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Pavlova with Spiced Pears & Blackberries

December 26, 2011 By 52 Comments

“THERE WAS A STAR RIDING THROUGH CLOUDS ONE NIGHT AND I SAID TO THE STAR, ‘CONSUME ME’.”  Virginia Woolf

I’ve been been wondering what the fascination is with pavlovas.  While I’ve only had store bought meringues before, I found them to be hard and crunchy, and not really in a good way!   So this recipe only affirms my belief that when you take the opportunity to make something from scratch, the result is so much better!  The fascination with pavlovas?  They are sweet, crunchy, chewy clouds on which you can float the most delectable fruits and creams!  They may be elegant or rustic, and topped with fruits from any season.  Nervous about making meringues?  So was I!  But let me tell you about one of my favorite Cooking Channel shows, and who convinced me to give this a try…… [Read more...]

Filed Under: Special Desserts Tagged With: , , ,

Autumn Fruit Chutney

November 10, 2011 By 30 Comments

“THY BOUNTY SHINES IN AUTUMN UNCONFINED AND SPREADS A COMMON FEAST FOR ALL THAT LIVE.”  James Thomson

There is a different kind of simplicity that I search for in the fall.  While in spring and summer, I am content to eat some strawberries off the vine, or a fresh peach flavorful all on it’s own; in autumn I look for more comfort.  For a blending and melding of fruits and flavors.  And warmth!  And this union of fruits and spices does not need to be complex.   Crisp apples, pears and cranberries melt together with the warmth of cinnamon and brown sugar and curry.  It takes little time and effort, but seems to simmer for the longest hour of my life!  But I could almost be content with the lovely scent which begins to waft through my kitchen.  This chutney was created to…… [Read more...]

Filed Under: Apples, Fruity & Fun, Pears Tagged With: , ,

Five Spice Pear Pie Bars with Orange Icing

October 9, 2011 By 30 Comments

“AUTUMN, THE YEAR’S LAST, LOVELIEST SMILE.”  William Cullen Bryant

With fall baking comes pies!  Lots of pies!  I love pie and I love making them.  And the finished product is always so impressive.  But when you just want an itty bitty bite…. it’s hard to cut yourself just a little sliver.  You know what I mean!  That piece of pie, which is so tall and full and stands so proud on your plate…..well as delicious as it may be ….it’s reduced to a fruity crumbly mess when you try to cut just a thin slice.  So here is all of the goodness of a pie, in this case pear, in a flatter form.  I’ve cut these into little pie wedges; but you can cut them into bars or squares.  So cut yourself a small piece ….because you’ll still have the bottom crust, the top crust and all that great fruit in between!  And the interesting ingredient in this recipe (at least to me) was…….. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bars Tagged With: , ,

Pear and Gorgonzola Stacks

September 13, 2011 By 71 Comments

“BE MODERATE IN ORDER TO TASTE THE JOYS OF LIFE IN ABUNDANCE.”  Epicurus

HEY!  Who put the salad on my dessert blog?!?

I like to cook.  I love to eat.  But my PASSION is for desserts!  Sometimes I wonder if, because I write a dessert blog, people assume I’m eating desserts for breakfast, lunch and dinner!  (Ok ok….I won’t lie.  I DO like a little sweet something with my coffee in the morning!)  But I do otherwise eat well.  And I particularly love that fine balance of sweet and savory.  And this little salad, which I had for lunch today, was just that.  Again, the pear is perfect here because it is not an overly sweet fruit.  But add the contrasts of tangy and chewy cranberries, crunchy bacon bits, crumbled blue cheese, toasted walnut pieces, fresh greens in a citrus vinaigrette, and all of this drizzled with honey…..and you cannot imagine what a salty, sweet, crunchy, chewy, savory sensation this was!  Oddly….or maybe not….my favorite flavor combination here was the little chunks of blue cheese drizzled in honey!  Lots of room for variation here, too.  But this is how it all went down for me……. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Savory Sweet Tagged With: , , ,

Chocolate Pear Pouches

September 3, 2011 By 59 Comments

“IT IS, IN MY VIEW, THE DUTY OF AN APPLE TO BE CRISP AND CRUNCHABLE, BUT A PEAR SHOULD HAVE SUCH A TEXTURE AS LEADS TO SILENT CONSUMPTION.”  Edward Bunyard, ‘The Anatomy of Dessert’

There is a restaurant in Middleburg, Virginia called The French Hound, which offers a wonderful stuffed pear dessert, served with a creme anglaise.  I wanted to try to recreate this dessert.  But I wanted to include a pastry that would lend itself as a delicate crust to absorb all the luscious flavors.  Kind of like a lighter version of pie.  I added dried cherries to the poaching wine, and reduced it to a wonderful syrupy sauce.  And the center of the pears?  They are filled with….. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fruity & Fun, Pears Tagged With: , , ,

Still Life

September 3, 2011 By 18 Comments

 

 

 

Filed Under: Still Life Tagged With: