Sherry Yard's Strawberry Shortcake sans Star Anise Sauce

I don't know about some of the other business travelers out there, but the Sunday before going out-of-town on Monday absolutely sucks. It usually starts with waking up and thinking about the fact that your sorry ass is going to have to pack at some point in the day. If you're a particularly sorry, sorry ass, you still have to wash the clothes that are going in the suitcase.

Sundays before a trip always seem to be a sort of a weird day where you're thinking about what time you have to wake up. What time the you have to leave the house. (My math wasn't so good one night and I woke up and hour-and-a-half before my flight was to leave. Shaker Heights. Hopkins Airport. Twenty minutes. Amazing Race. Rapido!, Andiamo!, ¡Vámonos! Made the flight. True story.)

Noooooo!!! Not the suitcase!!!

My answer is to all of this is to cook on Sundays. The pace and anticipation of making a delicious dinner seem to allow me to do a little laundry here and pack a few things there. By the end of the night I've have had a good dinner with my wife and most everything ends up being packed. If I'm really lucky, I've already slipped the suitcase past the dogs and loaded it in the car. [My pug Ladybug knows what the suitcase means and will not let me out of her sight once she sees it.]

With the strawberries finally ripened after the Sprwinter we had here in Cleveland, I had to make a good strawberry shortcake. A classic biscuit style shortcake is easy enough to do, but I really wanted to make something that was a little fancier than that. While not the most engrossing recipe, it was enough to divert my attention from going out of town - biscuits would have been done in no time and defeated the purpose of the exercise.

Hull thy strawberries. We shan't let them go to waste.

If you've not seen this book and love dessert, then you need to pick up Sherri Yard's Dessert by the Yard. (Side note: Sherry will be at the star studded Five Star Sensation event next Saturday.) It's been out long enough that you can find it in used bookstores or sites like Alibris, for a pretty good price. While I don't see myself making some of the things in this book, there are a lot of fantastic recipes and interesting techniques in it.

I was drawn to her Strawberry Shortcake with Star Anise Sauce [click for recipe],because it looked like something that would hold up for more than one night. The "whipped cream" ends up being very thick and rich due to the crème fraîche and heavy whipping cream. Combined with a normal biscuit-like shortcake this would be an absolute chore to eat, but the extraordinarily light, yet firm, "shortcake" with white chocolate incorporated into it, creates the perfect counterpoint to the whipped cream. (No à la mode necessary.)

Strawberry Shortcake sans Star Anise Sauce
(shown: just one sixth of the recipe)

I didn't make the anise sauce because Regina's allergic to oranges. I'd actually encourage you to make the sauce just because it sounds like such an interesting marriage with the shortcake. Also, don't you think Sherry would've wanted it that way?

The recipe actually halves very well - I did it, and assure you that it's easily enough for six people. The picture shows what 1/3 of the halved recipe makes. When spreading the strawberries, don't be stingy or you'll have bunch leftover at the end.

I don't know how many more weeks we have left of strawberries here in Ohio, but I know they're numbered. Give this recipe a try before they disappear.

Looking for other desserts? Check out our Food page here with a complete listing of our past creations. Enjoy!

Tartine Shortbread

Tartine Shortbread Cookies

We absolutely love Tartine in San Francisco. Since we can only get out that way once a year (if we're lucky), the Tartine cookbook was going to have to fill in the 51 weeks out of the year.

Only recently was this book cracked open, but there are two things that really drive me nuts about cookbooks with a focus on baking. The first is recipes that use volumetric measures for dry ingredients. I love Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc, but that damn book uses volumetric measurements for the baking recipes. I've seen my fair share of things turn out "iffey" over a tad too much or too little of dry something or other. (Keller's chocolate chip cookies come to mind.) Second, is a recipe that tells you what to do but not why. It's the little nuanced explanations that allow the home cook's knowledge of what they're doing grow because of these little nuggets.

