Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Nor is it original. Alice Waters invented this Dadaesque approach to desserts many years ago. I sat and watched the jaws of a young man and the girl he had intended to impress drop as the waiter (Probably Pigrim at that date) placed the $8 peach plus knife in front of them. "But," stammered the young man, "I thought it was a *dessert*. It's just a peach!." The waiter looked the length of his nose at the kid, pulled himself up to full height and hissed, "It's the *perfect* peach."

There are a number of birthday suit clad emperors prancing around in a Alice Land, where Gordon Pilgrim and Judy Rogers got earned their stripes. It's not surprising that they picked up a few tricks there. In fact, knowing what the cadre is willing to pay for "perfect", $8 may reflect the standard product markup.

Some of us have learned, however, that perfect is second to best tasting most times. Those of you who visit farmers' markets may have noticed that the better fruit you bring home is never quite as good as the sample..and if you look closely at the sample, it's usually one with a brown spot or two.

I love white fleshed nectarines though it seems a little pricey for one plain nectarine uncut to be served as a dessert. Presentation is sorely lacking in my book.

For the sum of $4.50 I would have preferred the nectarine slices fanned around the pit with a small dollop of flavored whipped cream. Flavorings could range from a crystallized ginger mixed in with the whipped cream or vanilla bean whipped cream or even a more traditional flavor which compliment nectarines such as cinammon whipped cream. It's not as if simply partially slicing a nectarine is all that labor intensive and it does make for a more visually appealing dessert whether it's whipped cream or simply heavy cream.

Now that I live alone I've found I enjoy a small amount of heavy cream which has been lightly sweetened with either sugar or honey and poured over fruits such as nectarines, strawberries or white fleshed cherries. (something I'd never had before until my small grocer purchased a flat of the white fleshed cherries).