Bring on the Summer

     I love summer time. BBQ, bonfires and beer. Getting together over good food at the cottage, by the pool or just on a sunny deck is the best way to spend the lazy summer days. Key word Lazy.

     Just because it's easy doesn't mean you have to look like a slacker. This recipe comes together in only 10 minutes, is really forgiving and is at home at your finest soiree or the most casual back yard barbecue. Sounds to good to be true? Read on.

     What I'm talking about is the Italian dessert Panna Cotta, translation "cooked cream". Five ingredients, 10 minutes and you look like a star. Bonus, you get to throw around fancy Italian dessert names.

     I like mine potted (still in a container) and just set. A spoonful is like silk across the tongue. I've tried a few different recipes but this is the one I like the best, a very slightly modified version of Judy Witts recipe from Secrets of My Tuscan Kitchen. My version isn't solid enough to unmold.

Click on the picture to enlarge

I'm trying something new with the format

Not sure it's a keeper

     This recipe makes a lot, bonus, is easy, huge bonus, can be served plain, can be endlessly modified, is gluten free, can be dairy free or vegan and is quite forgiving.

     Here are my prep notes. 

Prepare 5 -8 custard cups - Take them out of the cupboard. I don't plate mine so no need to oil the cups.

By the time the cream is heated the gelatin has usually plumped up. If not don't worry. You've got a good window of time to work. Because you aren't setting the cream with eggs like a custard, precise timing isn't a concern. As long as the cream is hot enough to dissolve the gelatin you're good.

 I plump up the gelatin in a large Pyrex 8 cup measuring cup. It's easy to pour into the ramekins after you add the heated cream mixture and I'm all about easy.

The 35% cream is rich. Because you are setting with gelatin you can use just about any liquid, table cream-18%, half and half - 10%, soy milk, almond milk. You may need to tweek the exact amount of gelatin to set it the way you like. I would go with more to start, then reduce it a 1/4 teaspoon at a time. My four teaspoons to four cups of liquid is a really soft set. The original recipe calls for 4 1/2 teaspoons.

Because you aren't baking, the sugar is only a flavour. You can substitute, increase, decrease, omit. What ever tickles your taste buds.

For the vegetarians swap agar ( agar-agar) for the gelatin.

The one above is topped with Strawberry Rhubarb Compote. Another easy recipe.

1 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb

1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries

1/4 cup of sugar- adjust to taste

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to prevent scorching.

Reduce heat and simmer until you reach your desired thickness

Done

Top yours with whatever you like or just enjoy it plain. 

Here is a link to a great site for more information on variations and another recipe.

     An easy dessert so you can get out and enjoy the summer sun. Any other quick and easy favourites? Feel free to share.

     Enjoy.

Picture Perfect?

     Happy Monday, the first official one of summer, my favourite time of year. Time to link up with Stasha. Our topic this week, top 10 photographs you've taken.

     I love taking pictures. I have a huge family and I drag my camera to all the gatherings. I also suck at taking pictures. Missing heads, disembodied limbs, out of focus then there is this

Typically blurry photo at my grandmother's 85th

For the record, my aunt has a beautiful smile with all her teeth

Nor does she look like a cast member of the Walking Dead

WTH?

     I don't really have 10 best photos, so I'm going on a little tangent. I promise it's photo related. It's what I was doing this morning.

     I'm in the middle of planning a trip to Italy for my friend's wedding, trying to post a little more so people know I'm alive, working on the house, cooking so of course there are pictures to document the progress or the lack there of. I haven't done a recipe post in months and I wanted to share one of the best summer recipes ever. Bring on the camera.

I envisioned something like this

Looks tasty right?

Maybe something like this?

I'd have been happy with this

Great Halloween dessert option right?

     Taking pictures of food is hard. I'm always in awe of people who post drool inspiring picture after picture of their culinary exploits.

     I assembled my props and headed outside to snap some pictures. Natural light is best so they say and it finally has stopped with  the thunder and lightening.

Unusual plate for visual interest

A little elevation ( I can crop that)

At eye level like you see food at a table

Maybe an over head view?

Ditch the ugly plate

Excellent reflection of me in the spoon

Maybe a location change?

To hell with it, I'll take a picture of the fountain instead

Almost got the whole thing, sigh

Maybe the primroses Mom gave me. 

      It's 30 degrees, my subject is melting, I'm going inside to eat. There is only so much I'm willing to suffer for my art. That does not include ruining a perfectly good dessert. After some cropping and trying to fix the exposure I ended up with this.

Not too shabby, right?

Just a touch of the Etruscan terracotta detailing behind

Simple, a little rustic

Which after several hours I turned into this.

