This article originally appeared in the June 2015 issue of The Journal of the Delaware State Bar Association, a publication of the Delaware State Bar Association. Copyright © Delaware State Bar Association 2015. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
Check out my June issue of The Judicial Palate.
This article originally appeared in the June 2015 issue of The Journal of the Delaware State Bar Association, a publication of the Delaware State Bar Association. Copyright © Delaware State Bar Association 2015. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
Try this tart with fruit that you have on hand on a snow day. I used apples, jarred Bing cherries, clementines and raisins, and the combination proved to be a good one!
Crust Ingredients:
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 stick chilled unsalted butter
1 egg, beaten
Iced water
Filling Ingredients:
2 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (Pink Lady preferred)
12 Bing cherries, pitted (Tillen Farms preferred)
Small handful of candied pecans, roughly chopped
Small handful of raisins
2 clementines, cut into segments
2 tablespoons maple sugar
1 egg beaten
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mix the flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl. With a sharp knife, cut the butter into small cubes and add to the dry ingredients. Rub the pieces of butter and the dry ingredients together with your fingers until the butter is broken into tiny pieces. Make a well and add the egg and drizzle in the iced water. Begin to knead the dough quickly into a ball. Add more iced water until the dough is just wet enough to form a ball. Wrap the dough in waxed paper and chill for several hours until it is firm.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough and add flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin and the work surface. Roll the dough into a circle until it is about ¼ inch thick and place it on a baking sheet.
Arrange the apples in the center of the dough, leaving the outer 1 1/2 inches of dough uncovered. Arrange the other fruit on top of the apples. Sprinkle with maple sugar. Fold up the uncovered outer edge of the dough and pinch so that it stays overtop the fruit. Brush the top of the dough with the beaten egg.
Bake in the middle of the oven for about 40 minutes or until the fruit is golden and the crust is lightly browned. Remove the tart from the baking sheet and place it on a cooling rack.
When ready to serve, slice and plate standing alone or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Although Labor Day is behind us, there are several weeks remaining in summer to enjoy some refreshing desserts. This weekend, inspired by the newest addition to our kitchen – a pineapple corer – I prepared a pineapple custard. After coring this tropical fruit with ease, I decided to incorporate it into this light dessert.
Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup pineapple cut into small chunks
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the milk in a saucepan until it is warm – do not bring it to a boil. Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Pour the warm milk into the mixing bowl containing the other ingredients, whisking gently while pouring. Then stir in the pineapple.
Pour the custard mixture into ramekins (the above quantities filled four of my ramekins). Then place the ramekins in a large Pyrex baking dish. Create a water bath by pouring enough hot water into the baking dish to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the entire baking dish with aluminum foil, but not tightly, as the custard may puff up a bit. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until you can insert a toothpick into the custard and it comes out clean.
This custard is at its best if you allow it to set for several hours in the refrigerator before serving.
When ready to plate, top each ramekin with additional slices of pineapple and a maraschino cherry. My favorite maraschino cherries are those from Tillen Farms – free of artificial flavors, colors and preservatives. These cherries from the Pacific Northwest are a rich, deep red and are a perfect complement to the sweet yet tart pineapple.
Enjoy the remaining weeks of summer with this tropical dessert!
Enjoy some summer recipes in my July/August issue of The Judicial Palate.
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2014 issue of The Journal of the Delaware State Bar Association, a publication of the Delaware State Bar Association. Copyright © Delaware State Bar Association 2014. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
Now is the time to enjoy sweet cherries. Already this summer, you may have prepared cherry desserts ranging from pies to clafoutis.
Another way to incorporate this fruit into your summer repertoire is a cherry salsa to enhance your main course. I used the quantities below for an accompaniment to a grilled pork loin dinner for two (with some left over).
Ingredients:
1 1/2 dozen sweet cherries, pitted and roughly cut into smaller chunks
1 small shallot, roughly chopped
1/3 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1 dried red chili pepper, sliced into rings
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Dash of curry
Mix the cherries, shallot, cilantro, chili and olive oil in a bowl. Taste before adding and mixing in your desired amount of sea salt and a dash of curry. Permit the flavors to combine by placing the bowl of salsa in the refrigerator for about one hour before serving.
This sweet yet spicy salsa makes for a refreshing addition to grilled pork and would also pair well with a grilled fish.
Make the most of cherries during their peak this season!
