Fresh Pear Sherbet

This year my family gave me a new ice cream machine for Christmas. I have been longing for an ice cream machine that doesn't need ice or doesn't require you to pre-freeze the canister. I am now the happy and proud owner of a Cuisinart machine that meets both of these criteria. Just plug it in and away you go! Since we happened to have several very ripe Harry and David pears sitting around, pear sherbet was a natural choice to test out the machine. This simple recipe has just 5 ingredients and takes 10 minutes to prepare. The resulting sherbet is smooth and creamy, just like eating a juicy, ripe pear. I have made this recipe many times before, some with the Poire William and some without. Either way, this sherbet is a delicious and refreshing treat any time of year.

Fresh Pear Sherbet
Julia Child and Company

5or 6 ripe pears, enough to make about 2 cups of puree
2 Lemons
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg white
3-4 tablespoons white pear liqueur, Eau-de-vie de Poire Willams (optional)

Zest the rind of the lemons and then jucie them into a bowl (you should have 4 tablespoons of juice). Peel and core pears. Cut the pears into chunks and drop them into the bowl of lemon juice. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of sugar and stir to mix. In a blender or food processor, puree the pears, adding the remaining sugar. Puree until all of the sugar is dissolved. Add the egg white and pure one moment more.  Pour mixture into ice cream maker adding Poir William, if using, at last minute to avoid turning pears dark.  Process according to machine directions. Pack in an air tight container and store in freezer for a few hours to cure. (Sherbet doesn't develop its full flavor until it has been cured.)

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Thank You to Kris at Bake in Paris  for the blog award.

 If you haven't dropped in at Kris's blog you are missing out.  Kris is not only a talented baker and cook, but an outstanding photographer and blogger as well.

Popo Bars

Each of my children has a favorite Christmas treat.  Popo bars are a favorite of my oldest daughter, Mimi Jr. Not only did she make the Popo bars, but she worte this post as well.

Growing up, we were fortunate enough to live 5 minutes away from my grandparents (Mimi's parents). We spent almost as much time at their house as we did ours. We had tea parties with my Nanny and helped my Popo in the vegetable gardern. Although Nanny, my grandmother, did the most of the cooking, there were a few times my grandfather got in the kitchen. During the holidays we always made these simple 7 layer bars, which we have renamed "Popo Bars" in his honor. He would get out all the ingredients and I would pull up a chair to stand on, and we would go to work. Everyone has their favorite Christmas treat, and these are mine. They are the first thing I make every year, always with a smile and an extra handful of chocolate chips, just like Popo did.

~ Mimi Jr. ~

POPO Bars

4 oz butter or margarine
1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
6 oz chocolate chips
6 oz butterscotoch chips
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 can sweetened condensed milk.

In a 9x13 pan melt butter.  Place ingrdients in layers in the pan in the order given.  Bake @ 350 degree F. for 30 minutes.  Cut in bars.

Popo Bars

Candy Cane Cookies

    It wouldn't be Christmas at our house with out Candy Cane Cookies. I remember as a small child my parents staying up in to the wee hours of Christmas morning making candy cane cookies so we would be sure to have them for our Christmas guests. What woke me up so early was the sound of my parents laughing. When I peaked out my bedroom door, there they were sitting at the table surrounded by cookie dough, laughing and enjoying a private moment together.
    For my own children dozens of candy cane cookies went to school each year for the class Christmas parties. Candy cane cookies are the first cookie we make every year, they are the signal that the Christmas baking has begun.


Candy Cane Cookies
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup shortening ( you can use all butter if you wish)
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
red food coloring
crushed peppermint candy
confectioner's sugar.

Mix together butter, shortening, and sugar.  Add egg and flavorings, mix thoroughly. Add flour and salt mixing to incorporate.  Divide dough in half.  Color one portion of the dough with red food coloring.

1.  Rolls dough into ropes about 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick, about the size of you pinkie finger.  2.  Place one red and one white rope side by side.  Cut rope in 3 to 3 1/2 inch sections.