I'll do the real recipe post tomorrow

This one has already gotten a little long

     One picture, six hours. I don't have time for 10. LOL

Come join me at Stasha's to see what everyone else has been snapping.

Lemon Squares

     I love the taste of lemon. Whether it is the wedges with my oysters, (or garnishing my rye and ginger) or the decadent, silky smoothness of lemon meringue pie, I just can't get enough. The bright, sharp tang of lemon always makes me think of summer.

     I have been on the hunt for the ultimate lemon square recipe for a while. My aunt Jean has a kick ass recipe. Sorry this isn't it. I got the chocolate marshmallow brownies from her but not the lemon squares just yet. I have my own recipe, no bad but meh.... This is from a co worker. Of course when I made it it didn't turn out like hers but, still a keeper. I just need to fiddle with it a little more to perfect it.

    Getting recipes from some one who makes it all the time can be a bit of a crap shoot. They know their oven, what they use, how they prepare it so often recipes lack a few of the specifics that can make or break your efforts. This is no exception.

    The first time I made this, it was lemon fruit leather you could roll off the crust it was so over cooked. That fruit leather was still pretty tasty so I tried again, then a third time. That's the charm right? I still haven't quite perfected it but here goes, as I got it, with my notes to follow.

Lemon Squares

Ingredients

2 cups of sifted flour

1 cup of icing sugar

1 cup of butter melted

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups of sugar

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/4 cup of flour

a little over a half a cup of fresh lemon juice

zest for decorating

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease a baking pan

In a medium bowl, stir together 2 cups flour and the icing sugar.

Blend in melted butter.

Press into bottom of the prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light.

Combine sugar, baking powder and 1/4 cup of flour.

Stir the sugar mixture into the eggs.

Finally, stir in the lemon juice.

Pour over baked crust and return to oven.

Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until bars are set.

Allow to cool completely before cutting.

     Now for my notes.

A baking pan-I used an 8x11 1/2 and am wondering if next time I would try a 9x13. The crust was a tad thick for my liking, but only just so...

1 cup of butter melted- I used butter and butter and margarine, half and half. No one could tell the difference. You could probably get away with a good soy margarine on its own.

Beat eggs until light.-I took that to mean texture, ie fluffy. I'm thinking it just means colour, as in just beat the eggs don't whip them. I'll explain a bit further on.

1 teaspoon of baking powder- I'm not sure what the baking powder does in the lemon custard. I think it is a sub for cream of tartar to stabilize it. You could use 1/4 teaspoon of that instead. Again I'll explain a little further down the line.

a little over a half a cup of fresh lemon juice- I used 3/4 of a cup, but I really like it tart. I also reduced the sugar by 1/4 cup and added 1 tablespoon of zest to the custard for added lemony goodness. All of the above can be adjusted for your own personal taste.

Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until bars are set. My oven runs hot, 30 minutes was way too long. The custard also browned and it shouldn't. I reduced my heat to 325 degrees and it didn't colour any further, so...

1 The oven is too hot-cook the custard at 325 degrees

2 The eggs are frothy, or over beaten. A thin layer of froth on the custard is what browned so if I hadn't whipped them there would have been no froth.

3 Swap the baking powder for 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar. Baking powder can cause browning, can't remember why, I believe it is the baking soda in it. No soda, no browning.

     The picture is a variation, Strawberry Lemon Squares. My strawberries are coming in so I added them on top of the cooked crust and poured the custard over top. Delicious, strawberry lemonade in a bar. You could also add blueberries.

     Because of the extra moisture in the berries, cook a bit longer. With the berries in, I did use the full 30 minutes. The edges should be firm but the centre should still jiggle when you take it out of the oven. It will set as it cools.

     I have a good Key Lime Square recipe but I would like to try this recipe with grapefruit juice or blood orange. I think it would work and I love the taste of citrus. We'll see.

     Although it has given me a bit of trouble, this is still a great recipe. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Don't forget to drop by and see what Susi has in the oven. Enjoy.

Mini Pavlovas

    

     A very simple dessert but what a show stopper.

     I'm not a huge fan of meringue but what else are you going to do with extra egg whites. The great thing is you can make them ahead of time and they keep really well for at least a week to ten days. With the meringues made ahead of time, it is really just an assembly line after that adding the whipped cream, fruit and what ever you want to garnish it with. 

     I have never had a problem making meringue, here is my method.

Meringue

3 egg whites

1 cup sugar*

1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar-optional, but it is a stabilizer so....

Beat egg whites until stiff, dry peaks form. It usually only take about 5 minutes or so.

Gradually add sugar while continuing to beat the egg whites until it is all incorporated.

Add cream of tartar and continue to beat for a minute or two to make sure everything is well mixed.

