Bourbon Pumpkin Tart with Walnut Streusel

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've been known to make non-traditional meals for Thanksgiving dinner, but even when I prepare the traditional feast, chances are I'll experiment with variations on some of the classic dishes that usually accompany it. I found this unusual take on pumpkin pie in an old issue of Fine Cooking magazine and as soon as I saw it, I knew I'd have to give it a try. The tart, which has a shortbread-like crust, is filled with a bourbon laced pumpkin custard and topped with a to-die-for walnut streusel. It's easy to make, but the 3 stage preparation and length of the ingredient list can be off-putting to some. Please do not be dissuaded. This is a lovely, slightly more sophisticated version of good ol' pumpkin pie and it will make the socks of pumpkin lovers go up and down. Last year, I returned from Peru with an embarrassing quantity of jungle rum, so I decided to use it, rather than bourbon, to flavor my custard filling. It worked well, but I'm sure bourbon would also be splendid and the two can be used interchangeably. The tart needs time to ripen, so make and refrigerate it the night before you plan to serve it. It can be served warm, at room temperature or slightly chilled. It begs to be served with lightly whipped cream or a small scoop of really good vanilla ice cream. I do hope you'll try this tart. Those of you who do will not be disappointed. Here is how it is made.

Bourbon Pumpkin Tart with Walnut Streusel Topping...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Fine Cooking magazine

Ingredients:
Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup cold butter, cubed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Filling
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup bourbon
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Streusel Topping
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger

Directions:
1) To make crust: Combine flour, sugar, orange peel and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add egg. Gradually add cream, tossing with a fork until a ball forms. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until easy to handle. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry into a 13-in. circle. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 11-in. fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Set aside.
2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3) To make filling: Combine all filling ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. Pour into crust.
4) To make streusel topping: Combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in walnuts and ginger. Sprinkle over filling.
5) Bake for 50-65 minutes or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate leftovers.
Yield: 14 servings.

      

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         Three Years Ago Today:                                                           Four Years Ago Today: 

    Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy                                                  Coffee Twist - Three Ways

Chinese-Style Bourbon Chicken

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This dish is about as Chinese as I am, but, fairly or not, mall food court mavens, have been sold on the idea that Bourbon Chicken comes from the heart of China. While the technique used to prepare the dish is Chinese, bourbon is not an ingredient you'll find in Chinese homes, where two types of alcohol are used. One, used for drinking, is a white distilled liquor, called Baijiu. The other, used for mostly for cooking, is an amber fermented rice wine called, Shao Xing Hua Diao. It really is a stretch to call this Bourbon chicken, because, unlike its Cajun counterpart, it contains no bourbon. I, too, have heard the tale of its creation by a Chinese cook who worked in a restaurant on Bourbon Street, but for as much as I'd like to add credence to the tale, there is not a shred of evidence to support that claim. This is a dish that has no history prior to its mysterious appearance in the food courts of America. As it happens, the dish is a wonderful meld of sweet and spicy elements that come together quickly. It is a perfect meal to serve on a hot summer night when you want to limit the time and heat you generate in the kitchen. On the off chance that you do not already this recipe in your roster, I wanted to include it here. It's fast easy and inexpensive and PDG for something that is so simple to make. Here's how it is made.

Chinese-Style Bourbon Chicken...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Food.com

Ingredients:
1-1/2 to 2 pounds chicken breast, cut in 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoons red pepper flakes (optional)
1/4 cup apple juice (I used 1/4 cup undiluted apple juice concentrate)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup (I used kecap manis)
Optional: 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water

Directions:
1) Heat oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat.
2) Add chicken and cook till lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
3) Combine garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, apple juice, cider vinegar, water, soy sauce, brown sugar, and ketchup in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add sauce to pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce just begins to thicken, about 10 minutes. Add chicken and toss to coat with sauce. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until chicken is done. If a thicker sauce is desired, add optional cornstarch slurry and cook until thickened.Serve over rice. Yield: 4 servings.

One Year Ago Today: Banana Snack Cake

Two Years Ago Today: Quick Pickled Beets

Three Years Ago Today: Thai Lemongrass Pork

Brown Butter and Bourbon Pound Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This cake will go down in family annuls as one that nearly rent years of  marital bliss. It is a brown butter pound cake that is made with a copious amount of bourbon. It was made for a derby day party that we, in the end,  could not attend, but for which I had committed a dessert. I decided to make this cake because it was unusual, mercifully easy to make, and its use of bourbon would connect it to Derby Day and the state of Kentucky. Now, before I go any further, I must tell you that I don't know a lot about hard liqueur. Bourbon is bourbon as far as I'm concerned, so, in the course of making this cake, I grabbed the first bottle I found in the pantry and went about my work. It turns out I grabbed a bottle of special "sippin' whiskey" that the Silver Fox keeps on hand for a friend who visits us sporadically. I was glibly pouring a cup and a half of something called Jefferson's Presidential Select into the cakes, when my beloved walked into the kitchen and did the guy version of nearly fainting. Apparently, I was using the champagne  of bourbons in my pound cakes. Who knew?  Were the cakes worth it?  The brown butter gives the cake a unique richness and nutty flavor. The bourbon keeps it really moist and its flavor blends nicely with the butter.  The cake lacks eye appeal, so, for the party, I decided to use it as a base for peach shortcake. It would also make a wonderful trifle, but I don't think it works as a stand alone dessert. If you decide to try this cake, make it a full 24 hours before you plan to serve it. The recipe makes way more syrup than is needed for one cake, so you can safely cut the quantities for the syrup in half.  If you like the flavor of brown butter you will enjoy this cake. Here's the recipe.

