Bing Cherry Sauce

"Man it's hot. It's like Africa hot. Tarzan couldn't take this kind of hot." 

-- Eugene Morris Jerome (played by Matthew Broderick), Biloxi Blues (1988)

I can't tell you how many times this quote has gone through my head this past month.  It is hot!  If you're anything like me, when the temperatures creep into the upper nineties and low hundreds, you're thinking something cool and refreshing.  If you like ice cream (and who doesn't?), here is a topping that you're going to love.  It is made from fresh bing cherries -- so it just has to be good for you, right? -- and is delicious on top of a big scoop of French vanilla.  This is actually a recipe for cherry pancake topping that I found on epicurious.com, but I find it tastes so much better on ice cream; warmed slightly, it is decadent.

BING CHERRY SAUCE

1/2 cup (or more) water, divided

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 cups halved, pitted fresh Bing cherries

1 tablespoons packed golden brown sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Whisk together 1/4 cup water and cornstarch in a small bowl.  Melt butter in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add cherries, 1/4 cup water, and brown sugar; stir until sugar dissolved.  

Increase heat to medium-high; add cornstarch mixture and stir until mixture oils and thickens, adding water by tablespoonfuls if sauce is very thick, about 1 minute.

Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice.  

Grab a spoon!

 

This OXO cherry pitter is my gadget of choice for pitting cherries.
Click the image for more details.

Sunday Morning Blueberry Pancakes

I must have over a hundred blueberries on my potted plant.  It has produced all four years I've had it, but this year will be the best.  It's the 'Elliot' variety, supposedly the best for container gardening.

Once July hits, it's harvest time around here.  Every day there is something new to bring in from the garden and it is just so exciting!  This morning the blueberries that I have been watching all week (as have the robins!), turned blue and were ready for harvesting.  A couple of bowls later I had blueberry pancakes on the griddle topped with pure maple syrup and, you guess it, more blueberries!

Sunday Morning Blueberry Pancakes

2 eggs, separated

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

Few gratings of nutmeg

1 cup whole milk

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup fresh blueberries

In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff; set aside.  In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and nutmeg; set aside. Beat egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl; whisk in milk and melted butter. Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients; mix until batter is smooth; stir in blueberries. Fold in beaten egg whites. Makes 10-12 pancakes.

For more information on growing blueberries in containers, I recommend this book:

This post is linked to: 

Seasonal Sunday, 

Metamorphosis Monday, 

Made by You Monday, 

On the Menu Monday, 

This Week in My Garden, 

Bizzy Bakes, 

Garden Tuesdays, 

Outdoor Wednesdays 

and

Wedding Breakfast Cream-filled Strawberries

Have you planned your menu for the Royal Wedding yet?  I've planned mine, though it is nothing as lavish as one would expect to suit such an occasion.  No, I took into consideration local time so decided to incorporate breakfast-type things into the menu.  Here's the plan:


Fresh Strawberries Filled with Cream (recipe below)

Egg Salad in Phyllo Tarts

Bacon-Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

Olive Cream Cheese Spirals

Buttered Radish Finger Sandwiches

Royal Wedding Scones
Multiple cups of strong tea


(Sounds like breakfast, right?  Eggs, bacon, fruit, toast...)  If you've let time slip away and have nothing to serve, these strawberries are delicious, easy, and can turn any occasion into something special.

Wedding Breakfast Cream-filled Strawberries


10 whole large strawberries, hulled
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 t. almond extract
1 t. orange zest
1/3 cup chopped pecans, finely chopped


Cut a thin slice from the bottom of each strawberry so when filled they'll stand upright. Using a small spoon or scoop, hollow out the inside of the strawberry as well as you can.  Removing the hull is going to leave you some room, you just want to create a bit more.


In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, extract and zest until combined.  The mixture should be fairly stiff for piping.  Using a pastry bag with the tip of your choice, fill the strawberries with the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle chopped pecans on top of the stuffed strawberries.  Top with additional powdered sugar, if desired. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

This is linked to:
Foodie Friday
Food on Friday
Friday Favorites
Friday Fat Camp
Fantabulous Friday

Blueberry Crumble

This is the quickest, easiest dessert you'll ever make.  I call it "Blueberry Crumble" because I used blueberries, but truth be told you can use raspberries and call it Raspberry Crumble, blackberries and call it Blackberry Crumble, a variety of berries and call it Mixed Berry Crumble, peaches and raspberries and call it Peach Melba Crumble, well, you get the idea.  You can pretty much use any berry that you like, or peaches, nectarines, or plums, and come out with a delicious dessert, that will draw both admiration and praise.  I've been known to throw this together as surprise guests are having coffee in the living room, only to serve it an hour later.  The key is simply keeping fruit on hand. (I always have blueberries in the freezer - they freeze beautifully and, as a consequence, I'm never left guessing what to make for dessert when the pressure's on.)

