Orange You Gonna Try Persimmons? They’re Delicious
It’s persimmon season!
About this time every year, my friend & co-worker, Trang, comes to work with bags of homegrown persimmons. I am not ashamed to admit I am Johnny on the spot when she is doling them out. I adore persimmons. The thought has crossed my mind that I should plant my own persimmon tree but I think I will just depend on the generosity of friends that have persimmon trees. (HINT HINT)
How to enjoy persimmons. Eaten out of hand, diced and tossed in salads, and baked in bread, cookies, and puddings. How about stirred into a risotto for a sweet counterpunch to the cheese and rice? Or dried, a wonderful way to enjoy them throughout the year.
I have been especially waiting for this persimmon season. Way back at the beginning of this year from HELL, we celebrated our birthdays with dinner at State Bird Provisions in The City. (Dining in a restaurant-remember that?). State Bird adopted the Chinese tea house concept, little plates of deliciousness brought out on trays for you to pick and choose from, just like dim sum. Their signature fried quail, dumplings, risotto, house ribs…plate after plate of tasty tidbits that dazzled us.
The kicker for me was a beautiful dish consisting of bite-size pieces of crisp, sweet persimmons bathed in a dressing of sesame, Kinako powder, and ginger finished with a sprinkling of toasted black sesame seeds and flaky salt. Simple and absolutely delish, I made a mental note to try this at home. I found the recipe in my copy of the State Bird Provisions Cookbook. The dish is incredibly easy to make. I spent more time getting the ingredients than putting the dish together. The cookbook runs the gamut from this simple, elegant dish to complex dishes better left to enjoy at their restaurant. I think of it as a coffee table cookbook, beautiful photos, an interesting read.
A Persimmon Primer
There are two kinds of persimmons, Hachiya and Fuyu. They are NOT interchangeable. Hachiya is an oblong, acorn-shaped fruit and pretty astringent. They cannot be eaten until they are super soft and very ripe. If eaten before they are soft, they will make your mouth pucker. I use Hachiyas for baking (soft gushy fruit is not my thing). Fuyu’s are flat, round, more tomato shape. They are non-astringent and can be eaten while they are still firm. For this salad, select ripe, firm fruit.
The recipe calls for grapeseed oil but you could use canola oil instead. We bought Kinako Powder at H-Mart but it can be found in most Asian stores. Made of soybean, it has a nutty flavor, kind of like roasted peanuts. If you have munched on manju or mochi covered with a fine light brown powder that’s Kinako. Toasted sesame oil and black sesame seeds can also be found in Asian markets.
Persimmons with Kinako Dressing and Black Sesame Salt
A simple and delicious tapas dish of sweet persimmons served with a savory sesame soybean powder dressing from State Bird Provisions
Ingredients
- 6 ripe Fuyu persimmons peeled and cut into chunks
Dressing
- 1/2 cup kinako roasted soybean flour, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil or substitute canola oil
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil found in most Asian stores
- 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Black Sesame Salt
Black Sesame Salt
- Makes about 1/4 cup
- 1/4 cup pre-toasted black sesame seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt
Instructions
Dressing
- Combine the kinako, kosher salt, and ground ginger in a medium bowl and stir well. Slowly pour in the oil, sesame oil, and vinegar, whisking constantly until the dressing is well combined. It helps to let it sit just a bit for the powder to absorb liquid.
- Pour the dressing in shallow serving bowls, arranging the persimmons on top, and sprinkle on the black sesame salt and a generous pinch of kinako. Serve immediately.
Black Sesame Salt
- Combine the sesame seeds and salt in a mortar and pound until the mixture resembles coarsely ground black pepper.
- Transfer to an airtight container and store in a cool, dry place for up to 2 weeks.
Pudding In the Late Night Hours Calls for Chocolate
Life is on hold as we await the results of the 2020 presidential election. I swore I wasn’t going to agonize over the process leading to the final result. My plan was to ignore CNN, Twitter, WAPO, NYT…I decided to watch Hamilton for the umpteenth time, followed by my favorite K-drama. As they say…
The Best Laid Plans
A quick sneak peek at Twitter and I was hooked. It has been an agonizingly slow crawl to the finish as the Biden/Harris ticket chips away at the vote count in the battleground states. There I was tabbing back and forth between my K-drama and Twitter. At 2am I had to stop the madness, I resorted to my favorite stress-buster activity, COOKING followed by my second favorite stress reliever-EATING.
