Dessert – Page 11 – Rosemary and the Goat

Drunkened Pineapple Upside Down Cake with Coconut Macadamia Nut Ice Cream

Full of wine and food but enough room for this dessert.

This is the last (thank goodness, I’m sure you are saying to yourself) of our recipes from our feast over Thanksgiving weekend.

For our Hawaiian feast my part was to make the Hawaiian Coconut Shrimp with Orange Lime Dipping Sauce and I also helped with the Corn and Crab Bisque. The dessert recipe was orphaned so I decided to take that on too.

We had so much to eat and drink that night but believe me most of us cleaned our plates of this dessert. Always wanting to prepare as much as possible early, I made these pineapple upside down cakes in individual ramekins and frozen them about 5 days before our dinner. I was not sure if I would be able to turn them out onto the dish and have the gooey caramel sauce release from the dish. BUT, after rewarming in a low oven for about 30 minutes, they flipped out beautifully. The ice cream was made the day before and at the last minute I decided to make them a little more drunkened and I made the rum glaze that goes with a rum cake recipe I have been doing for years. — WINNER.

December 30, 2011 By Sherry

Cake/ Dessert/ Desserts

Caramel Apple Cake with Rum Sauce

A gazillion varieties of apples!

This recipe started out to be titled “Teacup Apple Cake” recipe but after baking some of the leftover batter in a hollowed out apple, I decided to rename the recipe and make the apple stuffed cake the star.

I would love to say that this is an old tattered, smudged, stained family recipe that made it’s way to my recipe box (computer cookbook) via a covered wagon coming over the Oregon Trail to find it’s way to some family member’s home. But, truth be told, it’s a recipe that I either clipped, copied, or ripped quietly from a magazine while impatiently waiting in some small office for some procedure I probably was not looking forward to.

I remember my mother making baked apples with red hot candies melting into a gooey sugary syrup as they baked in the oven and three kids anxiously awaiting the ding of the timer. Back then the only variety of apples I knew about were Red Delicious and Granny Smith apples. I didn’t care about the difference, I just knew I loved baked apples no matter the variety.

This time of the year, anything cooking in the oven with the aroma of apples is waving a big flag saying “Fall is HERE”. Pork with apples – delectable; a spinach salad with sauteed apples and pears – alluring. Apple tarts, cakes, Mississippi Spice Muffins, a 4″ high double crusted apple pie served a la mode and even an apple martini served with an apple ring teetering on the edge of the glass makes you want to run to the market and check out the gazillion varieties of apples. I found this site listing varieties of apples — Orangeppin.com and did not realize that there are still so many kinds of apples I still have not tried.

I love making this recipe in a coffee cup too, but you could just as easily make it in any size or shape pan. With or without ice cream it is delicious with the warm rum sauce. I have to say that my favorite way was baked inside the apple. I let my husband have a little of it but it was so good, I ended up finishing the dessert and then just gave him a plain one in the coffee cup with the rum sauce. He was satisfied but next time I will make them all baked in the apples. For Thanksgiving (or the day after), I bought enormous apples and plan on cutting them in half crosswise, hollowing them out and filling with cake batter or you could simply use small apples but they may be harder to keep intact when carving out the inside.

Ok, get in the car and go buy some apples.

November 16, 2011 By Sherry

Dessert/ Desserts

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

What a wonderful Fall dessert.

This is a recipe that anyone can throw together for any type of party; casual get-together, dinner party, fall brunch, you name it, this recipe will hit the spot on any cold (or chilly) Fall day. And what makes this recipe super easy is that you can use a purchased loaf of pumpkin bread or make your own. I usually choose homemade over anything store bought but if you are in a crunch for time, just buy some ready made bread.

I made this for my garden club last week and everyone loved it and I promised to post the recipe, so here it is. I’m giving you my pumpkin bread recipe also, but you can use your own if it’s your favorite.

I’ve never been a fan of bread pudding. I guess I just didn’t get all those crunchy little bread cubes sticking up out of the dish and the dryness of the bread puddings I have tried. But I changed my mind when I first made this recipe several years ago. Maybe it’s the spiciness of the pumpkin bread OR it could be the sweet and gooey caramel sauce that I drench my bread pudding in, or the fact that someone who acclaimed herself an expert on bread pudding said this was the best she had ever tasted. Whatever the reason I changed my mind, this has made me an lover bread pudding.

