Dessert – Page 7 – Rosemary and the Goat

Autumn Apple Cake

Been making this for years and still a favorite.

This is one delicious apple cake that you may want to try out for your Autumn or Fall dinner.

Autumn is a season somewhere between summer and winter. When I think of Autumn or Fall I think of trees shedding their leaves after they have shared all their beautiful yellow, orange, and red leaves. Summer is gone and there SHOULD be a little chill in the air or at least that feeling of “fallness” that I use to know before moving to Texas. The skies may be a little grayer. When you go for a walk there may be a crunch in your step as you step on all those fallen leaves. If I’m out riding my bike, I make sure I ride over any of those leaves. If you have kids or grandkids, they probably love playing in piles of leaves (see my grandsons below — they borrowed a neighbors leaf pile).

But, if you are living in Texas (our part anyway), there sometimes really isn’t a Fall or Autumn season; we go from summer to winter which isn’t always cold but doesn’t quite feel like that Autumn time of the year. We may not have those beautiful trees (ours sometimes don’t lose their leaves until December and January) but my husband can play golf 12 months out of the year. Sometimes shorts can be worn in December and January; our skies always seem to be blue and of course “the stars at night are big and bright” deep in the heart of Texas.

September 26, 2015 By Sherry

Cookies/Bars/ Dessert

Chocolate Almond Biscotti

Thanks Sherry K for this great recipe.

There’s a funny story about biscotti I have to share with you. Years ago when I was doing a lot of corporate catering I liked to try new recipes and drop them off at offices. Well, once I made some biscotti and dropped it by a company and the next time I went in I asked the secretary how her boss liked them and she said he did but they were a little hard and crunchy. That was so funny, I guess he had never eaten a biscotti before and didn’t realize they are dipping cookies to be dipped in either coffee, hot tea or even a good cup of hot chocolate will do the job.

These are so easy to make and keep so well I don’t know why I don’t make them more often. When I worked at Williams Sonoma I worked with another Sherry which I always called “the other Sherry”. Everyone said her recipe for biscotti was one of the best they had ever tried. I worked there 6 1/2 years and never tried the recipe and years later I have finally make them and, in fact, several times.

Who wants to pay $2 for one biscotti from Starbucks when you can have a jar full at home just waiting to be dunked in your favorite hot beverage.

September 16, 2015 By Sherry

Bars/ Cake/ Dessert/ Morning Foods

Lemon “Goat” Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Nothing better with a cup of tea than this lemon coffee cake.

Something about the word “lemon” always makes me pucker. Several years ago after returning from Italy I decided I was going to make some
limoncello; we enjoyed it while there and I though how easy could that be to make. So, I go about gathering my ingredients which were a lot of lemons, sugar and vodka. I still think I had either cheap vodka or to0 high of a proof of vodka. Here’s what happened in my little experiment. I did the first stage which might have taken 20 days (not the link I gave you), then I strained it off and did something else to the mixture and I think I had to wait another 20 days. So the morning of the 40th day I couldn’t wait to try it and 8:30 in the morning I poured myself a shot. Wow, it was terrible. I ended up throwing it all away and just bought some at the liquor store.

You won’t throw away this this lemon cake. When I found this recipe at My Lovely Little Kitchen I notice the different cream cheese she used. So when I went to the store to get my ingredients I bought goat milk cream cheese not remembering that she used Greek yogurt cream cheese. I had never heard of either one. When I traced her recipe back to see where she got the idea I ended up at Two In The Kitchen and she had used regular cream cheese and looking further, I saw her recipe came from a fruit filled coffee cake recipe from a Better Homes and Garden book. Interesting how recipes evolve with each time they are baked.

September 11, 2015 By Sherry

Cookies/Bars/ Dessert

Lemon Raspberry Bars

Lemon and raspberries make this a sweet delight.

Don’t you think lemon desserts make for the perfect sweet ending to a summer meal. I do and lemon happens to one of my husband’s favorite flavors. I’m sorry he didn’t get to finish off the bars after I took a few pictures (he did get one). I took them to share with a group of ladies and they were gone by lunchtime.

I use to make lemon bars for catering jobs all the time. Whether it was a luncheon or for a sweet pickup to go with a cocktail party, I knew these would be eaten and I did them so often I never looked at a recipe. Those days are gone and I have to refer back to most of the recipes I use to make from memory. Not that my memory is going, I just haven’t made these lemon bars in years.

With a freezer full of raspberries I was looking for something to do with them. I happened up on this Raspberry Lemon Bar recipe from Lovely Little Kitchen but decided not to use my frozen berries and bought fresh ones instead. I think the frozen berries would have too much moisture in them for this recipe and I found raspberries on sale again but I only bought one package. I used my favorite lemon bar recipe that I have used for over 20 years but added the raspberries to them.

