Experiments and Temptations

The first is applesauce.  My sister had been getting lots and lots of apples from her in-laws.  I really don’t actually know why.  She just was.  My guess was that they had an apple tree.  These were obviously that kind of apples, not store apples.  Whatever the reason, she had an overabundance and was sharing.  Therefore, I came home from her house with a bag full.  What to do, what to do?  I had already made a pie, and was (secretly at the time) planning one for Charlie’s surprise birthday party, so that couldn’t be it.  So I figured I should make applesauce.  I looked up recipes, but they were futzy and boring and really, it can’t be that hard, right?  So I made it up myself.  Turned out pretty darn well, if I do say so myself.  And I do.

Here goes!

10 small-medium golden delicious and Macintosh apples (I’m sure any variety would be fine, that’s just what I had)

1/3 cup pineapple juice

1/3 cup apple juice

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves (I’d originally done 1/4 ground and 1/4 whole…if you do that, remove the cloves after cooking or you’ll get a nasty surprise when eating the applesauce.  Yes, I am speaking from experience.)

1/2 tsp allspice

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cardamom

Throw it all in a pot, turn on the heat and wait till the apples begin to disintegrate.  Start mashing them when they’re mashable and stop heating and mashing when they’re at your desired consistency.

Then, on Friday, an old lady at church called and then came over with a bag full of pears. Like 20-25 ripe pears. Well, Pastor’s got a wife and 4 kids, so I figured they could make use of a lot of them…but for Charlie and I, I took 6. They’re pears, I’m sure I can find a use for them. Well, then I thought I’d check to see what I could make with them. I have a torte I’m just itching to make, but first I did a bread pudding. A Caramelized Pear Bread Pudding. It was pretty good. But that was Friday. We had some today when our friend Kevin came over after church. It was really good today. Who’d have thought?

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/caramelized_pear_bread_pudding.html (Oh, and I skipped the lemon juice and zest because I didn’t have one, and the raisins or currants because I didn’t have them either.)

So, last weekend we were going to Tim, Jess and Jonathan’s house for dinner. Jess was going to ask me to bring a salad or dessert, but then kindly excused me after I had an awful trip to Pick ‘n Save. It was very nice of her, but you can’t go to dinner at someone’s house and not bring something, so I decided to bring dessert. Jess was also a history person in college, so I thought she’s appreciate the historical “significance” of our dessert. Lately my challenge in all cooking is to make something special and delicious with very few ingredients. So, the two choices I found were Mrs. Nixon’s Florida Lime Pie and the Ford Family’s Lemon Sponge Pudding. I LOVE sour. I LOVE lemon and lime. So these two were hight on my list. For no particular reason, I chose the lime pie.

It was delicious. Jess can vouch, as can Charlie…and Wendy, Matt, Borck, Gary and Wendy and Myrriah’s Grandma and Grandpa. We visited them too…

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 package (1/4 oz) unflavored gelatin

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup lime juice

4 egg yolks

1 tsp grated lime rind

4 egg whites, at room temperature

1 fully baked 9 inch pie crust (I used half the recipe from the Joy of Cooking, which I think you’ll find in another blog entry)

Sweet whipped cream (I just pour heavy whipping cream in a bowl until it looks good, beat it for a while, add some powdered sugar, beat it, taste it, add some more, etc until it tastes good. Then I add a little vanilla. I don’t like my whipped cream super sweet.)

Method

In the top of a double boiler (or in a small pot resting inside a small frying pan full of water as I had to do), combine 1/2 cup sugar with the salt, gelatin and water.

In a small bowl, combine the lime juice with the egg yolks; stir into the gelatin mixture int he double boiler, using a wire whisk.

Cook for about 7 minutes, or until gelatin dissolves and mixture thickens.

Remove from heat and stir in lime rind.

Place pan in a bowl of ice water, stirring occasionally as mixture cools.

In a large clean, dry bowl, beat egg whites until stiff; gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, beating constantly. (I didn’t read the amounts of sugar and so added them all in the double boiler and none here. It didn’t seem to make a difference.)

Fold cooled lime mixture into stiff egg whites, using a plastic spatula.

Turn into prebaked pie shell and refrigerate for several hours, or until set. Cover pie with sweet whipped cream and keep refrigerated until serving time.

Published in: Haller, Henry and Virginia Aronson. The White House Family Cookbook: Two Decades of Recipes, a Dash of Reminiscence, and a Pinch of History from America’s Most Famous Kitchen. (New York: Random House, 1987.) 115-116.

Here’s the link to the recipe: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/health/nutrition/10recipehealth.html

Spiced Brioche French Toast with Maple Pears

Ingredients

1/2 cup milk

3 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/8 tsp salt

4 (1/2 inch) slices day-old brioche loaf or challah (I used brioche)

Maple Pears (see recipe below)

Maple Syrup for serving (totally did NOT need this)

Method

To make French toast, whisk milk, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice and salt together in a shallow bowl. Dip bread into egg mixture, one slice at a time, letting it sit a minute or two on each side to soak up liquid.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Coat with vegetable oil spray (I just used a little butter). Add bread. Cook 2-3 minutes per side, or until bread is golden brown and firm at the center.

While French toast is cooking, prepare maple pears.

To serve, divide French toast between 2 plates. Top each with half the maple pears. Pass extra syrup on the side if desired.

Maple Pears

Ingredients

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground allspice

pinch of salt

2 ripe Bosc pears, peeled and thinly sliced

2 tbsp maple syrup

Method

Melt butter in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add cinnamon, allspice and salt. Stir. Add pear slices. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pears begin to brown, about 3 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons maple syrup. Reduce heat. Simmer 1 minute.