This post is written in partnership with CK Mondavi and Family. As always, the opinions here are all my own.
Summer’s quickly come to an end but that doesn’t mean you have to put away the grill or stop enjoying fun cookouts with friends. I’m happy to share my “good any time of year” Grilled Peaches and Wine Poached Cherries Mascarpone Stack recipe. It’s probably the easiest and most scrumptious recipe I’ve ever made. And it’s incredibly versatile because you can make it with almost any fruit in season. This is actually three recipes in one and each component can be served and enjoyed on its own. I also share my tips to grilling peaches and how to poach fruit in wine, so let’s get to it!
As a CK Mondavi & Family Wines Ambassador, I received the recently released Sunset Sweet Red Blend and the always popular Moscato and couldn’t wait to create a dessert recipe that would pair with both. The result was delicious travel inspiration. I hope you’ll be inspired to go #MakeSomedayHappen one delicious bite, sip and trip at a time.
Travel Inspiration: Medford, Southern Oregon
All my recipes are inspired by travel. It’s a wonderful way to bring back memories of a great trip. It can also fuel your travel dreams and inspire you to cross those destinations off your “Someday List.” Just let your taste buds lead the way!
This Summer I spent nearly two months in Oregon, both in my hometown of Portland and in Medford, Southern Oregon. This Oregon girl fell in love with this charming region all over again. If you haven’t been, add it to your list!
In Medford, you can experience the great wines, food, and outdoor beauty the Pacific Northwest is known for, with none of the hipster sensibilities of larger cities like Portland and Seattle. (I love those cities too, but they’ve grown so much in recent years that the experience is not as quaint and laid back.) The people in the Southern Oregon cities of Medford, Ashland and Jacksonville are also the nicest I’ve encountered anywhere. I have stories upon stories, from the UPS driver to the barista, the shop owner to the TSA agent who went out of their way to provide service with a smile.
It’s Peachpalooza!
Peaches and cherries are “Must Eats” while in Southern Oregon. We often go to the “You Pick” nearby farms. One of the highlights of my trip was taking part in “Peachpalooza” at the Harry & David Country Village Store. The flagship store of the mail order gourmet gift company made picking peaches easy. Basically, they did all the picking for you! They brought in tons of fresh peaches from their nearby orchards and all we had to do was get there early enough (i.e. the crack of dawn!) to fill as many bags and boxes as we could. In total we left with a 70 pound bounty!
The true “Peachpalooza” fun came later in the kitchen. We made peaches in every way we could think of! Parfaits, pies, stuffed French toast, pancakes, compote, punch and sangria. We even soaked in bourbon and poached in wine because, why not? We also created scrumptious breakfast recipes at Lady Geneva Bed & Breakfast, my sister and brother in law’s new 5 Star B&B, which their guests absolutely loved. If you want to learn more about the area, visit TravelSouthernOregon.com You can also check out my Oregon posts on Instagram with hashtag #GoEpicOregon
Take Seasonal Fruits To The Next Level!
Grilling and poaching are great ways to enjoy seasonal fruits. It’s super easy to take the flavors and presentation to the next level. You can use the recipes and tips below with almost any fruit in season.
How to Poach Fruit In Wine?
Poaching means to delicately simmer the fruit in liquid to concentrate the flavor. For this recipe we’re poaching cherries. However, you could easily poach the peaches, or use pears, apples, blackberries and blueberries. Whatever is in season.
The flavor of the liquid used is key because the fruit will take on those same flavor characteristics. Many recipes call for a heavy use of spices. I find that using a fruit forward wine with just a touch of spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg is enough not to overwhelm the taste of the fruit.
The CK Mondavi Sunset Sweet Red Blend worked out beautifully to poach the cherries. It is full bodied and fruit forward so it enhanced the already ripe fruit. The dark berry flavors and sweetness paired well with cherries. All I added was a small strip of Orange zest.
The CK Mondavi Moscato works great for poaching the peaches and you can follow the same steps below. In this recipe I simply used the moscato to soak the peaches and then grill them for a different flavor and texture profile.
