Vincenzo's Peaches in Red Wine & Expresso Coffee

There were two things in our house that our family never did without during and after dinner, one was red wine and the other was black coffee also known as espresso or caffe' Nero.  The coffee was served in little demitasse coffee cups, which in french means half cup.   Every night after dinner my dad would take out the special coffee pot that would make this liquid culinary delight.  He would take out the can that held the Italian espresso coffee.  He measured the perfect amount of coffee to the measured amount of water.  The pot was put on the stove, and you just knew when the coffee was done by the sound of the espresso maker would make, as well as the aroma of the coffee.  Making espresso coffee was one of the first things I learn to make as a young girl.  My dad showed me the secret of measuring the correct amount of coffee to the correct amount of water.  I felt that when mastering the fine art of espresso making, I truly had achieved a culinary high.

As I mentioned no dinner was complete without a glass of wine with every meal, and he never drank more than one.  It made the dinner complete and it finished off the meal.  It was not an expensive wine, but in was a fine tasting one, it completed the meal, and the coffee just aided in the digestion of the meal.

I remember we would have many different types of summer fruit, Italian figs, pears, strawberries, fresh cherries, pineapple and peaches.  Often at the end of his meal he would cut his peach into slices small enough to fit into a wine glass and dip his peach into the wine or cut them ahead and let them sit in the wine.  The taste of the sweet peach and the wine was just a perfect mix for the taste buds and one everyone should try.

                                                        Peaches in Red Wine

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

2 1/2 cups of fruity red wind  (home made wine is often what many Italian families used, going back)

6 ripe yellow peaches

In a medium to large bowl, mix your sugar and wine mix until your sugar is well dissolved.  Next cut your peaches into slices, remove the pits, you can peel the peaches or leave them unpeeled, and put them into the wine and sugar stir well.  Cover your bowel and put into your refrigerator for 3 hours, the peaches will take all the flavor of the wine.

When ready to serve, spoon the peaches into wineglasses  and some of the remaining wine and serve. This can be served as a dessert, very different and very refreshing.   (You can also use pears for this)  You can break this down for one or two people or more.  All you need is a bowel and wine.