The Asier Dessert Ice Or Ice Cream

Summer demands cool desserts. However there can  be a sweat in creating them.  Which is easier?Is a bowl of frosty flavored ice? Or a cone of creamy , custardy ice cream? Is gelato easier to make than these both? There are differences and easy options any home chef can choose.

First of all what is ice. It can be shaved or pebble or fork sifted as with the Italian granite.Keep in mind you will need some kind of ice machine, whether it's for shaved or snow cone kind of ices.They're both very different thanks to the texture of the ices.Most home chefs opt for the snow cone one. They're great for kids parties and you can create an adult version of snow cone with a shot of some alcohol. Any ice machine does require maintenance . Both types eventually will need replacement blades as well as cups and plastic spoons.They do have kits that come with already made bottles of syrups. The syrups can be made at home.You will need two cups of sugar , one cup water and any unsweetened fruit flavored drink mix.Fresh fruit can be used for purists along with agave or syrup for flavoring.You can try a pound of strawberries, blue berries and or blackberries for a fresh , flavorful, spoonful. A simpler ice is the Italian granite. This is a fun quick dessert.It's two cups of strong brewed coffee or espresso mixed with sugar and then frozen in a tray (usually an ice cube one)It's scrapped every two or three hours to create a gritty texture.Granita is usually served with whipped cream and dusted with cocoa. There's really zero effort in making it and it's the easiest frozen dessert to make..

Is there an easy ice cream recipe? Yes there are a few no cook recipes you can use. Most , however, do use a custard recipe that requires cooking egg yolks and cream.Non-custard versions do require heavy cream for body and smoothness. A classic chocolate  one has a blend of cocoa powder, heavy cream, sugar, whole milk and vanilla.It's beating the cocoa powder and heavy cream first  The vanilla is added in , then the milk and sugar.It's chilled first and then gone through the ice cream maker. Can you make this without an icecream maker. Yes, you can,. You can sort of create your own ice cream maker by using a plastic bag and a bigger plastic bag. Fill the larger ine with four  cups of fresh crushed ice and four tablespoons of coarse salt. The salt lowers the freezing point of the ice and creates an extra cold atmosphere. This squeezes out all the heat and makes for a better ice cream. Fill the smaller bag with the ice cream mixture and then wrap the larger bag in a towel and shake vigorously until frozen. The more you shake the more frozen it will be. You can also buy an ice cream ball from Wal-Mart or Amazon for a quicker freeze.

what is easier to create? Ice, especially granita is the simplest. Yet if you want a quick ice cream then go for a non custard one for a sweet and fast dessert.

Sweets For The New Year

 One of the best traditions of Rosh Hashana is eating a sweet for a sweet new year. The holiday and the season lends itself to all sorts of delcious desserts.They're perfect for ending a meal or jsut having with tea or coffee.

Since this is also apple season think cakes with them as the main ingredient. The Sephardic Jews bake an apple ginger cake called tishpishti.It's a gluten free cake also made with almond and walnuts which also makes it perfect for Passover. Fuji apples are used as are cinnamon and nutmegs for a sweet spicy flavor.It's drizzled with a boozy apple jack (apple brandy) drenched syrup that also has lemon juuice, ginger and unsweeteened apple juice in it.Another cake celebrating the harvest is an apple one made with tart Granny Smith apples. Brown the sliced apples first in vegan butter or margarine along with lemon juice and two to three tablespoons of sugar. The cake batter consists of flour eggs, sugar ,baking powder canola oil and vanilla. The cooked apple slices are added to the batter and the whole mixture is baked in a springform pan for 350 degrees Farenheit for an hour . You could sprinkle demerara sugar (which can be bought at any British grocery shop) on top for crunch. For the kids  apple cupcakes are a fun idea. These have diced apples any kind and a cream cheese buttercream frosting. You can drizzle caramel on top but these are pretty good with just the frosting.

Honey plays an important part in Rosh Hashana baking.There are so many recipes regarding it. You could go with one that also has brown sugar for a deep brown color.Coffee and orange juice are added to counteract the sweetness. To match the orange-y flavor use orange blossom honey . You coulkd also sub in black tea if the coffee feels too strong tastewise. You could also use tea in a moist honey cake. again make it a s trong black one to really project its' flavor. Fresh honey can be used (whole Foods may carry this) along with such spices as nutmeg and cinnamon. large eggs are used to help the cake main tain their moistness. To make it fancier arrange almond slices on top before baking. This creates a pretty pattern on top.Honey cupcakes are also another good dessert. It's a fun and easy one that uses baking soda and baking powder to create light tender cakes. A buttercream icing may be too heavy here. Go with a whipped cream one that's an easy make.It's just whipping the cream with confectioner's sugar and a few drops of vanilla extra. Add a sprinkle of almond slivers for a more festive look.

