Mod Meals on Mendenhall

This week of posts feel like blasts from my childhood. Growing up, it was a treat to pop open a can of Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls. My sister and I would unravel the rolls and make various shapes – animals, hearts, you name it. These Orange Cinnamon Breakfast Rolls are basically a homemade grown-up version. They are less sweet, packed with fresh orange zest, ground ginger and cinnamon – yet coated in cream cheese icing and sliced almonds.

These are the perfect treat for a quiet weekend at home – for which I’m very much looking forward to.

And, on a final non-morningbun note – since I always talk about the seasons, I saw this and loved it today:

“There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming.” - Shauna Niequist

Enjoy your weekend. And, I hope you’ll enjoy these sweet for Spring rolls.

Did you feel it this weekend? It’s Springtime!  The sunshine and time change have done numbers on my quality of life. I spent my weekend cooking, spending time with friends, laughing, singing, climbing and lounging.

Friday night, I enjoyed a casual night home with my friend, Masha, wine and homemade Pistachio Ice Cream Sandwiches. In fact, the last time I made ice cream sandwiches was this summer in Florida with Masha on vacation. We made Margarita Cookie Sandwiches that were to die for! They were much more time intensive though.

These Pistachio Ice Cream Sandwiches are much easier – just buy Ciao Bella Pistachio Gellato and Fresh Market Almond Cookie Crisps – then sandwich them together. You can make them in advance and wrap in plastic. Or just assemble them quickly and serve them up. The combination of pistachio and rich almond cookies is so irresistible!

These ice cream sandwiches will certainly make you sweet for Spring.

If you are trying to shed a couple pounds this January, you might save this recipe for the next special occasion. It is incredibly rich but is light as a cloud. The recipe is basically two large meringues sandwiched with whipped cream and apricot homemade preserves. My mother used to make it for Christmas and we brought it back this year. My version is based on the Dacquoise recipe in my mother’s Grand Diplome Cooking Course Volume 12 published in 1972. Their recipe is complicated (blanching your own almonds) and is difficult to follow. I simplified it when I made the recipe again for my friends for New Year’s Eve.

This recipe is easiest if you make it over two days. The meringues need to cool over night to completely set. I broke it down into two days for cook’s ease.

Enjoy this recipe – make it for a special occasion – or challenge yourself in the kitchen this year with this recipe!

Apricot Dacquoise

• 3/4 cup blanched almond meal
• 4 eggs whites
• 1 cup sugar
• pinch of cream of tartar

For filling, 

• 3/4 cup dried apricots
• strip of lemon rind
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 and 1/4 cup whipping cream, whipped until it holds a soft shape

Day 1: Make the Meringue 

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Using a 8 inch cake pan, trace an 8 inch circle on the back of a piece of parchment paper.

Beat the egg whites until they hold a stuff peak. Add tablespoon of sugar and the cream of tartar. Beat together and then fold in the remaining sugar and almond meal.

Spread the meringue mixture  between 2 baking sheets with the parchment paper. Spread the mixture to make 2 eight inch flat disks. Bake at 275 for 1 hour or until the parchment paper peels away cleanly. Be very careful as they are extremely fragile. Allow to cool in the oven (turned off) over night.

Day 2: Make the Filling and Assemble 

For the filling, in a small saucepan cover the apricots and lemon rind with water to cover. Bring the water to a simmer and allow the apricots to soften (about 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer the apricots (without the water and lemon) to a food processor and mince. Put the apricot mixture back into the saucepan and add lemon juice, sugar and water. Bring to a boil for about 5 minutes or until syrupy. Allow to cool completely.

Whip the cream until it holds a soft shape. Fold in 3/4 of the apricot mixture into the whipped cream.

To assemble. sandwich the meringue layers together with whipped filling. Pipe whipped cream on the top and drizzle with additional apricot!

Optional – sprinkle with confectioners sugar before serving! Refrigerate until serving.

