Caramel-Almond Torte with Spiced Mango Compote (for Passover)

Disclaimer: I haven't actually made this yet. Occasionally a recipe shows up on this blog before I've made it because someone sends it to me in hard copy or e-copy and I've nowhere else to store it and I feel compelled to keep it rather than throw it away. This is what my family ate for Passover dessert last year and my mother copied out the recipe on the back of some study materials and mailed it to me, and it looks delicious. Perhaps I'll make it for Passover this spring, if we get the chance to celebrate it (e.g. I am not on the night float.)

From Bon Appetit April 2002 by Jayne Cohen. 

Ingredients:

For the compote:

1 1/4 C. sugar

1 1/4 C. water

1 1/2 T. chopped peeled fresh ginger

1 T. orange zest

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1 cinnamon stick, broken in half

3 1-pound mangoes, peeled, pitted, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

For the torte:

2 1/4 C. slivered almonds (approx. 9 oz.), toasted, cooled

8 T. sugar

1 T. potato starch

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

4 large eggs, separated

1 tsp. almond extract

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 C. pareve kosher-for-Passover margarine

1/4 C. packed golden brown sugar

Directions:

1. Make the compote: Combine the first six compote ingredients in a medium heavy saucepan. Bring the syrup to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil syrup five minutes then pour into a medium bowl and cool for 30 minutes. Stir in mangoes. Cover and chill at least two hours and up to four days.

2. Make the torte: Preheat the oven to 375F. Blend 1 3/4 C. almonds, 2 T. sugar, starch, and cinnamon in a processor until nuts are finely chopped, about 45 seconds. 

3. Using electric mixer, beat egg yolks, 2 T. sugar, and almond extract in a large bowl until very thick and pale in color, about three minutes. Fold almond mixture into yolk mixture.

4. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites and salt in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 4 T. sugar, beating until stiff but not dry. Fold large spoonful of whites into yolk mixture to lighten. Fold in remaining whites.

5. Transfer batter to 9" springform pan. Bake torte until puffed and golden brown and tester inserted into smooth and thick, about three minutes. Mix in remaining 1/2 C. almonds. Spoon topping over torte. Cool one hour. (Can be made six hours ahead, let stand at room temperature).

6. Cut around pan sides to loosen torte; release pan sides. Place torte on platter and serve alongside compote. 

Creamy Peach Tart with Smoky Almond Crust

Sometimes when I read other people's food blogs I feel like all they ever do is post dessert recipes and I think to myself, "How are these people not HUGE? Don't they eat anything besides sugar?"... and then I do a little self-reflection and realize that in the last month I have posted cookie, pie, bar, cake, whatever recipes and precious little in the way of anything else. Hrmmmm.

Don't think this is everything the Robber and I eat. I think there are a number of reasons why I'm more likely to post a new dessert recipe than a non-dessert recipe, most of which revolve around the Robber's preferences, my own spirit of adventure, our eating patterns at work, and our love of hummus, goat cheese, bell peppers, pita bread, and grilled meat. But excuses aside, perhaps we do eat a bit much too sugar. Even when we are sharing.

This following recipe we did not share, but we did enjoy it, even the Robber who was deeply deeply skeptical of the smoky almonds in the crust until he tasted it and realized you can't even tell and that the filling was much akin to the beloved "cheesecake pie" of his childhood. I baked this in a pie plate because I don't have a springform pan (see previous post) and if I were making this again, would 1.5 times the recipe to make more filling and just turn it into a pie. We replaced the peaches with nectarines with good results and the Robber happily ate a third of it while I was sleeping last night.

Mildly adapted from Food and Wine Magazine August 2011.

Ingredients:

2 C. vanilla wafer cookies

1/2 C. smoked almonds

6 T. sugar

5 T. unsalted butter, melted

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1/4 C. sour cream

1 egg

2-3 firm, ripe medium peaches, cut into wedges

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Using a food processor or other instrument, crush wafer cookies and almonds until fine crumbs are obtained. Combine wafer crumbs, almond crumbs, and 2T. sugar. Add melted butter and stir until the crumbs are evenly moistened.

2. Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the side of a 9" springform pan. Bake for ten minutes at 350F until the crust is set.

3. While the crust is baking, combine cream cheese, sour cream, egg, and 2T. of the sugar and blend with electric mixer until smooth. Pour the cheese mixture into the crust and bake for 15 minutes, until set. 

4. Allow to cool slightly and transfer to freezer to chill, about 15 minutes. (Do not allow to freeze thoroughly.)

5. In a bowl, toss the peaches with the remaining 2T. of sugar. Arrange the peaches in 2 concentric circles over the custard. Remove the ring, cut the tart in wedges and serve. 

Roasted Apricots with Almond Topping

This recipe I had saved from last year and kind of cobbled together between two recipes for a little summer picnic with our new friends A&C&R H. I served the desserts with whipped cream with just a touch of almond flavoring in it and found it very satisfactory. It will be hard to keep me from making these again, they are so easy and delicious hot or cold.

Note: I bought enough apricots for there to be 3 apricots per ramekin, but I ended up with way too much filling and had to bake the extra in a little pie plate. Not that that was a bad thing... and it used the extra topping up...

