Broiled Summer Peaches

A friend of mine brought me a bag of peaches fresh from her orchard. Is there anything better than succulent peaches, juicy and ripe, and picked at their prime? I ate two for breakfast just as they are. Sweet and drippy and a little warm. So good.

For dinner, I felt a little more creative. I know, how can you improve on a perfect food? And maybe you can't, but you can certainly be different. Broiled Summer Peaches with goat cheese, honey, and pecans. Amazing. It can be an appetizer or a dessert. Or like me, just make it dinner.

If you want it to be a more savory appetizer you can slice the peaches on some fried slices of crusty french bread before you follow this recipe. You can top with a little less honey or a little more goat cheese to add to the savory idea. For dessert, you can add a bit more honey if you like your desserts sweet. Cinnamon would go well too. If you're not a goat cheese nut like me, you could try cream cheese instead. You could use other choices of nuts, as well. Walnuts, slivered almonds, pine nuts or pumpkin seeds would all taste wonderful.

Broiled Summer Peaches
INGREDIENTS
2 fresh, ripe peaches, halved, pit removed
4 tablespoons goat cheese
4 pecan halves
honey

1) Preheat broiler.
2) Place each halve on a broiler pan. Top each with 1 tablespoon of crumbled goat cheese and 1 pecan half chopped.
3) Broil until the cheese is melty, lightly browned and the nuts are toasted, about 15 minutes. The time is only a guess. Watch carefully; you don't the nuts to burn. 

4) Carefully remove the peaches from the broiler pan and plate. The skins may peel easily from the peach. Drizzle with a desired amount of honey, a little goes a long way. 

Serve. Makes four appetizer-sized servings or two dessert-sized servings. The peaches would also be fabulous served on a bed of baby arugula as a salad with a little light lemony dressing.

Broiled Summer Peaches