Grilled Peaches with Bourbon Caramel Sauce -- The Porch, the Fog, and a Glass of Something Worth Keeping

Christmas at the house in Lexington. Travis and Jolene and the kids drove up. Amber and James drove down with their kids. Clay came. Mama came for dinner. She critiqued my smoked turkey.

Sunday service at Harlan First Baptist when we go. Pastor preached about Ruth and Boaz. The choir sang. Connie wore her gray dress.

Travis sent a photo of Earl Thomas riding on the mower with him at a job site. The boy is wearing a Hensley Landscaping T-shirt that's too big. Three generations on a mower. I saved the photo.

The creek was running clear Sunday afternoon. I watched a kingfisher work the riffle. Did not move for an hour. Some Sundays the watching is the worship.

I sat at the kitchen table Tuesday night working on the recipe project. Mama's soup beans. I cannot get the words right yet.

I split a half-cord of wood Saturday. Slowly. The back does not let me work fast anymore. It got done. The wood was for the smokehouse.

My back was tight after the wood-splitting Saturday. Took an Aleve. Slept eight hours. Got up.

I checked the truck oil Saturday. The mileage on this truck is criminal.

Worked on a basement remodel job in Lexington. The work was good. The pay was good. The body is tired.

I went up to Earl's grave at the Evarts cemetery Saturday. Brought a beer. Drank half. Poured the rest on the dirt. Some traditions are mine alone.

Drove to Pineville for parts Wednesday. The hardware store man knew me. We talked about the weather and the price of feed. Forty minutes for a five-minute errand. That is rural Kentucky.

The neighbor up the road — Old Roy, eighty-seven, lives alone — had a small heart scare. We took him soup beans Tuesday. Cornbread too. He cried a little when he ate. We all cry over soup beans eventually.

The dog — old Beau, fifteen years old — slept by the wood stove all afternoon Tuesday. He used to be a hunting dog. Now he is a heating pad with opinions.

Amber sent the kids' school photos this week. Nadia is taller every year. Marcus has Amber's serious face. Little Betty has Mama's eyes.

Drove the truck to the dump Saturday afternoon. Saw three deer crossing the road on the way back. The mountains have been giving back this year.

Connie read aloud from a novel Tuesday evening while I worked on the bench. Some Appalachian writer she had picked up at the library in Whitesburg. The voice was the voice of where we live. We listened together.

I sat on the porch with bourbon at sundown Friday. The fog rolled into the hollow the way it has every fog of every year. The porch was the porch. The bourbon was the bourbon.

Connie cut my hair on the porch Tuesday afternoon. She has been cutting my hair for forty years. The barber in Pineville cannot do what Connie does, which is also love.

Connie made jam Saturday afternoon. Wild blackberries from the patch up the hollow. Twelve jars. The pantry is filling for winter.

Read the paper at breakfast Tuesday. The county news is not great. The mines have not come back and they will not come back. The young people leave. The hollows empty. We stay.

Friday evening I sat on the porch with a glass of bourbon and watched the fog come down into the hollow the way it always has, and I thought about how some things don’t need improving — they just need repeating. But Connie had peaches on the counter going soft, and the grill was still warm from the week, and the bourbon was already open. This recipe is what came of that. It is not soup beans. It is not smoked turkey. But it is the kind of thing you make when the week has been long and honest and you want to end it with your hands still doing something small and worthwhile.

Grilled Peaches with Bourbon Caramel Sauce

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 ripe peaches, halved and pitted
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons bourbon
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the grill. Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high heat, around 400°F. Clean and lightly oil the grates.
2. Prepare the peaches. Brush the cut sides of each peach half generously with the melted butter, then sprinkle evenly with brown sugar.
3. Grill cut-side down. Place peaches cut-side down on the grill. Cook without moving for 4 to 5 minutes, until grill marks are deep and the sugar has caramelized. Flip and grill the skin side for 2 to 3 minutes more until the peaches are tender but still hold their shape. Transfer to a plate.
4. Start the caramel. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, spread the granulated sugar in an even layer. Cook without stirring until the edges begin to melt and turn amber, then gently swirl the pan. Continue cooking until the sugar is fully melted and a deep amber color, 5 to 7 minutes total.
5. Add the bourbon. Remove the pan from heat and carefully pour in the bourbon — it will bubble hard. Stir with a heat-safe spatula until combined, then return to low heat.
6. Finish the sauce. Slowly pour in the heavy cream while stirring. Add the butter pieces, salt, and vanilla extract. Stir until the sauce is smooth and glossy, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
7. Serve. Arrange the grilled peach halves on plates or a platter. Spoon warm bourbon caramel sauce generously over each one. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream alongside if you like. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 42g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 95mg