Vanilla Ice Cream Pie with Warm Berry Compote

As you can probably tell by now, desserts are my favorite (maybe that is why I can't lose weight). Well anyway, I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit Magazine and I couldn't resist trying it. It's basically a semi-homemade recipe that requires very few ingredients, it's quick to put together and can be made one day ahead. I followed the recipe and made the Compote right before we were ready to have dessert, however, next time I will just make it ahead and reheat. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I spooned the Compote onto each slice of pie when it was HOT....not the brighest idea on my part. Of course, the ice cream started melting a little faster than normal and my picture isn't the best, but you get the idea. Also I am sure any of your favorite ice cream flavors will work, I stuck to the recipe (even though chocolate is my favorite) and it was a delicious, light and refreshing dessert.

Ingredients:

• 1 quart vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
  
• 1 9-inch prepared chocolate-cooked pie crust or graham-cracker pie crust
  
• 1/3 cup chocolate syrup (in quirt bottle)
  
• 2 tablespoons toasted almonds, chopped, if desired
  
• 2 6-ounce containers blueberries
  
• 2 6-ounce containers raspberries
  
• 2 6-ounce containers blackberries
  
• 2 tablespoons water
  
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  
• Mint for decoration, if desired
  

Spoon softened ice cream into crust; smooth top.

Squeeze chocolate syrup in straight lines over pie, spacing 1/2 inch aparts. Draw tip of knife through chocolate lines, forming chevron pattern. Sprinkle with almonds, if desired and then freeze untl firm.I'm not that good that putting a design pattern on cakes or pies and did mess this one up a bit, but you should have seen everyone's eyes pop out when I took the pie out of the freezer. I even impressed myself with this one.

To prepare Compote: bring all berries, 2 tablespoons water and brown sugar to simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until sauce thickens, stirring gently, about 4 minutes; remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Cut pie into wedges; place on plates and spoon warm sauce over. Decorate with mint, if desired.


Source: Bon Appetit Magazine, Volume 52 Number 7, July 2007

Tiramisu

Tiramisu is a dessert most people would order in a restaurant but never attempt to make at home. I love desserts, but I have to admit Tiramisu wasn't really my favorite. However, I always wanted to try and make it, but most recipes I came across seemed too complicated. That was until I found Ina Garten's recipe in the Barefoot Contessa Family Style Cookbook. I actually have been looking at the recipe for quite some time while reading and re-reading the ingredients on how to put it together. It appeared much too easy so I thought there was something I was missing. Well, I finally got up enough courage to try it. Italian night at our community center was coming up and I thought it would be something different that everyone would enjoy(that is if it tasted okay once I got done with it). To be safe, I decided to do a trial run and in addition to my husband, got some neighbors to do a taste test also. Guess what....not only was it super easy to make, but everyone loved it, including me, it got even better after it aged for a couple of days. I hope you give this recipe a try. I am not kidding when I say it is really simple. As a matter of fact the whole time I was making it, I kept saying..."it will be a miracle if this tastes good because it is way, way to easy". My husband kept coming into the kitchen to see why I was talking to myself.

Just a warning it is not a cheap dessert to make, but again it is well worth it. I was familiar with Mascarpone Cheese (Italian Cream Cheese) because I have used it other recipes. It can be found with the specialty cheeses near the deli counter in your supermarket. The Italian Ladyfingers I found in the cookie aisle with the specialty cookies (do not substitue with ladyfingers in the bakery department, they are too soft). I ended up finding a brand by Alessi that was labeled Biscotti Savoiardi Lady Fingers. If you can't find the Mascarpone or Italian Ladyfingers in the supermarket, you may have to try an Italian Speciality Store in your area. However, I don't think you will have a problem finding either in your local supermarket.

Ingredients:

• 6 extra large egg yolks, at room temperature
  
• 1/4 cup sugar
  
• 1/2 cup good dark rum, divided
  
• 1 1/2 cups brewed espresso, divided
  
• 16 to 17 ounces mascarpone cheese
  
• 30 Italian Ladyfingers, or savoiardi
  
• Bittersweet chocolate, shaved or grated
  
• Confectioners' sugar (optional)
  

Whisk eggs and sugar with electric mixer on high speed for 5 minutes until very thick and light yellow. Lower the speed to medium and add 1/4 cup of rum, 1/4 cup of espresso and the mascarpone cheese. Whisk until smooth.

