Sunday, October 29, 2006

Apples…Buckles, Crumbles and Cast Iron Pans..

 

For the last few weeks, we have been getting a produce delivery, which in it self will be a separate blog entry. In these deliveries, we get a bountiful supply of seasonal fruits and veggies that we live off of all week, until the next batch arrives. Lately, we have been getting apples, a fruit that I like just fine, but love even more, when it is baked into a crisp, crumble or pie. For some reason, I have never been a raw apple eating person. I think it is because my teeth are so damn sensitive, that it hurts sometimes, biting into and chewing an apple, especially if it is cold and tart.
(the thought even makes my teeth hurt)
When we received some Granny Smith’s, the Mother of all tart apples, in our bin this week, I decided that something needed to be done to remedy this dire situation.

SO, I looked in one of my favorite basic baking books for some inspiration. As I was looking, I came across an interesting section on comfort desserts. I imagine that you have heard of a cobbler, a crumble and a crisp? Well, do you know the difference between them? Did you know that there are desserts out there with the names of Slumps, Grunts and Buckles? How about the Pandowdy?

Who names a dessert, the Pandowdy?

Here is the run down…

A Crumble topping contains oatmeal, Crisp toppings do not.

A Buckle is basically a streusel topped fruity coffeecake. The name comes from the action of the cake batter as it bakes, buckling and rising around and above the sinking fruit, to create a craggy surface.

A Grunt and A Slump is basically the same thing. Fruit cooked in a cast iron pan with spoonfuls of biscuit dough atop. The name Grunt comes from the sound the concoction makes as the fruit cooks and the bubbles make their way up through the biscuit topping..then, once served, the dessert Slumps on the plate in a heap of sweet juicy goodness.

A Cobbler is fruit baked under a blanket of crust or cake batter. The name supposedly comes from the phrase, to Cobble, which means to put together roughly. This could mean the way the batter/dough is layered over the fruit, or the fact that the dessert can be thrown together in a hurry?

And, my favoritely named, the Pandowdy, is a combination of pie and pudding. A fruit based filling is baked in a casserole dish covered with a pie crust on the bottom and top. After baking the top crust is “dowdied” or broken up so that the parts of it are immersed in the filling, soaking up the liquid of the fruit. This leaves you with a pudding like dessert.

Hmm, now, for MY dessert.

I am further inspired by the fact that we received a cast iron pan for our wedding. (thanks AbbyKens!) and that we also received a Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook, written by my first employer, Julie Hearne. (thanks Carolyn!) I owe Julie many thanks for being the first to introduce me to the great world of food and cooking, as a profession. She was the first to take me, freshly out of college and very green, under her wing. SO, I felt it my duty to support her by buying her book…or, well, registering for it, and hoping that we would get it..

SO, you might see where I am going with this.

I have some very tart Granny Smiths, a new, partially seasoned Cast Iron Skillet, and inspiration from two great cookbooks…

Today, I will be making an Apple Grunt/Slump, or maybe I should call it..

Grump,

Apple Grump.

 

 

After making and consuming the Grump, I have come to the conclsion that it is almost identical to a shortcake. It was good and tasty, but I do think that it seemed a little naked without that scoop of Pumpkin Gelato... Posted by Picasa
The I love Squash Chronicles, part 2..


 

Sunday Dinner:
Roasted Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup with Toasted
Macrina's Vollkorn Bread..

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Monday, October 23, 2006

Squash.

 


Most anyone that knows me, knows that I am a huge fan of winter squash…and, if you didn’t, well, there you go.

I love squash.

I love everything about it, from the cucumber like smell when you cut it open, to the beautifully colored flesh and the decorative bumps, knots and stripes.. And, don’t even get me started on those seeds.

Damn, I love those seeds.

You might have guessed then, that I love to carve Pumpkins as well?
You guessed right. I am not a huge Halloween fan…but, I will always carve a pumpkin…and usually buy a bag of candy…

In my younger years, when I used to carve out the pieces of pumpkin that made the hollowed out eyes, nose, and mouth.. I would salt them and then eat them.
Yes, I would eat them raw.

Then, of course, I would roast the seeds.

In College, one of my staple meals, when I wasn’t eating what I dubbed, ‘sh*t in a burrito’ (which was basically black beans, tomatoes, cheese, and rice in a tortilla)…most likely, you could find me eating squash. Not raw, this time, but roasted with a pat of butter, a little salt and a lot of brown sugar. Usually, it was Butternut or Acorn. But, I did live on the edge at times and branch out for a Delicata.

