My Favorite Desserts
2 cups water
2 cups red wine (Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon)
1 cup sugar
1 lemon
3 four inch sprigs fresh mint
6 firm Bosc pears with stems
Mint sprigs for garnish
1. Add the zest, juice and mint to the wine. Combine water, red wine and sugar in a large saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.
2. Remove zest from lemon using a vegetable peeler and then juice the lemon mixture and remove the saucepan from the heat.
3. Peel each pear and leave the stem on. Place pears into the wine mixture immediately to avoid discoloration. Return saucepan with pears to a medium high heat and bring liquid to a gentle simmer (not boiling). Cook pears 15 - 30 minutes, depending on how ripe the pears are.
4. When tender throughout, remove saucepan from heat and allow pears to cool in the liquid for 30 minutes.
5. Remove pears and strain liquid into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook 15 - 20 minutes, until the liquid reduces, and develops into the consistency of syrup.
6. To serve, spoon a small amount of warm syrup onto each serving plate.
Place a pear in the center. Garnish each pear with mint sprigs. Yield: 6
servings
1 cup + 2 Tbs instantized flour (Wondra brand)
3/4 cup each milk and water
3 egg yolks
5 Tbs melted butter
3 Tbs. Orange liqueur (or brandy flavoring)
1 Tbs. Sugar
Pinch of salt
Put flour into a large glass measuring cup. Slowly whisk in the milk and water until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, melted butter, orange liqueur, sugar and salt. Let rest 10 minutes before using.
Heat an 7-inch non-stick frypan and brush lightly with melted butter. Pour in approximately 1/4 cup of batter and twirl the pan until the batter coats the bottom of the pan. Check the bottom of the crêpe by lifting the edge with a spatula to see how brown the underside is. When lightly browned, turn the crêpe over using your fingertips and cook the other side for approximately 20 seconds.
Let the crêpes cool individually on a rack and then stack them between sheets of waxed paper. They can be stored in a zip-lock plastic bag and refrigerated for approximately 2 days or frozen for a month.
Orange Sauce
2 oranges, zest removed and juiced
4 Tbs butter
Zest of 2 oranges, thinly sliced
2 Tbs. sugar
2 apples, pared, cored and thinly sliced
In a 12-inch frypan, heat orange juice, butter and zest. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Reduce heat and add sugar. Cook until sugar has melted. Add apple slices and cook until just heated through. Add crêpes, one at a time to the sauce. Coat each crêpe in the sauce; fold in half and then in quarters; remove each crêpe to a serving plate and garnish with a few apple slices. Repeat procedure with remaining crêpes.
Batter yield: approximately 18 dessert crêpes (5 or 6 inches in diameter)
1 c. granulated sugar
1/4 t. salt
1/4 c. flour
3 T. cornstarch
2 c. water
3 eggs, separated (save whites for meringue)
1 T. butter
1/4 c. lemon juice
Grated rind of one lemon
Baked 9" pastry shell
Meringue topping
Combine sugar, salt, flour and cornstarch and gradually stir in the water. Cook. stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth.
Gradually stir hot mixture into beaten egg yolks, return to low heat and cook, stirring, two minutes. Stir in butter, lemon juice and rind and cool slightly. Pour into baked pastry shell and cool. Top with meringue and brown in oven as directed below.
Meringue Pie Topping
3 egg whites
1/4 t. cream of tartar
6 T. sugar
Beat egg whites until light and frothy. Add cream of tartar and continue beating until whites are stiff enough to hold a peak.
Gradually beat in the sugar and beat until the meringue is stiff and flossy. Pile the meringue lightly on a cooled filled pie, spreading it until it touches the edges of the pastry to prevent the meringue shrinking.
Bake in a preheated hot oven (425 degrees) until the top is lightly browned
(4 or 5 minutes).
8 lg. egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
1-1/2 lbs. mascarpone cheese
4 lg. egg whites, beaten in a medium-size bowl until stiff peaks
form
2 c. cold strong Italian espresso
1/4 c. brandy
42 ladyfingers, preferably imported from Italy
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
Semisweet chocolate for garnish, optional
In a large bowl, or in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and pale yellow. Fold the mascarpone into the eggs until thoroughly incorporated and smooth. Fold the beaten egg whites into the mascarpone mixture thoroughly.
In a medium-size bowl, combine the espresso and brandy. Dip the ladyfingers quickly into this mixture, one at a time, and place a layer of them very close together in a 14 x 10 inch dish. Spread half of the mascarpone mixture evenly over the ladyfingers. Sprinkle the cocoa powder evenly over the mascarpone through a small fine mesh strainer. Dip more ladyfingers in the espresso-brandy mixture and place over the mascarpone, making another layer. Top with the remaining mascarpone and sprinkle with the cocoa powder through a fine mesh strainer. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours.
Just before serving, shave some chocolate with a carrot peeler or a knife and sprinkle over the cake.
Yield: 10 - 12 servings (are they kidding?)
Copyright © 2006 Ann Hall Every, CCP
