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Caramelized Banana Pudding Recipe – A Childhood Favorite Upgraded

October 24, 2011 in Desserts

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I have the most amazing husband on the planet earth. I have been treated like a queen every single day of my 34 year (and counting) honeymoon.

So, you will understand when I tell you that there is no better reason to cook fabulous food than to make Jim smile. The best thing about Jim as a sounding board/critic is that he loves me enough to be honest. Truly Honest. “This-dish-stinks” kind of honest.

Jim closer

So, when he tasted the banana pudding dish that I made this weekend, it was a great moment  for me when he closed his eyes, smiled and said “This is heaven.”
Classic banana pudding, an Americanized banana trifle recipe popular in the 1950s and 1960s, is layers of vanilla wafers, pudding, whipped cream and bananas. Jim ate this dish along with the rest of Americans a kid and this recipe topped his food memory. The secret, I’m convinced, is the homemade pudding, and not using the store-bought box. It is truly write-home-about remarkable.

I was given the blog A Spoonful of Thyme as part of this month’s Secret Recipe Club challenge. California blogger Kate shared a Roasted Banana Pudding recipe and I made her recipe to a “T” except I caramelized the banana slices with a little butter and brown sugar in a hot skillet instead of roasting them. Kate’s pudding was fresh and flavorful and light – delightful. Thanks, Kate, for a recipe that I memorized and will use again and again for dessert deliciousness!

– posted by Donna

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Easy Candy Apple Tart Recipe – Four Ingredients and a Trip Back to Childhood in Just One Bite

September 19, 2011 in Desserts

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Classic Candy Apple Flavor in an easy Tart recipe

As a kid, I looked forward every fall to those crunchy, sticky chewy bright red candy apples. You know the kind – with that stick-to-your-teeth coating that you have to pry off of your teeth.

So, I saw an easy apple tart recipe a few days ago in a magazine using apple jelly brushed on top as a glaze. I thought of that shiny, cinnamon-y glaze that is on candy apples.

I decided to try and infuse the apple jelly with those cinnamon red-hot candies we ate as kids for that spicy sweet-hot candy apple flavor. This works like a charm! The red hot candies give the apple jelly that classic flavor and as a bonus, they add a rosy color to the tart as a beautiful finish.

If you use a purchased pie crust, this tart only has FOUR ingredients. Yes, you read that right: FOUR ingredients. Of course, by all means use your favorite home made pie crust for an even yummier result. Or, come back here in a few days when I post my completely foolproof Never Fail Pie Crust that even kids can make. Really.

Either way, this tart is an easy riff on apple tarts. I recommend you make one every single week this fall. Then,  just stand back and wait for the rave reviews when your house smells all cinnamon-y and this stunning dessert comes out of the oven.

Happy Fall, everyone!

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Another view of this four ingredient Candy Apple Tart

– posted by Donna

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Foolproof Sorbet and the Amazing Trick That Makes It Work: Our Easy Strawberry Lemon Zest Summer Sorbet Recipe

June 9, 2011 in Desserts

Strawberry Sorbet Square

Strawberry Lemon Zest Sorbet

I have always been afraid of sorbet. Terrified, really.

I thought it was one of those seems easy but is really deceptively hard things to make. Like the Tarte Tatin of the frozen dessert world.

If you add too much sugar, your sorbet will be soupy. If you don’t add enough, it will freeze as hard as a rock. But, the thing is – you won’t know until it’s too late and is already in the freezer trying to freeze. . . . Thus causing you to run screaming from the room, wishing you had chosen to write an edgy political blog instead of a food blog. . . . but I digress . . . .

Dara at Cookin’ Canuck, a  fabulous food blogger I follow, recently did a sorbet that looked so delicious, I summoned my courage to attempt my own sorbet. After strolling around the world wide web,  I came across a kitchen trick/geeky science experiment to make a foolproof sorbet.

Zoe at Zoe Bakes, a chef turned food blogger, recently shared this amazing trick for making the perfect sorbet: an egg. Yes, a whole uncooked egg is they key. No, you don’t use it as an ingredient. You use it as a test to arrive at the perfect sugar/fruit juice combo. You put it in your un-frozen sorbet mixture and if it sinks, the sorbet needs more sugar. If it floats, just like the David Letterman WILL IT FLOAT gag, kitchen edition, that means your sorbet has the perfect sugar-to-juice ratio.

The great thing about knowing this trick is that you can make ANY kind of sorbet with this technique. Really, ANY juice can be made into this sorbet now that you know the floating egg trick. Basil-lemon juice sorbet? Sure. Blackberry-rosemary sorbet? No problem. ANY juice will work with this technique, so go ahead – live it up! Try your own flavor combos!

