Eat Together, Make Life Delicious...

Dessert is a great time to have everyone sit around the table and talk. In our house, if the kids eat before "dad" comes home, they always come back to the table for this ritual without much fuss but only when the dessert really rocks. So in my house, dessert has to be great and one of my favorites is bake appleberry pies. I prefer to use a whole grain pastry flour and almond flour instead of white flour. Why? It's healthier. Most Whole Foods will have this available in their bakery section. Almond Flour can be expensive and can be substituted with more whole grain pastry flour, or you could mill your own! It's actually not that hard, but does take time (stay tuned for a post about that soon). I also like to prepare individual pies versus one large pie. I find the presentation is a lot nicer and there is something very personal about it.

Baked Appleberry Pie with Crumb Topping
Makes 4 individual mini pies (about 4 ounce per serving)

For the pie shell:
1 cup whole grain pastry flour
½ cup almond flour or whole wheat pastry flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar in the raw
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoon milk or vegan butter

For the filing:
3 apples, peeled, cored and cut into bite size pieces
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon raw agave nectar
10 strawberries, hulled and diced

For the topping:
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons milk or vegan butter
1 tablespoon raw agave nectar
1 teaspoon sugar in the raw

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor, combine the pastry flour, almond flour, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and butter and pulse until everything is thoroughly blended.

Pour in ¼ cup ice-cold water and pulse again until the dough comes together. Not all the water may need to be used. When the dough is formed, remove it from the processor and form it into four equal balls. Place them on a well floured piece of wax paper and carefully roll out (with a well floured rolling pin) to form a 5-inch circles and no thicker than ½-inch thick. Transfer the pie crust into the individual pie shells and tuck in the extra dough to reinforce the edge. Decoratively pinch the crust between your fingers and one knuckle, going all around the crust to make a fancy pattern. Dock the bottom of the crust with a fork.

Line the pie with aluminum foil and fill the foil with dried beans. Place the pie into the oven to blind bake for 10 minutes and then remove the foil and let the pie shell continue to bake for another 5 minutes or until it starts to turn golden. Remove it form the oven.

While the pie is baking, prepare the filing. Over medium-low heat, cook the chopped apples with and one tablespoon of water in a medium saucepan for 10 minutes, or until the apples have released some of their juices. Reduce the heat to low and add in the cinnamon, agave, and strawberries. Stir the fruit for 2 minutes then remove from the heat and pour it into the pie shell.

Now prepare the topping. In a small bowl combine the oats, zest, cinnamon, butter, agave, and sugar and toss. Mash the butter into the oat mixture with a fork until it is well blended and the oats are moist. Spoon topping over the pie and then place the pie back into the oven to bake for 20 minutes. If the pie crust starts to darken, to avoid burning cover the pie loosely with foil. Remove the pie from the oven and set aside to cool. Serve immediately.

Labels: appleberry pie, Comfort Food, Easy Desserts

Last year we traveled to Sicily to visit my grandmother's home town of Militello va di Cantania. While we were in Sicily, we had some of the best pizza in a small pizzeria off the main drag in a town called Sciacca. You might have heard of this coastal town for its proximity to the temples and sulfur baths.

After dining with locals, drinking a little wine, and chatting with the owners, the kids were surprised with a nutella pizza for dessert. I had only heard about nutella pizza before and was more than happy to give it a try. As a kid I loved nutella but it had been years and as a grown up I was limiting my sweet intake but I have to admit, after one bite I was a fan again. Nutella pizza is out of this world. I especially like the two tone flavored nutella, it's a dessert that cannot be beat regardless of your age.

If you want to prepare some of your own nutella pizza, follow the recipe below or use frozen pizza dough instead. I don't bother letting my pizza dough rise, but if you have the time, let the dough rise for one hour before preparing the pizza. It does make it more fluffy and light.

Nutella Pizza
makes 2 large nutella pizzas

1 cup warm water (110° F)
1 teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
olive oil spray
Nutella

Preheat the oven to 400F with the oven rack set in the middle of the oven.

In a mixture fitted with a dough hook, combine the warm water and the yeast. Whisk it with a fork and let is sit for a minute to bubble. Add in the olive oil, salt, sugar, and flour and mix at medium low speed until the dough starts to form. Once it forms, turn the dough out on to a floured surface (About 1 tablespoon) and knead it for 5 minutes. If the dough is too wet and sticky add a little bit more flour, but don't over do it. When the dough is soft and supple, cut it in half. If you don't plan to prepare two pizzas, just one, wrap one of the dough balls in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for another time.

On a well-floured surface roll out the dough until it is anywhere between ¼-inch thick to ½-thick and resembles a very flat pancake or pizza crust!

Spray a large sheet pan with olive oil spray and transfer the dough onto a sheet pan and place it in the oven to bake for 10 minutes.

The pizza dough will start to cook and turn golden. After 10 minutes remove it from the oven and generously and carefully spread nutella all over the pizza leaving a ½-wide ring. Place the pizza back into the oven and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is golden and done to your liking. Slice up the nutella pizza and serve immediately with plenty of napkins!

Labels: Easy Desserts, Nutella, pizza, Sicilian family recipes

For the last 70'some years my grandmother Monga has been making rich buttery pound cake. Monga's original recipe was loaded with butter, sugar, cream, and eggs. It's an over the top indulgence that you could only reasonably eat once a month (unless of course you don't mind packing on the pounds!)

