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No brainer desserts. Genius.

 

The first dinner party I ever hosted was last year for the Easter holiday. Similar to Thanksgiving, Easter is a holiday that many New Yorkers are somewhat orphaned. I don't come from a religious family, but we always had an Easter supper, and I think many of my friends had the same experience growing up.

However, airline tickets are expensive and Easter doesn't really qualify as a must as far a traveling home is concerned. Granted, I'm pretty certain my mom would have an amazing Easter basket waiting for me if I did come home, but American Airlines doesn't seem to want to get on board with my travel budget.

So, for Easter last year I went all out. I rented a long banquet table, nice china and made sure it was a table setting fit for only the fanciest diners in Soho that evening. Then it came down to the food.

I ordered a spiral cut ham from a local butcher, and the rest of the meal was sort of ad-libbed. I bought some canned veggies to heat up right before dinner, which I now think is lame, but frankly, my kitchen confidence as far as main meals go wasn't quite up to speed at that time. The fact that I did bake the lemon tart I served for dessert redeems me a little bit, at least in my mind. The one lesson I took away from the experience is that dinner parties are serious business and pre-planning is a must. Even though I planned, I spent more time in the kitchen than mingling with my guests.

Since then, I've been thinking of other desserts that require very little kitchen time, allowing one to spend more time with guests instead of hovering over the stove. And now, I think I've found a perfect recipe that requires minimal attention but produces beautiful results: Apple Cider Poached Pears with Vanilla Ice Cream.

I wrote about this dessert over at Examiner.com where I serve as the Brooklyn Dessert Examiner. As I noted in the previous article, the use of apple cider, not apple juice, is important to note before getting started. Most farmer's markets carry high-quality apple cider, and believe me - it's worth seeking out.

Secondly, vanilla ice cream is a great accompaniment to this recipe, and Brooklyn’s own Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream in Vanilla is recommended.

Apple Cider Poached Pears with Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients:
4 c. of apple cider (NOT apple juice)
1 cinnamon stick
2 ripe pears, peeled (any variety of pears will do)
1 tbsp. cornstarch
Vanilla ice cream
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Pecans, as garnish (if desired)

In a small saucepan, pour 4 cups of apple cider and one cinnamon stick. Bring to a simmer.

Peel 2 pears, and if you prefer, halve and core. Leave stems on as this adds to the presentation and allows you to pick the pears out of the pan without damaging the fruit’s body. Place pears in apple cider, cover, and let simmer for 45 minutes. If your pears are not quite ripe, you might need to add an addition 15 to 20 minutes to poaching time.

On two small plates, sprinkle cinnamon powder for presentation. Remove pears from simmering cider by using tongs and lifting by the pears’ stems. Place pears on cinnamon-sprinkled plates. Add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to cider and cinnamon stick mixture and whisk until a minimally thick sauce forms.

Scoop out a single serving of vanilla ice cream and add next to plated pears. With a small spoon, drizzle apple cider and cinnamon sauce over pears and ice cream. If you like, sprinkle chopped walnuts over pears and cream. Now, feel free indulge in what might be the easiest winter dessert ever created.

Serves 2.

Finally, something my roommate wants to eat

 

Ironically, I live with a roommate who doesn't like sweets. Blueberry muffins? No. Quick sour cream coffee cake? Forget it. Spiced pear cake? Puh-lease. Oatmeal cookies? You must be insane. I think you get the idea.

The only real problem this poses is that the temptation for me to eat everything my baking yields is strong. Luckily, I have friends that are always down for some free baked goods, so I haven't started sporting an elastic band on my jeans (yet).

I had become used to Matt, my roommate, never touching the goods that lie under the cake dome on our kitchen table, but then something happened - cheddar, bacon, and chive biscuits came into our life and turned everything upside down.

First off, some of you are probably thinking that with the inclusion of words such as cheddar, bacon, and chives, we aren't talking about dessert. Not to get too far ahead of myself, all you need to do is add two heaping spoonfuls of honey from Tremblay Apiaries to see how this biscuit could be interpreted as a savory dessert. Also, I ate plenty of these bad boys late at night, so I consider them a dessert.

But let's move on. I whipped up this biscuit recipe after it was featured in the February issue of Bon Appetit. I made sure to time my baking to coincide right before a massive winter storm in New York City, believing that I could live off of the biscuits until I felt like putting on snow boots and trudging through the sludge that is inevitably left after a snow fall in this city.

The recipe was easy enough and I was proud of the way the biscuits came out. After they had cooled, I put them under the aforementioned cake dome and casually mentioned to my roommate that he could help himself as I walked out the front door to meet friends.