Steps To Poach Fruit in Wine
- To create your poaching liquid, mix two parts wine with one part sugar. You can also use water or fruit juice but remember what I said above, choose wisely. Wine already has such beautiful flavor profiles you don’t get with water or juice. why not take advantage of that?
- Next, core or pit the fruit. Firm fruits, such as pears and apples, are best peeled. Peaches, plums, berries and other delicate fruits are best left as is.
- Submerge fruit in the poaching liquid in an appropriately sized pot. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
- Check for doneness by piercing the fruit with a knife. The fruit should give without being mushy. Continue simmering to suit your taste.
- Remove the fruit with a slotted spoon, and allow to cool in a glass bowl.
- You can serve immediately or store in the liquid in the refrigerator until ready. If you plan on keeping for longer than a few days, you may want to store in airtight mason jars and follow canning procedures.
- The remaining poaching wine liquid can be further reduced into a syrup and poured over your dessert, vanilla ice cream, cake and more. Many discard the poaching liquid but this wine is too good to pass up.
Wine Poached Cherries Recipe
These luscious wine poached cherries are easy to make and delicious served over ice cream, grilled pound cake and mascarpone whipped cream. Don't forget to reduce the poaching liquid for an over the top cherry syrup.
- 1 cup sweet red wine (I used CK Mondavi Sunset Sweet Red Blend)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 strip orange zest
- 1 pound sweet cherries (halved and pitted)
- In a medium stainless-steel saucepan, combine wine, sugar, and orange zest. Bring to a simmer over moderately high heat. Add the cherries and bring back to a simmer.
Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, until cherries are tender, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and pour into a glass bowl so they stop cooking.
- When ready to serve, remove the cherries from poaching liquid with a slotted spoon.
The remaining poaching red wine liquid can be further reduced on low heat until it coatsth back of a spoon and turns into a syrup. It's beautiful to pour over your dessert or even simply vanilla ice cream.
How To Grill Peaches?
Grilling is an amazing way to bring out the flavors of the fruit. It also adds a bit of a smokiness and intensifies the sweetness.
A few tips and tricks to grilling peaches or any other ripe fruits.
- The temperature of your grill is most important. Get the grill to a medium heat. If grill is too hot you will quickly burn the fruit. If it’s too low, it will steam the fruit.
- Spray the grill with non-stick grill stray as cut fruit can easily stick to the grill.
- Basting the peaches in butter and sugar mixture also helps the fruit not stick and enhances the flavor. The Moscato sweet white wine is an added flavor bonus.
- You can grill on one side or both depending on how you will present the dish.
- Save the Moscato, Sugar and Butter mixture used to soak the peaches. Heat in a small pan over low heat and drizzle over the peaches when serving. It’s also great to drizzle over the pound cake.
Grilled Moscato Peaches Recipe
Bring your fresh peaches to the next level by soaking in sweet Moscato wine and butter, then grilling to give beautiful grill marks.
- 2 ripe peaches
- 3 TBSP Moscato (I used CK Mondavi & Family Wines Moscato)
- 1 1/2 TBSP butter (melted)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
Mix Moscato, brown sugar and butter in a small bowl until sugar dissolves.
Cut peaches in quarters and remove pit. Then cut quarters in half.
Put peaches in the sugar mixture bowl and gently coat. You can also brush Moscato Sugar mixture on cut side of peaches if you prefer. I like to let the peaches soak for a bit to absorb more of the Moscato flavor.
- Place peaches on a heated greased grill, cut side down for approximately 2 minutes per side or until you get nice grill marks.
If you love grilled peaches, check out my Grilled Peach Pizza recipe.
Mascarpone Whipped Cream Recipe
If you want to easily up the wow factor of homemade whipped cream, add Mascarpone cheese. The sweet and creamy Italian cheese is used in cheesecakes and tiramisu. This recipe is much easier and just as delightful. Prepare the whipped cream first and refrigerate so you can serve your dessert while the fruit is still warm.
This is homemade whipped cream to the next level! You've tried Tiramisu and Italian cheesecake. This is much easier and can be just as decadent. Simply top with fresh fruit or a more elegant grilled peaches and wine poached cherries.
