May it Please the Palate: "Peaches En Regalia"

Whenever I think of peaches I think of three songs, "Peaches En Regalia" by Frank Zappa, "Joker" by Steve Miller, and "Spanish Pipedream" by John Prine. I think of my first grade teacher, Miss Peach. Yes, that was really her name. I also wonder why people use "Peaches" as a nickname or term of endearment, but not the plural form of other fruits. Why doesn't a guy ever call his girlfriend "Apricots" or "Plums?" Or, "Hey Mangoes--want to go dancing tonight?" Eventually I think of Peach Cobbler, one of my top five favorite desserts, slightly higher in the polls than Peach Melba. Cobbler is to be differentiated from Pies (bottom crust); Crisps and Crumbles (oatmeal); Brown Betty (bread crumbs); Grunts, Pandowdy, and Slumps (cooked stovetop); Buckle (cake batter mixed in with the filling); or a Sonker (North Carolina deep dish cobbler). Keep those straight. "Cobbler" has a flour-based top crust only. The classic presentation has a biscuit mix which is literally dropped in spoonfuls on top of the peaches. The result is a yummy dumpling-like consistency. I recently served Peach Cobbler at a dinner for my law partners. I "cobbled" together two recipes (yuk, yuk) for my own version. Just for laughs, I call it: Frank Zappa's Go-To Peach Cobbler Filling: 4 cups peeled and sliced fresh peaches (blanch in boiling water to remove the skin) 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 tsp each orange and lemon zest dash of almond extract or Amaretto Crust: 1 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour 1 TBS baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 4 TBS unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 2/3 cup buttermilk 1 TBS brown sugar, for topping Preheat the oven to 425. Butter a 1 1/2 or 2 cup baking dish. Arrange the sliced peaches in the dish and sprinkle with the 3/4 cup brown sugar, the orange and lemon zest, and the almond extract. Mix gently. Bake 10 minutes. While peaches are baking, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the buttermilk and mix to form what should be a medium soft dough. Remove the peaches from the oven and drop the dough by large spoonfuls over the surface. Sprinkle with the last tablespoon of brown sugar and return to the oven. Bake 15-20 minutes more until the top is golden brown. Serve warm. It is never wrong to top this puppy with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream or real whipped cream, topped with peach brandy or liqueur. Now I'm hungry for some peaches. And I can't get "Peaches En Regalia" out of my head. Nick Roumel is a principal with Nacht, Roumel, Salvatore, Blanchard and Walker, P.C., a law firm in Ann Arbor specializing in employment litigation. He also has many years of varied restaurant and catering experience, has taught Greek cooking classes, and writes a food/restaurant column for "Current" magazine. He can be reached at: nroumel@nachtlaw.com Published: Thu, Aug 2, 2012