I think at this point we have more streaming services than I can count, but honestly, when I want to just sit and watch something, my go-tos are the cooking shows on PBS Create. That’s where I saw Jacques Pepin make this recipe for baked peaches filled with mascarpone last July. I immediately tried it out for myself, swooned over it, and then promptly forgot about it. Until last week, when I was scrolling back through my photos.

I remember I had my doubts when I first made this. Jacques’ direction – to serve the peaches with the cooking water — seemed suspect. I wondered why, isn’t it just hot water? Reader, I was wrong. The butter and brown sugar melts into the water, making it sweet and velvety. It was unlike anything I’d ever eaten before. I moaned. I swooned. I danced. All from some ripe peaches, brown sugar, butter and water, topped with mascarpone cheese once it came out of the oven.

Let this be a reminder to never doubt Jacques Pepin. His recipes are “idiot proof,” to quote a former Gastronomy and Food Studies grad school classmate of mine whose full time job was culinary instructor at a nearby community college.

I didn’t have basil on hand when I made this, but agree with Jacques that this would be next level with the addition. Mint would work, too, I think.

Hurry. Stone fruit season is upon us. Celebrate it with this recipe.

From Jacques Pepin’s “Heart and Soul in the Kitchen.”

Serves 4

Ingredients:

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Really Bad Chess

2 large ripe (but not overripe) yellow peaches (about 1 1/2 pounds)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1/3 cup water

6 tablespoons mascarpone cheese

2 tablespoons shredded fresh basil leaves

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the peaches in half and remove the pits.

Place the peaches hollow side up in a small gratin dish that holds them snugly.

Mix the butter and sugar into a paste and divide the mixture among the peach hollows.

Pour the water around the peaches.

Bake the peaches for 45 minutes, or until tender and lightly browned.

Divide the mascarpone among the peaches, spooning it into the hollows.

Sprinkle the basil on top.

Serve warm, with any juices accumulated around.

Molly Parr lives in Florence with her husband and two young daughters. She’s been writing her food blog, Cheap Beets, since 2010. Send questions or comments to molly.parr@gmail.com.