Soul superstar Aretha Franklin is planning her third wedding at the age of 69. She is now engaged to her friend William “Willie” Wilkerson and the pair are hoping to marry this summer, possibly in Florida. She joked with the press that it wasn’t a shotgun wedding.
She was hospitalised last year and is clearly well recovered and I would like to wish her and Willie all the best for their forthcoming nuptials. Strangely her new album is called ‘Aretha: A Woman Falling Out of Love’ which clearly isn’t true.
I doubt that she will be doing any of the catering herself, but I recall reading an interview with her back in the 70s in Blues and Soul magazine. She proudly explained that she was a very good cook and made a mean Peach Cobbler. I reckon Mr Wilkerson could be a very lucky man as long as he shows her a good deal of “R.E.S.P.E.C.T”!
Now please enjoy a trio of Aretha classics followed by a recipe for her Peach Cobbler. Now that’s a first for this blog!
Ingredients
10 (8 1/2-ounce) cans sliced peaches, drained
2 sticks unsalted butter, divided, 1 stick cut into small pieces
1 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
2 store-bought refrigerated pie doughs (or feel free to make them yourself)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Canola oil spray
1 pint vanilla ice cream, for serving
Serves 8 normal people (4 or less for people like me)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large saucepan, add peaches, 1 stick of butter, 1 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and bring to a simmer. Add bread crumbs and stir. Using a sprinkle of flour, roll out both pie crusts; 1 will be used for the top of the cobbler and 1 for the bottom.
Spray a 10-inch square pan with canola oil and place 1 layer of dough into the baking dish. Place a few chips of butter, as well as a dusting of the remaining sugar, on the bottom crust. Pour the peach mixture into the baking dish. Cut the top layer of dough into strips and arrange them on the top of the peaches in a lattice pattern. Top with 3 or 4 chips of butter and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the crust is brown and the peaches are bubbling. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 