Not all of my cooking ventures with Squash have been so delightful. Carrie, just last week as we carved pumpkins, reminded me of the time when I had this glorious idea of making squash soup, baked in a pumpkin. The scary part wasn’t necessarily the hollowing out and baking of a pumpkin, with soup inside, it was the fact that, when I found that I didn’t have the horseradish the recipe called for, I decided to use equal parts of Wasabi instead..

hmm, It is in the horseradish family, right?

If nothing else, the soup cleared our sinuses, and poor Carrie was such a sport, telling me as she practically gagged and beads of sweat formed on her upper lip, that the soup really wasn’t TOO bad. (what a good friend!)

..As we venture into the thick of Winter Squash season, be on the lookout for more Squash related posts…I plan to turn it into everything from bread, to pie to…you guessed it….gelato… Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Gelato.
 

I have a hard time pinpointing my all time favorite baking activities, but lately, I think that making Gelato is a front runner.I am not sure if it is just my love of ice cream in general, or the challenge of making each gelato, even better than the last.

Last week, a gelato of mine was dubbed ‘sensual’ by a food reviewer, which brought a smile to my face. I mean, who knew, that gelato had a sensual side?

I am not sure that I did.
It certainly can be sweet, and at times smooth as silk…but, sensual?

Hmm, give me that spoon, let me try it again….

I love making it, because most anything can be made into gelato. I find it a fun challenge at times, to use up things no longer suitable for dessert…

hmm, lets see what we have in here...
…….
Those ‘not so fresh’ mint leaves sitting idle in the fridge, since before I left for my wedding..

Nutty brittle that has fallen victim to humidity..

A piece or two smooshed cheesecake from last nights special..

Almost burnt hazelnuts forgotten in the oven by the busy line cooks..(believe it or not, they give great flavor steeped in cream)

Left over chocolate frosting from that special birthday cake for 2..

and, wouldn’t you know..todays featured gelato is being made with a milk caramel that I used as a filling for a previous post?

who would have thought that cleaning out the fridge could yield such sensual results?

I didn’t, until now.



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Sunday, October 01, 2006

Breakfast is Served.

 


One of my favorite things ever is granola and yogurt. I eat it all the time, as my breakfast. Only occasionally, do I tire of it..and when I do, toast and peanut butter briefly take center stage..

When we were traveling, I had the extreme pleasure of tasting some really great yogurts, especially in Switzerland and in Greece. In Switzerland, they had some very unique flavors, all of which I had to try at least once. One of my favorites was Birchermuesli, yogurt mixed with muesli. So you can imagine, that granola was hard to find here. Instead, I had my Muesli.

In Greece, I needed not to search for granola, because the yogurt was so amazing and thick, that all I needed to complete the meal was some orange marmalade, or a drizzle of thick amber honey. It was heavenly, and I find myself in search always, for that thick, thick ‘may-be-mistaken-for-sourcream’..yogurt. (Trader Joes now carries it!)

We live close to Whole Foods, which is a blessing and a curse all at the same time. I love it, love it, love it….but only until I breeze through the check out line. I am always amazed at how much I spend here, (isnt it dubbed ‘Whole Funds’ or something?) It sometimes makes me a little angry, but as an addict, I keep going back, because it is here that the most beautiful produce lives, it is here that a salt bar exists, and it is here that provides me dinner on most nights from its prepared food section, when I am just not feeling like cooking. I could go on about the Whole Foods experience, because each time I go, the experience lasts at least an hour.

So, I am not surprised in the least to see an amazing aisle of granolas, all handmade and local, of course. Only 10$ for an ounce or something ungodly like that. Funny thing is that I am always tempted by things like this, and usually here, I give in to all these tasty temptations, but not when it comes to something like granola? I mean the packaging is all cute, and the product boosts to be all natural and organic with flax seeds and clusters of goodness and this and that, but then you turn the package around and see just how much fat is added. And, fat tastes good. But, there is usually a lot of it…

So, I got fed up, here in the aisle ‘o’ cereal, and decided to conquer this one myself, damnit!

So I did.

Vanilla, Cranberry and Almond Granola

4 cups old fashioned oats ( I used a rye-barley-oat-wheat hot cereal from Trader Joes and it worked well)
1 c rough chopped almonds
½ c brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Toss the above mixture together and set aside..

2 Tablespoons Canola Oil (I cut back on the oil from the original recipe, which said to use 1/3 cup)
1/3 cup honey
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract

Heat the above ingredients and pour over the dry ingredients. Spread in a baking dish..13x9x2 worked well…and bake at 300 for 30 minutes, stirring the mixture every 10 minutes. At 25 minutes, mix in the cranberries…

1 cup dried cranberries


*because of the lower oil content, this recipe doesn't have as many clusters of goodness, but it is still pretty darn good! Posted by Picasa