Peach, & The Color Orange

Knoxville, I'm learning, is a college town. University of Tennessee Knoxville is better known as UT. Their mascot is a Vol named Smokey. I assume since Knoxville is the center of the universe here, that they either don't know that there are other colleges in the UT system or they are just lazy. It would be like calling UCLA, just UC. Maybe I don't understand it because I'm not from here or I am missing something completely. The schools website is UTK.edu, enough to explain my point.

The school color is a unique shade of orange. I have been privy to see many different shades of orange since I have been here. I am blessed with not being colorblind so I get to enjoy the pleasure. The many shades of orange include but are not limited to; Men Working Sign orange, Roadside Cone orange, Hooters orange, Home Depot orange, Hunting Vest orange, Jail Jumpsuit orange, and UT orange. The last of these is EVERYWHERE! You can't escape it. There are UT flags hanging pridefully from every house but mine. The gas station sells all kinds of products in that lovely color with the UT logo all over them. Down at the Sequoyah Marina next to my house, all you see is people in that color shirt. Wal-Mart has four sections strategically placed throughout the store just in case you don't have a wardrobe full of the color and, let us not forget the UT orange paper napkins for your BBQ. It's something special to the residents of the area. I did not grow up with such pride for anything other than the American Flag which we have hanging outside the front of the house.

When I came here, I was a redhead. I had strawberry blonde hair as a child, and once I developed my fear of the sun it became a deep shade of auburn. It has been every color on the spectrum at some point. I decided since, for the first time in years I didn't have a corporate job to dictate what color my hair needs to be, at least for a little while, to change it. I would go blonde. After the first attempt, my hair was a nice shade of sunflower yellow mixed with, yep, UT orange! They were gonna get me somehow. I figured if it didn't go lighter the next time, I would simply dye it back to some form of red. It has since gone much blonder, and I really like it. Unfortunately with my current hair color, UT orange doesn't compliment my features so you won't see me in it EVER and I will stick with my happy girly color of pink. Pink is a soft and pretty color that looks good on blondes.

Realizing how much pride this community has for their local teams, I have decided to make something using all Tennessee products and a shade away from orange on the color wheel very familiar to me called Peach. Cobbler it is!

Tennessee Peach Cobbler

4 cups fresh Tennessee peaches cut into 1 in wedges, pits removed
1/2 Tennessee lemon zested
1 Tablespoon Tennessee lemon juice
1 cup sugar, plus 3 Tablespoons divided
1 cup flour (I used Tennessee Flour of course!)
1 egg from local chicken birds
Heavy handed pour of Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey
Splash of really good vanilla
6 Tablespoons of butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place peaches in a bowl with lemon juice, zest, 3 Tablespoons of sugar, vanilla, and the heavy handed pour of Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey. Toss to coat the peaches, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 15 minutes. Pour the peach mixture into a lightly greased 8-inch square baking dish. Stir together egg, 1 cup of sugar, and flour in a medium bowl until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle over fruit. Drizzle melted butter over topping. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. You can also use this recipe for berries or mix the berries with the peaches. A day before you make the cobbler, I highly suggest you make some dulce de leche to top this heavenly dish.

Dulce De Leche

1 can of sweetened condensed milk (adjust the recipe size by adding extra cans to the pot)

Remove the paper labels from the unopened can(s). Place in a heavy bottom pot and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil and cook for three hours. Add additional hot water if necessary to keep the cans covered. Remove from the heat, dispose of the water and allow the cans to cool at room temperature. Once the cans have cooled, place them unopened in the refrigerator to store them. They will keep for a while in there. Once you are ready to use the caramel, open the can. It can be warmed in a microwave safe bowl, or in a pot on the stove. Watch it carefully while you heat it so it does not burn. Enjoy!

*In the photos you will see that I used a smaller baking dish. My father is diabetic and also cannot have alcohol. I made a smaller portion of the recipe using Splenda and no booze and made mine the diet-free way. Both good. I also used blanched, peeled peaches today but my recipe has been time tested with fresh and frozen homegrown fruit. All of which are successful. Anytime you bake, please use unsalted butter.