Maple Candied Pecans

Maple Candied Pecans

 

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Author: One Lovely Life

Serves: 1½ cups

Ingredients

• 1½ cups raw pecans (roughly chopped, if desired)
• ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
• ¼ tsp coarse salt + more, to taste

Instructions

1. Place pecans and syrup in a skillet over medium-low heat. Stirring constantly, continue cooking the pecans and syrup while the syrup thickens and the water cooks out, about 5-7 minutes. When the water is nearly all evaporated, sprinkle the salt over the pecans.
2. When the water is evaporated, and the pecans are getting caramelized, spread the mixture out onto parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Sprinkle with additional salt, as desired. Allow to cool completely (the syrup will continue to harden as they cool).
3. Eat plain, or mix into your favorite salad, trail mix, or popcorn.

3.2.2925

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Blueberry Pie

When blueberries are in season, what better to do with them (other than eating them straight from the basket) than make blueberry pie? Blueberries have been found to be a “superfood”, so good for you that you should go out of your way to eat them. They neutralize free radicals, protect your heart, improve your vision, and protect against degenerative brain diseases. (See the whole story at The World’s Healthiest Foods website.) Yet another good reason to make and eat blueberry pie.

Blueberry Pie Recipe

• Prep time: 1 hour
• Cook time: 1 hour
• Yield: Makes one pie with 8 servings.

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Ingredients

Crust:

• One double recipe for all butter pie crust dough

Filling ingredients:

• 6 cups (about 2 1/4 pounds or 1 kilo) of fresh (or frozen) blueberries, rinsed and stems removed (if using frozen, defrost and drain first)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup (about 30g) all-purpose flour (for thickening)
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar (100g)
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp butter (unsalted), cut into small pieces

Egg wash ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk

Method

1 Prepare the crust. Roll out half of the dough to 1/8-inch-thick circle on a lightly floured work surface, about 13 inches in diameter. Fit the dough over a 9-inch pie pan, and trim the edges to a 1/2 inch over the edge all around the pan. Put into the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes.

2 Gently mix the blueberries, sugar, flour, cinnamon, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Transfer them to the chilled bottom crust of the pie pan. Dot with butter pieces. Roll out remaining dough to the same size and thickness as the first. Place on top of the berry filling. Tuck the top dough over and under the edge of the bottom dough, and crimp the edges with your fingers. Transfer the pie to the refrigerator to chill until the dough is firm, about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 425°F.

3 Whisk egg and milk together to make an egg wash.

4 Remove the unbaked pie from refrigerator. Brush the top with egg wash. Score the pie on the top with 4 cuts (so steam can escape while cooking). Place the pie on the middle rack of the oven with a parchment paper or Silpat lined baking pan positioned on the lower rack to catch any filling that may bubble over. Bake for 20 minutes at 425°. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake for 30 to 40 minutes more or until juices are bubbling and have thickened. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Let cool completely before serving.

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Glazed Lemon Bread

There is a reason comfort food is called “comfort” food. It’s for those days when you hit every red light, when you’re on the phone all day trying to fix a situation that should never have become broken in the first place, when every attempt at anything gets thwarted somehow, and all you want to do is crawl back into bed, pull the covers over your head, and go back to dreamland with the ponies, kittens, and rainbows (where hopefully they won’t be chasing you in some twisted, scary movie, kitten-turned psycho-kitty, kind of way).

This glazed lemon bread, a tea cake really, is perfect for chasing off the grouchy-grumblies. It’s light, moist, lemony, with just a touch of honey and cardamom. If the magic that is baking can produce this cake, then anything is possible and tomorrow is a new day.

Glazed Lemon Bread Recipe

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 1 hour
• Yield: Makes one loaf

Tip: eggs rise better when they are at room temp. If you are pressed for time and have cold eggs, put them in a bowl of warm water (not hot, warm) for a few minutes before using.

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Ingredients

• 4 ounces (1 stick, or 8 Tbsp) butter, softened*
• 1 cup minus 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 2 eggs (room temp)
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Glaze

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp honey

* Do not soften butter in microwave. Either leave a stick of butter on kitchen counter for an hour, or place between two pieces of wax paper and rollout with a rolling pin to soften.

Method

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 4x8-inch loaf pan.

