There's Never Enough Topping

In my haphazard quest to find low fat alternatives to my favorite dishes, I figured I'd give fruit crisp a shot this morning. The usual recipe comprises fruit, tossed with maple syrup or sugar, and the critical part, topping. To me, fruit is just a crumb topping delivery system. There's brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg, sometimes cloves if I'm in the mood, and a stick of butter. There have been times when a small jackhammer would have been nice to reach the bottom, because the topping was twice the depth of the fruit. That's wrong, isn't it.

Today I figured I'd go easy on the butter, cutting it down to 2 tablespoons, and adding a 1/4 cup of maple syrup to the topping to bind it. I also added oats, since they're supposedly good for you. For the fruit I used a frozen 4 berry blend that I got at the market. Yeah, I should have been out there this summer picking berries and freezing them, but I was too busy. The brand I used was Europe's Best a misnomer since the fruit is from Chile, and the distributor in Montreal.
I used maple syrup from Quebec that I got as barter for a sofa. I thought they got the raw end of the deal after I tasted it. I'm usually not a fan of Grade A fancy, but this had a delicate, floral taste that's a nice alternative to the rough and tumble lower grade I typically use.

Here's the breakdown:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a square pan - I used pyrex.
Toss one bag of berries with 1/4 cup of maple syrup and spread them in the pan.

Mix together 1/2 cup oats, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg, then blend in 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and 2 tablespoons of butter.

Spread mixture over the fruit and bake for 30 minutes.

Does this look like enough topping to you? I didn't think so. Next time, I'll double the topping.

Pragmatic About Ice Cream

I'm not a huge fan of low fat ice cream or frozen yogurt, but as I get older it has become a fact of life. Here are some tolerable choices in order of preference:

Gifford's Cappuccino Frozen Yogurt It's got little chocolate covered crunchy bits in it, and doesn't tast yogurty at all. It weighs in at about 110 calories per half cup (I don't have a quart in front of me to check, dammit) They are a regional ice cream company out of Skowhegan, Maine.

Easier to find is Edy's Slow Churned Light Ice Cream It's pretty tasty and is of the same caloric caliber as Gifford's.

Even though it's 60 calories more per half cup than the others, I have to mention Starbucks low fat Latte, because it's really tasty - coffee is my favorite ice cream flavor.

Panforte!

My Christmas battle cry! This is the fruitcake of the gods, I kid you not. My sister-in-law just sent me the link, since I nearly expired from euphoria after a slice (ok, a couple) of hers. Seriously, you will be aching with anticipation for Christmas 2006, if for no other reason than to make batch after batch of panforte bounty. Email me, and I'll send you my address so you can mail me a sample.

Here's the link to the Canada Post site, but in case they take it down, Here's my copy:

Rich panforte perfect for fruitcake lovers and haters

Ruth Phelan and Brenda Thompson
CanWest News Service

Tuesday, December 20, 2005


VANCOUVER -- You either love or hate fruitcake. If you fall into the latter category, try making a panforte, which is more like a confection than a cake.

Unlike many fruitcakes that require time to mellow, panforte is ready to eat the next day. It's rich, luscious flavour comes mainly from the whole nuts and fruit -- there's very little flour and only two tablespoons (30 mL) of butter in this panforte.

Panforte is a flat, round, almost flourless cake with a candy-like texture and an authentic medieval taste due to the addition of honey and white pepper. Some claim this cake has been made since the 11th century in Tuscany.

The traditional peppered fruitcake of Siena, Italy, panforte literally means "strong bread." With a texture reminiscent of both a chewy candy and moist spiced fruitcake, this rich, dense sweet is best cut in small wedges. Serve either with a sparkling white wine or a sweet dessert wine.

PANFORTE

Makes 16 servings

3/4 cup (175 mL) whole blanched almonds

3/4 cup (175 mL) hazelnuts, toasted

1 /2 cup (125 mL) dried cranberries

1 /2 cup (125 mL) coarsely chopped pitted dates

1 /2 cup (125 mL) coarsely chopped dried figs

1 /4 cup (50 mL) candied (glace) diced lemon peel

1 /4 cup (50 mL) candied (glace) diced orange peel

1 tablespoon (15 mL) finely grated orange zest

1 /2 cup (125 mL) all-purpose flour

3 /4 teaspoon (4 mL) ground cinnamon

1 /4 teaspoon (1 mL) ground cloves

1 /4 teaspoon (1 mL) ground coriander

1 /4 teaspoon (1 mL) ground nutmeg

Pinch ground white pepper

2 /3 cup (150 mL) liquid honey

2 /3 cup (150 mL) granulated sugar

2 tablespoons (30 mL) butter

Icing sugar

Grease 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan and line bottom and sides with parchment paper; lightly grease paper.

