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Grandpa’s Maple Dumplings | Grandpères

Serves 4 Hot, sweet, syrupy Grandpères served with two scoops of cold vanilla ice cream. Genius. And we have generations of Canadians to thank for keeping this age-old recipe alive. You can eat this for breakfast or dessert. Or a midnight snack. Ingredients: For the dumplings: 2 – 2 1/4 cups flour 1 Tbsp baking powder 1/2 tsp cinnamon pinch of salt 3 Tbsp butter 3/4 cup whole milk For the cooking liquid: 2 cups maple syrup 1 1/2 cups water Method: In a large bowl, mix together flour… … start with two cups and add more if you need to. Stir in the baking powder… A scoop of cinnamon (or Sin as my mom likes to call it) Whisk together with a pinch of salt. Can you see Keith? Now add some buttery goodness. Cut it into the flour with a pastry cutter. Stop when the butter is pea-sized. Next comes the milk. Mix it together until it forms a loose mass, like wet bread dough. Add water to a pot… make it a …

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Yucca/Cassava Balls | Getuk Lindri

Makes two dozen Mildly sweet, bite-sized balls of mashed, sweetened cassava (yucca). This unusual treat is a big hit in Brunei. Read on to learn my struggles with this dessert. My first epic fail. Ingredients: 1/2 cup sugar 1/8 cup water 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1 pound cassava root, peeled, rough fibers removed, and cubed 1/4 tsp salt red & green food coloring Method: 1. Peel and cube cassava (yucca). Steam for 30 minutes or until cooked. 2. Add sugar, water, and vanilla extract to a small saucepan. Heat over low until sugar dissolves. This is unbleached organic sugar, which is why it looks a little darker. Vanilla extract is possibly the best thing in the whole wide world. Don’t forget that bit of salt. 3. Now, let the games begin. I fought and fought to get my cassava (yucca) smooth, creamy, and without fibers. The battle ended with a food mill, but I’m not sure, even then, that I got everything out. I may have stomped my feet around and yelled a few times. …

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Brazilian Romeo and Juliet | Romeu e Julieta

Makes 10 servings This unusual treat can be served either for dessert or as a snack. The sweet and salty combination is shocking to my sheltered palette, but Brazilians serve this beloved treat up in many forms. For less of a salty/sweet contrast, try spreading a dab of cream cheese on top of the Guava paste. This mild spread is more suited to the sweet guava. Also, consider using queso blanco, a less salty cheese.   P.S. Here’s a related recipe, called the Martin Fierro, which we made when we cooked Uruguay. Ingredients: 1 block of guava paste (available at some Latino and Asian grocers) 1 block of white cheese, (like queso fresco or canastra) toothpicks Method: 1. Slice guava paste and cheese in thin, even slices (preferably thinner than what I did – I just know you’ll do a better job because you won’t have a teething baby begging you to get a move on). 2. Layer 2-4 per toothpick, alternating colors. 3. Serve chilled or room temperature. Brazilian Romeo and Juliet | Romeu e Julieta …

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Baked Milk Custard | Leche Asada

Serves 6-8 Leche Asada is super easy and quick to put together. This recipe fills 6-8 small ramekins or one large (1 1/2 quart) for family-style eating. You may want to set the custard in a water bath to make the cooking process more gentle. This will produce a very creamy, flan-like texture. Even without this step, this makes a great – dare I say – weeknight dessert. Ingredients: 6 eggs 3/4 cup sugar 2 cups milk Method: Preheat oven to 350F Crack 6 eggs into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and milk. Whisk to combine. Strain all the icky egg stuff out. Much better! Now, pour into individual ramekins or one 1 1/2 quart ramekin. Bake for 30-40 minutes in the small ramekins or for 1 hour in the large. (Setting them in a water bath will make them creamier). Sprinkle with a dash of cinnamon if desired… and serve chilled, with a warm smile. Baked Milk Custard | Leche Asada Votes: 2 Rating: 1 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe Leche Asada is super easy …

