September 2010 - LunaCafe

Spiced Green Apple Lemon Clafouti

September 25, 2010 by Susan S. Bradley 6 Comments

I ran into an interesting clafouti (pronounced klah-foo-tee) formula in an old magazine in a box in the garage recently and almost dismissed it because there can be no better clafouti than Fresh Apricot Ginger Peasant Cake.

As you may recall from that post, clafouti, an earthy cake from the region of Limousin in France, is comprised of a layer of cake-custard, topped with a layer of juicy fruit. The result can be rather more like cake or rather more like custard, depending on the proportions in the batter.

Filed Under: Autumn Leaves, Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Recipes Tagged With: apples, cake, clafouti, custard, dessert, Dutch Baby, pancake, recipe

Quick & Easy, Flaky, All Butter, Short-Crust Pastry

September 23, 2010 by Susan S. Bradley 16 Comments

Partially Baked Flaky Short-Crust Pastry

There is really nothing easier than making a tender, flakey pastry crust. For some reason though, the very word “pastry” evokes shudders from otherwise competent cooks. It seems that everyone has, at one time or another, had difficulty with this basic dough. To take some of the mystery out of it, and hopefully some of the fear as well, here is a run-down on what actually happens in the pastry making process.

Filed Under: All Season, Basics, Desserts, Holiday, Thanksgiving Tagged With: pastry, pie dough, short-crust pastry

Chipotle Cheddar Corn Bread

September 20, 2010 by Susan S. Bradley 15 Comments

I’m always on the lookout for interesting variations on the corn bread theme, especially when leaves turn glorious shades of russet and crimson and nights turn cool. I LOVE corn bread–especially Aunt Elfred’s Corn Bread, which is high, light, and tender, with the requisite depth of cornmeal flavor and aroma.

Whenever I see an interesting corn bread recipe, I don’t bother with the basic formula, as I’m confident that no corn bread formula (and I’ve tested a gazillion) is better than Aunt Elfred’s.

Filed Under: Autumn Leaves, Breads, Quick Breads Tagged With: Autumn Leaves, bread, chipotle, corn bread, quick bread

Caramelized Apple Cider Tart

September 19, 2010 by Susan S. Bradley 6 Comments

Last week, I received a copy of Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz. I began immediately to flag the pages (a sure sign that I may actually cook from a book) but then paused on page 90, at a recipe titled, Apple-Red Wine Tart. David, what a great idea!

I poach pears and apples in red wine and a variety of spices nearly every fall, but it never occurred to me to expand the concept into a tart. How lovely that would that be. I actually went as far as buying a bottle of inexpensive, but hopefully decent, merlot to try the recipe when another mental pause occurred.

What if I macerated the apples in reduced apple cider, instead of wine? I knew from past cooking adventures, such as Spiced Apple Cider Caramel Sauce, that reducing and then caramelizing apple cider produces the most sublime nectar imaginable. I wondered if I could combine this idea with my Caramelized Pear & Anise Tart (not yet posted). And this superb tart is the result of all that wondering and David’s inspiring new cookbook.

Filed Under: Autumn Leaves, Desserts, Thanksgiving Tagged With: Apple Cider, apples, Autumn Leaves, Desserts, recipe, tart, Tarte Tatin

Sweet Corn & Poblano Chile Chowder

September 12, 2010 by Susan S. Bradley 22 Comments

What I love most about this chowder is its golden yellow hue and full sweet taste of fresh corn just of the cob. Over many summers of fresh corn bounty, I have explored every way imaginable to obtain a more pronounced corn taste in my corn soups, and the method presented here is “numero uno” thus far.

It is also perhaps the easiest method, as it involves pureeing the corn kernels with stock before the cooking begins. Thus, there is no scalding, dripping soup to ladle into a processor. In addition, this method allows for both a puree of corn, corn kernels, and a variety of colorful, perfectly cooked diced vegetables, which really enliven the whole effect.

Filed Under: Autumn Leaves, Soups | Bisques | Chilis Tagged With: Autumn Leaves, chiles, chowder, corn, corn chowder, poblano chile, Soup, vegetarian

Ultimate Vanilla Pudding (Perfect Stove-Top Custard)

September 7, 2010 by Susan S. Bradley 29 Comments

Ultimate Vanilla Pudding with Coconut Crumble & Whipped Cream

I intended to do a quick pudding post but, well, one thing led to another, and now I’ve done a mountain of research instead. The exploration began with a simple hankering for Caramel Pudding. I grabbed a standard formula from somewhere, went straight to the kitchen, and whipped it up in less than 10 minutes.

The only problem was that the end result had hardly any caramel flavor, even though I started with burnt sugar, and the texture was a little lumpy after chilling. In other words, not the perfect pudding I’m going to pass on to YOU.

Filed Under: Autumn Leaves, Desserts, Recipes Tagged With: custard, dessert, pudding, recipe, stove-top custard