Peach Cobbler

When I’m down in San Diego visiting my parents, I always jump at the chance to bake in their amazing kitchen, and my parents are usually willing guinea pigs. Since it’s stone fruit season, I figured a peach cobbler was the way to go.

I have to admit, I’ve never been much of a cooked fruit fan, unless we’re talking apples. But this recipe received five stars from my family, and my dad kept asking, “Have you photographed it yet?” because the house smelled so good!*

My mom got caught in the act.

While this cobbler didn’t sway me on cooked peaches, my mom declared it “perfect” and the next day, my dad immediately pulled it out of the fridge to let it come to room temperate as soon as he got home from work. And for you non-cooked fruit eaters like me, the crust topping is the best ever, I think maybe because it’s made with both white and brown sugar. Yeah, I may have picked at the top while everyone else enjoyed the peaches, don’t judge.

Finally, here’s an amazing tip that I’m probably the last to know: To easily peel peaches, place one peach at a time in a pot of boiling water, let cool for about a minute, then peel the skin off using your fingers. It’s like magic, and perfect for people like me whose knife skills leave a lot to be desired.

Note: the peaches I used were nowhere near ripe, but they worked beautifully in this cobbler.

*You know you’re a food blogger when people ask you that before daring to taste anything, right?

Filling Ingredients
8 small (or 6 large) fresh peaches – peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Crust Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup cold water

Cinnamon Sugar Mixture Ingredients
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add a few teaspoons of water at a time, until the mixture is just combined.

Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 25-30 minutes.

Recipe adapted from All Recipes.

July 27, 2013 | Filed Under Pies/Tarts | Comments Off on Peach Cobbler

OC Fair Deliciousness

Last weekend, my sister and I got an early start and headed to the OC Fair. It was a gorgeous day and we were ready to explore! We knew we had a lot of eating ahead of us so we paced ourselves well.

After a leisurely stroll to check out all of the food options, we decided to start with the Krispy Kreme fried chicken sandwich. We were both pleasantly surprised by the savory/sweet combination and found the chicken to be extremely moist.

Krispy Kreme Fried Chicken Sandwich

Next up were the fried artichoke hearts which I had been looking forward to since I heard about them weeks prior from a friend who ate at them at the Del Mar Fair. While they weren’t my favorite (a little too much breading for my taste), they were still delicious. If you get them, make sure to get some ranch for dipping.

Fried Artichokes

Not yet totally stuffed, we decided we had to try the fried cookie dough as we were told it was one of the most popular items at the fair. It sure lived up to the hype! Gooey, chocolately, and covered in a fried batter, this was pretty damn amazing and my sister’s favorite thing we ate.

Fried Cookie Dough

Knowing there is a fine line between content and stuffed, we called it quits after the cookie dough, which turned out to be the right decision.

And in case you’re counting calories (who are we kidding? at the fair?), there are non-edible food related things to check out. There’s a Culinary & Crafts exhibit in the OC Promenade with tons to do, including chocolate demos. We watched a toffee demo in front of the wall of chocolate, and I learned the reason my toffee sometimes separates is because I used unsalted butter; always use salted! Side note: The Silpat used during the demo had a lip on it so it covered the lip of the baking sheet. Brilliant! Has anyone ever seen that? I want one!

Wall of Chocolate

Wall of Bundts

Of course, there are plenty of other things to check out like the livestock, rides, and a ton of exhibits. For more information, visit:

Website: ocfair.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/OCFair
Twitter: twitter.com/ocfair
Phone: 714.708.1500.
Mobile: OC Fair iPhone and Android apps featuring a Food Finder and schedules of events

The Orange County Fair is open Wednesday – Sunday through August 11. Don’t miss out!

July 19, 2013 | Filed Under Event | Comments Off on OC Fair Deliciousness

OC Fair Food Info and Ticket Giveaway

Don’t be jealous, but on Sunday my sister and I are going to stuff ourselves silly on fair food at the OC Fair. Yes, I realize it’s in OC and I live in LA, but it’s actually easier for me to get to there than it is to get to the LA Fair. Gotta love LA.

Anyway, this year’s theme is “Come & Get It” and that we will! And so will you, because I am excited to be giving away two tickets for admission to the OC Fair! To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below.