For our 40th anniversary party a couple of years ago, my son, Paul, made a banana bread pudding with banana bread with a chocolate sauce. Everyone loved it along with his homemade vanilla bean ice cream and I may be making his recipe during the holidays. So, if you decide to try my version of a bread pudding, please leave a comment of what you think. I’m always open to trying different versions.

November 8, 2011 By Sherry

Dessert/ Desserts

Apple Fritters with Crème Anglaise

Nothing says Fall more than something made with apples!

What Fall has meant to me all this year was that my daughter was getting married. The wedding was last weekend and it was the most beautiful, special weekend any mother could imagine. The bride and groom were so happy and the venue (Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center) was wonderful. Lots of fall flowers and grasses still in bloom and looking gorgeous. But not nearly as gorgeous as my daughter walking down the isle to meet her future husband with family and friends there to celebrate. All the planning and decision making is over so I guess it’s time to get on to other things. I’m thinking about going back to culinary school and finishing what I started years ago. Or, enrolling in some camera classes at our local college. So until then, I guess I will start cooking a little more. I think my husband is ready for some good comfort food.

When I think of Fall I think of apple picking time and one of my kid’s field trips when we lived in Iowa and how we went to pick apples with a whole bus load of screaming kids. The crisp morning air was wonderful and the smell of apples just made you want to run all the way home and make an apple pie.

I love the signs of Fall like apple picking, pumpkins growing in the fields (another field trip) and the crunch of beautiful colored leaves below your feet, the maple trees starting to show some color on your long drives through the countryside or just that leafy autumn smell filling the air was enough to have me in my kitchen wanting to cook something comforting. And, I just love it when I actually need to grab a jacket before going out (normally doesn’t happen in Texas until maybe December, but it happened this morning).

This particular recipe came from a dinner group we belonged to while living in Iowa back in the late 70’s/80’s. We made some of the best friends while living there through church and Welcome Wagon. There wasn’t a lot to do in the winter there, so to get together with friends for a great meal and enjoy all the snow from inside in front of a crackling fire was just so comforting.

October 30, 2011 By Sherry

Candy/ Cookies/Bars

Purple Kiss

“A kiss is just a kiss” ♫♫♫♫♫

You must remember this
A kiss is still a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh ♫♫♫♫♫
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by
And when two lovers woo
They still say, “I love you”
On that you can rely
No matter what the future brings
As time goes by ♫♫♫♫♫

So, the wedding is over and how time did go by. Seems like just yesterday that my daughter was on her way to kindergarten and I remember the tears and saying goodbye and what it felt like to have all three kids out of the house — sad, but in a good way.

Oh, how times flies. A new baby, diapers, school, lots of sporting events like swim team, tennis, volleyball, college and then marriage. I made these little “kisses” for treat bags for hotel guest at the wedding last weekend. Purple M&M’s, of course, and I was surprised when I found bags of colored ones at our local Party City store.

So this little treat was something I saw at Pinterest. One can find the most interesting little tidbits there.

These are are as easy as they look and would look just as cute with mixed colored M&M’s. Pretzel, topped with a chocolate kiss, 3 minutes in the oven, and press in an M&M, chill a little, and you are ready to go.

Hope you will try these soon. Orange and brown for Thanksgiving or red and green for Christmas. Cute and yummy little treats.

October 25, 2011 By Sherry

Candy/ Dessert

S’more Chocolate Bark

You will be yelling “give me some more”!

A bowl full of delightful chocolate.

What is your earliest memory of a S’more? I think mine would have to be maybe at day camp with my brownie troop and we were all holding sticks over the campfire until our marshmallows got just the most perfect toasty brown color and then hurrying to put the chocolate and graham cracker together with the melted gooey marshmallow to make the most delicious sandwich you’ve ever had. Oh, I can almost taste them now.

Were you one of those kids (or adults) that once your marshmallow caught fire you waved it around trying to put out the flames only to have them burn to a crisp. That is my favorite way to do a marshmallow – burnt. Can you think of a dessert, as delicious as a S’more, that you can pack right in your suitcase and have where ever you go. In the past, I have packed all the ingredients for a ski trip and then roasted the marshmallows over an open fireplace. Even if you have to nuke it in a hotel room microwave, just think you will have a hot, yummy dessert before you jump in bed and oh what sweet dreams you will have.

