This dessert is a total cheat. It’s honestly like breakfast for dessert to me because I have Greek yogurt w/strawberries, honey, and nuts for breakfast practically every day. Yet the idea of changing the vehicle, adding more crunch, and sort of morphing it into a really refreshing and easy summer dessert seemed divine. Especially since you can crisp the wontons far in advance and then just assemble come dinnertime.

I’d serve this dessert with a nice glass of chilled rosé or really good coffee (and maybe dip an extra wonton or two in it…) paired with a summer breeze.

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Strawberry Wonton Sandwiches

Based on the recipe from Everyday Food.

Makes 6 sandwiches.

Ingredients

• 12 wonton wrappers
• 1 TBL unsalted butter, melted
• 3 TBL vanilla sugar (if you have it, otherwise just use plain sugar)
• ¼ cup almonds, chopped fine
• 1 cup Greek yogurt (I like 0% but it could be a bit strong for some, so use whatever you like!)
• 2 TBL orange blossom honey
• 8oz fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

Directions

1.) Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and lay out the wontons on it. Brush wontons with melted butter and then sprinkle with sugar and almonds. Bake until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.

2.) Divide yogurt between 6 wontons, drizzle with honey and strawberries, and then top with extra wonton. Serve immediately with coffee.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: dessert, fast and easy, fruit, summer, sweet

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Quick Friday post, quick Friday… dessert!

Cleaning out my fridge and freezer in a mad dash before I move cross-country, I have a lot of frozen pie crusts on my hands. “I mean, when you’re making one, why not make two?” was my mantra for awhile there, but now I’m thawing and baking like crazy to get rid of (but not waste) my freezer stash.

Galettes or free-form tarts are one of the most fun, easy, and versatile things to do with pie crust. The sky is the limit for filling ingredients, but since it’s spring and glorious rhubarb has arrived in force, I couldn’t resist making a bubbling, syrupy, sweet-tart treat like this.

This is a fantastic dessert for all those intimidated bakers out there because it comes together quite easily, uses only 5 ingredients, and is so delicious (and impressive!) you’ll never believe how simple it was to put together.

Small admin note: I will be moving over the next few days so it’ll be quiet around here. But don’t worry – a new post will be on its way soon enough!

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Rhubarb Galette

Based on the recipe from Bon Appetit.

Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients

• 1 prepared pie crust (homemade or store-bought), at room temperature
• 1½ pounds rhubarb, ends trimmed
• ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small cubes
• 1 egg yolk, beaten

Directions

1.) Cut the rhubarb into 2-inch long pieces. Then cut each piece into ¼-inch wide matchsticks. In a large mixing bowl, toss the rhubarb with the ¼ cup of sugar and let macerate for a half hour.

2.) Preheat the oven to 350°F with the rack set in the center of the oven. Place a large piece of parchment on your counter and flour it slightly. Roll out the prepared pie crust to a 12” round and transfer the whole thing (parchment and all) to a large jelly roll or edged baking sheet.

3.) Starting in the center, arrange the rhubarb pieces in concentric circles, slightly overlapping as you work your way out towards the edge. You don’t have to be meticulous, but make it look nice. Leave a 1” border around the edge.

4.) Fold the edges of the dough over, crimping to seal and make a decorative edge. Brush the edge with the beaten egg yolk and dot the 2 tablespoons of butter over the rhubarb in the center (not the edge).

5.) Sprinkle the entire top of the galette (crust and all) with the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar. Bake until rhubarb is tender and bubbling and the crust is golden, about 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack until warm, about 15 minutes. Enjoy with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: baking, dessert, fast and easy, fruit, quick friday dinner, spring

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Another quick post for a quick Friday dinner!

I think it’s this warm weather finally getting under my skin. I always eat so much lighter (see: healthier) when it’s warm and sunny, and the other day it was in the low 70′s and sunny. I had a big ol’ bulb of fennel lying in my fridge and most of the other ingredients on hand (a special trip for proscuitto but well worth it) so I whipped this salad together for a nice light supper.

Crunchy and refreshing fennel and apples with salty satisfying proscuitto, this whole dish just feels clean and oh-so-springish. Adding some walnuts (or even goat cheese would be nice) bulks things up a bit, but feel free to add some grilled chicken breast or serve it with nice hot crusty bread.

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Fennel and Apple Salad

Serves 2

If you can, get the proscuitto sliced fresh at your deli counter over buying the pre-sliced stuff. Not only is it unbelievably cheaper, it’s also better tasting sliced fresh. Just get it sliced as thin as humanly possible!