Check back next week to see what my sister and I tried (I guarantee there will be a thing or three fried), and in the meantime, here’s what the fair is featuring:

Chicken Charlie: Krispy Kreme Sloppy Joes, Deep-Fried Bacon-Wrapped Pickles and Waffle Dogs (a hot dog wrapped inside a waffle and all on a stick). Plus, deep-fried cookie dough!
Bacon A-Fair: Truffle Gouda Bacon Fries, Bacon Beer (root beer) and Cheesy Bacon Bombs. Plus, wild boar bacon on a stick will be served exclusively at the OC Fair.
Biggy’s Meat Market: 17-inch The Big Rib plus the new Biggy Sausage, a 2-foot-long smoked sausage on a stick, and the Big Chic, 24 ounces of chicken breast on a stick.
Ten Pound Buns: Ground bacon, whipped butter and Nutella on top of their famous sourdough “pizza” for the Bacon Nutella Bun.
Pink’s Hot Dogs: The Ghiradelli hot dog is a beef dog topped with cream cheese, honey mustard, crumbled bacon and dark chocolate.
More New Food: Deep-fried strawberries, a macaroni and cheese hamburger, fried bacon ice cream, deep-fried lobster, cream cheese on a stick, mango & chamoy popsicle (spicy-sweet lemon chile flavoring), heart-shaped funnel cake, Dirty BBQ Tasti Chips and more.

Also, this year the OC Fair is introducing food-themed mascots including Scoop, Carl, Dip and their foodie friends all inspired by iconic Fair and farm foods such as ice cream cones, cotton candy, corn dogs, vegetables, fruit and more. Costumed characters, plushes and signage will be representing the foodie friends throughout the Fair.

$2 Taste of Fair Food
Every Friday from Noon-4 p.m., Fairgoers can sample the best the Fair has to offer for only $2 each sample. Fun-sized samples include funnel cake, BBQ tri-tip, lemonade, cinnamon rolls, corn dogs, tacos, gelato, cotton candy and more.

Celebrity Chefs
The 2013 OC Fair presents two shows in The Hangar featuring charismatic celebrity chefs demonstrating their culinary prowess. Scheduled appearances include the owners and chefs of the award-winning La Casita Mexicana Restaurant Jaime Martin del Campo and Ramiro Arvizu (July 20, 4 p.m.) and award-winning chef and owner of Bottega in Napa Valley and Coqueto in San Francisco Michael Chiarello (August 1, 4 p.m.) Free with Fair admission.

Culinary Presentations
In addition to celebrity chefs, the 2013 OC Fair is also featuring local professional chefs from some of the county’s top local restaurants and other culinary artisans in the OC Promenade. Presentation days and times vary.

Food Truck Fare at the OC Fair
On top of traditional and new Fair foods, Fairgoers can purchase gourmet fare from their favorite food trucks from inside the OC Fair gates every Thursday from Noon-10 p.m. Access is free with Fair admission and prices for food and drinks vary per truck.

Kitchen Challenge
Watch local culinary professionals show off their chops and go head-to-head in a series of live cooking challenges set to various themes every Thursday in the OC Promenade: Meatheads (July 18), Time to Make The Donuts (July 25), Firehouse Chefs (August 1) and Vegan (August 8). Winners will receive bragging rights and an award to commemorate their culinary victory. Viewing is free with Fair admission.

Contests and Competitions
Most of the traditional Culinary Arts competitions have closed their registrations but the Culinary Arts department is again hosting live contests that offer late registration with the Special Culinary Contests held the last four Saturdays, including the popular OC Cupcake Classic on August 3. Registration for these contests is the Wednesday before each contest. New this year is the Salad Daze contest, which is judging for the best picnic-ready salads. For a complete list, visit ocfair.com/competitions.

Food As Art
Chef Ray Duey is an acclaimed food sculptor who was a gold medal winner from the Food Network’s Challenge Team and will be creating works of art out of fruits and vegetables daily in the OC Promenade. Award-winning Shaile Socher creates masterful floral arrangements out of sugar and will be demonstrating her intricate and dazzling talent in the OC Promenade daily. Demonstrations are free with Fair admission.

Centennial Farm
Experience being home on the range in this year-round, three-acre demonstration farm complete with crops, livestock and the Millennium Barn. Check out educational exhibits, agricultural organizations and the fruit and vegetable competitive entries. Visit ocfair.com/competitions for details on the Garden and Floral competitions offered.

The OC Fair runs July 12 – August 11 . For more information:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: The kind folks at the OC Fair knew I couldn’t wait to taste the deep-fried cookie dough and offered me two tickets for admission and food vouchers as well as two tickets to give away. Obviously I couldn’t say no. Giveaway ends on Friday, July 19, 2013. One winner will be selected at random shortly thereafter and contacted by email.

July 12, 2013 | Filed Under Event | 13 Comments

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