The Tartine cookbook is definitely one for the bookshelf (and uses measurements for both ounces and grams). When I told Regina I was making shortbread cookies she groaned. Before the actual recipe starts, the authors explain why they use cornstarch rather than rice flour or potato starch. They said that cornstarch basically creates a softer melt-in-the-mouth texture, while the other two result in a firmer even crunchy kind of shortbread. Armed with the information you're almost being dared to try the other two out, just to see what happens.

I'm a note taker when it comes to cookbooks. If something doesn't seem right I'll typically jot it down on the actual page so I don't make the same mistake twice. In this recipe they call for cutting the cookies into 2"x1/2" rectangles. If you know what this actually looks like, you know there's no way these cookies are that small. I cut them to 2"x1" and the seem to look just like the picture. You could maybe cut them 2"x3/4", but I still think they'd be pretty small.

My only other note is to make sure you let these set up over night. When they've only been out of the oven for an hour or two they're way too soft. An overnight stay in the fridge seem to give them the perfect firmness. The superfine sugar is an absolute must. Don't use regular sugar! You can warm the bottom of the glass pan on the stove to help loosen the cookies' grip on the glass dish.

The book is awesome. Get it

Here's a link to the recipe

Pinkarons (Pink Macarons) for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

By: Mrs. Dino-O-Mite!

This month is my first foray into the MacTweets Mac Attack Challenge. When I saw that we were to make pinkarons (pink macarons) in honor of October being breast cancer awareness month, I was instantly inspired! I got the lofty goal in my head to make macarons in the shape of the pink breast cancer awareness ribbons. As you can see I eeked out one set before deciding that it was harder than it looked and reverted back to “traditional” round macarons.

The filling for these pink gems is comprised of butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and my favorite mixed berry jam. The addition of the jam to the frosting created the prettiest pale purple-pink color!

So, here’s to my mom, aunts, grandmother and women everywhere who’ve been affected by breast cancer. Make sure you get your mammograms and keep up with regular visits to your doctor. You can find out more info here and here.

Red Velvet Ice Cream

Hubby loves Red Velvet Cake. I love ice cream. We both love ice cream mixed with cake. Therefore, I decided to see if I could pull off a concoction that married the best of both worlds.

Red Velvet Cake recipes are everywhere…so much so that I was overwhelmed by the options I found on the Internet. Some call for butter, others use oil. Almost all call for a generous serving of red food coloring (Though, I did see at least one recipe that used beets to dye the cake).

I finally settled on a largely reviewed and positively received recipe for Red Velvet Cake from Epicurious.com. I can’t comment on the entire recipe because I stuck strictly to making the cake (sans berries and icing). The cake was surprisingly light and made waaaay more cake then I would ever need for this project. Next time, I’ll cut the recipe in half.

For the ice cream, I went to the source: Dave Lebovitz’ “The Perfect Scoop” and was delighted to find a recipe for Cheesecake Ice Cream. When I went to make the ice cream base I averted almost near disaster after opening the package of cream cheese at 10pm to find that 2 ounces were missing…I must have used some before and forgot about it! A wonderful resource that had I just discovered earlier that day helped me do some quick conversions to account for having less cream cheese than the recipe called for. I tasted the mix before chilling and it was perfect…tasted just like cheesecake.

When it came time to actually make the ice cream, I decided to briefly chill in the freezer the bite size pieces of red velvet cake that I wanted to mix in. I then added them as I transferred the finished ice cream into the container, finding that they broke apart pretty easily.

My husband, the Red velvet cake afficianado, declared that the finished product tasted just like a piece of red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, but colder. We augmented the final dish with some buttered pecans and extra pieces of cake. Revisions for the next batch will include adding larger pieces of cake, and possibly some of those yummy pecans.


Cheesecake Ice Cream - Adapted from “The Perfect Scoop” by Dave Lebovitz

6 ounces cream cheese – cut into small pieces
Zest of 1 lemon
¾ cup sour cream
¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons half and half
½ cup sugar
Pinch of salt

Zest lemon directly into a blender; add sour cream, half and half, sugar, salt and cream cheese. Puree until smooth and chill in fridge at least 24 hours.