Considering that he hasn't once touched anything that I've produced from our oven, you could imagine my shock when I returned home and my roomie greeted me with,"I tried a biscuit - they're pretty good." And just imagine how shocked I was when walking into the kitchen the next morning and noticing that at least four more biscuits were missing. To say that he really liked those biscuits is an understatement.

As someone who takes great pleasure in feeding other people and seeing the look on someone's face when they bite into a particularly pleasurable treat from my kitchen, I'm glad I finally found something Matt likes to eat. I think these cheddar, bacon, and chive biscuits are going to be a regular guest in our oven from now on.

One little note before you get started. I think the quality of bacon really makes a difference in this recipe. I'm lucky enough to live near a fantastic butcher in Brooklyn - The Meat Hook. If you have a local butcher that you frequent or having been meaning to pay your first visit to their shop, I encourage you to do so. I think your biscuits will benefit greatly from something more than grocery store packaged bacon.


Cheddar, Bacon, and Chive Biscuits
from Bon Appetit

Ingredients:
6 thick-cut bacon slices
3 3/4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus melted butter for brushing
2 1/2 cups (packed) coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 12 ounces)
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
1 3/4 cups chilled buttermilk
Honey (optional)


Position rack just above center of oven and preheat to 425°F. Line heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until crisp and brown. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain, then chop coarsely.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in processor; blend 5 seconds. Add butter cubes. Blend until coarse meal forms, about 30 seconds.Transfer flour mixture to large bowl. Add cheddar cheese, fresh chives, and chopped bacon; toss to blend. Gradually add buttermilk, stirring to moisten evenly (batter will feel sticky).

Using lightly floured hands, drop generous 1/2 cup batter for each biscuit onto prepared baking sheet, spacing batter mounds about 2 inches apart.

Bake biscuits until golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Brush biscuits lightly with melted butter. Let cool 10 minutes. Serve biscuits warm or at room temperature with honey, if desired.

Makes 12 biscuits.

Sometimes you just have to bake some cookies

I've been in a baking funk lately. It's been a combination of a somewhat new (and inferior) kitchen and just lack of time, but I won't lie and say my inspiration hasn't been at a dribble too.

This past weekend, I caught a cold and couldn't go out for Halloween. I was bummed as a good friend of mine was throwing her annual Halloween party, and instead of having a great time with friends and dressing up as a Day of the Dead doll, I was lying on the couch watching So I Married an Axe Murderer and wondering what my life would have been like if I had been my age now in 1993 and when exactly Mike Meyers became NOT funny.

After I wrapped up Axe Murderer, I found myself bored. I wasn't tired as I had been sleeping all day. I didn't feel like getting online and playing around on Facebook, so I was left with few options. I went into the kitchen and began what has become my routine the past two months - opening the fridge with the brief hope that somehow it has filled itself magically with ingredients so I could whip up a sweet feast. What did I have? Two onions, half a stick of unsalted butter and black truffle butter. A feast I did not have.

Before meandering back into my bedroom, I remembered the peanut butter and jelly I had bought a couple of weeks earlier. I had bought these household mainstays with the idea of making a cookie recipe I had seen in Martha Stewart Living. I was craving some sweets, so making these comfort cookies became my mission for the night.


To call this recipe a "mission" is a bit dramatic. Time-wise, these bad boys took me less than an hour to make, and that includes bake time.

Even though I'm still getting over this cold, I have to believe that the chicken noodle soup and PB&J cookie combo is what's really speeding along the healing process.


Peanut Butter & Jelly Thumbprint Cookies
Makes 40

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup raspberry jam

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat peanut butter and butter with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add sugars, and beat until pale and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, and beat until incorporated. Reduce speed to low. Add dry ingredients, and mix until combined.

Scoop level tablespoons of dough, and form into balls. Roll each ball in granulated sugar, and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart.
Bake until cookies are puffy, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and make indentations in centers by pressing with the handle end of a wooden spoon. Return to oven, and bake until edges are golden, 6 to 7 minutes more. Transfer sheets to wire racks, and let cool completely.

Heat jam in a small saucepan, stirring, until loosened, about 30 seconds. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon into each indentation. Cookies can be stored in a single layer for up to 1 week.

The citrus zing that freshens your breath all day

The fact that I have a lemon tartlette in my blog header should be a good indication that I enjoy lemon desserts. If lemon is part of the description when it comes to any tart, pie, bar, cupcake, or pudding, chances are I will eat it.

