Name the Mystery Fruit!

April 8th, 2010 / comments 8

I found these at the market….

F mystery fruit Name the Mystery Fruit!

Anybody know their name?  Do you have an idea what to do with them?  Other thoughts?

Take a look at the comments and you will see that Apu left a comment with the right name. I xx’ed it out but I’m sending her a small prize. There are more prizes for more correct guesses.

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Blood Orange – Ingredient of the Week

March 25th, 2010 / comments 4

This post, focusing on Blood Oranges, is the first in a series of Ingredient Posts. I welcome your thoughts on ingredients that you are curious about, love or hate, use frequently or have never tried.

The fields outside of Siracusa are filled with citrus groves. The distinctive dark green, round trees that grow in orderly rows were visible when my plane circled Mt. Etna. Some of trees are so full of uniformly yellow fruit that it is possible to identify them as lemon trees from the air. Although Arabs are creditedwith bringing lemons and bitter oranges to Sicily sweet oranges were brought to Sicily in the15th century by Portuguese crusaders.

I have been taking full advantage of the possibilities that fresh lemons and oranges in the market offer.

oranges ortigia1 Blood Orange   Ingredient of the Week

Today, I am celebrating the blood oranges that fill the market.

cappuchino 021 Blood Orange   Ingredient of the Week

I eat a blood orange before my morning cappuccino, I drink blood orange juice at lunch.

blood orange 02 Blood Orange   Ingredient of the Week

Insalata Fantasia di Arance is what I order if I want a salad of blood orange segments simply dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper at dinner. It may be topped with onion, anchovy or olives but however it comes, it is delicious.

blood orange 01 Blood Orange   Ingredient of the Week

Freshly squeezed, pink, blood orange juice, with or without a splash of vodka, is toast worthy. Salute!

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Cranberry Pie – Summer Flavor in the Winter

January 25th, 2010 / comments 12

Saturday was a beautiful, cold, gray, windy, winter day.

dark sky full Cranberry Pie   Summer Flavor in the WinterI’m not complaining, the air above the frozen pond was white. (Can it be so cold that fog freezes?) The trees on the hill were  black and created a startling contrast to the white field. The alpacas were cozy inside their upscale fleece. Rosie, working on her version of a canine snow angel, was frequently distracted by the scent of creatures tunneling beneath the icy crust of snow. On the other hand, I wanted pie. Not a frozen pie from the market, not a pumpkin pie made from a tin of pumpkin, not an apple pie, I wanted a pie  that would leave pink streaks on the plate. I was missing summer pies.

What to do — I opened the freezer and found a bag of cranberries and remembered that I had once made a cranberry pie but I couldn’t remember how. I had to be adventurous, think creatively and get started. I had an unbaked pie crust in the freezer and I began by rinsing the cranberries and thinking of pies past. I knew that the birds would be pleased with the pie if I wasn’t. Luckily –

D cranberry pie 02 Cranberry Pie   Summer Flavor in the Winter

It look good enough to slice.

D cranberry pie 01 Cranberry Pie   Summer Flavor in the Winter

One bite

cranberry pie going 02 Cranberry Pie   Summer Flavor in the Winter

After the next

cranberry pie gone Cranberry Pie   Summer Flavor in the Winter

Sorry birdies — maybe next time.

Pta rainbow birds c egbert Cranberry Pie   Summer Flavor in the WinterHere’s how I made it.

… read more

Cranberry Cannoli Puffs – A Contest Entry

January 2nd, 2010 / comments 6

In November, I decided to try my hand at creating a recipe that featured Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry for a contest. I have never thought of myself as a competitive cook but decide to give it a whirl. Tile Blue 01 c egbert Cranberry Cannoli Puffs   A Contest Entry

I signed up, got a coupon in the mail that I redeemed for one package of Puff Pastry. I opted for sheets rather than for the shells primarily because I had absolutely no idea what I was going to make.

The pastry waited patiently in the freezer for about ten days until lightening struck and I was inspired by the food in my fridge and a recent visit to Sicily. I had fresh cranberries and fresh ricotta cheese – hmmm, how about Cranberry Cannoli Puffs, a simple dessert made with a minimum number of ingredients.

D cranberry cannoli 01 Cranberry Cannoli Puffs   A Contest EntryI submitted the recipe and I thought that the contest rules required that I not tell a soul what I had made until the contest was over.  I got an email last week that said that I was free to share my entry so –  Here’s how I did it:
trans Cranberry Cannoli Puffs   A Contest Entry

… read more

Persimmon Cake with Apricot Mousse

November 24th, 2009 / comments 3

Persimmons have been eaten for a long time, the Greeks called the persimmon the ‘fruit of the gods’ but I had never used them in my kitchen.
persimmon whole
The orange Fuji persimmons at the market were the inspiration I needed to make a non-chocolate cake. In the past, the unpalatable astringency of unripe persimmons had kept me away from them.

persimmon half

But, the combination of a pot-luck dinner party, the memory of Nancy’s amazing persimmon cake and having both a food blog and newspaper columns that need posts, I decided to practice what I preach – “Be brave, take a chance, experiment and tell me about your success!”

persimmon center

I created a persimmon cake filled with apricot mousse and topped with whipped cream and it was a success! – Here’s how I did it: … read more

Cranberries out of the Bag – Part 3 – Dessert

November 6th, 2009 / Comments 1

Cranberry Sauce, whether straight from the can or an innovative version, is a welcome side dish but these versatile berries can also be the basis for dessert.

Interior variations 03
Consider cranberry mousse, a three-ingredient wonder and if cranberry mousse doesn’t tickle your palette, how about cranberry gelato? Here’s how ( x 2). … read more

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