Another reason to love Giada De Laurentiis

*sigh* ... No, I don't own the rights.

Yesterday was strange ... because there were a bunch of nurses and therapists in to see my invalid brother, Bob, I actually had time not only to write a post for The Other Blog and have it up by 2:00 pm, I also had time to bake. Not just one confection but two.

I don't get ambitious often, but when I do, get out of the way.

One of the things I baked started out to be Giada De Laurentiis' Raspberry Pound Cake (minus the Vin Santo Cream ... Cool Whip will do every time). Halfway through, I discovered that the fresh raspberries I bought at Central Market the other day were not only growing penicillin cultures but also in desperate need of a shave. Fortunately, I had half a bag of frozen strawberries available; a quick defrost under cold water, some vigorous shaking and draining to get excess water out, and some judicious chopping saved the day. The result is a cake with a very bread-like texture; you could just as easily put butter on it as you could ice cream. Quite tasty!

The other was a "Frankenstein recipe". A couple of weeks ago, I tried a recipe for Peach Cobbler by Paula Deen; the filling was marvelous but the crust unsatisfactory. This time around, I decided to use the "biscuit" topping from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, but keep the filling from Paula Deen. Here's the resulting recipe:

The Impractical Peach Cobbler

• Filling:
• 4 cups peaches, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
• Topping:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg, slightly beaten

For the topping, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine milk and egg; add all at once to dry ingredients, stirring just to moisten. Set aside.

Combine peaches, sugar and water in saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Let cool for 10-15 minutes, then pour fruit into a 9"x9" baking dish; sprinkle cinnamon on fruit if desired. Spoon biscuit topping onto fruit in 6 mounds. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes — biscuit topping should be golden-brown. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

 I'd love to show you a shot of the finished product, but we're experiencing technical difficuties here. I will tell you, though — much better results!