How about a s’more on top of a hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate, what a dunkable. Or, a bowl of steaming oatmeal with broken pieces of chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows covering the top. I recently found this S’more Cup recipe and can’t wait for the opportunity to try it out and also this S’more Dip which would be a hit with any kids or the ones of us who are still kids at heart.

I have seen so many variations of S’mores over the years. Have you ever tried one with a York peppermint patty, Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup, or even an Almond Joy. Well, this recipe is another version. S’more Chocolate Bark is so easy to make and makes the perfect little gift to give guests. I recently did some for a brunch and gave to everyone to take home for their ride back to Austin.

October 20, 2011 By Sherry

Dessert/ Pies/Tarts

Raspberry Cheese Pie

Hurry up November! I want a piece of this pie.

I can’t wait for my daughter’s wedding this weekend; the last of my three kids to get married and the only daughter. I have dreamed of this day for years maybe even since the day she first made her appearance on this earth.

I remember as a kid having dolls and my favorite doll, I think, was my Bride’s doll. All decked out in her long dress and veil. I just loved playing with her. Now, watching my daughter plan her wedding (and believe me, she has done most of the work), all I can think about is what shouldn’t be going into my mouth. I have been trying to be good over the last several months, giving up desserts and wine and a lot of other things.

Other than dreaming about the wedding, my other dreams are consumed with what I’m going to EAT after the wedding. I’m making a list of things I really want. Top of my list is a burger on a real bun covered with cheese, chicken gizzards next on the list, maybe a doughnut or two (one usually makes me sick), and then of course there’s dessert. So, I may take a bite of this pie just so I can experience the berry goodness, but once the wedding is over, I’m having a whole piece. Maybe I will take a whole day and just eat everything I want and get it over with.

October 15, 2011 By Sherry

Cake/ Dessert

Mama’s Butter Cake

Great plain or covered with berries and cream.

My grandmother on my mother’s side was never a “grandma” but a “mama”. I’m a “gran” to my two grandsons and I better not ever catch them calling me granny or any of those other old sounding names. I’m not old yet. I still have a few recipes in my apron pocket.

Isn’t it wonderful to have all those memories stored up of family favorites. I associate foods with all kinds of events and can recall what we were doing with certain foods. We were in NYC a couple of years ago and had dinner at Gramercy Tavern and were served an amuse bouche that was a homemade tater tot with a tapenade piped into the center and it was served in a tiny dish perched on top of sea salt. So when I see tater tots on a menu, I think of that New York trip and eating one of the best meals we have ever had. But those were not ordinary tater tots we had that night and I have the recipe courtesy of Executive Chef Michael Anthony.I can think of a bucket of mussels and picture sitting outside at this little cafe in Bruge enjoying a delicious lunch. I know I’m strange because thinking of food and recipes takes up a large part of my thoughts.

My “mama” use to make this wonderful one layer butter cake that we would either eat plain or with berries and whipped cream. Sometimes we would just eat it right out of the oven with a pat of butter spread on top . She is still living in her own home but does not know anthing about the whereabouts of that recipe.

This is my attempt to re-create her declicous butter cake to bring back those childhood memories of that cake. I actually let go of some of my raspberries I have been hoarding in my freezer, and with the strawberries and a little sugar, they made a great filling for this cake.

There were two ways of making this cake; separating the eggs and whipping the egg whites and folding into the batter or adding the whole egg. I opted for the whole egg since I decided to make this about an hour before our company came. We only used one layer that night and my husband cut up the other layer into large wedges and froze it. That has been his bedtime snack for the last week.

September 22, 2011 By Sherry

Dessert/ Pies/Tarts

Lemon Meringue Pie

My perfect lemon meringue pie. Finally!!!

I always wanted to put a pie in an open window overlooking a beautiful meadow so the aroma of it would waif across the open fields to someone who had a sweet tooth and ready for dessert. Oh, well, it is a window even though it doesn’t open and no beautiful meadow to look at, but it is a delicious pie which is going to get eaten.