2 Beat the butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and honey, continue to beat until creamy, a few minutes more. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition to incorporate. On low speed, slowly beat the milk in. Do not worry if the mixture looks a little curdled. Mix in lemon zest.

3 Sift together the flour, salt, cardamom, baking powder. Add to the wet ingredients, beating until smooth.

4 Place batter in prepared pan and bake for 1 hour at 350°F.

5 While the lemon bread is baking, prepare the glaze. Heat the glaze ingredients - lemon juice, sugar, honey - in a small saucepan until the sugar is completely dissolved.

6 Once you have removed the bread from the oven, poke holes all over the top with a thin skewer (this will help the glaze penetrate). Spoon the glaze over it while the bread is still in the pan and is still hot. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan and slicing to serve.

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Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream

There is one image from my childhood that is seared into memory, that of the yellow octagonal box of Mexican chocolate on the top shelf of our kitchen pantry. I can still remember my mother making pots of hot chocolate for us, and even using a Mexican chocolate stirrer to beat up the hot chocolate until it was frothy. What makes Mexican chocolate different from regular chocolate? The cinnamon. That’s the distinctive flavor. With this ice cream recipe you can skip all of the little extras – coffee, vanilla, chili, and as long as you keep the cinnamon, you will have an ice cream that tastes just like Mexican hot chocolate.

I’ve made the ice cream both using Ibarra chocolate and using regular chocolate with added cinnamon. Both work fine, though if you use regular chocolate, you can have more control over the quality of the actual chocolate, and the bitterness level (I like bittersweet).

Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

• Yield: Makes 1 quart.

If you have access to Ibarra Mexican chocolate you can use this instead of the semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate and cinnamon called for in the recipe. Use about 1 disk and 2 triangles of the chocolate. After heating with the cream, blend in a blender. Do not add any additional cinnamon as there is enough in the Ibarra.

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Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 4 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• Pinch cayenne
• Pinch espresso powder (or instant coffee)
• 6 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp brandy (optional)

Method

1 Heat one cup of cream in a small saucepan (1 qt). Whisk in cocoa powder. Bring to a simmer. Whisk until cocoa powder is well incorporated. Remove pot from heat. Stir in chocolate until completely incorporate.

2 Put mixture into a metal bowl and add the remaining cup of cream. Set that bowl over a larger bowl half-filled with ice water to help cool it down. Place a mesh sieve over the bowl with the chocolate mixture.

3 Put one cup of milk, the sugar, cinnamon, salt, cayenne, espresso powder (or instant coffee) into a saucepan and heat until steamy (not boiling), stirring to incorporate the spices and dissolve the sugar. Place egg yolks in a medium sized bowl. Slowly pour the heated milk and mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly so that the egg yolks are tempered by the heated milk, but not cooked by it. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

4 Stir the milk egg mixture constantly over medium heat with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spoon so that you can run your finger across the coating and have the coating not run. This can take anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes, depending on how hot your burner is.

If the custard base doesn't coat the back of the spoon, it's not ready.

The custard base coats the back of the spoon.

5 As soon as the mixture coats the spoon, remove it from the heat and immediately pour it over the mesh sieve into the bowl of the chocolate cream mixture. (The sieve is there to catch any curdled bits.) Stir into the cream mixture.

6 Add a teaspoon of vanilla. Let the mixture cool a bit in the ice bath and then chill in the refrigerator until completely chilled, a couple hours or overnight. Right before churning, add 2 Tbsp of brandy to the mix. This is an optional step, but it will help keep the ice cream from getting too icy if it is stored beyond a day. If you are planning on eating the ice cream the same day you make it, you can skip this step.

7 Churn the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Store ice cream in an airtight container in your freezer for several hours before eating. The ice cream will be quite soft coming out of the ice cream maker, but will continue harden in your freezer. If you store it for more than a day, you may need to let it sit for a few minutes to soften before attempting to scoop it.

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Butter Pecan Ice Cream

An ice cream loving friend was in town this weekend, giving me the perfect excuse to make this batch of butter pecan ice cream. Butter pecan is one of my all time favorite flavors. In this recipe the butter flavor comes in the custard base, achieved by browning the butter first before adding the other ingredients.

Butter Pecan Ice Cream Recipe

• Yield: Makes 1 1/2 quarts.

