Pear-Almond Crisp

Apple crisp is a delicious and adored fall staple.  As you can imagine, I make my fair share of apple crisps in the fall. And apples are great, not just great, amazing and scrumptious.  You would be hard pressed to find someone who loves apples more than myself, BUT I do find that there is an injustice in the “pome fruit” world. If you haven’t noticed, pears are apples’ sad redheaded nerd cousin, perfectly pleasant, but not as popular.  Pears just can’t seem to compete.  So when I first made pear crisp, I was a little surprised at the response it received.  My family actually seemed to prefer pear crisp to apple crisp.  “Amazing” I thought to myself, pears finally catch a break.  So this is the recipe for the crisp that boosted the self esteem of pears everywhere.

For the filling:

5 large Comice pears (cut into bite sized pieces)

2 Mutsu apples (cut into bite sized pieces) –to give the crisp some structure

3 Tbsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

For the topping:

½ cup salted butter (melted)

½ cup rolled oats

1 cup flour

1 cup almond meal

¾ cup sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix all ingredient of the filling in a large bowl, making sure that cornstarch is evenly distributed.  Then place mixture in a 13x9 baking dish.  Prepare the topping by melting the butter and then stirring in the rest of the ingredient, and then place on top of the filling.  Bake for about 40 minutes.  Serve warm with ice cream.

Meyer Lemon Tart and Pavlova topped with Berries

Meyer Lemon Tart and Pavlovas with Mixed Berries

So, it has been a while... I’ve been doing some major slacking when it comes to this blog. My Uncle Tony has kindly pointed out quite a few times that I need to shape up haha! So it is only fitting that on his birthday, February 20th, I made these two desserts to post on the blog. I am cheating a little bit here by using fruit that isn’t from our farm, but sadly everything we had from this year is gone, and my frozen fruit stash was claimed by the second power outage of 2011, thanks a lot Winter Storm Alfred.

I have always been curious about meyer lemons, they seem so fancy and exotic. Meyer lemons are thought to be the result of a cross between true lemons and either a mandarin or an orange. I was therefore under the impression that they would be a sweeter lemon than I was used to, however that wasn’t my experience. Perhaps meyer lemons are supposed to be sweeter, but I am not in the best situation geographically to experience them at their finest. Sour as they were they did make a beautiful tart!

This tart, which calls for quite a few egg yolks left me a good deal of unused egg whites. I am from a family that wastes not, and so I couldn’t just toss the unused whites, but instead decided to make something I have only had a handful of times, pavlova, or meringue. Meringue topped with berries is a surprisingly satisfying dessert, you would think that egg whites and sugar wouldn’t make anything too special, but you’d be wrong. The crunchy exterior coupled with the pillow-y center of a meringue is wonderful, it reminds me of cotton candy, but with more texture, it is like cotton candy for adults, if you will. So I hope you will give these two special desserts a try!

Meyer Lemon Tart

Crust: (is adadpted from the SoNo Baking Company Cookbook)

2 cups flour
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
⅓ cup sugar
½ tsp salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk

Filling:

7 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
zest from 2 meyer lemons
⅔ cup meyer lemon juice
½ tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter (cut into 4 pieces)

To make the crust add butter, sugar, and salt into an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together until light yellow and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and egg yolk to the mixture and beat until combined. Lastly add flour and mix until all flour has been moistened. Scoop dough out onto the counter and form into a cohesive disc, refrigerate until firm about 45 minutes to an hour. Preheat oven to 350 degress. Once dough is firm roll out to desired thickness and fit into tart pan, make sure to prick the bottom with a fork. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown.

For the filling, whisk together egg yolks and whole eggs in a medium sauce pan, add sugar, meyer lemon juice, zest, and salt, and set to medium low heat. Once warm add the butter, and allow to melt. Cook on medium low heat until the mixture thickens slightly and holds on to the wooden spoon (should be about 170 degrees). Strain mixture through a metal seive and place mixture in cooked tart shell, put back in the 350 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes, until the center of the tart sets. Top with berries and enjoy!


