It's my distinct pleasure and honor to once again guest-host this weekly series. Coming up with a theme tonight was a piece of cake. And pie. As we enter the holiday season, festive and seasonal treats are definitely called for. Maybe it's because it can be so cold and dreary and colorless outside that we gravitate toward foods that are colorful, alive with aroma and texture and spice! And that is exactly what I'm talkin' about... after the jump.
For reasons that have nothing to do with politics, I am a big advocate of seasonal cooking. Stuff just tastes better and looks better when it's fresh. Fall and winter mean citrus, cranberries, pears, nuts, and apples. And ginger, for me. Ginger warms you from the inside out, and the smell of fresh ginger is just incredibly soothing to me. According to this website,
Ginger strengthens the yang energy of the Kidneys and the Will. Traditionally associated with the astrological planet Mars–a symbol of force and virility–this dynamic, fiery essence activates will-power, stimulates initiative, and restores determination. With a concomitant action on the Heart and the Mind, it can in addition help to boost confidence and morale, particularly in those with poor vitality.
OK, maybe. Maybe not. But it smells and tastes good, and is prominent in many of my favorite foods from hot curries to desserts. Which brings us to the first offering of the evening: gingerbread pear upside-down cake!
I adapted the recipe from a Canadian hospital's website. However, I made a couple of changes. One, I added more ground ginger than the recipe calls for and grated in about a tablespoon of fresh ginger using my microplaner. Second, I used fresh pears (Bosc, since they are firm and great for cooking). Also, I didn't want a really gooey topping, so I heated a couple of pats of butter in a saucepan and stirred in about a tablespoon or so of dark brown sugar. I turned off the heat and added the pears. I spooned the pear-caramel mixture into the cake pan and added about a half-cup of coarsely chopped walnuts.
Pour the cake batter over this, and pop in the oven. The smell in the kitchen was heavenly! I think this cake would actually be better with apples. I'm going to try it with tart Granny Smiths; I think the contrast of textures and flavors will be fantastic. I will also add a handful of chopped crystallized ginger to the fruit/nut mixture too.
I am also a fan of desserts that can do double duty as breakfast, like pumpkin pie or apple turnovers. My hands-down favorite dessert/breakfast is this recipe from my old, beat-up, food-stained copy of Jane Brody's Good Food Book, Cranberry-Apple Crisp
(The above photo isn't mine - I didn't have time to make the crisp and photograph it. This is a very similar one posted on Photobucket!)
Ingredient List
12-oz bag fresh cranberries
2 large apples, unpeeled, cored and sliced (Jane says "thin," but I like crisper, fatter slices)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon (I use more)
1/4 cup flour, divided
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1/4 quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (pecans work great, too)
3 Tbsp melted butter
Combine the first 4 ingredients along with 1 Tbsp of the flour. Transfer into a baking dish. I use a deep-dish Pyrex pie dish. Then combine the rest of the ingredients - you'll wind up with a crumbly oat mixture. Top the fruit with the crumble and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until the crumble is browned.
As desserts go, this is really a pretty healthy one. Lots of antioxidants, fiber, and Vitamin C. Cinnamon is also now known to help regulate blood sugar, so you can feel pretty good about eating this!
So... Thursday is Thanksgiving! I'm very much a traditionalist when it comes to the turkey. I stuff it (screw you, Alton Brown! I've never gotten sick from eating stuffing cooked in the bird!) with a sage-onion bread stuffing. No froufrou hippie new-agey quinoa or bulgur stuffing for me! I favor the 30-minute blast at 450 to crisp the skin, then lower the temp to finish cooking. LOTS of basting. Homemade gravy, of course! Mashed potatoes. Green beans. But when it comes to the desserts, I like to get a little creative. A few years back, I did this twist on the classic pumpkin pie, courtesy of Food & Wine Magazine. Again, seasonal Bosc pears are used, nestled in a lovely creamy acorn squash custard.
This year, I'm going to try this lovely sweet...
Bon Apetit's Carmelized Apple & Pecan Pie. I'll let you know how it turns out!
So, fellow Kossack foodies... pick your poison!