Try this at home: Poached Peaches

With peaches bountiful in late summer, we tried this recipe for Poached Peaches on Sweet Cream from the 25th anniversary edition of John Shields’ popular Chesapeake cookbook. You can find it on page 298. The poaching calls for spiced white wine, with a caution not to overcook the peaches — they should be tender but still firm to the fork. The result was great. We served ours with a little vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:

4 cups dry white wine

1 and 1/2 cups sugar

1 cinammon stick

2 teaspoons whole cloves

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 lemon, sliced

1 Bay leaf

8 firm ripe peaches

Combine all but the peaches in a large pot and bring to a boil for about three minutes. Add the peaches and cover the pot with a light towel. Reduce the heat and simmer until peaches are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove peaches with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl to cool. Chill the poaching liquid; when it is well chilled, pour it over the peaches. Cover the bowl holding the peaches with a towel and refrigerate until well chilled. When you’re ready to serve them, remove the peaches from the liquid and slide off the skins. Serve over sweet cream. Garnish with berries, if you wish, and serve with knife, fork and spoon.

John says: “The original recipe was for the whole poached peach, after chilled and peeled, to sit atop Crème Anglaise in a bowl. But they can easily be pitted and served half, quartered or sliced.

And any way you slice it: Delicious