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Ingredients

• 6 large egg yolks
• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup pecans

Special equipment needed
An ice cream maker, or a KitchenAid mixer with an ice cream attachment

Method

1 In a medium sized heat-safe bowl (metal, ceramic, or glass), whisk together the egg yolks until well blended. Set aside.

2 Pour the cream into a metal bowl set in a larger bowl of ice and set a medium-mesh sieve on top. Set aside.

3 In a medium thick-bottomed saucepan on medium heat, melt the butter cook it, stirring constantly, until it just begins to brown. Add the brown sugar and salt. Stir until the sugar completely melts.

4 Slowly add the milk, stirring to incorporate. It will foam up initially, so make sure you are using a pan with high enough sides. Heat until all of the sugar is completely dissolved. Do not let boil or the mixture may curdle.

5 Whisk in hand, slowly pour half of the milk and sugar mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly to incorporate. Then add the warmed egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk sugar mixture.

6 Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a wooden or heatproof rubber spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula, about 5-7 minutes.

7 Pour the custard through the sieve and stir it into the cream. Add vanilla and stir until cool over the ice bath. Chill mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.

8 While the mixture is chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F. Lay out the pecans on a roasting pan in a single layer. Bake for 6 minutes, until lightly toasted. Let cool. Once cool, roughly chop the pecans and set aside. Note, if you want an extra punch to this ice cream, brush the pecans with melted butter and sprinkle with salt before roasting.

9 Once the ice cream mixture is thoroughly chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

10 Once the ice cream has been formed in the ice cream maker, it will be fairly soft. Fold in the chopped pecans. Put in an airtight plastic container and place in the freezer for at least an hour, preferably several hours. If it has been frozen for more than a day, you may need to let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften it before serving.

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Mrs. Adams’ Delicious Pound Cake

My mother has been praising our neighbor Mrs. Adams’ pound cake for many years. My mother is a self-described cake person (“There are cake people and there are pie people. I’m a cake person.”) who gets dreamy eyed just thinking about this pound cake. So, when Mrs. Adams prepared this cake (among several other desserts) for a neighborhood party, I couldn’t wait to try it. It really was divine. Perfect. When I stopped by to get the recipe I captured the Adams granddaughter four-year-old Marly eyeing the cake.

Mrs. Adams’ Delicious Pound Cake Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1 lb of Imperial margarine (sticks)**
• 6 eggs (at room temperature)
• 1 lb confectioners sugar
• 3 cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Method

1 Cream margarine and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat lightly, mixing in well after each addition. Add flour and mix well. Add vanilla before, during, and after adding the flour.

2 Pour batter into a stick-free or greased and floured bundt cake pan and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours on 325°F. Begin watching the cake at 1 hour. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cake should be cracked on top and golden brown.

3 Cool for 5 minutes on a cake rack. Loosen the sides with a knife. Gently remove the cake from the pan while still warm.

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Blueberry Shortcake

When the summer months come, I find it almost impossibly hard to resist buying fresh blueberries by the double basketful. Thank goodness they’re such good brain food! (These days my brain needs all the help it can get.) My twelve year old nephew is in town which is perfect excuse to make shortcake of any variety. Unlike with strawberries, where all you have to do is cut them and sprinkle them with sugar, to get the blueberries juicy enough for shortcake it works well to cook them, just a little, with sugar. This way more juices are released. This recipe makes a lot of blueberry topping. If you find you have leftover, it’s great over ice cream, or better yet, pancakes.

Blueberry Shortcake Recipe

• Yield: Serves 6-8.

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Ingredients

Berries

• 5 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 pinch cinnamon

Biscuits

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• Pinch cinnamon
• Pinch ground nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp white granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 Tbsp (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 7/8 cup (1 cup minus 2 Tbsp) heavy whipping cream
• 1 large egg*
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• Heavy cream for whipping

*The egg is optional. Including the egg will result in a less crumbly shortcake biscuit, but either way, with or without egg, is good.

Method

1 Place blueberries, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and cinnamon into a medium saucepan. Heat until the sugar has melted and the mixture is just barely coming to a simmer. Use a potato masher to mash up the berries a bit, to release the juices. Remove from heat and let come to room temp.

2 Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large bowl stir together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the small cubes of butter, and use your fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, with pea-sized pieces of butter still intact.

