Sorry about the delay in posting! I made this crisp a couple weeks back, inspired by all the stand-over-the-sink-its-so-juicy stonefruit at the market these days. It was the dessert to a lovely summer dinner we had outside on our deck, with our friends Knut & Jessie. We made grilled chicken tacos, and Jer's Jicama Salad. The salad brings me right back to sitting in Jer's amazing outdoor living room in Sayulita, watching the sun set over the Pacific. The simple concoction of jicama, red onions, cilantro, lime juice and honey is the perfect balance of crunchy, sour, sweet, and herby (is that a word?)

Anyhow, back to the crisp. I used plums and nectarines for the base, and just tossed them with a bit of sugar and a squueze of lemon juice. I threw in some tapioca pearls per Jer's suggestion. Didn't bother peeling them or anything, as I'm too lazy these days, and I actually kinda like the bitter undernotes the skin gives to the dish.

For the topping, for some reason I was inspired to try some cornmeal. Perhaps because I'd just had a delicious cornmeal berry scone a few days back? Anyhow, I threw equal parts flour and cornmeal, 1/2 parts of brown and white sugar, and very cold butter into the food processor. Few whirs, and poured right on top.


My review: the fruit/inside was delicious. And while the topping came out pretty good, I think some work needs to be done before I'd declare it a winner. The flavor was nice, just texturally it needed some work. First thing I think I'd do differently would be to not use the food processor, and to use my hands, like you girls did. I think the blade got the topping too fine, too sand like, instead of delicious little crunchy clumps. Second thing is I think I'd use cake flour instead of all purpose, as I'm told it helps with getting some rise and texture to the topping. But I'm not writing off the cornmeal-- it actually gave it a nice flavor component and texture... perhaps I'll just a different kind though (I used medium grind, perhaps I'll use a finer grind next time...) Either way, it was delicious, particularly with a scoop of French Vanilla ice cream! (what isn't?)



Happy cooking!