The Perfect Peach Crisp and Pasta Plate

Last week Jess suddenly brought up the amazing peach crisp that Sydney had made for our dinner party last summer in Texas. Since Jess rarely has strong emotions regarding a specific food dish I figured his mentioning it with such enthusiasm necessitated me trying to re-create it for him! Luckily, he likes to make small trips to the shop throughout the week, and after a few minutes searching online I found that Sainsbury's sold small containers of fresh peaches (and they were actually on sale!) so I sent Jess out to get a few of the "sachets." I had no idea what a sachet was.. perhaps because we dont often use that word back home, but apparently its just a package or container of a few items. He brought back 3 of these "sachets" and thankfully that turned out to be the exact 2.5 pounds of peeled and pitted peaches that we needed! I had asked Sydney what the recipe she used was, and she sent me three she had found online, but I decided to go with the same one she made last summer.

The same night I was also making a baked pasta and bacon dish I cobbled together from several recipes [http://www.reeniesrecipes.com/view.php?recipe_id=139 and http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1627,157166-238207,00.html and a few of my own ideas] and altered some (my first recipe altering experience, and I must say it made me feel much more like a real cook) ingredient amounts. I definitely needed Jess' help that night, even though I had told him I wanted to make it all myself for him and his housemate, Paul. There were just so many things that had to be done at once, I dont think I could have managed all by myself. Although perhaps if I had done some of it before hand and if I knew more what to expect I could have done a bit better. The first change I made was the amount of pasta! Somehow the recipe only called for 2 cups of uncooked pasta- I dont even think that would cover ME, much less Paul and Jess! They eat a LOT, as boys tend to do. I think I more than tripled that, and I worried how the cheese would turn out so I doubled most of the other amounts as well and it turned out fine. Along with bacon, Paul suggested (rather insistently since its Paul) sweet corn- which is just regular "corn" back home, off the cob, frozen from fresh, etc etc- and it did add a good sweetness to the pasta that was quite nice. Making the white sauce to bake in the pasta was a bit of a challenge, since the internet was out in their house and I had to make up the conversion for butter amounts completely without much basis! Needless to say, I overestimated and it all turned out a bit buttery (there was a thin layer of caked butter on all the plates after we ate) but it still tasted good! Near the end of making it in the sauce pan I thought it was still somewhat buttery looking, so I added more flour and milk to try and make up for it, but I guess it still wasnt enough (not to mention the pan was about to be over filled!). In any case the pasta-cooking, white sauce- making, and bacon-frying all took just a bit too much concentration and Jess had to be called in to grate some (tons) of cheese and fry the bacon and drain the pasta when it was "chewy but not yet fully cooked." Oh, not to mention the sweet corn that we all forgot to cook until everything was almost ready to add together! Good thing it cooks quickly. Since Jess didnt have a bowl big enough for all of it, we separated it into halves and stirred it all together into two of his beloved LeCruset dishes and sprinkled the remaining grated cheese over the top (it ended up taking the entire new block of cheese and it still couldve used more over the top). It cooked in a lot less time (about 10 min less) since it was in two dishes and the ends of the pasta that sticked out the top became a bit burned, but both Jess and Paul insisted they liked a bit of crunchiness to go along with the softer baked middle. I think it turned out well, and I know for next time *less butter, more milk and cheese!*

After dinner and most of Sister Act 2 (not as good as Sister Act 1, but with a catchy "Back in the Habit" title), Jess helped peel the peaches while I pitted, sliced, and weighed them. The flour and sugar was benefitted by my constant need to double the amount of required cinnamon (its just always better that way) and we forwent the blender for manual labor! After I could cut the butter no more, Paul had a go and used his hands to pinch the pastry together. We just put the peaches in, sprinkled it all on top, and put it in the oven! (Again using two dishes instead of one for the same reason- Britich people need bigger cookware!!! For all their talk of Americans and giant portions, the English guys Ive met here eat almost twice as much as anyone I know from back home, shouldnt they need to make big dishes?! It would make more sense to me.. In the end the crisp was crispy and crumbly and the peaches were the perfect texture, and everything worked together to make a lovely dish that most would serve with vanilla or cinnamon icecream, but in true Jess style, he wanted chocolate. Somehow the flavors tasted alright together, and he was happy. I ate them a bit separately so I could enjoy them both to their fullest. Maybe Im just not adventurous enough to appreciate the chocolate and peaches together..