Dessert: Pear Tart

Yesterday found me busy making a great little rack of lamb for dinner. And for dessert, this super-simple pear tart. I am only including a picture of the pear because the finished dish tasted better than it looked in the photos! I guess I will blame the photographer -- whoops, that was me!

I've been thinking about flavored vinegars lately and the sauce, flavored with the remaining raspberry-balsamic vinegar in my pantry was a delicious counterpoint to the ripe pears resting on an almond-paste filling.

This terrific recipe was located on epicurious.com -- such a great resource. Next time I might make this as an appetizer with blue-cheese filling, pear and sliced onions.


Pear Crostata with Raspberry Vinegar Glaze

INGREDIENTS

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

5 ounces almond paste, crumbled
3 tablespoons butter at room temperature
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 large egg

2-3 firm but ripe Bosc pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1/3 inch slices
5 tablespoons sugar, divided

1/2 cup raspberry vinegar

METHOD

Finely grind almond paste in food processor. Add softened butter, flour, and egg; blend until smooth.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out puff pastry on floured surface to approx. 13x11 rectable. Fold 3/4 inch of each edge over and press to adhere. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Pierce surface evenly with fork, avoiding folded edges. Spread almond paste mixture evenly over crust within folded edges. Arrange pear slices on top of filling, overlapping slightly. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar.

Bake until pears are tender and crust is golden, approx. 35-40 minutes. Cool slightly.

Meanwhile, stir vinegar and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil until syrup is reduced to 1/4 cup, about six minutes.

Place tart on platter. Drizzle syrup over. Serve warm.

Dessert: Lemon Ginger Cheesecake!

Lemon-Ginger Cheesecake

Calling all ginger lovers! This delicious cheesecake is light and creamy. It serves a crowd and can easily be prepared in advance. The recipe, one that I cut out years ago from Bon Appetit or Gourmet, says it can be refrigerated up to 4 days or frozen up to 2 months, defrosting frozen cake overnight in refrigerator.

Yields 12-20 servings, depending on size of serving...


Ingredients

For the crust:
2 cups finely ground gingersnap cookies (about 9 ounces)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
2 tablespoons peeled and finely grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons grated lemon peel


Method

For crust:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Generously butter a 10-inch diameter springform pan with 2 3/4 inch high sides. Double wrap the outside of pan with heavy-duty foil.

Blend ground cookies (you can use the processor first to grind the cookies), sugar, and ginger in processor. Add melted butter and process until moist crumbs form. Press mixture onto bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of prepared pan. Bake until crust sets, about 10 minutes. Cool crust. Maintain oven temperature.





The prepared crust


For filling:
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in sugar, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in sour cream and whipping cream, then crystallized ginger, fresh ginger, lemon juice and lemon peel.

Pour filling into crust. Place springform pan in large roasting pan. Pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to come 1 inch up sides of springform pan. Bake cheesecake until filling is set and golden brown on top (cake will rise slightly above edge of pan), about 1 hour 25 minutes. Turn off oven and prop oven door open. Let cake stand in oven 1 hour (cake will fall slightly).

Remove springform pan from water bath. Remove foil and cool cheesecake completely on rack. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Release sides of springform pan and transfer cheesecake to serving platter. Garnish with flowers and fresh lemon slices, sweetened whipped cream, fresh berries, etc.

P. S. I like crystallized ginger from The Ginger People -- it's fresh and soft and easy to chop and the packaging is very cute!

Spice Up Your Life Gingerbread

This delicious recipe for Gingerbread is in the Foster's Market cookbook. I love ginger! The spices in this bread are deep -- I like it on its own but it is also delicious with sweetened whipped cream, ice cream (maybe the Haagen Dazs Ginger ice cream for a double whammy of ginger) or possibly homemade applesauce.

I had to put a big dollop of whipped cream on it to disguise the fact that it sank while baking -- sadly a fact of life living here at 6,000 feet. Next time I make it I will reduce the baking powder even more...and maybe I will add some chopped crystallized ginger.

