Margarita Granita

Ok so technically this started out as a lime granita, which you can also do:

• 2 limes
• 1 tsp sugar

Juice limes & strain.

Whisk in sugar, seal in an airtight container and freeze.

Go back to it every 1/2 hour or so to stir with a fork so it keeps a nice texture and doesn't completely solidify.

Freeze at least 2-3 hours.

To make things more fun - try making my Margarita Granita. Just add:

• a pinch of salt (to taste)
• a bit of food coloring (a drop of green + 2 drops of yellow give it that bright margarita color)

Then follow the rest of the directions. I know a lot of people hate the idea of food color. Obviously, you don't need to add that to make it a fun treat. It's your call.

Orange Granita

I'm doing another tasting menu tonight (this time for my best friend Josselyn's birthday) and that means I'll be coming up with more fun little things to serve in between courses as palate cleansers. So bring on the granitas! Today I'm making the grapefruit granita that I made for my parents anniversary, and I'm also creating an orange granita and a lime granita. The orange one is the simplest of all. It needs nothing. I added sugar as I did with the grapefruit and the lime - bad decision. Obviously orange doesn't have that tartness that lemons and limes do. The sugar was too much. So really, all you have to do is squeeze an orange:

• 1 navel orange, halved
• pinch of salt

Juice the orange & strain through a sieve to get rid of pulp (or leave the pulp in, see if I care).

Whisk in salt & put juice in an airtight container.

Place container in the freezer and go back every hour or so to stir it up with a fork so it doesn't solidify completely but forms more of flaky kind of texture.

After it's been freezing for at least 2-3 hours (I usually freeze it overnight), you can scoop it into a tiny ball and serve in between courses of a nice meal. Or just enjoy it on it's own as a refreshing treat.

Mixed Berry Cobbler

My husband called this "so good it's ridiculous".

• 2lbs mixed berries
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3tbsp raw sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 6 tbsp chilled, unsalted butter (whatever, I used salted), cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup finely minced crystallized ginger

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a bowl, combine the berries, lemon juice, the 1/2 cup of sugar, the cornstarch, cinnamon & ground ginger and toss to coat the berries evenly. Pour the berry mixture into the prepared baking dish, spreading evenly.

Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda & crystallized ginger in a food processor & pulse briefly to mix. Add the butter & pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg & cream. Pour the egg & cream into thae processor & pulse just until the topping mixture holds together.

Using a soup spoon, place dollops of the topping evenly over the berries, leaving a 1-inch border uncovered around the edge of the dish. Sprinkle the raw sugar over the top. I also sprinkled a few more tiny pieces of crystallized ginger over the top as well.

Place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet (in case it boils over. mine didn't though.). Bake cobbler until the top is golden & the berry filling is bubbling - about 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack & let cool for 10-15 minutes.

Using a large spoon or spatula, scoop out the cobbler onto individual plates and seriously consider serving it with creme anglaise. Seriously.

Pomegranate Granita

Not just for pomegranate. This is really how you make a granita with most any juice (sweet or savory). I did grapefruit yesterday. Granitas are a fun way to get your fruit juice, but they're also a classy thing to serve in between courses when you're attempting to host a fancy dinner.

• 1 cup pomegranate juice (or other juice)


• 2 tbsp sugar (or more, up to you)


• pinch of salt

You want to use fresh juice. So squeeze that grapefruit and mush those pomegranate seeds.

In a bowl, whisk everything together until the sugar & salt have dissolved. Strain (if necessary).

Put mixture into a small, shallow, nonreactive dish (I used gladware. I know, I'm fancy).

Place the dish on a level surface in the freezer & freeze, stirring occasionally with a fork, until coarse, frozen crystals form. Takes about 2-3 hours. Sometimes more. Cover and keep frozen until ready to serve. Scoop granita into small bowls & serve immediately.

Pear & Cardamom Sorbet

Pictured: pear sorbet, dusted with cardamom & served with a bit of the Williams Pear brandy.

You can make the pear & cardamom variety, or just leave the cardamom out and it stands perfectly well on it's own as a pear sorbet.

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/8 tsp cardamom (optional, it's great without it)
• 4 pears, peeled, cored & chopped
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp eau de vie de poire (I don't know what it means either. Use pear brandy) :-)

In a small saucepan, bring the sugar & water to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes until the mixture reduces in volume and thickens.

Chill the syrup for at least 30 minutes, until it's cool. Then process the syrup, pears, lemon juice & pear brandy in a blender/processor until smooth.

Then just follow the directions on your ice cream maker & pop it in the freezer.

Cranberry Chutney

This stuff will make your kitchen smell like Christmas! It's knockout delicious and you can make it a few days ahead.