The main reason I love lemon desserts is that a lemon tart was what I would consider the first fancy-ish dessert I ever successfully made. Up until the lemon tart, I was pretty much sticking to basic recipes like fudge and brownies. However, the day I whipped up a lemon tart for the time, I felt accomplished, like I found something I was actually quite good at. Since that fateful day in my kitchen, lemons represent my love for baking and pastry. I guess the old saying of "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade" applies here. If I hadn't been laid off from my job, I never would have started this blog which eventually led me to the bounty that are lemon desserts.

There are two other reasons I love lemon desserts. The first reason is obviously taste. I find that with lemon dishes, especially bars and tarts, the pop of citrus flavor stays in your mouth all day. I find that to be the sign of a good dessert - if hours later, you can still taste the main flavor. I find nothing more satisfying than hours after eating a lemon bar, I can still taste it on the roof of my mouth. The only problem with this is that it leaves me wanting more. I've been known to eat entire lemon tarts in less than two days. But hey - I'm a dessert blogger. The way I see it, I'm supposed to eat loads of dessert as it's part of the job description.

The second reason I love lemony desserts is the aesthetic appeal. In my almost 28 years, I've never seen an ugly lemon dessert. The taste might be horrible and intestine twisting at times, but damn if lemon goodies don't present themselves well.

This year, I've become a devote user of the Baking Unplugged cookbook. I won't go into my usual speech of how it's probably one of the greatest baking cookbooks ever written as I typically do when the book comes up in this blog. But trust me - it's one of the greatest baking cookbooks ever written. So, after trying out the recipe for cream scones and having a successful result, I ventured further into the book. What did I find? Lemon squares. Delicious, yummy, easy-to-make lemon squares.

Prior to this baking endeavor, I had never made my own lemon squares, and my experience with this particular baked good has been a mixed bag. I've eaten some decent lemon squares at bakeries and coffee shops in my time. Last Christmas time, my sister received some Barefoot Contessa lemon square mix in her stocking, and although the results were kind of mushy (by no fault of my sister), the taste was pretty good. However, I feel that every lemon square I've eaten up until this point has lacked the zing of flavor I described earlier. The lemon squares of my past simply supplied me with enough lemon zestiness that could easily be found in most sub-par lemonade.

To my readers that have hung out with me in real life and not just on this blog, you know what one problem I have with baking is that after I try a recipe, I always say it's easy. Now I'm not a trained pastry chef, but I know I've pissed off quite a few people by referring to a recipe as easy, only to have a friend find themselves contemplating sticking their head in the oven instead of the prepared dough after spending an hour with a recipe I recommended. However, I promise you these lemon squares are simple. If you can mix ingredients together in a bowl, you can make these lemon bars.

As someone obsessed with her Scottish heritage (when I say "obsessed," I mean that i get really excited about the idea of visiting Edinburgh and I can tell the difference between Scottish, Irish, and English accents), I knew I was going to love the Baking Unplugged lemon bars when I saw the recipe called for a shortbread crust. The simple, buttery flavor of the crust provides a nice subtle background to showcase the lemon flavors. Plus, who can deny a crust with such a high butter content? It just tastes really good.


Also, as someone who loves the simplicity of a "pat in the pan" dough, the shortbread crust was ideal. After mixing the ingredients to form the dough, all one has to do is dump the dough into a 13 x 9 baking dish and mush the dough evenly along the bottom. If you have hands, you can mush. Easy peasy.

The lemon curd is second part of the recipe. After reading about my love affair with lemons earlier in this blog post, let me be clear on one thing: Although I love lemons and the desserts they produce, I absolutely loathe zesting any sort of fruit. Similar to my fear of tripping on subway stairs and knocking out my front teeth (something that has not happened to this day), I have an innate fear of accidentally zesting my hand or finger while tackling a lemon. Not only would the act of tearing flesh hurt, you get the added one-two punch of having acidic citrus juice in your wound. But, this recipe calls for zesting, so I zested. Unwillingly, mind you!

And is it just me, or is the word "curd" kind of gross? I don't know why I always envision some of grotesque nature when I hear "curd," but I'm willing to bet it's because it rhymes so easily with...well, you get the picture.


Anyway, back to the dessert. After baking, the lemon squares must sit for 1 to 2 hours. I hated this part of the recipe because after I pulled these bad boys out of the oven, I wanted to dig in. However, I witnessed the benefits of waiting. The puffiness of the baked curd subsided and I was left with beautifully yellow-hued lemon squares. Since I'm a lemon purist, I didn't bother with the suggested dusting of powdered sugar, but that's an option you might like to employ. Powdered sugar is also a great way to hide any blemishes on the squares' surface.

