Prunes Nicely Plumped Up With Alcohol

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Prunes Nicely Plumped Up With Alcohol

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https://kitchenbaroness.wordpress.com/

Fattened with liquor, this is the best way to eat prunes.

Sophie Grigson is the inspiration for these prunes. I watched her years ago on TV, plumping up prunes in cognac for her pork medallions in cream sauce. That is a good recipe and I use it often enough. 

I had fattened up an entire bag of prunes as I didn't want a half bag of prunes in my larder. I knew alcohol soaked prunes will disappear faster than shrivelled dried ones. I was right. 

Half a bag of alcoholic prunes went into the Sophie's dish of pork medallions and the other half was polished off with scoops of vanilla ice cream. 

It was obvious that dessert was more about the prunes than the ice cream. No one asked for second scoops of ice cream. Instead, hands were helping themselves to more prunes and the soaking juices. I know I saw someone lick the cognac soaking liquid clean off the serving bowl. 

Surprisingly, not all liquor will work. I did a test and here's how the alcohol I tested fared. 

Ranking starts from the most favourable:

• Dry red wine - lovely roundedness
• Tia Maria (coffee liqueur) - mix of coffee and prune is a very good pairing especially with vanilla ice cream

Not bad but nothing exciting so don't run to the shops to buy:

• Ginger wine
• Apry (apricot liqueur)

Stay away from these:

• Limoncello (lemon liqueur)
• Ameretto (almond liqueur)
• Sweet Sherry
• Rum
• Vodka
• Whiskey

My absolute favourite soaking alcohol? 

Brandy is always good but the tastiest alcohol soaked prunes are to be had if you have access to:

• Japanese yuzu (fruit) liqueur 

The yuzu is a unique lemon that grows in East Asia and the fruit is difficult to purchase outside of the region. It has its own distinct heady scent and taste. The fruit has little juice which doesn't matter as the flavour is all in its zest. Simply put, it does magic to dried prunes. The brand I use? Choya. The one I buy is 'Sarari Yuzu' and it comes in not a not so glamorous carton packaging.

It is yuzu and some lime added for a "clean finish". Choya positions it as a fruit liqueur. Click on the link for a more detailed description. 

This is a very tasty drink on its own and with an alcohol content of 7%, it is tempting to sip away the entire carton and forget to use it on the prunes. But do use it. It freshens up the saccharine sweetness of prunes, giving it a refreshing lift that no other liquor can quite accomplish. 
PRUNES NICELY PLUMPED UP WITH ALCOHOL              

Prep:	5 minutes
Cook:	-
Inactive:	At least 6 hours in the refrigerator.
Level:	Very easy
Serves:	3 - 5
Oven Temperature:	-
Can recipe be doubled?	Yes
Make ahead?	Keeps for months in the refrigerator.

Just the ingredients 9oz (255g) bag of pitted prunes Enough alcohol of your choice to cover the prunes

Ingredients

9oz (255g) bag of pitted prunes

Enough alcohol of your choice to cover ~2" (5cm) above the prunes
Refer to my introduction for suggested liquor to use and avoid.

Method

Cover prunes in liquor of choice. Put lid on vessel and refrigerate for 6 hours in refrigerator to completely plump up. 

Serve with vanilla ice cream and sprinkle some nuts if you wish. Also great on its own or with some cream, mascarpone, ...

Always use a clean spoon to remove prunes and the remaining ones will keep for months in the refrigerator.

Tips

They make great gifts! 

These dried prunes have just had Yuzu liqueur poured over them. They are off to meet a girlfriend of mine. I think she will be quite pleased.

WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?                                                

Crisp-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside, gluten & egg free, grated potato pancakes.

Chocolate Eton Mess, A Strawberries And Cream Delight

Hi! I'm now working from Wordpress. I've spent a great deal of time editing and reorganising this post on Wordpress and it is so much friendlier to read & follow my recipe from there. Click on this link to take you directly to the recipe:

Chocolate Eton Mess, A Strawberries And Cream Delight

Link to my newest and old recipes, click:

https://kitchenbaroness.wordpress.com/

This Chocolate Eaton Mess might not get the nod from Eaton Mess connoisseurs as it is traditionally made from conventional white coloured meringues, whipped cream and strawberries. These are made from chocolate meringue and they taste equally wonderful.

