With heavy hearts, we are sad to announce the passing of the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. The singer, who was 76 years old, has been at the forefront of the music industry for the past 50 years giving us classics like, (You Make Me Feel Like) Natural Woman, Respect and I Say a Little Prayer. These soulful songs skyrocketed her to the top of the charts, including over 117 singles on the Billboard 100 and selling over 75 million records.
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Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Aretha quickly moved to Detriot before she was five where her father was the pastor at the New Bethel Baptist Church. His influential sermons brought in celebrities such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Sam Cooke. Her home was always full of soul, and with that, soul food.
While fried chicken and macaroni and cheese fall under the soul food umbrella, there was one dish Aretha was always proud to share; her famous old fashioned peach cobbler. Years ago, the Think singer was invited to Food Network studios to show Emeril Lagasse how to make her peach cobbler recipe, and let me tell you, she steals the show right from underneath him. Thankfully our friends over at Martha Stewart posted the video online.
Aretha first starts her homemade summer dessert recipe by using canned sliced peaches rather than fresh. We find that this is a great option when baking, especially when you are short on time (or peaches are out of season).
The easy peach cobbler filling is a mixture of peaches, butter, sugar, ground cinnamon, and nutmeg, along with a special (secret) ingredient, plain breadcrumbs. The dried breadcrumbs soak up the peach juices making a hearty and sturdy filling. refrigerated pie crusts are used for simplicity and are placed in a baking dish coated with canola oil spray.
Once the peach mixture is added and spread over the pie dough, she cuts the second crust into a lattice pattern and decorates the top, making sure to add small pieces of cold butter to the top.
In the video, Emeril pulls out a pint of vanilla ice cream to top the cobbler but Aretha is quick to point out she only eats Breyer's or homemade. Thankfully Emeril had a back-up of homemade vanilla in his freezer (what are the odds?).
To make Aretha Franklin's Peach Cobbler, follow the recipe here.