Churn mix in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. Mix in chilled pieces of red velvet cake as you transfer ice cream from the machine to its container. Freeze, wait patiently and then enjoy!

Maple Budino

Maple Budino with Sea Salt and Almond Tuile

My wife made a special Valentine's Day request for Karen DeMasco's Maple Budino from Locanda Verde (a very thorough review from Bite Buff here). Buried in my nearly one hundred unfinished posts is my review of this restaurant in NYC that is cranking out some awesome food (by not one, but two James Beard award winning native Clevelanders chef Andrew Carmellini and pastry chef Karen DeMasco). Ironically enough, I also making the pork chops from Carmellini's recipe in The Niman Ranch Cookbook, for dinner (recipe here).

So here it is Valentine's Day and I've already been given my marching orders on the Maple Budino . It seemed like fate when I opened up the Plain Dealer I saw an article on Cleveland native. In the article the dessert is actually referenced. How crazy is that?

This isn't just a plate of pudding. The New York Times' Sam Sifton voted this sterling dessert as one of his "eleven most memorable dishes of 2009".One would think that making a dessert as good as this would have a certain amount of difficulty, but this is about as easy as it gets. You can make them a couple of days in advance without fear of any degradation. While the original at the restaurant comes with candied pecans, I opted to sprinkle a little Hawaiian sea salt on top and add an almond tuile. My wife's friend described it as french toast without the bread.

This recipe is not from Karen's new cookbook Craft of Baking, but I highly recommend checking it out. Many of her recipes encourage the reader to freestyle and create their own twist on the recipe.

Maple Budino by Karen DeMasco
(makes 6 servings)

• 1 cup maple syrup (preferably grade B)
• 4 cups heavy cream
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 7 large egg yolks
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Fill a kettle with water and place over high heat to bring to a boil. In a 4 to 6 quart saucepan, bring maple syrup to a boil and cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced by about half, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in cream, salt and vanilla.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, yolks and brown sugar. Add about a third of the cream mixture, and whisk to blend. Pour into remaining cream mixture and whisk until well blended. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer. Divide evenly among six 8-ounce ramekins, and place in a deep metal baking or roasting pan (using a glass or ceramic pan may increase baking time). Carefully add enough boiling water to pan to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Cover pan securely with foil to seal it closed.

3. Bake for 20 minutes, then rotate pan, release steam by lifting foil cover and replace foil securely. Continue baking — rotating pan, releasing steam and re-covering every 15 to 20 minutes — until custards are completely set around edges and slightly loose in centers, about an hour more.

4. Remove pan from oven, remove foil and allow custards to come to room temperature in water bath. Remove from pan, cover each custard with plastic wrap (not touching surface) or a small plate and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days before serving.

Almond Tuile by Johnny Iuzzini from Dessert Fourplay

• 4 teaspoon (22g) water
• generous tablespoon (22g) honey
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons (37g) unsalted butter
• scant 1/2 cup (75g) confectioners' sugar
• 2 Tablespoons (15g) all-purpose flour
• 5-1/2 ounces (150g) sliced almonds, chopped

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F or 325 degrees F on convection. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or use a nonstick baking sheet.
2. Put the water, honey, and butter in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the butter is melted.
3. Whisk the confectioners' sugar and flour together. Pour in the wet ingredients and stir until smooth. Stir in the nuts.
4. Use a small ice cream scoop (1-tablespoon capacity) to scoop up 1 tablespoon of the batter. Level off the top and drop onto the Silpat, leaving about 2 inches between each tuile (you should fit 6 on the baking sheet). Bake in batches until golden, about 14 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Let cool completely on the Silpat.
   

Brown Butter Custard Pie with Cranberry Glaze

My obsession with Christina Tosi and her crazy ingredients continues. This pie crust is made with bread crusts combined with the butter and cinnamon taste which tastes just like cinnamon toast. I could easily grub on the crust alone. The brown butter custard is also unique in the sense that the brown butter is encapsulated in a gelatin floating in the filling. With every bite you get this intense little bursts of brown buttery goodness.

