Amaretto Pear Crisp

Doesn't that close up look so delicious? The caramelization on the side of the baking dish, the whole rolled oats, and the peary sweet juice between the lumps of fruit.

OK - yeah, I'm tooting my own horn, but I was feeling extra inspiration today - not allowing Rick's software implementation get in my way - haha!

I took my very very ripe bartlett pears (my absolute favorite variety) and I cored and cut them in pretty large chunks, with the skin on. They were so ripe, the skin was as tender as the flesh, so I wanted that extra fiber.

Here are the ingredients:
4 incredibly ripe bartlett pears, cored, chopped with skin on
2T amaretto
1/2 a stick of salted butter (1/4 C)
1/3 C light brown sugar
1/3 C flour
1/3 C old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 t all spice

I combined the chopped pears and amaretto and placed them in the bottom of a baking dish - maybe a 7x9".

I combined and cut the cold butter with the brown sugar until the butter is the size of peas. Then I stirred in the remaining ingredients, and spooned it over the pear amaretto mixture.

Pop it in the oven for an hour at 350. Try to let it cool before you jump in there. To guild the lily, add a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy! We sure are!

Financier Patisserie - pure heaven!

I tried the Financier Patisserie this past week. My diet would be happier if I had not. The coffee is rich, and the rich cocoa powder available to add must come directly from Belgium as it is so amazing.

After passing the incredible pastries show cased as you wait in line many times without considering ordering one ( you know, 'cause Mom says they never taste as good as they look, and frankly usually she is right), one day I was having a craving. And they had chocolate eclairs. So I ordered one. Wow - the pastry was fresh and light, the filling was a rich thick chocolaty pudding rivaling my chocolate cream pie filling, and the icing was glossy and sweet. Normally I'm expecting bavarian cream in an eclair, and normally the chocolate filling would have been a huge disappointment. This was not a normal pastry from a normal bakery. This was a freshly made eclair - same day I swear - with a balance of flavors and textures that were exquisite.

Now I have to seriously force myself to walk on by that case. But, if I am going to purchase a treat, it will be at Financier Patisserie!

French Food At Home

I've been watching a new cooking show lately - French Food at Home with Laura Calder. Really fun soundtrack - a jazzy background with what could be French vocalizing or it could just be someone scatting gently. Her kitchen is so homey - big windows with rustic panes, bright blue tile for her back counter top, a big farmhouse sink, and with all these rustic touches, she has juxtaposed state of the art appliances and a contemporary kitchen island. I know - it sounds awful, but somehow it really works!

Laura is a unique host as well - her show is from Canada, and perhaps there food hosts don't feel the need to over sell each dish - she is very low key. The food she makes looks simple, and you are encouraged to try things you never have before. No "watch out for this" or "if you don't do this, xyz will happen", and there is an assumption you know cooking terms like "bain marie". Frankly I find her so refreshing!

I'm looking forward to trying this recipe very soon - Easy Pastry Shop Apple Tart.

If you like food TV - you can find Laura Calder on Cooking Channel :) Enjoy!

Suzee's Amaretto Blueberries

Tonight I made a last minute dessert for dinner. We rarely have dessert these days, and I was in the mood. I thought up this quicky little ditty :)

2 4 oz packets of fresh blueberries
2 oz cream cheese
1/2 a nip of amaretto liquor
1 t white sugar

Mix the cream cheese with the amaretto. Split the mixture into 2 small bakeproof ramekins. Layer the 2 packets of blueberries over the mixture - one packet for each ramekin.

Sprinkle the sugar over the blueberries.

Bake at 350 degrees while you are eating dinner.

Once dinner is over, pop the ramekins on a bread dish, and stir up the blueberries, and cream cheese.

The sauce is sweet and the amaretto complements the blueberries so nicely.

Enjoy!

Suzee's Grapefruit Glazed Layer Cake

I was feeling a little restless today. There weren't any jobs posted that sounded interesting, the one contact I was able to connect with didn't have any time to chat today. Perhaps tomorrow.

I started browsing through the Foodbuzz Top 9, and came upon the number one today and it inspired me to make a cake. This is really not anything fancy - I had a cake mix in the cupboard for French Vanilla cake. I made it according to the directions (but if I do it again I would add a cup of sour cream like my MIL does - that adds a great crumb and moisture) in 2 eight inch round pans. I let it cool, and flipped one layer and placed it on the plate top side down. I added about a cup or so of Stonewall Kitchen's Mimosa Jam (oh my so delicious!) and spread it over the top of the lower layer. I put the next layer on top. Then I mixed about a cup and a half of confectioners sugar with about 2T of grapefruit juice, and mixed them together - it took some time, but don't add more liquid - it will come together. I tasted it and it needed something to cut the sweetness so I added a couple of scrapes of orange zest. That did the trick!

