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Decadent Desserts to Make Yourself

Now that it's spring, you simply must make Eton Mess--especially the version of this old English dessert that's in "Decadent Fruit Desserts" by Jackie Bruchez.

Bruchez (above), known for her blog The Seaside Baker, adds her own touch by combining rhubarb with the traditional strawberries.

Her mess isn't a mess but a beautiful layered concoction of berries and rhubarb, whipped cream and meringue (in the photo at the top). It was a favorite when Bruchez presented a buffet of desserts from the book at Melissa's Produce.

Others were a fresh raspberry-lime cake

A flower-bedecked Meyer Lemon chiffon cake

No-bake mini cheesecakes, topped here with blackberries.

Blackberry custard bars.

And oatmeal cookies with blueberries and white chocolate chips.

Bruchez's way with sweets is so noteworthy that "Decadent Fruit Desserts" (Page Street Publishing Co.) is the first all-dessert book to be presented at Melissa's, which regularly showcases top cookbooks and their authors.

This is her first book. It's handsomely illustrated, with a photo for each recipe--Bruchez did these herself. And it's user friendly, with baker's tips added to each recipe, all of them clearly explained for the home cook. 

The desserts are rich stuff. "I use a lot of butter," she said at her book-signing at Melissa's. And "cream is like a magic ingredient." Rather than insisting on butter all the time, she'll use shortening if necessary. For example, she adds shortening to the butter in her blueberry-white chocolate oatmeal cookies to keep them from spreading out as they bake.  

Creaming butter and sugar is her therapy, Bruchez said. So keep this therapeutical benefit in mind when indulging in her luscious desserts. Once you see them in the book, you'll want to make them all. 

STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB ETON MESS
From "Decadent Fruit Desserts" by Jackie Bruchez

1 cup rhubarb, diced
1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries, divided
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 small meringue cookies, broken into small pieces
4 strawberries, sliced, for garnish, optional
4 sprigs of mint for garnish, optional

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the rhubarb, 1 cup of the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice. Simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes, or until the rhubarb is soft and the strawberries have melted into a syrupy mixture. Remove it from the heat, stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of the strawberries and cool it completely, then refrigerate it until cold, about 1 to 2 hours.

When you're ready to serve, beat the whipping cream and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Dollop a spoonful of the whipped cream into four decorative serving glasses or jars. Sprinkle a few meringue pieces over each glass, then top them with a layer of strawberry-rhubarb compote. Repeat the layers until the glasses are full. Garnish them with fresh strawberry slices and mint leaves, if desired.

Makes 4 servings. 

How to Cook Okra So You'll Love It

Hate that slimy stuff called okra?

You'll change your mind when you taste okra cooked the right way. There's no gushy slime, just wonderful flavor and perfect texture, making it a joy to eat. 

Chef Shachi Mehra of Adya (above) gets this effect by roasting okra with cherry tomatoes and red onion, then adding a dash of Indian seasonings, lime juice and cilantro.

She explained how to do this at a class in the patio adjacent to Adya. The topic: "Indian Spices in Everyday Cooking." The theme was how to enhance food with a few spices such as Indian chaat masala and cumin rather seasoning with a raft of spices as in curries and other complex Indian dishes.   

Born in Jaipur, where her parents had gone to attend a wedding, Mehra grew up on the East Coast, planned to become a doctor and then realized she was meant for something else--cooking. Today, she's an excellent chef and teacher.  

Adya in the Anaheim Packing House (above) is where she teaches. Another Adya is in Irvine. 

Throughout the year, Mehra gives classes on a wide range of topics. Get the schedule here. They're well worth attending and include lunch (part of mine is above), recipes and wine, beer or chai. Tip: the chai is amazing.

And so is this okra recipe:

ROASTED OKRA WITH CHERRY TOMATOES AND RED ONION
From Chef Shachi Mehra of Adya

1 pound okra, sliced lengthwise
2 serrano chiles, sliced lengthwise
1 basket cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons chaat masala, available in Indian markets
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the okra, chiles, tomatoes, onion, salt and oil. Mix gently, just to combine. Spread evenly on a large baking sheet.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until some charred spots are visible. Remove from the oven and toss the warm mixture with chaat masala, lime juice and cilantro. Serve warm. 

