Peach-Basil Summer Drinking

I have been doing a lot of interesting traveling and drinking this summer, but I was in locations where I couldn't seem to sign in to my blog, so here we go with some summer libations catch-up!

PEACH BASIL!

Peach-Basil Popsicles with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

My sister's friend Susie started a gourmet Popsicle business and she is wildly successful at her local farmer's market in Huntsville, Alabama. One day we stopped by her house to purchase some to try and viola, my love affair with this fruit & herb combination was born. I thought that we should booze up the Popsicle, naturally, so we dropped it in a glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.  These wines are notoriously grassy and I presumed that the herb notes in the Popsicle might compliment the grassy notes in the wine.  It worked beautifully. We even threw in a few large basil leaves in the glass later, and, well, it turned out to be summer goodness in a glass. We carefully nibbled the melting Popsicle, and as they melted we let them and then drank the peach-basil laced wine. It was balmy & hot out on my sister's back patio so this proved to be a much-needed summer treat for the overheated ladies that we were.

After I came home I experimented with making the Popsicles so here is the recipe:

Peach-Basil Popsicles
4 large peaches
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar (depending on the sweetness of your peaches)
1/4 cup torn basil leaves

cut peaches in small chunks, put 1 cup of the peaches in a glass bowl & the rest in a food processor, add remaining ingredients to the food processor and blend until smooth. Add peach puree to the bowl of small peach chunks & stir.  spoon mixture into Popsicle molds or small Dixie cups. Freeze for one hour then add sticks or plastic handles from Popsicle molds, resume freezing.  When ready to serve, let sit out for a few minutes so the Popsicle will release more easily.

Lillet with Peaches and Basil 
a few days after we had this, I saw a recipe in Food & Wine magazine for peaches & basil with Lillet. (pronounced luh-LAY) I have long loved this all too often un-discovered darling of the French Aperitif category. Lillet is so interesting with notes of orange and has this hard to explain herbaceous elegance. It is one of the most beautiful things you can drink on a hot day over ice with just a fresh orange garnish.

So, I went for it. I do prefer Lillet in the aforementioned way, but it was fun to try this. Simply cut up fresh peaches, add a chiffonade of basil in a cold glass and pour chilled Lillet on top. I think I would like to try to transform this idea into a sorbet and maybe serve as a pallet cleanser at a summer dinner party in between courses. Just thinking out loud here....

PEACHES & BASIL IN NZ SB
My mom & I wanted the flavor, but hadn't attempted the popsicles, so we just cut up peaches and basil and poured the wine on top. It was in fact complex and delicious, but it lacked the slushly element of the popsicle that had so beautifully melted into the wine, and we eventually ended up with basil leaves in our teeth.  Ah, the perils of experimentation.....   :) However, you could puree peaches, basil and lemon juice, chill, and then put a few tablespoons of the mixture in the bottom of a glass ?

CHEERS!

 my peach tree finally gave me big, luscious peaches this year, so thankful.