• 1lb fresh cranberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar (I used dark)
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup chopped apple
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery

Combine the first 9 ingredients in a pan or dutch oven. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until juice is released from cranberries, about 15 minutes.

Stir in remaining ingredients. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, about 15 minutes or until thickened; stirring occasionally.

That's it! Chill before serving. Also, it will keep in the fridge (in an airtight container) for up to 2 weeks). I cut the recipe in half and it came out just fine as well.

Here it is!

Coulis, Compote or Chutney?

I'm trying to get a better understanding of all the little french words that usually just mean fruit and sugar. Here's a primer:


Coulis: French for "strained liquid" - that's just what it is! A coulis can be sweet or savory. The base is either a fruit or a (cooked) vegetable. Puree, season (like with lemon or salt) and then strain to remove seeds and such. A very common one is raspberry coulis - often served with something chocolatey. Behold:





Compote: Cooked fruit dessert with rich syrup. Can be warm or chilled. Here's one with figs and cinnamon:






Chutney: This one seems a lot like a compote to me. It's fruit & sugar that are combined, sometimes with vinegar, and simmered slowly. Usually sweet & sour, but can be spiced. The most common is probably Mango:





Gastrique: Thick, syrupy reduction (we've heard this before) of vinegar or wine, sugar and usually fruit. Often served over meat or seafood to add a fruit flavor to the dish. It's thinner (like the coulis):



Aioli: When seasonings or flavors are mixed with mayonaise. Lookie:



Remoulade: Similar to the aioli, it's mayo-based. But a remoulade is more similar to tartar sauce and includes mixed herbs, veggies, etc.



Granita: semi-frozen dessert of sugar, water and some kind of fresh fruit or vegetable juice. Originally from Sicily, it's a little more coarse and crystalline than a sorbet, maybe more like italian ice. For this one you don't cook anything. Just stir juice with sugar and maybe lemon or a pinch of salt, and then pop it in the freezer, scraping it around with a fork every couple of hours to break it up. Now that's simple! Here's a watermelon granita:



I'm sure there are more. I'll add them as I think of them!

Grapefruit Granita

Making this for my parent's 40th anniversary dinner. I'll be posting the rest of the recipes, as well as the full menu later. Grapefruit granita, lemon sorbet, any kind of light citrusy frozen treat can be served in between courses to cleanse the palate. And it's also just kind of fun.

• 2 ruby red grapefruits
• 2 tbsp sugar
• pinch salt

Juice the grapefruits to get about 1 cup of liquid. In a bowl, whisk together the grapefruit juice, sugar & salt until dissolved. Pour mixture through a strainer into a small, shallow dish.

Place the dish on a level surface in the freezer & freeze, stirring occasionally with a fork until coarse, frozen crystals form. About 2-3 hours.

Cover & keep frozen until ready to serve.

Scoop the granita into small bowls and serve immediately. Garnish with a paper-thin slice of lemon.

Lemon Curd

Lemon curd isn't only for fancy tea parties. It's delish all by itself or with scones (especially my ginger scones!)

• 4 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 lemons, juice & zest
• 1 stick butter, cut into pats & chilled

Add enough water to a medium saucepan to come about 1/2 inch up the side. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, combine egg yolks & sugar in a medium size bowl (preferrably metal) and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute.

Measure lemon juice out & add to egg mixture along with the zest. Whisk till smooth. Once water reaches a simmer, reduce heat to low & place bowl on top of saucepan (bowl should be large enough to fit on top of the saucepan without touching the water.) Whisk until thickened, about 8 minutes, or until mixture is light yellow & coats the back of a spoon.

Remove to a clean container & cover by laying plastic wrap directly to the surface of the curd.

Refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

Autumn Apple Cake w/ Hot Caramel Sauce

From my parents 39th anniversary menu:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 apples, peeled & grated
• 1/4 cup butter

For the caramel sauce:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• salt

Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8-inch square cake pan with non-stick cooking spray or grease pan & set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter with sugar. Beat in egg. Stir in flour, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda & salt. Fold in apples.

Pour into prepared pan & bake for 30-40 minutes or until cake is done & toothpick comes out clean. Cut in squares when cool & serve with hot caramel sauce.

To make caramel sauce, melt butter in saucepan over low heat & then add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue stirring for 5 minutes or until sauce thickens. Remove sauce from heat & serve over apple cake squares.

**image stolen from wordpress.com**

Strawberry Ice Cream

Spring is here! You really need to buy an ice cream maker because this is good!

• 1 pint fresh strawberries
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 cups light cream
• juice of 1/2 a lemon

Puree strawberries & put them in the fridge to chill.

Place all ingredients in food processor (or blender) and blend until smooth.

Pop it into the ice cream maker for about 20 minutes.

Freeze to solidify the final product, or enjoy it soft.