Try something sweet for a sweet new year. It could be a cake or cupcakes  to celebrate. Use the flavors of the season to make tempting and tasty holiday desserts.

Easy As Pie Bars

 There's nothing like an end of season pie to highliught late summer harvests. Yet apie at a picnic can be messy, especially eaten out doors. Try a pie bar instead. You cn bake and bring it anywhere, the back yard or the beach ,

Melissa Clark wrote about pie bars in her A Good Appetite Column in yesterday's New York Times Food section. These bars take the fruits and crusty flavors to a new level witohut the mess. Traditional pies can be messy. Their insides drip out. Crust crumble into a million  pieces. it hard to eat a piece of pie while ballancing a paper plate on your lap. Pie bars allow home bakers to bake them days ahead , cut them and  put them on plate.Guests and family can just grab one and nibble as they mingle. There's no gooey mess to deal with afterwards. Ms. Clark compares it this way, a pie bar isto a  pie as a hamburger is to a steak.It's totable and easy to eat . The crust should be sturdy and Ms Clark recommends prebaking both the given sortbread and grahan crackers, She likes the first for it's flavor and sturdiness. The shortbread should be a dark brown.It'll be harder to gauge the grahahn cracker one because of its' color. The color will deepend ever so slightly so keep an eye on it.

As for the filling Ms. Clark gives three. There is a raspberry crunch one with a a combo of five (!) cups of  fresh raspberries and half a cup of raspberry jam. There's a crunch topping of rolled oats, almonds , brown sugar and butter.Everything is flattened down to create three layers of fruity, sweet buttery goodness. Coconut lovers will go wild for the recipe that has a cocoonut pie filling laced with dark chocolate.It's rich with eggs and butter along with unsweetened coconut milk.  These two hav e the base of shortbread which adds to the flavor.Enjoy peach season with creamy peach pie bars. This starts with a graham cracker crust made ven more crunchier with pecans. The filling has a rich mix of cream cheese and heavy cream along with one whole egg. You will need three cups of peaches, preferably fresh. These can be peeled or unpeeled (go with the unpeeled - less work). The peaches are simmered in a sugary sauce and then placed on top of the already pired heavy cream and cream cheese mix.

Try a pie bar this Labor Day weekend. They're a fun and tasty way to enjoy the season's harvest.  They're better than pie .

A Basket Of Brownies

 One of the best baked goods to come out of any kitchen is a pan of brownies. Who doesn't love a square of chocolate decadence/ Yet can you make them lusher and richer? Yes! You can!

Melissa Clark knows this and gave us three variations on the treat in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. Her recipes are true to her tastes - and they reflect ours as well. She has salted pretzel ones that brings in savory and crunch and ones that are an homage to the classic Mounds bar. Those have a well of coconut in the middle. Then there are her pecan pie brownies rife with the flavorful nut and the sweet filling that goes with it.  The salted pretzel brownies have the added surprise of a graham cracker and crushed pretzel crust underneath to also give them a cookie vibe. There's also the richness of one stick of butter added to this , giving the treat a nice buttery flavor too. The rest of the recipe is the classic brownie one, with processed Dutch cocoa and chocolate chips. A whole pretzel is placed  on top so each square gets a whole pretzel. You could sub in one of those buttery checkerboard ones for a fancier look or even sticks for a more rustic appeal.

The coconut macaroon ones have the added creaminess of condensed milk and egg white to create a homemade macaroon. These would be good on their own but they'll take the simple but delicious brownie to the next level. Ms. Clark makes the brownie batter first and then the coconut. A tablespoon of the last is put in what would be the middle of each square or four by four rows. Flaky sea salt such as Malden's is sprinkled on top and then the batter is baked for half an hour. The pecan pie brownie is another decadent treat. The top is true pecan pie filling with dark sugar and the nuts. Usually the filling has corn syrup added but Ms. Clark subs in a quarter cup honey and omits the egg. It is still rich with a stick of butter and two tablespoons of heavy cream. The topping then poured on top of the brownie batter and spread in an even layer. Again sea salt is scattered over it to give it a jolt of savory. It's then cut into squares. You could sub in walnuts which has always been a brownie add in. Another idea is grating eighty-five percent chocolate over all three to cut the sweetness and add to the decadence. All three would be a great dessert with a scoop of chocolate gelato or an afternoon snack with a big glass of milk.

Brownies are a treat unto themselves. However make them extra special with either a pretzel crust, a mound of coconut macaroon or a layer of pecan pie. It's taking them to the next layer of goodness.

