A week in review

As I wondered what to write about today, I drew a blank.  Although I had a great week, nothing seemed big enough to base a blog post on.  So instead, I decided to write a quick recap of the past seven days.  It was a week full of blessings:

n     We attended the wedding of my youngest daughter’s church choir leader, a beautiful small wedding at our church.

n     With my friend Trish, I went to an International Festival of Authors event on Monday night that featured Governor-General nominees reading from their books.

n     I took my oldest daughter to a university open house, the third that we’ve visited this fall.  It’s hard to believe that in a few months she’ll be committing to one of them.

n     I watched game 7 of the World Series with my husband.  Is there anything better than Game 7 (even if Game 6 was the one no one will ever forget)?

n     And, best of all, I’m writing again!  After spending most of this fall with no ideas and little motivation, I’m finally feeling inspired. 

I’m also blessed to have discovered another Pear Crisp recipe that I love.  Those of you with long memories will remember that last fall, not only did I publish an Apple Pear Cherry Crisp recipe, I actually called it The Ultimate Fall Dessert.  But when it comes to food, I never leave perfection unchallenged.  When I tried the new recipe, I knew I’d found another winner.  The crystallized ginger gives this dessert a gentle warmth that plays beautifully against the cool pears.  Although Bon Appetit calls this dessert a crumble, to me it’s a crisp all the way.

How was your week?

Pear Crumble with Crystallized Ginger

(from Bon Appetit, October 1998)

For topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup old-fashioned oats (not instant)

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

dash of kosher salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

 For filling:

3 pounds firm but ripe pears, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tbsp minced crystallized ginger

1 1/2 Tbsp unbleached all purpose flour

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter a 13” by 9” glass baking dish (mine was a bit smaller and it worked fine). 

To make the topping, mix first five ingredients in a medium bowl.  Add butter and incorporate until moist clumps form.

For the filing, combine pear slices and lemon juice in a large bowl.  Add remaining ingredients and toss to blend. 

Transfer filling to prepared dish.  Sprinkle topping on top, and bake crumble until pears are tender and topping is golden brown and crisp, about 45 minutes.  Cool at least 20 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

The Compromise

Anyone who’s been reading this blog for a while knows that, while I’ll happily bake anything, my true love is a fruit dessert.  Apple crisps, cherry cobblers, lemon bars – they’re what I dream about.

Not everyone I love feels the same way.

Last week, I told my youngest daughter I was going to do some baking.  Expecting a smile, I was surprised to see a long face. “What’s wrong?” I asked. 

“You’re making a fruit dessert, aren’t you?” she said glumly.

Ahem.  Mothers are supposed to read their kids’ minds, but sometimes it happens the other way around. Or maybe she just knows me that well. 

So I decided to make the least fruit-filled dessert I could think of – Ina Garten’s wonderful chocolate cupcakes.

I made half the cupcakes with the peanut butter icing below (which was delicious), but in the end I couldn’t help myself.  I iced the other half with this orange cream cheese frosting.  Because chocolate is great, but adding fruit, even in the form of icing, makes it even better.  

Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing

(from Barefoot Contessa at Home)

Ingredients

12 Tbsp (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature

½ cup sour cream, at room temperature

2 Tbsp brewed coffee (I omitted this)

1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour

1 cup cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp kosher salt

Kathleen’s peanut butter icing, recipe follows) OR Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Chopped salted peanuts, to decorate

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pans with 15 – 16 paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes.  Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream and coffee.  In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  Add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture.  Mix only until blended. 

Divide the batter among the cupcake pans.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and let cool completely before frosting.

Frost cupcakes with peanut butter icing and sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

Kathleen’s Peanut Butter Icing

1 cup confectioners’ sugar (icing sugar)

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ tsp pure vanilla extract

¼ tsp kosher salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work.  Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.