Georgia Summer

  Ah summer. There really is no other season quite like it. Amongst the endless complaints of southern heat ( and believe you me, Georgia is hot ) and "skeeters", there is so much to love about summer. No other time of the year can you find so many wonderful things wrapped up into one fair package: warm nights, glowing fireflies, nightly grilling, fireworks, and an endless bounty of fresh produce. Tomatoes, squash, corn, watermelon, okra, field peas, cucumbers, and blueberries. These are all great things, but the best by far are peaches! It is not officially summertime until you have had a warm peach eaten out of hand over the sink, juices running down your chin and arm.
  So when the brand new Grant Park Farmers Market hosted a peach cobbler contest, how could I resist it? Now I admit that I didn't win any awards for my cobbler, but for it being my first one ever, I was pleased as pie...er cobbler. I have had much practice with blackberry cobblers thanks to the rambling patch in my front yard, but had never tried it before with peaches. I suppose I love them so much on their own that I don't think too often about transforming them into a dessert.
  For this recipe, I wanted to try something that was both classic and unusual. So naturally, I topped the cobbler with a biscuit crust, only it was flavored with lemon, rosemary, and cornmeal. I also served a vanilla custard sauce on the side that too incorporated rosemary.



Cornmeal Biscuit Topped Peach Cobbler with Rosemary Infused Vanilla Sauce



Ingredients

For Cobbler: 7 peaches, peeled and sliced
                      1/4 cup sugar
                      1 teaspoon cornstarch
                      1 Tablespoon lemon juice
                      pinch of salt
                      pinch of cinnamon


Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Toss peaches with sugar and let stand for 30 minutes to expel juices.
Drain off juices, reserving 1/4 cup of liquid.
Combine cornstarch, lemon juice, salt, and cinnamon with juice and toss with peaches.
Pour into baking dish and bake for 10 minutes.


meanwhile, make the biscuit topping


For Biscuit Topping: 3/4 cup flour
                                  1/4 cup cornmeal
                                  3 Tablespoons brown sugar
                                  1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
                                  1/4 teaspoon salt
                                  1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, minced
                                  1/4 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
                                  3 Tablespoon cold butter
                                  1/2 cup cold buttermilk
                                  heavy cream and sugar for topping biscuits
                               

Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, zest, and rosemary.
Cut in cold butter using pastry knife, fork, or food processor until mixture is coarse and butter resembles small peas.
Add buttermilk and mix just until dough comes together.
Take hot peaches out of oven and top with spoonfuls of biscuit mix.
Brush biscuits with heavy cream and generously sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 25-30, or until peaches are bubbling and biscuits are golden brown.


For the Sauce: 1 cup whole milk
                         1 sprig fresh rosemary
                         3 egg yolks
                         7 Tablespoons sugar
                         1/2 vanilla bean, scraped


Add milk and rosemary to small saucepan and bring to a low simmer, stirring often.
Remove rosemary.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks, vanilla, and sugar together until a ribbon forms when the whisk is lifted from the mixture.
Whisking constantly, slowly pour a small amount of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture.
Pour egg yolk mixture into saucepan with remaining milk.
With a wooden spoon, stir constantly over low heat until mixture thickens.
The sauce is finished when you can dip a spoon into it, then draw your finger over the back of the spoon and have a track remain that is almost free of sauce.
Serve warm, chilled, or at room temperature.





GA Peach Cobbler