The amount of fruit you use is pretty much up to you.  I grab a bowl the size of whatever amount of fruit I have and dump it in.  Be sure to wash the fruit thoroughly before use and allow it some time to drain (or pat it dry with paper towels if you're in a hurry).  If you're using fruit that has a pit, as in the case of peaches, plums, and nectarines, cut them in half and pit them, then slice them into wedges about a half inch thick.  (I do recommend the peach/blueberry or raspberry combination for both color and taste.)

Wash the fruit thoroughly before use and drain well.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. 

Put fruit into any size bowl that happens to be handy and that supports the amount of fruit you have on hand. I used this old favorite 1-qt. oval casserole.

Place the following ingredients into the work bowl of your food processor:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts work well here)

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of salt

Pulse a couple of times until nuts are chopped fine and thoroughly blended into the flour/sugar mixture.

Cut 1 stick of cold butter, into 1/2-inch cubes and add to the dry mixture.  Pulse until mixture begins to clump. This will be your streusel topping.

Pour the topping evenly over your fruit, pressing down a bit.  If you have any left over, put it in a freezer bag, label it and freeze it to use for a future crumble, or topping on muffins or baked oatmeal.

 Bake in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the fruit juices bubble on the side.  If the top starts to get too brown, cover it with a piece of foil.

Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.  If there are any leftovers, I'm sure you can convince yourself that they would make an excellent breakfast, considering the serving of fruit and all.

Try it, and tell me what you think!

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Pattie's Desperation Trifle

When Jim mentioned, rather forlornly this morning, as he was walking out the door that he didn't get his usual trifle for his birthday this year (and I knew that due to unforeseen circumstances he didn't get one last year), I kicked into high gear and put this together while he was gone. I had to remove shelves in order to get it into the fridge!

Trifle is his favorite dessert, bar none, and he has a number of recipes for them, but I had no time to dig for recipes, just gathered things up like a squirrel preparing for winter and started assembling.  The bowl isn't even a trifle bowl.  It's a lidded glass candy dish that I bought in December at Crate & Barrel to use as part of the centerpiece on my Boxing Day table.  It worked out just perfectly! (Which pretty much goes to show you can make a trifle in any size.)

The process is shown below, the result was delicious!  Instead of vanilla pudding I made an orange custard that was just heaven (recipe below).  I'm going to keep it in mind for the summer as it would go extremely well on strawberry shortcake, or simply to top a bowl of fresh berries of any kind.  I can hardly wait until spring!

Slice Sara Lee pound cake into 3/4" slices.

Spread each slice with a thick coating of raspberry jam.

Fit pieces into the bottom of trifle dish as though you're putting a puzzle together, and drizzle generously, and I'm talking GENEROUSLY with cream sherry.  (You might just give it a taste, you know, to make sure it's still good.)

Top cake layer with fresh raspberries that have been thoroughly rinsed and inverted on paper towels to completely dry.

Pour a third of the custard over raspberries and spread to cover.

Repeat with another layer of cake, this time coating it with blueberry jam.  Again GENEROUSLY drizzle with sherry, and top with fresh blueberries and strawberries.  Is this a work of art, or what?  I seriously hated to cover it up with another layer of custard cream and cake, but I did.  The final layer of cake I coated with raspberry jam, once again, and placed it jam-side down on top of the berries -- more sherry --and then topped it all with whipped cream and strawberry garnish.

Look at those luscious layers.

I love this spoon that hangs from the side of the bowl (another Crate & Barrel purchase).

Beautiful!

Needless to say, he was surprised, and very pleased.  Here's the recipe for the custard that I used, but Instant French Vanilla pudding would work just fine.

Orange Custard Cream
1 1/2 cups milk

1 tablespoon grated orange zest 

5 extra-large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon Triple Sec

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon heavy cream

Combine the milk and orange zest in a medium stainless steel saucepan over medium heat and bring to a low simmer. Remove from the heat.

Beat the yolks and sugar on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add cornstarch. Beat on medium-low speed until combined, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Turn the mixer to low and pour the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture. Pour the mixture back into the pan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 5 to 7 minutes. Watch very carefully as it tends to thicken very fast.  Once thickened, remove from heat and add the vanilla, Triple Sec, butter and cream.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.

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