Category Archives: Fruits

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I really wish I had a magic wand that would easily change things!. Hmmm guess that’s too much to ask for. All I need is some energy to charge me up. I just recovered from Bronchitis and now little “A” is down with cold and fever. Poor thing is so tired and wants me next to her always. Having a sick child at home can be overwhelming at times.

It has been a crazy week so far. Cooking/Baking relieves my stress as always. More often than not, my way of taking a break is to Bake:). As weird as it sounds,it totally works for me.I’ve been wanting to blog but had nothing concrete in my mind. There were some Pears and Bing cherries that needed attention. And I started with the Pear before they see off their better days. I had to decide between Clafoutis or Croustade. As a family we love anything crunchy and obviously the Croustade became the automatic choice. I did mention about the difference between a Croustade,Crumble and cobbler in my post.

I believe “king of dates” and “diamond of dates” are two nicknames for the medjool date. The dates are paired with pears and spices in a rustic, comforting dessert with an exotic flare.

PEAR AND MEDJOOL DATES CROUSTADE

Crust Ingredients:

1 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar( the recipe calls for powdered sugar)
1/3 cup cornmeal
10 tablespoons cold butter( cut into cubes)
1 chilled large egg,divided

Filling:

3 large Anjou Pears, peeled,cored each cut into 8 wedges
3 tablespoon sugar
1 tablsepoon all purpose flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
7 large medjool dates, pitted and torn into strips
1 ½ teaspoon turbinado sugar

CRUST: Blend flour,sugar,cornmeal and salt in a processor. Add butter,using on/off turns process until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add all but 2 tablespoon of butter( reserved for glaze),using on/offs turns,process until moist clumps form. Gather dough into a ball,flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

FILLING: Preheat oven to 375F. Toss pear wedges with sugar,flour,cinnamon and ginger in a large bowl.Roll out the disc in between two parchment which is lightly floured to form a 14 inch round.Slide crust into a baking sheet,remove the top layer of parchment. Arrange 2/3 of pear mixture over crust,leaving about 2 inch plain border. Arrange date strips amongst pears. Top with remaining pear slices. Using parchment as aid,fold edges of crust up over pear mixture,creating border. Brush crust edge with some of remaining egg and sprinkle crust with raw sugar.

Bake until crust is golden brown and filling bubbles thickly in center,about 45 minutes to an hour. Cool until warm.

The filling was a little too sweet for me. The dates added to the extra sweet I guess. I would probably reduce the sugar by half the next time.

The crust was just perfect and the pear and dates paired together very well.

Nina
Bon Appetit!

Note: The above recipe was adapted from Bon Apetit Desserts by Barbara Fairchild

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To identify subtle difference between two seemingly similar things is an art in itself. Especially in food,there could be so many dishes with similar ingredients,texture,appearance yet there is a difference. Should I say subtle? While I try experimenting different cuisines on my guinea pig( read Husband)how I wish he knew what exactly I made or intended to make. For instance,he thinks a Flan,Mousse and Panna Cotta are all same. A Crisp,Crumble and Cobbler are the same…duh!

Just for information - A CRISP like its name has a crispy texture when baked,something like a streusel topping.A CRUMBLE is something like a crisp,mostly made with oats topping. A COBBLER has a biscuit like topping, looks like cobblestones. On the same lines,a CROUSTADE means “Crust” or “Pie Crust” also a shell with some filling. I had some fresh Pears and decided to bake a Peach Croustade. I have always used fresh fruits as filling but this time I decided to roast them first. This dessert is fully rich with flavors,the crunchiness of almonds in each bite is sinful.

HONEY-ROASTED PEACH CROUSTADE WITH ALMONDS.

Ingredients:

Peaches:
2-3 large Pears ( unpeeled,quartered and pitted)
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Crust:
2/3 cup slivered almonds
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons chilled butter(cut into cubes)
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons honey

Peaches : Preheat oven at 400F. Line a baking tray with foil and place the peaches with the skin side down on the foil. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle brown sugar. Roast the peaches until just tender and beginning to brown, about 20 minutes. Turn the peaches and continue roasting until fruit is very tender and honey begins to turn dark brown on the edges of the pan,about 12 minutes longer.Cool for a while.