Win-Win
At that time of the night, I needed something delicious, and comforting. I had been eyeing a recipe in NYTcooking for a chocolate pudding made with oat milk. Many of my friends are dairy intolerant or vegan so I am always on the lookout for desserts that fit the bill. The fact that this pudding was quick and easy made this a no-brainer for my sleep-deprived, anxiety-riddled brain.
This pudding is so ridiculously easy and so incredibly delicious bookmark this post now. You will thank me. I used Planet Oat Milk but the recipe states you can use soy or almond, I’m sticking with oat milk. I used Dutch-processed cocoa which gives the pudding its intense dark color. You can use natural cocoa which will give you a lighter-colored pudding, either is fine. Whisk the dry ingredients together, cocoa, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Slowly add the oat milk and then cook it over medium heat, STIRRING constantly so it doesn’t scorch and stays lump-free and smooth. I used TJ’s Dark Chocolate Pound Plus Bar which resulted in a rich, intense chocolate flavor. Experiment with different chocolates to change the sweetness and chocolate intensity.
Topped off the pudding with cocoa nib crumble from Manresa and I was in business. Yummy. I imagine an infinite variety of toppings would be lovely like softly Whipped Coconut Cream, whimsical sprinkles, flaked coconut, cookie crumbs, or fresh berries.
My little bowl of chocolate pudding did the trick, calmed my nerves, and gave me the courage to…GO TO BED!
Oat Milk Chocolate Pudding
A delicious chocolate pudding from NYT Cooking that is dairy free and vegan
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (30 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cups (480 milliliters) oat milk or soy or almond milk
- 3 to 4 ounces (85 to 115 grams) bittersweet bar chocolate finely chopped, I used TJ's Dark Chocolate, which is accidentally vegan 😉
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan whisk together the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt. Slowly stir in the milk and stirring constantly until smooth and combined.
- Cook over medium-low heat. Stir the mixture continuously, scraping the bottom, sides, and corners of the pan, until the pudding thickens, begins to bubble, and coats the back of the spoon or spatula, 5 to 10 minutes. Careful to not let the pudding scorch on the bottom and corner of the pot, lower heat if it cooks too fast or starts to scorch.
- Add the chocolate and stir vigorously until the pudding is very thick and smooth, about 30 seconds longer.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Spoon the pudding into a serving bowl or individual cups or ramekins. Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled. It will thicken as it cools. Garnish with whipped cream, sprinkles or chocolate chips or cookie crumbles. Use your imagination!
Notes
Before refrigerating, press plastic wrap onto the surface of the pudding to prevent a “skin” from forming on top.
The pudding will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Apple Frangipane Galette, Almond Gonna Make This Again
Our weekly foray to the Farmer’s Market had me restocking my week’s worth of fruits and veggies。 I was looking for inspiration for a showstopper dessert to make for an outside, mask-on, socially-distance birthday celebration that evening. My farmers market/crew bud, Mary, chimed in with “my go-to dessert is David Lebovitz’s Apple Frangipane Galette. I’ve made it a zillion times and it always gets raves”. Search over, an apple galette would be perfect.
How do you like them apples?
I stopped at Live Earth Farm’s stand for apples. Not to brag or anything, ok, I am bragging. I successfully identified all their apple varieties. No small feat…Fuji, Gala, Pink Lady, Pippens and Jonagolds. As Sir Issac Newton might have said…
BOOM, APPLE DROP
Apples in hand, I headed home to make David Lebovitz’s Apple Frangipane Galette. I have just the right amount of almond paste left in the fridge from the Almond Plum Snack Cake. That’s a sign, right?
The galette starts with a pretty classic shortcrust. I do a deep dive into making crusts in a food processor with Claudia Fleming’s recipe for her Apple Crumb Tart with Bacon Toffee Sauce. The key point, do not over-process the dough. The crust is flaky, tender, and buttery. The layer of frangipane elevates this tart to another level. Don’t bother cleaning out your food processor after making the dough, just pop it back on the base and toss in the ingredients for the frangipane. I used Amaretto in place of the rum and added vanilla extract and a dash of salt, just to round out the flavor.
