Everything’s 'Just Peachy'

Chef Belinda Smith-Sullivan still remembers the “lightbulb moments” that led to her new cookbook, Just Peachy.

The first came shortly after the Aiken Electric Cooperative member moved with her husband, Dan, to South Carolina and they settled into their Edgefield County home. It was peach season, and Smith-Sullivan mentioned to a neighbor that she was planning to drive across the Savannah River to “the peach state” in search of a fresh bushel or three.

“She looked at me like I had two heads,” Smith-Sullivan recalls. The neighbor pointed her instead to the peach stands on nearby Hwy. 25. “She said, ‘You live right in the middle of the peach capital of the South! South Carolina is where the good peaches come from!’”

The second lightbulb moment came years later, after Smith-Sullivan completed her culinary training at Johnson & Wales University. She was experimenting with peach recipes but couldn’t find a definitive peach cookbook. “No mainstream publisher had ever delivered a peach cookbook,” she recalls. “I said, ‘OK. This is my calling.’”

It took seven years (and a recommendation from her friend and fellow S.C. chef, Nathalie Dupree), but Just Peachy, a beautifully photographed collection of sweet and savory peach recipes, comes out this month from publisher Gibbs Smith.

While South Carolina Living has chosen to excerpt some of our favorite peach dessert recipes in the following pages, it will come as no surprise to fans of Chef Belinda’s monthly recipe column that the book is full of intriguing ways to use peaches morning, noon and night. She includes recipes for everything from peach-stuffed pork chops and cast-iron peach cornbread, to spinach-peach omelets, peach-jalapeno salsa, and my personal favorite—peach-bourbon roasted chicken.

“People are always amazed that you can do so much with peaches,” Smith-Sullivan says. “I’m hoping the South Carolina readers who have an endless supply of peaches during the summer will experiment. We have this treasure right here in our backyard. Why not get out of your rut and try something new?” —Keith Phillips

The following recipes and photos from Just Peachy are provided courtesy of Belinda Smith-Sullivan and her publisher, Gibbs Smith.

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OREO-PEACH CHEESECAKE

Serves 10–12

Crust

1-3/4 cups Oreo cookie crumbs

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons sugar

Filling

3 peaches, peeled and sliced

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

4 8-ounce packages cream cheese

5 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla or Amaretto

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Glaze

½ cup peach preserves or jam

1½ teaspoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 F. Blend cookie crumbs, butter and sugar. Press firmly against the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Wrap the bottom and outside of the pan with foil.

In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, combine peaches 2 tablespoons  sugar and lemon juice. Cook until sugar dissolves and peaches are juicy, about 5 minutes. Cool and drain.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add remaining sugar, then add in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and lemon zest and beat until smooth. Pour half of the batter into prepared pan, followed by peaches, and top with remaining batter.

Place cheesecake pan in another larger pan and place in preheated oven. Fill the larger pan halfway with hot water. Bake for 60–70 minutes or until slightly firm in the center. Turn off oven, leaving door ajar about 8 inches, and allow to cool in oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool completely in pan. Chill in refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.

In a small saucepan, combine preserves and lemon juice and stir over medium heat until it starts to simmer. Using the back of a wooden spoon, strain into a small bowl. Remove sides of springform pan and spread glaze over top of cheesecake. Chill until glaze is set, 2–4 hours.

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Peach upside-down cake

Serves 8–10

½ cup brown sugar, packed

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

½ teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg

5–6 peaches, peeled and sliced

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup unsalted butter

2/3 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup buttermilk

Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a small bowl, combine sugar, melted butter and cinnamon, and pour into the bottom of a well-seasoned 9-inch cast-iron skillet, sprayed with cooking spray. Arrange peach slices on top of brown sugar mixture. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until a pale yellow. Add egg and almond extract and beat until combined. Lower mixer speed and alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk. Beat until just combined.

