Madison&Mayberry

S'mores At Home

I love S'mores.  But why do I have to wait for the grill-time of summer or the very occasional camp time trip to enjoy the marshmallowy mess? I've found an easy way to get quick S'mores at home that rival any you'll get over a campfire.

Le Petite Ecolier cookies are the start. These butter cookies are coated with a chocolate top (I like the dark chocolate version). This makes an easy process almost easier. I find the Hershey bars are too thick and are never fully melted by the time the marshmallows are ready. With the Le Petite Ecoliers, the amount of chocolate is a perfect ratio to the marshmallows and cookie.

First of all -- I don't own a microwave. In the beginning, it was almost a test to see how long Ryan and I could make do without a microwave. And where would we even put it if we had it? It's been more than three months and I only miss it to reheat leftovers (especially pasta). So the s'mores microwave option I used as a child was out. But the broiler? Why not? And guess what? It was perfect in that it yielded melted yet slightly charred marshmallows.

I only had the miniature marshmallows so I stacked them all on the cookies and then on a cookie sheet to go under the broiler. Check on them every 30 seconds. Mine were toasty after almost a minute. Keep your eye on them because like anything under the broiler, things burn at a rapid rate.

Other S'mores ideas:
Campfire S'mores, French Laundry style
S'mores Cake
S'mores Eclairs
S'mores Sundae
S'mores Bars

Technorati Tags:S'mores, Quick & Easy Recipes, Easy Desserts, Chocolate

Nutella + Wonton Wrappers = Crazy Delicious

I've been experimenting with wonton wrappers in a non-Asian capacity. I used them for lamb ravioli so I didn't have to mess with pasta dough. I took leftover braised lamb, pureed it and stuffed it into the wrappers. I cooked the ravioli in boiling water a few minutes before tossing them into a brown butter sauce. The ravioli were delicious, although very, very delicate.

But I wasn't finished..  For dessert, I put a dollop of Nutella into a wonton wrapper and fried it.  The crunchiness of the fried wrapper is a perfect match for the warm chocolate hazelnut ooze.

Here's what ya do -- Spoon a teaspoon of Nutella into the wonton wrapper and fold one side over the other. (You almost want to put more in it, but one teaspoon is perfect.) Seal the edges with water so no Nutella leaks out. Put a half an inch of canola oil in a saute pan and put to medium-high heat. When the Nutella "dumplings" brown, turn them over. It only takes a couple minutes to puff and brown on each side. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with powdered sugar. In the words of Rachael Ray (who I still hate), "delish."

For some other ideas of what to do with wonton wrappers, take a look at this chowhound thread, which lists numerous uses like mini-quiche holders and mini tacos.

Coconut Cream Heaven

I don't like too many pies but coconut cream pie meets all my criteria. Between the coconut custard and airy whipped cream, each bite is a silken coconut piece of heaven. And, after making it for Thanksgiving, I'll be making it more often. How could I have forgotten how fabulous it is?

I searched cookbooks and the Internet for the perfect coconut cream pie recipe and was vastly disappointed. Some were calling for flour -- and that's just not the direction I wanted to take mine in.  I used to work at a restaurant and made a batch of coconut custard on a weekly basis so I patched my recipe together making a custard from coconut milk and egg yolks. Perfection. But keep in mind two things while making it:

1) Don't be intimidated by making the custard. Follow the directions and it'll be fine. It sounds more difficult than it is. Here are more in-depth custard instructions. Also, if you overcook it a bit and get chunks of eggs (happens to the best of us!), just strain the custard. A strainer is your friend.

2) Buy the unsweetened coconut first. Then, proceed to make the recipe at your leisure. Don't plan to make the pie and then have to race around for unsweetened coconut. Whole Foods did have it. But the six other grocery stores I sent Ryan to before that only had the sweetened coconut.