3 In a small bowl mix the egg, whipping cream, and vanilla extract. Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet mixture into it. Stir with a fork just until the dough barely comes together. Do not over mix or your biscuits will be tough.

4 Turn the dough out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Form the dough into a large pancake shape, about 3/4 to 1-inch thick. Using a pastry round (or the lightly floured ridges of drinking glasses) cut into biscuit forms and place 1 1/2-inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat. You can also cut the biscuits into squares if that's easier. The the dough is too soft to work with, put it in the refrigerator to chill for about 15 minutes first.

5 Put the biscuits in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until they have risen and are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool on a baking rack.

Serve the berries spooned over biscuits that have been broken open, and top with whipped cream.

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Mint Chocolate Pudding Cakes

I was recently invited to lead a cooking session with a Girl Scout troop. For days the hostess and I deliberated on what to cook. We finally settled on these luxurious chocolate pudding cakes, because 1) they’re easy to make, 2) they could be prepped, cooked, and eaten in the allotted time (about an hour), and 3) everyone loves chocolate. The recipe is from Bon Appétit magazine. The cakes are generally inverted and served with ice cream, which is how I first enjoyed them at a friend’s dinner party. However, these particular pudding cakes (pictured), made with the loving care of Troop 2656, just did not want to invert (the buttering of the ramekins was probably a bit too thin). When I made them again today, they cooked almost all the way through. So, lessons learned – butter well, and make sure to keep your eye on the ramekins in the oven. Start checking at about 9 minutes. The cakes should be like mini volcanoes – cake on the outside and molten lava chocolate on the inside.

Mint Chocolate Pudding Cakes Recipe

• Yield: Serves 6.

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Ingredients

• 6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons peppermint extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Method

1 Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously butter six 3/4-cup (6 ounce) ramekins. Cut the butter into pieces and heat the chocolate with the butter in small, thick-bottomed saucepan over low heat, stirring, until melted and smooth. Remove the pan from the burner and let cool slightly.

2 With an electric mixer, beat the eggs, egg yolks, and the sugar until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and beat until incorporated. Add the chocolate mixture, the peppermint extract, and the salt. Beat just until incorporated. Pour the chocolate mixture into the prepared ramekins. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet.

3 Bake the cakes until the edges are set but the centers look shiny and still wiggle like jello when the ramekins are lightly shaken, 10-11 minutes. (Start checking at 9 minutes.) Remove the cakes from oven; let cool for 5-10 minutes.

Either serve as is, in the ramekins, or run a knife around the edges of the cakes and invert on to individual dessert plates.

Serve with raspberries, mint leaves, vanilla or mint ice cream, or whipped cream.

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Indian Pudding

My first encounter with Indian Pudding was over 20 years ago at Durgin Park, a landmark restaurant in Faneuil Hall, Boston, famous for its home-style Yankee cooking and, at the time, its cranky, octogenarian waitresses. Few desserts look so completely unappetizing yet taste so incredibly good. One bite of this lumpy, brown mush, with a dab of vanilla ice cream, and I was sold. Scraped every last bit from the bowl.

Why indian pudding isn’t more widely known I have no idea; it’s one of my favorite desserts of all time, and a traditional New England Thanksgiving classic. Indian pudding is a baked custard with milk, butter, molasses, eggs, spices, and cornmeal. The name is likely derived from the cornmeal, which was known as indian meal way back when. Here is a tried-and-true recipe for indian pudding adapted from An Olde Concord Christmas, a long out-of-print book from the Concord Museum.

Indian Pudding Recipe

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Cook time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
• Yield: Serves 8-10

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Ingredients

• 6 cups of milk
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1 cup golden raisins (optional)
• Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Method

1 Scald the milk and butter in a large double boiler. Or heat the milk and butter for 5 or 6 minutes on high heat in the microwave, until it is boiling, then transfer it to a pot on the stove. Keep hot on medium heat.

2 Preheat oven to 250°F.

3 In a separate bowl, mix cornmeal, flour, and salt; stir in molasses. Thin the mixture with about 1/2 cup of scalded milk, a few tablespoons at a time, then gradually add the mixture back to the large pot of scalded milk. Cook, stirring until thickened.