Still Celebrating St Patrick's Day

Even though we're all shuttered in right now, we can still celebrate St Patrick's Day. It's just having some ingenuity and imagination. A party is what we need right now so go to it.

It may be a little late for some foods but you can try tomorrow. There is corned beef and cabbage, an Irish-American dish that's easy to make. If you're busy with the kids, think a crockpot one ,flavored with beer. You can also make this for weekends for a festive change up from the usual. You can also grill it if you have your barbecue ready, Use a dry rub of cinnamon, mustard seed, ginger and cloves along with ginger and dill. You can also brine it in dark beer for a marinade. This is sweetened and spiced with brown sugar, pickling spices and onions along with garlic and cold water. If you've already had your corned beef and cabbage, then start tomorrow with corned beef hash. The kids will like this, especially with scrambled eggs. Just chop the meat and saute it with some onions and potatoes .  Create some nests in the hash for making eggs sunnyside up. As for the cabbage, try the traditional bubble and squeak which is frying up the greens with potatoes in butter. Serve with crispy bacon or even eggs for a different kind of brunch and lunch.

Irish soda bread is another must have for the day. Since everyone is inside , baking is easy and a great past time.It's a simple make, thanks to the recipe not using yeast,It's baking soda that gives the loaf its' rise. The recipe also uses buttermilk and egg too and is sweetened with raisins or currents. Think about turning  any leftovers into a tasty bread pudding. This is  a rich decadent bake, complete with heavy cream and eight eggs. You can also add cinnamon and cardamon for more flavor along with  freshly squeezed orange juice and zest. More raisins or other fruit such as blueberries can be mixed in. Any good bread pudding deserves a topping and you can top this one with a store bought or homemade caramel topping.. Once you've mastered the bread you can move on to Irish soda bread muffins and scones. The muffin recipe has some slight modification. Baking powder is added in this recipe to give the muffins some rise along with the addition of carraway seeds. Sugar is dusted on top for sweetness.  You can also make the scone version and serve them warm from the oven. There are even Irish soda bread cookies .It's the same recipe save with only using one egg. They sort of look like flat little scones and I guess you could put some butter on them.

We may be quarantined. Yet we deserve a party with good  food. Create a St Paddy's one with traditional tasty foods.

Posset An Easy Summer Dessert

Summer is a time of easy cooking  - whether it's for the main course or dessert. No one wants to be by a hot oven when the temps hit the nineties. That's why there is posset - a lovely Shakespearean sounding custard that is easy to make. Best of all it compliments the fruit of the season.

Melissa Clark wrote about it in her  A Good Appetite column in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Posset is a simple custard, first made in the 1500's with spiced, sweetened milk. Wine or ale was added to curdle it was used to cure colds. Posset then evolved from a beverage to custard with the ingredients altered.This is a simple dessert for novice home chefs. As Ms. Clark points out it's a custard  but without the eggs, or other binders such as gelatin or cornstarch. There are not even any messy water baths as they are with creme brules. Even the oven doesn't have to be used - perfect for a hot day.It's all made on the stove top, then strained and poured into ramekins. The recipe comes from Diana Henry's Simple, a cookbook full of unfussy ,uncomplicated recipes.Ms. Henry adds a sprig of  rosemary and orange juice. Possets are topped with fruit, namely macerated strawberries but any fruit can do.

Possets start out with just two cups of heavy cream. Don't skimp or substitute. The cream gives it its' weight and is the posset's backbone. The next is 2/3 cup of granulated sugar. What gives the dessert zing is the grated lemon zest and lemon juice. Ms. Clark feels that adding the zest heightens the lemon flavor. Before adding a 1/3 cup of lemon juice she cooks the  zest,cream and sugar for a few minutes. Doing this ensures a plush pudding instead of curdling when the acid hits it. Also add a pinch of sea salt for balance. The mixture should be constantly stirred and then simmered until it thickens. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice. It's then letting the posset sit  for twenty minutes to let it slightly cool.. A skin should form. Stir mixture and then strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove the zest (I would leave it in for color) as it's strained into a measuring cup with a spout. Evenly pour into six ramekins or small bowls and put into fridge to set for three hours. At this point toss the strawberries and sugar in a small mixing bowl. Let it macerate at room temp for 30 minutes to one hour. Arrange them on top of the possets. Dust with ground pepper and serve.

Posset is a simple easy dessert.It's the perfect end to a summer meal. Try with fresh fruits and enjoy.

Celebrating Versailles

Desserts had their renaissance and glory days during the last days of the Bourbons. They were creamy, and elegant, sculpted and delicious. Now thanks to a modern day pastry chef , home bakers and chefs can recreate them for their summer parties.