I made this in a glass pie pan and found that the crust needs to warm up a bit before it will easily pop out. When this crust is totally refrigerated it puts a death grip on the pan. I warmed it slightly over a low flame on the stove.

This particular recipe was in the recent November issue of Food + Wine. The printable version for the filling is here. The Cinnamon Toast Pie Crust, which I will definitely will be using for other pies, is located here.



Brown Butter Custard Pie with Cranberry Glaze
by Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 cups diced crusts and end pieces from 1 loaf of packaged white bread (10 ounces crusts)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the butter is golden brown, about 8 minutes; strain into a glass measuring cup. Reserve the browned butter solids for the Brown Butter Custard Pie.
2. Pour half of the melted butter into a bowl. Add the sugar, salt, cinnamon and bread, and toss. Spread the bread on a baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes, stirring once or twice, until golden. Let cool.
3. Rewarm the remaining butter; pour into a food processor. Add the croutons and pulse to fine crumbs; spoon the crumbs into a 10-inch pie plate. Refrigerate for 5 minutes. Press the crumbs over the bottom and sides of the pie plate; refrigerate the crust until chilled, 15 minutes.

Filling

• 2 teaspoons plain powdered gelatin
• Reserved browned butter solids from Cinnamon Toast Crumb Crust
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Kosher salt
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• Cinnamon Toast Crumb Crust
• 3 1/2 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 cup cranberry sauce, pureed and strained

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 2 tablespoons of water and let stand until softened, 3 minutes. Microwave at high power for 10 seconds, until melted. In a microwave-safe measuring cup, microwave the reserved brown butter solids with the milk, sugar, 1/8 teaspoon of the cinnamon and a pinch of salt until warm. Whisk in the gelatin and refrigerate until set.
2. In a bowl, whisk 3/4 cup of the heavy cream and sour cream to soft peaks. Whisk the custard to loosen it, then fold into the whipped cream. Pour the custard into the Cinnamon Toast Crumb Crust; refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate and butter. Add the mashed sweet potatoes, the remaining 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of salt; whisk until smooth. Transfer the sweet potato ganache to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip and refrigerate until chilled slightly, 15 minutes. Pipe 1-inch mounds around the edge of the pie. Refrigerate until the ganache is set, 10 minutes.
4. Pour the cranberry puree over the pie and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate until set, at least 30 minutes. Cut the pie into wedges and serve.

The pie can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Blueberry and Cream Cookies

We recently had the thrill of experiencing Christina Tosi's incredibly original desserts at Momofuku Milk Bar in the East Village. Bucking today's trend of shopping on the outside isles of the grocery store, Tosi and her distinguished staff's inspiration points them straight to the interior. Using things such as non-fat milk powder, coffee grounds, packaged white bread, potato chips, and the kitchen sink, you find yourself wanting one of everything in the dessert case.

I tried one of the Blueberry and Cream cookies (along with compost cookie, the malted marshmallow cake, and salty pistachio caramel soft serve), and could have easily devoured three more on the spot. I thought chewiness of this cookie was awesome, but was particularly intrigued by the concept of milk crumbs, not to mention blueberries, in cookies.

This is actually one of the more mainstream desserts sold at MMB that won't scare the less adventurous eater. You can watch the video here of Christina making the cookies on Martha Stewart.

If you haven't seen David Chang's book Momofuku you have got to take a look. There are a few more recipes from Tosi in the book that are featured on the Momofuku Ko's menu.

Blueberry + Cream Cookies

Blueberry + Cream Cookies (a two part recipe)
by Christina Tosi

Milk Crumbs

• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon nonfat milk powder
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup white chocolate, melted

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons milk powder, flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Stir in melted butter until well combined. Spread mixture on prepared baking sheet and transfer to oven. Bake until dried and crumbly, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove milk crumble from oven and let cool completely.
3. Transfer milk crumble to a large bowl and fold in remaining 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons milk powder and white chocolate. Use immediately or transfer to an airtight container and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Blueberry and Cream Cookies

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup (8 ounces) Plugra European-style unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup glucose
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup dried blueberries
• 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup Milk Crumbs

