Cooking Like Alice Waters
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"I have no idea what I was feeling, except an urgency to make things right for the opening," Alice Waters recalls in her new book about the day in 1971 when she launched her seminal Berkeley restaurant, Chez Panisse. Forty Years of Chez Panisse follows the visionary chef-turned-activist as she spreads her philosophy about local, seasonal eating "the Alice way"—tracking down rare Himalayan flowers to present to the Dalai Lama, for instance, and placing a beautiful peach in Bill Clinton's hand as he exited a fund-raiser. "I was sure if I fed the president a perfect peach," Waters writes, "it would bring him to a new understanding of the politics of food." Here, F&W's Grace Parisi creates fast recipes with peaches—"the most delicious food," Waters says.
Peach Primer
Doughnut
Saturn "doughnut" peaches have sweet white flesh.
White
White peaches are very sweet and super-juicy, with not much acidity.
Yellow
Yellow peaches are a little tart and very flavorful. Ideal for baking.
Photos (l-r) © Stewart Waller, Pasmal/Amanaimagesrf, American Images Inc.
Alice Waters: A Timeline
Courtesy of Alice Waters.
The Launch
Waters in front of the redwood sign for Chez Panisse in 1971.
Courtesy of Alice Waters.
The Job
In the restaurant's early days, Waters worked mainly as a waitress.
© Tina Rupp
The Garden
Waters pioneered the edible schoolyard garden movement in 2006.
Courtesy of Alice Waters.
The Book
Chefs, academics, artists and farmers contributed to Waters's book, Forty Years of Chez Panisse.
Video: Cooking with Peaches
More Amazing Summer Fruit Recipes:
© John Kernick
© Quentin Bacon When you slice into this delicious pie, don't be surprised by the gap between the filling and the top crust. This happens when a pie is baked at high heat because the crust sets before the fruit in the filling has cooked down.
