Just peachy

"Do I dare to eat a peach?" asks the narrator of T.S. Eliot's poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." You don't have to be a literary critic to answer that one: Heck, yes. We are coming to the end of peach season, and there is no better way to celebrate the last of summer than to gorge on peaches.

Peaches are one of those fruits — like watermelon and mango — that meet you more than halfway. They spurt at you, the juices drip down your arm, and they are, in short, a glorious mess. They are beautiful to look at, with their warm blushes of pinks, reds, oranges and yellows, and they taste like the sun. People have been gorging for centuries. The fruit was first cultivated in China, but introduced to Europe from Persia. Peaches were brought to North America either by the Spanish in St. Augustine, Fla., or the French along the Gulf coast, sometime in the mid-1500s, and several reference books say that they were widely planted by Native Americans as well as colonists. Thomas Jefferson is known to have cultivated over 39 varieties. There are recipes using peaches in some of our earliest cookbooks.

Alice Waters, in "Chez Panisse Fruits" (HarperCollins, 2002), says that the aroma of the peach is the best indicator of ripeness. When shopping, check the stem end: The background color should be creamy white or yellow. With the exception of white peaches, you do not want to buy peaches that show any green. Store them at room temperature until they begin to soften along the line running from the stem to the blossom end; when this happens, it's best to eat them, but you can also refrigerate them at this point for a few days.

Peach preserves and pickled peaches — a Southern specialty typically served with country ham — will make the peaches last longer. (These can also be ordered — along with other traditional Southern foods — from "The Boiled Peanuts Catalogue," www.boiledpeanuts.com, 843-720-8890). If you're really into peaches, you can even buy seedlings of some of the varieties that Jefferson grew, but you'll have to go to his home in Monticello, Va., which is now a national monument to do it (www.monticello.org). (Other seeds from the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants can be purchased through the online catalogue at www.twinleaf.org, or by calling 434-984-9821).

But if you just want to make something easy and delicious, you can use the recipes below. Go ahead. I dare you.

Peachy recipes to bring back the taste of summer

GIANDUIA PEACHES

1/2 cup hazelnuts

2 cups water

1 cup sugar

1 cinnamon stick

6 large ripe peaches

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 cup mascarpone (see note)

12 soft ladyfinger cookies

1/2 cup brewed espresso or espresso liqueur

2 ounces Gianduia chocolate, chopped (see note)

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Toast the hazelnuts on a sheet pan, stirring often, until skin is cracked, 8 to 10 minutes. Put them in a clean kitchen towel, and rub them to remove the dark skin. (You don't have to get every speck off.) Chop coarsely, and set aside.

Bring the water to a boil with the sugar and cinnamon stick. Drop in the peaches, and cook until the skin cracks and separates easily from the fruit, which will take only a couple of minutes. Immediately transfer the peaches to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain, peel them with a sharp knife, cut them in half, and remove the pits. Set aside.

Beat the cream to form soft peaks; fold in the corn syrup, and add the mascarpone to blend.

Dip the ladyfingers into the espresso (or espresso liqueur). Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water, stirring until smooth. Place 1 ladyfinger at the bottom of each of 12 dessert dishes. Top with 1 peach half. Spoon on the whipped cream mixture, garnish with chopped hazelnuts, dust with cocoa, and drizzle all with melted chocolate. Serve immediately.

Note: Mascarpone is a dairy product (not truly a cheese, as no rennet or starter is used in its production) made of rich milk left to drain. It is available in specialty stores and the dairy department of many supermarkets. If you can't find it, try this substitution, from "Southern Living" magazine: Mix together 8 ounces of cream cheese, 3 tablespoons of sour cream and 2 tablespoons of whipping cream This will make about 1/4 cup more than you need. Refrigerate the leftovers, and eat it with fruit, like yogurt.

Gianduia chocolate is a combination of roasted, pulverized hazelnuts and milk chocolate, and it can be found in stores where fine chocolates are sold. You can substitute milk chocolate in a pinch.

Yield 12 servings.

-- Recipe created by Wolfang Hanau, West Palm Beach, Fla., for the California Tree Fruit Agreement, Reedley, Calif. (www.caltreefruit.com)

PEACH PIE

For the dough:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 whole egg

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

For the filling:

4-1/2 cups sliced, unpeeled peaches (about 6 medium peaches)

3/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon almond extract

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until blended. In a separate bowl, beat the whole egg, egg yolks and the vanilla with a fork or whisk. Add to the butter mixture.

In another bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking powder together. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-egg mixture, and mix until a dough is formed. Pinch off about 1/3 of the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Press the remaining 2/3 of the dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Cover the crust with plastic wrap, and refrigerate the crust while you make the filling.

Put the peaches, sugar and almond extract into a heavy-bottomed pot set over medium-low heat. Cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Pour the cooled filling into the prepared crust.

Roll out the remaining third of the dough into a long rope or "snake," as thin as you can get it without it breaking. Cut lengths, and lay in a grid across the peach filling to make a lattice crust.

Cover the edge of the crust with aluminum foil to prevent burning.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes, until top is golden and peaches are bubbling.

Yield: 1 9-inch pie, or about 8 servings

-- Recipe from Antoinette Calta, of Tenafly, N.J.