I am a second hand smoker. I've never smoked a cigarette, but the smell of tobacco smoke fills me with warm memories the way the scent of apple pie might for others. It comes from my father, who used to smoke 2 packs of Winston's a day back in the 80s, and then pipes in the 90s. I remember stubs littering my mother's flower pots and the balls of nicotine gum littering the kitchen table and any other stickable surface in the house. The pipe tobacco was my favorite. Musky, deep, and maple syrup-y, I would always sniff the tins he kept in his study drawer. But it goes beyond tobacco: fireplaces, barbecues, dragons, anything that produces smoke gets my immediate attention and an obvious comment. "Smells like winter," or "Smells like summer," or "Smells like slaying season." And as much as I love eating things cooked over an open flame, I do very little cooking over an open flame myself. It's such a dad thing that I leave it to him, which means my grilled food is limited to meat and vegetables. This isn't a bad thing, but little did I know everything could be grilled. Seriously, everything.
I've seen grilled peaches rolling around magazines before, but I've always been kind of "meh" about them. I don't know, it just never really got me going. I'd just rather have a cobbler. But this summer, just like the smoke of flaming grills, change was in the air. I bit into a ripe yellow peach at the farmers market and in that moment I knew: "This could be grilled!" I went home and immediately cranked up the grill. I threw on the peaches and before I knew it, I had all kinds of ungrillables grilling away. The smoke imparts a savory earthiness to everything laid near it. Served with lemon mascarpone and toasted almonds, these peaches are the perfect balance of brightness, nuttiness, and bursting juiciness. They're the ultimate dessert for a balmy summer night. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
4 ripe, delicious yellow peaches, halved and pitted.
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup salted butter
1/2 cup blanched almonds, pulverized in the food processor
8 oz mascarpone cheese
4 oz creme fraiche
2 ounces heavy cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons lemon zest, plus more for garnish
1 teaspoon honey, if necessary
Directions:
Heat your grill up to high. If you don't have a grill, you can use a grill pan, but will miss out on the smokey flavor of a charcoal or wood fire grill. But don't worry, peaches covered in burnt sugar is never a bad and always a delicious thing. Blend the sugar and butter together to form a paste and smear it on over the faces of the peaches. You will probably have some left over that you can eat with a spoon. In a 375 degree oven, toast the almonds for 5-10 minutes, set aside. Whip together the mascarpone, creme fraiche, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined. Add the heavy cream and whip a few times to incorporate. Taste, and if you would like, add the honey. I used Meyer Lemons, which aren't as tart, so the honey wasn't necessary. Set aside. Grill the peaches. I would do no more than three at a time, because they cook quickly, about 30 seconds or less. You simply want dark grill marks. Set the cooked peaches aside face up. Eat hot off the grill with the mascarpone mixture on the side, plus a sprinkling of almonds and lemon zest. You can also enjoy these peaches cold, or with ice cream.
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