Late this afternoon I decided to make one of my favorite cool weather dishes: fruit compote. It’s my grandmother’s recipe, and very simple and wonderful:
4 cans fruit, drained (I use peaches, pears, cherries, and mandarin oranges)
1/2 cup sherry
1/4 cup brown sugar or a glob of agave and molasses
corn flake crumbs
Combine the fruit, sherry, and sweetener. Coat the bottom of a greased casserole pan or dutch oven with corn flake crumbs, add the fruit, and top with more corn flake crumbs. Dot with margarine and bake for 45 minutes at 350.
Grandmom says it’s impossible to mess up this recipe, but as as simple as it is, I have never had it come out just like hers. I decided to have a bit once it was cool enough to eat, and it was fabulous. But before I knew it I had plowed through half the pan, and I was kind of drunk. Now, the sherry is supposed to cook off, but for some reason, it didn’t. I don’t know how this is physically possible, but it happened.
Regardless, sitting in my kitchen full and really tipsy changed my plans for the evening. Instead of heading downtown for a hot yoga class, I decided to make the best use of my time and do some filing, which is kind of telling, I guess. Yes, when the spirits move me to cast aside my inhibitions, I get to work on those mortgage statements and receipts that have been piling up for the past year. Yeeeeha!
