Summer Pudding - A Spectacular Dessert for Father's Day

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've made this dessert for years, in forms both plain and fancy. I first had the pudding as a child when it was prepared by a Swedish neighbor for a Midsummer's Eve celebration. I developed a fancy for its tart berry sweetness and it was one of the first desserts I made as a bride. Once I had my own kitchen, I turned to recipes that had been develop by British food writers. I suspect I was working on the theory that no one knows puddings better than the Brits, and if I wanted the very best recipe for summer pudding, I'd most likely find it tucked somewhere within their collective writings. So, in flights of fancy, I moved across the pond and dallied with the likes of Nigel Slater and Nigella Lawson, who curiously enough, led me back to the Hamptons and the kitchen of Ina Garten, where I finally found the pudding of my dreams. On a more practical note, as you glance through the recipe you'll notice that no provision is made for greasing the pudding mold. That's because it is not necessary. If you have weighted the pudding and let it chill overnight, it will release once it is freed from the sides of the mold with a knife. I've also come to the conclusion that the bread you use for the pudding is not as important as many would lead you to believe. Brioche or challah are both wonderful, but a good quality sandwich bread works well too. The colors of this pudding, especially when it is served with a mound of whipped cream, make it a perfect dessert for an upscale Father's Day or 4th of July celebration. I do hope you'll try this recipe. Those of you who like barely sweet and seasonal treats will be in heaven. Here's Ina's recipe.

Berrylicious Holiday Desserts - Part II

Here is another trio of berry rich desserts that would be perfect for the coming holidays.

Blueberry Sour Cream Tart

Cherry Pie with Streusel Topping

Strawberry Glace Tart

                    

                                                    Older Posts

                 One Year Ago Today:                                                  Two Years Ago Today:

             Yogurt Lime and Honey Pie                                                 Apricot Oatmeal Bars

            Three Years Ago Today:                                                      Four Years Ago Today:

      Chicken Tostados with Pickled Onion                                              Curried Turkey Salad

Berrylicious Holiday Desserts - Part I

Fortunately, Father's Day and the 4th of July come while berries are still in season. We are going to be featuring special holiday desserts using those luscious berries this week. Here is the first sampling of berry rich desserts to consider for your holiday table. 

Summer Pudding

Pavlova with Lemon Curd and Mixed Berries

Old German Cream Pie with Strawberries

                    

                                                    Older Posts

                 One Year Ago Today:                                                  Two Years Ago Today:

             Banana Meringue Pudding                                                       Carrot Salad

            Three Years Ago Today:                                                      Four Years Ago Today:

                   Apple Bread                                                              Snap Pea and Barley Salad

Greek-Style Roast Potatoes - We Are 238 Years Old Today

Photo courtesy of veteransunited.com

Have a wonderful holiday with your family and friends. It's time for all of us to celebrate.

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If you are still looking for something to serve with your steaks or plain grilled chicken, I highly recommend this simple potato dish. The potatoes are easy and inexpensive to make and they are simply packed with flavor. I made them for the first time last evening and I liked them so well that they will become are a regular feature at my table. The potatoes bake for what seems a long time, but they get brown and crusty and all-together delicious as they cook. I know those of you who try them will love them and serve them often. Here is how they are made.

Independence Day - Part One

Photo courtesy of Nat Hamik

      

I've posted this photo on my facebook page, but it dawned on me that many of you never get over there to follow my daily meanderings. I thought you would enjoy this, so I'm going to post it here as well. I'll be back again tomorrow with my holiday menu and recipes.

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism."

~Erma Bombeck

Blueberry Bread Pudding with Spiced Blueberry Sauce

      