4 Temper the eggs by slowly adding a half cup of the hot milk cornmeal mixture to the beaten eggs, whisking constantly. Add the egg mixture back in with the hot milk cornmeal mixture, stir to combine. Stir in the sugar and spices, until smooth. At this point, if the mixture is clumpy, you can run it through a blender to smooth it out. Stir in the raisins (optional). Pour into a 2 1/2 quart shallow casserole dish. Bake for 2 hours at 250°F.

5 Allow the pudding to cool about an hour to be at its best. It should be reheated to warm temperature if it has been chilled. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

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Fourth of July Buttermilk Pie

Fourth of July, Buttermilk Pie. Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? If you’re familiar with buttermilk pie, then this is old hat for you. If not, you might be scratching your head right now wondering, eh? Buttermilk? in a pie? Let me assure you, if you’re in the unfamiliar camp, that buttermilk makes a lovely pie. A custard pie actually, and it’s quite sweet. You eat buttermilk pancakes, don’t you? Buttermilk biscuits? Buttermilk tastes great in lots of things. Last year Garrett made a buttermilk pudding that was outstanding. With this recipe, the buttermilk pie is a sweet custard pie, topped with plain whipped cream to hold the berries in place for our patriotic pie rendition. The natural tartness in the berries balances the sweet custard of the pie.

Fourth of July Buttermilk Pie Recipe

• Yield: Makes 8 serving pieces.

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Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1/4 cup butter, melted (half a stick)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust
• 1 cup cold, heavy whipping cream
• 20-30 raspberries (or half as many strawberries, halved)
• A handful of blueberries

Method

1 Preheat oven to 325°F. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, then beat in the sugar and lemon zest until well combined. Beat in the flour and melted butter. Beat in the vanilla and buttermilk.

2 Pour filling batter into an uncooked pie shell (frozen is fine). Bake at 325°F for approximately 50 minutes, or until the center of the custard has just set (can still be a little wiggly). Remove from oven and let cool. The custard may puff up a bit in the oven; it will deflate as it cools.

3 Whip the chilled cream until it holds stiff peaks. Once the pie has cooled to room temperature, spread the whipping cream over the top of the pie. Arrange the raspberries and blueberries in a decorative pattern on top of the whipping cream.

Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.

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Chocolate Fondue

Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord. ~Elise

Fondue has finally made a comeback, as most culinary fads eventually do, but this time with a bit of spark. Back in the seventies a party wasn’t groovy unless a fondue pot was rolling. Nowadays, fondue fountains and fondue restaurants are all the rage but few people seem to be doing them at home, which is a shame considering how easy (and cheap) it is. Fondue gatherings are also a great chance to be interactive at the table and even those who don’t cook can enjoy the simple play of dipping and eating.

Chocolate fondue in particular is laughably simple. Melted chocolate becomes the base for infinite varieties of dippables. Plus the chocolate can easily be flavored to perk the senses and create astounding flavors and variety. While great for a party, chocolate fondue is also the perfect way to end a romantic meal at home. The set up can be done way in advanced and the only thing you have to do later is turn on a little flame to get your own flame burning.

Using a fondue pot isn’t mandatory, but it does make it easier and adds a certain sense of class. If you are using a regular pot, once the chocolate is melted put an oven mitt down on the table and place the pot on top and begin to dip. The chocolate may cool rather quickly if it is in a regular pot. However if you are using a fondue pot, with a little flame underneath it, the chocolate will keep nice and warm, and melted much longer.

As for what to dip feel free to pick and choose; many people enjoy baked goods such as brownies, pound cake, marshmallows, and the ever lovely ladyfinger. Fresh fruit such as strawberries, pears, or bananas are always romantic and a bit healthier. And as always dried fruit such as apricots or large chunks of candied ginger make for a nice set-up.

Chocolate Fondue Recipe

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Ingredients

• 12 ounces of dark chocolate (chips or roughly chopped if from a block)
• 8 ounces of heavy cream
• A pinch of salt
• Dippables such as strawberries, banana pieces cut into 1-inch chunks, dried appricots, candied ginger, apple pieces

Method

1 Warm the cream over moderate heat until tiny bubbles show and begins to lightly and slowly boil. Add the chocolate and whisk until smooth and full incorporated.