So pretty!

Yum!

I tend to make Chocolate Eton Mess only when I have baked too many meringues for Chocolate Pavlovas. 

This recipe is especially good for those of you baking meringues for the first time.  If you do ruin the meringues, there is no need to panic. I assure you these Chocolate Eton Mess are just as good as Chocolate Pavlovas. This recipe thrives on marred meringues!

Should you be wondering about the origins of this dessert, there are a few stories as to how this dessert got its name. I am going with the story that it originated in Eton, United Kingdom, where it was first concocted  and served at Eton College in the first half of the 20th century. It might have looked messy back then but it must have had received unanimous approval as it remains a most welcomed dessert.

If you love strawberries and cream, then this is a dream of a dessert.

ETON MESS, A STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM DELIGHT  

Prep:	20 minutes
Cook:	-
Inactive:	1 hour and up to overnight to macerate the strawberries in the strawberry jam.
Level:	Easy
Makes:	8 to 10 servings
Oven Temperature:	-
Can recipe be doubled?	Yes
Make ahead?	You can prepare The Strawberry Swirl and whip the cream the night before. Keep them refrigerated.

Ingredients

Two 6" chocolate meringue

Check out my previous post, Chocolate Pavlova for the recipe. Ready made meringues can be bought from selected delicatessens and bakeshops. I don't recall them selling chocolate flavoured ones.

2 cups (16 fluid oz) (500 ml) whipping cream

Do not substitute with single/cooking/pouring cream as it does not contain enough of a fat content for it to whip up.  The cream should have at least a minimum fat content of 35%.

1.1 lbs (500 g) strawberries 

1 and 1/2 to 2 cups homemade strawberry jam (you might need more/less if you use store bought jam.

Try making my easy recipe for Home Made Strawberry Jam. You just need sugar and strawberries. Nothing beats home made strawberry jam, especially on Eton Mess.

Update: I have since posted a more detailed recipe for the homemade strawberry jam. Click here, Strawberry Jam Simplified.

Directions

The Strawberry Swirl

Place the homemade strawberry jam in a large bowl. Let it come to room temperature while you hull and cut up the strawberries. I like to slice half and cube half of the strawberries so that there is a nice textural contrast.

Add the strawberries to the strawberry jam and macerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight in the refrigerator. This softens the strawberries and encourages a nice syrupy sauce. If you are using store bought jam, you might have to add more or lessen the amount of jam to get a good syrupy sauce as store bought jam varies in viscosity.

If you can't wait the 1 hour, mash the fruit up slightly to help it along the syrupy way. Refer to the photograph below as a guide. Add more jam if you need to. Cover and refrigerate if not using immediately. The Strawberry Swirl should be cold.

The whipped cream

Before you start whipping the cream, the cream, bowl and whisk must be cold. I refrigerate my bowl and whisk 20 minutes before I need them. Keeping everything cold will help the cream to whip up. Cream that is not cold enough might not whip up at all.

Whip the cream until you have firm but still billowy looking peaks.

If you are not using the whipped cream straight away, cover and refrigerate it.

Do not over whisk or you will end up with little granules of butter. Nothing else you can do but to start again with another batch of whipping cream. 

Don't waste the over whipped cream though, use them in an omelette, to make pancakes or in my recipe for Hamburger Buns, Savoury Buns, using it to replace the milk and butter called for in that recipe.

Hamburger Buns

Savoury Buns. Clockwise front to back: Cheese
& mayo with sugar sprinkled on; Cheese & mayo
with browned onions; Cheese & mayo with
oregano; Cheese & mayo with Bacon

To serve

Only assemble when you are ready to serve.  

Choose the vessel(s) you want to serve the Eton Mess in. Either 8 to 10 serving glasses (depending on the size of your glasses), a large glass serving bowl or a trifle bowl.

Start by adding a bottom layer of Strawberry Swirl to the vessel(s). Do not use up all the Strawberry Swirl as you have to leave some to drizzle on top and the rest have to be mixed in with the whipped cream and meringue.

In a large bowl, break up the meringue. Leave most in bite size pieces and others crushed up and some crushed to a powder. 

Add the whipped cream and Strawberry Swirl into the bowl. Remember to keep some Strawberry Swirl for topping.

