Anise Pineapple Barley Mousse

One fruit that is always ‘in season’ is pineapple. You can count on these spiky beauties to help brighten up winter, especially when you’ve tired of apples and pears.

When it comes to barley recipes, pudding may not be the first thing that springs to mind. But combined with pineapple and anise, this humble grain is transformed into a comforting, yet exotic mousse, with a zingy fruit flavor and a creamy texture.

One of the oldest of all cultivated grains, the whole barley grain is vastly under-used compared to its more commercially successful but nutritionally poorer cousin, whole wheat.

I have always had a love for barley in anything. Whether its used in savory or sweet recipes, that mild nutty flavor and soft chewy texture make it so appealing. Another favorite of mine, is the flavor of anise. Its slight sweetness adds a complexity and an interesting dimension to otherwise ‘ordinary’ recipes.

This simple little mousse makes such a nice little winter dessert …. no fuss, no muss!

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Anise Pineapple Barley Mousse
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SERVINGS
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Instructions
  1. In a large saucepan, combine barley & water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to simmer; cover & cook for 40 minutes; drain & chill.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, pineapple, lemon juice, rum extract, anise powder & pudding mix. Stir in chilled barley until evenly coated.
  3. Prepare Dream Whip topping as directed on package & fold into barley mixture. Divide between serving dishes. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Recipe Notes
  • This recipe is easily halved if you need less servings.

Rhubarb Almond Lattice Cake

There are few food combinations as heavenly as strawberries and rhubarb. This is food for the soul! The juicy sweetness of one balances out the almost inedible tartness of the other. Then there is that gorgeous color that strawberries bring to make rhubarb look so good. It’s a classic pairing that’s hard to get enough of if you enjoy this seasonal treat.

Since rhubarb appears quite frequently on my summer blogs, I wanted to give it a different look today. As usual I’m trying to meld a few ideas together into one dessert. The lattice top, made from tender summer rhubarb is weaved over a layer of almond cake. Then strawberry/vanilla filling comes next with the bottom consisting of a second layer of the almond cake. It may require a little more time than some desserts but well worth the effort.

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Rhubarb Almond Lattice Cake
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Course Brunch, dessert
Servings
Ingredients
Almond Cake
Rhubarb Lattice Topping
Course Brunch, dessert
Servings
Ingredients
Almond Cake
Rhubarb Lattice Topping
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Almond cake
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line TWO 9-inch round baking pans with parchment paper.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda & salt. In a large bowl, beat butter & sugar with a mixer until light & fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, scraping sides of bowl after each addition. Beat in almond extract.
  3. Beat in flour mixture on low in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk, until just combined.
  4. Divide batter evenly between cake pans & bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack.
Rhubarb Lattice Topping
  1. Peel thin slices off the rhubarb with a knife or vegetable peeler. Use the outer skins as they are the pinkest & save the leftover stalks to make the filling.
  2. In a large saucepan, heat the water & sugar until sugar is dissolved & the mixture is just simmering. Over low heat, add a few rhubarb strips at a time & poach until soft, about a minute. Remove to a plate to cool. Repeat with remaining rhubarb strips. Place a piece of plastic wrap on a plate & form the lattice top for your cake. Set aside the poaching syrup & allow to cool.
Strawberry/Rhubarb Filling
  1. Combine diced rhubarb & strawberry gelatin in a large microwave-safe glass bowl. Cover bowl & cook for a couple of minutes until rhubarb is soft. Let mixture cool. Stir milk & vanilla pudding mix in a bowl until moistened. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until thickened, about 2 minutes; stir cooled strawberry/rhubarb mixture into pudding mixture.
Assembly
  1. Once cakes have cooled, place one on top of rhubarb lattice. Spread the strawberry/rhubarb filling on top of this before placing second cake on top of that. Carefully place a light serving dish over cake & turn over so that the rhubarb lattice is on the top. Neaten up the edges of the lattice work by cutting with a pair of scissors if necessary. Drizzle over any remaining syrup (if you wish). Slice & serve.
Recipe Notes
  • If you wish, place a layer of fresh sliced strawberries on the cake after you have topped the first layer with filling.

