Dessert

Make These Desserts Ahead and Enjoy Your Holiday!

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Alison Ashton — 7 Comments ↓

I’ve always considered desserts the simplest part of the holiday feast. That’s because you can get it all done–or at least, mostly done–a couple of days before the big day so you have plenty of time to attend to other chores and dishes.

Here are five delicious, seasonal desserts that you can make at least two to three days ahead and savor throughout the holidays.

Apple Pie with Chinese Five Spice and Hazelnut Crumb Topping. Chinese five spice powder adds a surprising, bright note to the cooked caramel-y apple filling while a nutty crumb topping adds crunch. You can make the Toasted Nut Pastry Dough up to a week ahead, pop it in the fridge, and then cook the filling, blind-bake the crust and finish off the pie a couple of days before the holiday. (Pressed for time? Pick up a pre-made whole-wheat pastry crust. We won’t tell.)
Spiced Pumpkin Harvest Bundt Cake with Pecans. Linda West Eckhardt created this homey, old-fashioned treat to celebrate NOURISH Evolution’s first birthday. It’s golden and rich with warm spices and a lemony glaze. Leftovers will make delightful snacks all weekend long.
Chocolate Angel Food Cake. For some crowds, only chocolate will do, so whip up our angel food cake. Only instead of macerated strawberries, pair it with Grandma Friese’s Whole Cranberries, which are soaked in port. It’s a gorgeous holiday presentation.
Small bites. Desserts don’t have to be lavish to end the feast on a high note, and your guests may well appreciate a selection of little treats. (Honestly, I’m tempted to go this route myself this year.) Decorated with dried cranberries and slivered almonds, Crunchy Ruby-Studded Meringue Buttons are light and festively pretty. Our Chocolate Orange Pistachio Biscotti are prefect for dunking in after-dinner coffee, while these Boozy Orange-Pecan Truffles are rich-tasting, impressive and not too heavy. Make extra and freeze ‘em to enjoy throughout the holiday season.
Pumpkin Tart with Maple Whipped Cream and Toasted Walnuts. Graham crackers, sugar and butter add up to the world’s easiest crust for this tart. Add a simple, spicy pumpkin filling and you’re good to go. Bake the tart up to two days before the feast and store it in the fridge. You also can whip the cream a day or two in advance and refrigerate it. Toast the nuts a day or two ahead and stash them in an airtight container.

Have a happy–and sweet–holiday!

Throw-Together Desserts

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Alison Ashton — No Comments ↓

Dark chocolate is a pantry staple in our household, right alongside spices, whole-wheat pasta, barley and several types of flour. And by that I don’t mean a little bag of chocolate chips or a petite bar. I mean a 1-pound brick of the stuff. As long as there’s chocolate in the house, I know we can have something sweet after dinner, even if it’s just nibbling the chocolate itself.

But without much more effort than that, you can have a dessert that makes a bigger statement in terms of flavor and presentation. As with any home cooking, the key is to have a few simple ingredients on hand, which can add up to something surprisingly satisfying and impressive. Don’t believe me? Check out Lia’s Chocolate Crostini recipe below.

Another strategy is to keep thick, creamy Greek yogurt in the fridge, which you can use as a stand-in for pudding. Stir in a little sugar or agave nectar and a dash of vanilla extract (add a spoonful of unsweetened cocoa for a chocolate version), then top it with shaved chocolate and a sprinkling of fruit or toasted nuts.

As early-season strawberries start rolling into markets (believe it or not, they’re already starting to show up here in Southern California), you can slice them up and macerate them with a tablespoon or two of sugar, a splash of orange-flavored liqueur and squeeze of lemon juice. Let that lovely mixture sit for 20 minutes or so while you eat dinner, and you’ll be rewarded with a fresh topping to serve over yogurt or ice cream.

This wraps up our week-long look at elements of a simple late-winter supper. Here are all the recipes that go into it. Try it this weekend to nourish those you love with the appeal of seasonal flavors.