Fold everything in gently until it is just incorporated. This dessert looks best when you can still see bands of white cream and Strawberry Swirls. If you like it a more uniform 'pink' than go ahead and continue mixing until you get it to your liking.

Plop the cream mixture above the bottom layer of Strawberry Swirl. 

Top with the remaining Strawberry Swirl. Please view my photographs at the top of the page for reference.

Serve immediately. Yum, yum, yum.

Tips

• How to serve Eton Mess

I like to serve them in clear water glasses, wine glasses, champagne glasses, martini glasses... you get the idea. It makes a striking presentation as it shows off the dessert to great effect. It doesn't matter if you do not have 10 of the same piece of glass drinking vessel. Not many people keep that kind of inventory at home. An assortment of clear drinking glass vessel in different shapes, sizes and heights can make just as an attractive presentation. The added advantage is guests can choose the serving size for themselves.. big glass? small glass?

• Just don't have that many number of glasses?

A novel and fun idea is to have your guests bring their own glasses. It actually makes amusing dinner conversation. 

• Feeds many!

This is great party food for a crowd. It is easy to put together especially if you already have chocolate meringues leftover from making Chocolate Pavlovas. 

WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?                                                      

How can I not possibly make Pavlova now that I have posted a recipe for Chocolate Pavlova? Eton Mess purists will probably insist that I make an Eton Mess out of 'proper meringue'. I will meet the purists half way. 

I won't be baking a 'proper meringue', as I find its usage too limiting for the amount of effort required.  Plain meringues are not an easy thing to bake especially if you live in an area with high humidity as I do. They have a tendency to collapse and worse, weep sugary syrup from the bottom.

Meringues for Pavlovas are just as tricky but if I bake them, at least I get two usages out of it, a Pavlova and more Eton Mess!

Before I post my recipe for the Pavlova above, I have to write a separate post for my Homemade Strawberry Jam. I had included it as a secondary recipe to my post, Victoria Sponge Cake With Homemade Strawberry Jam. However, I have since realised that I refer and use it so often that for your ease of reference, I must include it as a separate post. It is more or less the same recipe but with more photographs attached to help you along.

Look out for it!

Update: Here's the link to the separate post for homemade strawberry jam. It goes into a bit more detail and I have included other recipes where you can use the Homemade Strawberry Jam. Click here, Strawberry Jam Simplified.

Coffee Poached Pears Scented With Orange, Cinnamon And Cloves

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Coffee Poached Pears Scented With Orange, Cinnamon And Cloves

Link to my newest and old recipes, click:

https://kitchenbaroness.wordpress.com/

When fruits are not at peak quality and you want to serve them as a dessert, this is the way to prepare them. With this recipe, you can transform an otherwise unpalatable piece of supermarket pear into something light, wonderfully fragrant and very worth eating.

Does it not look pretty!

I like this dessert as it can be prepared days in advance. The flavours of coffee, underlying notes of orange, cinnamon and cloves makes this a rich yet delightfully light dessert. I think it is quite elegant.

Coffee Poached Pears Scented With Orange, Cinnamon And Cloves     

Prep:	20 minutes
Cook:	20 minutes - 1 hour depending on how ripe pears are. + 10 minutes to reduce poaching liquid to a syrup.
Inactive:	6 hours or overnight to chill in the refrigerator
Level:	Easy
Makes:	8
Oven Temperature:	-
Can recipe be doubled?	Yes. You can reuse poaching liquid to make another batch. You may have to add more water to have the poaching liquid almost cover the pears.
Make ahead?	Yes. Keeps well up to 4 days.

Just the ingredients 8 Bosc pears or any other pears you can get a hold of 1/2 cup (4oz) (110g) granulated sugar 1/2 cup (4oz) (110g) brown sugar 3 cups (750ml) strong black coffee 2 cups (750ml) water 1/4  cup coffee liqueur 1 strip of orange peel 1 large cinnamon stick 2 cloves To serve with Any or a combination of the ingredients below: Vanilla ice cream Clotted, double/thickened, whipping or pouring cream, creme anglaise (custard cream) or mascarpone  Coffee liqueur Coffee syrup made from reducing poaching liquid Toasted slivered almonds

Ingredients

8 Bosc pears or any other pears you can get a hold of
Bosc, Anjou or Comice pears keeps its shape better but other varieties will work. Choose ripe and firm (not hard) pears and avoid pears that are already too ripe.