I drizzled the glaze over the top, and licked the spoon (yum!)

I hope you enjoy pairing these flavors - I'm in a big grapefruit phase - expect more :) xo

Suzee's Maple Apple Crisp

To earn my keep when I went for a quick trip to NH, I made Ann a big 'ole apple crisp! We stopped at a farm stand for some apples and I got a 1/2 peck of courtlands. She was a little short on brown sugar for my regular recipe, so I had to improvise a bit. So, I used brown sugar and white sugar to make up the sugar component of the crumble topping. And, as there was no molasses, I added a few tablespoons of maple syrup to the apples instead of sugar. Oh yeah - that's a keeper!!!

Sunday Funday!

Today I made brownies and buffalo chicken bites for Footballing snacks:)

The brownies were the recipe I posted here, but I didn't have the ingredients for the icing :\
I got a little creative and did this instead.



2T butter
1 oz square of unsweetened chocolate
1/3 C confectioners sugar
1T half and half

Melt together 2T butter and a 1 ounce square of unsweetened chocolate (such as Baker's). I did this in the microwave at 25% for 1 minute with just the butter. Then I added the chocolate, which was warm and soft to the touch because my pantry is over the fridge, and they melted together easily. If your chocolate isn't soft, then you should chop it up and add it to the butter - it might take another turn in the microwave for another 15 seconds.

Once it's combined and smooth, add the confectioners sugar, vanilla and half and half. Mix until smooth.

Voila - a nice chocolatey option :)  By the way, Rick just pronounced them better than his birthday brownies, so I guess this new icing recipe is keeper!

The Ice Cream Alternative

I really don't like Mr Softee - his ice cream is slimy. And based on the reports and videos on MidTown Lunch, he is also mean. So when I was able to get real ice cream on the street, I was pretty happy!

I tried the Van Leeuwan truck - with devine flavors like cinnamon, ginger, chocolate and vanilla it was hard to choose! I went with pistachio - and wow was it delish! No scary green food coloring, just creamy pistachio goodness.

2 Thumbs up for Van Leeuwan - try it if you get a chance! It was at the corner of 23rd and 5th next to the mango ladies :)

Lemon Ricotta Blinis from House Party

This is the other recipe that looks intriguing to me from the House Party book. I'm publishing the recipe in 1/4 so it only serves 4. This one is supposed to demonstrate the Calphalon Unison griddle pan with slide nonstick. I'll let you know how this one goes too.

1C ricotta cheese
1C milk
3 eggs, separated
1/4C sugar
zest and juice of a lemon
1.5C cake flour
1T baking powder
pinch of salt

Whisk together ricotta, milk, egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and juice until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Whip the egg whites to soft peak. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter. Then fold the remaining whites into the batter to keep as light as possible.

Preheat the pan, and wipe a bit of oil with a paper towel in the bottom. Use a tablespoon to add the batter to the pan, creating little 3" pancakes. Don't crowd the pan. Cook about 2 minutes per side until golden. Keep warm until serving. Add rasperry sorbet if you like :)

Framboise Lambic, Belgian Framboise Beer

I was at the store and peeked this bottle in the beer cooler. Lately I've been giving belgian beers a break. I went through a phase where they all tasted like Heinekin (barf - smelliest beer on earth), but after finding Blue Moon, which is a spiced belgian ale, I've been giving it a little more of a try.

The last one I tried was Hoegaarden (bleck), and even though I didn't care for it, I was still ready to try this one.

Today when opening it, I was surprised to find the bottle had a cap requiring a bottle opener as well as a cork. Seriously. And when I poured it in my glass, it had a big pink head of bubbles, and a rich color rivaling a kool-aid.

I took a sip, and WOO HOO was it sweet. You know those little hard candies shaped like raspberries with soft centers? You know - your Memere probably had them in a candy dish each time you visited.

Well - this tastes exactly like those candies, but with BUBBLES!

So, if you open one of these lovely bottles, know that you should serve it in a champagne glass, and have many friends with whom to share it. Really only one glass is enjoyable :)

Suzee's Almond Banana Bread

I was going to make Banana Bread today - I had some gorgeously ripe bananas and thankfully it was cool today. And I had my brandy new cuisinart hand mixer that I was anxious to try :)

I started and realized that I'd run out of vanilla. Crap.