2 Immediately transfer to a fondue pot heated at low or with a low flame, or serve straight from the pot.

3 Arrange the dippables on a platter or plates around the chocolate pot. Use a fondue fork, bamboo skewer, seafood fork, or salad fork to dip the fruit pieces and other dippables into the hot melted cream chocolate mixture. Eat immediately.

If the fondue begins to feel a little stiff, add a tablespoon of heavy cream and stir. It will help it go a little longer. Eventually, it will cook down though and you may need to start a new pot.

Variations

Add a tablespoon or two of Bailey's Irish Cream to the chocolate. Other liquors such as Grand Marnier, Amaretto, or Kirsch are equally yummy.

Add a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and ancho chili pepper for a nice Mexican Chocolate.

The contents of a vanilla pod or some vanilla extract are always a decadent touch to chocolate.

A good pinch of espresso powder can do wonders!

Orange zest or grapefruit zest is nice way to create a slightly fruity chocolate.

A few tablespoons of Torani flavoring syrups (the kind used for coffee or Italian sodas) can add a nice dimension of flavor as well.

White chocolate is always a nice change, and spiked with a little liquor or citrus zest becomes heavenly.

Steeping the cream for an hour beforehand and while heating it can add a nice subtle flavor, lemongrass for white chocolate or a bag of Earl Grey tea for dark chocolate are particularly stylish and contemporary.

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Bread Pudding

Resurrected from the archives for Mardi Gras. Best bread pudding ever! No substitute for alcohol in the bourbon sauce, definitely NOT kid-friendly. This one is for the grown-ups. Originally posted 2005. ~Elise

This bread pudding recipe is based on one from the famed Bon Ton Cafe in New Orleans. My friend Becca has been making this bread pudding in her family for years and made us a batch for the holidays. The sauce is loaded with bourbon (Becca says the Bon Ton’s sauce has even more bourbon in it), so you might want to use somewhat less. My father still gets a dazed and happy look in his eyes when this bread pudding is mentioned.

Bread Pudding Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 1 hour
• Yield: Makes 8-10 servings

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Ingredients

Bread Pudding:

• 1 loaf French bread, at least a day old, cut into 1-inch squares (about 6-7 cups)
• 1 qt milk
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup raisins (soaked an hour or two in 1/4 cup bourbon)
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Bourbon Sauce:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup Kentucky bourbon whiskey

Method

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Place milk in a large mixing bowl and add the bread that has been cut into squares. Press the bread into the milk with your hands until all of the milk is absorbed.

2 In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, then whisk in the sugar, vanilla, allspice and cinnamon. Pour over the bread and milk mixture. Add the bourbon soaked raisins and gently stir to combine.

3 Pour the melted butter into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan. Coat the bottom and the sides of the pan well with the butter. Pour the bread milk and egg mixture into the baking pan. Bake at 350°F for 35-45 minutes, until the liquid has set. The pudding is done when the edges start getting a bit brown and pull away from the edge of the pan. Can also make in individual ramekins.

4 While the bread pudding is cooking, make the bourbon sauce. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan on low heat. Add the sugar and egg and whisk to blend well. Slowly cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, then remove from heat. Do not allow the mixture to simmer! (Or the sauce will curdle. By the way, if your sauce curdles, just take it off the heat and blend it smooth in a blender.) Whisk in bourbon to taste. Whisk again before serving. The sauce should be soft, creamy, and smooth.

Serve the bread pudding with bourbon whiskey sauce on the side; pour on to taste. Best fresh and eaten the day it is made.

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Lime Mango Sorbet

Lime, mango, sugar, a dash of tequila. These ingredients are just destined to be together in a sorbet. Unlike lemon sorbet which can be quite tart, this lime mango sorbet has the smoothing influence of the mango. The addition of tequila not only adds a hint of margarita to the flavors, but helps keep the sorbet from getting icy.

Lime Mango Sorbet Recipe

• Yield: Makes almost 1 quart.

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Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• Zest from one lime
• 3 ripe mangos (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• Pinch salt
• 3 Tbsp tequila

Method

1 Heat the sugar, water, and lime zest in a medium saucepan until the sugar has completely dissolved. Set aside to cool.

2 Cut the flesh from the mangoes (see How to Cut a Mango).

3 Put the mango pieces, sugar water, lime juice, and salt into a blender. Blend until completely smooth. Pour into a medium bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until completely chilled.

