fruit

flip over cherry cake

09/27/2011 By bridget 3 Comments

Unless I did something very wrong, calling this a cake is a bit of a stretch. In fact, it’s very similar to a cobbler recipe I’ve made, which used the same technique of pouring batter over melted butter, topping that with the fruit, and baking. It seems an odd method to me; why not mix the butter with the rest of the batter?

Maybe leaving the butter separate contributes to the “flip-over” aspect of this “cake”, which can also turn it into a cobbler with the dough on top of the fruit. It’s perfectly edible – sugary, fruity, and buttery – but I have to admit that I like my bready parts to be more substantial. On the other hand, a scoop of Greek yogurt made this a good excuse to eat dessert for breakfast.

Becky chose this fruity cake/cobbler/pudding for Tuesdays with Dorie, and she has the recipe posted. I substituted cherries for the plums and increased the salt.

One year ago: Tarte Fine
Two years ago: Cottage Cheese Pufflets
Three years ago: Creme Brulee (comparison of 2 recipes, in which Dorie’s won)

Filed Under: breakfast, dessert, fruit, summer

cooks illustrated’s ultimate banana bread

09/15/2011 By bridget 20 Comments

I’ve always wanted to do a banana bread comparison post, and I still plan to someday, but usually I make banana bread for one primary purpose: to use up old bananas. And this recipe is the best for that, because it uses five bananas (six if you include the garnish, which I usually don’t), which is about twice as many as most other banana bread recipes. Furthermore, this recipe actually works better with previously frozen bananas, which mine always are.

It manages to fit so many bananas into one loaf because the liquid is extracted before the batter is mixed. I love sucking the liquid out of ingredients before using them in recipes, especially quick breads like this zucchini bread. But I have to admit that I hadn’t realized bananas contained so much water. With zucchini, it’s obvious because water droplets immediately appear on a newly cut surface, but bananas had always seemed relatively dry to me.

That’s until you freeze and then defrost them, when they turn into a pile of gross brown mush soaking in gross brown liquid. And this is perfect, because the mush is ready to mix right into the batter, and the liquid can be simmered down into a concentrated banana syrup, so not one bit of banana flavor is wasted. And if you don’t constantly have a bag of bananas taking up space in your freezer, of course you don’t need previously frozen bananas for this recipe – a quick trip to the microwave achieves the same effect.

The end result is a banana bread that’s moist and tender, even if I go ahead and utilize my favorite quick bread tricks of subbing half whole wheat pastry flour and reducing the fat by 25% by replacing some of the butter with oil. Plus I figure that all that extra fruit in there contributes more fiber and nutrients. It’s not over-the-top banana-y either, despite containing so much more banana than most loaves. It’s so good that it’s actually worth making just for the sake of eating it, not just to use up the ingredients!

One year ago: Pappa al Pomodoro
Two years ago: Risotto with Swiss Chard
Three years ago: Gazpacho

Printer Friendly Recipe
Ultimate Banana Bread (from Cooks Illustrated)

I’ve reproduced Cooks Illustrated’s recipe exactly below. However, I don’t particularly care for the sliced bananas on top. They’re pretty, but they’re too sweet and candy-like (which really doesn’t sound like me, come to think of it).

You can slightly healthy up this recipe by replacing half of the flour with whole wheat pastry flour, and using 4 tablespoons butter plus 2 tablespoons canola oil instead of 8 tablespoons butter. The oil helps keeps the loaf moist, and of course leaving all that butter in contributes flavor.

1¾ cups (8¾ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
6 large very ripe bananas (about 2¼ pounds), peeled
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 large eggs
¾ cup packed (5¼ ounces) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.

2. Place 5 bananas in a microwave-safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap and cut several steam vents in the plastic with a paring knife. Microwave on high power until the bananas are soft and have released liquid, about 5 minutes. Transfer the bananas to a fine-mesh strainer placed over a medium bowl and allow to drain, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes (you should have ½ to ¾ cups liquid).

3. Transfer the liquid to a medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until it’s reduced to ¼ cup, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, stir the reduced liquid into the bananas, and mash with a potato masher until fairly smooth. Whisk in the butter, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.

4. Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined with some streaks of flour remaining. Gently fold in the walnuts, if using. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Slice the remaining banana diagonally into ¼-inch-thick slices. Shingle the banana slices on top of both sides of the loaf, leaving a 1½-inch-wide space down the center to ensure an even rise. Sprinkle the granulated sugar evenly over loaf.

5. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, 55 to 75 minutes. Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan and continue to cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, fruit, nuts

prosecco raspberry gelee

08/31/2011 By bridget 7 Comments

One New Year’s Eve, I was standing in line at the grocery store buying sushi rice (because I had a very exciting evening of cooking ahead of me to ring in the new year), when I heard the person behind me tell someone on her cell phone, “I’m buying vodka…and Grandma got the good jello!”

The advantage of only making a half recipe – half a bottle of champagne to use up!

What, I wonder, is the “good jello”? Jell-o brand, and not store brand? I assure you that the two will make equally gag-worthy but redeemingly drunk-making jello shots.

I think I have found my own good jello, and it involves, as all good things must, bubbly wine. Not precisely prosecco, because apparently that Italian sparkling wine isn’t available in my area, but I’m sure my favorite New Mexico champagne will work just as well.

And good wine is key here, because very little is done to it. It’s mixed with raspberries, of course, and solidified, and slightly sweetened, and that’s it. In the end, it’s a dessert that tastes almost exactly like champagne with fruit, and the best part is that it even keeps its fizz. It keeps its buzz too, as I accidentally learned on a pleasant Sunday afternoon. I wouldn’t call this a jello shot, but it’s definitely good jello.

One year ago: Whole Wheat Bagels
Two years ago: Quick Baking Powder Pizza Crust
Three years ago: Eclairs

printer friendly recipe
Prosecco Raspberry Gelée (from Bon Appétit)

Mixing fresh raspberries with sugar doesn’t do much if you don’t cut or crush them, but just go with it. You’ll end up breaking them up slightly when you mix them with the rest of the ingredients, which will tint your gelée a pretty blush color.

I might add a couple tablespoons more sugar next time, just to make this feel more like dessert and less like a glass of wine that happens to be solid(ish).

I did use the orange-flower water, and I recommend it if you have it.

2 cups (9 ounces) fresh raspberries
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
1 750-ml chilled bottle Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine), divided
3½ teaspoon unflavored gelatin (measured from two 1/4-ounce envelopes)
¾ teaspoon orange-flower water (optional)

1. Place the raspberries, ¼ cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a medium bowl; toss gently to combine. Let stand at room temperature until the raspberries release their juices, tossing occasionally, 20-30 minutes.

2. Place ½ cup Prosecco in a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over it and let stand 5 minutes to soften. Bring 1 cup Prosecco to a boil with the remaining ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat; add the gelatin mixture and stir until dissolved.

3. Transfer the gelatin mixture to a large pitcher. Add the raspberries with their juices, the remaining Prosecco, the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and orange-flower water (if using), stirring to dissolve any sugar.

4. Using a slotted spoon, divide the raspberries equally among coupe glasses or other small wide shallow glasses or cups. Divide the Prosecco mixture equally among the glasses, about ¾ cup per glass. Chill gelée until firm, about 3 hours. (Gelées can be made up to 2 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.)

Filed Under: alcohol, citrus, dessert, french, fruit, gluten free

blueberry barbecue salmon

08/28/2011 By bridget 7 Comments

Dave and I sometimes go to lunch at a little coffeehouse that used to have only one sandwich option each day. There was no pattern to which sandwich would be available when, so we would just cross our fingers for reubens or the turkey pesto panini. It’s fortunate that neither of us is picky, but there was one sandwich I got there that I disliked – tuna salad with chunks of apples.

I’m working my way around to sweet and savory combinations, and thinly sliced apple on a sandwich with cheddar and turkey sounds appealingly crisp and sweet. I like applesauce with pork. But I could not wrap my mind around chunks of apple in tuna salad, so, like a picky little brat, I picked them all out.

And yet blueberries in barbecue sauce sounds like a perfect match. Barbecue sauce is a mix of tangy, spicy, and sweet flavors, so why not throw some fruit into the mix to add to the sweet balance. I had never eaten salmon with barbecue sauce, but salmon is so rich and meaty that it’s a perfect match.

