Dessert – Page 15 – Rosemary and the Goat

Banana Pudding Ice Cream

Remember that banana pudding your grandmother use to make that was piled high with meringue and browned in the oven?

I remember my mother and grandmother making homemade banana pudding. I remember the smooth custard that they made from scratch. NO instant vanilla pudding and no whipped cream on top. Instead their banana pudding had that rich homemade custard, crunchy vanilla wafers on the verge of getting soft but still a little crunch left and oh, the meringue, piled high and browned in the oven.

Wow! Now you can have those same flavors in this ice cream. I know summer is over, but I’m slipping this ice cream recipe in because I know you will enjoy it. My daughter and I went to Charleston, SC over Labor Day weekend with my twin sister and her son. We had a great time and while there I saw this cookbook, The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook and remember SmittenKitchenmentioning this book in her blog. So, I ordered it from our library and while drueling over almost every recipe in the book I came across the recipe for Banana Pudding Ice cream. It’s delicious.

I topped this with a banana slices and vanilla wafers. I think chocolate would be a great addition.

October 9, 2009 By Sherry

Bars/ Dessert

Cheesecake Brownies — The Best

I’m sorry, I’m prejudice, but these are the best cheesecake brownies I have ever put in my mouth!

I just got back from a trip to NYC with my husband and friends. We were celebrating our 40th and 25th wedding anniversaries and I really want to talk about everything we did and ate but I guess that will have to wait a few days until I catch up on things here.

I made these cheesecake brownies for a catering job I have this weekend. I have been making this recipe for at least 15 years and I feel like they are the best of the best brownies.

I have done them with the cheesecake topping, without the topping, with nuts only sprinkled on top, with nuts and chocolate chips sprinkled on top (my favorite way). And they still remain, one of my all-time favorite brownie recipes.

These are so truffle like you won’t believe it until you taste them. I have tried making the batter several ways. I have melted the butter and the chips together to add to the batter and I have also creamed the butter with the sugar and add to the batter. You need to try doing these both ways and find your favorite method. If you are like me, you will be standing with glass of milk, a potholder in hand and waiting for the oven timer to ring saying “eat me”.

September 26, 2009 By Sherry

Cake/ Dessert

Almond Cornmeal Cake w/Sour Cherry Sauce and Goat Cheese Topping

Sour Cherries and Goat Cheese!

Now that sounds like an unusual combination. This morning I was straightening and organizing my pantry and ran across a can of sour cherries that I bought after returning from a trip to Chicago to visit our son and daughter-in-law.

While visiting them this summer, we had dinner one night at Mado. A wonderful little restaurant that uses local farmers for their meats and produce. We enjoyed a fantastic meal and for dessert we ordered the Megas Bark (which I have made) and also their Almond and Cornmeal Cake with sour cherry jam, goat cheese and mascarpone cheese topped with candied almonds.

I love visiting Chicago. There are so many great little restaurants tucked here and there around the city and I am making it my mission to try each and every one of them. I love keeping track of restaurants we enjoy while traveling. After our trip to Italy a few years ago, I did a poster from Snapfish with all our food pictures of meals we enjoyed there. Yes, we are that couple you probably see taking pictures of their plates of food :).

September 9, 2009 By Sherry

Cookies/ Cookies/Bars/ Dessert

Coconut Macaroons

I’ve been in search of a great macaroon for years. Recently I tasted the best I have ever had at Katz deli here in Texas. It was big, moist and a heavenly cloud of coconut.

The unsweetened coconut is beautiful when it is in large pieces but not nearly sweet enough for a macaroon by itself. So you have to sweeten it with condensed milk. Have you EVER tasted anything with condensed milk that isn’t good? After making this recipe a couple of times I have since mixed the unsweetened (because I like the look) and sweetened coconut.

September 8, 2009 By Sherry

Cookies/ Cookies/Bars/ Dessert

Peanut Butter Shadow Cookies

If you like nuts, these are for you. If you like peanut butter, these are for you and if you like chocolate and especially Nutella, you cannot walk away from these.

I found this huge can of Planter’s mixed nuts in my pantry this morning. They were left over from our anniversary party a couple of weeks ago and I started thinking “peanuts” “mixed nuts”, what can I make today for the guys working so hard on getting our master bathroom remodeled? They need a treat to keep them motivated.

When I was a kid (I usually say when “we” were kids. Must be twin talk). We (my sister and I) would go to Memphis with our grandparents to shop. Back then (50’s/60’s) we shopped downtown. I remember how fun it was to “window shop” especially at Christmas when all the store fronts had Christmas scenes and we would stand there with our noses pressed to the window and watch Mr. Bingle do his Christmas magic. I don’t remember ever going to a mall, I don’t think there were any back then. Anyway, my grandfather always had to go to the Peanut Shoppe on Main Street. It’s still there and my husband and I went a few years ago and there, sitting on a shelf, was a peanut cup like I use to have as a kid. I want one!

