A completely over-the-top brownie recipe from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. They take a bit more work than regular brownies, but the results are excellent. One big problem, however: the batter burned around the edges of the pan.
Continue reading "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook: Outrageous Brownies" »
A perfect recipe for this time of year, when the peaches are ripe and juicy. Get the sweetest peaches you can find, from the farmer's market if possible.
Continue reading "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook: Peach and Raspberry Crisp" »
An over-the-top dessert from Ina Garten. If you like bread pudding this one may appeal to you; I found it rather boring, myself.
Continue reading "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook: Croissant Bread Pudding" »
My last test from the Wolfgang Puck chapter! I'll be testing 3 or 4 more recipes from the Food Network Kitchens chapter in Food Network Favorites , and then at long last I'll be moving onto a new book.
This tart is quite good, if a bit, well, tart. If you like lemon curd, this dessert will probably appeal to you.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Caramelized Lemon-Lime Tart" »
Bobby Flay's second dessert contribution to Food Network Favorites. This is a very simple way to serve pineapple. Grilling it helps to bring out the flavor, and the rum and vanilla notes in the accompaniments give a nice tropical flair to the dish.
From the Bobby Flay chapter in Food Network Favorites . "Batida" means "beaten" in Spanish, and since the fruit and ice cream are beaten together in a blender, it seems an appropriate name. Another way to think of this drink? Mango milkshake.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Fresh Fruit Batidos" »
Paula Deen does have a colorful way with titles. As for the answer to the question, I'll leave it to you to determine for yourself. This is a very rich, decadent cake with pineapple, coconut, and vanilla pudding. It's extremely simple to put together. I had one little quibble with the ingredients, but the final result is a very good dessert.
I've also given a recipe for the more common chocolate version of Better Than Sex Cake, so if the tropical variety doesn't do it for you, the chocolate and toffee one probably will.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Is It Really Better Than Sex? Cake" »
Another dessert from the Giada De Laurentiis chapter in Food Network Favorites . It's a very good tart; it's just not my favorite kind of dessert. The pine nut crust is topped with a lightly sweet custard, and more pine nuts are strewn across the top. You need to really like pine nuts for this one to appeal to you, because their flavor is very, very strong.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Creamy Ricotta Tart with Pine Nuts" »
And on to the Giada De Laurentiis chapter in Food Network Favorites. I've already reviewed her book Everyday Italian and found it to be pretty good, although it could have used a tad more editing. Is there any reason to check out her recipes in this new book?
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Chocolate Amaretti Cake" »
Cheesecake fans tend to fall into two different camps: those who love a dense, firm cake (the traditional New York-style cheesecake), and those who prefer a lighter, fluffier-textured cake. This recipe falls into the latter category.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: The Ultimate Cheesecake" »
Next up in Food Network Favorites : Tyler Florence, host of Food 911. This chocolate cake is a version of the popular molten chocolate cake. The end result is very good, but I have to say that for the host of show that addresses cooking problems, Florence's instructions are oddly bare-bones.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Chocolate Date Pudding Cake" »
Another very good recipe from the Rachael Ray chapter in Food Network Favorites . The cobbler is pleasantly spicy and easy to put together. I have just a couple of quibbles about ingredients.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Quick Peaches & Golden Raisins Cobbler" »
Another dessert from Alton Brown. This frozen yogurt requires a bit of advance planning, but it's worth it. The end result is pleasantly tangy and fresh-tasting.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Lemon-Ginger Frozen Yogurt" »
A rich, creamy, intensely chocolate-flavored dessert from the Alton Brown chapter, next up in Food Network Favorites . The surprise ingredient? Tofu.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Moo-Less Chocolate Pie" »
From the Food Network's own kitchens, this recipe from Food Network Favorites is decadent and delicious. The instructions, however, contain one very large oversight.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pie" »
From Dave Lieberman, the Food Network's newest boy wonder chef, comes this simple version of fruit crumble. It's a good one.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Blueberry-Pecan Crumble" »
Since I had leftover rice, I thought I'd give this custard recipe a whirl. I ran into some problems with the oven temperature, which right off the bat seemed way too low. 250 degrees for 45 minutes to cook custard? Really?
