Bear Cuisine

Rice Pudding

A few weeks ago, a friend called and asked me to send her a rice pudding recipe. I sent her this one by Martha Stamps found in The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook. I wasn't sure that she would ever get around to making it and enticed her to come over for supper by offering rice pudding as the dessert.She readily accepted our invitation. This makes a light pudding which rice lovers will adore.

RICE PUDDING

 

Rice Pudding

(serves 8)

1. 3/4 cup raw white rice
2. 2 cups water
3. 1 teaspoons salt
4. 1/3 cup raisins
5. 1 tablespoon whiskey
6. 2 cups whole milk
7. 4 large eggs
8. 1/2 cup sugar
9. 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
10. 1/4 teaspoon ground mace

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 1/2-quart baking dish and set it aside.

Bring the rice, water and salt to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Stir and cover. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, uncover, and set aside.

Place the raisins in a small bowl. Pour the whiskey over the raisins and set aside.

Heat the milk in a saucepan until scalding (180 degrees F). Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and mace in a large bowl. Stir in the raisins and whiskey. Stir in the rice. Whisklng constantly, add the milk in a slow, steady stream. Pour the pudding into the prepared baking dish. Bake until the tip of a thin iknife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. If the pudding is set, but the top is not browned, set under the broiler for a few minutes. Serve warm.

Crespelle

Crespelle is Italian for crepe and until this class with Christine Hickman, I have to admit that I was a crepe virgin. I somehow missed Julia Child's lesson on crepes and in spite of assurances from all and sundry that they are easy , I was too intimidated to try making them. That was yesterday's story. Today I am a confident and moderately successful maker of these versatile thin pancakes.

EGG-CRESPELLE WITH MARMALADE

1.  1/4 cup flour
2. 1 tablespoons sugar
3. Pinch of salt
4. 1/4-1/2 cup whole milk
5. 1 TBS melted butter
6. 3-4 large eggs
7. Marmelade (your choice)
8. Confectioners' Sugar for dusting

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl.

Beat the milk, optional butter and the eggs; beat lightly and add to the flour mixture. The mixture should resemble the consistency of whipping cream.

Whisk well and let rest 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Make thin crespelle to desired size, turning once and making sure the edges are crisp. Keep warm in a heated oven.

Fill lightly with the marmalade, fold into quarters and serve sprinkled with confestions's sugar.

Makes 4-6 crepes depending on size. They are usually made using a 10-or-9-inch pan.

CREPES IN SPACE: Jonny V. shows off his crepe-flipping skills

Here's another sweet crespelle. These make a fabulous  and beautiful dessert.

RICOTTA FIG-FILLED CREPES

Crespelle

1. 2 cups cold milk
2. 4 eggs
3. pinch of salt
4. 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour or chestnut flour (available through Dean & Deluca)
5. 1 to 2 tablespoons butter for cooking

Filling

1. 2/3 cup finely chopped dried figs
2. 1/2 cup light rum
3. 15 ounces ricotta
4. 2 tablespoons sugar
5. 2/3 cup Nutella

Serving

1. Chocolate Marsala Sauce
2. Toasted chopped hazelnuts
3. Whipped cream (optional)

Soak the figs in the rum for about 30 minutes

For the Crespelle: Whisk the eggs with the milk until well combined. Then gradually sift in the flour and salt, whisking all the while, until the mixture is evenly blended and smooth. If there are any remaining lumps, put the mixture through a fine sieve. Cover and let rest in a cool place or the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

For the Filling: Place the ricotta in a bowl and beat in the sugar and Nutella until thoroughly combined. Drain the figs and mix gently until well distributed. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

To Finish the Crespelle: Melt butter and remove from heat. Place an 8 to 9-inch crepe pan on medium-low and lightly brush with the butter. Stir the batter well and pour 2 tablespoons of it into the pan. Tilt and rotate the pan to distribute the batter evenly. As soon as the batter sets and is speckled brown, slip a spatula underneath it and flip it over to cook the other side unti lightly browned. Stack the finished crespelle on a plate between sheets of wax or parchment paper.Repeat with the remaining batter, coating the skillet each time before putting it into the pan.

The crespelle can be made several hours or even days in advance and kept refrigerated. They will also freeze well for up to a month. Bring to room teperature before filling and serving.

To fill and serve, spread each crespelle with 2-3 tablespoons of the filling mixture and fold in half, then fold again. Place on serving plates, drizzle with the chocolate sauce and sprinkle withe hazelnuts. Dollop with whipped cream if desired.

Note: Nutella has a list of ingreedients that you really don't want to know about. Beloved as it is, it isn't the healthiest food that you can eat. There a several healthier versions available here which you can readily substitute or, if you are a from-scratch cook, you can make your own.

CHOCOLATE MARSALA SAUCE   

1.  1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso granules
2. 1/2 cup boiling water
3. 1/3 cup dry Marsala
4. 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
5. 5 Teaspoons sugar
6. 2 TBs unsalted butter

Combine the coffee granules with the boiling water, and stir until dissolved.

Turn into a small heatproof bowl, and add the Marsala, chocolate and sugar.