I had some almond extract, and thought maybe I'd try that instead. To just leave out the vanilla would result in an overly sweet tasteless bread, so almond extract it was. Since I was going to use the extract, I figured I'd use some almonds as well.

1 3/4C Flour
2t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
8T melted butter
3/4C sugar
2 large eggs
3 large bananas, mashed
1 C chopped almonds
1 t almond extract

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a loaf pan. Stir together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
Beat together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in bananas.
Stir in almonds, almond extract.
Stir in flour mixture, a third at a time, mixing after each addition.

Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. Check with a toothpick - if it's still doughy, bake a little longer.

Suzee's Lemon Blueberry Tea Bread

Yummmmm :)
I was perusing my favorite blogs, and I came upon this recipe on For The Love Of Cooking. I added my Suzee twist, and undid the healthy things about the recipe, and popped into a loaf pan (no room here for muffin tins). It came out fabulously ;) Go ahead and make yourself some!







2/3 cup of white sugar


1 large lemon, zest and juice

2 cups of flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup of low fat sour cream

2 jumbo eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

8 tbsp butter, melted and cooled

1 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries

White sugar



Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray.


Mix the sugar with the lemon zest with a fork until the zest infuses with the sugar. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda with the sugar, mix well.

In a separate bowl combine the eggs, sour cream, cooled butter, vanilla and lemon juice, mix with a whisk until smooth and creamy. Combine the egg mixture with the flour mixture until well combined. Add 1 cup of blueberries and gently mix, making sure not to pop the blueberries.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf pan. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of blueberries to the top of the loaf, and sprinkle top with white sugar pretty liberally.

Valentine's Recipes - Chocolate Cream Pie

Last night we had a great Valentine's dinner. I spread out cooking during the day, so I wasn't tired for the main event. That worked out well - I hate being so tired you can't enjoy or be enjoyed.

I made the chocolate cream pie in the morning. I baked a pillsbury crust in a pyrex pie dish according to the package directions and set it to cool.

The key to this amazing pie is the dark chocolate filling. Here are the ingredients:

3C Whole Milk

1C Granulated Sugar

2T Flour

2T Corn Starch

3 egg yolks

3T butter

2t vanilla

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

First scald the milk - let it sit over medium low heat until small bubbles appear at the edge of the milk's surface (see above).

Next, in a separate heavy pan, stir together the sugar, flour and cornstarch. While you whisk constantly, add the milk to the sugar mixture in a steady stream. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until very thick (see above - the legs on the mixture). Bring to a boil.

Remove from the heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 3 yolks. Temper the yolks by gradually whisking in 2 cups of the hot mixture. Next, add the egg mixture back to the pan, and stirring constantly, simmer for 2 - 3 minutes until slightly thicker.

Remove from the heat, and stir in the butter, chocolate and vanilla, continuing to stir until it's all melted.

Pour the pudding into a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap directly on the pudding to prevent a skin from forming (the skin is yucky!). Cool for 30 minutes in the fridge. Once cooled, pour the pudding into the prepared pie crust, and again carefully place the plastic wrap directly on the pudding. Cool for at least 2 hours.

Once the pudding is cooled, whip some heavy cream to top the pie. Don't do this too far ahead as the cream is best fresh. I think I did it about 5 or 6 hours ahead because I had to whip the cream by hand (I will get a small hand mixer soon!). Normally I would do it just before serving. Sweeten the cream with sugar - use more than you usually would - it should be very sweet to contrast with the rich chocolate filling. Add a dash of vanilla to the cream as well.

Top the pie with the cream and store in the fridge until serving time :) This is one pie where the synergy of the ingredient flavors all together means that 1 + 1 + 1 = 10! Enjoy!

Suzee's Oatmeal Spice Cookies

My Valentine, Rick, was happy that I made his favorite cookies - these oatmeal spice cookies are his absolute favorite, and his eyes sparkle when he realizes there is a batch on the way :) I tell myself they are better for him than other cookies because of the oatmeal and the almonds. Shhhh - don't ruin my fantasy!

Here's how to make them:

2 sticks butter, room temperature

1C packed brown sugar

1C granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg, fresh ground preferred

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cumin

pinch of ground cloves

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp baking soda

1.5 C flour

3C Quaker old fashioned oats

1C roughly chopped almonds

Preheat the oven to 375. Cream the butter and sugars until the mixture is light. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in spices and baking soda. Stir in flour, then oats, then almonds. Drop dough by teaspoonful on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes for each batch. Let cool 1 minute, and transfer to a cooling rack. Watch them disappear! You can try to hide some cooled cookies in the freezer, but my cookie monster still finds them there!

