Peaches for breakfast

     One of the better parts about summer, aside from the balmy weather and long days, is the amazing produce that is available.  I have nothing against apples and oranges, but my real fruit love sits squarely in the summer cornucopia:  berries and stone fruits.  I cannot get enough.
     In my exuberance to surround myself with these items, I occasionally buy too many at the store (shocking!), and then rashly set them out on the fruit tray in the kitchen.  Lo!  I get up one morning, and all said fruits are now on the verge of becoming moldy or at least chicken food.
     This very situation occurred to me this morning, with teetering-on-the-edge peaches and nectarines staring me in the face.  What to do?
     Oh, did I mention the other conundrum of the summer months?  Those blessed chickens, the ones that live at 6024 Chicken Lane, are in high production mode right now.  With the long days, we get between 3-7 eggs per day, and that doesn't even count the quail eggs.  Which is another topic for a different post.  So basically, we are swimming in stone fruits and eggs at our house.
     Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, just in need of creative ways to utilize the fruits of the season.  And what, dear friends, utilizes both of these items?  Clafoutis!  As I explained to Bryce, a clafoutis is basically one of the many foods that uses milk, flour and eggs.  The differences between pancakes, dutch babies, custard, clafoutis and various other cousins in this family is the proportion of those 3 ingredients.  Plus, in the case of said clafoutis, you get to add fruit, as it that is the classic presentation.  Frankly, I don't think I would care so much for one without fruit.  Classically it's cherries, but oh well, it was stone fruits that I used.  The consistency is more pudding-like, akin to custard.
     I found the basic recipe for this on the Fine Cooking website, but then manipulated it rather heavily.  And then my neighbor Robb basically pounded down my door to get some, so a blog post was in the making....

Stone Fruit Clafoutis 

serves 3-4, depending on whether Robb is around

1 T sliced almonds, toasted

2 T butter

1 lb fruit, I used peaches and nectarines, cut into coarse pieces

6T sugar, divided

1/2 c flour

1/4 t table salt

3 eggs

3/4 c milk

1/4 c cream

1 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 425F.  If you are attentive enough, you can toast the almonds in the oven while you prepare the fruit, then remove and set aside, with 2 tsp of the sugar.  

While you are preheating the oven, put a ceramic pie plate in there to preheat with it.

Melt the butter in a skillet, add the fruit and sauté until the juices are reduced, about 3-5 minutes.  Add 3 T sugar, and continue to sauté, another 1-2 min. Remove from heat.

Whisk the flour and salt together, plus the remainder of the sugar, add the eggs and whisk until no lumps remain, then add milk, cream and vanilla.  

When the oven is hot, remove the pie plate, carefully butter the pan (I use the non-stick spray stuff), add the fruit and juices, and spread around evenly.  Add the milk/flour mixture.  

Bake about 7 min, then sprinkle the almond sugar mixture on top.  Bake another 8 minutes, or until the center is set, and the edges are puffed, golden and starting to pull away from the edges.  

Remove from oven and resist the urge to eat right away, let sit 10-15 min.  Then dig in. 

Notes:  this would serve equally well as a dessert....Also, other stone fruits, such as apricots, would be just as amazing.