Crust : Using on/off turns coarsely chop the almonds in a processor. Set aside. Blend flour,sugar and salt in the processor. Add butter and process until it resembles coarse meal.Drop egg yolk through feed tube;using on/offs turn,blend just until moist clumps form. Gather the dough into a ball;flatten into disk.Wrap in plastic and freeze for 30 minutes.

Do Ahead : Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes to soften slightly before rolling out.

Preheat oven at 375F. Roll out dough disk between 2 floured sheets of parchment paper to 10-inch rounds,sprinkling with additional flour as necessary. Remove top parchment sheet and sprinkle 1/2 cup of almonds evenly all over the disc. Replace the top sheet and roll out into a 11-inch round,embedding nuts into the dough. Invert crust and parchment onto a heavy baking sheet,nut side down. Remove the top sheet of parchment. Arrange peaches over center of crust in concentric circles,alternating skin side up and skin side down and leaving 1 1/2 to 2 inch plain border. Using the parchment as aid,fold outer edge of crust over edges of peaches. Drizzle peaches with honey.Sprinkle with remaining chopped almonds. Bake until crust is brown, about 30 minutes.

Serve warm with Vanilla Ice Cream or Honey Sweetened Greek Yogurt ( mix Greek Yogurt(1 cup) and 2 tablespoons of honey).

Enjoy!

Note : Adapted from - Bon Appetit Desserts by Barbara Fairchild,my fav book:)

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Sunday was eventful.Weekend in the wild,lovely..?..hmm before anyone gets me wrong,I was talking about my visit to the Zoo.Its been quite some time since I visited one. I was all the more excited when P mentioned that this place was more of a wild life sanctuary. He was indeed right and I was happy to see animals in vast open spaces amidst thick vegetation. I believe its cruel to put animals in cage and not giving them freedom to move around. It was a good five hour walk thru the vast area.I was able to spot the majestic Tiger,its agile cousin the leopard,fast and furious Puma,marathon winner Ostrich,wild wolf to name a few.It was also a treat to watch cute lil kids feed to Giraffes. The trip would have been memorable if I had spotted my fav animal the mighty Elephant.The highlight of the trip was the Monorail which runs across the entire place,giving us a panoramic view of the wild life and vegetation.Yet again the weather favored us.Last but not the least there was a festive mood in the Zoo,thanks to the wonderful musical orchestra.

I had picked up a box of Strawberries,Blueberries and Raspberries from Sams thinking I would make something.We kept munching some on our way to the Zoo and before we finish the entire box I decided to make Fruity Stacks.I guess this one is a perfect dessert when we end up with an unplanned dinner/party ,easy to make and great to relish!

FRUITY STACKS

Prep Time 30min
Baking 10min
Start to Finish - 40min

Ingredients:

Phyllo sheets - 3 (thawed)
Butter 2 tbsp( I used Butter spray,coz its easy to use)
Almonds and Pecans 2 tbsp (sliced or very finely chopped)
Whipped Cream 1 cup ( I used the fat free one)
Sugar 1/4 cup
Fruits- You may use any fruits available (Strawberries,raspberries,Blueberries,Mango,Kiwi fruit,Banana,Apple,Nectarines,Peaches etc)Chopped into small slices/pieces.

Method:

Place one Phyllo sheet on a baking tray.Spray/brush butter and sprinkle sugar,place another sheet on top and brush butter and sprinkle sugar,place the last sheet ,brush/spray butter and sprinkle the almonds pecan mixture.Cut the Phylo sheets horizontally into three strips,further cutting them into small squares.Bake at 350F for about ten minutes/until golden brown.Cool it completely.

In the meanwhile,beat the cream and a tbsp of sugar (this is optional,the cream had sweet so I avoided this).Just before serving,assemble the Phyllo square and fruits.Place one square,top it with Whipped Cream and fruits.Place another square and repeat the same.

This is off to “Strawberry Feast” hosted by Happy Cook,”Click” event hosted by Jugalbandhi and “Low Fat(Eggless) Baking event” hosted by Madhuram and Fruit n Nut hosted by Mansi

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