Grilled Peach Melba with Ice-cream

3/4 cup sugar (+ 1 T. sugar)

3/4 cup water

1 vanilla bean (scrape seeds and set aside) or 1 T. vanilla extract

4 peaches, pitted, peeled and cut in half (I leave peel on)

8 oz raspberries

1 T. lemon juice

vanilla ice-cream

Preheat grill to medium/high heat.

Place 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup water, 1 T. lemon juice and the seeds scraped from one  vanilla bean (or 1 T. vanilla extract) into a small saucepan and cook over high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 1-2 minutes. Removed from heat and add peaches, set aside.

Place raspberries and  1 T. lemon juice and 1 T. of sugar into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Use a mesh sieve to remove seeds. Cover and set in the refrigerator.

Grill peaches for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from gill and place back into the syrup and cover with foil for 5 minutes. Remove peaches from syrup and serve with ice-cream and drizzle with raspberry sauce.

Apricot Pie Filling

3 cups pitted fresh apricots, cut into bite size pieces

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp. cinnamon (+ dash of nutmeg optional)

pat of butter

Mix all together and place in uncooked pie shell. Cover with another layer of pie crust and bake in a 425 degree F. oven on a middle rack, for 35-45 minutes or until crust is brown and center is bubbling. Let cool.

This filling can be made ahead of time and placed in a large plastic bag then kept in the freezer until ready to bake. Allow to thaw at room temperature until it will pour out easily (but not all the way thawed) or can even be microwaved in a bowl to thaw and warm it up before placing in pie shell to bake.

Aunt Clara’s (Secret) Blueberry (Cream Cheese) Pie Recipe

My Aunt Clara (God rest her soul) was the type of good cook that might occasionally leave out an ingredient or step so that yours didn’t turn out as good as hers. Or so I’ve been told. Anyway, my parents had this pie while visiting my aunt once and this is the recipe she shared. I have never tried the pie or the recipe but it does sound good and I searched and could not find the exact recipe online…so maybe it really is ‘secret’…or was until today.

Bake and cool a regular flour and shortening pie crust.

4 oz white chocolate, finely grated

1 8 oz package of cream cheese at room temperature

1.2 cup sour cream

Mix together with a mixer until it is well blended and smooth. Set aside.

3 cups fresh, washed blueberries

1 1/4 cup sugar (or to taste)

1 T. lemon juice

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 T. butter

Combine sugar and cornstarch well, sprinkle over blueberries and mix gently, then mix in lemon juice. Cook in saucepan over medium heat, gently stirring occasionally, until thickened. Add the butter, mix and let cool.

Pour cream cheese mixture into cooled pie shell. Then pour the cooled blueberry mixture over the top. Cover with wax paper touching the surface and refrigerate 4-5 hours or overnight. To serve roll a half cup of fresh blueberries in powdered sugar and use as a garnish.