In the end, I could hardly taste the blueberry anyway, although the barbecue sauce was a particularly vibrant shade of purple. Maybe that means this wasn’t a true test of my sweet plus savory acceptance, but I still think it’s one step closer. Just don’t give me one of those chicken salads with grapes in it.

Housekeeping: If you’re reading this through a feed reader like Google Reader, you’re missing out on my brand new design! Click on over to check it out. I’ve also added a couple of new pages – a long overdue list of my favorite food blogs and a few notes on how I approach recipe writing and categorizing. Finally, I’ve created a Facebook page for The Way the Cookie Crumbles, because apparently between this blog, Twitter, and at least half of my personal conversations, I wasn’t getting enough avenues to talk about food.

One year ago: Penne alla Vodka
Two years ago: Amaretto Cheesecake
Three years ago: Mashed Potatoes with Kale

Printer Friendly Recipe
Blueberry Barbecue Salmon (adapted from How Sweet It Is via Pink Parsley)

Serves 4

4 (6-oz) salmon fillets, skin on
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic
pinch red pepper flakes
½ cup fresh blueberries, rinsed and patted dry
⅓ cup ketchup
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1. Prepare the grill to its highest setting. Pat the salmon dry and season it liberally with salt and pepper.

2. In a small saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until just starting to brown around the edges, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the blueberries, and cook until they begin to soften and burst, about 10 minutes. Use the back of a spoon to mash them, then add the ketchup, vinegars, brown sugar, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk well to combine and break up the blueberries, then increase the heat to medium. Stirring often, cook until the mixture begins to bubble, then lower the heat to medium low. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened, another 10-20 minutes. The sauce will be thicker and clumpier than traditional barbecue sauce.

3. Use a paper towel and tongs to oil the grates of the grill well, then lay the salmon, flesh-side-down, on the grill. Cook 5 minutes, then carefully flip. Brush the salmon with half the barbecue sauce, then cook an additional 3-5 minutes, or until it is mostly cooked through but still pink in the center. Remove from grill, brush with the remaining sauce, and serve.

Filed Under: fruit, gluten free, grilling, seafood, summer

tropical crumble

08/15/2011 By bridget 10 Comments

My family’s beach vacations in Mexico always include swimming, beer drinking, wave watching, margarita drinking, cooking, and wine drinking. And so far, they’ve always included hovering neaby while someone cuts cubes of perfectly ripe mangoes, which are snatched up as soon as the knife is out of the way. There are few things in life better than eating mangoes on the beach in Mexico while on vacation.

Baking a banana-mango crumble the day after vacation is less fun. For one thing, after a week of fried fish tacos, I was ready for some detox. For another thing, I do not feel that chunks of banana are meant to be baked.

To compromise, I made the recipe with many changes. I cut the butter in the fruit filling by half, then cooked only the banana, over medium-high heat to brown it in the sugar mixture, bananas foster style. I reduced the butter in the crumble topping to 6 tablespoons and doubled the flour. Alongside a scoop of lowfat Greek yogurt, this dessert wasn’t half-bad, and it was only half-bad for me too.

Gaye chose this for Tuesdays with Dorie, and she has the recipe posted. However, other members of TWD had a number of problems with it. With the changes I noted above, mine came out well.

One year ago: Oatmeal Breakfast Bread
Two years ago: Brownie Buttons
Three years ago: Granola Grabbers

Filed Under: dessert, fruit, nuts, tuesdays with dorie

carrot spice muffins

08/09/2011 By bridget 7 Comments

I am against vegetables in cake, but I am pro vegetables in muffins. I am against raisins in cake, but I am pro raisins in muffins. The same goes with nuts. Basically, carrot cake is an abomination, or at best just a vehicle for cream cheese frosting, but carrot muffins are awesome.

Awesome to eat, that is; they’re a bit of a pain to make, what with the carrot shredding and nut toasting and spice measuring. But they’re worth it in the end, hearty and moist and studded with sweet raisins and bitter pecans. I have to confess to wondering if they would be even better topped with cream cheese frosting though.

