Food & Drink
Food & Drink 3/29/07

Mar 28, 2007

Just desserts: Have your cake - and cocktails, too

I have one of those wonderful, crusty, old time neighbors down the street. Marty has lived on Stagecoach Road for 50-plus years, doing whatever he feels like whenever he feels like doing it. One day he called me up. “Do you want to come over for cocktails and cake?” I think he just wanted me to stop by and tip a few with him, but figured it would nice to offer an additional enticement.

Nowadays, they’re called Drinks and Desserts Party. I can’t claim Marty invented the concept, but he would have loved the genius behind the idea. You can invite as many neighbors and/or friends as you please, since people are just going to meander about, segueing from the well-stocked bar to strategically placed appetizers and on to the dessert table. I suggest offering calorically laden hors d‘oeuvres, because inviting friends over to drink your booze and not much else makes for a laborious ride home. Except for Marty. He just wanders back down the street, the most content guest I know.
 

Sparkling White Sangria

• Champagne
• grenadine
• triple sec
• fresh-squeezed orange juice
• sliced strawberries, pineapple and blueberries

Put a splash of grenadine and triple sec in the bottom of a Champagne class. Add a few sliced strawberries, blueberries and pineapple. Add a splash of orange juice and top with champagne. Garnish with a sliced strawberry perched on the side of the glass and a stirrer so guests can combine all the delicious flavors.

Heirloom Tomato Tarts with Goat Cheese
Adapted from New York by Williams Sonoma. Makes 6 servings.

• 20 fresh basil leaves, stacked, rolled and sliced lengthwise
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 cups mixed small heirloom tomatoes, or grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 sheet puff pastry, partially thawed
• 5 oz. goat cheese
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 large red tomato (preferably heirloom)
• 1 large yellow tomato (preferably heirloom) or substitute 1 large red

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine 2/3 of the basil, garlic and the halved small tomatoes. Add the olive oil, season to taste with salt and pepper and toss.

Place puff pastry on lightly floured surface. Cut the sheet into 6 rectangles, about 4x5 inches each. Place on baking sheet and prick with fork to prevent pastry from rising when baking. Bake about 10-12 minutes, until lightly brown. Remove from oven - leave oven on.

While pastry is baking, mash goat cheese with fork. Add the milk and stir until combined and mixture has a smooth consistency (you may not need all of the milk).

Cut the large tomatoes into 1/2 thick slices and season with salt. Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of the goat cheese mixture into each pastry rectangle and spread to cover surface. Using the large, center cuts, place tomato rounds on each tart. Reserve remaining rounds for another use.

Bake for 5 minutes or until warmed through.

To serve, place tarts on platter, Spoon the tomato/basil mixture onto each tart, dividing evenly. Drizzle with olive oil. Garnish with the remaining basil leaves. Great just out of the oven or at room temperature.

Mushroom Turnovers
Makes 50.

For the turnover dough:

• 1-1/2 cups flour
• three 3-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened

For the filling:

• 1/2 lb. mushrooms, minced
• 1 large onion, minced
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. thyme
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 egg, beaten

To make the dough: Measure 1-1/2 cups flour into mixing bowl, add cream cheese and 1/2 cup butter. At medium speed, beat ingredients until well mixed, scraping downs sides of bowl as you go. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.

In medium skillet over medium heat, in 3 tablespoons butter, saute onions and mushrooms about 5 minutes, until softened. Stir in salt, thyme and flour until blended. Add sour cream and combine.

On floured surface, thinly roll out half of dough; with cookie cutter, cut out 20 circles (about 2 3/4 inches). Refrigerate remaining dough.

On one half of each circle, place a few teaspoons of mushroom/onion mixture. Brush edges with egg, fold dough over filling. With fork, press edges together and prick top 3 times to let out steam. Place turnovers on ungreased baking sheets. Repeat sequence with remaining dough. Brush with egg.

At this point, you can refrigerate the turnovers you wish to bake and freeze the ones you want to save for another time - they freeze beautifully

About 25 minutes before serving, heat oven to 450 degrees. Bake 12 minutes or until golden.

Blueberry Sour Cream Pie

Crust:

• 1 cup flour
• 2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 12 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Filling:

• 2-3/4 cups fresh blueberries (or frozen, thawed and drained)
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar

Topping:

• 1 cup sour cream (or substitute with Greek-style yogurt if calories count)
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 to 1-1/2 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine crust ingredients in bowl; press into bottom and sides of a buttered 9-inch pie plate. In another bowl, combine filling ingredients and place in crust. Bake for 35 minutes and then cool completely. To serve, combine sour cream and sugar and spoon mixture over pie and pile remaining blueberries over top. This pie can be filled, baked and frozen; then thawed and topped with the sour cream/blueberries right before serving.

Devil’s Food Cupcakes with Sweet Buttercream
Adapted from New York by Williams Sonoma. Makes one dozen delicious cupcakes.

• 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa
• 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 tsp. instant espresso
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1-1/4 cups flour
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt

For the butter cream:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 cups confectioner’s sugar

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a bowl, combine the cocoa powder, brown sugar and espresso powder. Add the boiling water, stir until smooth, and let cool to room temperature. Stir in the buttermilk and vanilla, Set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat together the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy and almost white, about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt. Fold one third of the chocolate mixture into the beaten butter. Add one-third of the flour mixture, stirring gently to combine. Continue folding in the chocolate mixture and adding the flour until all the mixtures are combined into a smooth batter.

Divide the batter into the muffin cups and bake 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

To make the buttercream, beat the butter with an electric mixture on high speed until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the egg yolks and beat until fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, salt and confectioner’s sugar. (Note that for people with compromised immune systems, raw egg is not recommended.)

Remove cupcakes from the pan. Gently spread icing over each cupcake. Swoon.