Pavlova

7 large egg whites (reserved from the tart, and at room temperature)
1 tbsp corn starch
½ tsp cream of tartar
1 ⅓ cup sugar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixture combine egg whites, corn starch, and cream of tartar. Using the whisk attachment, whisk first on low speed and then gradually increase speed at the frothiness of the eggs increases, whisk until soft peaks are reached. Slow the speed of the whisk, and add sugar, whisk again on high speed until firm peaks are reached. Take a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and make six large mounds with the egg white mixture, creating a small indentation in the center of each. Place in the oven and immediately reduce heat to 250 degrees, bake for about 50 minutes, turning once in the middle of baking. Remove from oven and allow to cool, then top with mixed berries and enjoy!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Sadly, I’ve been on a bit of a fruit hiatus! But thankfully we have a small patch of rhubarb that is just perking up, so I decided to make a spring classic: strawberry rhubarb pie. I have always loved rhubarb, and this combination is especially delicious, the tart rhubarb goes very well with the sweetness of strawberries.

Rhubarb is a wonderful plant to have in a backyard garden. With a half a dozen plants you have more than enough rhubarb for a few pies, and possibly even some left over for freezing! What is even greater is that this particular plant is a perennial, so it can be a permanent part of your backyard. Rhubarb is relatively low maintenance but requires a little bit of TLC in the spring, like thinning out the plants to avoid overcrowding and a little fertilizer or compost around to help them grow nice and tall for you.

Rhubarb leaves are said to be toxic, so when trimming your rhubarb make sure to dispose to the leaves in a place where your pets can’t get into them.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

For Filling:

1 pound of rhubarb (washed and trimmed of leaves, cut into ¼ inch pieces)

1 pound of strawberries (washed and trimmed, cut into thin slices)

1 ½ Tbsp Cornstarch

½ cup sugar

For crust:

2 ½ cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 cup unsalted butter (chilled and cut into small pieces)

4 Tbsp ice water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make dough, combine flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl and whisk together. With a pastry blender cut in the cup of butter continue to cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the 4 Tbsp of water and try to bring dough together, if the dough is still too dry try adding more water, 1 Tbsp at a time until the dough comes together. Divide dough in two and wrap in plastic wrap and shape into discs. Refrigerate for one hour.

For the filling combine the filling ingredients in a large bowl and mix together, making sure to even distribute the sugar and cornstarch.

Once the dough is chilled, on a floured work surface, roll both discs out to desired size (this will vary depending on the dimensions of your pie plate). Place one of the rolled out discs on the bottom of the pie plate, top with filling, and then cover with the remaining pie crust (you could also cut the second pie crust into strips and form a lattice). Bake in the 350-degree oven for about one hour.

Honey Bourbon infused Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

*All photographs were taken by my friend Michelle. See more of her beautiful work at http://michellekmartin.tumblr.com/ *

I recently watched an episode of “Throwdown” on The Food Network that featured blueberry pancakes. It left me with a crazy hankering for some pancakes; instead of the classic blueberry I thought it would be nice to incorporate some of the remaining apples from our harvest this autumn.

We have a few different apples varieties left (Macs, Empires, and Golden Delicious) and all are delicious candidates for the apple portion of these Honey Bourbon Infused Apple Cinnamon Pancakes. I once had an apple crisp that was infused with bourbon, and I was amazed at how well the flavors of apple and bourbon meld together. At the package store I was lucky to find bourbon that was infused with honey (yum!). In this recipe I used the bourbon as a bit of a flavor and also a way to keep my apples from oxidizing and turning that icky brown color.

Some tip for delicious pancakes:

1. Don’t over-mix. Beating the batter until there aren’t any lumps will develop the gluten in the flour and make for a gummy texture to your pancakes.

2. Use a mixture of regular milk and buttermilk.

3. Let batter rest for about 15 minutes before cooking pancakes.

4. Separate eggs and beat the whites into stiff peaks before incorporating into the batter. This will create a fluffier batter and make for tender and light pancakes.

