Dessert: French Cherry Cheese Dessert
CRUST:
3 egg whites
1 cup sugar
20 squares saltines, crushed
1 teas. baking powder
1 teas. vinegar
1 teas. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans
FILLING:
1 8 oz. cream cheese, can use regular or fat free, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teas. vanilla
1 package Dream Whip (powdered whipped topping mix)
For the crust--beat egg whites til foamy, adding in the sugar while beating. Beat til stiff. :D hehe (sorry!) Combine crushed saltines, fold in remaining ingredients in order listed.
Spoon into greased (I use Pam) 13x9x2" pan. Bake @ 325 for 20 minutes, cool.
For the filling--Fold together cream cheese, powdered sugar & vanilla. Blend Prepare Dream Whip as directed. Fold into cheese mixture. Pour over cooled crust. Chill until firm. Garnish with canned cherry pie filling.
Desert..Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Icing
Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Icing
Serves 8 to 10
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup homemade Pumpkin Purée, or canned
1/2 cup warm (110°) milk
Brown Butter Icing
Caramelized Walnut Halves
1. Heat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9-by-2-inch round cake pan. Line pan with parchment, and butter the parchment. Coat pan with flour, and tap out any excess.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat sugar and butter together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, and beat until combined. Add pumpkin purée and milk; beat until combined. Add reserved flour mixture; beat on low speed until just combined.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool. Let cake rest 20 minutes.
5. Unmold cake. Using an offset spatula, spread icing over top of cake, and decorate with caramelized walnut halves.
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Brown Butter Icing
Browning the butter gives this icing a nutty flavor.
The consistency should be thin enough to spread but not runny.
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
1. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat until nut-brown in color, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat, and pour butter into a bowl, leaving any burned sediment behind.
2. Add sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon milk; stir until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add the remaining tablespoon milk, a little at a time, until consistency is spreadable. Let cool 5 minutes. Use immediately.
Side Dish...Roasted Garlic, Sage & Sausage Stuffing
Roasted Garlic, Sage, and Sausage Stuffing
Serves 10
5 cups crumbled Corn Bread
3 cups cooked Carolina Gold rice cold
9 tablespoons butter plus more for pan
3 medium carrots peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (3/4 cup)
1 large onion cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)
3 ribs celery strings removed, cut into 1/4-inch dice (1 1/2 cups)
1 medium green pepper cut into 1/4-inch dice (1/2 cup)
1 1/2 pounds sweet fennel sausage casing removed
2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
2 tablespoons finely chopped sage
1 1/2 teaspoons salt plus more to taste
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste
3 to 4 cups Homemade Chicken Stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat
3 bulbs roasted garlic
1. Heat oven to 375°. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; set aside. In a large bowl, combine corn bread and rice, and set aside. In a large skillet, melt 5 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add carrots, and sauté until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add onion and celery, and sauté until onions are translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Add green pepper, and sauté 1 minute. Combine vegetables and corn-bread mixture.
2. In same skillet, sauté sausage over medium heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon to break up large pieces, until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove sausage with slotted spoon; mix with corn-bread mixture, along with poultry seasoning, sage, salt, and pepper. Discard rendered fat from skillet. Add stock, 1 cup at a time; mix. (You may not need all stock.) Stuffing should be well moistened.
3. Squeeze garlic from skins; mix gently into corn-bread mixture; keep them whole. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to prepared baking dish. Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter; drizzle over top of stuffing. Bake until top is golden and stuffing is heated through, 45 to 50 minutes. To reheat, bring to room temperature, and cover; bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Remove cover; bake until heated through, about 10 minutes more.
*To roast the garlic, remove top quarter of bulbs, drizzle bulbs with olive oil, top with thyme and sage, and bake thirty to thirty-five minutes.
Desert...Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce
Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce
Serves 10 to 12
3/4 cup golden raisins
4 large whole eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups milk
2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for dish
2 teaspoons light-brown sugar
5 to 6 cups day-old Pumpkin Bread, cubed
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
5 large egg yolks
1/4 cup dark rum, or more to taste
1. Heat oven to 350°. Place raisins in a small bowl, and cover with hot water. Let soak until plump. Drain, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together 4 whole eggs, sugar, and salt. Whisk in 2 1/2 cups milk and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
3. Butter a 9-inch, 1 1/2-quart ceramic baking dish with sides that are at least 1 1/2 inches high. Sprinkle bottom of dish with brown sugar; arrange half the challah cubes in a layer on top. Sprinkle with half the reserved raisins. Repeat with remaining challah and raisins.
4. Pour the milk-and-egg mixture over the bread, making sure to soak every piece. Transfer baking dish to the oven, and bake until the custard sets and the bread pudding becomes a rich, golden color, 50 to 60 minutes. If bread becomes too brown before filling is set, loosely cover top of pudding with aluminum foil. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the rum sauce: Combine remaining 1 1/2 cups milk, the heavy cream, and confectioners’ sugar in a saucepan; place over medium heat, and heat just until bubbles form around the edges. Remove from heat.
6. Prepare an ice-water bath, and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks with remaining teaspoon vanilla. Slowly beat 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture into yolks, then slowly whisk yolk mixture back into saucepan with remaining milk mixture. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 1 minute.
7. Strain the mixture into a bowl set in the ice-water bath. Stir in rum and remaining 2 tablespoons butter; stir until combined. Let stand until mixture is chilled. Serve bread pudding warm or at room temperature, with the rum sauce on the side.
Side Dish...Chestnut, Onion & Cornbread Stuffing
Chestnut, Onion, and Cornbread Stuffing
1 1/2 loaves cornbread, recipe follows
2 medium red onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 shallots (about 1/2 pound), cut lengthwise into sixths
5 leeks (about 1 pound), white and pale green parts only, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick pieces
3 celery ribs, chopped
1 cup packed fresh flat-leafed parsley leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 stick unsalted butter
3/4 pound vacuum-packed or canned whole chestnuts
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Cut cornbread into 1/2-inch cubes and in 2 large shallow baking pans bake in middle of oven until just dry, about 20 minutes.
In a large heavy skillet cook red onions, shallots, leeks, celery, herbs with salt and pepper to taste in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until onion mixture is golden brown, softened, about 25 minutes.
If using canned chestnuts, rinse and drain. In a saucepan simmer vacuum-packed or canned chestnuts in 2 cups broth 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, toss together bread, onions, chestnut mixture, remaining 1 1/2 cups broth and salt and pepper to taste and cool completely. Stuffing may be made up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring stuffing to room temperature before proceeding.
To cook all or part of stuffing outside poultry: In a shallow baking dish bake stuffing in preheated 325 degree oven 45 minutes (for moist stuffing, bake covered entire time; for less moist stuffing with a slightly crisp top, uncover halfway through baking time).
Veggie Side Dish - Sichuan Green Beans
1 pound fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. sweet onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Crispy rice noodles for garnish
Place green beans in a steamer and stream until crisp-tender. Meanwhile saute garlic,onion and ginger in sesame oil for 2 - 3 minutes. Add green beans, soy sauce and salt and pepper and cook 2 - 3 more minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle with rice noodles.
The Skinny: Use low sodium soy sauce.