I remember when walking towards the Peanut Shoppe we could smell the nuts roasting from blocks away. To this day when I see the little Planter’s guy I think of this peanut shop. My grandfather always got a bag of cashew nuts for himself and some peanuts or popcorn to feed to the squirrels in the park where he sat, forever, waiting for the “girls” to shop. I remember this little shop also selling coconut brittle which I’m going to try soon.

I have had this recipe for Peanut Butter Shadow Cookies for about 20 years. So today I decided to try my Peanut Butter Shadow cookies, substituting Nutella for the melted chocolate chips that is usually folded into the cookie dough. I also thought to roll them in the mixed nuts I need to get rid of. (Hard to believe but I have never tasted raw cookie dough – I would much rather wait for the finished product.)

August 27, 2009 By Sherry

Dessert/ Pies/Tarts

Lemon Meringue Tart

It’s not a birthday cake but it’s what my husband is getting this year for his birthday.

After 40 years of being married and cooking 98% of the meals we have ever eaten, I have yet to make a decent lemon meringue pie.

In the first couple of months of marriage I think I probably made at least 7 lemon meringue pies. Or, should I say attempted. My husband always liked the clear type filling instead of the creamy custardy type. I just never mastered that pie, so I gave up trying and I moved on to other cooking endeavors.

I ran across this recipe 10 – 15 years ago, clipped it, thinking one day I would try my hand again. Never got around to trying it, I guess because I thought I’d have to chalk that up to another failure.

Then, I took another look at the recipe, and with 40 years of cooking experiences since my first attempts at pleasing my husband with some kind of lemon “delight” I decided to try something different from the traditional lemon pie.

With the thin slices of lemon covering the crust and the absolutely wonderful curd and meringue this was everything he wanted.

Now, what other things are out there that I want to master?

Next time, I will watch my meringue a little more closely because it got a tad too brown.

Lemon Meringue Tart

Ingredients

Lemon Curd:

6 tablespoons lemon juice
4 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons whipping cream
3 large egg yolk

Crust:

1 cup flour
6 tablespoons sugar
1/4 Teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter
3 Tablespoons ice water
1 large lemon cut into 1/16″ slices, quartered

Meringue:

3 large egg whites
6 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

Curd: Combine lemon juice, sugar, cream and yolks in heavy small saucepan and whisk to combine. Cook over medium-low heat until mixture thickens and just begins to bubble, stirring constantly about 7 minutes.

Immediately transfer to a bowl. Press plastic wrap onto surface of curd to prevent skin from forming. Chill until cold, 2 hours.

For crust: Combine flour, 2 tablespoons sugar and salt in food processor. Add the chilled butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually add 3 tablespoons water and blend using on/off turns until mixture forms moist clumps. If dough is too dry, add more water by the teaspoonfuls. Gather dough into a ball. Flatten to disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for about a hour.

Preheat oven to 450. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12″ round. Transfer to large baking sheet. Sprinkle dough with 2 tablespoons sugar. Place lemon pieces on dough, leaving 1 1/2″ border. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over lemon pieces. Fold dough border in over lemon pieces; press edges lightly to seal. Bake until crust is golden, piercing through lemon pieces with toothpick if crust bubbles, about 25 minutes. Cool tart completely. Can be made 4 hours ahead

For meringue: Preheat oven to 450. Using mixer, beat egg whites in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Add sugar and beat until mixture is stiff but not dry.

Spread lemon curd over lemon pieces in crust, covering completely. spread meringue over, covering curd completely and sealing to crust edges. Bake until meringue is golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer tart to platter.

August 24, 2009 By Sherry

Cookies/ Cookies/Bars/ Dessert

Coconut Shortbreads

Tea time and the shortbreads are ready!

I got up this morning with a major decision hanging over my head. Do I roll up my sleeves, take off my shoes, get in my 20 year old shower and start scrubbing down the walls trying to get it somewhat clean before our demo guy comes tomorrow to tear everything out for a remodel of our master bath.

Or?

Do I make coconut shortbreads which I can feed to our demo man?? That decision took me all of one second to make. Shortbreads it is!

I have convinced myself that our bathroom marble is beyond ever looking good again and I would rather put my time to better use and that would be trying new blog recipes and feeding the workers during this 3-4 week bathroom remodeling project. So with a dining room piled high with clothes and everything we have had stored in our bathroom for 20 years, I decided to start my shortbreads. After all, I have to have a snack for whoever shows up this week to work on our bathroom. It just wouldn’t be right to NOT have some homemade snacks for them.

August 16, 2009 By Sherry

Dessert/ Fruit Dishes/ Pies/Tarts

Peach Melba Crunch

Summer’s best peaches put to good use.

This is the third peach recipe I promised in last week’s posting. After buying a sack full of peaches at the market, I had three recipes in mind. These peaches were not only beautiful, they were very tangy and sweet. The other two dishes I made were Peach and Arugula Salad with Pancetta Chips and a Peachy Raspberry Ice Cream. This recipe has two of my favorite fruits — peaches and raspberries.