To start:: Shaved Celeriac, Radish and Pecorino Salad with Pomegranates and White Truffle Vinaigrette

Entree: Spiced Roast Pork Loin with Sweet Potato Puree with Honey and Crispy Shallots and Spicy Sauteed Rainbow Chard with Golden Raisins

Sweet finish: This Chocolate Crostini with Orange Zest and Sea Salt. Chocolatey, sweet, salty–it’s my idea of the perfect last-minute treat.

Plum Parfaits with Bulgur and Vanilla Yogurt

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Lia Huber — 3 Comments ↓

Pick a few extra plums for this ultra-simple, healthy dessert. It’s got both grown-up aesthetic appeal and a healthful hit of whole grain, thanks to the bulgur.

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup bulgur, fine or medium
2 cups plums, pitted, halved and thinly sliced crosswise
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in bulgur, turn off heat, cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Stir together plums, sugar, orange juice and cornstarch in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 4-5 minutes, until thickened slightly. Stir in almond extract.

In each of 4 small, tall glasses, layer a third of the yogurt, plums and almonds. Add a layer of half the bulgur, then repeat with half the remaining yogurt, plums and almonds. Finish with a final layer of bulgur, yogurt, plums and almonds.

Serves 4

Lemon Verbena Honey Granita

Posted on June 26, 2010 by Lia Huber — No Comments ↓

Granita is a super-simple summer dessert or appetizer that’s simply a frozen mixture of water, sugar and other flavorings. I planted a lemon verbena in our garden right near our Adirondack chairs simply because I wanted to be bathed in its heady fragrance whenever I was chilling out. And then I made this granita and fell in love with the plant even more. If you don’t have lemon verbena on hand, try lemon thyme or lemongrass, or just add the zest of another lemon.

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Chocolate Crostini with Orange Zest and Sea Salt

Posted on June 19, 2009 by Lia Huber — 1 Comment ↓

I’m of the notion that a simple square of good dark chocolate is a treat in and of itself. But if you feel like dressing it up a bit, this is an easy, elegant way to do it.

3 ounces dark chocolate
1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest, plus additional for garnish
1/4 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
12 thin baguette slices, toasted
medium-coarse sea salt

Melt the chocolate with the orange zest and olive oil in a small, heavy-bottom pot over ultra-low heat (if you’re a double boiler-lover, feel free to use one here), swirling it around occasionally. Give it all a good stir once it’s super soft but not completely melted, and take it off the heat.

Spread chocolate mixture on baguette slices and sprinkle with a generous pinch of sea salt. Garnish with long, thin strips of orange zest if you like.

Makes 12 crostini

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crostata

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Lia Huber — No Comments ↓

One of my mom’s springtime standards is strawberry-rhubarb pie. Here’s my take in a rustic crostata–a type of free-form tart. In any form, rhubarb’s tart taste is a perfect foil to sweet strawberries.

1-1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose unbleached flour, divided
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons nonhydrogenated shortening (like Spectrum Organic)
1/4 cup ice water, as needed
1 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch chunks with any ‘stringiness’ peeled off and discarded
1 pint strawberries, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Pulse together 1-1/2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, salt and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in a food processor. Pulse in butter and shortening, adding ice water by tablespoons as needed, until mixture comes together and there are still a few lumps of butter. Form dough into a ball, then flatten into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out dough into a 12-inch circle (dough should be between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick) on parchment paper.

Mix together rhubarb, strawberries, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon flour and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla. Mound on dough, leaving a 1-inch border along the edge. Fold up the edge and crimp as you go along so that the edges stay up and are well-secured. Ease crostata, still on the parchment paper, onto a cookie sheet and bake 40 minutes, removing parchment paper after the first 15 minutes. Dough should be golden-brown and the fruit bubbly and syrupy. Let cool before serving.

Serves 8