On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, pipe or spoon out about three inch circles with a hollow/well in the middle to hold the whipped cream. You should end up with a dozen.**

Bake in a 250 degree oven for about 45 minutes, the meringues should crack a little.***

Turn off heat and leave meringues in the oven another 15-30 minutes to dry out more.

Remove from oven and lift off the parchment paper, they should come off fairly easily.

That's it, you're done.

* If you can, grind the sugar in a food processor until it is a fine powder, you're making Castor sugar. It will incorporate much faster and easier. There is nothing worse than gritty meringue. Do not use icing sugar, it has anti clumping agents in it and will not give that smooth texture you are looking for.

** Do not use waxed paper for parchment paper, ever. They are completely different.

*** Cooking time varies depending on relative humidity. You are incorporating a lot of air into the egg whites, if it is really humid cook a little longer to dry them out.

     Pavlova is a traditional Australian or New Zealand dessert depending on who you talk to. Usually it is a 9" circle of meringue, topped with sweetened whipped cream and fruit (kiwi and strawberries or raspberries)

I make mine in individual servings, no trying to cut fragile meringue and they cook faster too.

     I don't use sweetened whipped cream. The meringue is already sweet so I don't see the need. You can also use custard if you like. To keep the meringues at their peak, assemble as close to serving time as possible. The moisture from the fruit and filling will slowly dissolve the meringue and make it gooey.

     Top with whatever fruit is available. Okay, maybe steer away from apples or oranges but you know what I mean. Now that I think of it those little segmented mandarin oranges would probably work pretty well .... LOL

     That's it for the traditional recipe,  a relatively simple, light, delicious way to enjoy the fruits (and berries) of summer. I add one more step and it is purely for show although the mint leaves add a nice touch, accenting the fruit and cutting the sweetness a little.

     I garnish mine with edible flowers and a mint leaf or two. There are lots of edible flowers; pansies, geraniums, marigolds, roses, gladiolus, peonies, any kind of squash flower etc, etc etc. Google to find a complete listing. They don't add much to the taste ( I usually don't eat them, they're just for show) but they are eye candy and you eat with your eyes first. Please note, make sure you are using edible flowers that haven't been sprayed with an herbicide or pesticide, you don't want to poison your guests ... or do you?? LOL

     However you decide to make this, traditional or my way, I hope you enjoy this quintessential summer dessert.

Maple sugar pie

     Maple sugar pie, a Quebecois classic. I get some every time I'm skiing in Tremblant. You can get it here but it just isn't the same, kind of like real poutine or tortiere. I didn't go skiing this year so I decided to try making this at home.

     There are hundreds of recipes for "tarte au sucre" or sugar pie. If they tell you brown sugar is an acceptable substitute for the maple sugar, they lie. If you have a sweet tooth and you like maple, do yourself a favour and try this recipe. It is delicious and oh so decadent.

     I couldn't find the maple sugar, so I made my own. It is relatively easy, just be careful, you are working with molten sugar. I boiled two litres (5 Lbs)  of syrup and ended up with 3 1/2 pound of  sugar. It's about a 40% water weight loss. It took 40 minutes to boil the syrup to a temperature of 290 degrees, which may have been a little too high. If I ever do it again, I'll see what it is like at 270 degrees. I was expecting something like brown sugar, but got a very dry, very hard sugar at the higher temperature. Stir it like you would if making jelly, almost constantly. It is good for the first 15 minutes, occasionally, but as it reduced needed constant attention to stop scorching. Before you think I've gone all "Martha Stewart", I did not grow or tap the trees. LOL On to the pie.

Maple sugar pie

     This is a surprisingly easy recipe with only four ingredients. It takes about an hour to make and serves 12. Tiny servings, so rich and sweet.

Ingredients

1 prepared and baked pie shell, fully cooled

pate sucree is traditional but I used my never fail recipe here

I am making strawberry rhubarb pie tomorrow and didn't want to make pastry twice

Filling

1 cup maple sugar

1/4 cup flour/cornstarch

3/4 cup heavy cream *

1/4 cup maple syrup

Directions

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together sugar and flour or cornstarch until smooth and lump free.

Add cream and syrup and whisk until well combined.

Pour into baked pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.

You can serve this warm with ice cream or whipped cream but I prefer it plain, nothing between me and my pie.

* The recipe calls for 35% cream but I imagine even milk would work, but seriously why worry about fat or calories in this recipe. It is all about indulging your sweet tooth.

     This was not what I was expecting when I decided to try the recipe. I think what I was looking for was Maple syrup pie which is slightly different. It is cooked on the stove and poured into a pie shell like a lemon meringue pie. I'll let you know the results when I test that one out. Even if it was by accident, it is a delicious recipe and a keeper in my books.

     What is your favourite maple recipe? Leave me a comment and let me know your favourites. Enjoy.