It’s hard to resist not making at least one batch of Christmas cookies this time of year. And while I’m not a huge baker, I’m a huge fan of homemade slice-and-bake shortbread cookies – particularly the recipes with only 4 ingredients.

I call these Holiday Shortbread Cookies – Marsha Cookies – because my Mom’s best friend Marsha (my Aunt Marsha) used to make these cookies for my family every Christmas. She is the type of woman who can make anything look good – by just throwing  together 4 ingredients and making them look like a work of art. Surely an inspiration! She makes the logs of shortbread cookie dough into perfectly edged rectangles, slices them and places a half of a red or green candied cherry in the middle. Mine don’t come out exactly like Marsha’s – not real uniform but equally as delicious.

Top the cookies with candied cherries, candied citron or pineapple or a pecan. The Fresh Market has a variety of candied fruits if you want to jazz your cookies up and make a variety!

This recipe couldn’t be more easy and they are a huge crowd pleaser! Whatever shape they turn out to be these cookies are so tasty no one will turn down a second or a third. A friend even mentioned the phrase “shortbread cookie coma” the day after my party. Eat with caution.

Holiday Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 pound butter (gasp!)
• 5 cups flour
• 1 cup + 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Assembly: Using a stand mixer, beat together the sugar and butter. Slowly add flour and vanilla. Divide the dough in half and roll into logs inside plastic wrap. At this point you can decide what shape you want your cookies to be. Refrigerate for several hours or over night.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice cookies into 1/4 inch slices. Add a half candied cherry or a bit of candied citron, pecan or anything else you like. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

When it comes to quintessential Thanksgiving recipes, I prefer to skip the turkey and jump straight to fresh cranberries. They are tart but sweet, crunchy yet juicy and extremely beautiful. They add color to a plate or platter, crunch to a sweet or savory salad, a garnish to a cocktail and sophistication to a dessert topping.  And, while I admit to having an old guilty pleasure for canned cranberry sauce, I’m creeping towards maturity by going straight to the bog for the fresh cranberries! Luckily, The Fresh Market has their own miniature version of a cranberry bog in their produce section and you can joyfully dip out exactly the amount you need for a recipe. Their bog also ensures that the best and most fresh cranberries float to the top. If only all purchases were so playful and quality ensuring!

My mother and I made this beautiful cheesecake using Florida oranges and fresh cranberries this Thanksgiving holiday. We made both of our Thanksgiving desserts the day before so we could completely enjoy our family celebrations without worrying about baking. We crafted this recipe that is a cinch to make with just a few steps. Although, making desserts with my mom is always a pleasure and is easier with four arms mixing and washing beaters!

Notice the use of vanilla paste in this cheesecake recipe. Vanilla paste is a thicker, more sugary vanilla extract that includes whole vanilla seeds. I love it because it has a deeper, richer flavor  – and because you can also see the specks of vanilla in finished product! It’s much less expensive than purchasing vanilla beans and easier to work with. The Fresh Market carries jars of vanilla paste in the baking section. I’m addicted to the jar I’ve been baking with this holiday season!

Enjoy this recipe while citrus and cranberries are in season — and while the season calls for eating more dessert without excuses!

Holiday Orange, Vanilla and Cranberry Cheesecake 

Crust

• 1 and 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling

• 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese
• 1 and 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste

Topping

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon arrowroot
• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a bowl. Stir in butter and blend. Using the back of a water glass, press the mixture into a spring-form pan firmly to the bottom of the pan and up into the sides. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes – remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

Beat cream cheese and sugar in a stand-up mixer. Add flour and beat in eggs one at a time. Once blended, add orange zest and vanilla paste. Make sure the mixture is creamy and blended – then pour into cooled crust.

Create a water-bath by wrapping foil around bottom and up sides of spring-form pan. Put the pan into a high-sided roasting pan and add enough water to the roasting pan so that the water comes up about halfway to the spring-form pan. Bake about 1 hour – or until the mixture is set. Remove from water and allow to cook. Then, cover and chill overnight or up to 2 days.