Ingredients

• 1 small fennel bulb, ends trimmed and then halved, fronds reserved
• 1 medium pink lady apple, cored and cut into quarters
• 3 ounces proscuitto, torn into smaller pieces
• 2 big handfuls spring mix or leafy greens, washed and spun dry
• ½ cup walnut halves, toasted and cooled
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon honey

Directions

1.) Using a mandoline, slice the fennel on thinnest setting possible. If you have the julienne attachment for your mandoline, cut pink lady apple into matchsticks, otherwise slice very thin and then cut into matchsticks. If you don’t have a mandoline, just slice them as thin as possible. If not using right away, keep fennel and apple slices in a large bowl of cold water with some lemon juice squeezed into the bath.

2.) Whisk together the apple cider vinegar, mustard, oil, and honey. Taste for seasoning. Toss fennel, apples, and arugula lightly with dressing. Add a little dressing at a time, pouring more if necessary.

3.) Chop up the reserved fronds a bit. Sprinkle over salad along with walnuts, proscuitto, and then enjoy!

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fast and easy, quick friday dinner, salad, spring, vegetables

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A quick post for a quick Friday dinner.

This can be thrown together in 20 minutes, tastes amazing, and could easily be multiplied to cater to dinner for two or a small crowd. All you do is make a quick warm potato salad, sauté some snapper fillets, and pile it high on some thick toasted bread. Inspired by my favorite dish Gordon Ramsay makes on his UK Kitchen Nightmares, he calls it an open-faced sandwich, I just call it delicious.

Warm potato salad.

Snapper.

Sauce escaping.

Hearty layers.

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Open Faced Snapper Sandwich

Makes 1 hearty sandwich.

Based on Gordon Ramsay’s recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 small snapper fillet, de-boned, skin-on
• 5-7 very small fingerling potatoes, or 2 small Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 tablespoons freshly chopped chives
• 1 tablespoon sour cream (you could also use Greek yogurt or crème fraiche)
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 spring onions, finely diced
• 1 slice good, thick bread (like ciabatta or French boule), brushed with olive oil and toasted
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil

Directions

1.) Put the potatoes in a small pot and cover with cold, salted water. Bring to a low boil and cook until just soft, about 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside. Let cool until you can handle them with bare hands, and then cut into bite-sized pieces.

2.) In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice, chives, and spring onions. Taste for seasoning, then toss the potatoes in the dressing. Set aside.

3.) Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and add a few glugs of olive oil. Season the fish and then sauté skin-side down, until crisp. Turn over and cook another few minutes to finish.

4.) Top the toast with potato salad, and then the snapper fillet. Eat warm with a nice glass of white wine.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fast and easy, fish, quick friday dinner, salty, savory, vegetables

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Some may call this lazy, others (like myself) call it genius.

I saw this on The Kitchn a few days ago, and could not wait to try it. 2-ingredient ice cream you could make and eat within a few hours? Sign me up! All you have to do is chop, freeze, and blend a banana. The natural texture and fat within the fruit lets it blend into a thick, smooth consistency instead of getting crumbly. Stir in some honey roasted peanut butter (ohh, my dearest friend) and you’ve got 2-ingredient ‘ice cream.’

The consistency straight from the blending is like thick soft serve, but you can also freeze it and eat it like normal ice cream too. You can really go nuts with accompaniments (Nutella, chocolate chips, walnuts, etc, spring to mind) so just have fun with it. Plus it can be allergy/lactose/vegan friendly!

Icy bananas.

Everyone in the bowl.

Halfway through.

That looks good… but it could be so much better.

Throw a big ol’ dollop of honey roasted peanut butter in there.

That’s better!

Mmmm.

It’ll probably only last two days… but still, labels are important!

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Banana-Peanut Butter ‘Ice Cream’

Based on the insanely clever idea from The Kitchn.

Ingredients

• 4 very ripe bananas
• ¼ cup honey roasted peanut butter (Peter Pan is the best – period!)

Directions

1.) Peel and cut bananas into small pieces. Lay out on a plate and freeze until solid, about 90 minutes.

2.) Once frozen, pop the bananas into the bowl of a food processor, and pulse, then blend, until smooth, scraping the bowl down as you go. Stir in the peanut butter and either eat right away, or freeze in an air-tight container.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: banana, dessert, fast and easy, peanut butter

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