Failed attempt 1 at Peach Nirvana

I am working on developing a recipe for "Peach Nirvana" as a sort of cobbler for a science fiction story my wife and I are writing. Long story. At least so far, but we aren't done writing it yet. The cook in the story makes a cobbler for the crew that is a hit.

My first attempt was to adapt the Lemon Wedges over Shortbread recipe with the peach syrup and peaches in place of the lemon juice and zest. I cut the sugar in half since there is a lot of sweetness in the syrup and peaches and none of the sour of the lemon to contend with.

Little known fact, peaches are bigger and juicier than shavings of lemon zest. Word.

FAIL

But there were some lessons learned.

Never give up. Never surrender. 

Lemon wedges on shortbread

Wanted to bring a little something to a party and realized I hadn't had lemon squares in a long while. Dug around for a recipe, and didn't see anything familiar, so I decided to try the one from The New Best Recipe Cookbook.

It was quite rich but very flavorful with good balance between the filling and the crust.

Halloween Party Food

For me, Halloween has come to be mostly about food and friends (with some fun with costumes and decorations thrown in). This year we made way too much food, but it was fun to see it all on display.

Brain crab dip.

Brain gelatin.

Halloween Graveyard Cake

What is more thematic for Halloween than a graveyard cake? I started with a recipe Sharon found at Spooky Graveyard Cake and their recipe for chocolate buttercream frosting, though I used 1/2 tsp almond extract, 2 tsp vanilla extract, and two drops of orange essence.  For the actual cake, I used this one bowl chocolate cake recipe.

Peach Risotto

I have been making a lot of roasted chicken. This leaves me with all the bits you don't eat that I make into broth. So, what better to make from stock than risotto? I'll tell ya: Peach Risotto.

Belated bacon jam

Last winter I got a lesson in making bacon jam. Thanks Tanya! Somehow I never got the photos put here.


Ended up with three jars of deliciousness.

Instant fruioatmeal flambé

We had some packets of instant oatmeal that were getting a little dated, so I decided it would be good to use them up, and replace them in out pantry. But the idea of plain oatmeal wasn't cutting it for me so fresh from the local Hollywood liquor, I thought what could be better on a chilly day than some instant fruioatmeal flambé? 

We had apples from our tree that needed processing, so I ran them through our peeler, corer, slicer and started three apples sautéing in 2 Tbs of butter in a large skillet, while a kettle heated the water for the oatmeal. To the apples, I added a couple Tbs of brown sugar, some cherry flavored craisens, and some walnuts. Our apples don't put off a lot of juice, so when the pan got dry I'd add a couple tablespoons at a time of apple syrup. (Unfiltered apple juice reduced in a large pot for a long time until is thickens). When the apples were just about ready, I put on some orange liqueur and vodka over medium heat and turned the apples up to high heat. Once the liqueur started to bubble and the apples were good and bubbling (without burning!) I added the liqueur to the pan and let it catch flame and cook for a moment. Then stirring the plan and adding a little more apple syrup and turning off the heat, I mixed up the oatmeal and hot water from the kettle. Mixed the two mixes together and placed servings in bowls. I deglazed the apple pan with milk that was poured over the fruiotmeal, and served.