Ghoulish Gooey Gummy-Cakes

It's Halloween, and I just love the way kids enjoy this holiday.  Our neighbors' adorable children asked me to give them a "trick" instead of a "treat," so I thought I'd give them a little of both.

German chocolate cupcakes provided the "graves" of "dirt" and gooey pecan and coconut frosting the ghostly gobs on top. The gummy worms slithering out of the ghastly graves completed the "trick." They'll have these to enjoy after collecting candy and other treats from lots of other neighbors around our town. Sweet.

Homecoming Dessert - Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Usually a springtime dessert, we found crisp fresh rhubarb and sweet strawberries to fulfill another "special request" from our son upon his return from two weeks in the Adirondacks in late August. This pie requires pre-cooking half of the strawberries and rhubarb in order to reduce the liquid and intensify the flavor, but it is another easy recipe and one that really pleases.

Process
Cut and hull 5 c. strawberries. Cut 3 c. rhubarb into 1/2" pieces. Divide in half. Mash and cook one half of the fruit mixture in a non-stick saucepan with 1 c. granulated sugar, 1 tbsp. lemon zest, and 1 tbsp. Cointreau or Grand Marnier liqueur. Reduce until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Cut fresh rhubarb into 1/2" pieces

Cut and hull fresh berries

Reduce 1/2 strawberry/rhubarb mixture

In separate bowl, combine rest of strawberries and rhubarb, 3 tbsp. Minute Tapioca mix, 1 tsp. grated fresh nutmeg, 1/2 tbsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. fresh lemon zest, 1 tsp. freshly-squeezed lemon juice, 2 c. granulated sugar.  Add cooked berries, and mix to combine.

Combine and mix all

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Pour mixture into prepared pie crust. (Time-saving tip: Use refrigerated pie crust, available in the dairy section at your grocer.) Or make your own!! Dot top of berry mixture with 2 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces.  Cover with top crust, crimp and cut vents. Make an aluminum foil collar around pie and place all onto cookie sheet.

Form a collar with aluminum foil

Bake at 425 for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 350 degrees and cook for 30-45 minutes longer, until fruit filling is bubbling and crust is a golden brown.

Allow to cool for at least 2 hours before serving. Fantastic accompaniment:  Hagen Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream and a few fresh berries on the side.  A wonderful way to welcome your loved ones home!

Mrs. Crawfords' Pizza Chicken

Here's a dinner winner with adults and kids alike -- "Mrs. Crawford's Pizza Chicken," so named by our son's childhood friend, Matthew, who chose it as one of his favorite meals at the tender age of five.  It's easy to make, delicious, loaded with protein, healthy, and economical, and stretches to a special next-day lunch.

Matthew, now all grown up, recently spent a year teaching in China. Upon his return, we invited him and his family for a reunion dinner of Pizza Chicken, and a sent him home with a doggie bag! Served with a bucatelli or long fusilli pasta, it's just the thing for a cool autumn night!

Process
Pound thinly sliced chicken breasts to even thickness. Dredge with flour, salt and pepper. 

Dredge in flour

Dip in an egg wash (one-two eggs, 1/4 cup milk, beaten lightly with a fork).

Dip in egg and milk mixture

Then press into seasoned bread crumbs (your own, or Progresso Italian.) Add grated parmesan cheese and finely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley to the breadcrumbs for extra flavor.

Press breasts into seasoned breadcrumbs

Place on plate for a few minutes to set

Heat a few tablespoons butter and olive oil in a large sauté pan and, in batches, sauté each thin breast on both sides, until golden brown.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sauté breasts in olive oil and butter

Use your own rich and thick tomato sauce

Place in baking dish lined with a light covering of tomato sauce, covering each breast with slice of mozzarella, freshly chopped sweet basil and a little more tomato sauce. Do not cover completely with tomato sauce. 