Continue reading "Off the Shelf: Basic Fruit and Rice Custard" »
Errors and oversights in technique are becoming the bane of my existence with Off the Shelf . The ideas in this book are excellent, and if you're careful to fill in the blanks when it comes to the instructions, no problem. But oftentimes, Donna Hay leaves the fine details out of her recipes, and that is a problem.
Lauren in Texas sent me this recipe from Martha Stewart's online edition of her magazine. From New Orleans chef Hubert Sandot, it's a delicious Caribbean-inspired combination of sweet pineapple and dark rum.
Continue reading "Martha Stewart Living: Roasted Pineapple Ice Cream" »
Here's the first recipe from Off the Shelf that I haven't been terribly thrilled with. There nothing wrong with this simple dessert of milk, gelatin, vanilla, and syrup. It's just a little bland, and almost seems like nursery food.
Continue reading "Off the Shelf: Milk Puddings with Rosewater Syrup" »
"Tastes like apple pie!"
That's what everyone at my house thought about this tasty ice cream from Chez Panisse Desserts . It's a nice dessert all by itself, and would also make an excellent partner to an apple pie or tart.
Continue reading "Chez Panisse Desserts: Cinnamon Apple Ice Cream" »
Wow, where to begin? This one's a disaster from start to finish. The concept is intriguing: take pecan pie components and turn them into bar cookies, using graham crackers as an ersatz crust. But the execution fails utterly. What I ended up with was a pan of sticky pecan pie filling, pecan halves that were too big to cut through neatly, and a crust layer that was so thin, it melted into nothingness. Not a successful recipe.
Sara Moulton says of this cake, "What an exciting idea to be able to whip up a cake from scratch on a weeknight in only ten minutes." I guess so...I'm not really a "cake for cake's sake" person. I don't get the point of whipping up a plain cake for dessert. That's not terribly exciting to me.
If, however, you really like cake and want a quick recipe, this one's fairly good. The texture is rather coarse and the flavor is blandly vanilla, but if you follow Moulton's recommendations for toppings (berries and/or chocolate) this is a serviceable dessert.
Chez Panisse Desserts has over 60 ice cream recipes. If you like ice cream and find yourself wishing you could make flavors other than boring old cookie dough, I recommend that you get an ice cream maker and start experimenting with your own flavors. This book has some excellent ideas.
Continue reading "Chez Panisse Desserts: Coffee Ice Cream" »
I can never resist a fruit crisp or crumble recipe. This one, however, suffers from a case of "How many grapes?" The proportions are way off — so much so that I find it hard to believe that anyone actually prepared this recipe before it found its way into the finished book.
At last! A really excellent recipe from The Big Book of Breakfast . This moist, delicious coffee cake can be made the day ahead. At serving time, sprinkle it with powdered sugar and enjoy.
Continue reading "The Big Book of Breakfast: Walnut Sour Cream Coffee Cake" »
My first attempt from Chez Panisse Desserts . I'm not quite sure about the reasoning behind some of the instructions, but the end result is a tasty combination of dried fruits and syrup that would taste great with cookies or pound cake.
Continue reading "Chez Panisse Desserts: Fruit Compote in Darjeeling Tea and Sauternes" »
As Giada De Laurentiis notes in her introduction to this recipe, traditional zabaglione doesn't include chocolate. But its addition turns the light, frothy custard into something truly delectable. Served with fresh berries, this makes a sophisticated dessert.
A somewhat dense, coarse-textured, intensely almond-flavored cake. It's tasty just as it is, and would also pair well with fresh berries.
A variation of the Pear Brown Betty. I prefer the crunchy cookie topping over the softer, pudding-style Betty.
From Jacques Pépin's Fast Food My Way , a clever idea for using up slightly stale baked goods: mix them with canned pears and turn them into dessert!
If you like bread puddings, you'll probably like this, even though it doesn't have a dairy component. You can make it with nearly any type of bread, cake, croissants, Danish, muffins, or scones. All you need to have on hand is a big can of pears.