Meanwhile (while baking the cheesecake!), combine sugar and water in medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add arrowroot and combine until smooth. Add cranberries and cook until they begin to pop and meld together. Add zest, stir, cool and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, run knife around top edge of cheesecake and release pan sides. Carefully top the cheesecake with cranberry mixture and serve!

When my grandfather accepted my invitation to Thanksgiving this year, I knew I needed at least two very delicious and sweet desserts. Not only is my grandfather one of the sweetest men you’ll ever meet but he also has one of the biggest sweet tooths! As I child, my grandfather always had a pocket full of candies which he would secretly share behind my grandmother. Somethings never change. My favorite part of each meal over the Thanksgiving holiday was asking my grandfather if he was up for dessert. He always perked up saying “of course!”

My mother and I made two very simple desserts for the holiday. I think the favorite it was this Dark Chocolate Tart with Candied Almonds. We modified a Bon Appetit recipe and used dark chocolate chips instead of Mexican chocolate to make things simple. This thin tart is very rich and doesn’t need anything but a good cup of coffee to compliment. It will certainly be made again in my kitchen – and is a perfect holiday dessert this December. Not to mention, it is show-stopping beautiful! Bookmark this one for your sweet tooth friends and family!

Dark Chocolate Tart with Candied Almonds adapted from Mexican Chocolate Tart with Cinnamon-Spiced Pecans, Bon Appetit 2007 

Pecans (OR try this recipe and spice it up with rosemary maple pecans!)

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 1 large egg white
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Crust

• 1 cup chocolate wafer cookie crumbs (about half of one 9-ounce package cookies, finely ground in processor -find them in the ice cream section of the grocery store!)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 10 ounces dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 stick butter, cut into pieces
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For pecans:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Whisk all ingredients except pecans in a bowl. Stir in pecans. Spread in single layer on sheet, rounded side up. Bake until just browned and dry, about 15 to 20 minutes. Watch them carefully  as they can burn quickly! Cool on sheet. Separate nuts, removing excess coating.

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Blend first 4 ingredients in processor. Add melted butter; process until crumbs are moistened. Press crumbs into 9 to 12-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Bake about 20 minutes. Cool on rack.

For filling:
Bring cream to simmer in medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips and whisk until melted. Add butter, 1 piece at a time; whisk until smooth. Whisk in vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Pour filling into crust. Chill until filling begins to set, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Arrange nuts in concentric circles atop tart. Chill until set, about 4 hours

Last night I saw the first holiday commercial of the season. Christmas ornaments danced across my screen as I yelled to a friend “Whhhhattt?!” I haven’t even gotten the opportunity to surprise kids on Mendenhall with Tootie Rolls and dental floss for Halloween! I still have to judge the annual Westerwood chili cook off next weekend. And what about Thanksgiving?

One perk of this super-early-arrival is that fresh cranberries are now available in the produce section of grocery stores. We used them at my Fall Off Mendenhall Cooking Class this week at the Greensboro Children’s Museum Edible Schoolyard on Tuesday night. They were delicious in a Clafouti – which is basically a very light batter poured atop fresh berries and a sprinkle of sugar. We used a blender to make the pancake-like batter and skipped the recommended whipped cream.

As we practiced various pronunciations of “clafouti, ” we enjoyed the dessert with plenty of powered sugar on top!

This is a great Fall dessert to share with friends – and a super simple – yet pretty – sweet dish for a party or celebration. You could also make this dish with dried cranberries soaked in a little liquor (bourbon!) Get into the season. It’s here, right?

Cranberry Clafouti
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living, November 2011

Dish Prep:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons sugar

Batter:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream, chilled
3/4 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons orange zest

Assembly:
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped

Garnish:
Confectioners sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Use a pastry brush to butter a 1-quart non-metal baking dish and sprinkle the bottom with 2 tablespoons of sugar.