In large bowl, combine almonds, hazelnuts, cranberries, dates, figs, diced lemon and orange peel, and orange zest.

In small bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, nutmeg and pepper; add to almond mixture and toss to coat fruit pieces.

In small saucepan, combine honey, sugar and butter. Place over medium heat, stirring until butter melts. Bring to a boil and cook until candy thermometer reaches 248 F (120 C), about three to five minutes.

Quickly stir syrup into almond mixture; mix well. Using rubber spatula, immediately transfer to prepared pan and spread evenly.

Bake at 300 F (150 C) for about 60 minutes or until slightly raised and edge is firm. (Cake will firm as it cools.) Let cake cool in pan on rack. Remove side of pan and remove parchment paper from side of cake. Invert cake on to sheet of wax paper and remove parchment paper. Wrap panforte in parchment paper, then foil and let stand overnight. (To store: Let stand in a cool place for up to one week.)

To serve, dust top with icing sugar. Cut into small wedges.

Approximate nutritional analysis for each serving: 232 cal, 3 g pro, 9 g fat, 38 g carb.

Tip: To toast hazelnuts, spread nuts on rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350 F (180 C) for eight to 10 minutes or until fragrant and lightly browned. Transfer hazelnuts to tea towel; roll nuts around, inside towel, to remove as much of the skins as possible.

(VANCOUVER SUN) © The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005

Miso hungry

A highlight of the Vancouver trip was the festively tricked out cement truck near our hotel on Granville Island. I think it should be next year's Christmas card, don't you?

My sister-in-law made some fabulous panforte, a treat I've never had before - it was gooey, nutty and spicy - what more could you want in a Christmas snack? I'll never eat fruitcake again. She's sending me the recipe and I'll post it as soon as she comes through. She also makes an incomparable sour cherry pie, and butter tarts with no butter! My brother-in-law handled the meals, including caesar salad with prawns - the dressing had a fab tarragon mustard in it; one of my all time faves braised lamb shanks; and another cooked-forever taste treat, beef bourguignon. Christmas dinner was traditional with a 21 pound turkey, a sweet potato ragu, mashed potatoes, peas and mushrooms, et al. The Christmas movies were Bad Santa and my top 20 favorite Grosse Pointe Blank.

Ice Cream

Recent images of Chile sent by one of our traveling companions - don't you feel cooler just looking at them?

I'm heading to Chile for some skiing, so my mind has turned to snow and other cold things, like ice cream. My favorite ice cream place here on the seacoast is Lagos on Route 1 in Rye. I like the apple pie flavor - the idea of dumping whole pies into a vat of vanilla ice cream just thrills me. The mocha chip is pretty tasty too. The problem that I have found, is that it's hard to try other flavors because the first one you try is so incredibly good that you are compelled to eat it again and again. It might take a lifetime to get through the long list of flavors. Don't get the large unless you are really hungry.

When Dad was in the hospital last year, I brought him a coffee frappe from Lagos and his whole outlook on life improved dramatically. For those of you unfamiliar with New England frappes, I pity you.

Back when I lived in Gilmanton, Jordans was my ultimate favorite home made ice cream haunt. It's right on Route 106 in Belmont. Family run, great flavors.

Merry Christmas, you fat bastard.

350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Mom's recipe needs more ginger and cinnamon, at least a teaspoon and a half or two of each.

My stalwart dry ingredient mixer is a big Austin Powers fan; as she took these guys out of the oven she noted that they look like Fat Bastard. Too bad I didn't have plaid frosting.

We made too many cookies yesterday, including Pecan shortbread and spicy chocolate cookies from our friend Martha Stewart; peanut butter brownies, oatmeal raisin, sugar cookies filled with fig-orange preserves and hermits from Fannie Farmer; and Nanaimo bars from some prissy museum cookbook. The batch of Nanaimos tastes much better than it looks, and requires practice or perhaps another recipe with firm custard.