So, you just keep adding simple syrup to your juice until the egg finally floats! I love kitchen magic tricks!

Here’s how it looks when your sorbet is perfect:

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When your egg floats to the top, your mixture is perfect!

Never fear again – the perfect sorbet is just one floating egg away!

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No-Bake Nutella Chocolate Ice Box Cake Recipe – A Perfect Dessert for Hot Summer Days, Updated from My Childhood

May 26, 2011 in Desserts

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No-Bake Chocolate Nutella Ice Box Cake

My grandma’s ice box cake recipe is one of my favorite food memories.

I have lots of other happy memories of her as well.

My great grandma’s hair was a thing of beauty and amazement to me. When I was lucky enough to sleep over at her house, I just couldn’t wait until nighttime. She would sit at her dressing table surrounded by her pretty perfume bottles and soft horsehair brushes and ivory broaches. It was the 1960′s everywhere but in Alta’s bedroom, where it was still the 1920′s. She would take the combs out of her put-up hair and it would cascade down to her waist, soft, wavy and billowy like I just knew a mermaid’s hair would be.  Sometimes she even let me brush it, the biggest thrill of all. Softer than a dream, and shiny from the rainwater she saved to wash it in.

My Grandma Greenhaw loved us grand kids and we knew it by the way she let us “help” her. We sliced ripe summer tomatoes from the garden and arranged them fan-like on the plates. We peeled cucumbers and squash. And the biggest honor of all was helping with the Ice Box Cake.

It wasn’t a cake, really. It was graham crackers with whipped cream – layers and layers and layers until we ran out of crackers. Then, we stuck it in the Ice Box for what seemed like eons, waiting and waiting and waiting impatiently until it was soft and luscious and, well, cake-like. The way it works is that the moisture in the whipped cream softens the graham crackers and turns them into thin cake-like layers. It was a treat fit for a queen and her royal court. We giggled and ate so much our tummys hurt and then she read us stories until she began to nod her head and we all headed off to bed.

I decided to update Alta’s Ice Box Cake, using chocolate graham crackers, something she wouldn’t have dreamed of, and smeared with Nutella, also unknown to Alta, before slathering on the whipped cream. The flavors are richer than Alta’s, but the texture takes me right back to nights on her porch eating Ice Box Cake until we were sick. It’s the perfect “cake” for summertime, because there’s no baking required. No heating up your already steamy kitchen. And My! Oh My! is it luscious.

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Alta Frances Greenhaw - circa 1920 (above) and 1970 (below)

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Cherry Almond Semifreddo Tarts – A Valentine’s Day Shortcut Dessert Recipe

February 7, 2011 in Desserts

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Cherry Almond Semifreddo Tarts - shown here inverted for serving

Your sweetie deserves a special treat on Valentine’s Day, right? Your sweetie deserves the best, right?

But if time constraints don’t allow you to spend hours in the kitchen creating an elegant French masterpiece worthy of your sweetheart, we have a solution for you: our shortcut semifreddo tarts.

Cherry and almond is a flavor match made in heaven. One of my mother’s signature dishes is a cherry pie she makes with added almond extract to the filling. It is a dessert that several generations have raved about for 50 years. So, I decided to whip up an easy dessert with that flavor profile, and started with cherry pie filling. The result is our entry for the Lucky Leaf pie filling recipe contest.

I love the texture of a semifreddo (semi-frozen) dessert, so this mousse-type mixture is placed in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to achieve that texture.

Whip these tarts up with minimal prep time and then chill for at least 30 minutes and -voila! – fabulous cherry almond flavor with that Italian semifreddo texture!

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Win/Win Comforting Sugar-Free Pan-Roasted Apples – A 20 Minute Healthy Dessert Recipe

January 25, 2011 in Desserts, Gluten Free, Healthy Fare, Vegan Recipes

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Some foods feed your soul as well as your belly. Case in point: baked apples.

There is something about the smell and taste of baked apples that give you that “AAaaaahhhh” feeling. Love! Comfort! Joy! Baked apples!

This time of year, there is another reason I eat apples: weight loss. New research out there says ”An apple a Day Keeps the Doctor AND THE POUNDS Away.” You just can’t beat low in carbs, high in fiber plus YUM! As proof positive, I cite my favorite low-glycemic food blogger Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen: check out her Low Sugar Apple Crisp, for starters!

I decided to come up with a quicker, simpler enlightened apple recipe with all the soft luscious comforting quality of the slow baked version.