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Himalayan Inspired Fruit Salad

The crimes of fruit salad are many: not ripe, over ripe, tart, bitter, warm, rotten … Because of these transgressions fruit salad has become the “Fruit Cake” of summer barbecues – a popular dish that only the brave eat. This week I made a Himalayan inspired Fruit Salad (just mango, red banana, and papaya) for our Bhutanese Global Table. In my interpretation, I decided to avoid the many pitfalls of regular fruit salad and serve it as elegant finger food. In this format each piece of fruit shone – sweet mango, earthy papaya and buttery bananas in the middle. Incredible. Pop one and you. can’t. stop. I dare you to try. But first: 5 Keys to a Great Fruit Salad 1. Never use pre-cut fruit. Ever notice how pre-cut fruit in plastic boxes tastes… fizzy? A tad chemically? The salad is an unsatisfactory blend of unripe cardboard fruit (usually the pineapple), mixed in with overripe, bruised, fungus fruit (often the grapes). Awful. Serve pre-cut fruit to a bitter enemy, if you must, but never serve the stuff if you’re …

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Baby Bananas in Orange Sauce

Serves 2 Bananas in orange sauce is a fresh, summery way to use bananas as a dessert topping. When we made the Baked Brown Sugar Bananas for Antigua and Barbuda (made with brown sugar, rum and butter) I didn’t think they could be beat, but these west African bananas are totally different and just as yummy!! Ingredients: 1/2 cup orange juice 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 Tbsp lemon juice (optional) 2 slightly under-ripe bananas NOTE: We used red bananas which are about 4 inches long, you can also use baby bananas or regular bananas. Method: 1. Heat orange juice, brown sugar, and lemon juice in a skillet for about 15 minutes on low (there should be small bubbles breaking the surface, but not quite a simmer). The orange juice will reduce and thicken into a syrup. 2. Peel bananas and add to syrup. Cook for a few minutes per side, making sure to warm through. 3. Serve immediately with ice cream, pound cake, or plain. Baby Bananas in Orange Sauce Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: …

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Sweet Potato Pone

Serves 6 Sweet Potato Pone is a slightly spiced, dense custard-like dessert, reminiscent of pumpkin pie. Adjust sugar according to your tastes. This version will give you cavities on the first bite. Ingredients: 1 lb finely grated sweet potato 1 12 ounce can evaporated milk (or coconut milk) 1 egg 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/4 tsp ginger pinch salt Method: 1. Preheat oven to 350F. Meanwhile grate sweet potato and combine all ingredients in a large bowl. NOTE: You want to grate your sweet potatoes as finely as possible. I think mine were too large because the texture, instead of being smooth, was rather coarse (see finished photo at the bottom of recipe) Perhaps a food processor could help in this situation? 2. Ladle into 6 individual ramekins (be careful not to overfill them. I did and they spilled over… making a sticky, ugly mess – give yourself about 1/4 inch buffer at the top). Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for one hour. Serve chilled. Optional …

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Liege Waffles

Makes about 6 waffles Liege waffles are dense, yeasty, and studded with pockets of sugar. When you eat one room temperature, the little bits of sugar crunch in your mouth – an unusual, but addictive experience. Ingredients: 1 cup melted butter (2 sticks) 3 eggs 1/3 cup lukewarm milk 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 tsp instant yeast 2 cups flour 1 heaping cup sugar cubes (or 1 cup pearl sugar) Topping ideas: powdered sugar, strawberries, etc. Method: 1. Whisk together wet ingredients: melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. 2. Add yeast. Let sit for 15 minutes, if you can stand to wait.  If you can’t, it’ll be okay. 3. Add liquid to flour. I made a well, but it seemed kind of pointless since there was so much liquid. The batter will be so thick you will not be able to pour it, but not so thick that it makes a dough ball. 4. Let rise in a warm, draft-free spot for about 1.5 hours, or until about double in size. Of course, if …