Honey Bourbon infused Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

2 cups flour

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 ½ cups buttermilk

1 cup milk

2 large eggs (separated)

Cream of tartar

4 Tbsp butter (melted)

3 medium sized apples (cored and sliced thin)

Honey infused bourbon

Core, peel, and slice apples. Add apple slices to a shallow bowl and pour a generous amount of bourbon over, set aside. Place flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add in both kinds of milk, egg yolks, and melted butter. Whisk all these ingredients together, but do not over-mix, having some small lumps in the batter is ok. Let the batter rest for about 15 minutes. Preheat an electric griddle to 350 degrees. Put the egg whites and a few pinches of cream of tartar in an electric mixer with a whisk attachment and beat on high until still peaks form, 1-2 minutes. Gently fold egg whites into the rested pancake batter. Grease the griddle with some butter or vegetable oil, and spoon on a desired amount of batter, add apple slices once the pancake is poured. Flip pancakes when small bubbles form on the surface of the batter. With these pancakes, flipping once is desired.

Note: if you prefer thinner or thicker pancakes you can adjust the amount of milk added to the batter.

Apple and Cheddar Turnovers

I have a serious affinity for cheese. I love all kinds, and matching specific cheeses with a complimentary flavor can make for delicious treats. I have finally made it home to Connecticut for the holidays and decided that I best make use of some of the remaining apples from the harvest this autumn. And since the flavors of apples and cheddar cheese compliment each other so well, I made apple turnovers with a white-cheddar-infused crust. The subtle flavor of cheddar cheese sneaks up on you, and is a delightful surprise in these flavor packed desserts!

Some people have very strong feelings about baking and eating apples being mutually exclusive. I feel as if this distinction doesn’t have to be quite so rigid. There are certainly some varieties that are better for either baking or eating, but the bottom line is you can probably use whatever you have around, as long as they are of a similar texture and consistency. As long as your apples are equally hard or soft (however you want to look at it) they will bake evenly in your crust.

Apple and Cheddar Turnovers

For Crust:

3/4 cup butter (salted)

2 cups flour

6 Tbsp cold water

1/2 cup shredded white cheddar cheese

For Filling:

5 large apples (I used a mixture of Macs, Empires, and Golden Delicious)

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp white sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

About 1/2 cup shredded cheddar

Egg Wash:

1 one

1 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. To begin the crust cut the butter and cheese into the flour with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Then slowly add in the water, one tablespoon at a time until the mixture comes together. Form the dough into a disk and set aside. Core and peel your apples. Use the largest side of a 4-sided grater to cut your apples into very thin slices. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the mixture. Cut your dough into 8 equal segments. Roll each segment into a 6-7 inch circle making sure to thoroughly flour your rolling pin and surface. Pile a generous amount of the apple mixture on one side of each of the circles and cover with some extra shredded cheddar. Take a pastry brush and apply water to the circumference of the dough and then fold in half to create a half moon shape. Press edges together with the teeth of a fork and set on a baking sheet that has been lined with either a silicon-baking sheet or parchment paper. After all of the turnovers have been assembled, make the egg wash by combining the ingredients and beating them together. Brush the outside of the turnovers with the egg wash and then sprinkle with a gentle dusting of cheese. Bake in the oven until golden brown (about 25 minutes).

Date and Nut Biscotti

I have found a new obsession: dates. Never having really experienced dates before venturing to Southern California I was pleasantly surprised to realize, I love them. They have a delightfully chewy texture and a sweetness reminiscent of honey.

For my job, I had the opportunity to visit one of the state of California's Agricultural Experiment Stations in Coachella. There they have a date palm germoplasm where they keep several different varieties of date lines going for the USDA. It is something similar to a seed-bank, only with trees instead of seeds. I was able to sample some of the different varieties they grow there. The diversity of date varieties is fantastic. Some are plump and meaty, while some are drier and chewier. Most are light brown, but some are green, some black, and a few are even a beautiful deep purple color. At the Agricultural Experiment Station my boss and I were generously given a large box of Majool dates fresh off the palm trees. I originally intended to make something with the dates I was given several weeks ago, but I ate them all! So after purchasing some dates at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market, on Sunday, I've finally made something delicious that incorporates dates: date and nut biscotti. The biscotti recipe is loosely based on a recipe given to me by my great-grandmother, so you know they have to be good!