One last thing: Nicole Rees, author of Baking Unplugged, suggests using hazelnuts or almonds in the crust, I've eliminated them in the recipe below as I didn't use them in my final product.


Recipe for Lemon Squares (from Baking Unplugged by Nicole Rees)

Equipment:
13 x 9 Baking pan
Foil
Wooden spoon
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Whisk
Zester
Cooling rack
Juicer

Crust Ingredients:
14 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted and cooled to just warm
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 C. all-purpose flour

Lemon Curd Ingredients:
4 large eggs
1 1/4 C. sugar
3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp. salt
3/4 C. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs. grated lemon zest
Powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 13 x 9 baking pan with foil, leaving an overhanging edge for easy removal. Lightly butter the sides of foil (not the bottom) to prevent the lemon curd from sticking. In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, sugar, and salt until just combined. Add the flour and stir until dough just come together. Press the mixture evenly into the pan. Prick the dough with a fork. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (or freeze for 5 to 7 minutes), until the dough is firm.

Bake for 25-minute, until the crust begins to set but has not bun to brown at the edges (the center will not be firm yet).

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth, about 1 minute. Whisk in the lemon juice and zest. Pour the filling over the hot crust. Return the pan to oven and increase the heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 20 minutes or until the center is set and the edges are golden. The topping will no longer wiggle when the pan is moved. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 1 to 2 hours. When the bottom of the pan is cool, carefully lift the bars from the pan using the foil overhang and transfer them to a cutting board. Cut into 2" squares. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired, before serving.

This recipe yields 2 dozen lemon squares.

My first attempt at blueberry scones

* This is not a photo of one of my scones. I didn't take any photographic evidence as I had just moved into my new apartment and misplaced my camera.

I've been a fan of scones for several years, but when I say this I mean a fan of eating them, not baking them myself. But about two months ago, I started mentally cataloging every scone recipe I came across. Martha Stewart included a blueberry scone recipe in Martha Stewart Living in the June issue, and Molly Wizenberg focused on a blueberry oat scone recipe in her Bon Appetit column this year. Nicole Rees has several scone recipes in her terrific cookbook Baking Unplugged, and obviously, The Joy of Cooking gives its opinion on the subject.

However, I've always made excuses not to try my hand at scone making. Typically, when I see a recipe that calls for some sort of fancy gadgetry, such as a food processor, I have a built in excuse - I don't have the money for that kind of new fangled kitchen technology (i.e. I'm currently unemployed and scrimp by each month on unemployment checks). Luckily, almost every scone recipe I've seen calls for a food processor, so I've been let off the hook. I conveniently ignored Nicole's recipes in Baking Unplugged, which is probably my favorite cookbook at the moment because the whole premise of the book is that you don't need expensive kitchen machinery. But Martha Stewart cornered me - her blueberry scone recipe was old-fashioned. I didn't need an electrical outlet for these scones. I was trapped. The scones were getting made.

It should be noted that I like baking because of its devotion to preciseness. The measuring of ingredients is not optional - it's essential. So, I will say right now that I followed the Martha Stewart Living recipe exactly. I double-checked the quantities of every single ingredient, so I was confident that my first go at scones was going to be successful...until I saw the dough.

Once you start baking or cooking for a while, you start to develop a sense of when something has gone wrong. I could tell the second I got to the step that called for turning the dough out onto a smooth surface to gently kneed and then form into a round to then cut into wedges. This dough was gooey. This dough wasn't going to form into a nice round. This looked almost like cookie dough, but wet.

My first inclination was to add flour. I thought this would soak up some of the moisture, but I became concerned it would dry out the final product. So, I gave up the idea of making perfect scone wedges and instead lumped wads of the dough onto a baking sheet and topped with sugar. Before putting in the oven, I took a quick taste of some leftover batter - it tasted scone-y. Maybe I was still on track.

I baked for about 10 minutes longer than instructed my Martha. The scones were definitely not finished when the original baking time expired. And even when I took the baked goods out of the oven, I was still confident that they were going to be great.

But, my perfect first try at blueberry scones was not to be. I don't like crumbly, dry scones, but my finished product was too moist. They tasted like scones - actually, the flavor was quite good, but the moist texture reminded me of a muffin. A muffin with a moist scone texture. As much as I like both scones and muffins, I do not condone an incestuous relationship of the two. A few days later, after being stored under a cake dome, the scones were still moist. I'm a big enough fan of scones to know this isn't the desired effect.

