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2 cups sugar

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups VSOP (or better) brandy

1 Fill two 1-quart glass jars (ideally the French type, with the hinged clamp-down lid, which are particularly gift-worthy) with water. Place the jars in a deep stockpot, and fill the pot with water up to the shoulder of the jars, about an inch beneath their rims. Remove the jars from the pot and discard the water inside them. Bring the water in the pot to a boil.

2 While the water is heating, prepare the plums: Prick several holes around the stem ends of the plums. Pack the plums into the jars, quartering and pitting any plums that don’t fit and placing the quartered pieces in the gaps between the whole plums. Add a cinnamon stick to each jar.

3 In a 2-quart saucepan or skillet, bring the sugar, salt, and 1 cup water to a boil. Then turn the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow the syrup to cool for 10 minutes, then stir in the brandy. Immediately pour the liquid into the jars up to ½ inch from the rim.

4 Partially close each jar (to leave a gap for steam to escape), and place them in the pot of boiling water. Let the water boil for 10 minutes.

5 Carefully remove the jars with a jar lifter or two sets of tongs, and close the lids tightly. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes; then refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

PEACHES WITH BOURBON

serves 8 • TIME: 15 minutes preparation, a few hours refrigeration

If you got your drink on in the first chapter like we told you to (see Peach Tea Julep), you know already that the pairing of peaches and bourbon is magical. This dessert brings them together in a form that’s so versatile we’re sure it’ll become a dessert-course mainstay. You can serve these peaches with bourbon on their own, ladle them over store-bought vanilla ice cream, or spoon them onto Buttermilk Pudding Cakes. They keep for several days in the refrigerator, if they stick around that long.

2 pounds ripe peaches, preferably freestone (about 8 medium)

2 cups Kentucky bourbon or Tennessee whiskey

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring enough water to cover the peaches to a boil. Cut an X into each peach at the pointed end (opposite the stem end). Drop the peaches into the boiling water and cook until the skin just loosens, 1 to 2 minutes (depending on the ripeness of the peaches). Remove the peaches from the water and set aside until cool enough to handle. Gently peel off the skins, cut into wedges, and pack the peaches in a quart glass jar or arrange them in a medium bowl.

2 In a large saucepan, bring the bourbon to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat, and add the sugar and salt. Continue to simmer until the mixture is syrupy, about 6 minutes.

3 Pour the syrup over the fruit, seal the jar or cover the bowl, and let cool. Then chill in the refrigerator for at least a few hours before using. (The peaches will keep in the refrigerator for about 3 days.)

NEW FRUIT SALAD WITH VANILLA FRESH CHEESE

serves 8 • TIME: 15 minutes preparation, 10 minutes cooking, 30 minutes cooling

This recipe came about from a desire to create a really special fruit salad, one with outstanding flavor in every spoonful. Fruit salads we typically encounter are often composed of oversized chunks of underripe melon and huge strawberries that you have to spear with a fork, piece after piece. Here, we cut the fruit small—into dice slightly smaller than gaming dice, and we give thought to the mixture of flavor, texture, and color: some citrus, a crisp fruit like watermelon or apple, a tropical fruit such as mango or pineapple, a melon with a more custardy texture like honeydew, cantaloupe, or even a papaya, and of course some berries or cherries.

Making the Vanilla Fresh Cheese we typically crumble over this salad adds a layer of complexity to the preparation, but it truly makes your fruit salad soar!

1 cup pitted cherries, blueberries, raspberries, or quartered ripe strawberries

2 cups diced ripe seedless watermelon, red apple, or green apple