Date and Nut Biscotti

1 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 lb of dates, pitted and roughly chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup pecans

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Incorporate the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, sift together. Add the chopped dates to the dry ingredients and toss so that the chunks are separated from one another and covered in the flour mixture, set aside. In a separate bowl place vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, honey, and vanilla and whisk together. Add the dry ingredients, raisins, and pecans to the wet ingredients and fold together into the batter is nicely incorporated. On a cookie sheet form three "logs" across the sheet that you will bake and later cut into biscotti. Bake the logs for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cut across the short way to create your individual biscotto. Turn the biscotti on their sides, so that the side that was in the center of the log now faces up, and place back into the oven for 5-10 minutes until golden brown on the top. I would recommend enjoying these for breakfast with a cup of tea or a cappuccino!

Prosciutto wrapped Fig Pizza

So last weekend was my first real weekend looking for goodies at the Downtown Riverside Farmer's Market. I had been there the previous Saturday but had been late and missed out on some things, sad. In general, I have to say I enjoy this market! It is in an absolutely gorgeous location (next to the historic and beautiful Mission Inn), there is plenty of convenient parking, and there is a delicious coffee shop and breakfast bistro called Simple Simon which I would highly recommend right across the street. And in addition, the vendors are generally very friendly and ready to answer your questions (some can be slightly pushy, shoving a bag into your hands while you are merely perusing okra- just because I'm looking at okra doesn't mean I need to/want to buy it, sirrr). But as I examined the offerings last Saturday I was looking for something special, something I couldn't grow myself in CT. Interestingly enough there weren't too many things that fit that description, I saw quite a few peaches, plums, berries, etc. But finally! I stumbled upon a gorgeous pint of figs!

I saw a movie once (in my Ecology class at Northeastern) about the pollination process of figs, which is seriously fascinating. Fig wasps lay eggs inside the fig so that when the eggs hatch the larval stage is able to collect pollen from the flowers (which are within the fruit itself, an odd circumstance that has allowed for this odd method of pollination). The larval stages eventually matures and breaks free of the fig fruit. As they fly away to create their own baby wasps they carry with them the pollen from their original fig, which they will deposit in a second fig that they chose to lay their eggs in, thus cross-pollinating the second fig and allowing the cycle to continue. I apologize for the unbridled nerd-ery you just had to deal with there, but please, don't be grossed out. It is not like you are eating insects when you eat figs, and you have to remember that most of the fruit you eat has been up close and personal with some kind of insect pollinator in it's lifetime, albeit not usually to this extent.

But anyway! What I decided to make was a pizza featuring the familiar pair, figs and prosciutto. I used a ricotta cheese mixture instead of tomato sauce and also incorporated some caramelized onions. All these toppings were placed upon a cornmeal crust which is tender and puffy, but also has the right about the "crisp" to it. In my opinion this pizza had a beautiful balance between sweet and salty components. I hope you will give it a shot!

Prosciutto wrapped Fig Pizza

Crust (makes 4 individual pizzas):

4 1/2 tsp. dry active yeast
A pinch of sugar
1 1/3 cups warm water (not hot, just warm)
3 1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
3 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Toppings:

1 large red onion
1 pint of figs (about 18 figs in total)
6 thin slices of prosciutto
1 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
3 cloves garlic
A hand full of flat leaf parsley
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut red onion into thin slices and place over very low heat in a frying pan, onions will reduce by more than half and turn brown (but not burnt). This may take a while, perhaps an hour or so.

In a measuring cup or mug place the warm water, yeast, and sugar and allow to sit for ten minutes, until frothy. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, cornmeal and salt with a whisk. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, add the olive oil and yeast mixture and work with hands to incorporate. Once the ball of dough is formed, pour a bit of olive oil over the top (to help avoid dessication) and place a warm, slightly moist towel over the bowl and allow to sit for 1 hour or until the dough had doubled in volume.

While the dough is rising you can cut the thin slices of prosciutto into thirds (the long way) and wrap each of those strips around a fig. Place on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for about ten minutes, until prosciutto has crisped up.

Once the dough has risen, cut into fourths and shape each fourth into a nice individual pizza crust, allow to rise again for about 20 minutes.

Chop garlic and parsley and incorporate into the ricotta with a bit of salt and pepper.

Assemble pizza, first with crust, drizzle with olive oil and spread all the way to the edges so that that crust will turn a beautiful brown. Top with ricotta mixture, figs, caramelized onions, and mozzarella cheese. Bake in the 400 degree oven for about 12 minutes.