Roll the dough on parchment paper, and transfer the parchment to a baking sheet, just pick up the whole dang thing and plop it onto your sheet-easy. Spread the frangipane on the dough, 2 inches from edge.
Top with apples. Sprinkle with sugar. I am on a raw or turbinado sugar kick so I opted for raw sugar. Fold the dough over the apples creating pleasts that overlap.
Arrange the apples in concentric circles or just pile them up, it’s supposed to be rustic.
Brush edge with melted butter and sprinkle sugar on the crust. Drizzle the rest of the melted butter on the apples.
Serve the tart with honey or toffee sauce (extra from the last apple tart-worked like a charm!)
This galette is definitely going in my WOW factor dessert rotation!
Apple-Frangipane Galette
From Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz a delicious Frangipane Apple Galette. Apples sit on top a creamy layer of frangipane in a flaky, buttery crust.
Ingredients
Galette Dough
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter (4 ounces) sliced into 8 cubes and chilled
- 6 tablespoons ice water
Apple Filling
- 6 medium apples, peeled, cored and slice 1/2 inch approximately 3 pounds any variety you like to bake with, I like a combo of Jonagolds, Fuji and Pippens or Mutsus
- 2 tablespoons unsalted or salted butter melted
- 4 tablespoons granulated sugar substitute raw or turnbinado
Frangipane
- 4 ounces almond paste crumbled
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
- 6 tablespoons unsalted or salted butter at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon rum sub kirsch, Calvados or almaretto
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt if using unsalted butter
Instructions
Dough
- Place flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add chilled butter and process until butter is broken into pieces about the size of peas. Uneven size pieces of butter is to be expected and larger bits will make for a flaky crust when baked.
- Add all the ice water at once and process until the dough begins to hold together. (Note: this whole process can also be done with a pastry blender or a stand mixer.)
- Turn dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Wrap in the plastic wrap and shape dough into a round 5-inch disk. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. Dough can also be frozen for up to 1 month.
- Peel, core, and cut apples into 1/2-inch thick slices.
Frangipane
- Process almond paste, sugar, flour, salt if using, and almond extract in a food processor until almond paste is in fine pieces. Add butter and process until completely incorporated, then add egg, vanilla and rum. Continue processing until almond paste is as smooth as possible. If you do see tiny bits of almond paste, they will disappear with baking.
- Store frangipane in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 1 month. Bring it back to room temperature before using.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Putting it all together!
- Place a large sheet of parchment paper on your counter or directly on the baking sheet and lightly dust it with flour. Place dough on top of parchment and spread a large piece of plastic wrap or parchment on top of the dough. Roll dough out between the parchment and plastic wrap into a rough circle, 14 inches in diameter. Lift and rotate to prevent sticking while rolling. Place on baking sheet if rolled on counter.
- Spread all the frangipane over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Place apple slices either in concentric circles or pile on top of the frangipane. Fold the border of the dough over the apples and brush half the melted butter over the crust and the rest over the apples. Sprinkle half the sugar over the crust and the remaining over the apples.
- Bake for about 1 hour, or until the crust is brown and apples are tender. Rotate halfway thru baking. Slide galette off the parchment onto a wire rack to cool when done baking.
- Serve warm or at room temperature. Top with a drizzle of good honey or caramel sauce. Or serve with vanilla ice cream.
- Galette is best eaten the day it's baked.
Almond Plum Snack Cake-Plum Out of Time
The Bake Sale Returns to Its Political Roots from Food & Wine magazine and a YouTube video of Paul Rudd “Ant Man” handing out cookies in a Brooklyn voting line (wow, wish I lived in Brooklyn) reminded me of how food and politics go hand in hand. I decided I needed to sweeten my “Are you with me?” let’s save democracy pleas. A good place to start was the recipes in the Food & Wine article. I started with the Toffee Apricot Oatmeal Cookies which garnered more than a few enthusiastic votes and followed it with the Almond Plum Snack Cake by Miro Uskokovic, the pastry chef at Gramercy Tavern.
This cake is guaranteed to convince anyone to side with you. The use of cake flour and AP flour results in a fine crumb cake that holds up well (like for a bake sale) while the sour cream and butter add richness and tenderness. The little chunks of almond paste provide a surprise hit of flavor and texture and the plums add moisture and a sweet-tart yumminess. Finally, almonds and sugar sprinkled on top add sparkle and crunch. It’s the whole package and is scrumptious.