The above picture was taken as soon as they were sprinkled with the sugar. If they sit too long, the raspberries that were on top soaked up the sugar; so the next time I make these, I’m putting the raspberries on the top of the crust and then pouring on the lemon filling.

August 22, 2015 By Sherry

Dessert/ Desserts/ Morning Foods/ Pies/Tarts

Very Berry Breakfast Pudding

Very Berry Breakfast…..

Could there be anything better than a bread pudding for breakfast? This isn’t called a bread pudding probably because who would eat bread pudding for breakfast? Call it Very Berry Breakfast Pudding and it has one drooling over the name alone and you don’t have to wait for dessert to eat it.

The making of bread pudding can be traced back to the 11 and 12th centuries and is popular in many countries with each one having their own twist to the recipe. I’m sure bread pudding came about when there was leftover stale bread in the house and not wanting to waste anything the homemaker added this and that to it and came up with a scrumptious dessert; in this case a breakfast treat.

There are two kinds of websites I like to look to for recipes, Bed and Breakfast sites and Winery sites; I have found delicious recipes from both sites; and this “pudding” will be a welcome breakfast treat any time.

July 27, 2015 By Sherry

Dessert/ Desserts/ Ice Cream

Peach and Cherry Custard

I Scream, You Scream, We all SCREAM for Blue Bell!

Ok, Blue Bell, you’ve had months to get back on the shelves and we are all growing impatient. I wanted some ice cream last weekend to go with a dessert I was making for company and I was at a loss to know what brand to buy. I’ve bought Blue Bell since moving to Texas and as far as I’m concerned there is no others that compare. Maybe Hagen Daz but who wants to pay twice as much for a cup of ice cream.

So, I have decided if I can’t have Blue Bell I will just make my own. I have many ice cream recipes on the blog that I love; and I like to come up with one or two more to try in the summer months when nothing else sounds better for dessert than a bowl, cup or cone of ice cream.

June 27, 2015 By Sherry

Dessert/ Desserts

Pavlova with Fresh Fruit

A little tutu dessert for u.

Are you one of those people who always turns down dessert in a restaurant? Usually I am only because I’m too full to enjoy it. I will never give up desserts; I don’t make them all the time but when I do, I’m not only going to eat it, I’m going to enjoy it. Life is too short to say I’m NEVER going to eat certain things.

If you didn’t already know it, Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert named after a famous Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, and it is believed to have been created in her honor after one of her tours to Australia and New Zealand back in the 20’s.

I like to make individual meringue shells and they look like puffy little tutus that are filled with whipped cream and fruit.

This is a perfect little dessert for any summer time gathering or do it just for yourself. My meringue shells were made the day before and were put them in an airtight container to stay crisp until the next day. I chose kiwi, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries to fill mine.

June 12, 2015 By Sherry

Dessert/ Desserts/ Ice Cream

Grilled Pineapple Dessert

A great little summer dessert.

Looks like summer is here; can you believe that? Do you have your summer all planned out yet? We don’t. We are in the process of having an outdoor kitchen built and not sure how long that is going to take. We will be doing some babysitting for the grandsons this summer which should be a lot of fun and hoping to squeeze a trip or two sometime before the Fall.

This dessert is so easy to make for any of your outdoor parties where you already have your grill heated. In fact, you could cook the pineapple in advance and just serve it room temperature, then you don’t have your ice cream melting which is one of my complaints about warm desserts that are served with ice cream.

Remember when there were regular pineapples and then there were the new ones coming to the markets called “gold” pineapples. Now, that is all you see in the market. There are all sorts of test for checking the ripeness of fruits (scent, sight and feel). Pulling the center leaves from a pineapple does not tell you whether it is ripe or not. I just found this out and I have been using that technique for years. Probably a lot of my other methods of picking the most perfect piece of fruit or produce isn’t accurate either.

May 27, 2015 By Sherry

Dessert/ Pies/Tarts

Angel Mango Pie

Luscious and delicious mangos.

Growing up in a small town (Caruthersville, MO) you can’t help to know who some of the best bakers are. Of course, our mother was a great baker but everyone knew that Mrs. Johnson’s (also know as Froni short for Veronica) pies and cakes were the best. If you wanted one of her delicious desserts, all you had to do was give her a call and place an order. She was known for her fresh coconut cake, from scratch angel food cake, Angel Pie (meringue only, no crust) and also her Angel Food Pie was a favorite with many of her 11 children. Her daughter, Aggie, told me that some of her siblings wanted peaches, some wanted fresh strawberries and another brother wanted no fruit at all for this Angel food pie. I think her original recipe for Angel food Pie was made with Peaches.

I’m sure when my sister and I first started making this pie she got the recipe from Mrs. Johnson because she and her husband use to go play pinochle at the Johnson’s house and I’m sure they were served many wonderful desserts. I hope I haven’t changed it from the original. Can you imagine growing up in a house where something yummy was coming out of the oven probably every day. With 11 children, I’m sure she spent most of her time in the kitchen or doing laundry. And, I only had 3 and that seemed to be a lot of work at the time.

