Merry Christmas, everyone! Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday and enjoying the day. We had a wonderful dinner and instead of doing some big rich dessert I decided to go simple and refreshing for our finish this year. Sweet and tart cranberry sorbet, a perfectly light and yet festive holiday dessert. This would be divine to also serve on New Year’s Eve, especially if you scoop a few balls and put them at the bottom of a glass, then top with champagne. Cranberry sorbet floats, anyone?

Happy Holidays!

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Cranberry Sorbet

About 1 quart

Based on David Lebovitz’s recipe.

Ingredients

• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup plus ¼ cup water
• 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
• pinch of salt
• ½ cup orange juice
• 1 Tbsp. orange-flavored liqueur, such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier

Directions

1.) In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar with ½ cup water then add the cranberries and a pinch of salt.

2.) Cover, and cook at a low boil for about 10 minutes, or until the cranberries are completely softened and have burst open.

3.) Remove from heat and let the cranberries sit until room temperature, covered.

4.) Once the cranberries have cooled, puree the cranberries with any liquid and the orange juice, ¼ cup water and the orange-flavored liqueur.

5.) Chill thoroughly then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

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Post tags: christmas, frozen treat, fruit, ice cream, sweet, tart

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The last time I visited home my mom gave me this recipe torn out of a magazine (along with a pile of newspaper articles and miscellaneous bits of reading materials she thought I’d be interested in), so it seemed only fitting I would make it on Mother’s Day.

A fool is a British dessert traditional using layered whipped cream and egg whites with fruit puree, but this healthier pseudo-breakfast version is just as tasty. Instead of whipped cream you use thick Greek yogurt and the fruit is a quick rhubarb preserve with that perfect sweet-tart tang. This is one of those dishes that can’t decide if it’s dessert or breakfast and is deceivingly “healthy” (trust me, with all the sugar, it’s not), yet it’s still easy and delicious — two things everyone can love.

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Rhubarb Fool

Serves 4.

Based on the recipe from Parade magazine.

Ingredients

• 12 oz. trimmed rhubarb, cut into ½-inch slices
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups Greek yogurt (I always use 0% Fage)

Directions

1.) Combine rhubarb, sugar, and lemon juice in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Cover and cook 4 minutes. Remove lid and turn heat up to medium-high. Boil 6-8 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

2.) Transfer to a heat-proof container (not plastic!) and chill at least 30 minutes.

3.) When ready to serve, layer yogurt and rhubarb in parfait glasses or dishes of your choice.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: dessert, fruit, rhubarb, sweet

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This past Christmas I spent every evening working my way through a Terry’s Dark Chocolate Orange. I love the ritual of it. The initial thwack!, peeling back the shiny foil, and eating a few slices at a time. The flavor and texture of the chocolate is just delicious and got me craving orange and chocolate hardcore.

Since citrus is at its finest right now, I figured I’d flip the orange-to-chocolate ratio and make one of my favorite French treats at home: orangettes. Candied sliced orange peels dipped in chocolate (dark for me) and a great way to sate that sweet tooth without feeling too guilty. Yes, they’re a bit labor intensive and lengthy but in the end you only use one pot and most of the time is unattended cooking, so it balances out!

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Orangettes

Based on the recipe from Food Network.

Makes about 50 orangettes.

Ingredients

• 4 large oranges
• 8 oz. sugar
• 8 oz. water
• 11-12 oz. bittersweet or dark chocolate (morsels or chopped)

Direction

1.) Bring a medium-sized saucepan of water to boil. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set a cooling rack on top. Slice the ends off the oranges, and score them from end to end (vertically) making an X over the entire orange. Carefully remove the peel and slice into thin strips. Trim the pointed edges so they’re squared off.

2.) Blanch the orange peels in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain. Rinse the peels under cold running water, put on a fresh pot of water and reblanch for 5 more minutes. Rinse again. (This makes the peels far less bitter).

3.) Rinse out the blanching saucepan and combine the 8 oz. sugar and 8 oz. water in it. Bring the syrup to a simmer, add the peels, and simmer over low, covered, for about 1 hour. Once cooked, remove the peels and place on prepared cooling rack. Let drain, cool, and harden at least 30 minutes. Rinse out the pan once again and fill with a small amount of water. Line a baking sheet with fresh parchment or wax paper.

4.) Set a metal bowl over the pan of boiling water (aka make a double boiler) and melt the chocolate in the bowl. Dip the orange peels (I like doing them halfway) and lay them out on prepared lined baking sheet. Let set in the fridge at least 5 minutes and store in an airtight container on layers of parchment or wax paper. I like to keep mine in the fridge (I love cold chocolate) but you can keep them at cool room temp.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: chocolate, dessert, fruit, treats

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Man, I didn’t even realize it until recently but I have been in a serious cooking rut this summer. I know I’ve complained about the heat and not being hungry due to work and blah blah blah on here, but it was only this past weekend that I realized I had kind of lost my excitement and joy for cooking at home. I used to get a little jolt of glee in my stomach every time I found a new recipe to try or idea that would come up. That just hasn’t been happening the past 2 months. I blame it on spending all my creative juices at work coming up with recipes on demand and focusing so much on that. The home cook in me was exhausted. Cold cereal, yogurt, take-out… it was a lot of assembling – not cooking. But last week something changed.

