Peach Melba Day

What do a French chef, an Australian opera singer, and Downton Abbey all have in common?  Dame Nellie (Helen) Melba. Peach Melba was created for Australian soprano, Nellie Melba in 1892 or 1893 by a French chef, Auguste Escoffier at the Savoy Hotel in London.  It involved an ice sculpture of a swan, vanilla ice cream, spun sugar, and of course peaches.  The swan was an element of the opera in which Ms. Melba was performing.  Excoffier later created another version of the dessert for the opening of the Carlton Hotel, at which he was the head chef.  This time he used peaches topped with a raspberry puree.  Since then Peach Melba has become symbolic of the combination of peaches and raspberries and has taken a wide myriad of forms.

If you are a fan of Downton Abbey, you may have heard of her and seen an artistic interpretation of her.  However, some would disagree with her portrayal.  Per an article in The Telegraph,

“The real Dame Nellie, as played by Kiri Te Kanawa in Downton Abbey, was an old soak who would never have tolerated being treated as a tradesperson.”

Again, it could be assumed that this day was a creation of someone living in a warmer climate as neither peaches nor raspberries are in season in the North this time of year.

I like to use my Ninja to cut butter into crusts for things like pie and cobblers.  This would be one such application.

This is the one I have.  It is available from Amazon and ships free!  I love love LOVE mine!  I have never had a machine before that could take on frozen fruit like this thing – and with no liquid if I so choose!  We use it all the time for smoothies, sauces, and blended strawberry margaritas.  I also like that it is really kid friendly.  The blade will not spin unless you have the motor seated properly and the lid on.  My kids come running when they hear me use it and the little ones always want to ‘push the button!’

Peach Melba Cobbler

TIME/SERVINGS

Makes: 8-10 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

4 cups sliced peeled fresh or frozen peaches

1 cup frozen raspberries

TOPPING:

1 cup sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cold butter or margarine

1 egg, beaten

Ice Cream, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a bowl, combine sugar, flour and nutmeg. Add peaches and raspberries; stir to coat.
2. Pour into greased 9-in x 13-in casserole dish.
3. For topping, combine sugar, flour, baking powder and salt; cut in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
4. Stir in egg.
5. Spoon over peaches.
6. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden.
7. Serve hot or cold with ice cream if desired.