3. Twist the rope: hold each end of the rope and turn your right hand forward  (away from your body) and turning your left had backward (towards your body).  4. Gently, with your finger tips roll the rope to form a new rope about 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick and about 6- 7 inches long.

Place the ropes on your baking sheet and turn the tops down, forming a candy cane.  Bake  in 375 F degree oven  for about 9 minutes, until just starting to brown.  Carefully remove from baking sheet and while still warm roll in a bowl of 2 part confectioners sugar to 1 part crushed peppermints.

Have a Merry Christmas!

TWD: Cafe Volcano Cookies

 Macduff of  The Lonely Sidecar selected Cafe Volcano Cookies for this weeks recipe. Meringue cookies, filled with toasted nuts and flavored with espresso powder.  These crunch, nutty cookies just crumbled in your mouth.  The recipe is very similar to the spiced nuts that are so popular.  These cookies couldn't have been easier to make and stored in a tightly lidded  tin mine stayed fresh for more than a week.

I used both the almonds and walnuts as called for in the recipe, but next time I would stick with one type of nut. The walnuts completely over powered the flavor of the almonds.   I think a good variation would be to use only almonds, eliminate the espresso and add orange zest.  Also I might chop my nuts a little finer.  If you are a nut lover you will find these cookies suprisingly adctive. If you want the recipe for these nutty cookies drop on over to The Lonely Sidecar.

Gingerbread Houses

Christmas is all about traditions.  When our oldest daughter was quite small, we invited several families to join us the first Sunday in December to kick off the Christmas season by making gingerbread houses.  It was an all day event which concluded with a soup dinner. That first year we tried to bake and assemble our houses all in one day.  When the sides caved in, we quickly learned that gingerbread must cure several days,  before building your structure. That was about seventeen years ago.  We still meet the first Sunday in December to build our gingerbread houses and eat soup, but we are not quite so ambitious now, we don't always make our own gingerbread for the houses.  You can pick up pre-baked ones at Target or Michaels, it is how you put them together and embellish them that makes them your own.

TWD: Sablés

     The first winter storm hit Southern California yesterday. It was great to have the rain. We really needed it and with the rain comes the end of fire season! Along with the rains we had strong winds, which knocked out power around the county. Since I have a convection oven, it was a good thing that my sablés had just come out of the oven when our power went out. Candle light and cookies!
     Barbara of  Bungalow Barbara. selected Sablés as this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. This is the perfect make ahead cookie dough, since you roll it into logs and chill for several hours before baking. Then it's just slice and bake, and you get a delicious buttery cookie just right to enjoy with a cup of hot chocolate.

You can dress them up on the outside with colorful sugar, nuts, jimmies, and for the inside add some candied fruits, citrus zest, espresso powder or ground nuts; it's pretty much limitless. If you want to enjoy this buttery crisp cookie just drop on over to Bungalow Barbara's for the recipe or pick up Dorie's book.

Trifle with Roasted Apples, Pears and Caramel Sauce

     What Tiramisu is to the Italians, Trifle is to the English. Layers of soft sherry soaked cake alternate with silky, cinnamon flavored pastry cream and intensely flavored roasted apples and pears. Finished with a rich caramel sauce and sweetened whipped cream, whats not to like? Trifles are great for entertaining since they can be mostly assembled a day ahead of time, with minimal finishing touches.
     I usually make trifle with pound cake, but ladyfingers looked like they would be a nice change, and a time saver since at this time of year you can usually get decent ones at Trader Joe's. However, my Trader Joe's didn't have them, so no time saved, and I had to make my own, which was ok because I have made them many times and they are pretty easy. The results are so worth the little bit of effort- soft, creamy and delicious. I will save that recipe for another time (maybe closer to Christmas, when we always make our traditional Christmas Eve Tiramisu). With ladyfingers or poundcake, this trifle has a great flavor and was a beautiful, tasty addition to our Thanksgiving table.