Combine the remaining 1/4 cup rum and 1 1/4 cups espresso in a shallow bowl. Dip one side of each ladyfinger in the espresso-rum mixture and line the bottom of a 9 x 12 x 2-inch dish. Pour half the espresso cream mixture evenly on top. Dip one side of remaining ladyfingers in the espresso-rum mixture and place them in a second layer in the dish. Pour the rest of the espresso cream over the top. Smooth the top and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

Before serving, sprinkle the top with shaved chocolate and dust lightly with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

To make espresso for this recipe in your electric drip coffee maker, use 1/3 cup of ground espresso and enough water for 4 cups of coffee. I was tempted to buy instant espresso but didn't want to mess up the recipe so I bought ground espresso coffee and followed the recipe above for making it my electric drip coffee maker. It actually was cheaper to buy the ground espresso rather than buying instant espresso.

To shave chocolate, use a vegetable peeler on a bar of chocolate.

Source: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Family Style, 2002

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Upside-down cakes don't get enough credit. Think about it... when was the last time you made an upside-down cake or when was the last time you were served upside-down cake at a party or at a restaurant? Bet you can't remember. It's probably one of the quickest cakes to make and it can be made with any fresh or canned fruit that you have available. I made this cake with fresh pineapple, but peaches, mangos, apples work well too. Use whatever fruit you have available because, if I had to guess, you probably have the rest of the ingredients needed to make upside-down cake in your pantry already. Thus, no trip to the supermarket. See you've saved yourself time already so get baking and surprise your family with something different for dessert tonight.

Ingredients:

• 5 rings of fresh pineapple, if you are using canned fruit you will need 30 ounce can, drained thoroughly, reserving 1/2 cup of juice
  
• 1 cup butter, melted (you will be using 1/4 cup for base and 3/4 cup for cake)
  
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 teaspoon pure almond or vanilla extract
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt 1/4 cup of butter in pan and stir in 2 tablespoons of brown sugar until blended well. Pour mixture into 8 or 9 inch pan coating sides and bottom of pan.

Arrange fruit on top of the butter and brown sugar mixture in any design you want (be creative). If you are using peaches, apples or mangos you may want to overlap the fruit. For the pineapple upside cake I added cherries for color. See photo below of how fruit was arranged in the bottom of the pan before the batter was added.

In a large bowl sift flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. Next combine 3/4 cup of butter and granulated sugar in a pan stirring over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and add almond or vanilla extract. Then add butter mixture to dry ingredients. Stir until just combined and then add eggs. Mix well.

Pour mixture over fruit slices. Bake 55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Let cake stand for 10 minutes before inverting on the serving plate.


Note: If you are using canned fruit, you can reserve 1/2 cup of the juice and add it to the butter and granulated sugar mixture. Leave out the extract if you use the fruit juice.

Don't you just want to bite into this cake now!!!

Garlic and Herb Tomatoes

Looking for a vegetable dish that is quick and flavorful?? Look no further because this recipe for Garlic and Herb Tomatoes by Ina Garten is the one. The fresh herbs and garlic sauted in olive oil is the perfect combination over tomatoes. The taste is so fresh you will find yourself going back for a second helping. I used grape tomatoes both times I made this recipe because they were more readily available than the cherry tomatoes. I also prepped everything ahead of time. By getting the tomatoes rinsed, garlic and herbs chopped and measured out, even measuring out the olive oil in the pan made everything much easier (not to mention no mess when guests arrived). When we were ready to eat dinner, all I had to do is heat the oil, saute the garlic for a few minutes and then throw in the tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper and I was done. Give this recipe a try, you will use it over and over again. Oh, just a warning, you may not have any leftovers so when your guests are not looking, set aside a few of the garlic and herb tomatoes for yourself to eat as a snack later. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
  
• 2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
  
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
  
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly groud black pepper
  

Heat olive oil in a saute pan large enough to hold all the tomatoes in one layer. Add the garlic to the oil and cook over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, basil, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to lose their firm shape. Sprinkle with a little fresh chopped basil and parsley and serve hot or at room temperature.