Cover with freshly chopped basil and sauce

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until bubbly and browned on top. (At this point, can be stored in refrigerator for one day, or frozen up to one month. If you store or freeze, let casserole come to room temperature before baking.)

Serve with fusilli or bucatelli pasta, red wine and crusty Italian bread. Mangia bené!

Tommy's "Real Deal" Pancakes

Tommy's breakfast gift to his dad for his birthday was a double batch of his own "Real Deal" Pancakes, which he made with flour, whole milk, organic eggs, butter and baking powder.  He added Ron's favorite -- blueberries (what else!) and a few halved walnuts (Tommy's favorite) to individual pancakes as they cooked.  Served up with Camp's Maple Syrup and the Sunday edition of The New York Times ... it doesn't get better than that.

Lazy Hazy Glaze-y Days

When the weather gets hot and humid, we like a fruit tart better than a dense brownie or cake for dessert.  In this light delight, fresh berries and peaches take center stage, baked on a puff pastry shell, and glazed with apricot jam to sweeten it up and provide a beautiful, shiny finish.  For a variation, you can use any kind of berry, apples, pears or apricots. In late summer, for a "Tuscan twist," try it with juicy little Italian plums or fresh figs. It bakes up in only 20 minutes, so it won't heat up your kitchen. If you use store-bought frozen puff pastry, give it 40 minutes on the counter to defrost while you take a cool shower or run to the gym ... then your prep time will be less than an hour, start to finish. To serve, top with a generous spoonful of whipped cream, creme fraiche or marscapone, bring out an icy bottle of wine and watch it disappear.  Perfetto!

Ingredients

Two sheets of puff pastry (One box of frozen Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets)
Flour for rolling pastry
One pint each fresh raspberries and fresh blueberries (or berry of your choice)
Two peaches (or plum, apricot, apple, or pear)
Apricot jam for glazing (about 3 tbsp.)
One egg and 1 tsp water, beaten with a fork
Ground cinnamon and nutmeg for topping
Sugar for topping

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Boil peaches for two minutes, submerge in ice water, peel and slice thinly
Heat apricot jam over low-medium flame until it becomes soft and spreadable, about 1 minute 

Roll out defrosted puff pasty on lightly floured surface to approximately 14" x 14"
Using pastry wheel, trim off 1/2" from edges.

Using a pastry brush, brush the inside of the trim lightly with water, fold over pastry square, and brush with egg/water mixture.

Brush center of square with apricot jam. Place berries and peaches in a creative design on puff pastry and glaze fruit generously with the rest of the apricot jam. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, grind a few twists of nutmeg all over and put in the oven.

Immediately reduce oven temp to 375 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes, checking at 15 minutes.  Set on counter to cool for 2 hours before serving. Serve at room temperature, and top with a spoonful of whipped cream, creme fraiche or marscapone if desired.

All-American Holiday

It's Memorial Day weekend, and time to bring out the burgers and fries! We grilled our own ground beef, topped with red onion, dill pickle chips, a slice of hot house tomato and a side of curly fries. This mouth-watering treat, and a Yankee game, makes the day complete.

Poor Man's Paté

The nights have been cool lately, and there's nothing more comforting than a densely-packed meat loaf with hot buttered rice to take the edge off a crisp breeze. We've loved this dish for a really long time. It's a fragrant mixture of ground beef, eggs, minced onion, chopped green pepper, ketchup, Kosher salt, pepper and a dash of milk. The secret to this dish: homemade breadcrumbs, made with ciabatta bread, minced fresh parsley, sage, rosemary, sweet basil, grated Parmagianno Reggiano, French Sel de Mer and a medly of freshly-ground peppercorns (white, red, green and black). I make it in big batches and freeze in big ziploc bags and use for meatballs, meat loaf, and breading chicken breasts.

This meat loaf goes from the dinner table to the lunch bag in the blink of an eye. Just a spooonful of Russian dressing on a soft roll, some lettuce et "voila!," you have a "paté" sandwich manifique!