I use to use can peaches for this pie. Can’t believe I would have done that but I did. I’ve made it also with fresh peaches; never tried strawberries but sounds wonderful. I’m using fresh mangos for this version since we get some beautiful ones here in Texas. You can try whatever fruit you want; it’s up to you. I think mixed berries would be yummy also.

May 17, 2015 By Sherry

Dessert/ Pies/Tarts

Kentucky Walnut Pie

And……they are off and running!

There is no mint in this pie, only for garnish, but if you are at a Kentucky Derby Party this weekend you will probably be drinking mint juleps.

I’m sure almost everyone makes Derby Pie or at least has tasted it, but I have never shared my recipe.

The name Derby Pie is trademarked by Kern’s Kitchen in Louisville and they invented it or came up with the recipe back in 1950 at the Melrose Inn in Prospect, Kentucky.

I have been making Derby Pie which I have called Kentucky Derby Pie since we lived in Louisville back in the 70’s. If you look at the picture of their pie in the above link, mine looks nothing like their’s. Also, a lot of recipe call for pecans and bourbon. I don’t remember who gave me this recipe back in the 70’s but it had walnuts, no bourbon and definitely a homemade pie crust not a store bought one. According to what I have read on the web the family of Kern’s Kitchen is going after anyone I guess that calls their pie “Derby Pie” so, after years of calling mine Derby Pie, I’m calling it Kentucky Walnut Pie just so I don’t get sued. That seems kind of nasty if you ask me, to sue someone even if they change the ingredients. And, I have to say mine looks way more appetizing.

Both our sons were born in Louisville in the same hospital with the same doctor and I feel like if I ever want to talk about our years living in Louisville and going to the Kentucky Derby then I had to make a Kentucky Derby Pie.

Each year, I could not wait to go to the Kentucky Derby. No, we were not one of the beautiful people with gorgeously outrageous hats sitting up in the box seats or even the bleachers. We were one of the “infield crowd”; the ones that would carry coolers of booze and try to get in with it or make something called spoliolies that taste like lemonade but was full of vodka and lemon juice. We always did manage to sneek some concoction into the races.

April 27, 2015 By Sherry

Cake/ Dessert/ Pies/Tarts

Mocha Chocolate Icebox Cake

What would the world be without chocolate chips?

What would the world be without chocolate chips you say? Definitely not as sweet for sure.

I have to admit to occasionally buying chocolate chip cookies for my kids when they were young and they would probably have been Chips Ahoy by Nabisco. But, 99% of the time they would have had homemade, warm out of the oven, cookies waiting for them when they returned from school with a tall glass of milk.

When we lived in Chicago back in the 80’s and my daughter was in pre-school, I was guilty of talking her out of going to pre-school one day so we could go to Woodfield Mall. At the time, I think that was one of the largest malls in the U.S. and they had a Mrs. Fields Cookie shop which I absolutely in love with their Macadamia Nut White Chocolate and Chocolate Chip Cookies. These cookies were always warm out the oven. So on our little outing that day, which was a cold, snowy day, we checked our heavy coats into a locker and took out for a little shopping excursion. Ummm, I can still taste those warm cookies with large pieces of macadamia nuts along with all those chocolate chips. We didn’t make a habit of skipping school but that was one nice mother/daughter day.

I was looking for a dessert to make for our bunco group and wanted something memorable. I seldom sign up for dessert because there are always so many appetizer recipes I want to try out on everyone. While out to dinner one night, my friend, Peggy told me about this dessert she had seen on one of Ina Garten’s shows. I remember seeing this show in the past but the only thing I remembered about it was her talking about going to Tate’s Bake Shop to buy their chocolate chip cookies for this recipe. Since my cc cookies are not nearly this flat and crunchy I decided to try Tate’s recipe that was printed on Food.com’s website.

April 16, 2015 By Sherry

Dessert/ Desserts

Peach and Raspberry Enchiladas with Creme Fraiche

Cobbler like with some crunch.

A while back, with nothing to do, I was looking around on Pinterest. I know there are probably a million things I could be doing but not many I want to be doing. An Apple Enchilada recipe just jumped off the page at me and I was held hostage long enough to find the site it came from and “Pinned” this into my “try” list.

I’m not a huge apple fan and it’s probably last on my list of fruit favorites. So when I saw that Cornfed Momma‘s recipe suggested substituting peaches or cherries, I knew where I was going with the recipe — peaches and raspberries since I probably still have about 25 packages of frozen raspberries I bought back in the fall.

I love making creme fraiche and always wonder why anyone would pay $5 for it from the grocery when with a cup of cream and a little buttermilk and 24 hours you can have a cup of the delicious topping that can be used for anything; and instead of serving with ice cream like CM did, I’m using a cinnamon cream fraiche.

March 22, 2015 By Sherry

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