Club 21 Offers a Valentine Menu!

I tweeted about our anticipation of the date night at the 21 Club. As a result, I got an email sending us good wishes for a fabulous dinner, and a request that I post a rather delicious sounding recipe from Executive Chef John Greeley at 21. It does sound romantic and delicious - light enough to ensure the night will not end after dinner

These are Valentine's Day Spicy Grilled Shrimp for Two, with shaved asparagus, and pea tendril salad with satsuma tangerine vinaigrette.
Ingredients for Two


8 fresh jumbo gulf shrimp, peeled and de-veined

1 Tbsp. grapeseed oil

Salt to taste

1 tsp. bay seasonings (make your own or use a popular brand)

1 pinch cayenne pepper

8 pc. fresh jumbo green asparagus

2 cups pea greens, torn into salad-like pieces (if you can’t find pea greens, use pea shoots or Tatsoi)

2 Satsuma tangerine, peel and segment

1 oz. Satsuma Tangerine Vinaigrette* (See Recipe)



Method

1.Moisten shrimp with grapeseed oil, season with salt, bay seasoning and cayenne pepper.
2.Pre-heat grill on high.
3.Wash asparagus and pat dry, then peel.
4.With the same peeler, shave asparagus in long strips, almost paper-thin.
5.Grill shrimp until done, turning occasionally for about 5-8 minutes.
6.In a non-reactive bowl, mix pea greens, tangerine segments and shaved asparagus with vinaigrette.
7.Season with salt and place on plate gently, so you do not break the greens.
8.Interlock shrimp together (it’s Valentine’s Day!) and drizzle with more dressing.

Serve immediately.

Ingredients for Satsuma Tangerine Vinaigrette

1 cup Satsuma Tangerine juice (reduced to ¼ cup, chilled, no seeds)

2 Tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. ginger (micro-planed)

1 Tbsp. fresh chopped tarragon

1 Tbsp. red onion (micro planed)

⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

⅓ cup grapeseed oil



Method

1.In non-reactive bowl, mix tangerine reduction with honey, ginger, tarragon and red onion.

2.With a whisk, incorporate oils in a steady even steam to emulsify (or just shake everything together in a container).

3.Keep chilled and serve that day (or herbs will turn brown).


When I mentioned that my husband only hates clams more than shrimp, my contact also sent over this delicious sounding Valentine's Day dessert!

Hazelnut Dacquoise Torte with Velvet Ganache and Caramelized Baby Bananas

Yields One 8” Cake

Ingredients for Hazelnut Dacquoise

2 egg whites

⅓ cup sugar

1 cup hazelnut flour

Method

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat egg whites and sugar until stiff peaks form.

2. Fold in hazelnut flour and pipe in 8” circles onto parchment lined sheet tray.
3. Bake in oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit, until dry and slightly golden (approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour).

Ingredients for Velvet Ganache

1 pound high quality dark chocolate

¼ pound butter

1 Tbsp. sugar

2 cups heavy cream

3 Tbsp. corn syrup



Method
1.Finely chop chocolate and cut butter into small pieces. Place in bowl and set aside.
2.Bring sugar, cream and corn syrup to a boil and pour over chocolate and butter.
3.Whisk together until silken and slightly elastic.
4.Place in refrigerator for one hour to chill.

Ingredients for Caramelized Baby Bananas

8 baby bananas, split lengthwise
½ cup sugar

Method
1.Lay banana halves cut side up on sheet tray.
2.Sprinkle sugar liberally over cut side of bananas.
3.Place under broiler or caramelize using a blow torch until golden brown.

To Asssemble Torte

1.Whip Ganache in bowl of stand mixer until creamy and homogenous.
2.Pipe or spread over Dacquoise layers to form a cake.
3.Decorate top with banana halves or serve on the side with each piece of cake.

Suzee's French Tea Cakes

I was looking to make some almond cookies - I've always enjoyed making the Almond Crescents from Rose Beranbaum's Christmas Cookie book, but that book is in storage :( I turned to the internet to gain inspiration for a cookie that would be satisfying, as well as one that can be made with out my food processor or my mixer, as both of these were too large to keep here in the apartment. This is what I came up with!