So hurry, grab the last plums of the season and make this cake
The cake is easy to make but a couple of hints may be helpful. The recipe calls for 8 ounces of almond paste, half is incorporated into the batter while the other half is crumbled on top just before baking. Don’t use all of it in the batter. I used granulated sugar in the batter but replaced the remaining 2 tablespoons with raw sugar called for on top of the cake. This added both sparkle and extra crunch. Almond paste can be found in the baking section of most supermarkets, don’t confuse it with marzipan which is much sweeter and used for fondant and candy.
The cake comes together quickly with the use of a food processor. Start by combining the flours in a large mixing bowl and setting it aside. Place butter, almond paste, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest in a food processor bowl. Process mixture until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by the sour cream. Process until completely blended around 30-45 seconds, scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice. Meanwhile, slice plums and toss with lemon juice. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Fold butter-egg mixture into the flour mixture in the large bowl until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Top with remaining crumbled almond paste and sliced plums.
I cut the recipe in half and baked it in a 9 inch round pan, you could also use an 8×8 square pan. You will need to tweak your baking times. Start checking the cake at 40 minutes.
Finish with the sliced almonds and sugar and bake.
Enjoy
Almond-and-Plum Snack Cake
Absolutely delicious cake. A fine crumb, moist cake dotted with chunks of almond paste and topped with plums and almond slivers. Finished with a sparkling blanket of sugar that adds a nice crunch.
Servings 8
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter (2-1/2 sticks) 10 ounces, softened
- 8 ounces almond paste at room temperature, crumbled (about 1 cup), divided in half
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 3/4 cups bleached cake flour such as Swans Down (about 6 5/8 ounces)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour about 4 1/4 ounces
- 4-6 medium-size red plums cut into 3/4-inch wedges (about 3 cups)
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- Cooking spray
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds about 1 1/2 ounces
- 2 tablespoons raw or turbinado sugar or use granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, butter, 1/2 cup almond paste, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest in bowl of a food processor. Process until light, creamy, and smooth, about 45 seconds. With processor running, add eggs, 1 at a time, incorporating fully after each addition (mixture should look thick and fluffy). Add sour cream, and process until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds, stopping to scrape bowl as needed.
- Whisk together cake flour and all-purpose flour in a large bowl. Add sugar mixture to flour mixture; Using a rubber spatula, fold batter to combine ingredients completely.
- Toss plum slices and lemon juice in a medium bowl; let stand 5 minutes.
- Line a 13- x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper; lightly grease with cooking spray. Spread batter in prepared pan, smoothing top with an offset spatula. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup crumbled almond paste over batter. Arrange plums over top, and sprinkle with almonds and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
- Bake cake in preheated oven until lightly browned and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer cake in pan to a wire rack, and let cool completely, about 2 hours
Notes
The recipe can easily be halved.
Ah-mazing Toffee Apricot Oatmeal Cookies
Posted on one of my favorite blogs, Ipso Fatto, are a couple of sweets she tried from Food & Wine’s article, The Bake Sale Returns to Its Political Roots. In the current climate, this is right up my alley, political activism through food. A win-win. Her photos and reviews of goodies from the article had me running to my kitchen to get busy and bake.
First up were these fabulous cookies from State Bird Provision in San Francisco. I guarantee they will be a hit at any bake sale or socially distanced gathering. The cookies have a crispy edge, are slightly chewy in the middle, and are a flavor and texture party in your mouth. The apricots provide tartness to balance out the sweetness of the milk chocolate and toffee. The toffee not only adds to the buttery flavor but a wonderful crunch. So good. It’s been a while since a cookie has really wowed me. It was worth the wait.
One of my favorite farmers market stops is Sunblest Orchards. Their beautiful plums and peaches are now distant summer memories, but in their place are jeweled tone dried fruits and a variety of delicious preserves and sauces. I picked up dried apricots, peaches, and their Apricot Habanero Ketchup, so yummy it has replaced my regular ketchup at home. This past weekend they also had persimmons, fresh and dried-yum. Autumn definitely has an upside. Their apricots were perfect in these cookies.
Initially, I was happy that this recipe only makes half a batch of cookies. But they disappeared so fast I wished I had doubled it!