I had problems with the graham cracker crust. I used a recipe that asked for 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (or 8 graham crackers), 3 tablespoons sugar and 6 tablespoons butter. I baked it until brown but it ended up crumbly. So I retried it, using more butter and substituting brown sugar for white. Still crumbly. Chowhounders responded that I should have used less butter, not more. Okay. You're on your own for the graham cracker crust, although I did have success with this one once.

So I recommend either just buying a graham cracker crust (which I should have done). Or, just make the coconut custard, pile it into a wine glass, top with whipped cream and serve.

Coconut Cream Pie

1 9-inch graham cracker pie crust

3 1/2 cups shredded coconut

3/4 cup sugar

3 cups (24 ounces) coconut milk

6 egg yolks

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the whipped topping (from The Gourmet Cookbook):

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

2 tablespoons cold water

1 cup cold heavy cream

2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or rum, if desired)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread coconut over baking sheet and toast coconut. Every five minutes, stir coconut. The coconut on the sides will be golden. Spread that to center. Coconut will take approx. 15 to 20 minutes to toast. Remove when golden. Reserve 1/4 cup of coconut for topping.

In large bowl, mix egg yolks and cornstarch with whisk until smooth. In saucepot, bring coconut milk, sugar and vanilla to simmer. Gradually add coconut milk mixture from pot into egg mixture, whisking constantly. If you have an extra set of hands around, have one person pour the coconut milk mixture from the pot while the other person whisks furiously. Return entire mixture to same saucepot. Cook over medium heat, stirring with wooden spoon vigorously. Cook (a few minutes)until thickened. You want the custard to coat the spoon or get nappe. Take off heat and mix with the toasted coconut.

Add custard to pie shell. Let cool before refrigerating. Chill at least four hours, preferably overnight.   

For the whipped cream topping, sprinkle gelatin over water in small metal bowl and let soften for one minute. Put bowl over small saucepan of boiling water, stirring occasionally until gelatin is dissolved. Remove pan from  heat, leaving bowl over pan.

Beat cream with confectioner's sugar and vanilla in medium bowl with beaters at medium speed until it holds shape. Beat in warm gelatin mixture and continue beating until cream just holds stiff peaks. (NOTE: My pie was going to be traveling a bit so I thought the gelatin would help it retain its shape. I would just skip the gelatin step if this is not an issue with you.) Top the pie with a layer of whipped cream. You can also get fancy like I did and fill a pastry bag with the whipped cream, using a tip to make twirls all over the pie. Sprinkle with remaining toasted coconut. Chill again for an hour and enjoy!

Teddie's Apple Cake

I'm not such a coffee cake fan. The mere notion of a cake meant to be edible by dunking it in coffee doesn't appeal to me for two reasons -- 1) I don't drink coffee and 2) A cake shouldn't need to be immersed in liquid to be moist. Shouldn't it be moist on its own?

Ryan and I went to his sister's birthday celebration today, where her friend made an apple coffee cake from the Times magazine. The recipe first appeared in the Times in 1973. Last week, Amanda  Hesser revisited the oil-based, spongy cake as a quick-fix to a culture who no longer bakes.

At the birthday party, the coffee cake won the cake battle versus the bakery's seven-layer chocolate cake. And even for Ryan, who is a chocoholic.

Since I didn't make the cake (and hence, have no picture), I can't vouch for its easiness to prepare but the recipe certainly looks like it would be. I can vouch for its deliciousness, however.

1973: Teddie’s Apple Cake

This recipe appeared in The Times in an article by Jean Hewitt.

Butter for greasing pan

3 cups flour, plus more for dusting pan

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups peeled, cored and thickly sliced tart apples, like Honeycrisp or Granny Smith

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup raisins

Vanilla ice cream (optional).

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch tube pan. Beat the oil and sugar together in a mixer (fitted with a paddle attachment) while assembling the remaining ingredients. After about 5 minutes, add the eggs and beat until the mixture is creamy.

2. Sift together 3 cups of flour, the salt, cinnamon and baking soda. Stir into the batter. Add the vanilla, apples, walnuts and raisins and stir until combined.

3. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before turning out. Serve at room temperature with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Serves 8.