Desserts
Double Strawberry Ice Cream and Quick Strawberry Muffins
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Easy Valentine’s Day Chocolate Dessert – Homemade Mocha Fudge Pudding
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Cooking at Home for Valentine’s Day
We never go out for Valentine’s Day dinner, instead opting for a quiet dinner at home. We skip the crowds, often over-booked restaurants, over-worked kitchens and sometimes higher prices for special menus. We decided long ago it’s not worth the hassle or the price tag when we can prepare a special dinner at home for far less.
Cooking at home is also nice when you want to treat your family or a group of friends that you love to a special dinner or just dessert. When it comes to dessert for Valentine’s day, it’s all about chocolate. Here is an easy to make yet decadent chocolate dessert to serve your sweetie or sweeties.
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Orange Almond Torte with Orange Sauce and Marsala Cream
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With friends coming for dinner who love cake for dessert and my navel orange tree full of fruit, I turned to an old favorite recipe – Orange Almond Torte. The recipe is from the February 1995 issue of Bon Appetit Magazine. I can’t believe I’ve been making it for so many years. Once you make it, it may become part of your standard repertoire too.
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The Sweet Life: Meyer Lemons and Meyer Lemon Gelato
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It was a chilly early morning and we were in the backyard reviewing recent changes with our landscaper. Re-landscaping has allowed us to make room for two new citrus trees – a Moro blood orange joined our navel orange and a second Meyer lemon tree has joined my much-loved existing tree.
This morning I took a colander outside with me and filled it with Meyer lemons. Lemon is one of my favorite flavors and with all of the cooking I do I use lemons constantly for their zest and juice, for both sweet recipes and savory ones. With this basket of Meyers I couldn’t wait to make a favorite lemon recipe – Meyer Lemon Gelato. This is the time of year in California when citrus trees are full of beautiful fruit just begging to be enjoyed. I feel fortunate to be able to pick Meyer lemons, oranges, and herbs from my own yard. It sounds silly, but I feel like a kid that’s been given a gift as I come in the door smiling with a basket or apron full of bright treasure.
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Cheesecake Topping Options – Berry Sauce and Mugolio
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What to top your cheesecake with? Here are two splendid options – berry sauce or Mugolio, also known as Italian pine cone bud syrup.
The beauty of berry sauce is that it’s quick, easy and versatile. Once you’ve made one a few times you probably won’t even need to refer to a recipe. Fresh and individually quick frozen (IQF) berries work equally well and you can always have a bag of frozen berries on hand. Berry sauce can be made either as a smooth puree or left chunky. The fancy term for a pureed sauce is a coulis (pronounced koo-lee).
Terrific over cheesecake, pound cake and ice cream, berry sauces also work wonderfully over pancakes and waffles for a weekend treat. When making it for dessert I will sometimes add a splash of either Chambord or Gran Marnier for added dimension. For breakfast I prefer the chunky sauce and eliminate the liqueur. No more berry pancake syrup from a bottle!
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Perfect Cheesecake – From the Pressure Cooker!
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A piece of classic cheesecake is pretty hard to resist. It’s simple, rich and creamy. Sometimes there is a little tang from a sour cream topping or maybe it’s topped with fresh fruit, often strawberries or cherries.I fell in love with cheesecake at a young age. I still remember my mom taking us to a little place called the La Palma Chicken Pie Shop in Anaheim, California. They offered classic American food like chicken pot pies and mashed potatoes. They had a wonderful bakery too.
Amazingly its still there and looks like it has not changed in over 50 years. Real nostalgia.Mom used to take us there for a chicken pie and a mini cheesecake. They were just a few inches around, tartlet size, and made in disposable aluminum tins. Classic style cheesecake with a hint of lemon, a graham cracker crust and sour cream topping. Going there was a big treat. Although I loved the chicken pot pies I couldn’t wait for my little cheesecake for dessert.
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Pumpkin Season and Pumpkin Mousse
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With the arrival of fall and Thanksgiving around the corner, pumpkin dishes are back on our menus. Say “pumpkin” and most people say “pie”. But pumpkin is not just for pie. Some of my favorite pumpkin recipes include pumpkin breakfast muffins, pumpkin and black bean soup, and the sublime pumpkin mousse.
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It's about cooking fresh, cooking seasonally and discovering fun new ingredients, tips and tricks. I hope it brings you inspiration, education and enjoyment. Thanks for stopping by!