Brown Butter and Bourbon Pound Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of  R.J. Cooper and the James Beard Foundation

Ingredients:

Cake

1-1/4 cup (2-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup bourbon
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Syrup

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 vanilla bean split
1/4 cup bourbon

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and lightly flour an 8-1/2 x 4-1/2-inch loaf pan.
2) Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat until milk solids on bottom are a dark chocolate brown and butter smells nutty. Transfer to a shallow bowl and place in freezer to cool until just congealed. (Butter should be somewhat solid for mixing stage.)
3) Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
4) Beat congealed brown butter, bourbon, and sugars with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.
5) Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan. Smooth out top and rap pan on counter to settle batter. Bake until cake is golden-brown and a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean, about an hour.
6) Meanwhile, to make syrup: Combine sugar, water, and vanilla bean in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and simmer until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Stir in bourbon.
7) When cake is done, remove from oven and let cool in pan for 30 minutes. Invert cake onto a rack and let cool completely, right side up, for an hour, brushing the pound cake with the syrup every 5 minutes.
Yield: 1 loaf.

One Year Ago Today: Kentucky Derby Mint Julep Cake

Two Years Ago Today: Finnish Strawberry Yogurt Pie

Three Years Ago Today: Kaiser Rolls

Kentucky Derby Mint Julep Cake - Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to some of the bravest women I know.



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've always viewed life as an experiment and cooking is certainly is part of it. Save for the people in my life, I am bored with theme and variation and will go out of my way to find and test something new. So, it should come as no surprise, that I decided to make a cake rather than the standard pie for Derby Day. I had a special cake in mind and decided to make it without a test run. After all, how bad can a cake made with bourbon and crème de menthe be? I'm happy to report that it wasn't half bad. The cake was delicious and the glaze was fine. I must admit to being disappointed with the frosting and next time I make the cake I'll use a mint or milk chocolate ganache to top it. This is an easy cake to make and I think those of you who try it will really like it. The recipe appears below.

I also want to wish all of you a Happy Mother's Day. I've been really blessed with the women in my life. I include all of you in that number. Those of you who are regular readers have met the wonderful women who helped raise and form me. They are especially close to me today, as is my mother who appears in the pictures below. She was an extraordinary woman who mental illness took from us long before age called her to the grave. It is wonderful to see her here when her world was still new and full of promise. One of these photos also appears in Brodie's Album, a retrospective of aviation pioneers that is kept in the Smithsonian Museum. She has a place there because she was one of the first stewardesses on a commercial airlines. The man in the second photo is my dad who was a public relations agent for the same airline.



Kentucky Derby Mint Julep Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Peggy Trowbridge Filippone
Ingredients:
Cake
3 cups cake flour
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
Bourbon Butter Sauce
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup butter
3 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons Bourbon whiskey
Mint Frosting
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) white chocolate chips
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
1 teaspoon white creme de menthe liqueur or 1/2 tsp mint extract

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan or a 9 x 13-inch baking pan..
2) To make the cake: Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. In a separate smaller bowl, combine buttermilk, butter, vanilla extract, and eggs. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture. Beat at low speed for 1 minute, then increase to medium speed for 3 more minutes. Pour into prepared pan and smooth evenly around pan. If using a bundt pan, bake for 50 minutes. If using a baking pan, bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Use a toothpick to test for doneness. Ten minutes before cake is done, prepare Bourbon Butter Sauce.
3) To make bourbon butter sauce: In a saucepan over medium heat, combine 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, 1/3 cup butter, and 3 tablespoons water. Stir until melted and combined. Do not boil. Remove from heat, continuing to stir for 2 minutes. Then stir in bourbon.
4) When cake is done and still warm from the oven, use a skewer to poke holes around the top of the cake. Pour bourbon butter sauce evenly over top of the cake. Let cake cool to room temperature in the pan before removing.
5) To make mint frosting: Melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk in heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until chips are melted. Remove from heat and stir in creme de menthe liqueur (or mint extract). Let cool for 10 minutes, then spread evenly over cooled cake. Garnish with fresh mint leaves. Chill to set chocolate ganache. Take cake out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before cutting to serve. Yield: 12 to 18 servings.







One Year Ago Today: Strawberry Yogurt Pie (Mansikkapiiris)















Two Years Ago Today: Kaiser Rolls









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