Irish Soda Bread: A Treat for Any Day

St. Patrick's Day comes only once a year, but you can enjoy Irish soda bread any day, if you make your own.

This version is sweet, brightly flavored with caraway seeds and packed with currants. It's from a book I wrote called "Good Bread." 

The steps are simple. Mix everything, then turn the dough out onto a board and knead it until well combined. 

Next, set the loaf in a large pie pan or on a baking sheet, then cut a cross in the top with a sharp knife.

There's no rising time, because this is a quick bread, leavened with soda and baking powder, not yeast. So you can put it in the oven right away. 

Here's how the loaf looks after it has baked for an hour or so. 

After it cools in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, you turn it out onto the rack for further cooling.

Then comes the great moment when you can cut into it. 

Here is how I like to eat the bread, with eggs for breakfast. In my opinion, it's best sliced thin and toasted. But you can cut thick slices, if you prefer.  

I've varied the recipe from time to time, such as replacing a small amount of all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour and adding raisins when I didn't have enough currants.

I've made my own buttermilk too when I didn't have time to go to the store. It's easy, all you do is add lemon juice to whole milk, about a tablespoon per cup of milk.

I hope you enjoy the bread as much as I do.

IRISH SODA BREAD
From "Good Bread" by Barbara Hansen

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons caraway seeds
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 cups currants

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream thoroughly. Beat in the egg until well blended. Mix in the caraway seeds.

Save out 1/4 cup of the flour for kneading the bread. Combine the remaining flour, salt, baking powder and soda and add to the egg mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. 

Lastly, add the currants and work them in with your hands. The dough will be very sticky at this point. Turn it out onto the reserved flour on a work surface--I use a large board.  Knead about 1 minute, or until thoroughly blended, adding a small amount of additional flour if too sticky. The dough should not be dry, however.

Form the dough into a round loaf and place it in a well-greased 10-inch pie pan or on a greased baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut a slash across the top of the bread in one direction, then a slash at right angles, forming a cross.

Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Place it in the pie pan on a rack to cool for 10 minutes, or let it stand on the baking sheet. Then turn it out onto the rack to cool completely.

Makes 1 loaf.   

How to Feed the Family in Minutes

Here's a new recipe for mac and cheese that you'll love, and not just because it's flavor-packed.

The big advantage is that it's so easy to make, all in one skillet without any need to pre-cook the macaroni.

The recipe is from "One Pan, Whole Family" (Chronicle Books) by Carla Snyder. This is a successor to an earlier book, "One Pan, Two Plates," which also aims at fast and practical cooking. 

This time, Snyder (above) tells how to cook in a single pan a meal that will serve an entire family--and in 45 minutes or less.

Her Cheesy Mac (photo at the top and recipe below) takes 45 minutes, from the chopping and sautéing to the finished dish.  

This Thai steak salad takes only 30 minutes. Just 20 of these are hands-on work. 

Deviled roast chicken with bacon and Brussels sprouts hash is done in 45 minutes.

Cheesy angel hair pasta requires only 30 minutes of your time. Again, the pasta cooks in the pan with the rest of the ingredients. Snyder suggests using fresh pasta for ultimate speed, but the recipe can be adapted to dried by adding a little more liquid and increasing the cooking time slightly.

This big dish of curry roasted carrots and lentils with orange-yogurt sauce is a complete vegetarian meal, done in 30 minutes.

And for a salad, try this combination of roasted beets with oranges, goat cheese and walnuts, a 45-minute effort.

Each recipe is tabbed at the top with the amount of cooking time, hands-on work and number of servings. Each comes with suggested add-ons for adult taste buds and for extra-hungry kids.