A couple of swap-a-roos
I didn’t have toffee bits but I did have SKOR bars so I chopped up the bars and used a smidge less milk chocolate in the cookies, NBD. A stash of milk chocolate chips was in the pantry so taking the path of least resistance, I subbed them for chopping chocolate. A good trade-off. The dough can be baked immediately but I like to chill the dough. The flavors have a chance to develop (especially the butter flavor) if the dough rests awhile and the cookies tend not to spread as much. Personal preference. I baked the cookies for about 16 minutes (chilled dough) rotating them in the middle of the baking time. They will brown pretty quickly so start checking at 13 minutes.
I really enjoyed these cookies and intend to make them again soon. Hope you’ll try them too. Next…from the same article, a luscious Almond Plum Cake before plums are done for the season.
Toffee-Apricot Oat Cookies
A delicious buttery, crisp-chewy cookie that has it all, sweet, tart and chocolatey.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 4 ounces, softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup packed light muscovado sugar or light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour about 4 1/4 ounces
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2/3 cup uncooked old-fashioned regular rolled oats about 2 ounces
- 1/2 cup chopped milk chocolate feelin' lazy ? Use chips
- 1/3 cup finely chopped toffee can substitute chopped Heath or Skor candy bars
- 1/3 cup dried apricots about 2 ounces, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F with oven racks in top third and lower third of oven.
- Combine butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat on medium speed until light and creamy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add egg, salt and vanilla, beat until combined.
- Combine flour and baking soda in a small bowl. With mixer running on low speed, gradually add flour mixture beating until just combined, about 30 seconds. Stir in oats, chocolate, toffee, and apricots. You can use the dough immediately or cover with plastic wrap and chill for a couple of hours.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment, using a 1 3/4-inch scoop, arrange balls of dough (about 2 tablespoons each) onto baking sheet, spacing about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake in preheated oven until cookies are lightly browned, 12 to 16 minutes, rotating pan after 8 minutes. To create cracks in cookies, after rotating pan, rap pan on the oven rack. This causes the cookie to deflate and create ridges on the cookie. Optional.
- Let cookies cool on baking sheets 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack, and let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
- Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
Notes
These lacy cookies are studded with tart dried apricot, salty-sweet chunks of toffee, and sweet milk chocolate for the perfect combination of flavors and textures. Be sure to rotate the pans during baking to ensure evenly baked, perfectly crisp-chewy cookies.
Apple Crumb Crostata with Bacon Toffee Sauce
Jamie is in Minneapolis right now, she sent a quick pic of herself bundled up in her down jacket, gloves, wooly hat with a single caption, 26.
Yep, I am a wussy Californian and not a very nice one, I replied with a laughing emoji in shorts.
I mark the change in seasons, not by dragging out a winter wardrobe but by the offerings at my local Farmers Market. My favorite Fall fruit has finally arrived APPLES! Apples are like that best friend after a breakup. The summer romance with peaches and berries is over but apples are here to comfort you, pick you up, and help you forget them.
Like a kid in a candy store, I went from basket to basket picking up Mutsuis, Pippens, Jonagolds, and Fujis. I love using a combination of apples in pies and tart for both flavor and texture. Recently, Apple Crumb Crostata by Claudia Fleming, pastry chef extraordinaire at Gramercy Tavern once upon a time and author of the fabulous book, The Last Course, popped up on my NYT feed. Everything I have made from her book has been delicious so when I spied the crostata recipe, it was a no-brainer. The homemade apple pie I usually bake to signal Fall’s arrival would have to wait.
The moving parts to this recipe, pastry crust, apples, crumb topping, and Bacon Toffee Sauce that sends this over the top.
A Couple of Tips
I had a tough time rolling the dough out to 14 inches. It would have been pretty thin. I ended it up a diameter of 12.5 inches at best. Which means after folding the edges over my crostata was barely 8 inches. You might be able to roll it to 13 inches. I used approximately 5 apples for a scant 6 cups of apples, plenty of apples for this size crust. I took the advice of others on NYT cooking and halved the amount of crumb topping and the bacon toffee sauce. I still have plenty of sauce left even though the tart is long gone. The sauce is delish over ice cream or fruit.