Makes 2 loaves
INGREDIENTS

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground pepper
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups molasses
1 cup brewed strong coffee, cooled

METHOD

Prep: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees; Grease and flour two 9x5 loaf pans and set aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, mustard, and pepper in a large bowl and stir to mix.

Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Slowly add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the molasses to the butter mixture in a slow, steady stream while continuing to beat on low speed. Add the coffee, and continue to beat until all the ingredients are well blended.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just until all the dry ingredients are moist and blended. Do not overmix.

Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans and place the pans on the center rack of the oven.

Bake 40-45 minutes, until the bread rises and springs back lightly when pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center of each loaf comes out clean.

Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before removing from the pans. Serve warm or place on a wire rack to cool.

Serve for dessert, or breakfast or as a mid-afternoon snack.

Sweets: Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

Satisfy your sweet tooth with these yummy cookies. I use Guittard butterscotch chips because they are very flavorful. You can also add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans to these cookies to give them a little crunch.

I brought a big plateful of these to a dinner the other night and everyone, kids and adults, devoured them.

When you bake these, put the cookie sheet on the bottom rack of your oven until they flatten, then move the tray to the top rack. As they bake, they will puff slightly. Remove them from the oven when they flatten out and just as they start to brown. That way they will still be a little chewy. If you like super crisp cookies, leave them in a few minutes longer. Immediately remove from cookie sheet and let cool on a wire baking rack.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 package Guittard butterscotch chips (approx. 12 ounces)

METHOD

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and both sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and beat in, one at a time. Add vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture. Add oats. Stir in butterscotch chips by hand.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets or, for easier lifting of cookies and easier clean-up, line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Bake for 7-8 minutes. Slightly longer for crispier cookies.

Summer's Bounty: Blueberry Buckle

Delicious blueberry coffeecake for breakfast or, with sweetened whipped cream equally delicious as dessert, Blueberry Buckle, from the Lee Bailey's Country Desserts cookbook is a great cake full of blueberries with a streusel topping. I always make it in a spring form pan.

This cake freezes well and is great to make ahead and then bring out for family or houseguests on lazy weekend mornings.

BLUEBERRY BUCKLE

INGREDIENTS:

For the Cake you will need:

2 Cups and an additional 1 or 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 pint blueberries

For the Topping:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup sifted all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 inch springform pan. Set aside.

In one bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the milk. Toss the berries with the remaining 1-2 tablespoons of flour (so that the berries separate) and fold in the berries. Pour batter into prepared pan. Set aside.

Combine topping ingredients with a fork until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle topping over the batter. Bake approx. 45 miutes.

Remove from oven, run a knife around the edges and remove the springform pan sides. You can serve the Blueberry Buckle from the bottom of the springform pan, or if you are putting it in the freezer, slide a long knife along the bottom of the pan to lift the cake from the pan to wrap before placing it in the freezer.

Luscious Lemon Bars

Tomorrow I am going to bring my son some of these luscious lemon bars.

These have been a favorite in our house for many years and they have been popular at countless potluck luncheons, and dinners. They combine sugary sweetness with the tartness of lemon and offer a crumbly cookie crust with a smooth, almost gooey filling.

The recipe comes from an old cookbook of mine called Sunset's Easy Basics. I literally bought this book when I moved into my first apartment after I graduated from college -- and that was a long time ago!

INGREDIENTS

Shortbread Crust

Shortbread crust ready to go in the oven

1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, softened
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour


Lemon Topping

4 eggs, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
6 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare Shortbread: Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in flour and blend well. With your hands, gather up dough and press it evenly over the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 20 minutes.

While the shortbread bakes, prepare Lemon Topping: Beat eggs until light and frothy. Gradually add the two cups of sugar,beating until thick. Add lemon peel, lemon juice, flour and baking powder; beat until blended.

Pour topping over hot baked crust, and return pan to oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until pale golden. Remove from oven; sprinkle evenly with 3 tablespoons powdered sugar; let cool in pan.








When cool cut into small squares and enjoy!