When I was younger I loved souvenirs.
I didn’t travel very often throughout my childhood so even a day trip to the beach seemed like reason to celebrate with a t-shirt or snow globe.
At one point, my father traveled frequently for business and I thought there was nothing more fascinating than a keychain emblazoned with the Georgia peach or a notepad shaped like a British phone booth.
As an adult, I’m slowly but surely racking up frequent flyer miles of my own and I no longer feel tempted by hotel toiletries.
Instead, when I’m in a new city or town, I do what any respectable, budget conscious traveler would do. I take pictures.
I take photos of my frozen drinks, poolside.
I take action shots of grilling in-progress.
And I take pictures of the pool on the deck at the Beach Club so I can look at them when I get back to work and think, “I wish I was still laying out in the sun.”
On a recent vacation to South Carolina, I purchased the Southern Farmers Market Cookbook, featuring recipes based on produce typically grown in the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee.
The book was filled with recipes for fresh vegetables, bountiful summer salads and hearty, grass-fed meatloaf.
So, what is the first recipe I make?
For the crust- 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup yellow plain cornmeal
- Generous pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 6 tablespoons frozen butter; cut into rough ¼-inch cubes
- 3 tablespoons of frozen shortening, cut into rough ¼-inch cubes (I skipped this and added a little extra butter for a flakier crust)
- 3 to 4 tablespoons ice cold water
For the Filling:- 1 quart blackberries
- 1 quart blueberries
- 4 peaches, peeled and cut into coarse chunks
- ½ cup local honey
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Zest of one lemon
- 4 tablespoons butter
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. To make pastry, pulse the flour, cornmeal, salt and sugar together two or three times in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a plastic blade. Add the cold butter and shortening and pulse another eight or ten times, or until mixture is coarse and looks like small peas.
- Drizzle cold water through the mouth of the processor while pulsing until the pastry just starts holding together. Turn out the pastry onto a lightly floured surface and form into a 2-inch thick disk. Wrap well in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (Note: pastry can be made up to three days in advance and stored in the refrigerator, and it also keeps well in the freezer for up to three months).
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss together the berries, peaches, honey, cornstarch and lemon zest until evenly coated. Once the pastry has rested, roll out to ¼ inch thickness and drape it over a 2 quart pie dish, baking pan or souffle dish (let some excess pastry hang over the edges).
- Press the pasty in the pan and pour in the filling. Top fruit evenly with pats of butter (you can omit this step if you're looking to lighten up the recipe a bit - it will still be delicious).
- Fold excess pastry back over the fruit, tearing off any large pieces to top the fruit in the middle of the pan. Bake in the center of the oven until bubbling and golden brown, about 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm and top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
24 Comments
Kerstin
August 16, 2009 at 12:45 amMmm, definitely the perfect summer dessert! I collect cheesy magnets on vacation!
Erin
August 15, 2009 at 5:33 pmDelicious! I haven’t had a single bite of cobbler all summer. How sad! I could just lick the computer screen, but it’s just not the same.
Carissa
August 12, 2009 at 8:06 pmthis dessert sounds heavenly! I love cobbler and this one has so much fruit! delicious! all I need is a food processor…
Rebecca_C
August 12, 2009 at 6:02 pmMmmmmm….cornmeal + crust = my favorite.
My sis and her hub live in Charleston, SC, so my mother and I spend every trip gorging ourselves on seafood, and other local Southern specialties and then buy cookbooks and spices and to try to recreate them at home. We’ve gotten close…but its never QUITE the same. Probably because we’re not on vacation at home ; )
P.S. Where WERE you? That pool looks divine.
lisa (dandysugar)
August 12, 2009 at 5:28 pmLove your photos, very cute…..and that cobbler is so screaming my name!
Jamie
August 12, 2009 at 3:31 pmMaris,
I love fruit desserts. The picture of that blackberry is awesome and that cookbook sounds great. I haven’t visited in awhile and I really like your new site.
Chrissy
August 12, 2009 at 2:59 pmYum, those berries drew me right in. I just posted photos of my (short) vacation too (and longingly started to remember what it was like to be there relaxing). Hope you had a great time!
alexa - cleveland's a plum
August 11, 2009 at 10:04 pmthe coddled aspect is something new to me!
mandy
August 11, 2009 at 9:18 pmThis looks so good right about now. Lately I’ve been on a fruit kick with all the fresh fruit available at this time of year. I think I will tackle this soon!
Molly
August 11, 2009 at 7:50 pmYum! the vacation pics, the cobbler – all so delicious!
Christina
August 11, 2009 at 5:15 pmI was a big souvenir collector too until I started having way too much stuff and no where to put it! Photos are much better to collect. That cobbler looks delicious!
grace
August 11, 2009 at 3:46 pmi haven’t heard of a coddled cobbler. coddled eggs, yes. coddled cobbler, no. i think i’d like to have my cobbler coddled—all the things i eat should be handled with care and respect before i shove them into my face. 🙂
Jackiw
August 11, 2009 at 2:57 pmIt’s the perfect time of year for your cobbler which looks just delicious. And the book sounds like a great find – can’t wait to see what you make from it next.
doggybloggy
August 11, 2009 at 2:32 pmhey – I wanted to say you cant go wrong with cobbler – come on – do over!
Blond Duck
August 11, 2009 at 2:19 pmYou can’t go wrong with cobbler. It’s like the perfect dessert.
Daryl
August 11, 2009 at 2:15 pmLooks very delicious and inviting–I sure do love pina coladas–oh yes the berry cobbler looks great too!!!
Jen
August 11, 2009 at 1:50 pmWhy was I not invited over to eat some of this delicious looking cobbler??
thatShortChick
August 11, 2009 at 1:24 pmbesides gelato or ice cream, fruit cobblers are my favorite summer dessert.
Jamie
August 11, 2009 at 11:46 amLOL You have me laughing out loud at your pics! You are too funny. And this berry cobbler is exactly what I would choose to make first, too. Scrumptious!!
Maria
August 11, 2009 at 11:43 amThe cobbler looks so good! I love summer berries!
elra
August 11, 2009 at 11:10 amAbsolutely gorgeous looking cobbler. Love the fruit looking so juicy like that. It make it more appetizing.
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)
August 11, 2009 at 10:43 amThe photo of the berries is jumping right off the screen — so seductive!
Nutmeg Nanny
August 11, 2009 at 10:31 amMmmmm how delicious does this look! I bet it would be great with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.
kat
August 11, 2009 at 9:40 amYou’ve got to go for dessert first, right!