4 When ready to put the chilled lime mango purée into your ice cream maker, mix in the tequila. Process the mixture in your ice cream maker (Amazon sells a good one) according to the ice cream maker directions. Transfer mixture to a plastic storage container and freezer in your freezer until firm, at least 6 hours.

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Blueberry Cake

We made this lovely gâteau a few days ago with some fresh blueberries now in season. Although the cake was delicious, I’m beginning to think that fresh blueberries are best eaten fresh. If we can’t tell the difference after cooking between fresh or frozen blueberries, we may as well use frozen for baked goods. Trader Joe’s sells good quality frozen blueberries, and for less than what you will pay for fresh, even in season.

Blueberry Cake Recipe

• Yield: Serves 6.

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Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour plus 1 teaspoon of flour (plus more for prepping cake pan)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups blueberries, rinsed and drained (if using frozen blueberries, thaw and drain first)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Method

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan and dust with flour. Or use a 9-inch round cake pan, butter and dust with flour and line the bottom with parchment paper.

2 Combine 1 cup of flour with baking powder and salt and set aside.

3 Using a mixer, beat the butter on medium high speed for 2 minutes. Then add the sugar and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, a couple minutes more. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until well blended. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and slowly add the flour mixture, beating until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.

4 Combine the berries with the remaining teaspoon of flour and the lemon juice in a bowl. Spoon the berry mixture over the batter.

5 Bake on middle rack in oven for 1 hour at 350°F, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully slide a thin knife around the edges of the cake to release it from the pan. Transfer the cake to a platter, berry side up. Dust the cake with powdered sugar before serving.

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Chocolate Ice Cream

My young friend Audrey and I have many things in common. We both like to dress up with pretty aprons. We are both excruciatingly accurate with water guns in a swimming pool. We would both rather read a book than do anything too physically strenuous (water fights excepted). And we both have a serious love for rich chocolate desserts and pretty much any homemade ice cream. So when Audrey (age almost 15) suggested that we make chocolate ice cream, I was all over it. The credit for this recipe goes to Audrey, who has been making it for her family with great results. My own meager contributions were to include some salt and instant coffee (both intensify the chocolate taste), and vanilla to help deepen the overall flavor of the ice cream. The ice cream is rich, creamy, smooth, and super chocolate-y.

Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

• Prep time: 3 hours
• Yield: Makes about 1 1/2 quarts.

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Ingredients

• 4 oz 60% baking chocolate
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2-cup sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups cream
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon instant coffee (optional)
• 3 egg yolks, whisked
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1 Melt chocolate in a double boiler (you can use a makeshift double boiler by placing a metal bowl over a small saucepan of boiling water, just don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water). When melted, transfer to a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, turn heat to medium low and add the boiling water, cocoa powder and half of the sugar. Whisk vigorously until there are no lumps. Remove from heat.

2 Add the milk, 1 cup of the cream, remaining sugar, instant coffee (if using), and the salt to the chocolate base, and whisk vigorously until fully incorporated, then use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan. When the chocolate base is smooth, turn heat to medium high, stirring occasionally, wait until the base starts to steam. Whisk the egg yolks in a medium sized bowl. Once the chocolate base has heated to point of being steamy, temper the eggs by slowly pouring some of the hot base into the eggs while whisking the eggs vigorously to prevent them from cooking. Once you've incorporated about half of the base with the eggs, pour the egg mixture back into the pan with the rest of the chocolate base and stir to combine.

3 Turn heat to medium, and heat the base until it reaches 170°F. At this point the base will have thickened slightly and will just be getting steamy again. Remove from heat. Stir in the remaining cup of cold cream, to prevent further cooking. Pour the chocolate base through a mesh strainer in to a bowl to strain out any solids or curds, and place bowl in an ice bath to speed up the chilling. Stir in the vanilla.

4 Chill ice cream base for several hours, preferably overnight, until completely chilled. (To speed up this process you can put the ice cream base, still in its bowl in the ice bath, in the freezer for an hour, stirring every 20 minutes.) Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. If you like soft ice cream, eat immediately. Otherwise put it in the freezer for a couple hours to firm up. Note that the ice cream may be quite hard when you first take it out of the freezer, so you may want to let it sit for a few minutes to soften before trying to scoop.

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