Nancy chose these for Tuesdays with Dorie, and she has the recipe posted. I reduced the oil to ½ cup, replaced 1 cup of all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour, doubled the salt, and increased the carrot slightly.

One year ago: Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream
Two years ago: Banana Bundt Cake
Three years ago: Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, fruit, nuts, quick bread, tuesdays with dorie, vegetables

peanut butter and jelly muffins

07/30/2011 By bridget 6 Comments

I used to make a recipe similar to this – but without the peanut butter – and I loved it. Something about a dollop of jam baked inside of a muffin tastes so much better than a spoonful of jam spread over it once it’s baked. My old recipe also had a warm overtone of nutmeg I enjoyed.

The only thing that wasn’t perfect about it was that it seemed too cakey, too dessert-like. These days, I like a heartier muffin. I also like to squeeze protein in wherever I can, and besides, everyone knows that peanut butter is a perfect partner for jelly.

These peanut butter muffins are mixed a little differently than a standard muffin, in that the peanut butter is cut into the dry ingredients before the remaining liquids are added. Maybe this contributed to how light and soft the muffins were once baked, or maybe it was just the fat content of the peanut butter. Either way, with a good proportion of whole wheat flour and a layer of fruity jam in the middle, these are even better than my old favorite.

One year ago: Lemon Curd Tart
Two years ago: Puff Pastry Dough
Three years ago: Pain a l’Ancienne

Printer Friendly Recipe
Peanut Butter Jelly Muffins (adapted from Real Simple and Jeanne Lemlin’s Vegetarian Classics)

I used half whole wheat pastry flour.

1 cup whole milk
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups (9.6 ounces) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (1.75 ounces) sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Pinch nutmeg
⅓ cup (3 ounces) peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)
About ¼ cup jam

1. Adjust a rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray the bottoms of a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with paper liners. In a large measuring cup, whisk together the milk, egg, butter, and vanilla.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer), combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Add the peanut butter; mix until evenly combined. Turn the mixer off, add all of the milk mixture at once, and mix on low speed just until combined (small lumps are fine).

3. Place one heaping tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup. Spoon about a teaspoon of jam over the batter in the cups. Divide the remaining batter evenly between the cups.

4. Bake until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean, 15-20 minutes. Set the pan on a rack to cool slightly, about 5 minutes, then use a thin-bladed knife to remove the muffins from the pan.

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, fruit, nuts, quick bread

peaches and cream scones

07/12/2011 By bridget 10 Comments

Scones are just an excuse to eat dessert for breakfast. It’s a better disguised excuse then chocolate muffins, I will grant you, but in the end, equally bad for you. I think I might sound like I’m complaining. I’m not complaining.

Cream scones are one of my favorite weekend morning accompaniments to coffee. The cream makes them so tender, and when they’re only lightly sweetened, like these, they’re perfect either topped with jam or baked with fresh fruit. A sweet biscuit, peaches, and cream – you can’t tell me that doesn’t sound like one heck of a dessert.

Lynne chose the cream scones for Tuesdays with Dorie, and she has the recipe posted. I left out the currants and added one peach, peeled, chopped, and frozen, to the dough after the liquids were partially mixed in.

One year ago: Brrrownies
Two years ago: Brioche Plum Tart
Three years ago: Chocolate Pudding (comparison of 2 recipes)

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, fruit, summer, tuesdays with dorie

summer berry pie

06/26/2011 By bridget 9 Comments

Dave enjoys and then forgets the vast majority of what I give him to eat. And how not to? I make so many different things that even I’m surprised sometimes when I scan through old unused pictures (two types of cucumber salad? orange-glazed tofu? raspberry muffins? The pictures prove I made these things, but I don’t remember any of it).

But once in a while, I make something that stands out to Dave enough to not only remember it, but request it again and again, even years later. I hadn’t made this pie in two years, but once berries start to come into season, Dave starts asking about it.

Often, fresh fruit pies are associated with the gel-shellacked versions you get in buffet lines. This pie replaces that gel with the barest coating of fruit jelly, which gives the fruit a beautiful shine without adding any flavorless goo. Instead, a layer of fruit puree holds the filling together while intensifying the bright berry flavor. With ripe sweet berries and a dollop of freshly whipped cream, it’s no wonder this dessert is so memorable.

