Bellini in a Jar

The Bellini, a magical concoction of juiced white peaches and Prosecco, is rumored to have been created at Harry's Bar in Venice.  Harry's bar was a haunt for literary figures and for the glitterati of society, during the early 20th century.  Those who passed through the doors included Orson Welles, Noel Coward, Truman Capote, Somerset Maugham, Barbara Hutton, Peggy Guggenheim and a host of others.

The drink is made by juicing white peaches, and putting the pits of the peaches into the juice, turning the juice pink.

 The juice is poured into glasses, with Prosecco, a delicious sparkling wine from the northern regions of Italy.  The good news is, that you don't need to pay a fortune to buy a good bottle of Prosecco.

Here in San Diego at Specialty Produce, the stone fruit has been amazing.  When I stopped by on Saturday, I picked up way more peaches than we could possibly eat, and so I decided to replicate my favorite beverage in a jam using these succulent peaches.

Using a combination of yellow, and white peaches, I had about 10 cups of peeled, pitted and coarsely chopped peaches, and put them into a heavy bottomed saucepan, with 3 cups of sugar, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, and 1/2 cup of Prosecco--this gives you the rest of the bottle to enjoy while you are making the jam.  Bring the mixture to a boil, and boil for 10 to 15 minutes.  I'm not a fan of pectin, but if you choose to have jam that is really thick, add the pectin according to the package of directions.  

This is a great Prosecco that you can find at Costco

The peaches will cook down. I like to take an immersion blender, or potato masher and mash the fruit when it's cooked down.  This is totally optional, the fruit will soften to the point where it falls apart when cooking.

This yielded two 4-ounce jars, and two 8-ounce jars.  You can process these in a water bath for 10 minutes, if you would like, or the jam will keep in the refrigerator for about 6 weeks.

Just Peachy

Fitzgerald Farms White Peaches from Specialty Produce

I can't look at a peach without recalling Roald Dahl's classic story, James and the Giant Peach, where James lives in an enormous peach.  Dahl's descriptions of the smell, texture,and feel of the peach were remarkable.  Yesterday I visited Specialty Produce, and found Fitzgerald Farms white peaches, perfect for a peach crumble to serve with homemade vanilla gelato. 

Fitzgerald Farms White Peach Crumble
Serves 8 to 10

12 cups (about 12 large) white peaches, pitted and each cut into 10 wedges 
1 cup sugar (depending on the sweetness of the peaches)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice.  Transfer the mixture to a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. 
2. In a food processor, combine the flour, and sugars by pulsing on and off 4 to 5 times.  
3. Drop the butter cubes onto the flour mixture, and pulse the mixture on and off until it begins to come together. 
4. Break up any large pieces, and sprinkle evenly over the peaches in the prepared pan. 
5. Bake the crumble for 35 to 45 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the peaches are bubbling.  Serve the crumble warm, or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream, or gelato.  

I made this one for my friend Alexis and her family--nothing says lovin' like something from the oven!  Have a great weekend everyone!