Source: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa at Home, 2006

Chocolate Ganache Cake

I was looking for a quick dessert to serve the other day and came across this recipe from one of my Ina Garten Barefoot Contessa cookbooks. I had never actually tried to make this cake before, however, I have to admit, my mouth watered every time I looked at the picture in the cookbook. I had all the ingredients in the house except for the hersey's chocolate syrup so I thought I'd give it a try. This recipe is definitely a keeper, not only because it was delicious, but it was so easy to make and it required very few ingredients. Before you try making it, let me mention a couple of things I had to do differently. The recipe advises not to overbake. I found that I did have to bake it longer than the recipe recommends in my oven. Even though the cake is suppose to be very moist, I found the cake still very wet in the middle when I bake for the recommended 45 minutes. So I ended up baking it a few minutes more. Just keep that in mind when you try this recipe because ovens bake differently. Also it recommends glazing the cake while on a wire rack. I glazed it on the cake dish because I wasn't really sure how to easily get the frosted cake from the wire rack to the cake dish without making a mess of the cake. It didn't look picture perfect on my cake dish, but the taste.....it was amazing.

Ingredients for cake:

• 1/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 4 extra-large eggs at room temperature
  
• 1 16 ounce can Hershey's chocolate syrup
  
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  

Ingredients for ganache:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
  
• 8 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
  
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
  

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour a 8-inch round cake pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together with mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the chocolate syrup and vanilla. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Don't overbeat, or the cake will be tough.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until just set in the middle. Don't overbake! Let cool thoroughly in the pan.

For the ganache, cook the heavy cream, chocolate chips and instant coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.

Place the cake upside down on a wire rack and pour the glaze evenly over the top, making sure to cover the entire cake and sides. You can tilt the rack to smooth the glaze. Decorate with candied violets, if desired.

Do not refrigerate.


The recipe states you can make this cake up to a week in advance. It recommends wrapping it tightly with plastic and refrigerate. Glaze it the day you serve it.

Source: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Parties, 2001

California Ice Tea

During the summer I always made what I called Ice Tea/Lemonade. My kids loved it because it was a mixture of both. Of course, I was using the powdered ice tea and lemonade mix. That is before I discovered that making recipes from scratch isn't really that hard. Here is another Ina Garten recipe called California Ice Tea which is a mixture of ice tea and lemons that reminded me of what I use to make for the kids but much better and less expensive to make. Give it a try, I think you will find you will no longer be buying the powdered stuff after tasting this.

Ingredients:

• 4 tea bags
  
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (5 to 6 lemons)
  
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup superfine sugar, to taste
  
• 3 lemon slices
  

Steep the 4 tea bags in 4 cups of boiling water for 10 minutes. Discard the tea bags and allow the tea to cool.

Combine the lemon juice, sugar and 4 cups of cold water in a large pitcher. Add the tea and lemon slices. Serve over ice.

Source: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa, Television Food Network, Episoide #IG0902, www.foodnetwork.com 2006

Chicken Francese with Lemon and Pecorino

Looking for an elegant dinner for two? This recipe has several steps to it, but is well worth the effort and it's better than what you would get in a restaurant. Our son, who really never did much cooking, other than making eggs for breakfast, actually was the one who made it for us after watching it done on the food network. We were blown away with how delicious it was.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
  
• 2 Heaping tablespoons of finely grated pecorino cheese
  
• 4 Tablespoons very finely chopped parsley
  
• 1 Egg, beaten well
  
• Flour for dredging
  
• 1/4 Cup olive oil
  
• 1/2 Cup dry white wine
  
• 1 Cup chicken stock
  
• 6 thin, round slices of lemon, seeds removed
  
• 2 Tablespoons butter
  

Cut the chicken breasts into 6 pieces of roughly equal size. Place the pieces between sheets of waxed paper and pound with a mallet until they are thin. Season with salt and pepper. Place pecorino cheese and parsley in a wide, shallow bowl. Slowly add the beaten egg, whisking until it's smoothly incorporated.

Place the four in a wide plate. Dip the pounded chicken in the egg mixture. Remove, letting excess egg drip off. Place each cutlet in the flour and coat lightly. Remove from flour and hold them in a single layer.

Add the olive oil to a saute pan large enough to hold the 6 cutlets in a single layer. Place over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the cutlets. Saute, turning once, until the cutlets are golden on the outside, just cooked on the inside (about 2 minutes per side). Remove the cutlets and hold them in a single layer.

Drain the oil out of the saute pan. Return the pan to high heat. Add the white wine and reduce it to 2 tablespoons. Add the chicken stock and the lemon slices. Boil for 5 minutes, then remove the lemon slices. Keep boiling the sauce until it's reduced to 1/2 cup. Turn the heat to very low. Swirl in the butter until the sauce is thickened. Add the reserved chicken, turning the chicken until it is coated in the sauce.

Divide cutlets among 2 plates, pour remaining sauce over them, sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespopns of parsley and serve immediately.

Source: David Rosengarten, Television Food Network, Episode#: CL9498, 2006