Southern Dessert

Peach Cobbler
(Serves 6-8)

What could be more southern —or more delicious—than peach cobbler?

Peaches
1 29 oz. can peaches in syrup *
1/2 C sugar
1 egg (well beaten)
4 T butter (in chunks)
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Topping
1/2 C flour
1/2 C sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 T butter
1 egg (beaten)

Peaches: preheat oven to 350. Mix peaches with sugar and egg. Pour into a lightly buttered baking dish (9 x 9) and top with chunks of butter.

Topping: sift first 4 ingredients. Cut in butter and drop mixture by tablespoonfuls (like large polka-dots) over peaches. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature with cream, whipped cream, or iced cream.
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* Use fresh peaches if they're in season:

4 C fresh peaches (peeled, sliced)
1 C sugar
1/2 C water

Stir peaches, sugar and water together in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Now return to the original recipe...and add the beaten egg...before turning the peaches and syrup into the baking dish.

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Tips & Glossary

Basic southern cuisine differs from its Cajun, Creole, and Southwestern cousins in its lack of hot spices. As a result, it's rich but mild—the ultimate in comfort food!

• Crabmeat: meat from the body, legs or claws of numerous varieties of crab. Most prized is jumbo lump from the hind leg. But for crab cakes and casseroles, use regular lump, as well as finback from the body. Claw meat is brown and stronger flavored, though also good for crab recipes. Buy it fresh if you can.

• Greens: a staple in Southern cooking, they're in the cabbage family and include kale, collards, turnip, spinach, and mustard greens. Usually served with black-eyed peas and cornbread to sop up the pot likker.

• Grits: another staple of Southern cooking: coarsely ground corn, cooked as porridge. Once cooked, grits are served plain, baked in a casserole, fried or deep-fried as a fritter. (Think polenta.)

• Pie Crust: store bought crusts are fine. But for the skilled (or more daring) among you, make your own. Here's our recipe—Noel's Pie Crust.

• Yams: a type of sweet potato with an elongated shape and deep orange flesh. A true yam is grown in Africa and Asia is actually quite different from what Americans call yams.