I saw this recipe months ago and keep thinking about it. It’s credited to Julia Child and the pictures look great.

Having an extra bag of fresh cherries, I decided today is the day.

I’m posting this early, as I haven’t tasted it yet. I think I put in too much cherries, so it’s not setting the way it should. Since I have another bag of cherries, I’ll just have to try again in a few days …

Cherry Clafoutis

• 1-1/4 cups milk
• 2/3 cup sugar, divided
• 3 eggs
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 cups cherries, pitted
• powdered sugar, for garnish4 to 8 Tbsp unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Using a blender, combine the milk, 1/3 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour, and blend.

Lightly butter an 8-cup baking dish, and pour a 1/4″ layer of the blended mixture over the bottom. Set remaining batter aside.

Place dish into the oven for about 7 to 10 minutes, until a film of batter sets in the pan but the mixture is not baked through. Remove from oven (but don’t turn the oven off, yet).

Distribute the pitted cherries over the set batter in the pan, then sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Pour the remaining batter over the cherries and sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until the clafouti is puffed and brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm.

Servings: 6-8 for dessert, 4 for breakfast.

Notes:

Way too late I discovered we only had 1 egg left, so I substituted buttermilk for the last 2 eggs. This will make it tangier, but I don’t know for sure what it will do to the structure.

I think I added too many cherries. My result shows a LOT more cherries than the pictures I’ve seen … NOT that pictures of food are anything remotely authentic.

It baked for 72 minutes and still wasn’t fully set in the center. I’m letting it cool, and if it’s not quite right? Well, I’ll eat it anyway.

I have plenty of cherries to try again in a couple of days, and intend to do so.

I was browsing copykat.com and spotted a reproduction of Applebee’s Pico de Gallo recipe. It’s very simple and sounded good, so I tried it. I don’t frequent Applebees enough to know how accurate this recipe is, but it tastes great!

Per usual, I made a few changes, so while this recipe strongly resembles the original, there are some distinct differences.

Applebee’s Pico de Gallo

• 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 lbs tomatoes
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 to 2 Tbsp jalapeno pepper, seeded & minced
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tsp seasoned salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 to 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 to 2 Tbsp Balsamic or white vinegar

Cut the tomatoes in half, cross-wise, remove the seeds, dice, and drain in a strainer for 10 minutes to remove excess liquid. Place in a large bowl. Add all other ingredients and mix until well blended. Allow to rest for at least 6 hours, it is better if allowed to sit overnight.

Changes:

• original recipe called for 3 large tomatoes, I upped that to make a larger batch; also I seed and briefly drain the tomatoes — it still produces a fair amount of liquid after several hours
• original recipe called for 1 cup chopped onion, the onion I used was probably 1-1/4 cup
• original recipe called for 2 tsp salt — I cut that in half and used seasoned salt
• original recipe called for white vinegar — Balsamic provides more flavor
• my version may have a bit more jalapeno, but I remove the membranes so it’s not hot
• cilantro in the store didn’t look fresh, so I used the semi-dried that comes in a small container — it worked very well

Note on Jalapenos — 1 large jalapenos makes about 4 Tbsp minced pepper. Go light on this as it’s easier to add more than take some out.

This recipe came off the AllRecipes site. Unlike most recipes I get from other sources, the ingredient list didn’t change much (although I reorganized it), but I completely rewrote the directions.

Yakitori Don

MARINADE:

• 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger root
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp white sugar
• 2/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp sake
• 1/4 cup mirin (Japanese sweet wine)
• 2 Tbsp cooking oil

CHICKEN:

• 2 Tbsp cooking oil
• 3 lbs chicken pieces, rinsed, patted dry
• 1/4 cup red wine

Note: The original recipe called for a whole chicken, disjointed. I used boneless thighs and would generally use legs or thighs for this recipe, although boneless breast should work.

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a gallon ziplock bag. Add the chicken and mix to ensure the marinade is all over the chicken. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours. Longer is better, especially if grilling.