2 sticks of room temp butter (leave it out over night)


1/2C confectioners sugar


1T vanilla


2 1/4C Flour


2/3 C almonds


More confectioners sugar for rolling





Preheat the oven to 400.


Take the almonds and chop them into very small pieces.


In a large bowl, mix the butter, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla.


Next add flour and almonds, and mix until you have a crumbly dough.


Form dough into 1" balls, and bake for 12 minutes. Don't be afraid to place these cookies close together on the ungreased cookies sheet - they will not spread or rise.


Once baked, roll each cookie well in sugar, and set on a rack to cool.


Once cooled, roll each cookie again in sugar.





Enjoy!





The next time I make these, I will try the following changes:





In the cookies I'll add 1/2t of almond extract.


I'll change the confectioners sugar from 1/2 C to 1C.


I'll change the flour from 2 1/4 cups to 2 cups.


And I may decide to create a glaze for the cookies rather than rolling in sugar - or half and half...

Fudgy Brownies with Chocolate Glaze

8 T butter (1 stick)
4 oz chocolate chopped, or 2/3 C chips
2 lg room temp eggs
2/3 C sugar
2t vanilla
1/2 C Flour
1/2 t espresso powder
1 C chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325

Line 8x8" pan with foil, and butter the foil

In a small pan, melt the butter, and add the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted, then let sit for 5 minutes

In a large bowl beat eggs with mixer until frothy (about 30 seconds). Gradually beat in sugar and continue to beat until light (1 - 2 minutes).

Add vanilla and melted chocolate mixture and beat until smooth.

Stir in flour with a spoon. Add walnuts and stir until just incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, until toothpick test only has a couple crumbs on it. Let cool.

Chocolate Glaze

slight 1/4 C half and half cream
1T butter
4 oz semi sweet chocolate chopped
1/4 confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

Heat cream, butter and chocolate together and stir until smooth. Add sugar and stir.

Assemble brownies

Loosen the edges of the cooked brownies with a knife. Lift the brownies out by the foil. Invert on a large cutting board, and peel off the foil. Put brownies on serving plate, and frost with chocolate glaze. Cool for at least an hour. Cut into 16 pieces.

Suzee's Asian Pear Crisp

Asian pears were at the farmer's market this week for $2/lb. Weight watchers counts 1 asian pear as 0 points - all that fiber you know. So I thought - hey! Maybe I could make a remotely healthy crisp out of these sweet nuggets. Definitely would up the fiber for my honey. Now, I'm not sure I would make this again - I really like apples - but it was a nice experiment.

2 asian pears, leave the skin on - cored and diced in bite sized pieces

2T cold butter, divided

3 T brown sugar

3 T flour, divided

3T old fashioned rolled oats

1T chopped walnuts

a few sprinkles of cinnamon to taste

Mix the pears with a teaspoon of the flour and place in a baking dish (I used an au gratin). Dot 1t of butter on top, and sprinkle the cinnamon and walnuts over as well. Cut in the rest of the cold butter to the brown sugar until the butter is the size of small peas. Mix in the remaining flour and oats. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit. Bake for about 45 or so at 350.

Friday Night Treat

Rick brought home these happy little works of art. And yes, they tasted as good as they look :)

Suzee's Banana Bread

I had 3 small perfectly over-ripe bananas yesterday, and I made the most delicious banana bread with them :) I think I could have added 1 more banana to the mix, but I only ordered 3 from Fresh Direct and Rick didn't eat any of them, so that's what I had on hand. I like to add a 1/2 cup or more of mini chocolate chips to this recipe too sometimes. Rick prefers it without, but if you are looking for a more dessert like recipe, they are really good. Don't use the regular chocolate chips - they totally overwhelm the banana flavor.

Here is the recipe -

1 3/4 C Flour
2t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
8T melted butter
3/4 cup sugar, plus more for dusting the top
2 large eggs
1 C mashed banana (3 medium)
1 C chopped walnuts
Optional - 1/2 C to 1 C mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350.
Grease a 9x5 loaf pan (I used a pyrex one which I believe is 8x4 and it was fine).
Stir together flour, baking soda and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.
Beat sugar and butter until combined.
Beat in eggs, one at a time.
Beat in mashed banana (if bananas are really ripe, no need to mash)
Stir in walnuts, vanilla and if using, chocolate chips
Stir in flour mixture, 1/3 at a time, mixing after each addition.

Bake for an hour and check the bread with a toothpick. If the toothpick is doughy and not clean, bake a little longer.

Rick likes it best sliced and grilled with butter :)