In a large bowl, sift together the 1/2 of sugar, flour, and pinch of salt.  Then gradually whisk in the eggs, heavy cream, milk, and orange zest.

Scatter the cranberries over the bottom of the prepared dish and pour the batter on top. Bake for 32 to 34 minutes, until the clafouti is puffed, slightly set, and brown around the edges. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before serving (it will sink while it cools).

Dust the clafouti with confectioners sugar and serve warm.

This summer it seems everyone is looking for a break from the heat.  So, what did I do to entertain my friends and their lactose-intolerant international visitor on one of the hottest days of 2012? I took them for a high-noon hayride and creamy frozen treat at our local dairy farm, Homeland Creamery.  It turns out; when it’s more than 100 degrees on a sunny summer day just about anyone will scream for ice cream!

About 20 miles south of downtown Greensboro, past several wandering llamas and vacation bible school signs, you’ll find the Bowman family’s seventh generation dairy farm in Julian, N.C.

My friends and I joined 35 parents, grandparents and children on a tour of the Creamery complete with hayride, baby heifers and a sweltering visit to the milking facility.  Our sassy tour guide Diana, a retired insurance agent who lives near the farm,  spends her days herding more children than heifers. Homeland Creamery gives two farm tours per day until Thanksgiving.  And despite the heat during National Ice Cream Month this July, it is a perfect way to connect your children to the milk they drink each morning.

The century old farm is home to 400 Jersey-Holstein crossbreed cows.  This unique breed makes Homeland products special, as they produce milk higher in butter fat than a typical cow.  Not only are these local cows extraordinary, they are given no artificial growth hormones and the farm utilizes sustainable practices, allowing the cows to graze freely on their land.

Homeland cows are milked twice a day producing three to four gallons per sitting.  All of this counts up to more than 200,000 gallons of milk per year that reaches grocery stores and markets throughout central North Carolina.  And during the summertime, Homeland uses the milk and cream to produce around 800 gallons of ice cream a week.  Their 21 flavors of ice cream range from double dark chocolate to peach, peanut butter and pineapple.

I made two like-minded, ice cream-loving friends on the hayride.  Avery and Tyler Edwards didn’t mind the heat as they chugged bottled water in anticipation of the ice cream conclusion of the tour.  The shy, blond-headed and rosy cheeked girls were visiting the Creamery with their grandmother.

Homeland Creamery is one of only three North Carolina dairy farms to bottle their own milk.  The family secret is in their practice – from farming to pasteurization.  And, in my opinion, you can taste the difference.  You can find Homeland Creamery products throughout the Triad at Fresh Market, Wholefoods, Best Way and both Farmer’s Markets.

Homemade ice cream sandwiches are always a hit at my summer gatherings.  You can make them in all varieties with your favorite cookie recipe and local ice cream. My Margarita Ice Cream Sandwich was big hit for my family’s summer get-together.  These non-alcoholic sweet and savory treats are perfect for a mature pallet but will please anyone young at heart.

After all, ice cream is for kids of all ages.

Margarita Ice Cream Sandwiches

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp fine sea salt, divided
• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Zest of one lemon
• Zest of one lime
• 1 gallon Homeland Creamery Lemon Cream Ice Cream

Combine flour and 1/2 tsp sea salt in medium bowl and mix well. Cream butter in mixer for one minute and add 3/4 cup sugar. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat for 2 more minutes. Slowly add flour and salt mixture and mix on low speed until dough comes together.

Combine the lime zest, the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon sea salt in a shallow dish or plate for rolling.

Roll the dough into a 2 1/2 inch diameter log then roll in the sea salt mixture. Roll log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to over night. Line cookie sheet with parchment. Slice 1/4 inch think and bake at 350 degrees for 9 to 11 minutes or until just lightly browned on the bottom. Cool on baking sheet for 1 minute and transfer to a wire rack.

Once completely cooled, scoop one ball of Homeland Dairy Lemon Cream Ice Cream in between two cookies.  Place on a cold cookie sheet and freeze the sandwiches for an hour or until served.