1/2 cup (4oz) (110g) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (4oz) (110g) brown sugar

3 cups (750ml) strong black coffee

2 cups (750ml) water

1/4  cup coffee liqueur

1 strip of orange peel
Remove as much of the white pith as possible. The pith is bitter.

1 large cinnamon stick

2 cloves 

To serve with

Any or a combination of the ingredients below:

Vanilla ice cream

Clotted, double/thickened, whipping or pouring cream, creme anglaise (custard cream) or mascarpone. 
Do not use sour cream, creme fraiche or yogurt. The sour element does not pair well with coffee.

Coffee liqueur

Coffee syrup made from reducing poaching liquid

Toasted slivered almonds

Directions

To prepare the pears

With a melon baller or a sharp vegetable knife, remove a 1" (2.5cm) ball from the bottom core of each pear. This will help the pear to sit nicely on its serving plate after it is cooked.

To peel the pears, with a sharp vegetable knife or vegetable peeler, start peeling from the bottom of pears and work upwards in circles. Stop at the bottom neck of the pear. You would then, peel lengthwise from the bottom neck of pear upwards towards the stem. If you were to randomly peel your pears, you would not get the nice polished look with your end product. Leave the stems on.

Poaching pears

Use a wide bottom pot, that will sit all 8 pears in one layer.

Sit all the pears in it, add all the ingredients. The liquid should cover the pears, if not, top with water. Bring to a boil over high heat.

While waiting for it to come to a boil, cut a circle of parchment paper that will cover all the pears. Snip a few 1/2" (1.27cm) holes to allow for steam to escape. Place over pears, this will help the pears to poach evenly and develop an even colour. As it poaches, you might have to top with a little water. You want the pears submerged completely throughout the process.

When the poaching liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low. A simmer is what you want.

Depending on how ripe the pears are, it should take between 20 minutes to 1 hour for the pears to be ready. When a knife/skewer/toothpick goes through it easily as if it was softened butter, turn off the heat. Leave the pears to cool on the stove. When cooled, refrigerate until chilled through, about 6 hours and best overnight.

At least 2 hours before you serve pears, reduce 1 cup of poaching liquid over high heat until it has a light syrup consistency similar to maple syrup.  Return to refrigerator and chill until needed.

To serve

The sinful version

• Stand pear on plate. Place a scoop of vanilla ice cream next to pear. Drizzle 1 Tablespoon of coffee liqueur over pear and ice cream. Shower it with toasted slivered almonds. 

The weight watcher's version

• Stand pear on plate. Drizzle 1 Tablespoon of coffee syrup. Rain down some toasted slivered almonds over pear. Cheat by adding a spoon of cream to the side of pear.

Leave on the table, a small jug each of coffee syrup and cream for diners to help themselves.

The weight watcher's version. Taste just as good.

 Tips

What to do with all the poaching liquid?

• Poach more pears!
• Reduce all the poaching liquid into a thick syrup and serve it over vanilla ice cream, pancakes, waffles or replace the sugar in your morning coffee with this syrup.

I often prepare these pears for dessert when I am planning to serve a more substantial main course. After a heavy meal with close to zero stomach capacity left, this is about the only dessert that my diners might say "yes" to.

The last time I served these was after my unctuous Sausage and Bacon Pasta In Smoky Tomato Sauce.  That's definitely another recipe worth trying out.

I would like a serving of this Sausage and Bacon Pasta In 
Smoky Tomato Sauce now please. Thereafter, I would be quite
happy with one Coffee Poached Pear.

Another 2 of my poached pear recipes:

Yellowest Saffron Poached Pears

Moscato d'Asti Poached Pears Served With Yuzu Mascarpone

WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?                                                 

How I love to be invited over for dinner! This was served to me by a Eurasian family. It's Devil Curry or more accurately called Debal Curry. If you haven't had this before, expect to taste a curry like you have never had before - spicy, smoky, slightly tart, enriched with caramelised onions and chunks of roast pork! And, oh, there is smoked sausages in there too. How can it not be good? This is a curry without a drop of coconut oil in it.