Yottom Ottolenghi wrote about them the other day in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. He is hosting a night at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the museum's Visitors To Versailles exhibit. It is a joint venture between the Met and the Chateau de Versailles, featuring every aspect of court life from April to closing at the end of July. To celebrate his night there, Chef Ottolenghi has created two desserts worthy of any Versailles pastry chef. One is an elaborate apricot tart made with the heavenly frangipane cream and marzipan a must and luxury of Marie Antoinette. On top of the tart is a creme patisserie layer, a cooked cream that was becoming popular in the late 1700's. It's kind of like a sweet roux married to a sabayon thanks to the addition of  four egg yolks. The star of this though, is poached apricots. Lime and Sauternes, a sweet white  dessert wine are added to it for more flavor. The apricots are cooked again, this time baked when they 're added to the pie. The pie and all its' components is a bit to elaborate to make during these sweltering summer days. Unfortunately there are no short cuts here.

Luckily, there is an easier alternative which I wanted to try. This still has the poached apricots in Sauterne  but without all the fuss of crusts and layering different creams. It is still an elaborate make and will probably take me an entire afternoon. I do want to try this with the apricots but also want to try this with peaches and possibly nectarines.. Could berries be added, like strawberries or blackberries?. I was wondering if it's really necessary to add the Sauterne ttoo - can I just use water?. It's only a scant cup. Will the additional flavor really be missed? Maybe. The fruit slices are cooked twice, once poached, then briefly cooked over a high heat. The cream that goes with it is a marriage of mascarpone and heavy cream. Unsalted and toasted pistachios are added to it along with crushed amaretti cookies and sugar. Again I wonder if I can put in variations. Suppose salted pistachios are used for more depth and to cut the sweetness? As for amaretti cookies which are a rarity around here in the summer - can I switch in crushed biscotti? Both are flavored with anise, except the biscotti has a milder dose of it.  Then another interesting poser- can I freeze it to make a kind of semi freddo? That would make a neat dessert with the apricots.

The French patisserie chefs of Versailles made amazing desserts. It will be fun to emulate them and create these sweets. They are a salute to the glory of Gallic baking and cooking. Let's see if us commoners can recreate them,

Orthodox Easter Fasts And Feasts

This is Holy Week in both Greek and Russian Orthodoxy, It is a time of strict fasting followed by glorious feasting celebrating the Lord's resurrection. Ancient traditions are honored and acted upon with recipes passed down for generations. They reflect the people and the lands that created them.

The Orthodox  Easter has to follow Passover , since it takes the New Testament literally and is
based on the Julian calendar (while Catholics and Protestants celebrate the Gregorian calendar one). Both religions have heavy fasting periods, especially around Lent (there is also a Christmas fast too). Even the weeks before Lent have purifying fasts where meat and other animal products are not allowed but dairy and eggs are permissible . The Lenten period kicked off with a Clean Monday fast where no food is eaten the first Monday until Wednesday evening. This is the longest fast in the church calendar. The second through the sixth  weeks sees them nix almost everything except fruits vegetables, wheat products and water. This makes for sparse  but healthy eating. Luckily they can eat nuts so peanut butter and bread provide some sustenance Wine and oil are only allowed on the weekends. There is a meal eaten on Holy Thursday then strict fasting (absolutely no food) on Good Friday. It is broken on Holy Saturday after the liturgy of Saint Basil. Fruit and some wine are allowed for sustenance.

Both Greek and Russian Easters are glorious affairs . The Greeks have a light meal after midnight mass to ease into eating. Some roast a whole lamb on a spit while others also roast goaton Easter Sunday. Both are usually stuffed with rice, pine nuts, cinnamon and raisins. The Russians  celebrate with   the tasty stroganoff, beef strips in smetana or sour cream or chicken kiev, a rolled and breaded chicken breast filled with garlic butter and herbs. Bread is important with both. The Greek Orthodox bake a fluffy challah like loaf studded with bright red eggs. The braids  called tsoureki symbolizes the Holy Trinity while the eggs are symbolic of Christ's blood. The Russians go wild with their Easter breads too and create the large airy kulich. This is a bread that bakes in coffee or juice cans and resembles the Italian panettone or pan d'oro in shape and height but is spiced with saffron and cardamon. A thick confectioner's glaze is poured on top and then topped with a heavy dose of colorful sprinkles. Cheese is also a big Easter treat There is pashka a kind of cheesecake mold that has Pascals symbols on it.It's  a rich mix of farmer's cheese , heavy cream , egg yolk and sugar. The Greeks have a savory  and sweet cheese dishes ,depending on the location.