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix together butter, sugars, and glucose until well combined. Add egg and mix until well combined.
3. Add flour mixture and mix until well combined. Add blueberries and milk crumbs and mix until well combined. Using an ice cream scoop about 2 1/8 inches in diameter, scoop dough into balls and place about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Transfer baking sheets to refrigerator until dough is chilled, about 15 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to oven and bake, rotating pans halfway through baking, until cookies are golden brown and tops begin to crackle, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Salty Carmel Ice Cream with Chocolate Crumble

I'm a huge fan of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams' Salted Caramel flavor, so when I saw this recipe I had to try it. As you can tell from the list of ingredients this is very rich with an intense caramel flavor. Not intense like rosewater, but intense like "it packs a lot of punch so one scoop will satiate me". Its overall consistency reminds my a lot like gelato.

To add a little something to compliment the chewiness of the ice cream I sprinkled it with a chocolate crumble. Johnny Iuzzini uses this at Jean Georges by laying the ice cream on a small bed of this stuff, to keep it from sliding around. It also does a fantastic job of adding some texture to the dessert.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream with Chocolate Crumble

Caramel Ice Cream
Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller

• 1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups whole milk, warm
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream, warm
• 10 large egg yolks
  
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Put 1-1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons of the sugar ina deep heavy saucepan and stir in the water to moisten the sugar and make a mixture that resembles wet sand. (This will help the sugar caramelize evenly.) Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then simmer, without stirring, for 15 minutes, or until the sugar melts into a rich amber caramel. *for me it started to turn, and fast, at about 13 1/2 minutes. Make sure you're paying attention.* If any sugar crystallizes on the sides of the pan, brush with a wet pastry brush.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly (to prevent bubbling up) stir in the milk and cream. Should the caramel seize and harden, return the mixture to the heat and stir to dissolve the caramel, then remove from the heat.
3. Whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and yolks in a medium bowl until slightly thickened and the whisk leaves a trail. Slowly, while whisking, add about 1/2 cup of the hot liquid to the yolks, then whisk in the remaining liquid. Set a fine-mesh basket strainer over a clean saucepan and strain the liquid into the pan.
4. Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl. Set a medium bowl in the ice bath; have a strainer ready.
5. Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom and sides often with a wooden spoon, until steam begins to rise from the surface and the custard thickens enough to coat the spoon. Strain into the bowl, add the salt, and let cool, stirring from time to time.
6. Refrigerate until cold or, preferably, overnight.
7. Pour the custard into an ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. When the texture is "soft serve," transfer to a storage container and freeze to harden. (The ice cream is best eaten within a day, but it can be made several days ahead.)

Chocolate Crumble
Dessert Fourplay by Johnny Iuzzini

• 6-1/2 tablespoons (94g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Valrhona)
• 1/4 cup (94g) all-purpose flour
• 7 tablespoons (87g) sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon (1g) coarse salt

1. Heat the oven to 375 or 350 convection. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment.
2. Cut the butter into pieces and put it in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle. Whisk the cocoa powder, flour, sugar, and salt together and add to the bowl. Mix at medium speed until well combined, dark brown, and in big crumbs.
3. Spread out on the baking sheet breaking up the biggest crumbs and leaving room for spreading. Bake until crisp, about 20 minutes *I burned the first batch at 16 minutes, and the next batch was decent at 13. I'd start checking it at about 11 minutes. It takes less than a minute to burn* rotating the pan halfway through baking. Let cool.
4. When the crumble is cool, put it in a food processor and process to fine, even crumbs. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
   

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

Right now we're trying to put together the menu for the Thanksgiving feast we will host in a few weeks. This year we're trying to take a less traditional route.

One of my quests is to try some nontraditional desserts using some of the more typical Thanksgiving dessert ingredients. The now defunct Gourmet magazine provided the template for a Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle.

There's really only three components to it: Pumpkin mousse, Whipped Cream, and Gingerbread.

I chose to use Gourmet's recipe for the mousse and whipped cream. The recipe for that can found here.