The crust is made in a food processor which though speedy, requires due diligence to not overprocess the dough. Over-processing leads to a tough crust. The pulse button on your processor is your best friend. Throw the flour, sugar, and salt into the food processor bowl and pulse a couple of times to blend. Add the butter and pulse just until you have an oatmeal-like mixture with some pea-sized pieces of butter left. Add ICE-COLD water through the chute while hitting the pulse button to combine. Pulse just until the mixture looks like it is going to clump and come together and STOP or you will over-process the dough. Pour the dough out onto a wax paper or plastic wrap, and smoosh it together into a ball. Flatten into a disc, wrap it and toss it in the fridge to chill and rest.
Just pinch and fold over. My fold-over was less than 4 inches, more like 2.5-3 inches. Here is the link to the NYT recipe and video with Claudia Fleming and Mark Bittman.
What to do with the bacon I fried for the Toffee Sauce? Baco-bits on the crostata! Ok, it might have been overkill.
I served the crostata with BOTH the yummy, decadent Bacon Toffee Sauce and vanilla ice cream, cuz’…
Go Big or Go Home
Put this on your Fall bucket list!
Apple Crumb Crostata with Bacon Toffee Sauce
It's Fall! Apple season is here. Absolutely delicious apple crostata by Claudia Fleming
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
- ⅓ cup ice cold water more as needed
- 1 egg beaten or use heavy cream
- Raw sugar for garnish
Filling
- 6 to 8 Granny Smith or other tart apples peeled and cut into slices (about 6 cups total)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces optional
The Crumble
- Make half recipe! It's plenty!
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 1/4 cup pecans, chopped optional
Bacon toffee sauce
- Make half recipe!!! It makes plenty!!!!
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 (1-pound) box dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 ounces (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 2 ounces rendered bacon fat (from about 4 slices thick-cut bacon)
Instructions
- Make the crust: Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to blend. Add butter, pulsing, until mixture resembles small peas. Add ice water and continue to pulse until mixture just begins to come together in moist clumps; if mixture is too dry add a bit more water a tablespoon at a time. Gather dough into a ball, flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour or freeze for up to a month.
- Make the filling: In a large bowl toss together sliced apples, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, zest and vanilla. Set aside.
- Make the crumble: In a medium bowl, mix together granulated sugar, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Drizzle in melted butter and, using a fork, stir until mixture is crumbly and all the flour is incorporated; the crumbs should be smaller than 1 inch. Add chopped pecans if desired.
- Heat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 14-inch circle (if you're lucky). Transfer to baking sheet and chill until firm, about 15 minutes.
- Remove baking sheet from refrigerator and let soften for 1 to 2 minutes. Arrange apples in the center of the dough, dot with butter, leaving a 3-inch border all around; reserve the juices. Brush exposed dough border with beaten egg and fold edge in up over fruit, making pleats every 2 inches. Pour remaining juices over exposed fruit, brush the folded outer edge with beaten egg or cream, and sprinkle with raw sugar. Cover exposed fruit with about 1 cup crumble.
- Bake crostata until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling, about 40 to 50 minutes. Remove and let cool before serving. Serve with Bacon Toffee Sauce
Bacon Toffee Sauce
- In a heavy medium saucepan, combine cream, sugar, vanilla and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low simmer, and allow to cook for 3 to 5 minutes being careful not to let it get too hot and bubble over.
- Remove from heat and whisk in butter followed by bacon fat; stir until thoroughly combined. Serve sauce warm.
- Can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 10 days.
Instant Pot Meets Ragu’ Sauce-A Meat Cute?
In these tenuous times, I find myself making comfort food-homey dishes that surround your soul like a warm blanket. One of my family’s all-time favorites is a long, slow-simmered ragu’ spooned over a bowl of pasta. This usually requires a little forethought, prepping the ingredients, followed by hours of simmering on the stove. Yes, it is so worth it but…
Well, whaddya know, I can make a rich, luxurious, delicious ragu’ in a fraction of the time with an Instant Pot. I adapted a recipe I found on Chunky Chef and badabing-badaboom, a meat sauce that would win the approval of the Old Stoves in North Beach. Yay, I don’t have to start the sauce in the wee hours of the morning.
Winner, Winner, Pasta for Dinner
A ragu’ is essentially a meat sauce, this version is best described as a Ragu Alla Bolognese since it includes tomatoes. Purists probably would omit the seasonings and require only meat and sofrito (onion, celery and carrot trinity) for the sauce. I like the flavor boosters. You can add a bay leaf too if you like. DON’T ASK ME WHY. I googled in vain for a definitive description of the flavor a bay leaf adds, you’ll just have to trust me. Just remember to remove it at the end, along with the thyme sprigs.