I’ve said before how my husband loves Lemon Meringue Pie and that the first month we were married I made seven trying to perfect the kind of pie he was yearning for. Last year for his birthday I made this Lemon Meringue Tart and this year for his birthday I decided to give the Lemon Meringue Pie another chance (or me another chance anyway to try and get it right).

September 9, 2011 By Sherry

Cookies/Bars/ Dessert

Cowboy Cookies

So you wanna be a cowboy!

Recently my husband and I were at the movie watching Cowboys and Aliens and he turned to me and said “I wanna be a cowboy”.

My first thought was “Am I going to be his cowgirl”. Now according to the lyrics of that song I will be riding on the chuck wagon following my man. I guess that means I’m going to be cooking and blogging from a bumpy ride in a wooden wagon sleeping under the stars, fighting off the bad guys and making our espressos over an open fire. Now, whose going out to kill our dinner for the night. Not me, I’m inside the wagon whipping up some delicious menus to try over the dusty trail.

I think he may have watched too many western TV shows when he was a kid. I’m sure he was a fan of Roy Rogers, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, Bonanza and of course Have Gun Will Travel. I picture him sitting in front of the tv with his cowboy hat on, gun in hands and even spurs on his boots (or shoes) saying “I wanna be a cowboy when I grow up.”

This is my cowboy. He knew at a very young age he wanted to be a cowboy.

August 14, 2011 By Sherry

Dessert/ Ice Cream

Black Walnut Ice Cream

Are you screamin’ for ice cream this summer?

I don’t know what your first memories of ice cream are but mine are of a Walkaway Sunday at Figgins ice cream shop in my hometown. The little neighborhood shop is long gone but what I remember is my grandmother taking my sister and I there. We lived within walking distances and it was a real treat to be able to go.

I don’t know where the name walkway came from because we didn’t walkway away eating it. Believe it or not it wasn’t any more than a large sundae glass filled with rich vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. I’m sure it was Hershey’s syrup because sometimes when I get the right combination of the right brand of vanilla ice cream and the “canned” Hershey’s syrup, I can close my eyes and see those two little twin girls sitting on a bar stool eating their ice cream. I have had similar experiences with smells and taste that take me back to a different time. Mysterious!

Then, of course, who doesn’t have all those memories of parents or grandparents churning ice cream. Remember how we use to have to layer the salt with the ice in the big wooden ice cream makers and we would sit there and take turns churning the mixture until you just could not turn one more time. Seems like it was always the adults doing the churning and the kids were all running around saying “is it ready yet”.

July 14, 2011 By Sherry

Dessert/ Desserts

Mile High Berry Dessert

Red, white and blue, so fitting for the 4th of July!

Dessert is one of my favorite food groups. I don’t know about you, but when I finish a meal, I want something sweet. I don’t care if it is a Popsicle, ice cream, fruit, or if I’m desperate a bowl of jello. But, don’t dare deny me of a sweet ending to my dinner. I just want a bite!!! That is, unless I can have the whole thing.

Some of the desserts I made and my mother use to make when I first got married just disappeared off the radar for about 40 years, but some have started reappearing in some magazines and TV cooking shows. Paula Deen is always making something on her show that my mother use to make back in the 50’s and 60’s.

On a recent trip to Missouri, my twin sister made the Strawberry Mile High dessert that our mother use to make many years ago. I had forgotten how good it was. This is a light summery treat that will cool you on the hottest summer days.

You do need a stand mixer to make this dessert. A hand mixer is the next best thing but you will have to hold that mixer for 15 minutes while the mixture beats and gets so light and fluffy. I did notice that using my Kitchen Aid mixer with the wire whisk that it beat almost to the top of the bowl in about 9 minutes. So what you want in the end is something about 4 times the volume you started with.

Something old, made new again and updated a bit. The original recipe was just frozen strawberries with a nut crust and whipped filling. I have decided since I recently picked blueberries and got a great deal on some raspberries to add these to my dessert for a berry treat of red, white, and blue. My mother always used Cool Whip but I substituted real whipping cream in place of the whipped topping. I think it gives it a much richer taste and I also decided to use some fresh strawberries along with the carton of frozen strawberries.

June 29, 2011 By Sherry

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