I'm not quite sure where things went wrong, but my guess is the amount of buttermilk the recipe calls for. I believe it was too much. Secondly, I don't think I let the scones cool long enough on the cooling rack before I put them in the cake dome. I think this caused moisture to sink in when it at least some of it should have evaporated. But I blame the buttermilk for the root of the problem. I will not take the fall for buttermilk, my least favorite of any milk-related products.

My next plan of attack is to try out the cream scone recipe in Nicole's cookbook. I've tried out two of Nicole's recipes so far, and they have both turned out wonderful - and that isn't just praise from me, but from the people that enjoyed the fruits of her book. I'll be sure to post a recap of Scones: Round 2 soon.

The perfect tart for your summer soiree

When it comes to desserts, my philosophy is that if done properly, they become a work of art. I think the tart is a prime example of this. Even with the simplest decoration, the tart can be the most eye catching dish on one's table, the glazed sheen of the fruit acting almost like an organic chandelier.

On the same token, tarts can be intimidating as hell to make. I learned a few years ago that the biggest hurdle people must get over in their creative pursuits is fear of failure. This lesson was made clear to me while attending a floristry class in Sydney, Australia. While working on my first flower arrangement, I couldn't help but here the women surrounding me uttering "I can't do this" and "Why doesn't mine look like hers" while pointing at another student's work. It struck me as odd that these women seemed on the verge of an emotional melt down because in their minds, their interpretive flower designs weren't "right." However, I can identify. I've been in positions in the past where I've actually had bosses say "You suck at writing." Despite the lack of professionalism, my main issue was that I didn't see their name published alongside any noted pieces of literature or newspaper bylines. What made them the authority on what constituted good writing? The worst part was that my confidence in my writing abilities was greatly diminished. I'm still working on my fears of not writing well. Harsh words stick with you, but I've found the more you stick at something, the better you get. Whether you apply this motto to flower design or writing, and everything in between, I think this mantra applies.

Assembling a delicious tart is something anyone can do. My advice is start out small, which is the exact course I'm taking. And luckily for me, I found a great recipe in Martha Stewart Living to start me on my way of constructing beautiful, eye catching tarts.

In the July edition of Martha's magazine, French chef Tony Esnault is featured along with a terrific menu he put together for a family meal. Obviously, I skipped right to the end where Chef Esnault chose a strawberry tart with cream as the dessert of choice. At first, the words "glaze" threw me for a loop. How do you make a glaze? I can't do this! I give up!

The idea of this dessert stuck with me for a few days. I prefer to make "pat-in-the-pan" crusts because I find them easier to manage (The Joy of Cooking has a great recipe) or I'm sure a store bought crust would work just as well. If I could make the crust, which is something most people find to be the most difficult part of baking, why couldn't I make the filling? I reminded myself that baking is not rocket science and picked up the magazine again.

In the end, it was the photo of the dessert that brought me back to the recipe. It was simple - an arrangement of shiny strawberries. Why would I be afraid of that? Strawberries won't keep me down!

Then I learned Chef Esnault's tip to making a delicious tart filling AND glaze. All you need are two jars of strawberry preserves. You simply heat up the preserves on the stove and when the preserves have loosened, you strain them through a fine sieve. Whatever is left in the sieve (the solids) goes into the tart crust. After you arrange the strawberries in the tart filling, you take the glaze that was strained through the sieve (the liquids) and brush it onto the strawberries. Voilà! The perfect summer time dessert!

For the recipe below, I've used the crust that Chef Esnault recommends, but as mentioned, feel free to get creative with this aspect of the dish.

Strawberry Tart with Cream by Chef Tony Esnault

Makes 2 tarts
Serves 8

Ingredients:
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting (optional)
2 large egg yolks, plus 1 large egg, lightly beaten, for egg wash
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 pints (6 cups) strawberries, hulled
3 cups strawberry preserves (two 12-ounce jars)
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:
Cream butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy. Add yolks, and beat until just incorporated. Add flour and salt, and beat until just incorporated. Shape dough into 2 disks, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour (or up to 3 days).
Roll out each disk into an 11-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Fit each round into the bottoms and up the sides of a 9-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Prick the bottoms of dough with a fork, and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush crusts with egg wash. Bake, pressing down crusts if they start to bubble, until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely, and remove from pans.

Trim strawberries to about the same height. Heat preserves in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until loose. Strain through a fine sieve. You will have about 1 cup of solids. Spread 1/2 cup solids over bottom of each tart. Arrange strawberries in a single layer over the top, placing cut sides down. Brush strawberries with just enough warm glaze to make berries shiny. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

Beat cream with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar just until thickened. Cut each tart into quarters, and serve slices topped with whipped cream.

Helpful Hint:
If you prefer to make one tart, this recipe can be halved.