French Onion Soup & Peach Desserts

Typically this blog tends to create menu's and sensible food groupings, but the number of peaches overtaking our kitchen tosses out all concepts of sense, sensibility, and rational food thought.

 

French Onion Soup: From “The Book of Soups” by Lorna Rhodes

2 Tbsp Butter

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 lb Onions, thinly sliced (I use between 4 – 6 onions depending on their size)

Pinch of Sugar

5 cups Beef Stock

1 Bay Leaf

Salt and Pepper

4 thick slices of a French Style Bread or Croutons

1 cup Mozzarella Cheese

1. Heat Butter and Olive Oil in a large saucepan

2. Add in Onions and Sugar

3. Cook over a medium heat for about 20 minutes or until golden brown

4. Add Beef Stock and Bay Leaf and slowly bring to a boil

5. Simmer for 25 minutes

6. Remove Bay Leaf and season with Salt & Pepper

7. Ladle into bowls and top with bread and cheese

8. If you have oven safe bowls you can place them under the broiler briefly till cheese melts

 

Peach Pie: A Personal Recipe

6 Peaches- cleaned, skins removed, pitted, and sliced

1 Tbsp Sugar

1 Tbsp Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp Flour

¼ Pie Enhancer (Buy it here)

A splash of Lemon Juice

1 premade pie crust

Optional Crumb Topping:

1/3 cup Flour

4 Tbsp Butter, cut into small pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Clean Peaches

3. Press pie crust into pie pan and pinch or roll the edging

4. Add Sugar, Brown Sugar, Flour, Pie Enhancer, and Lemon Juice to the Peaches

5. Stir to combine

6. Pour into Pie Crust

7. In a separate bowl, combine Flour and cold Butter

8. Using your fingers or a pastry blender combine flour and butter till crumbly

9. Spread over the top of the pie

10. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 – 55 minutes depending on how brown you like it to be

 To me- pie isn't worth it if there isn't a crumb topping on it. Also take note of how clear the peaches look and how there isn't any excessive juices filling the plate - this is mainly due to the pie enhancer. It really will change your life. I promise. : )

Peach Cobbler: From Food Network.com

Cobbler Filling:

4 cups Peaches, sliced

¾ cup Brown Sugar

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Vanilla

1 Tbsp Flour

Cobbler Crust:

1 cup Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Baking Soda

3 Tbsp Brown Sugar

4 Tbsp Butter, cut into small pieces

2/3 cup Buttermilk

2 Tbsp Turbinado Sugar or Brown Sugar

Whipped Cream

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2. Butter a medium sized baking dish – I use a square 8x8 dish

3. Place sliced Peaches into dish

4. Sprinkle with the Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Vanilla, and Flour

5. Mix gently and re-spread again

6. Bake for 10 minutes

7. Meanwhile, combine the following crust ingredients in a bowl: Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Brown Sugar

8. Mix the Butter in with your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs

9. Add Buttermilk and stir

10. Remove fruit from oven

11. Drop spoonfuls of dough on top of the fruit covering the surface

12. Sprinkle with the Turbinado Sugar or Brown Sugar

13. Bake for 20 minutes

14. Serve warm with Whipped Cream

I'm sorry that I do not have a better photo of the cobbler. This was actually the second cobbler made over the weekend because we devoured the first one so fast. I made this one for a friend. This goes to show just how many peaches we had ... still have... considering making peach ice cream next. 

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As for butter versus margarine, 

I trust cows more than chemists.  

~Joan Gussow

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Peach Smoothies & Malted Milk Chocolate Cookies -- Yes, Please!

I have been obsessed with canning these past two weeks. (A post to come about that later on). Needless to say canning is hot, sweaty, and unrelenting work. You also frequently get burned. So at the end of the day yesterday I was not interested in food whatsoever, but I did have an urge for a fresh, cold smoothie. I had peaches on hand and this is what resulted from my food urge.

Peach Yogurt Smoothie – From Food.com

4 Peaches, peeled, pitted, and quartered

2/3 cup Vanilla Yogurt

½ cup Milk

1 ½ Tbsp Brown Sugar

Dash of Ground Nutmeg

6 – 10 Ice Cubes

1.  Blend first five ingredients in blend until fully processed

2.  Add Ice Cubes a few at a time to achieve desired thickness

3.  Pour into glass and enjoy. Extra can be refrigerated for a day or two. 

I never did get into the mood to make supper, so we just got some take out once the little one was in bed. I did, however, pause our movie to make a quick dessert. 

Another homemade ice cream sandwich - but this recipe just uses malted milk chocolate chip cookies as the sides to the ice cream. A lot easier to make on the spur of the moment than the previously posted banana split ice cream sandwiches. I had made the cookies the day before and just put them to this use for a little movie night snack. 

Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies – From Tasty Kitchen.com

2 stick Butter, at room temperature

¾ cup Brown Sugar

¾ cup White Sugar

2 Eggs

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

½ cup Malted Milk Powder

2 cups Flour

1 ¼ Baking Soda

1 ¼ Salt

Milk Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Cream Butter, then add the Sugars and cream again until fluffy

3. Add Eggs, beat slightly, add Vanilla Extract and beat until combined

4. Add Malted Milk Powder and beat until combined

5. Combine Flour, Baking Soda, and Salt. Combine with Butter mixture

6. Stir in Chocolate Chips

7. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and bake for 7 minutes. 

** I adjusted the cooking temperature and time of this recipe because mine initially came out way too crispy and almost burnt. So I do 350 degrees for 7 minutes – but I split the seven minutes with 3 minutes being cooked on the bottom rack of the oven and then the remaining 4 minutes being cooked on the higher rack. When you take them out they may still look a little pale, but they finish cooking and browning while still on the tray out of the oven.

** I feel it is hard to call these cookies. They are exceedingly thin, practically wafer-like, and they are really chewy if not over-cooked. They work splendidly as the shells for homemade ice cream sandwiches.

** I ended up ordering the Malt Powder online. On Amazon.com I saw that it looks like it could be found in the creamer section of a larger grocery store, but I hadn’t checked there. So it is possible that it could be found in your local store. 

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I doubt whether the world holds for anyone a more soul-stirring surprise 

than the first adventure with ice cream.  

~Heywood Broun

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