As a kid, I remember picking mulberries and dew berries but I don’t think I remember eating fresh raspberries until I was an adult. Raspberries, blackberries, figs and blue berries go great with cheese and nut trays and I have also thrown in some dried fruits which makes for a nice presentation.

Years ago I remember making my first Peach Melba. It was an ice cream dessert and had vanilla ice cream, and poached peach halves and a raspberry sauce. You poached the peaches, cooled and then made ice cream balls, topped with a peach half (upside down) and then drizzled the raspberry sauce over all. I remember the recipe saying it will be as bright as the Pope’s hat. It was, and I think this dessert is just as delicious and vivid in color.

The raspberries were bought earlier in the season when I picked them up for 99¢ and of course I bought about twenty cartons to put in the freezer. I tend to go overboard when buying berries when they get down to 99¢. Last year I had a freezer full of blueberries I lost during the power outage from the hurricane. You would think I would learn my lesson but I’m always looking for a bargain.

August 13, 2009 By Sherry

Dessert/ Ice Cream

Peachy Raspberry Ice Cream

Peaches, Peaches, Peaches… Three peach recipes this week. And this one is Peachy Keen!

I was at the market today and found some peaches for 77¢ lb. and couldn’t resist getting a bag full to try a few new recipes. These were Texas peaches and very flavorful. Nothing disappoints me more than buying peaches that smell, look, and feel good only to get them home and they are either mushy or flavorless.

So, this week I’m making three peach recipes. First, this Peachy Raspberry ice cream, then a Peach Arugula Salad with Pancetta Chips and finally a Peach Melba Crunch.

Peaches and raspberries are two of my favorite fruit combinations. I have tried a couple of Sugarlaws.com yogurt recipes and really enjoyed them. She uses Greek yogurt in many of her recipes, which might make for an interesting addition to my ice cream recipe. She also adds some vodka to her ice creams to keep them from freezing too hard. Since there just happened to be some peach flavored vodka laying around that I bought for cocktails tonight, I added a splash to my Peach Raspberry Ice Cream recipe.

August 2, 2009 By Sherry

Dessert/ Ice Cream

Watermelon Basil Mint Sorbet

Beautiful and delicious!

I promised this recipe to go with the Watermelon Cookies I posted yesterday. I didn’t think there was a better way to eat watermelon than with a fork and a salt shaker, but this Watermelon Basil Sorbet takes the prize.

A friend of mine recently made a lemon sorbet that used simple syrup that had been infused with basil and mint. I have made my watermelon sorbet a few times this summer and it is really yummy, but this time I decided to try adding the mint and fresh basil to my simple syrup and it resulted in an even more delicious sorbet.

I made this last night when our neighbors came over for dinner. We had brined bbq pork chops, a corn, avocado, and cucumber salad, homemade onion rings and to top it off this Watermelon Sorbet with the watermelon cookies.

I used about half a large watermelon. What was leftover I froze to use in watermelon mojitos which I had over the 4th of July and they were fantastic.

You will need 8 cups cubed watermelon. Cube the watermelon, removing the seeds. Put the watermelon in your food processor and puree.

To make the simple syrup I used 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water. Bring this to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved. Turn off the heat and add 24 fresh basil leaves and 12 mint leaves. Let the leaves infuse for 3-4 minutes then strain and pour your simple syrup into a jar and refrigerate until needed.

You are going to add some lemon juice (2 tablespoons) and 1 cup of the simple syrup.

Pour this into your ice cream maker and freeze until firm. Pour into freezer container and freeze until ready to serve. Do not make this a day ahead as it may get too hard. I usually make it about 4-5 hours ahead of serving time. If you have the Cuisinart ice cream freezer that is 1 1/2 quarts, you may not be able to use all the mixture. I usually have about 2 cups left over that I can do another small batch.

Now serve this with some of those watermelon cookies and you have a refreshing summer dessert.

Watermelon Basil Mint Sorbet

Ingredients

8 cups of cubed watermelon
1 cup basil/mint infused simple syrup
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Basil/Mint Infused Simple Syrup

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
24 basil leaves
12 mint leaves

Instructions

Cube the watermelon and remove all seeds. Put this in your food processor and puree until you have no chunks. Add the 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and 1 cup of the basil/mint infused simple syrup. Pour this mixture into your ice cream freezer and freeze until thick. Pour into freezer containers and freeze 4-5 hours before serving. I would not do this a day in advance because it gets too firm. I like to do mine in the afternoon and serve it the same night.
For the simple syrup: Put the sugar and water in saucepan and bring to boil, turn down and stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Turn off the heat and add the basil and mint leaves. Let them set in syrup for 3-4 minutes, then strain and put in jar and refrigerate until needed.

July 24, 2009 By Sherry

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