No Mincing Here
The Instant Pot isn’t the only time saver. Prep for the onions, carrots, and celery means pulling out your food processor. This makes quick work of mincing the veggies. Really, who wants to stand there chopping veggies into itty bitty pieces for a sauce. Not me. Yep, dust off that food processor and put it to work. I also use it to puree the tomatoes. Don’t wash it out after the veggies, just run the tomatoes by pulsing a couple of times and add.
Mantra: Scrape the Bottom of Your Pot
Saute’ the meats and the soffritto making sure to scrape the bottom of the instant pot A LOT. Twofold purpose: One-Those little brown bits are flavor bombs so you want to keep them. Two-If left on the bottom of the pot, they will trigger the scorch-safety feature on the pot and turn OFF. Ugh. Make SCRAPE your mantra any time you saute’ in the Instant Pot.
Other than that, it’s pretty straightforward. The sauce needs only 20 minutes (well, with pressure up time count on 30-35 minutes). In about an hour you will be at the table saucing your pasta, passing the Parmesan, and enjoying a nice bottle of Chianti (no fava beans please). Nom, nom, nom.
After adding the cream and basil you will have the voluptuous, unctuous sauce. Yes, I had to spell check both words. Perfect on a bowl of pappardelle or tagliatelle or plate of ravioli. Just dreaming of the pastabilities.
On a recent jaunt into the City, I headed to my favorite Italian Deli in the Marina, Lucca, to grab a meatball sammie for lunch. I also stocked up on their housemade ravioli and gnocchi from their freezer. I came away with mushroom gnocchi and veal ravioli that were PERFECT with this ragu’. The sauce and pasta freeze beautifully so a quick dinner is always at hand.
Lucca has been a favorite stop for a long, long time. As a kid, I would get a sammie and chips before walking down to Hunt’s for an Icee and donut. Those were the days.
All smiles digging into my bowl of mushroom gnocchi topped with amazingly quick to make Ragu’.
Instant Pot Ragu Bolognese Sauce
A delicious ragu made in your pressure cooker that taste like it has simmered all day!
Servings 8
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb. lean ground beef I use 85/15
- 1/2 lb. Italian sausage mild or spicy or use ground pork
- 4 oz pancetta diced Feeling lazy? TJ's carries diced pancetta in a 4 oz package!
- 1 medium yellow onion minced
- 2 medium carrots peeled and minced
- 1 stalk celery minced
- 7 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup dry red wine Ok, in a pinch you could use white wine
- 28 oz whole tomatoes pureed
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2/3 cup beef broth - reduced sodium preferred or the mushroom soaking liquid
- 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated and chopped Soaked in 3/4 cup warm water until soft,
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp dried oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme or 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes omit if using spicy Italian Sausage
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup heavy cream or 1/2 cup whole milk or BUTTER a good chunk
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or more if you like basil, use additional to sprinkle on top of dish
- freshly grated parmesan cheese at the table
Instructions
- Use the "Saute" function on Instant Pot. Add olive oil to the pot. Add the beef, Italian sausage, and pancetta and cook until browned, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon or spatula as it cooks. Drain the liquid into a bowl, leaving the meat mixture in the pot, skim off the oil and reserve. Return it to pot when the tomatoes and broth are added. It's all flavor babee.
- Add onion, carrot and celery and cook for 4 more minutes, or until softened. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot as the onions and peppers cook and give off liquid, this will prevent scorching and the auto-shut off feature.
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant, ~30 seconds. Add red wine and cook, stirring often, until reduced, about 2 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients, except basil, fresh parsley and cream. Stir, once again scraping the bottom of the pot to ensure no browned bits remain.
- Cancel the saute, and place lid on Instant Pot, making sure the valve is set to "SEALING", DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO, lol. Press the Pressure Cook or Manual button and use the +/- buttons to set the timer for 20 minutes.
- Once the timer beeps, use quick pressure release and vent. When the pin drops, remove lid. Remember, ITS HOT so be careful.
- Select "saute" and select LOW. Stir in heavy cream or milk, parsley and basil. Simmer, uncovered, stirring often, until desired consistency is reached, about 5 minutes.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve over pasta with grated Parmesan cheese and additional chopped basil if desired.