Pour into the skillet and spread evenly over the peaches. Bake for 35–45 minutes until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan before inverting onto a serving plate. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and serve warm.

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Peach-thyme pound cake

Serves 12–16

3 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

6 large eggs, room temperature

2 tablespoons almond extract

½ cup sour cream

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

2 cups peeled and diced peaches

Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter until it is a pale yellow. Add sugar and continue beating until thoroughly mixed. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Add almond extract. Add the flour mixture, one cup at a time, alternating with the sour cream. Fold in the thyme and peaches.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a cake tester, when inserted into the middle of the cake, comes out clean. Let cake cool for 15 minutes in the pan; then invert onto a wire rack and let cool completely. Dust with confectioner’s sugar, if desired.

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Blueberry-peach slump

Serves 8–10

Filling

6 medium peaches, peeled and sliced

1 pint blueberries

½ cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon cardamom

1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup water

Topping

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

½ cup buttermilk

In a large bowl, combine peaches, berries, sugar, salt, cornstarch, cardamom, , lemon juice and water. Pour into a well-seasoned 9-inch cast-iron skillet. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil. Reduce temperature to medium-low and let simmer while you make the topping.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until flour mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually stir in enough buttermilk until mixture becomes a sticky dough (there may be buttermilk leftover). Do not overmix. Using a spoon, drop spoonfuls of dough evenly over the simmering peach mixture. Cover and cook 20 minutes, or until dough has spread and is puffy (springs back when you touch it). Remove the cover and let cool slightly before serving.

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Blackberry-peach buckle

Serves 8–10

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon cardamom

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup milk

2­–3 peaches, sliced (peeled or unpeeled)

1 pint blackberries

Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with baking spray. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter until it is a pale yellow. Add sugar and continue beating until thoroughly mixed. Add egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until well mixed.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread the peaches and blackberries evenly into a pretty design. Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cool completely in pan. Remove sides and dust with confectioner’s sugar. Serve at room temperature.

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Raspberry-peach crumble

Serves 8

Topping

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup brown sugar, packed

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

½ cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Filling

6–8 peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced

1 pint raspberries

½ lemon, juiced

¼ cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugars, cinnamon, salt and butter. Using clean hands, rub together ingredients until mixture sticks together in small clumps.

Into a deep pie dish, arrange peaches and raspberries. Sprinkle with lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch and toss thoroughly. Spread the topping evenly over the fruit.

Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and juices are bubbling up through the topping, 45–50 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature

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Tips and techniques

Frozen can be as good as fresh

If you want to enjoy the experience of biting into a “fresh” peach in the dead of winter, or want the flavor and consistency of fresh peaches in sweet or savory recipes year-round, frozen peaches are a fantastic option. When you thaw them, it’s just like biting into a fresh peach—they taste just like peaches picked off the tree. Here’s how to freeze them at home.

Line sheet pans (as many as you need to hold your peaches and will fit in your freezer) with parchment paper. Peel peaches (or not) and slice, quarter or halve. Sprinkle with freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Spread on sheet pans. Put in freezer and allow peaches to harden—at least 4 hours or more. Remove from freezer. Seal peaches in Ziploc or vacuum-sealed bags and return to freezer. If you use a Ziploc bag, the peaches should be consumed within one year. Peaches in vacuum-sealed bags can last up to three years.

For baking, do not thaw the peaches—use in the frozen state. To eat or use in cooked dishes, thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Peeling made easy

It doesn’t surprise me that “Give peaches the slip” is one of my most popular how-to cooking videos. This time-saving trick takes all the hassle out of peeling ripe peaches for canning, cooking, eating and baking.

Bring a pot of water to a low boil. Use a knife to score (cut an “x”) into the bottom point of each peach, then place the peaches into the hot water for about one minute. Remove peaches from the water with a slotted spoon and place them into an ice bath. When the peaches are cool enough to handle, you’ll be able to slide the peels off with your fingers in a matter of seconds. —Belinda Smith-Sullivan