Peach Cobbler

The BEST Peach Cobbler!  (Adapted from Southern Living Recipe)

Do not let this order of elements throw you.  YES... add the butter first to the 13x9 baking dish (I use a foil pan).  NO... you do not mix in the butter with the crust, you place the melted butter and then LEAVE IT ALONE!  And YES... add the butter first, then the crust mix and do NOT stir together, and then spoon on the peach mixture, and do not mix together.  It is weird!  I was certain I was screwing this up. No.  It's heaven! I wavered from the Southern Living recipe a bit so here is what I did, and will do forever!

Peach Mixture:
8 Peaches, ripe but not over-ripe.  (give or take, depends on size) or 2 large cans sliced peaches
1 cup Sugar
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
Dash Nutmeg
1 Tsp Vanilla (GOOD vanilla!  Call me if you don't know what this is!)

Crust Mixture:
1/2 cup Butter, melted  (1 Stick).  This does not go in the mixture, it is melted and goes into the 13x9 by itself
In a medium size bowl mix: 
1 cup Flour
1 cup Sugar
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
Dash Nutmeg
Dash Salt
1 cup Milk

Start with the peaches.  Peel them.  Only a fool does this with a knife as I have seen on some recipe sites.  Rookies!  Slip the skins.  Wash them well, and bring a pot of water to a boil.  Insert 4 peaches at a time and leave them in the boiling water for about 45 seconds or so. Remove them onto a paper towel or a paper plate.  Cool slightly and then with your fingers just pull apart the skin. It will slip right off.  On a cutting board, slice the peaches in half and remove the pits, remove any pit remaining inside the middle of the fruit and slice the peaches into smaller sections.  When they are all pitted and sliced, I like to give them a final rinse in a colander to make sure no hard parts of the pits are remaining.  

Rinse the pot of the boiling peel water out, wash and dry, and use the same pot for the peach mixture.  Add sliced peaches, 1 cup Sugar, 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice, 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon, and a dash of Nutmeg.  Heat and stir until all the sugar is dissolved.  Do not overcook, leave the peach mixture in the pot and remove from heat.  Stir in 1 tsp of Vanilla to the peach mixture.  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare the crust mixture.  In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup Sugar, 1 cup Flour, 1 Tbsp Baking Powder, 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon, Dash Nutmeg, Dash salt, and 1 cup milk.  Whisk together until combined but do not overmix.

Assemble the cobbler.

Melt the 1/2 cup (one stick) butter, and put in the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish or foil pan.  Spread it around and the LEAVE IT ALONE.  Then place the crust mixture on top of the butter, as evenly as possible but do NOT mix it.  It will look weird. It's ok.

Last, spoon the peach mixture onto the crust mixture, again you are NOT mixing, just spooning it on top evenly over the whole 13x9. 

Bake 40-45 minutes and get a good golden brown top before removing it.  The crust makes its way to the top because of the rising of the baking powder (SCIENCE!!) and results in a crust that has absorbed the delicious peachy syrup in the process. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.  The cobbler stays fresh for days, if covered.  Easy!

You have now, rightly, made a perfectly healthy fruit into a decadent dessert as it should be. Carry on!

Baklava

I thought Baklava to be the elusive snow leopard or giant squid of the baking world.  Insert Richard Atennborough's voice "Baklava, while delicious, is impossible for a common cook to bake, and cannot be reproduced in any palatable form by anyone except dedicated greek grandmothers..." 

It was my pinnacle, my white whale.  Then I tried making it.  <headsmack> It's not that hard.  The Greeks and Turks have us all bamboozled.  This recipe adapted from a you tube video, Robin makes Baklava.  Thanks to Robin!

 

Ingredients:

1 package of phyllo dough, defrosted (2 hours at room temp or overnight in the fridge)
NOTE: One box contains two rolls, I use one roll per recipe and make a 9X13 pan.
3 cups of raw nuts of your choice, I used a mixture of walnuts, almonds and pecans
1/2 to 1 cup butter, melted
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves

Syrup:
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Make the syrup first by adding the water and sugar to a sauce pan over medium high heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Add the honey.   Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Let syrup cool completely, even setting it in the refrigerator if necessary.

Place the nut mixture on a cookie sheet in a single layer and then bake for 8 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees F. or until the nuts are a golden brown. Be careful not to burn the nuts.

 

Let the nuts cool completely and then place in a food processor until they are ground up. Do not over grind and make paste.

Pour the nuts into a bowl and add the cinnamon and cloves and stir to combine.

Now to assemble the baklava.

Unroll the phyllo dough. Cut the dough with scissors if necessary to fit the baking dish. Count and remove 10 sheets of the dough, then cover the remaining phyllo dough with a very slightly damp towel so it doesn't dry out as you work with a portion of it.

Brush the bottom and sides of the baking dish with butter. Don't over-do it in the butter department as it will make the baklava soggy.

Then lay 10 pieces of phyllo dough, one at a time in the dish. Lightly butter each piece of dough after you place it in the dish.

After the 10th piece of dough, 4-6 tablespoons of the nut mixture to the layer. Spread the nuts out with your hands to cover the layer.  (I had enough dough to do three nut layers, so portion out as you wish).

Then add 3 more pieces of phyllo dough, one at a time, buttering each piece as you place it in the dish. Then add another layer of nuts.

Alternate between 3 layers of dough to one layer of nuts until all the nuts are used.

Finish with remaining sheets of phyllo dough for the top. Butter the last piece on top too. Then cut the baklava into squares or diamonds before baking in the oven.

Bake for 40 to 55 minutes or until it is golden brown.  (mine was about 45 minutes in a glass pan).

Once you remove the baklava from the oven, pour the cooled honey mixture over the top. Let it sit for at least 4 hours before eating. Store on your counter, uncovered.

Tips:

Remember to butter each dough layer lightly with melted butter.
Cut the baklava before baking. It's just easier.
Roast the nuts, do not skip this step.
Make sure to cool the syrup completely and add it to the hot out of the oven baklava.

Catering: Mini Cream Cheese and Cheddar Biscuits with Spicy Sausage Gravy

Mini Cream Cheese and Cheddar Biscuits and Spicy Sausage Gravy

(adapted from iamafoodblog.com)

Makes between 24 and 30 mini biscuits or 10-12 regular biscuits

2 cups flour

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1 tsp soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

4 Tbsp sliced green onion

4 Tbsp cold butter, cut into pieces

8 Tbsp cold cream cheese, cut into pieces

Slightly more than ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

12 Tbsp Milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Mix flour, baking powder, soda, salt, pepper and green onion.  Cut in the butter with pastry blender until there are a few pea-sized pieces.  Cut in the cream cheese the same way.  Add cheddar.  Add the milk and stir until just combined.  Turn out onto a floured surface and work the dough until just able to cut biscuits.  Cut with a 1” biscuit cutter.

Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet, bake 8-10 minutes.

For full sized biscuits:  Oven temp 425, bake for 15-17 minutes.

Spicy Sausage Gravy

Fry a one pound chub of Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage into crumbles.  Add at least ½ cup flour and 2 Tbsp butter to the pan and cook until the raw flour smell is out.  Add about 4-6 cups milk, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer to desire thickness, salt and pepper to taste.

Notes: Used the Pampered Chef 1" flower shape cutter, worked well. The biscuits can be made ahead and warmed.  The gravy is easy enough to make on site and keep in a sauce server or crock pot, stands up well with frequent stirring.