I used 2-1/2 lbs of boneless thighs, but any chicken will work. I use a ziplock bag as I can press the air out and ensure all of the chicken is touching the marinade. I try to manipulate the bag every few hours to ensure distribution of the marinade.

Drain the chicken, reserving the marinade.

Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken in the pan, skin side down (if there is skin). Cook until browned, then flip and brown the other side. Drain any excess grease and deglaze the pan with wine. Let the wine cook down and then add the reserved marinade.

Cover and reduce heat to low; simmer for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the lid and continue cooking, shaking the skillet occasionally, until the marinade is reduced to a thick sauce and the chicken is fully cooked, and additional 10 to 20 minutes.

To bake: Use an oven-safe skillet and after the pan is deglazed, bake at 350 F, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes, turning the chicken once. If the sauce is not thickened, cook a bit longer. Check the thickest piece for doneness. [I used boneless thighs so there was no question the chicken was cooked. Bone-in chick breast and thighs will need checking.]

To grill: The original recipe said to grill the chicken, turning once and basting at that time.

That is not going to have the same flavor. I’m going to try this, but will grill the chicken instead of browning. While the chicken is grilling, put the marinade in a saucepan and cook over medium heat to reduce it. Serve the sauce over the chicken.

Changes:

• reduced the sugar to 1 Tbsp
• doubled the sake
• added the red wine, as the pan needed deglazing; white wine or sake would work as well

This was our second side dish for New Year’s Eve dinner, along side the lobster ravioli. Boiling ravioli made from wonton skins can make a mess if any of the ravioli didn’t seal well, so I usually steam them. The lobster ravioli called for baking them, which we tried. It worked well enough.

Quick Pumpkin Ravioli

• 1 cup butternut pumpkin, cooked then mashed OR 15 oz can pumpkin puree
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 lb pkg round wonton wrappers
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 clove garlic, unpeeled
• 1/4 tsp fresh sage, chopped
• 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Place cooked pumpkin into a mixing bowl. Add salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir in mascarpone cheese, egg yolk and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, mixing until the filling is smoothly combined.

Place a wonton wrapper onto a working surface. Wet the tip of a finger in water then run it all along the outer edge of the wonton pastry to moisten. Place about 1 tsp of filling in the center of the wonton. Fold the wonton in half to make a half-moon shape then press the edges to seal. Repeat with the remaining wonton wrappers.

Place a deep frying pan over medium-low heat. Stir in butter and unpeeled clove of garlic.

Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Drop the filled ravioli into the boiling water a few at a time then cook until they float to the top, about 2 minutes. Drain the ravioli then transfer them to the frying pan.

[We sprayed the ravioli lightly with oil and baked them at 400 F for 10 minutes.]

Turn the heat up to medium-high then cook just until the ravioli are infused with garlic flavor, about 2 or 3 more minutes. Sprinkle with chopped sage, more black pepper and extra Parmesan cheese to taste.

Canelés are a French dessert, essentially a cross between baked custard and a cake. It’s a light dessert and is not overly sweet — a nice end to a hearty meal.

This recipe requires special molds that are hideously expensive. The real molds are made of copper, which produces a crisp exterior and soft, spongy interior. From what I’ve read, molds made of other materials work, but the best result comes from copper molds.

I was given a set of 4 copper molds for Christmas, which sat for a few months until I got the gumption to make the recipe. The batter was far more than necessary to fill the molds, so I used the tip of putting the remainder in a small-sized muffin tin. This worked but the ones made in the mold tasted a lot better — the texture affects the taste perception, and the round mini-muffin sized canelés could not compete.

Recently I was going to purchase more copper molds, but the special price available at Christmas is no longer available. The current price is WAY too rich for my blood! Instead I purchased a much cheaper silicon mold that makes 6 canelés. This is far more wallet-friendly … we’ll see what the results are.

