Peach – Bourbon Upside Down Cake

Southern summers are sticky – sticky with humidity and that comforting feeling of sweet nectar dripping down your hands. A basket full of blushing peaches marks the shift from mid-summer to late here in North Carolina. Tender and juicy with a delicate undeniable scent, peaches are one of our most beloved stone fruits. At this very moment you’ll find farm stands and farmers markets brimming with freshly picked selections, both white and yellow with a blush of pink when ripe. Purchase or pick when they are ever so slightly hard and let ripen on your counter for a few days; a paper bag will speed the process right along. To preserve their precious pretty skin, be sure to keep them from touching and bruising one another. So sensitive in addition to sweet. You know it’s hard to really improve upon the flavor of a ripe southern peach but we must admit we certainly have fun trying. Laid atop a bed of crunchy greens with tomatoes, basil, and drizzled with a homemade vinaigrette; pureed and simmered into peach butter, a scratch made biscuit’s dream; or sliced and stirred into creamy freshly churned ice cream to beat summer’s intense heat. All of it, every last succulent bit of it, is just peachy.

– from the Five Loaves Catering kitchen by Marlene Littell
(kindly filling in for a traveling Harrison)

Peach Recipes>>

Peach-Ginger Upside Down Cake from Michael Hastings/Winston-Salem Journal

Peach Butter from SmittenKitchen.com 

Grilled Peaches with Honey-Balsamic Glaze from WhiteOnRiceCouple.com 

Heirloom Tomato, Summer Peach, and Fresh Herb Gazpacho Salad from Fine Cooking