St. Patrick’s Day Rainbow Parfaits

Today’s Irish legends are thought to stem from stories of real people. As the story goes, in 5th century BC, Gaelic invaders discovered a pre-Celtic race. Being only about five feet tall, the invaders called them ‘little people’, a name which eventually morphed into ‘leprechaun’. Because the little people buried their dead with valuables, it was thought to be gold. Unable to find these buried treasures, people spun tales that grew into legends. It become widely reported that you could find the burial locations at the end of the rainbow. This theory, of course, gives the sense of  ‘it’s just out of reach because its an impossible place’.

The rainbow, depicted in St. Patrick’s Day themes, has seven easily distinguishable colors. Both the rainbow and the number seven, are symbols considered to be good luck.

Although St. Patrick’s Day started out as a religious feast holiday celebrating the life of St. Patrick, it has become kind of a mixture of non- religious celebrations steeped in Irish culture, folklore and superstition.

When I saw this dessert on the internet, it looked perfect for the occasion. 

                                                     HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!


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St. Patrick's Day Rainbow Parfaits


Instructions
  1. Prepare instant pudding mix according to package directions. Separate pudding into 7 individual dishes.

  2. Place dishes in a line & add 2 drops of food coloring to each dish. The rainbow colors you need are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo & violet.

  3. Layer the pudding by adding about 2 Tbsp of each color to individual parfait glasses. Tap the bottom of the glass on the counter after each layer to make the layer flatten. Refrigerate until fully set. Top with a dollop of whip topping to represent a cloud.

Madeleine Cookies

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Valentines day is a romantic occasion which calls for special meals and desserts. Quite a while back I saw a very unique idea for some ‘Madeleine’ cookies. It looked to me like it had valentines dessert written all over it.  Before I get into the actual recipe, I thought it might be nice to share a little food history on this unofficial national cookie of France.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to try them yet, they are a little cake-like cookie, baked in a shell-shaped mold. The first recipe for the cookie in France with the name Madeleine, appeared around 1758. People began using metal molds to bake Madeleine’s during the 18th century, however, these molds and cookies did not receive commercial success until the 19th century, when culinary writers began mentioning them in cookbooks.

There are several legends that exist in regards to the creation of the Madeleine cookies. In one version, Madeleine was a young servant girl who had been requested to create a special treat for the deposed king of Poland who had sought refuge in France. In another version, a different Madeleine created the special cookies in the shape of a scallop  to feed the pilgrims making their way to Saint Jacques burial site. The scallop shell was a sign of protection which has long been associated with St. Jacques of France.

Madeleine’s have always been associated with the little French town of Commercy, whose baker’s were said to have paid a very large sum for the recipe. Nuns in 18th century France frequently supported themselves and their schools by making and selling the particular sweets. Commercy once had a convent dedicated to St. Mary Magdelen. Historians believe that when all the convents and monasteries of France were abolished during the French Revolution, the nuns sold the recipe to the bakers.

In any case, no matter who created the first Madeleine, it was a great idea as their popularity has only increased over the centuries. Today, this unique tea cake/cookie is sold in bakeries and cafe shops around the world. 

The original basic ingredients consisted of eggs, flour, butter and sugar. Over the years, Madeleine’s have been elevated into the realm of gourmet delights. It has become very common to customize the recipe to include nuts, lemon zest, chocolate, citrus juice and sprinkle them with powdered sugar.

For my valentine dessert, I’m making some very petite ‘shells’, filling them with sweetened cream cheese and decorated with ‘edible pearls’. They make such an elegant presentation for the occasion.

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Madeleine Cookies
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Servings
Ingredients
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Instructions
Madeleine Cookies
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. In a bowl, cream together butter & sugar until light & fluffy. Add the egg & vanilla; combine then stir in flour & dry pudding mix. Blend well but DO NOT over mix.
  2. Using non-stick, petite Madeleine shell cookie pans, fill each 'shell' level with cookie dough. Bake for about 5-6 minutes. When baked, Madeleines should be only have a hint of golden color. Remove from oven; allow to sit for a few minutes. Carefully remove cookies from pans. Cool completely before filling.
Cream Cheese Filling
  1. In a bowl, beat cream cheese, milk & pudding mix until smooth. Using a piping bag with a 'flower' tip nozzle, place a small amount of filling on half of the cookies. Top with remaining cookies & decorate with pearl candies if you wish. (Fill only the amount of cookies you need at the time. Keep extra filling & cookies refrigerated in closed containers for later in the week).