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Oregon is one of 21 states that still allow the sale of fireworks. The tents in which they are sold went up this weekend and that's a sure sign that the 4th of July is on its way. Their appearance also triggers a wash of memories of those times, when I, if not the world, was young. It's fair to say I have a special fondness for this holiday. It's probably born of time and place, but Independence Day, especially as it was celebrated in my childhood, has permanently reserved a spot in my recollections of how things were and probably should be. Forgotten are the wants a country at war could not provide, but remembered keenly are the festivities that were planned to make the day special. They began with a bicycle parade that roped its way through the streets of our community. We spent the prior day  festooning bikes and trikes with reams of streamers, each of us sure that our creation would win the coveted watermelon award. I suspect, in retrospect, they all looked pretty much the same, but somehow the judges always found a best of show and one "lucky duck" got to wear the crown for the day. While we'd check in for lunch, kids were pretty much left on their own and we swarmed through the neighborhood in packs, looking for things to make or do. We spent hours under the sprinkler, and, back then, punks, which the grown-ups used to light fireworks, were a big thing. We'd pretend to smoke them and use them to light something we called snakes. Snakes were small disks that would expand and crawl along the pavement when they were lit. They left smudgy stains on the pavement that would be visible for weeks after the holiday had passed and I've often wondered what archeologists would think if they came across those tracks eons later. Towards dusk the neighbors would gather for a communal picnic and stake out spots for the evening's fireworks. Barbecue had not yet captured the imagination of the nation, but there was fried chicken with all the fixin's and enough iced tea to float a battle ship. There was a pie-eating contest and watermelon galore. I must admit there were also seed-spitting contests and I was the proud winner of more than  a few. The capstone of the day was, of course, the fireworks display, but what I most fondly remember were the sparklers that we got to light and hold before the show began. I had a runaway imagination and I was sure that this was how space looked when a new star was born. Astronomers needed telescopes to see what I held in my hand. The wonder and sweetness of it all!

Now, it is impossible to have an Independence Day celebration without blueberries. By now everyone knows that on the 4th of July blueberries are more American than apple pie. I have dozens of recipes that use them and I am always on the lookout for one more. I found another last week on the Driscoll's Berry website. It is a keeper of the first magnitude and one that I am happy to share with you. The recipe is straight forward and the bread pudding is absolutely delicious, with or without the sauce. I hope you'll give this recipe a try. I promise you will not regret it. Here's how the pudding is made.

Blueberry Bread Pudding with Spiced Blueberry Sauce...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Driscoll's Berries

Ingredients:
Bread Pudding
5 tablespoons butter, divided
1 loaf Italian bread (1 pound)
6 large eggs
5 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups blueberries
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
1/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
Spiced Blueberry Sauce
2 cups blueberries, divided
1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoons ground cardamom
3/4 cups water

Directions for Bread Pudding:
1)  Butter six individual 8-ounce ramekins with 1 tablespoon butter; set aside.
2)  Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice bread into 1/2-inch slides and place on a cookie sheet. Toast 10 minutes, turning bread slices over once. Cut bread into 1-inch cubes and place in a large bowl.
3)  Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter and drizzle over cubes, toss until evenly coated, set aside.
4)  Whisk eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl. Pour egg mixture over bread cubes and stir until evenly moistened. Stir in blueberries. Spoon mixture into ramekins. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
5)  Place ramekins in a large roasting pan. Add boiling water to halfway up sides of ramekins.
Bake 1 hour or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. (Cover with foil if browning too quickly during baking.) Cool slightly. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve with warm Spiced Blueberry Sauce, if desired. Yield: 6 servings.

Directions for Spiced Blueberry Sauce:
1)  Purée 1 cup blueberries in a food processor or blender until smooth.
2)  Stir sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and cardamom in a small saucepan until blended. Add blueberry puree and water.Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat stir in remaining blueberries and lemon juice. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

One Year Ago Today: Lemon-Glazed Blueberry Cake

Two Years Ago Today: Rhubarb Custard Pie

Three years Ago Today: Deviled Eggs with Curry and Cilantro

Four Years Ago Today: Buttermilk Tarts

Two Effortless Holiday Treats

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If you are celebrating today, I hope your holiday will be jam packed with family, friends, food and fireworks. I suspect that only cursory attention will be paid to posts today, so I decided to feature some simple recipes for folks who might be looking for last minute ideas for their holiday barbecues. One is a non-alcoholic drink that fizzes when sorbet is added to it.  This sipper is raspberry flavored and quite refreshing. It becomes even more enjoyable as the sorbet melts into the drink. The second  recipe is  for a quick-fix parfait whose colors are flagrantly and unashamedly patriotic.This is a really easy dessert that is assembled rather than baked, and, if you have the ingredients at hand, you can have it on the table in five minutes. Really! Have a delicious day.




