Sunday, June 20, 2010
sweet potato pancakes
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Birthday pie
for crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Blend graham crackers and sugar in processor until finely ground. Add butter and blend until moist clumps form. Add coconut. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.
for filling:
Spread coconut on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Place 1/4 cup milk in small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over and let stand 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk sugar and cornstarch in medium saucepan to blend. Gradually add 1/4 cup milk (not the 1/4 cup of milk with the gelatin), whisking until smooth. Add remaining 3/4 cup milk, coconut milk, egg and egg yolks, whisking to blend. Reserve 3 tablespoons toasted coconut for topping; add remaining toasted coconut, butter, vanilla, coconut extract, and salt to egg mixture. Cook over medium heat until filling thickens and boils, stirring constantly, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Immediately add gelatin mixture and stir until gelatin dissolves. Transfer to large bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of filling and refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes.
Beat 1/2 cup cream in medium bowl to soft peaks; fold into cooled filling. Refrigerate until filling is cold and begins to set, about 30 minutes. Transfer filling to prepared crust. Refrigerate while preparing topping.
for topping:
Beat cream, sugar, and coconut extract in medium bowl to firm peaks. Pipe or spoon evenly over top of filling. Sprinkle with reserved 3 tablespoons toasted coconut. Refrigerate pie at least 3 hours and up to 1 day (I had some 3 days later and it was still great).
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
pasta, pasta!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Would you like granola with that?
Granola as one of those things I didn't really give much thought to for many years. It looked kind of gross at a glance, was never kept in the house growing up, and I always made the assumption that you had to be somewhat of a dirty hippie to enjoy it. The fact that we referred to said dirty hippies as 'granolas' probably didn't help it's cause. Oh to be young and uninformed...
Monday, March 22, 2010
In the wee small hours of the morning
I love mornings. Well, I love mornings that don't involve me having to put forward a half-hearted attempt to get to work on time. Mornings that involve me waking up when it is actually light outside are a sure sign that the day has endless potential. Unless I've overslept. Then that's no fun at all.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Dinner = FAIL
Sunday, March 7, 2010
avoidance by baking
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1 stick unsalted butter softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp distilled white vinegar
1 ½ Tbsp. dark rum
½ cup shredded coconut
2 1/2 Tbsp. demerara or dark brown sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a standard-size loaf pan.
In a blender or food processor, purée the bananas. Measure out 1 ½ cups of purée & set aside.
In a large bowl (I use a stand mixer), beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vinegar and rum, and beat to mix well. Add the banana purée and the flour mixture alternately, about 1 cup at a time, beginning with the banana and beating to just incorporate. Add in the coconut with a spatula.
Scrape the batter – it will be thick – into the prepared pan. Smooth the top, and sprinkle evenly with the demerara sugar. Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes; then turn the loaf out of the pan and allow it to cool completely.