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Celebrate National Peach Month At Napa Valley Grille

STUDIO CITY (CBSLA.com) — August is National Peach Month!

To celebrate, Napa Valley Grille's Executive Chef, Taylor Bourdreaux, stopped by the KCAL9 studios Wednesday to make Peaches and Prosciutto as well as a Stone Fruit Salad.

Tips on picking peaches at the market:

• Smell: Most peaches should smell like what you want them to taste like. No smell usually means no taste or an under-ripe peach

• If shopping at a farmers market, ask the farmer for guidance about the variety, and for a sample.

• Feel: Like any fruit, peaches should feel heavy for their size. The give of a peach's flesh can tell you a lot about how ripe it is. Hold the peach in the palm of your hand and gently squeeze with your whole fingers to gauge how hard or soft the peach is:

• Baseball-hard peaches should be left behind; they were picked before being ready and most likely will never ripen properly.

• Tennis ball-like peaches are not ready to eat, but are excellent candidates for taking home for ripening to eat later in the week.

• Real "give" when you squeeze means the peach can be happily eaten or left out on the counter for a day or two first. These peaches are great for baking since they hold their shape better that softer ripe specimens.

• Soft peaches will bruise slightly when you squeeze. These are ready to eat right now.

• Super-soft peaches are already bruised, just from sitting there. They are a tad over-ripe, but can make for tasty, if exceedingly juicy and messy, eating.

Foods that pair well with peaches

• Cheeses
• Almonds
• Ginger
• Cherries
• Blueberries
• Chili Pepper
• Grilled Fish (i.e. Halibut)
• Rosemary

Peaches and Prosciutto

3 slices prosciutto de parma
2 oz burratta cheese
½ peach sliced
Grey salt
Olive oil
Aged balsamic
Micro basil

Slice peach and fan out onto plate. Place burrata to the side of peach. Season lightly with grey salt. Wrap with prosciutto. Garnish with olive oil, balsamic, and micro basil.

Stone Fruit Salad

Sherry Vinaigrette
¼ cup sherry vinaigrette
¾ cup blended olive oil
1 T chopped shallots
2 T honey
2 T Dijon mustard

Combine all ingredients, but oil and whisk to combine. Slowly drizzle in oil and whisk to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper.

Salad:

1 oz fresh peach, sliced.
1 oz fresh plum, sliced
1 oz fresh nectarine, sliced
1 oz fresh cherries, pitted and halved
2 oz arugula
1 oz toasted marcona almonds
1 oz goat cheese
1 ½ oz vinaigrette
Combine fruit and arugula. Season with salt and pepper. Dress in vinaigrette.
Plate and Garnish with almonds and goat cheese.

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