For the Gingerbread I chose to not use the recipe from the Nov '09 Gourmet, but a Gourmet from 2000. This Gramercy Tavern Gingerbread is moist as hell. You can actually see some of the stickiness hitting the side of the glass in the picture above. If you take anything from this post, it's to try this recipe, this is one for the arsenal. I made this on Saturday and had a slew of the cubes left over and these were still as moist on Wednesday as the day I made them on Saturday. Instead of putting this in a bundt cake pan I made it in a 13x9 pan for 50 minutes.

Topping it off are some candied pepitas. These didn't really turn out as good as I would have liked. I'll be trying some other things to top this off.

I think I'm definitely on the right track with this one. If I can iron out the topping I think we'll have one of our Thanksgiving desserts.

Bacon Fat Spice Cookies

I typically buy about 3 or 4 cookbooks a year. So far this year I’ve purchased Urban Italian by Andrew Carmellini, The Perfect Scoop by Dave Leibvowitz, and Fat by Jennifer McLagan.

I want to focus on Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes. Let me start by saying that I think this is fantastically researched book. McLagan offers a ton of information about butter, pork, poultry, beef, and lamb fat. Small historical blurbs are sprinkled about the pages of the book, while also including unique recipes, and basic techniques for utilizing fat.

As an example McLagan gives a recipe for Bacon Baklava and the page next to it is a recipe that utilizes all of the rendered fat from the bacon in the form of Bacon Fat Spice Cookies. I thought it sounded interesting so I decided to have a go. I wanted to try the bacon baklava but had been given the task of making the bacon for a family brunch. Armed with a pound of Curly Tail Farms bacon, I saved the rendered fat for the cookies.

The sound of bacon fat in your cookies sounds utterly disgusting. Visions of cool, thick, white grease being left behind by, of all things, a dessert is less than appetizing. After thinking about it a little bit, though, you realize that fat is fat. As long as you’re not after a buttery taste to begin with, and are using it in a strongly flavored spice cookie with a dominant taste of gingerbread, what’s the difference?

The straightforward recipe resulted in a couple dozen cookies that had the texture of freshly baked sugar cookies that were still warm. They taste just like gingerbread cookies only chewier. I, nor anyone else, could taste the saltiness of the bacon in the cookies themselves.

I enjoy making stuff like this, if for no other reason because it makes me think alternatively about how or why we use certain ingredients. The next time you’re in a bookstore look for Fat. I think you’ll have a hard time putting it down.

By the way, I love recipes that are written in the metric system, which is what the author has done in this book.

Bacon Fat Spice Cookies by Jennifer McLagan in her new book “Fat”

Makes 20 to 24 cookies (made 22 for me)

• Flour - 1 ¼ cups/5 oz./150g
• Sugar – ½ cup/3 ½ oz/100g plus 1 teaspoon
• Sea Salt – 1 teaspoon
• Cinnamon (ground) – ¾ teaspoon
• Ginger (ground) – ¾ teaspoon
• Cloves (ground) – ¾ teaspoon
• Bacon Fat – ½ cup/3 ½ oz./100g (from approximately 1 pound of bacon)
• Molasses – 2 Tablespoons
• Egg – 1

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C. Line 2 Large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Combine the flour, ½ cup/3 ½ oz/100g of the sugar, the salt, and the spices in a food processor and pulse to mix. Add the bacon fat, molasses, and egg and pulse until the mixture forms a soft dough.

3. Take level tablespoons of the dough and roll them into balls. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches / 5 cm apart. Using a fork, flatten the balls slightly, and sprinkle with the tablespoon of sugar.

4. Bake the cookies until they are beginning to brown around the edges, 10-12 minutes. Let the cookies cool slightly on the baking sheets and then transfer to a wire rack.

Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.

Goat Cheese......Cheesecake with Cranberries

Last fall Katie O'Donnell at Moxie had a goat cheese cheesecake that I thought was awesome. There's a tang that you get from the goat cheese that you recognize in a good way. It's a classic case of two things you wouldn't normally put together, but when you do they taste great. This is one of those desserts.

