Wine-Roasted Peaches with Honey-Mint Yogurt Cream

I have a knack at making great friends at the very last minute before they, or I, have to leave wherever it is that I might be. This was the case with Naomi, who, after two semesters of seeing one another every week for our senior thesis seminar, finally asked me for a celebratory drink when we turned our big, fat, exhausting papers in. We quickly became fast friends, finding that we had much more in common than a love for France and European History.


And now, back to Europe -- Mother England -- Naomi must go. To celebrate her last night in New York, she had a brilliant cocktail party on her building's roof, where we sipped champagne and nibbled on a delightful array of desserts while gazing out onto the summer-hot New York City skyline. Among the deserts were two Georgia's Bakery favorites: the deliciously sinful, silken dark-chocolate cake, and the white-chocolate raspberry cake. Though my dessert contribution may not be able to rival the decadence of Georgia's famous Upper West Side treats, my wine-roasted peaches with honey-mint yogurt cream were a bit hit. I used chocolate Madeleines as a accent cake to complement the wine syrup. As Simon so charmingly said of my concoction: "They were so good, I ate three. So sorry to those of you who didn't get to try."

For those left out, here's the recipe so that you, too, may have a taste.



WINE-ROASTED PEACHES WITH HONEY MINT YOGURT CREAM

6 slightly unripe peaches
1 cup sweet red wine*
1 1/2 cups Greek strained yogurt
Honey
1 Tbsp minced Mint

* I used a red, Sangiovese wine because that's what I had in my fridge. It ended up working rather well, giving the peaches a deep, blood red color, and the syrup it made was deliciously colorful. I would also recommend any sweet wine of your choice, and even champagne may work and give a nice golden hue to the dish.


Set oven to 400-degrees Fahrenheit.

Cut peaches in half, and twist each half from the pit to have two whole halves. Set aside. If you cannot break the halves free, gently cut half from around the pit. If one side has a stubborn pit that cannot come out, roast the peach half with the pit and remove once flesh is soft.


In a large, shallow baking dish, pour in the wine so that there is enough to cover the bottom with about a centimeter-height of liquid. Add about two tablespoons of honey, for a sweet syrup. Add less honey for a less-sweet syrup. Whisk honey and wine mixture until honey disappears. Arrange peaches, flesh-side down, in wine. Place in oven, and let roast for 20-30mins, or until peaches are supple and soft, but not mushy.

Measure out yogurt in a large bowl. Mince mint, add to yogurt. Whisk yogurt until smooth. Add honey to taste, and whisk mixture until fluffy. You may wish to add more mint for a stronger taste. Cover and set aside in refrigerator.

When peaches are done, take out of the oven and place peaches on a working surface, like a large place, so as not to stain counter top or wooden cutting board. Take out remaining pits. Pour remaining wine syrup into a small pan, and reduce by bringing to a boil and reducing heat until liquid forms a syrup, occasionally stirring slowly.

To arrange peaches on a dish, spoon a circle of syrup in the middle of a single plate. Place peach, flesh side up, off center in the syrup. Spoon a dollop of yogurt-cream in center of peach. Just before serving, drizzle a bit of syrup in a line across peach and yogurt. Be careful -- if you pour this sauce on the yogurt too early, the fruit acids will make yogurt curdle. Serve with a sprig of mint, or a little cake nestled under peach.



Bon appetit!



Georgia's Bakery
2418 Broadway, at 89th Street
http://www.georgiasbakeshop.net/
212.362.2000