Technical notes: I watched Alton Brown and Santa make cookies the other night, and followed Alton's advice about rotating the cookies halfway through baking, as well as switching the sheets from top to bottom oven rack. I used parchment paper to keep the sheets clean since I had umpteen batches to bake. I noticed that the shiny sheets made for a better cookie, and didn't burn the bottoms the way the dark teflon coated sheets did, so I'm getting some more of those. Even when I put a Silicone mat down over the dark sheets, the bottoms still got too brown. Shiny is good. I baked the brownies and the hermits in Pyrex pans, which work ok. I didn't have any cream of tartar for the hermits so I replaced it and the baking soda with baking powder.

Gingerbread Men on Steroids

Just think, if they get cranky or cheat at baseball you can bite their heads off.

This was Nana's recipe for gingerbread men. Back in the day, Mom and I would make 6 batches for the Moultonborough Elementary School Christmas Fair each year and they would sell out instantly. They're very cakey, so use a big cookie cutter. I roll them out to 3/8 inch thickness, and that makes a mighty fat cookie. We would decorate them with buttercream frosting, cinnamon hots and silver dragees. They freeze pretty well. As you can see, Mom didn't write down the oven temperature or baking time since she kept most information in her head, so I'll have to figure that out tomorrow when I make them, and let you know. Until then....

Squeek!

From NEW HAMPSHIRE, no less!

Still reeling from the Women's Day Encyclopedia fiasco, I dipped into a wedding present purchased from L.A. Burdick in Walpole, NH. A box of these great mouse-shaped delights for cat lovers like us.

we unanimously decided that the White mice were the tastiest. They were all eaten before I could take a picture of them.

I want to try the penguins next time.

6 pounds of chocolate helped save my dad

dad had surgery at portsmouth hospital last week - I did the only thing I could think of when stressing out - I bought chocolate for the staff. pounds of it, which was devoured in seconds. I'd like to think that it fueled the nurses and surgical team to reach new heights of medical greatness. what's important is that dear old dad is on the mend.

Many thanks to portsmouth hospital for getting dad back in fighting shape and to byrne & carlson chocolates for putting several boxes together on the fly - including the pecan turtles for the nice lady in the icu waiting room.

chocolate, fig and gorgonzola

cacao chocolates on government street in kittery, maine is a new discovery, thanks to my neighbor. they came over for dinner the other night and brought a box of these facinating chocolates. my unsophisticated palate does not often experience the sweet and savory combination of salt and caramel, chiles, cheese and spices with chocolate.



i have been a fan of the neighboring byrne and carlson chocolates on state street in portsmouth for a long time —i depend on them for christmas and birthday presents. they even make the lovely belgian chocolate asparagus spears in the spring.

eric's chocolate store reviews is a handy reference for the traveling chocolate lover. forthright critiques and directions for several chocolate stores are listed.

i like carbohydrates even more when they're chocolate flavored

i have never made a cake with flour that was rich enough; only brownies come close. in my search for super chocolatey cake, i found this at epicurious.com

even though i had to separate eggs, which scares the hell out of me, the recipe was relatively easy. i did make a double batch of glaze because the recipe doesn't make enough. i saved some of the glaze for ice cream topping.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE GLAZE

For cake
12 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

6 large eggs, separated
12 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For glaze
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
9 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Chocolate shavings or Gold-brushed Chocolate Leaves

Make cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper or waxed paper; butter paper. Wrap outside of pan with foil. Stir chocolate and butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm, stirring often.

Using electric mixer, beat egg yolks and 6 tablespoons sugar in large bowl until mixture is very thick and pale, about 3 minutes. Fold lukewarm chocolate mixture into yolk mixture, then fold in vanilla extract. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 6 tablespoons sugar, beating until medium-firm peaks form. Fold whites into chocolate mixture in 3 additions. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake cake until top is puffed and cracked and tester inserted into center comes out with some moist crumbs attached, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack (cake will fall).

Gently press down crusty top to make evenly thick cake. Using small knife, cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Remove pan sides. Place 9-inch-diameter tart pan bottom or cardboard round atop cake. Invert cake onto tart pan bottom. Peel off parchment paper.

Make glaze:
Bring cream and corn syrup to simmer in medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth.

Place cake on rack set over baking sheet. Spread 1/2 cup glaze smoothly over top and sides of cake. Freeze until almost set, about 3 minutes. Pour remaining glaze over cake; smooth sides and top. Place cake on platter. Chill until glaze is firm, about 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome; store at room temperature.) Garnish with chocolate shavings or leaves. Serve at room temperature.



Serves 10 to 12.
 


Bon Appétit

January 1999