Set over a pan of hot water, and stir until the chocolate has melted. If necessary, rewarm over hot water before serving.

Stir in the butter just before serving.

Makes about one cup.

A Very British Christmas

This year, Standing Rib Roast won the lottery for Christmas dinner. The Menu included

 MUSHROOM SOUP (for recipe click here)

STANDING RIB ROAST with BEEF BONE GRAVY (for recipes click here)

SPINACH GRATIN (for recipe click here)

YORKSHIRE PUDDING (for recipe click here)

 

STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING (for recipe click here)

A thoroughly Dickensian feast which left our guests sated and happy. No cook could ask for anything more.

StickyToffee Pudding

Aside from tea, this desert may be the best thing the British have given us.  This recipe is from Francis Coulson who is credited with creating this dish. Paula Richardson the pastry chef at the Sharrow Bay Hotel in Penrith, England makes Coulson's cake this way.

( Saveur #88)

STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING

(serves 8-10)

The cake

1. 4 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon butter, softened
2. 3/4 cup granulated sugar
3. 2 eggs
4. 6 ounces pitted dates, chopped
5. 1 teaspoon baking soda
6. 1 cup self-rishing flour, sifted
7. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The Sauce*

1. 2 cups double Devon cream
2. 1/2 cup demerara sugar
3. 2 tablespoons black treacle

For the cake: preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 4"x 8" loaf pan with 1 teaspoon of the butter and set aside. Whisk the remaining butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Batter will look slightly curdled. Set batter aside.

Put dates and 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water into a medium pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove pot from heat and add baking soda; mixture will bubble up immediately. Once the bubbles have subsided, about 1 minute pour date mixture into batter in bowl and mix well. Add flour and vanilla and mix until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until firm when touched and a wodden skewer inserted into center of cake comews out with moist crumbs attached, about 55 minutes. Let cake cool completely in the pan. Wrap cake in pan with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1 day. Transfer cake to the refrigerator to let thaw, then unwrap.

For the sauce: Combine cream, sugar and treacle in a small pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and simmer sauce, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Pour half of the sauce over the cake in the pan, cover with foil and warm cake in the oven, 30 to 40 minutes. Slice cake in pan into 8 to 10 pieces. Serve cake with some more sauce spooned on top of each slice.

 

*Since Devon cream and treacle may be difficult to find, I substituted more readily available ingrediets.

Sauce

1. 6 tablespoons butter
2. 1 cup light brown sugar
3. 1 cup heavy cream

Stir all the ingredients together over medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.

And still another fruitcake

I adore this time of year. There is a lovely chaos in the kitchen as ingredients for cakes and cookies pile up on the counter waiting their turn in the baking extravaganza that marks this season at our house.

Ingredients awaiting transformation into  luscious fruitcake

Here is the recipe for my current favorite amoung dark fruitcakes.

Martha Pearl's Heirloom Dark Fruitcake

1. 1 pound seedless golden raisins
2. 1 pound seedless dark raisins
3. 1/2 pound crystallized citron, coarsely chopped
4. 1/4 crystallized orange peel, coarsely chopped
5. 1/4 pound crystallized lemon peel, coarsely chopped
6. 1 pound crystallized pineapple, coarsely chopped
7. 1 pound dates, pitted and coarsely chopped
8. 1 pound crystallized cherries, cut in half
9. 2 pounds pecans, coarsely broken up
10. 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
11. 1 pound butter, at room temperature
12. 2 cups sugar
13. 1 dozen large eggs
14. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
15. 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
16. 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
17. 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
18. 1 teaspoon salt
19. 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
20. 2 teaspoons pure almond extract
21. 1/4 cup bourbon or brandy
22. Bourbon for sprinkling and soaking

In a large mixing bowl, combine the raisins, citron, orange peel, lemon peel, pineapple, dates, cherries and pecans, add half the flour and mix well. In another very large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer, add the sugar, and beat till light and fluffy Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the remaining flour, the spices, salt and extracts, and mix with a wooden spoon till well blended.Add the fruit and nut mixture along with bourbon and, using your hands, mix the batter well.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Grease and lightly flour the bottom and sides of the pans you will be using. (one recipe fills 3 large loaf pans and 4 small pans.) Line the pans with heavy brown paper, letting the paper extend 1-inch above the pans. Grease the brown paper, scrape the batter into pans and, using your hands, pack the batter firmly to 1/2-inch below the tops of the pans. Cover the tops with sheets of waxed paper, place a shallow pan of water on the lower rack of the oven, place the cake pans on the middle rack, and bake the small cakes about 2 1/2 hours and the larger cakes, 3 hours. Test by using a straw inserted in the middle. When the straw comes out clean the cakes are done. Remove the waxed paper during the final 15 minutes of cooking.

Remove the cakes from the oven, immediately sprinkle each with bourbon and let cool in the pans. Remove the cakes from the pans when they are cool and wrap in cheesecloth soaked in bourbon.Then wrap tightly in heavy-duty aluminum foil. Store in airtight containers at least one month before cutting.

Soon these cakes will be making their way across the country to friends who are waiting for them