Turns out apples “bake” just as well in a covered skillet! Who knew? All I did was sprinkle the cut sides of the apple halves with cinnamon and then put them in a skillet cut side down with a little water. I cooked them covered over medium heat for 5 minutes, and they turned out just as yummy as the slow baked version. Minus the time and hassle. AND minus the sugar!

Don’t make the mistakes I did the first few times using the wrong varieties of apples. Granny Smiths = firm but too tart. Red Delicious = sweet but bland and mushy. Golden Delicious, Braeburn and Jonagold = perfect sweet/tart balance and great soft and creamy but firm texture. Yes, I know. A bit excessive to try 5 different varieties. But worth the effort.

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Almond and Pumpkin Butter Torte with a Gingersnap Crust for Fab Frugal Friday

November 26, 2010 in Desserts

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Almond Pumpkin Butter Torte with a Gingersnap Crust

I was skeptical. An easy torte? I tried this recipe for the holiday, thinking it couldn’t hold a candle to iconic pumpkin pie. But. I was pleasantly surprised. This easy dessert combines almond taste and pumpkin in a super easy dessert. The texture is like a cross between cheesecake and regular cake.

I’m for lowering the stress level of the holiday season, so I’ll be using this as a last minute dessert that seems like you’ve been slaving for hours.

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Dessert Quesadilla Recipe – Easy Desserts for Fab Frugal Friday

September 17, 2010 in Desserts

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Peaches and Cream Dessert Quesadilla

If you’re looking for a peach dessert recipe, I’m guessing that “quesadilla” is not the first thing that comes to mind. Most people don’t think of quesadillas being a dessert. That’s too bad, because dessert quesadillas are fabulous! And, they are a perfect “Desperation Dessert” that you can throw together in just minutes. If you don’t believe me, [ Warning: Shameless Plug Ahead] check out my book “Quesadillas” and try one of the recipes from the dessert section – Mango Madness, Caramel Apple or Triple Chocolate Decadence for starters!

The crispy crunch of the tortilla and the soft melted cream cheese inside are the perfect template for an easy dessert feast with whatever fruit or traditional dessert ingredient you have in your kitchen. And, quesadillas take only minutes to make. Drizzle on some caramel or chocolate sauce, or sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on top and you’re in business – the Simple, Easy Desserts business!

The key to making a top-notch quesadilla is something I learned as a kid growing up a few miles from the Mexican border: Cook them in a large covered skillet over medium heat with NO FAT IN THE PAN.  Let me repeat for emphasis: DO NOT PUT FAT IN THE PAN!!! If you put fat in the skillet, it only makes the quesadilla greasy and often brunt on the outside. Just trust me on this – your flour tortilla will NOT burn and will NOT stick. It will turn out with a perfect crispy golden crunch. Go ahead – test me on this. I promise you will be in Quesadilla Heaven!

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Fab Frugal Friday: 20-Minute Five-Ingredient Berry Parfaits with Pound Cake Croutons and Tangerine Zest

May 21, 2010 in Desserts, Healthy Fare

Don’t you just love Berry Time of year? Seasonal berries are healthy, frugal and fabulous – perfect for this blog! So, here is a dessert that takes 20 minutes - tops! – from grocery bag to table. Each bite has a different taste: some  crunchy, some creamy, some tangy but all bites are light, refreshing and fruity. The tangerine zest is what makes this dessert extraordinary. It is the perfect bit of intensity and adds such an amazing flavor – but you can use any citrus zest you like. I made these last Sunday and my family is already begging to have this again!

Use your best clear parfait glasses – so colorful and inviting!

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Another French Dessert Made Easy: Shortcut Individual Tart Tatin Recipe

January 21, 2010 in Desserts

Individual Shortcut Tart Tatins

Individual Shortcut Tart Tatins

Julia Child was not the only master of French Desserts – before Julia were the Tatin sisters. They created the now famous apple dessert recipe “Tart Tatin”  that has stumped many accomplished home cooks and even chefs for several generations now – including me!

I love this dessert so much, I decided to come up with a fool-proof version – perfect for your superbowl buffet or a special sweetheart dessert – this is your stress-free Valentine’s Day recipe!

I used three basic steps (I remember it by “CAP”): C) caramel in the bottom, A) apple slices next, then P) pastry on top. I used purchased frozen puff pastry here for convenience, or you can make this dish even more frugally by making up a batch of my Five Minute Puff Pastry!

If you are not an actual French pastry chef yourself, these little yummies will fool you – the taste is that close to the Real Deal!  And, instead of hours of frustration, usually involving tears and cursing, you will be singing and smiling because they are a snap to throw together! The apples have that same slow-braised taste and the crust stays crispy and delicious!

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