| Using Up a Gift Fruit Basket (Recipes) |
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By Kathie Smith
Toledo Blade The lucky folks who end up with a holiday fruit basket will have a double treasure. At first blush, the fresh fruit is usually the biggest, sweetest, and best that one could sink his or her teeth into. The second course unfolds after a few days: You've had your fill of fruit salads, but the bounty needs to be used before it spoils. Let the cooking fun begin. I'll tell you what I would do if I were in your kitchen. First, poach the pears or use them to make a cheesecake. Compared to apples, pears have been underrated for their versatility in dessert recipes. The whole idea of poaching means cooking a food completely covered in a liquid -- in this case, pears in a simple syrup or a red wine sauce. The liquid is maintained below the boiling point -- no bubbles should reach the surface, according to Joy of Cooking. Poaching is well-suited to cooking in advance. Use firm-fleshed pears for an impressive whole-pear presentation. Carefully cut out the core of the bottom using a paring knife. Bring the syrup to a boil and add the fruit. Simmer uncovered over low heat. Cooking time will be 8 to 20 minutes. Debbi Fields in Great American Desserts considers poached pears a special-occasion dessert. For the poaching liquid, she uses a base of cranberry-raspberry juice. You can also use a simple syrup made from one-and-one-quarter cups sugar and water, wine, or a combination to make one quart, as advised by Joy of Cooking. Flavorings can include zest of a lemon or an orange, a cinnamon stick, or one to two tablespoons grated fresh ginger. If wine is used as the poaching liquid, select a dry red. Poached pears can be served warm or cold, with or without vanilla ice cream and/or chocolate sauce drizzled on top of the pear. Also a crowd-pleaser is Crunchy Pear Cheesecake, an easy-to-make-and-bake recipe. Use crunchy oats and pecans to garnish a velvety layer of cream cheese and sliced pears. If you have never had a dessert made with grapefruit, you are in for a real treat. I think grapefruit in a tart or on a shortbread base can have the most subtle, delicate flavor. My first encounter with the mellow sweetness of a grapefruit dessert was several years ago at the Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia, not far from the nation's capital. (The restaurant is listed in the Zagat Survey 2001, America's Top Restaurants). That afternoon, chef-owner Patrick O'Connell served honey-glazed grapefruit on orange shortbread with honey-clove ice cream garnished with candied orange rind. It was wonderful. red-fleshed grapefruit tends to be sweeter and offers more color in a dessert than white grapefruit, but you can use any variety. To make a grapefruit tart, most recipes suggest that you peel and section fruit and allow it to drain in a colander. Pat the fruit dry and place it in a circular pattern on top of an orange-custard filling that has been baked in a nut-and-graham-cracker-crumb crust. Melt marmalade and then, using a pastry brush, paint the fruit with the marmalade. Serve chilled. As for those darling little Clementine tangerines from Spain, which are back in season -- oh, my what a salad they can make! Imagine an authentic Spanish salad courtesy of Jose Andres, chef-owner of the restaurant Jaleo, in Washington: Blue-veined, creamy Cabrales cheese is paired with Serrano ham, endives, and sliced Clementines. It would be a festive salad for a January day. Cabrales cheese is similar to Roquefort in style. Serrano ham is similar to Italy's prosciutto or America's country ham. You get the picture: If you don't have access to the Spanish foods, adapt the ingredients based on the ham or cheese you have in your refrigerator. Oranges are a versatile fruit. Not only are they great for salads and salsas, peeled orange slices can be baked with chicken and sauteed with seafood. Used in a smoothie, oranges are great energy-builders after a workout or as a snack. With low-fat yogurt, the Orange Smoothie recipe on this page supplies a day's worth of vitamin C and a healthy dose of bone-building calcium. Or, make a vintage recipe like Orange Pie. In the late 1880s, oranges were a novelty, according to Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan. Authentic recipes show how frugal farmhouse pies featured these treasured fruits. The pie can be served warm or cold. Hardly a fruit basket arrives that doesn't include apples of some variety. That's when you turn to your favorite apple crisp or apple pancake recipes. Consider apple dumplings or baked apples. Don't be surprised to find some of the trendy fruits such as star fruit; pummelos, which are similar to grapefruit; kiwi; grapes, and pomegranates. Pomegranate seeds are a colorful garnish for everything from salads to desserts. The juice adds flavor to marinades, salad dressings, sweets, and beverages.