I was making scrambled eggs for breakfast because I had a few extra minutes before work and realized I hadn’t done it in months. I used to love actually making breakfast every day before work when I lived in Colorado, and I just stopped doing it when I moved. So all week I made breakfast. Egg sandwiches, waffles, bagels w/cream cheese and lox. No yogurt. Cooking – not assembling. It felt so good.

And suddenly, the jolt was back. The yearning to cook and bake everything I was going to eat instead of gorging at panel at work and then snacking for dinner. I wanted to save space and make dinner. Screw my kitchen being boiling and being exhausted at the end of the day. It’ll be worth it. And this dish is worth it.

When I saw this recipe my stomach did the familiar little somersault. Perfect summer tomatoes, perfect summer herbs, all nestled in a flaky pastry dough and topped with creamy goat cheese. Pure summer and dead simple to boot. I knew I would make this and love it. And I did. I hope you do too.

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Summer Tomato Tart

Serves 8

Based on the recipe from the fabulous David Lebovitz.

If you don’t want to make the dough from scratch, feel free to get some help from the Pillsbury Doughboy. I won’t judge you.

Ingredients:

For the tart shell:

• 1½ cups flour
• 4½ ounces unsalted butter, chilled, cut into cubes
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 large egg
• 2-3 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:

• Dijon mustard
• 2-3 large ripe tomatoes (or a few handfuls of cherry tomatoes), sliced
• 1 teaspoon really good extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• two generous tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, such as chives, basil, and tarragon
• 8 oz. soft goat cheese (herb or plain), sliced thin (dental floss is great for this) or crumbled

Directions:

1. Make the dough by mixing the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and use your hands, or a pastry blender, to break in the butter until the mixture has a crumbly, cornmeal-like texture.

2. Mix the egg with 2 tablespoons of the water. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the beaten egg mixture, stirring the mixture until the dough holds together. If it’s not coming together easily, add the additional tablespoon of ice water.

3. Preheat the oven to 425º F.

4. Gather the dough into a ball and roll the dough on a lightly floured surface, adding additional flour only as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the counter.

5. Once the dough is large enough so that it will cover the bottom of the pan and go up the sides, roll the dough around the rolling pin then unroll it over the tart pan. “Dock” the bottom of the pastry firmly with your fingertips a few times, pressing in to make indentations.

6. Brush an even layer of mustard over the bottom of the tart dough and let it sit a few minutes to dry out. The amount of mustard is at your discretion – use a little or a lot, depending on how much you love it.

7. Sprinkle the chopped herbs over the mustard. Top with tomato slices in one even layer and get fancy with it if you like. Sprinkle the tomatoes generously with salt and pepper. Top tomatoes with goat cheese and drizzle with olive oil.

8. Bake the tart for 25-30 minutes, or until the dough is cooked, the tomatoes are tender, and the cheese on top is nicely browned. Depending on the heat of your oven, if the cheese doesn’t brown as much as you’d like it, you might want to pass it under the broiler until it’s just right.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fruit, summer, vegetables

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I have had quite the dilemma this summer.

Summer produce is quite possibly the best thing about the season. And other than just eating the fruits and veggies raw, baking is the next best thing. However, when choosing my new apartment I went for style over practicality (“It’s ooold and pretty and look at the crown moldings and who cares if there’s no AC in the kitchen?”). It didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, but 3 months later I’ve realized just how horrible and downright impossible it is to use your oven in a windowless room when it’s 95° outside. Woe.

But I woke Saturday morning to cloudy skies and mid-70′s temperatures, knowing I wanted to make something for my coworker Robin’s summer party that night, and jumped on the chance to bake. Since blueberries are gloriously cheap right now and simplicity is the best approach to summer fruit, I decided to make these easy and delicious crumb bars which honestly have ingredients almost any average kitchen will have (minus the fruit). Buttery and sweet crumb layers with tart and juicy blueberries in between, these will be a hit at any party or just serving yourself.

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Blueberry Crumb Bars

Based on the recipe from Allrecipes.

Makes 24 bars.

Ingredients

• 1½ cups white sugar, divided
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
• 1 egg
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 4 cups fresh blueberries
• 3 tsp cornstarch

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter a 9×13″ baking dish.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.
3. In another bowl, stir together the ½ cup sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45-60 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into 24 squares.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blueberry, dessert, fruit, summer

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