Cleo Coyle's Drunken Peaches with fresh Ginger-Infused Whipped Cream

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Peaches, peaches, everywhere. Those little golden orbs were mounded high wherever I went this week, their sweetly cloying aroma calling to me from farmer’s market tables to grocery store produce aisles. In both cases, they were priced to move fast—no doubt because those plump, juicy babies were ripening just as speedily....

Cleo Coyle, author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries

As a little girl, growing up in a large Italian-American family, I remember aunts and uncles making good use of peaches that came in during the last days of summer. Whether perfectly sun-kissed or overripe and bruised, all were welcomed at their tables.


They would peel the skins and cut the flesh into bite-sized pieces, taking care to remove any darkened or rotted areas from the imperfect fruits. Then they would place the pieces in a bowl, cover them with red wine, and chill the bowl for a few hours or even overnight. After dinner, they would serve the fruit in a pretty wine glass or dessert cup with whipped cream, ice cream, or (even better) a dollop of sweetened mascarpone cheese. And that should be that: an extremely easy end-of-summer recipe—except for one thing...

Although I absolutely love this dessert, my husband, who is not a big wine drinker, does not. So while I’m getting my peaches good and drunk, I treat my honey’s peaches with…well, honey. Orange blossom honey to be exact. And that’s my alternate recipe suggestion for you today. Toss those bite-sized peach pieces with a bit of honey, spoon them into a wine goblet, chill and serve with ginger-infused whipped cream.

Both of these simple but delicious recipes are below if you’d like them while the sun is still warm and the peaches are still cheap. La dolce vita!

Just one final, strawberry-flavored note for you. The other day, one of the many supportive followers of this blog (Nicole), let me know (via Facebook) that she tried my homemade Strawberry Syrup recipe. If you missed that recipe, just click here to download it.

At the stage where nothing is left in the strainer but strawberry pulp, Nicole had a Eureka! moment. "Why throw out the pulp?" she wondered. Instead, to quote her: "I let it cool and then folded it into softened vanilla ice cream. I was very surprised at how well it turned out. All of the juice was out of the strawberries so the ice cream set up nicely." Nicole re-froze the ice cream and sampled it. How did it taste? Good. So there you have it. Waste not! Instead of throwing out the pulp, fold it into your ice cream. Thanks, Nicole. And now...




Cleo Coyle’s
Drunken Peaches

Serves 4

4 ripe yellow peaches

1 cup red wine * (see my note)

Peel the peaches and cut the flesh into bite-sized pieces. Place in a shallow bowl or plastic container and cover with wine. Toss to coat. Chill for several hours or overnight. Loosely strain the peaches of excess wine, and serve in glass goblets with a dollop of whipped cream, a scoop of ice cream, or a generous helping of sweetened mascarpone cheese.

*Note on the wine. My pop used to cover his peaches with a fairly dry, red table wine, one he made himself. I don’t make my own wine. For this recipe, I like a nice (cherry, oaky) Merlot. You should choose a red wine that you’d enjoy drinking.

Cleo Coyle's
Honey-Kissed Peaches
with Ginger-infused Whipped Cream

Serves 4

4 ripe yellow peaches

4 tablespoons honey (I use orange blossom)
1 cup heavy cream
3-4 tablespoons granulated sugar (to your taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Peel the peaches and cut the flesh into bite-sized pieces. Toss with honey to coat. Spoon into glass goblets and chill for 30 minutes to an hour (no more). Serve with a dollop of ginger-infused whipped cream. To make the whipped cream, simply place the heavy cream, sugar, and ginger into a well-chilled bowl (*see my note) and beat with an electric hand-mixer. The cream will thicken as you beat it. When it forms stiff peaks, you're done. (Do not over-beat. You'll either begin breaking it down again or you'll make butter!)

*Note: Using a chilled bowl will speed up the process of whipping your cream. I use a metal bowl that's been in the refrigerator for at least 30 mintues. I'll also put my hand-mixer's beaters into the freezer for 15 minutes.

Honey-Kissed Peaches with Ginger-Infused Whipped Cream

Eat with joy!

~ Cleo Coyle

To learn more about me or get more
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