I've been looking for a good recipe to attempt the whole goat cheese thing. Armed with 10 ounces of goat cheese from MacKenzie Creamery I finally found a recipe that sounded interesting. February's Food and Wine actually has a recipe for Goat Cheese Cheesecake with Honeyed Cranberries. Put into the arsenal of Team USA for the Bocuse d'Or, Timothy Hollingsworth and Adina Guest share their creation.

I made it without the oranges because Regina's allergic to oranges. So when you look at the picture it's missing the orange zest mixture. Here is the link to the recipe.

Move Over Pumpkin Pie (and say “Hello” to Maple Mascarpone Cheesecake with Walnut Shortbread Cookies)

My contribution for Thanksgiving was the most important item next to the turkey…the dessert. This year’s selection was the Maple Mascarpone Cheesecake with Walnut Shortbread Cookies from Mario Batali’s Babbo cookbook (credit as well to Gina DePalma, Babbo’s pastry chef, for the recipe). Normally, it’s just Mr. Dine O Mite and myself sitting down to dessert, so I found this recipe, which serves 8, to be best suited for a larger dinner party.

Overall, this dessert was a success. I think my only mistake was that I should have reduced the maple syrup (from Goodell Farms in Mantua, Ohio) down just a little further, before adding the cream. I found some adorable fall themed cookie cutters at Crate and Barrel for cutting out the walnut shortbread cookies. The mascarpone cheese was imported from Italy and on sale at Whole Foods. My special touch was the addition of some glazed walnuts.

This dessert was so rich and creamy that it didn’t even need require my usual dose of whipped cream…

Maple Mascarpone Cheesecake (see link for recipe)

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Individual-Maple-and-Mascarpone-Cheesecakes-102699

Walnut Shortbread Cookies
From the Babbo Cookbook by Mario Batali

4 cups toasted walnut pieces
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar

1. Toast walnut pieces on a baking sheet for 5-7 minutes at 325 degrees, until
golden brown and fragrant. Cool completely, then place in food processor until
just finely ground.
2. Reduce oven temp to 300 degrees.
3. Place the butter, brown sugar, and powdered sugar in the bowl of an electric
mixer and blend together until smooth and creamy.
4. Beat in vanilla extract
5. In a separate bowl, mix the nuts, sifted flour, and salt.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and beat until a soft dough is
formed.
7. Wrap dough tightly in saran wrap and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.
8. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into ½ inch thickness. Cut out shapes
as desired and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
9. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until they turn light golden brown. Place on a wire
rack to cool, then store in an airtight container.

* I added powdered sugar to the final product.

Delicious Cheesecake Portion Control

I first made the Mini Black-Bottom Cheesecakes about three months ago. I don't like to make huge desserts that require me to eat them for three days after I've made them. These little suckers, however, are lucky if they make it past the first day. Small in stature, these mini cheesecakes are a guaranteed hit at any party. I took them to my sister's last night and they were instantly devoured.

The Nabisco's Famous Wafer cookies are what I think make this entire recipe. Because these cheesecakes can technically be eaten with your hands, you have this nice creamy cheesecake filling that you sink you teeth into, followed by about a quarter inch of what tastes like Oreo crust. In fact, I think that these wafer cookies may actually be made from the same dough as Oreos. At any rate this is an easy recipe to make and will be wildly popular wherever you happen to serve it. For a printable version of the recipe go here.



Mini Black-Bottom Cheesecakes

Recipe by Grace Parisi

Makes 12 Cheesecakes

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil spray
  

• 24 plain chocolate wafer cookies, preferably Nabisco

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 2/3 cup fromage blanc (6 ounces), at room temperature

• 2 large eggs
  

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 1/4 cup seedless raspberry preserves, warmed

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with foil baking cups and spray the cups with vegetable oil spray. In a food processor, crush the chocolate wafer cookies. Add the butter and process until fine crumbs form. Spoon the chocolate cookie crumbs into the prepared baking cups and press with the bottom of a glass to compact. Bake for 5 minutes, or until almost set. Leave the oven on.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until smooth. Beat in the fromage blanc, then add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.
3. Pour the cheesecake batter into the baking cups, filling them three-quarters full.
4. Bake the cheesecakes for 15 minutes, or until slightly jiggly in the center. Remove from the oven and spread 1 teaspoon of the warmed raspberry preserves on top of each cheesecake. Transfer the muffin tin to the freezer and chill the cheesecakes until set, about 15 minutes.
5. Remove the cheesecakes from the pan and peel off the foil baking cups. Transfer the cheesecakes to a platter and serve.