Each also includes a beverage recommendation, from wines and beers to non-alcoholic drinks for youngsters. For the Cheesy Mac, she suggests an off-dry Riesling or a cocktail of carrot juice, pineapple juice and sparkling water.

Snyder presented these dishes at Melissa's Produce, where she signed books and did a cooking demo. Above, she's making the Thai steak salad.

For more about her work, her other books and recipes, go to her website, ravenous kitchen.com

CHEESY MAC WITH SPINACH AND HAM
From "One Pan, Whole Family" by Carla Snyder

1 onion
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup half-and-half
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons unsalted butter plus 1 tablespoon melted
5 ounces baby spinach
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
8 ounces Cheddar or Jarlsburg cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
10 ounces elbow macaroni (about 2 cups)
4 ounces chopped ham
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

On a large cutting board, mince the onion. Combine the milk, half-and-half and mustard in a measuring cup and set aside.

Heat a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium high heat and add 4 tablespoons butter. When the butter melts, add the onion and saute until it softens, about 2 minutes, then add the spinach, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Saute until the spinach wilts, about 1 minute.

Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring, then stir in the milk mixture, stirring constantly.  Be sure to scrape up any flour stuck on the bottom of the pan. Continue to stir until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes, and then stir in the cheese.

Continue to stir until the cheese melts and then stir in the broth, macaroni and ham. Make sure the pasta is submerged in the liquid, pressing it down. Cover the pan with an ovenproof lid and bake until the pasta is tender, about 20 minutes. 

While the pasta bakes, stir together the panko and remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter with a fork. Remove the lid and sprinkle the panko topping over the pasta. Switch the oven setting to broil. Return the pan to the second highest rack, and broil until the topping is browned, 1 to 2 minutes. 

Serve the mac and cheese directly from the pan at the table so that it stays good and hot. 

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

A Cheesy Book with Yummy Recipes

"A Little Book of Cheese" may be little, even tiny, but it's big in good food, like a recipe for shells stuffed with mozzarella, ricotta and Parmesan, plus broccoli and pine nuts, which you'll find below.

The author is Chef Debbi Dubbs (above), who really knows her cheeses and food. Dubbs has worked extensively in catering, teaching, product presentations, restaurant management and other aspects of the food world. She also leads culinary tours and has been a corporate chef for Melissa's Produce, where she presented her brand new cheese book. 

The stuffed shells (above) got a lot of raves at Melissa's.

So did Dubbs' chicken parmigiana (above).

And her apple pecan salad with goat cheese

And an Italian chopped salad with baby mozzarella balls. 

This mixed bean minestrone is sprinkled at serving time with Parmigiano Reggiano.

Three cheeses--Gruyere, fontina and Parmesan--are stuffed into fondue palmiers.

The desserts in the book include chocolate-strawberry yogurt parfaits. Dubbs counts yogurt as cheese and tells how to make it as well as how to make your own mozzarella, cottage cheese, cream cheese, ricotta and others.

There's a lot of information in such a little book, including how to buy and store cheese, types of cheese and how to create your own cheese board--above is the one she made at Melissa's--followed by 25 recipes. 

To learn more about Chef Dubbs, go to her website, www.debskitchen.com. "A Little Book of Cheese" can be ordered through Amazon.

CHEESY STUFFED SHELLS
From "A Little Book of Cheese" by Chef Debbi Dubbs

1 (12-ounce) box pasta shells
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated
2 cups ricotta cheese (15 ounces)
1/4 pound Parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra for the top
Salt, pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup broccoli, cooked and chopped
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1 (24-ounce) jar marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook the shells in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain them and run under cold water to keep them from sticking to each other.

Add mozzarella, ricotta and Parmesan cheese to a large bowl and mix together. Add a little salt and pepper, then add the eggs and mix until well blended. Fold in the broccoli and pine nuts carefully.

Spread half the marinara sauce over the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan. Gently stuff the shells with the cheese mixture and place in the pan, nestllng the shells together. Top with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with a little more Parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil and bake about 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes of cooking to brown slightly. 

Makes about 6 servings.