Canelés de Bordeaux

FILLING:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup rum (or cognac)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter

GREASING PAN:

• 2 Tbsp + 1 tsp butter
• 2 Tbsp beeswax

Place flour, sugar, egg yolks, rum, vanilla extract, and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix and smear into a smooth paste using a spatula. Continue mixing until flour is fully incorporated.

The second time I made this I used cognac instead of rum.

Place butter and pour milk into a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. As soon as milk mixture comes to a simmer, remove from heat. Slowly add half the milk to the flour mixture to prevent the egg yolks from cooking. Whisk until well blended and smooth. Slowly pour in the rest of the milk mixture; whisk until batter is smooth. Batter will be thin.

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Greasing Pan: Melt butter and beeswax in a skillet over medium heat. Stir with a pastry brush. Remove from heat. Brush the bottom and the sides of each muffin cup generously with the butter/beeswax mixture.

Ladle batter into muffin cups until mixture is almost to the top. Place pan in preheated oven. Bake 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to 375 F. Bake until canelés are very well browned, about 50 minutes.

Allow to cool just 5 minutes. Run a thin blade around the sides and carefully remove canelés from cups. Invert onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely to room temperature to create the crispy surface.

Note: I put the molds on a baking sheet. The butter/beeswax melts and overflows a bit, so ALWAYS put a pan underneath! The first batch, I had to scrape the pan. The second batch I lined the sheet with parchment paper — it absorbed the excess wax and cleanup of the baking sheet was a breeze!

My Results

I’ve made canelés twice — Batch #1 used copper canelés molds and a mini-muff pan. Batch #2 used copper canelés molds and a silicone canelés mold.

Batch #1

I made this batch with rum, which was recommended.

Batch #1 produced good results in the canelés mold, and misshapen results in the mini-muffin pan. The mini-muffin ones tasted ok, but did not wow. The desserts came out too dense and were not really crunchy on the outside.

When cut open, the mini-muffins were solid.

While the copper molds were partially hollow. I know the mini-muffins were not right, but wasn’t sure about the ones from the molds. They didn’t seem quite as custardy as had been described. Overall, I was a bit disappointed, but it was the first batch, so I wasn’t giving up.

Batch #2

I made this batch with cognac, just to see the difference. There is a slight taste difference, but the better results of this batch make judging difficult.

Batch #2 appeared to come out a lot better. The one on the left in the following picture is from the silicone mold. It’s a big shorter and wasn’t as stiff on the outside. The ones from copper stood tall, while the silicon wobbled a bit.

The top view shows other differences, although at this point I have no idea if the differences are significant. In any case, after cooling for an hour, all were crunchy on the outside.

We tasted the silicon ones — WOW! Crunchy on the outside, creamy inside. These are seriously delicious. And as already noted, are light, small (some folks will want to eat the entire batch), and not overly sweet.

Following are 3 views of the one I tested. The second photo shows the “top”,  which is the top during baking and bottom when served. Tomorrow we’ll try the ones from the copper molds.

[I like the term “tested”. It sounds better than “pigged out on a really good dessert”.]

Note on the silicon mold: The box said to put the mold directly on the grate, not on a baking sheet. This is supposed to improve heat conduction.

However … it’s really soft and I could not figure out how to get it into the oven without spilling batter all over the oven. So I put it on a baking sheet. If I can figure out how to get it into the oven without, I’ll try that.

I got this recipe from the King Arthur Flour site. We had one overripe banana on the counter and several others that were very ripe. I decided to make banana bread. Patrick has been finding recipes on the King Arthur site, so I searched it and found this.

Funny, I don’t bake desserts much. Not because I can’t — I just don’t. But once in a while I get the urge.

The recipe below is slightly modified from the original.

• We were out of brown sugar, and with the current craziness, so was the store. I substituted white sugar.
• The recipe called for 2/3 cup sugar; I reduced it. The result tastes great and is not overly sweet.
• Added the 2 Tbsp baking cocoa on a whim. I’m keeping this!
• Left out the walnuts ‘cuz we didn’t have any on hand.

Lorraine really likes this one and asked me to add it to our book.