Halloween Cookies

The end of October! Seriously, it seems like we were just getting into spring and now its Halloween. Brion and I were in a store around the end of September that already had Christmas displays up. For me, that really doesn’t work. Maybe it just comes as we get older, but I really enjoy to try to stay in the ‘moment’ and enjoy each day, season and year as they unfold. That time will never come again, so why do we feel the need to rush it so. I guess you could call it, ‘making the most of your own personal journey’.

Nevertheless, it is time to think about some treats for the special ‘little people’ next door. We have just wonderful neighbors on either side of us. One family has two boys and the other side, two girls. I especially enjoy to come up with something unique each year for them on Halloween.

This year I decided to do some apple ‘mummy’ pastries (apple instead of pumpkin for kids, right?!), chocolate bats and black cat cookies. If these treats turn out they should look great! Fun! Fun! Fun!

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Halloween Cookies
Votes: 1
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Course dessert
Cuisine American, European
Servings
Ingredients
Apple Mummy Cream Cheese Pastries
Filling & Topping
Black Cat Cookies
Course dessert
Cuisine American, European
Servings
Ingredients
Apple Mummy Cream Cheese Pastries
Filling & Topping
Black Cat Cookies
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Apple Mummy Pastries makes 12
  1. FOR CRUST: In a food processor, pulse flour, salt & sugar, then add butter. Pulse until only until coarse meal texture is obtained. Add chilled water 1-2 Tbsp at a time. If your dough doesn't come together in clumps add remaining water. Divide dough into two portions & shape each into a 5-inch disk. Cover with plastic wrap & chill for one hour.
  2. FOR FILLING: On a cutting board, chop apple pie filling into smaller pieces. In a bowl, soften cream cheese & combine with apple filling & 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Cover bowl & chill until ready to assemble cookies.
  3. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. On a floured work surface, roll out first disk of dough to about 13 X 11-inch rectangle. You will need to have straight edges so you may need to trim a bit. Make twelve 4 X 2 1/2-inch rectangles. Roll out second disk of dough & cut into 1/2-inch strips.
  4. Space rectangles on prepared baking sheet & spread 2 heaping Tbsp of apple filling onto each one, leaving a rim on all sides uncoated. Brush uncoated edges with egg/water mixture. Top with strips to create a 'mummy' look, then seal edges with your fingertips & trim any excess. Brush strips with remaining egg white/water mixture & sprinkle with combined sugar & cinnamon. Bake about 10-12 minutes, until golden. When cooled secure edible candy eyes.
Chocolate Bats
  1. In a bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar; set aside. Remove wrappers from Reeses cups. Gently separate Oreo cookies & scrape off frosting. Cut cookies in half to form 4 bat wings. Fill a plastic baggie with cream cheese frosting. Cut off the tip of one corner & pipe frosting onto one corner of each cookie half.
  2. Press one cookie piece on the left of the Reeses cup & another cookie piece on the right forming your bat in flight. Pipe frosting on the back of the edible eyes & secure on top of the center of the Reeses cup.
Black Cat Cookies
  1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter & sugar until light & fluffy. Add egg, & vanilla; combine then stir in flour, dry pudding mix & nuts. Combine well but do not over mix. Roll out dough to about 1/4-inch thick between 2 sheets of parchment. Place in freezer for about an hour.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut cooled dough into pumpkin shapes & place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake about 8 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.
  3. In a small double boiler, melt black candy melts. Pour melted wafers into a piping bag fitted with a fine tip. Place a large piece of waxed paper on a flat surface with a printout of black cats underneath. Trace cat shapes & fill in after. Allow to set completely, then peel shapes from waxed paper.
  4. Ice cooled pumpkin cookies with orange frosting then lightly press a black cat on the top of each one. This recipe should make about 30 cookies.