Poached Pears Source: Debbi Fields' Great American Desserts Ingredients: 6 slightly under-ripe Bartlett pears
4 cups cranberry-raspberry juice
1 lemon, juiced and fruit quartered
1 orange, juiced and fruit quartered
1 cup sugar
Garnish: mint leaves and raspberries Preparation: In a 4-quart saucepan, combine the cranberry-raspberry juice, lemon and orange juices, cut-up fruits, and sugar and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, to dissolve sugar. Meanwhile, peel each pear, and with a melon baller scoop out the core from the bottom, extending about halfway into the fruit. Leave the stem end intact. Cut a slice off the bottom of each pear so it stands upright. Carefully add the pears to the simmering poaching liquid in the pan, standing them upright. If necessary, add water to the pan to come about three-quarters of the way up the sides of the pears. Cover and simmer over low heat about 20 minutes, until just tender. Do not overcook. With a slotted spoon, remove pears to a plate to cool. Reduce poaching liquid over high heat to 1 cup. Remove pan from heat, drain into a bowl, and let cool. Arrange a whole poached pear on a serving plate and drizzle it with the reduced poaching syrup. Garnish with mint leaves and raspberries, if desired. Serve any remaining syrup separately. Serves: 6
Clementine Salad Source: Foods from Spain Ingredients: 2 Tbs. extra-virgin Spanish olive oil
1 Tbs. sherry vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 endives (about 20 leaves)
8 slices Serrano ham (4 oz.)
4 Spanish Clementines or 2 oranges, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1/4 cup crumbled Cabrales or blue-veined cheese
1 Tbs. chopped chives Preparation: To prepare dressing: In a small bowl, whisk oil, vinegar, and salt until well blended. On each individual serving plate, arrange 5 endive leaves. Drape each serving with 2 slices Serrano ham; arrange Clementine slices on plates. Sprinkle with almonds, Cabrales, and chives. Drizzle salad with dressing. Serves: 4
Crunchy Pear Cheesecake Source: California Pear Advisory Board Ingredients: 1 cup flour
3/4 cup quick oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/4 cup chopped pecans Preparation: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In small bowl, stir to combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir in butter with a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press 2/3 of the mixture into bottom of greased 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 15 minutes. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar, egg, and vanilla; spread over baked crust. Top with pear slices, remaining oat mixture, and nuts. Return to oven and bake additional 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before cutting. Serves: 10 to 12
Orange Smoothie Source: Sunkist Ingredients: 2 medium oranges, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup plain low-fat or nonfat yogurt
1 cup fruit, your choice: bite-size pieces banana, fresh or frozen strawberries, mango pieces, etc.
1 Tbs. or 1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 cup crushed ice Preparation: Place all ingredients, except ice, in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Add ice, blend briefly and serve. Serves: 4 cups
Orange Pie, Ca. 1880's Source: Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village Ingredients: 5 small oranges, peeled and sliced in rounds
5 Tbs. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Pastry for 2-crust pie Preparation: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line pie tin with one pastry crust. Fill pastry crust nearly to top of pie tin with sliced oranges. Sprinkle sugar, then cinnamon, over the oranges and top with second pastry crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 350 degrees and continue baking 35 more minutes. Serves: 4 to 6
(For news and information about Toledo visit www/toledoblade.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)
RESOURCES :
The Joy of Cooking
Model: 0452279232
Author: Irma S. Rombauer, et. al.
(November, 1997)
To order this title from Amazon, click here.
Plume (Penguin Putnam, Inc.)
New York, NY 10014
Phone: 212-366-6000
Debbi Fields' Great American Desserts: 100 Mouth-Watering Easy-to-Prepare Recipes
Model: 0743202058
Author: Debbi Fields
(October, 2000)
To order this title from Amazon, click here.
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