Make Ahead

The mini black-bottom cheesecakes can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Notes

INSTEAD OF FROMAGE BLANC Crème fraîche, goat cheese, lebneh or quark.

Pistachio Semifreddo with Dark Chocolate Ganache - An Ode to Mario Batali and Gina DePalma

By Mrs. Dine O Mite

Make no mistake about it…I am a dessert addict. What’s worse, I think I have dessert OCD. Whenever I find something that I love, I go on countless internet and cookbook searches trying to find replica-like recipes, so that I can recreate the magic at home. After eating what I consider to be the best dessert I’ve ever had at Babbo in New York City this summer, I have been on a quest to make an at home version of their Pistachio Chocolate Semifreddo. I usually come up short on my efforts, but this time, I nailed it. My husband, who isn’t nearly the pistachio fan that I am, couldn’t stop raving about this.

Special thanks for Mario Batali for making this a mainstay dessert at Babbo and to Gina DePalma, Babbo’s pastry chef for creating this masterpiece. This isn’t the exact recipe, but in my dessert aficionado opinion, it comes pretty darn close. Nevertheless, I’ll continue to have sweet dreams of the original and hope to return to Babbo sometime soon to feast on it again!



Pistachio Semifreddo with Dark Chocolate Ganache

**Special Equipment - 5.5in springform pan

For the Chocolate Crust

8 Nabisco Famous chocolate wafer cookies
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees

• Place cookies in a baggie and crush with the back of a wooden spoon, the transfer to a small bowl
  

• Melt butter and pour onto wafer cookies, mix well with a spoon

• Invert the bottom of the springform pan and close it tight. (This will allow you to easily slide the semifreddo off of the base once it’s complete)

• Evenly spread cookie and butter mixture into the pan and bake at 350 degrees for 7-8 minutes. Allow to cool

For the Pistachio Semifreddo
Adapted from www.Epicurious.com

¾ cups shelled roasted and salted pistachios (3 ¼ ounces)
½ cup granulated sugar
3 large egg whites (proud to buy ours from the local farmer’s market)
1 cup chilled heavy cream (another farmer’s market find – try to get pasteurized vs.
ultra-pasteurized, if possible)
¼ teaspoon almond extract

• Pulse 2/3 cup pistachios with 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoons of sugar in a food processor until very finely ground. Add remaining pistachios and pulse until just coarsely ground.

• Beat egg whites in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks (this took a little longer than I thought it would). Beat in remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, a little at a time, then increase speed to high and beat until meringue just holds stiff, glossy peaks.

• Beat cream with almond extract in a wide bowl with mixer at high speed until it just holds soft peaks. (I took mine a little too far and it began to look curdled…I quick switch from using the handheld mixer to an old fashioned whisk softened out the peaks in the cream to the perfect consistency).

• Fold meringue into cream gently but thoroughly, then fold in nut mixture in same manner. Spoon into Springform pan and freeze for a minimum of 4 hours.

Health note/disclaimer: • The egg whites in this recipe are not cooked, which may be of concern if salmonella is a problem in your area.

For the Dark Chocolate Ganache

3 oz. dark chocolate (I was pleased to find some Callebaut in bulk at the grocery store)
½ cup heavy cream (prefer pasteurized vs. ultra-pasteurized, if possible)

• Coarsely chop chocolate and place in a medium metal bowl

• In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil, then pour over chopped chocolate

• Mix well. Once cooled slightly, drizzle or coat the semifreddo with ganache.

Garnish with chopped pistachios and savor every bite!