Tommaso’s Sinful Delights

Dough
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
14 tablespoons cold butter, diced
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons cold water

Filling
6 cups apples, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP milk
1 tsp raw sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar and salt until combined. Add the butter and pulse until it resembles a coarse meal. Add the egg and pulse 2 times. (If the dough is very dry add up to a tablespoon more of cold water.) Remove the dough and form into a disk.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour. 

Divide dough in half.  Roll out the crust.  Place bottom crust in a deep pie dish. 

Mix apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl.  Pour on top of bottom crust in the pie dish.  Dot apples with butter.  Place the top layer of the crust, letting it overhang.  Pinch the crust together and seal with a fork.  Poke holes in the top of the crust with a sharp knife to release steam.  Brush the top of the crust with milk and sprinkle raw sugar on top.  Place in oven and bake for 40 minutes.

Let pie cool completely before slicing.

I had a craving for pears and almonds, so I decided to put them together in a crostata.  The result was a delicious, flaky pastry that’s to die for. 

Pear Almond Crostata with Apricot Glaze

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 TBSP light brown sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp salt
10 TBSP cold butter
3 TBSP ice cold water
1/4 cup almond paste*
2 Bosc pears peeled, halved, cored and cut lengthwise into slices*
3 TBSP apricot preserves
1 tsp raw sugar

Combine flour, brown sugar, lemon zest and salt in the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse until combined.  Add cold butter and pulse until coarse meal is formed.  Slowly add water 1 TBSP at a time, pulsing until dough forms into a ball.  Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Roll the dough out on parchment paper (about 12″ diameter.)  Transfer dough to a baking sheet.  Spread almond paste on top of the dough leaving a 2″ space on the edge.  Fan the pear slices in a circle covering the layer of the almond paste with one slice in the center.  Gently fold the edges of the pastry crust inward so that it comes to the edge of the pears, but not covering them.    Microwave the apricot preserves for 15 seconds to soften.  Using a pastry brush, gently coat the pears and the edges of the crust with the preserves.  Sprinkle raw sugar on the edges of the crust.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown.  When finished, allow to cool on the baking sheet for 1o minutes.  Transfer crostata to a cooking rack.  Serve warm.

*Notes:

-If almond paste is too hard to spread, microwave it for 20 seconds to soften.
-Prepare pears just before adding on top of crostata so they don’t turn brown.

I can thank my Mother for my sweet tooth.  She always had a fresh baked pie or some sort of homemade confection after dinner.  I still do love a freshly baked pie, a cupcake (from Billy’s Bakery of course) or any Italian pastry, but I always keep my fridge stocked with fresh fruit.  Particularly blueberries, no matter what time of year it is (I’m convinced that they’ll prevent me from aging.) 

Here’s a delicious, healthy dessert that isn’t loaded with sugar and butter and will satisfy your sweet tooth. 

Yogurt with Blueberries, Brown Sugar and Cinnamon

1/2 cup low-fat plain or vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1TBSP brown sugar
dash cinnamon

Top yogurt with blueberries.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Ice Cream! 

Since early-April, the sounds of the Mr. Softee truck have been infultrating the house.  Nothing could annoy me more than that jingle.  Furthermore, for those who aren’t lactose intolerant, who wants to eat faux ice cream that comes from a package of dry powder mixed with water?  
 
Everyone knows by now, nothing comes from a box or can in my kitchen (except San Marzano tomatoes from Italy.)  So, I’m going to show you how easy it is to make hommade ice cream.  You’ll need an ice cream maker to start with.  A $50 investment, that will pay for itself in about 10 weeks (that is if you’re an ice cream addict like me.)  Think about it, $5 per quart of premium ice cream every week or so can add up.   
 
Before we get to the recipe, I’ve been making ice cream in my Cuisinart for 1 year now and it was never quite right.  After the mixture is frozen, it results in a hard, ice crystalized substance.  It always tastes great, but was not the creamy consistency like the store-bought product.  I went to the grocery store and read the ingridients on some ice creams and then did some research.  I discovered that guar and xanthan gums are used to prevent crystalization and create that creamy texture.  What are those you ask?  Don’t worry, it’s not a processed food.  Guar gum is a natural fine powdered emulsifier/thickener (8 times more thickening than cornstarch) made from beans. It prevents ice crystals from forming in frozen products and stabilizes oil when mixed with water.  Xanthan gum is a natural food modifier and additive.  It is also used to increase viscosity of a liquid, particularly in frozen foods to create the creamy texture. 
Source: Wikipedia

I decided I was going to play chemistry in the kitchen, so I ordered the powders on Amazon.  After testing the recipe, using the basic one provided in the Cuisinart manual, the end result was perfect!
 
Mr. Softee…do I smell some competition?
 
Basic Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

3c heavy cream
1c whole milk
1tsp vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla bean, scraped
3/4c sugar
1/4tsp guar gum (optional)
1/4tsp xanthan gum (optional)

Whisk together sugar, guar and xanthan gums.  Add heavy cream, milk and vanilla.  Whisk together to combine.  Add to ice cream maker and mix for 30 minutes, or until thickened.  Freeze for 2 hours or overnight.

Additions:

Strawberry Ice Cream - The last ten minutes, add 1 cup of fresh strawberries or your favorite fruit.

Note: Guar and Xanthan gums are optional.  You can make this recipe without them.
Recipe derived from Cuisinart