Banana Bread

• 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (from about 1-1/2 pounds unpeeled bananas)
• 3 Tbsp apricot jam or orange marmalade, optional but tasty
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 large eggs
• 2-1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Lightly grease a 9×5″ loaf pan; or a 12×4″ tea loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, beating until smooth. Add the mashed bananas, jam, honey, and eggs, again beating until smooth. Add the flour, then the walnuts, stirring just until smooth.

Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top. Let it rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Bake the bread for 45 minutes, then gently lay a piece of aluminum foil across the top, to prevent over-browning.

Bake for an additional 25 minutes (20 minutes if you’re baking in a tea loaf pan). Remove the bread from the oven; a long toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center should come out clean, with a few wet crumbs clinging to it. The tester shouldn’t show any sign of uncooked batter. If it does, bake the bread an additional 5 minutes, or until it tests done.

Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Remove it from the pan, and cool it completely on a rack.

Notes:

This is a dense bread, but moist & tasty.

Let the unbaked bread rest for at least 10 minutes. My guess is the baking soda/powder are working to make the bread lighter.

This needs the full time to bake. I pulled it 5 minutes early as it looked done, and the toothpick test passed. However, there was a marble sized area in the middle of the bread (width- & length-wise) at the top that was underdone. When doing the toothpick test, do it in the exact middle of the bread.

This batch used 3 bananas, although most recipes call for 2. Don’t stint on the bananas!

I used apricot jam for this batch. I’m going to try fig jam next.

I have never cooked a brisket before now. Nope, I have no idea why. It just was not on the agenda.

That deficiency has been fixed. I purchased a brisket and searched for a crockpot recipe, as I’m working from home this week and needed a recipe that required no attention.

This one caught my attention!

Crockpot Brisket in BBQ Sauce

BRISKET:

• 4 lb brisket

RUB:

• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp paprika powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

BBQ SAUCE:

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1-1/2 cups ketchup
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp mustard powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Mix Rub ingredients. Rub all over brisket. At this point the brisket can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.

Combine BBQ Sauce ingredients in a slow cooker, stirring to mix well. Add the brisket — if it’s tight squish it down.

I put the cooker on High for 4 hours and then Low for 3 hours. An hour before we ate I turned it off and left it covered. [The original recipe said to put the cooker on Low, and a 3 lb brisket takes 8 hours, a 4 lb brisket takes 10 hours.]

Pour the sauce into a saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium high heat and reduce until it thickens to a syrup consistency (it thickens more as it cools). This takes about 15 minutes.

Remove brisket to a cutting board and slice thinly across the grain. [I let it rest 10 minutes, then sliced it and covered until the sauce was ready.]

Notes:

Brisket: I goofed and purchased a cured brisket for corned beef. This came out fine anyway, although next time I’m buying uncured.

Vinegar: I only had 1/3 cup cider vinegar, so I added enough rice wine vinegar to make the 1/2 cup, and it came out just right. Eric & I like vinegar and it could have used a touch more, while Lorraine doesn’t care for vinegar but loved the dish. Using 1/4 cup cider vinegar and 1/4 cup rice wine or white vinegar might be a happy medium.

Cayenne: The recipe called for 1 tsp cayenne, but I toned it down as too spicy bother’s Lorraine’s stomach. I added 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, and may increase that to 1/2 tsp next time.

Onion Powder: I didn’t have onion powder, but had dehydrated onion flakes. I put the rub in a rotary coffee grinder and it mixed well.

The original recipe said:

Meanwhile, drizzle brisket with oil then roast in a 400 F oven for 15 minutes until brown spots appear. Remove then baste generously with Sauce, then return to oven for 5 minutes. Remove and baste again, then return to oven for 5 – 10 minutes until it caramelizes.

I didn’t bother, it was delicious as-is.

I like doing surf-n-turf on Christmas Eve. Lobster seemed like the thing to do … but since we were making Beef Wellington (heavy portion), lobster tail seemed like it would be too much. Eric suggested lobster ravioli — this provides both seafood and a side dish, so it filled the bill!