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Strawberry Kisiel

Makes about 1 1/2 quarts Strawberry Kisiel is easy to make and very tasty. The sweet dessert remains light and refreshing. Unless, of course, you serve it over a bowl of vanilla ice cream… which I totally recommend. Ingredients: 1 lb fresh strawberries (or other seasonal berries) 4 cups water 4 Tbsp cornstarch sugar to taste (between 1/2 and 1 cup is about right) Method: 1. Puree strawberries with sugar in a blender or food processor. Pour into a pot and heat over medium. 2. Meanwhile, add a little water to the cornstarch and combine, making a slurry. 3. Pour cornstarch slurry into the strawberry mixture and heat up, stirring frequently. When the mixture thickens into a pudding-like consistency, begin to pour in the water, a little at a time. Do not add more water until the previous addition is mixed in evenly or you’ll get lumps. Continue until all of the water is added. Check for sweetness one more time. Add extra sugar if desired. 4. Heat the mixture until a few bubbles pop …

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Spiked Coconut Water

Makes 1 drink Although I came up with this name, the drink idea came to me from Jimmy Buffett. He recommends this refreshing blend for the slightly tropical, headache free, sipping pleasure it provides. He probably doesn’t use coconut rum, but I like my drinks sweeter than stout, so I went for the Parrot’s Bay. Go with your instincts when making yours. Ingredients: 1 shot chilled coconut rum or plain, Caribbean rum 2 shots chilled coconut water (available at whole foods) 1/2 a lime, juiced crushed ice lime wedge for garnish Method: 1. Pour all ingredients in a short glass. Add crushed ice to the top. 2. Garnish with lime wedge. Stir and sip! We made two… 🙂 Spiked Coconut Water Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe Although I came up with this name, the drink idea came to me from Jimmy Buffett. He recommends this refreshing blend for the slightly tropical, headache free, sipping pleasure it provides. He probably doesn’t use coconut rum, but I like my drinks sweeter than …

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Bajan Pound Cake with Cherries | Christmas Puddin’

Makes about one 10″ bundt cake or several smaller cakes Enjoy this lovely pound cake cold with hot tea or a tall glass of milk. We loved the addition of maraschino cherries and wished we would have added more (we only added about 20 chopped cherries). A yummy cake – my husband has already requested it for his birthday! Ingredients: 3 cups flour 2 Tbsp baking powder 1 1/2 cups sugar 4 sticks (2 cups) butter (room temperature) 6 eggs 1 cup milk 1 Tbsp vanilla extract pinch of salt chopped maraschino cherries to taste (optional) NOTE: This recipe makes a lot of batter, so you may want to divide it into more than one pan, even if you use the 10″ bundt. You’ll see in our pics it threatened to overflow… but luckily didn’t. If you decide to live on the edge, like us, just put a cookie sheet under the cake to save you the trouble of a messy clean up. Method: 1. Preheat oven to 350F. Sift flour and baking powder together. Set …

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Vermicelli in Sweet Custard | Shemai Custard

Serves 8-10 This sweet custard reminds me of rice pudding. The man who taught me all about how to make this dish told me that the mixture should neither pour off the spoon, nor stick too much to the spoon. I love directions like that – they make sense! Anyway, if you want to increase this recipe, or decrease it, use this guideline: for every cup of vermicelli, you need 4 cups milk. Ingredients: 3 oz roasted vermicelli – about 2 cups (about 1/2 the package pictured) 8 cups milk pinch of salt 4 cardamom pods, cracked 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup himalayan raisins (or golden raisins) 1/8 cup thinly slivered almonds Method: NOTE: Roasted vermicelli is made of wheat flour. I found it at our local Indian market (Laxmi Spices of India 5555 East 41st St, Tulsa). 1. Cut vermicelli into 1 inch pieces with scissors, taking care to not fling pieces all over the kitchen. Just go slow and you should be fine. 2. Add vermicelli to a large pot with milk, salt, …

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