It sounds fancy, but it's actually a rather simple dessert or breakfast: individual custard cups are filled with a combination of apples and granola, then topped with a round of buttered-and-sugared bread. After they're cooked, the cups are unmolded, giving you a pretty molded dessert reminiscent of apple charlotte.
That's the theory, anyway. I had a bit of trouble in the execution.
Continue reading "Fast Food My Way: Caramelized Apple-Granola Timbales" »
Just when Jacques Pépin and I were getting along so well, Mock Tiramisù had to come along and shake my faith.
In the interest of full disclosure, I should note that I'm not a huge fan of tiramisù to begin with. It always strikes me as a bit gloppy and boozy, and I can usually pass it up. This recipe in Fast Food My Way does nothing to change that opinion.
This is an intensely rich flourless chocolate cake. It's easy to put together, and tastes like the chewiest, densest brownies ever. I made a couple of adjustments to the technique, but the cake itself is a winner, one that I'll definitely come back to again.
Continue reading "Fast Food My Way: Chocolate Hazelnut Brownie Cake" »
"Fancy cream of wheat" was the consensus opinion at my house. Pépin says that it's a common dessert in French households, but to my American sensibility, this semolina pudding seems more suited to breakfast. Whichever way you decide to serve it, it's quite tasty and extremely simple to prepare.
Continue reading "Fast Food My Way: Hasty Pudding with Apricot Sauce" »
A variation of the Chocolate-Raspberry Gratins, using shortbread cookies for the crumble topping. I actually preferred this one to the chocolate version.
Continue reading "Fast Food My Way: Shortbread-Raspberry Gratins" »
Jacques Pépin has some fantastic ideas for quick, delicious desserts in Fast Food My Way. He doesn't shy away from using store-bought ingredients; in this case, cookies, which form the crumble topping for a speedy fruit dessert that tastes fantastic.
Continue reading "Fast Food My Way: Chocolate-Raspberry Gratins" »
In other words, posh rice pudding. This is a lovely dessert, and if you like rice pudding you'll enjoy this risotto-style twist on an old favorite.
Continue reading "Jamie's Dinners: Sweet Vanilla Risotto with Poached Fruit and Chocolate" »
If you like fruit cobblers or brown betty, you'll love this recipe. I did, however, start to run into trouble with Jamie Oliver's loosey-goosey style here.
A tasty apple dessert with a pretty presentation. If you like apple dumplings or turnovers, you'll like this one.
Continue reading "Live, Love, Eat!: Baked Apple Pouches with Cinnamon and Raisins" »
Even though I love pumpkin in nearly every incarnation, I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin pie. I'd rather have pretty much any other pumpkin dessert. This cheesecake has graced my Thanksgiving table for the last couple of years. It's delicious, and so much more satisfying than plain ol' pie.
Have you been afraid to try to make crème brûlée at home because it seems too complicated or difficult? The enormous popularity of a simple custard dessert has been one of the restaurant industry's favorite shortcuts over the last 10 years. Crème brûlée couldn't be simpler to make, as long as you invest in a couple of relatively inexpensive pieces of equipment. Essentially, it's pudding with sugar on top. No need to pay $7.00 for it at a trendy bistro when you can make it at home.
This is about as elaborate as Rachael Ray's desserts get. It's easy to throw together and makes a nice fall or winter dessert.
An example of the type of desserts that Rachael Ray goes for: a little fresh fruit, some store-bought sorbet, and voila! You're good to go.
Continue reading "30-Minute Meals 2: Fresh Oranges with Lime Sorbet" »
I thought I’d give dessert a chance; after all, even though several of the recipes I’ve tested thus far from 30-Minute Get Real Meals have been problematic, the desserts might not be. Er, yeah. This pie recipe is seriously flawed.
Continue reading "30-Minute Get Real Meals: Nutty ‘Creamsicle’ Pie" »
Here’s a filling that can stand up to a pecan crust. It’s quick and easy to assemble. Allow at least 3 hours of chilling time.
© 2024 Colleen Flippo. All rights reserved.