Baked Lobster Ravioli in Lemon Butter Limoncello Cream Sauce

RAVIOLI:

• 1 pkg won ton wrappers
• 1 lb lobster tail meat 2 cups cooked/diced or 4 small tails
• 1 large shallot, finely diced
• 1 tsp lemon juice or limoncello
• 1/4 cup ricotta
• 2 Tbsp Asiago cheese
• 1 Tbsp mascarpone cheese
• 2 tsp chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup melted butter

LEMON BUTTER LIMONCELLO CREAM SAUCE:

• 4 Tbsp limoncello (can substitute lemon juice)
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 stick of salted butter (1/2 cup) cut into 1/2″ cubes
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• garnish: finely chopped parsley

FILLING:

Boil the lobster: If the lobster tails are frozen, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator. To cook small 8 oz tails, bring 6 cups salted water to boiling in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the lobster tails. Simmer, uncovered, for 8 to 10 minutes or until shells turn bright red, the meat is not translucent, and the tails will curve. For larger or smaller tails, adjust the cooking time as needed. Drain in a colander, cool, remove the meat from the shells (discard), and dice into 1/2″ pieces.

Instead of dicing the lobster, I used a food processor to shred it. This only took a few pulses — be careful, it’s easy to make paste.

In a medium saute pan, heat olive oil and saute the diced shallot for two minutes. Add the lobster and parsley, and stir until mixed for 2 more minutes, let cool down.

Add the lobster meat mixture into a bowl, add lemon juice (or limoncello), ricotta, Asiago cheese, and mascarpone. Mix until combined.

RAVIOLI:

Take 1 wonton wrapper, place on a board and fill with 1 tsp of the lobster filling. Don’t overfill your ravioli or they won’t seal, this will be plenty once you press the air out and cut or fold.

Place another wonton wrapper on top, press down to push the air out, and cut with a ravioli (heart-shaped) cutter of your choice. Wonton ravioli can be cut into shapes: round, square, or heart using an inexpensive ravioli cutters, and the cutter will seal the edges.

If you don’t have a cutter, simply place the tsp of filling onto one wonton sheet, and fold into a triangle corner to corner, and press the air out, and press edges closed with your fingers. That’s it! Easy..

Place all filled ravioli onto a parchment lined tray, and brush with melted butter.

Bake Ravioli 400 F for 10 minutes. The edges of the ravioli will brown slightly and get a crispy edge. The baking adds amazing flavor!

SAUCE:

In a small pan, simmer the limoncello, lemon juice, and whisk in the cubed butter until well combined, then pour in heavy cream, whisk to mix and turn off heat.

Drizzle sauce over baked lobster ravioli, and garnish with finely chopped parsley and Parmesan cheese.

Tuscan Sausage

• 3 lbs pork butt
• 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 1/4 cup minced fresh basil or 1 Tbsp dried
• 4 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 2 tsp dried
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp coarsely ground pepper
• pinch allspice
• medium hog casings

Grind the pork through a “medium” plate and refrigerate while you get the ingredients ready. Once the meat is chilled, about 20 minutes, knead in all the ingredients until well mixed. Don’t overwork the sausage, it will get too warm.

Stuff the sausage into medium casings and tie into 6″ links.

Note: The above recipe calls for 3 pounds of sausage, I usually make 1/3 of this at a time, so cut the recipe accordingly. Sausage making isn’t an exact science, so don’t worry about being a little off on the quantities.

My sausage stuffer makes you use another grinding plate when you stuff. I use a large grinding plate for this, so I don’t “regrind” the sausage. This sausage is better if it stays a little “coarse”. The sausage will keep 3 days in the refrigerator. I usually make one day ahead, wrap in wax paper and place in the refrigerator to let flavors blend. I par boil the sausages for 20 minutes on a really low boil and then grill for 5 to 8 minutes to give them a little more flavor. This seems to work well.

Notes: Mike’s notes: I use course sea salt instead of kosher.