Blueberry Cobbler with White Peach Ice Cream!

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | July 7, 2009
Filed Under dessert, frozen dessert, recipe | 34 Comments

Last weekend my family and I went to Avon, Minnesota to see a special 4th of July live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion. For those of you who have never been to Minnesota, you will get a quick and thorough understanding of the place if you tune in to listen to Garrison Keiller’s show on NPR. He ends every broadcast with the phrase “…where the women are strong, the men are good looking and the kids are above average,” which pretty much sums up the place.

We brought enough food to share with the thousands of other patriotic NPR listeners sitting all around us. We arrived 4 hours early (we were far from the first ones there) and didn’t want to risk getting hungry. You know how that goes. For dessert I made blueberry cobbler, the biscuits were made with tarragon from my garden. It was hot from the oven and required its own basket and carrying case. This is significant only because of the distance between our car and the field we set up in. But, my family never said a complaining word and I marched on blissfully with my cobbler. In the end they, carrying everything else, were happy that I did.

It was such a hit that I made another batch and baked them as individuals in dainty ramekins my friend Jen bought me during her trip to Maine. This time I served the cobbler with White Peach Ice Cream. Read more

Springtime Fool! What to do with all that rhubarb.

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | May 6, 2009
Filed Under dessert, recipe | 30 Comments

It is officially spring when I walk outside my door and there are stalks of rhubarb standing tall in my garden. To date rhubarb and strawberries are the only edible things I’ve managed to grow. Every year the rabbits and squirrels wait until the strawberries are perfectly formed and just about to turn red, then they systematically eat them all. So, in the end all I am left with is my huge patch of rhubarb. It may be why I love it so much, because I feel a sense of accomplishment.

This year will be different. I have signed up for the Backyard Harvest Project. They assigned me a master “urban” farmer, Stefan, and we will work the land together. My city farm is tiny, no more than 10×14′ of organic growing space. This is apparently enough room to grow about 30 varieties of vegetables, herbs and edible flowers. So far we’ve prepped the land, shoveled loads of beautiful black organic dirt, planted leeks, cauliflower, spinach, peas and radishes. The beauty of this program is that Stefan is here to make sure that in the end I have a bounty of produce. In other words he makes sure I won’t kill it. He even installed a fence today to keep out the rabbits. Hmmm, perhaps I’ll get strawberries this year after all. *

The spring “fool” came to me on Twitter. @francis_lam, who is a writer for Gourmet magazine posted that he had some fresh heavy whipping cream and asked what he should do with it. I thought, rhubarb Fool! It is a classic British dessert made of cooked, sweetened fruit that is folded into whipped cream. There is nothing as simple, and yet just a touch decadent. I wonder where the name comes from???

The Sticky Rice with Mango and Coconut Cream I Missed In Vegas!

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | February 27, 2009
Filed Under dessert, recipe | 28 Comments

Earlier this month I went on a mom only junket with my friend Jen. We went to Vegas! Our trip there was for the food and not all of the other more “sinful” elements it is known for. We stayed at the ultra *fabulous* Wynn hotel, which has some of the best restaurants in town. Just like the knock-our-socks-off meal we had at Joel Robuchon the restaurant scene there is very luxurious and expensive. When many of my chef friends recommended a casual Thai restaurant off of the strip, I was eager to try it.

Seriously folks Lotus of Siam is the best Thai food, and perhaps the best FOOD, I’ve ever eaten. It is very casual and lacking in pretension, which is such a breath of fresh air in Vegas. It has been favorably reviewed by countless food magazines and critics. The reviewer from Chow said “Don’t skip dessert, or you’ll regret it deeply!” Well folks, I have to admit I gorged myself to the point of not being able to eat dessert the night we went. It is a decision that I will regret until I am able to go back! Me of all people skipping dessert, it is shameful! The restaurant is famous for their Sticky Rice with Mango and Coconut cream. I have been obsessed with Thai food and creating this dessert since my return. Here is my version. It is really wonderful and I so look forward to having it at Lotus of Siam next time I’m there. Read more

Baklava – A sophisticated twist on the classic!

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | February 16, 2009
Filed Under dessert, recipe | 41 Comments

Thanks to Peter @kalofagas.ca (I follow his culinary journey on Twitter), I’ve been craving Greek food, baklava in particular. For some crazy reason I haven’t made it since I was in college, about 20 years ago. I love the crisp phyllo which is layered with ground nuts, sweet spices, bathed in butter and honey with just a touch of rose water. It is this last ingredient that gives the recipe its magic. The rose water should be so quiet as to be undetectable, but make people wonder why this baklava is so much better than any other!

Too much and you cross the line into a Crabtree & Evelyn fragrance, so take it easy!

I decided to make the baklava as individual desserts instead of the traditional diamond shape pieces. I thought it would be more elegant to serve. It may take a few more minutes to assemble this way, but the presentation is worth the effort! Read more

Saffron Scented Panna Cotta – from one of my favorite new books!

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | January 27, 2009
Filed Under cookbooks I love, dessert, low fat version | 32 Comments

My husband is going to have a fit when he realizes that I’m talking about his diet on my website. It really does have some relevance to this post, so I hope he will forgive me! He went to the doctor recently and was basically told he needed to cut back on butter, cream and puff pastry. Hahaha. Can you imagine how a request like that goes over in my house. We both stared at the contents of our refrigerator and sighed. After the shock wore off we decided to approach his doctor’s advice as a challenge. How can we continue to satisfy our love of eating and cooking, but do it in a way that fits his new diet. I immediately saw it as an opportunity to buy more cook books.

Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift from the Splendid Table just came out with a fantastic book How to Eat Supper. It has encouraged us to try new things and rethink some of our classic recipes. Much like the philosophy Jeff and I have written about in our book about bread Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, they use for cooking. The food we cook should be fresh, made with great ingredients, fit into our busy schedules and above all else taste great! They deliver on all fronts and I just love this book!

One of the desserts I’ve tried from it is Lynne’s panna cotta recipe. Read more

Butterscotch Pudding with Coffee-Caramel Bananas, and a Trifle!

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | January 15, 2009
Filed Under dessert, recipe | 43 Comments

Butterscotch is one of those flavors that can make you travel through time. I remember eating it, still warm off the stove, when I was just a kid. It was straight from the box of Jell-o instant pudding and it was fabulous to my 7 year old taste buds. Today I’d probably have a very different reaction to that product and my poor kids have never even tried it. I’d be horrified by its overly sweet and gelatinous taste and they would probably love it! Instead I made them some from scratch, so they would have the same romantic memory, but this one they can take into adulthood.

I got David Lebovitz’s Ripe for Dessert book this year from my aunt Kris, the same one I sent the cake to FL for. It is a lovely book about all kinds of tasty desserts made with fresh fruit. As I was flipping through it fell to the page with butterscotch pudding. He paired it with bananas, which at first seemed like a match that would be far too sweet. But the banana’s are caramelized in coffee, which perfectly balances the sugar with the bite of coffee. Sweet enough to satisfy my sons and yet not at all cloying like the Jell-o of my childhood. Read more

Chocolate Poached Pears!

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | January 7, 2009
Filed Under dessert, recipe | 23 Comments

Every New Years Eve my husband and I stay home and have raw oysters, lobster and champagne. This has been our tradition ever since we moved to Minnesota, 15 years ago. Graham proposed to me on NYE so it has always been a special night for us. This year our two young boys joined us in the celebration. They helped to shuck the oysters and then reluctantly slid them down. Our 9 year old was satisfied with just one and will perhaps forgo this part of the tradition next year and head straight for the lobster! Our 7 year old, on the other hand, ate the oysters like popcorn. The only problem with having a child who likes raw oysters is now I have to share!

After a meal this rich I wanted something decadent, but light. Poached pears seemed the perfect ending, but with a twist on the classic. Pears slowly poached in chocolate sauce. Gorgeous and luscious, but absolutely no fat in the entire recipe. The 4 of us ushered in the New Year while playing scrabble and eating our pears! Not exactly the dance-all-night-raves of our youth, but just as wonderful! Read more

Candied Pink Grapefruit! + The Aebleskiver Winner!

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | December 19, 2008
Filed Under dessert, giveaway!, recipe | 35 Comments

Wow, thank you all for such a wonderful response to the Aebleskivers post. I was not the only one who’d never heard of these fabulous little pastry orbs, but most of you had! I was struck by how many stories there were of people eating them as children and in particular from Solvang, California. A destination to be added to my travel plans.

Thanks also to the folks at Aunt Else’s Aebleskivers for sharing this fantastic prize with us. So many of you were interested in their cast iron Aebleskiver pan that they have generously reduced the price for all of you who did not win this time. Check out their website for details. Now the lucky winner of the Aunt Else’s Aebleskiver mix and pan is Jane! She said the pan has been on her wish list for years and no one has ever gotten it for her. This is your lucky year! Enjoy.

This time of year you find many recipes that call for candied fruits. Read more

A Tale of Two Puffs and a Nest of Nuts!

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | November 16, 2008
Filed Under dessert, recipe | 49 Comments

It is my birthday and I decided to make myself something fun to celebrate. Now that I am squarely in my 40s I find it especially important to make this occasion a special one. I was in the mood to play with sugar. It has been years, many years, since I have worked in the restaurant world and had the opportunity and excuse to do over-the-top fanciful things with sugar. It is more the act of creating these wisps of golden caramel that thrills me, even more than eating them. To sit on top this ethereal nest I decided I needed something creamy and decadent; cream puffs filled with pastry cream in three flavors.

The tale of two puffs: Read more

Apple & Cajeta (Rich Mexican Caramel) Crisp

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | October 24, 2008
Filed Under dessert, recipe | 19 Comments

Last weekend my family finally got out to pick apples. It was the most spectacular day, perfectly blue sky (see picture below), cool, but not cold and all the varieties of apples were in full readiness. I came home with 20 pounds of apples; a variety of Haralson, Honey Crisp, Regent and Cortland. When I bake with apples I like to have a selection of sweet, tart, firm and some that turn to sauce. It makes for a tastier pie or crisp.

I wanted to make a dessert that would allow the apple’s delicate flavor to shine through, but was just a touch decadent. The classic caramel apple came to mind as the perfect flavor combination, but I wanted something warm and homey. I had just been to the farmer’s market the day before and met a man with a goat, yes a goat in down town Minneapolis. We got to talking about the merits of goat’s milk and it hit me that the perfect thing for my apples would be cajeta, the rich Mexican caramel made with goat’s milk. It is caramel, but better. The taste is rich and complex in a way that doesn’t make it cloyingly sweet. Hmmm, I’m not sure exactly how to describe that flavor? Like a great glass of wine, it is just more complex and interesting.

The tart juiciness of the apples and the cajeta are made for each other. The recipe: Read more

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