Notes
- Make sure you scrape the bottom of your Instant Pot while sauteing FREQUENTLY! If any particles are stuck on the bottom the pot will turn off to prevent burning.
- You can omit the mushrooms, I like the earthiness it adds. Substitute the mushroom soaking liquid for beef broth if desired. Or for the double whammy, heat the beef broth and use it as the soaking liquid for the mushrooms.
- If you do not want to add dairy, drop a hunk of unsalted butter (4-5 T) into the sauce. The cream or milk is added to cut the acidity of the tomatoes and mellow the sauce, the butter kind of does the same.
- I love this sauce over rigatoni or pappardelle. Also on gnocchi, it is divine!
Fall-in for Apple Cider Donuts
Yes, fall is upon us. Amazing how a year can go so quickly and yet feel interminable. Jamie came home yesterday from work and pronounced “We need to make something sweet today” to which I replied, “Sounds good to me but NO PUMPKIN”. Pumpkin lattes, desserts, all things pumpkin are popping up everywhere, its way too early if you ask me. Luckily Jamie did not have pumpkin on the brain either.
Our favorite fall fruit is undoubtedly APPLES. As the fall season comes into swing, I dust off the peeler and pie pans knowing that any day now Wes will say, “Are there apples at the farmers market yet? Is it PIE time?” For me, I will invariably think about making apple crisp, homey, delicious and a little easier than making apple pie.
But, none of the usuals made the cut yesterday. Jamie had spied a recipe on NYTcooking for baked Apple Cider Donuts. I was all in. Not a west coast thing, apple cider donuts are a tradition in the northeast and marks the start of the fall harvest season. The donuts are tasty and easy to make providing you have a donut pan (duh, of course, I do), and are a little easier on the waistline than fried donuts. They are tender, with a nice spiciness from the cinnamon in the batter and cinnamon-sugar topping. If you aren’t a gadget freak like yours truly, these can be made in muffin tins. Jamie added diced apples bits to the batter that made them even better, a BOSS tweak.
These are delicious, perfect with a cup of coffee or tea on a brisk autumn day or a warm fall evening, or ANYTIME.
Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Welcome the fall season with these delicious BAKED Apple Cider Donuts!
Calories 333kcal
Equipment
- donut tin or muffin tin, regular or mini
Ingredients
Batter
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour 225 grams
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter 140gm *2 sticks, at room temperature* 10 tablespoons for the batter and 6 tablespoons for the cinnamon sugar coating
- ¾ cup light brown sugar 165gm
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup apple cider 120 ml
- 1 small apple, cored, peeled and diced 1/4 inch Use any kind you like, Jonagold, Fuji, Golden Delicious for sweeter apple or Pippin for a tart apple
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 6-cavity doughnut pans (or a 12-cup muffin tin) with nonstick spray.
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until well incorporated after each addition, scraping the bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla extract.
- Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated. With the mixer running, add the apple cider in a slow, steady stream and mix to combine. Scrape the bowl well to make sure the batter is homogeneous.
- Spoon the batter into prepared doughnut pans, filling them about 2/3 of the way full (you can also do this using a disposable piping bag or a resealable plastic bag with a 1/2-inch opening cut from one corner).
- Bake until evenly golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the thickest portion comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes. Rotate the pans halfway through baking. (If you are making muffins, divide batter evenly between the prepared cups and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, rotating halfway through.)
- While the doughnuts bake, whisk the granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon together in a small bowl to combine. In a separate small bowl, melt the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter in the microwave.
- Let the doughnuts cool for 5 minutes after baking, then unmold them from the pans, brush with the melted butter and dredge them in the cinnamon sugar while they are still warm. Serve immediately, or let cool to room temperature.
Notes
If you don't use the apple you can reduce the cider for more apple flavor. Start with 1-1/2 cups cider and reduce over medium to 1/2 cup. It will be sweeter so you can reduce the sugar by 20% in recipe. It's more work, up to you.
Or you can add 1 Tablespoon of Boiled Cider, I use King Arthur Boiled Cider to amp up apple flavor. To be really picky, substitute this for 1 tablespoon of the apple cider
We made mini muffins and donut holes, fill the donut hole pan only half so it creates a round top. Reduce baking time to 12-15 minutes.