- 2 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream chilled
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese chilled
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Place heavy whipping cream in a chilled metal bowl. Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix with electric mixer on high speed until it forms soft peaks. No more than 2-3 minutes.
- Fold mascarpone cheese into the whipped cream and give it a quick whip until you get stiff peaks. No more than a minute or so. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Tip: remove mascarpone cheese out of the fridge a few minutes before using so it softens but is still chilled. (Adjust timing depending on your house temperature.) Don’t let mascarpone get too warm and don’t overbeat it.
Now it’s time to put the above three recipes together into a divine dessert!
Grilled Peaches and Wine Poached Cherries Mascarpone Stack Recipe
This fun dessert is easy and versatile! It’s three recipes in one, perfect for a BBQ or a fancy dinner. Each of the components can be served on their own and if you don’t have peaches or cherries, you can use any fruit in season such as plums, apples, pears, strawberries or blueberries. The Mascarpone whipped cream makes a classy easy dessert with fresh berries on top. Take it to the next level, paired with CK Mondavi and Family Sunset Sweet Red Blend and CK Mondavi Moscato.
- 2 Grilled Peaches with Moscato Butter (see recipe)
- 16 Poached Cherries with red wine syrup (see recipe)
- Mascarpone Whipped Cream (see recipe)
- 1 Pound Cake (sliced)
- Powdered Sugar for dusting
Prepare mascarpone whipped cream as per recipe, set aside in refrigerator
- Prepare grilled peaches
Prepare wine poached cherries
- Slice pound cake into thick slices and toast or grill on each side until lightly toasted
Assemble on plate by placing a layer of pound cake and drizzle the Moscato Sugar and butter mixture used to coat the peaches over the pound cake. Top with mascarpone cream, grilled peaches and poached cherries. Drizzle the red wine cherry syrup over the cherries. Dust with powdered sugar for added effect if you want. Serve and devour immediately!
Wine Pairings: CK Mondavi Sunset Sweet Red Blend & Moscato
With Oregon’s fresh peaches and cherries on my mind, the shipment of CK Mondavi Sunset Sweet Red Blend and Moscato Wines couldn’t have come at a better time. It was actually waiting for me when I returned home to Orlando.
The CK Mondavi Moscato is floral and fruity as the label says, with a touch of lemon zest. Easy drinking for those who love sweet white wines. It’s perfect to sip on its own on a warm day or to make a refreshing peach sangria.
The new limited release CK Mondavi “Sunset Sweet Red Blend’ is luscious and smooth. Full-bodied with juicy flavors of strawberry and dark plum. It pairs well with BBQ dishes and harvest fare and will only be available through early fall so stock up now. Similar to other CK Mondavi and Family Wines such as Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Red Blend, it offers great quality and value at suggested retail price of $6.99. Perfect for every day celebrations.
The CK Mondavi Wine family has been hand-crafting easy drinking wines for four generations. They harvest the grapes at the peak of ripeness from their 1,850 acre California vineyards to produce wines to celebrate every day. The wines are well balanced, great on their own or with food. As a proud ambassador for their wines for the past 3 years, I’ve had the chance to enjoy with a variety of recipes from salads to burgers and pizzas.
If you’re ever stuck wondering what foods to pair with which wines, check out the “Wine Pairing Made Simple” infographic and visit their website. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Vimeo @CKMondaviWines for more recipe ideas. Use the CK Mondavi Wine Finder to locate these lovely wines near you. Earn Savings on CK Mondavi and Family wines on the Ibotta app. Download for free to save.
I hope you’re inspired to celebrate the season with friends. Go #MakeSomedayHappen one delicious bite, sip and trip at a time.
If you make this recipe please tag @goepicurista #GOepicRecipe and share on Facebook or Instagram. I would love to see how you make it your own.
Cheers!
Go Epicurista
Disclosure: This post is written in partnership with CK Mondavi & Family Wines. As always, all opinions are my own. I only share with you products and experiences I love to inspire you to get together with family and friends, celebrate life and go #MakeSomedayHappen one delicious bite, sip and trip at a time! To learn more about my guidelines, check out my disclosure policy. Cheers.
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