Trifle with Roasted Apples, Pears and Caramel Sauce
adapted from BonAppetit  November 2003- I made several changes to the original recipe and my version appears below.

3 ½ doz. Soft Ladyfingers
Cinnamon Pastry Cream
Caramel Sauce
Roasted Fruit
1/3 cup dry sherry
2 cup chilled whipping cream
2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cinnamon Pastry Cream
6 egg yolks
2 cups milk
¾ cup sugar
1/2 cup cake flour
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbs. unsalted butter

Whisk egg yolks and ½ cup milk in large bowl. Add sugar, flour vanilla and cinnamon. Whisk until sugar dissolves. Bring remaining 1 ½ cups of milk to simmer in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Gradually whisk milk into yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan. Cook until custard thickens and boils, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Add butter, stir until melted. Transfer to bowl, cover with plastic wrap, press directly onto surface of custard. Chill until cold.

Caramel Sauce
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1 cup cream
2 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt

Blend the sugar and water in a 1 ½ qt sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and swirl the pan by the handle to make sure all of the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is perfectly clear. Return pan to moderately high heat; cover and boil for several minutes. After a minute or so peek at syrup, when the bubbles are thick uncover the pan.
Continue boiling, swirling the pan by the handle until the syrup begins to color. When it is a light caramel color remove from the heat and continue swirling and the color will darken more. To stop cooking place bottom of the pan in cool water.
Slowly add the cream, which will congeal the caramel. Return pan to low heat and simmer, stirring until the caramel dissolves. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and salt. Use warm or cool. Refrigerated in a covered jar, the sauce will keep for weeks.


Roasted fruit
3 large Fuji Apples, peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch cubes (about 4 cups)
3 Bosc pears, peeled, cored, cut into ½ inch cubes, (about 3 cups)
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In bowl toss fruit, lemon juice and butter. Spread on a rimmed cookie sheet. Place cookie sheet in the oven, roast until fruit is soft and golden, turning with metal spatula every 15 minutes, for about 1 hour. Cool fruit sheet.

 

Assembly: Pour sherry in a small bowl. Dip flat side of lady finger in sherry. Line the bottom of a 2-3 quart glass trifle dish with a single layer of lady fingers, sherry side up. Line the edge with one row of ladyfingers, sherry side in. Spoon half of pastry cream over ladyfingers, smooth top. Cover with half of the fruit. Drizzle ½ cup of caramel sauce over fruit. Line edge of dish with a second row of ladyfingers, sherry side in. Cover fruit with a single layer of ladyfingers. Spoon remaining pastry cream over ladyfingers followed by remaining fruit drizzled with ½ cup of caramel sauce. Line the side of the dish with a third layer of ladyfingers, sherry side in. Cover and chill at least 6 hours or over night.

In a bowl, whip cream, sugar and vanilla until it hold cream holds a peak. Spoon or pipe cream over trifle, drizzle with caramel sauce. Serve with remaining caramel sauce.

TWD: Rosy Poached Pear and Pistachio Tart

 Lauren of  I'll Eat You-  selected Rosy Poached Pear and Pistachio Tart. This is a beautiful tart full of rich autumn colors. The deep rosy pears were just right on top of  the light colored pastry cream, sprinkled with caramelized pistachio nuts and finished with a drizzle of a the deep red reduction of the poaching liquid. The sweet buttery crust was the perfect crunch under the smooth pastry cream and tender pears. Dorie says the reduction sauce is option, but I disagree- it is a must for this tart. On the other hand, although I loved the caramelized pistachio nuts as a snack, I didn't think they did too much for the tart, other than being a garnish.

This delicious tart was easy to make since all of the parts could be prepared well ahead of time leaving the final assembly the only step prior to serving. I would I make it again, but I would  use almonds in place of pistachios in the pastry cream, because the pistachios flavor was over powered by the almond extract and I always have almonds on hand. If you want to make this pretty tart visit Lauren of I'll Eat You.