Raspberry Fizz...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Real Simple

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 cups cranberry juice
3 cups seltzer
1 cup ginger ale
1 pint raspberry sorbet

Directions:
1) Combine sugar and 1/2 cup of water in a small saucepan set over high heat. Bring to a boil and cook until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add the lime juice. Let the lime syrup cool to room temperature.
2) Combine 1/2 cup of lime syrup with cranberry juice, seltzer, and ginger ale in a large pitcher. To serve, pour into glasses and top with scoops of raspberry sorbet. Yield: 6 servings.




Red White and Blue Parfaits...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) carton vanilla low-fat yogurt
1/4 teaspoon almond extract or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 (8 ounce) container frozen light whipped dessert topping, thawed
3 cups fresh raspberries and/or cut-up fresh strawberries
3 cups fresh blueberries

Directions:
1) Combine yogurt and extract of choice in a large bowl and whisk to blend well. Fold in whipped topping.
2) To serve: Alternate layers of berries with layers of yogurt mixture in six (12-ounce) glasses. Yield: 6 servings.

One Year Ago Today: White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Muffins

Two Years Ago Today: Sangria

Three Years Ago Today: Orange Yogurt Cake

Summer Pudding

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've made this dessert for years, in forms both plain and fancy. I first had the pudding as a child when it was prepared by a Swedish neighbor for a Midsummer's Eve celebration. I developed a fancy for its tart berry sweetness and it was one of the first desserts I made as a bride. Once I had my own kitchen, I turned to recipes that had been develop by British food writers. I suspect I was working on the theory that no one knows puddings better than the Brits, and if I wanted the very best recipe for summer pudding, I'd most likely find it tucked somewhere within their collective writings. So, in flights of fancy, I moved across the pond and dallied with the likes of Nigel Slater and Nigella Lawson, who curiously enough, led me back to the Hamptons and the kitchen of Ina Garten, where I finally found the pudding of my dreams. On a more practical note, as you glance  through the recipe you'll notice that no provision is made for greasing the pudding mold. That's because it is not necessary. If you have weighted the pudding and let it chill overnight, it will release once it is freed from the sides of the mold with a knife. I've also come to the conclusion that the bread you use for the pudding is not as important as many would lead you to believe. Brioche or challah are both wonderful, but a good quality sandwich bread works well too. The colors of this pudding, especially when it is served with a mound of whipped cream, make it a perfect dessert for an upscale the 4th of July celebration. I do hope you'll try this recipe. Those of you who like barely sweet and seasonal treats will be in heaven. Here's Ina's recipe.

Summer Pudding...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Ina Garten

Ingredients:

Pudding

1 pint strawberries, cored and sliced
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 cups ( 3 1/2-pint containers) fresh raspberries, plus additional for garnish
1 pint blueberries, plus additional for garnish
2 tablespoons framboise (or other raspberry liqueur)
1 to 1-1/2 pounds brioche or other egg bread
Topping
1 cup (1/2 pint) heavy cream, cold
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon dark rum

Directions:
1) Combine strawberries, sugar and 1/4 cup water in a large (6- to 8-quart) saucepan and cook uncovered over medium-low heat 5 minutes. Add 2 cups raspberries and all blueberries and cook 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture simmers. Continue cooking 1 minute. Remove from heat and add remaining raspberries and framboise.
2) Slice bread into 1/2-inch-thick slices and remove crusts. Ladle about 1/2 cup cooked berry mixture into bottom of soufflé dish (approximately 7-1/2 inches across by 3 inches high). Arrange one layer of bread slices side by side in a circular pattern (this will become the top when pudding is unmolded). Add more berry mixture to saturate. Continue adding bread, slicing to fit mold, and berry mixture. Finish with bread, and top with any remaining berry mixture.
3) Cover pudding loosely with plastic wrap and place a plate (with approximately the same diameter as inside of mold) on top. Weight with a heavy can and refrigerate. Remove weight after 6 to 8 hours. Continue to refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. Yield: 8 servings.
4) Just before serving, whip cream in a small bowl until it starts to thicken. Add sugar, vanilla and rum. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form.
5) To serve: Run a knife around outside of pudding; unmold onto a serving plate. Garnish with fresh fruit. Serve in wedges with whipped cream. yield: 8 servings.

One Year Ago Today. Martha Stewart's Spaghetti 101

Two Years Ago Today: Strawberry Souffle

Three Years Ago Today: Chicken Wellington