One year ago: Triple Chocolate Espresso Brownies
Two years ago: Strawberries and Cream Pie
Three years ago: Croque Madame

Printer Friendly Recipe
Summer Berry Pie (from Cooks Illustrated)

Serves 8 to 10

Currant jelly is smooth and bright red, so very attractive in this pie. However, I didn’t want to buy it because I don’t use it for anything else. I used raspberry jam, which I probably should have strained but didn’t.

Crust:
5 ounces graham crackers, broken into rough pieces (9-11 full crackers)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and warm

Filling:
2 cups (about 9 ounces) fresh raspberries
2 cups (about 11 ounces) fresh blackberries
2 cups (about 10 ounces) fresh blueberries
½ cup (3½ ounces) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
⅛ teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons red currant jelly

Whipped cream:
1 cup heavy cream (cold)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. FOR THE CRUST: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, process the graham crackers until evenly fine, about 30 seconds. You should have one cup of crumbs. Add the sugar; pulse to combine. Continue to pulse while adding the warm melted butter in a steady stream; pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand. Transfer to a 9-inch glass pie plate; use the bottom of a ramekin or measuring cup to press the crumbs evenly into the bottom and up the sides. Bake the crust until fragrant and beginning to brown, 15 to 18 minutes; transfer to wire rack and cool completely while making the filling.

2. FOR THE FILLING: Combine the berries in a large colander and gently rinse; spread the berries on towel-lined rimmed baking sheet and gently pat dry with additional towels.

3. In a food processor, puree 2½ cups of the mixed berries until smooth and fully pureed, about 1 minute. Strain the puree through a mesh strainer into small nonreactive saucepan, scraping and pressing on seeds to extract as much puree as possible (you should have 1¼ to 1½ cups). Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a small bowl to combine, then whisk the mixture into the puree. Bring the puree to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon; when the mixture reaches a boil and is thickened to consistency of pudding, remove from heat, stir in the lemon juice, and set aside to cool slightly.

4. While the puree is cooling, place the remaining berries in a medium bowl. Heat the jelly in a second small saucepan over low heat until fully melted; drizzle the melted jelly over the berries and gently toss them together until the berries are glazed. Pour the slightly cooled puree into the cooled pie shell and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Distribute the glazed berries evenly over the puree and gently press into the surface. Loosely cover pie with plastic wrap; refrigerate until chilled and the puree has set, about 3 hours (or up to 1 day).

5. FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM: Add the cream, sugar, and vanilla to the chilled bowl of an electric mixer. Beat at low speed until small bubbles form, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and continue beating until the cream is smooth, thick, and nearly doubled in volume, about 20 seconds for soft peaks or about 30 seconds for stiff peaks. If necessary, finish beating by hand to adjust the consistency.

Filed Under: dessert, favorites, fruit, pie, summer

date nut loaf

06/21/2011 By bridget 4 Comments

When I was a kid, I didn’t have many independent food preferences; I just absorbed my family’s dislikes as my own. My mom didn’t like coconut, so I didn’t like coconut – never mind that I can’t remember ever trying it. I remember one particularly foolish phase in which my brother didn’t like tomatoes, so I didn’t like tomatoes. Tomatoes! One of the best foods ever!

It seems I’ve developed my own opinions, because my older sister and brother both love dates. They think they’re like candy. I think they’re sickly sweet unless stuffed with tangy goat cheese and wrapped in salty bacon.

Maybe sweet candy-like dried fruit chopped up into cake would be good? After all, aren’t chocolate chips just chopped up candy? Dates, however, are not chocolate chips. Chocolate chips are delicious pockets of rich bitter and sweetness. Dates are tooth-achingly sweet, even in cake. On the other hand, at least there was cake to eat. Never in my life have I – or anyone in my family – disliked cake.

Mary chose this “loaf” (pound cake? quick bread?) for Tuesdays with Dorie, and she has the recipe posted. I increased the salt slightly and substituted almonds for some of the walnuts.

One year ago: Rum-Drenched Vanilla Cake
Two years ago: Coconut Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise
Three years ago: Mixed Berry Cobbler

Filed Under: cake, dessert, fruit, tuesdays with dorie