When it comes to sweets, I am a big believer that they are best enjoyed every day and that "speciality sweet treats" that would normally be reserved for a once-a-month-celebration because of their richness can be and even should be reinvented for the every day healthy consumption. And so I adjusted her originally recipe and created the Skinny Pound Cake. But don't worry, I did keep some of the butter-because after all I don't think it would be pound cake without it.

This recipe can also incorporate fresh fruit or little bits of shelled nuts such as pistachio before baking for more flavor. For kids, chocolate chips work nicely to coax them to try a bite. Skinny Pound Cake is a basic recipe -made for the every day- with lots of possibilities.

Skinny Pound Cake
Makes 8 to 10 servings

For the Cake:
4 ounces unsalted butter (could use yogurt butter for less fat)
4 ounces cream cheese (can be low fat)
3 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 cup whole or skim milk
½ teaspoon salt
olive oil cooking spray

For the Orange Icing:
½ cup confectionery sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 tablespoon orange juice

Set an oven rack placed in the center. Do not turn on the oven yet.

In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter, cream cheese, and sugar on high speed until it turns a pale yellow. Reduce the speed to medium and carefully add in the eggs one at a time. Beat until the mixture is well combined. Reduce the speed to low and add in the oil and vanilla. Add ½ cup of the flour into the butter mixture. Interspersing it with ¼ cup of the milk. When all the flour and milk has been added, increase the speed to medium and beat until everything is well combined. Reduce the speed and beat until the batter is smooth. Lastly sprinkle in the salt.

With the olive oil spray, lightly coat the inside walls of a bunt pan. Carefully pour in the cake batter and gently tap it on the counter so the batter settles.

Place the bunt pan in the oven and turn on the heat to 300 F. Bake the pound cake for approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes, rotating half way. The cake is done when a toothpick or cake tester is placed in the center and comes out clean.

While the cake is cooking, prepare the icing. Combine the sugar, orange zest, and juice in a small bowl and mix until well combined and smooth. Drizzle the icing over a cooled cake and serve.

Labels: Comfort Food, Easy Desserts, pound cake

Warmed peach biscuits are sublime and this recipe is perfect because it is also easy to prepare—you basically toss everything together and bake. To add a bit more variety to this dish, you could add other fruits, such as chopped strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mango...I like to serve this with maple syrup instead of butter, because really, the biscuits already have enough. Next time you need to prepare a dessert, consider this recipe with homemade whipped cream, see below. The biscuits and whipped cream can be prepared in advance and the biscuits baked moments before serving so they're fresh. This is a favorite with my kids; perfect for stuffing in lunches or a quick snack.

Peach Biscuits
Makes 8 servings

1¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, such as Crisco
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, roughly chopped in ¼-inch pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1 heaping cup finely chopped canned peaches, drained of liquid
¼ cup warmed maple syrup, or as needed

Heat the oven to 375 degrees with the rack placed in the center.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar until it is well combined. Add the Crisco and butter and lightly toss without overworking the flour. Add in the cream and peaches and mix until the batter comes together. Do not overwork the batter or the biscuits will become tough.

With a round 3-inch cookie cutter, or a cup, cut out approximately 8 cakes and place them on a silpat-lined sheet pan. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden. Serve immediately with warmed maple syrup for dipping.

Homemade whipped cream
8 ounces heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar

Pour the heavy whipping cream in a kitchen mixer fitted with the whip. Slowly turn on the mixer up to medium high speed and whip the cream until it resembles whipped cream. This will take a few minutes. I suggest using a splatter guard if you have one. Turn off the mixer and fold in the sugar with a spatula. It's ready to serve.

Labels: Easy Desserts, peach biscuits, Whipped Cream

When it comes to Ice Box Cake-homemade whipped cream and cookies assembled to resemble a cake-quantities are whatever you want them to be. The rule of thumb is, the thinner the cookies, the less whipped cream you'll need. But, with all rules in the kitchen, they are there to be broken, so feel free to do whatever you like. I like to prepare my ice box cake in a spring cake pan so I can remove the ring and serve it on the base otherwise just build the cake on a regular plate. Make sure whatever you place the cake on/in fits in the freezer before getting started. It's quite difficult to undo after the fact...

And when I write build, yes, I really do mean that one cookie at a time.

Ice Box Cake

8 ounces heavy whipping cream
20 of your favorite thin cookies
handful of fresh strawberries

Pour the heavy whipping cream in a kitchen mixer fitted with the whip. Slowly turn on the mixer up to medium high speed and whip the cream until it resembles whipped cream. This will take a few minutes. I suggest using a splatter guard if you have one.

Now it's time to assemble the cake.

Hold one cookie in your hand and icing the face of it with the whipped cream. Place another cookie on top of it so the whipped cream is sandwich between the two. Continue icing all the cookies until they are creamed together. As the cake grows you will have to lay it in the spring cake pan.

Once all the cookies are creamed together begin icing the outter layer until it is completely covered. There will most likely be whipped cream left over, which should be placed in the refrigerator for another time.

Place the spring pan into the freezer and let it set for 20 to 30 minutes. It doesn't take long.

Meanwhile rinse and hull the strawberries. Cut them into thin slices and set them aside.

The the ice box cake has set, cut thin slices and serve with strawberries on top. I suggest cutting against the cookies so you get a nice presentation.



Rebecca makes Ice Box Cake with her kids and nieces that live in New England. Ice Box Cake is an easy dessert that takes no time at all to prepare. And that's good because with all those kids...the faster, the better!

Labels: Cookies, Easy Desserts, Ice Box Cake, Whipped Cream