Crispy Doughnut - like Spanish Churros with a Dusting of Icing Sugar

Hi! I'm now working from Wordpress. I've spent a great deal of time editing and reorganising this post on Wordpress and it is so much friendlier to read & follow my recipe from there. Click on this link to take you directly to the recipe:

Crispy Doughnut-like Spanish Churros
Link to my newest and old recipes, click:

https://kitchenbaroness.wordpress.com/

Crispy on the outside, soft with just the right amount of doughiness in the centre. The light dusting of icing sugar melts gently in your mouth bringing the whole taste sensation together. These churros stay crisp well over an hour. Like me, you might not be able to stop eating them. 

Even before they fry, they look delicious.

I like this recipe because it is so easy! I have made it so often, I can get it on the table in 10 minutes. It is a handy recipe to possess when you have guests over and realize you forgot to prepare dessert! 


Crispy Doughnut-like Churros with a Dusting of Icing Sugar   

Prep:	5 minutes
Cook:	10 minutes
Inactive:	None
Level:	Easy
Serves:	4 greedy people
Oil Temperature:	360F (180C)
Can recipe be doubled?	Yes. You can pipe the dough out, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Make ahead?	Yes. Mine stay crisp well over an hour. You might want to hold off dusting it with icing sugar until your are ready to serve.

Ingredients

For dough

1 cup water

2 to 3 Tablespoons sugar
I use 2 Tablespoons as that is sweet enough for me.  Remember churros would be 
dusted with icing sugar

1 and 1/2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Use a neutral tasting oil. I use sunflower, safflower or rice bran. Do not use olive oil.

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup all purpose/plain flour

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Do not omit. It makes a big difference in flavour.

Everything else

2 to 3 cups (enough to cover the churros completely) vegetable oil for frying
Do not use olive oil. You are looking for a bland/mild tasting oil. I use either sunflower, safflower or rice bran.

1/3 cup icing sugar for dusting

Directions

In a long handled saucepan, bring the water, oil, sugar and salt to a boil. Have a wooden/silicon spoon or a similar sturdy utensil ready. Turn off heat and remove saucepan from stove. Pour in vanilla extract. Quickly pour flour into the liquid. Hold the saucepan handle firmly and stir vigouroulsy with the wooden spoon until you have a ball of dough. This takes me 1 to 2 minutes. Do not worry too much if you have little pockets of flour. Leave aside until it is cool enough for you to handle.

In the meantime, if you have a large star icing nozzle and piping bag you would want to use them. If not, use a good quality heavy duty plastic bag as a piping bag (I sometimes use two bags, as in a bag within a bag if I think the plastic bag is not hardy enough). Fill the bag with the still warm dough. Cut off a 1.5cm (1/4") width from one corner of the plastic bag. Pipe 5cm (2") long dough and set aside. It is easier to snip off the dough with scissors.

If you do not have piping bags or good quality plastic bags, here is an alternative. Gently roll the dough into 1/2" (1.25 cm) tubes/logs. That's about the width of your finger. Snip off at 2"(5 cm) intervals. Set aside.

Have the oil heated to 360F (180C). Fry dough for 5 minutes turning them often to brown evenly. Remember not to overcrowd pan with too many dough at a time. Once browned, remove and drain before dusting with icing sugar.

Serve and watch the speed at which these churros disappear.

Tips

• I prefer using icing sugar and not caster sugar.  Besides, the feather like feel of the icing sugar that I like, icing sugar adheres better to the churros and makes less of a mess.

• When you use a star icing nozzle, the extra ridges means you end up with crispier churros. So use it if you have it. 

• These should not only be served as dessert, in fact, they are more like sweet snacks!

• You can dust churros with cinnamon, cloves and/or chocolate powder. Go light on the cloves. A little goes a long way. 

See how crispy they fry up on the outside but are still a little doughy on the inside.

I often serve churros after my version of the Spanish paella. In keeping with the Spanish theme, it makes my dinner parties seem so well thought out. Just remember the Sangria!
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?                                                     

And, this is what I am working on. I cooked everything you see here except for the chips. Slow cooked tender pork sandwiches with my crunchy coleslaw that does not turn rubbery with keeping. There is also my 'House Special Pork Sandwich Sauce'.  The buns are also home made. This is great party food for a crowd!

Look out for the recipes.