The Oerhodox Holy week is an interesting time, beginning with fasts and ending with feasts. The foods to end celebrate are amazing, rich in tradition and in flavor. They are true gems passed dow from generation to generation.

The Perfect Chocolate Babka

Babka has always been the domain  of bubbies and Jewish bakeries. That's all changing  thanks to a new generation of hip home bakers discovering it. The recipe has been somewhat tweaked but the end result is the same. Chewy buttery sweet slices that always satisfy,

Melissa  Clark wrote about it in yesterday's New York Times  A Good Appetite column along with a scrumptious recipe. Babkas are experiencing a kind of renaissance right now. The trendy Sadelle's Bakery in Manhattan's Soho offers one studded with homemade chocolate cookies while competitor Breads Bakery stuffs theirs with Nutella. Other bakeries such as Bklyn Larder fills theirs with a rich ganache and Baz Bagel turns theirs into the ultimate comfort food - babka bread pudding. The cake becomes even more decadent in the Jerusalem cookbook by Yotam Ottolonghi and Sami Tamimi.It's renamed the chocolate krantz cake and is loaded with pecans. This has spawned a variety of variations. such as one filled with chocolate and raspberry jam and another soaked in honey syrup. New York's Lower East Side Russ & Daughters, originally a fish and savory shop, uses and bakes the original recipe . Theirs, according to fourth generation owner Joshua Ross Tupper advises babka is a nice balance of not too sweet cake and rich chocolate filling,It's also one the of the few traditional babkas sold and it's shipped all over the country. Ms. Clark is the rebel baker, using a rich chocolate butter cream filling in hers.

Home bakers be warned. Babka requires time and some expertise.It is working with yeast which can be tricky and time consuming. One can take all day or even longer (!) to make due to refrigerating the dough between steps. Doing this  does make it easier to manipulate  and a longer proofing period does give it a richer, more complex taste.It is easier to freeze than other breads so home chefs can make two loaves, one for now, the other for later. It is a rich buttery dough with a recipe requiring ten tablespoons of butter. and four large eggs.. The dough is transferred to buttered bowls which add to the flavor  as it bounces in and out of the fridge/Ms Clark's frosting filling also has a stick of unsalted butter along with 3/4 of a cup of heavy cream.If this isn't enough , there is over the top cocoa streusel topping. This is more butter (but only four and a half tablespoons this time) blended with cocoa , sugar and flour, It creates giant , luscious crumbs mixed in with dark chocolate chips. Home bakers can top their babkas with brown sugar streusel on top. The same goes for the filling.any sweet goo,according to Ms. Clark is acceptable. Try, jam, dulce de leche, Nutella or hot fudge sauce.

Chocolate babka is making a big comeback. Make it to enjoy its' lush buttery chocolate flavor.It may be intense to make but a dream to eat.

Holidays With Punch

Christmas and New Year's Parties need a good punch to start going.No, not the kind where someone fist slams into your arm,. but a delicious mix of juices, sodas , dairy and various kinds of alcohol. Punches make any holiday gathering special . They add zip and zing along with great tastes. Best of all you can tailor any punch recipe to fit your crowd. Make them to suit the mood, whether they're light or heavy..

The drink is really an Indian concoction known as panch . English traders from the East India Company brought the party drink back to the United Kingdom as early as 1632. It soon became a hit and with the introduction of rum a few years later on became an English holiday staple. The American colonists fell for it and it became a staple of all sorts of occasions, from ceremonies to various holidays.One of the most popular is Planter's punch.It's a great drink, with a combo of rum along with tropical fruit juices and a dash of curacao.It would be perfect for a Caribbean themed barbecue to welcome in the New Year. You can also do variations on the German punsch or Spanish sangria. These are light mixtures that just require fruit and a white or red wine. Some are also made with sparkling varieties such as Prosecco or Asti Spumante.

Heavier punches are another way to go. These are usually made with heavy cream and are perfect with cakes and cookies. One of the most famous is, of course, egg nog. This is a heavy mixture that involves six eggs plus extras yolks along with whole milk and cream. Bourbon is then added to it for kick. It is a great drink however not one that would go well with all holiday savories. I would have it rather with some short breads or crisp buttery snaps . Another heavy but heavenly cream punch is one made with ice cream. The frozen treat is added in chunks to a basic egg nog recipe and then whipped into a thick froth.Of course you can make cream punch just with low fat milk or even soy for a lighter taste and texture.

Holiday punches are a great addition to any party. You can create one to suit the mood, the food or just what people want. It can be light and fruity or heavy and creamy. However you make it, your punch will surely make an impact on your guests!