven to 400 F. Bring a 4-quart saucepan of water to a boil. Drop the peaches in and boil for about 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and plunge into an ice bath. Rub the skins off the peaches and discard. Slice the peaches in half with a pairing knife. Remove the pit and discard. Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with foil. Lay the peaches pit-side up in the dish and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Roast for 30 minutes, until soft and glazed. Let cool and puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Set aside.

For the ice cream:

In a 4-quart saucepan over medium high heat, combine the basil, cream, milk, sugar, and salt. When the sugar is dissolved and the mixture has just started to steam, remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and return to the saucepan.

Return to just a boil over medium-high heat. Take 1 cup of the hot cream and slowly drizzle it into the mascarpone, whisking until smooth and no lumps are left. Slowly drizzle the remaining hot cream into the yolks, whisking constantly. Whisk the egg mixture into the mascarpone mixture, and then return everything to the saucepan. Heat over medium-high for about 5 minutes, until slightly thickened. Pour through a mesh sieve and cool over an ice bath.

 

Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, 3 hours or up to 3 days. Churn according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Spread half of the ice cream into a shallow, 2-quart dish with an airtight lid. Top with the peach puree and then layer the rest of the ice cream over the puree.