Melded together from Martha Shulman and Smitten Kitchen:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/25/health/nutrition/25recipehealth.html?ref=nutrition

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/06/breakfast-apricot-crisp/

Ingredients:

8 medium-size or 12 small apricots (2-3 apricots/ramekin)

3 T. sugar

1 T. flour

1 tsp. fresh nutmeg

4 T. butter, melted

6 T. turbinado sugar

1/2 C. oatmeal

1/2 C. all-purpose (1/2 wheat ok)

Pinch salt

2 tablespoons almonds, sliced or slivered, raw or toasted

Directions:

1. Butter 4 6 oz. ramekins. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2. Remove apricot pits and slice into quarters, or smaller slices as desired to fit ramekins. Combine with 3 T. sugar, 1 T. flour and nutmeg. Set aside.

3. Make topping but combining melted butter and turbinado sugar. Stir in oats, then flour, salt and almonds.

4. Distribute apricots among ramekins and top with topping. 

5. Bake 20-30 minutes. You can serve warm with vanilla icecream or almond-flavored whipped cream, although this is also very tasty cooled and eaten with plain yogurt (or more icecream or whipped cream!) for breakfast. 

Approximate nutritional info per ramekin: 78 calories; 4 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 5 milligrams cholesterol; 11 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 11 milligrams sodium; 2 grams protein. 

Asparagus Bread Pudding

About two weeks ago the Robber and I went to Whole Foods to buy him some chicken and I came across some asparagus bread pudding in the hot foods section and thought it looked delicious so I bought a little square to try it. The Robber said, "Oh that is a you food" by which he meant "This looks strange but it might turn out to be good." Hmmmmmph. I said. Hmmmmmph. And of course in the end the Robber loved it enough that I thought I should replicate it at home and this is how I did it. I looked at a few recipes online and then just kind of made things up as I went and was fairly pleased with the result, as was the Robber.

Next time I'll increased the liquid by 1/2 cup because this was a little bit dry and I won't precook the vegetables. As the Robber said, "If you make this again, I would be happy."

Ingredients:

1 lbs. bread, cut into 1/2-1" cubes and left overnight to dry out (alternately you can dry them out in the oven at 150F)

2 lbs asparagus, cut on the diagonal into 1" pieces

1 C. sliced green beans

1 C. buttermilk

1/2 C. chicken broth

1 C. heavy whipping cream

6 eggs

2 tsp. salt

6 oz. soft goat cheese

12 oz. feta cheese

Slivered almonds

Directions:

1. Prepare bread as above. I used sourdough hoagie rolls and thought they were quite delicious in the pudding.

2. In the blender, combine buttermilk, broth, cream, eggs, salt, and cheeses. Blend until smooth.

3. Pour egg mixture over bread cubes in large bowl. Allow to soak for minimum of 15 minutes, submerging the cubes entirely in the liquid mixture.

(Here I sauted the green beans and asparagus until slightly tender, but I wouldn't do that again.)

4. Preheat the oven to 375F. When oven is hot, scoop 1/2 of the bread mixture into an ungreased 9 x 13 glass baking pain. Spread 1/2 of vegetables over bread mixture. Repeat with second half of bread mixture and then vegetables. Generously sprinkle slivered almonds over the top of the pudding.

5. Bake at 375F for 45 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to sit 15 minutes before removing from pan. Serve warm.

Rosemary Chicken Salad

I made chicken salad on Saturday for M.'s baby shower and, loving this new blog, looked to it for some inspiration. What I ended up making was a hybrid between my standard chicken salad and this one-- basically I just made my old salad but used some of her ideas (using one half Greek yogurt instead of straight mayonnaise, a hint of Dijon, rosemary) and was very pleased with the results. I use toasted slivered almonds, cucumber, and celery in my salad and also threw in some green onions this time, for effect. Anyway, everyone liked the salad, so I'll blog this recipe here as a remind to myself that next time I made chicken salad I might make my hybrid again.

From a Hint of Honey:
http://www.ahintofhoney.com/2009/01/rosemary-chicken-salad-sandiwches.html

Ingredients:

1 lb. chicken breast, cooked and diced
1/3 C. green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 C. smoked almonds, chopped (I use toasted slivered almonds)
1 tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
3 T. nonfat Greek yogurt
3 T. mayonnaise
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Whole wheat bread or pita, for serving (I still think eating chicken salad with a cheddar dill scone is amazing.)

Directions:

1. Toss to combine chicken, onions, almonds, and rosemary in a medium bowl. Add yogurt, mayonnaise, and Dijon, stirring to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yield: Serves 4

Raspberry, Almond, and Goat Cheese Empanadas

This was another recipe where I told the Robber what I made and he made a face at me and I wanted to say well then, you can't have any, but then he ate one and decided it was the best thing ever and I am a sucker when the Robber likes what I make and I get all happy, but maybe I would be happier if I hadn't told him and then I could just eat these all myself! So good!

I didn't have the time or energy to make 20 small empanadas, so I made 8 big ones which threw the filling-to-dough ratio quite off, with not enough filling, so I threw in some Ghiradelli chocolate chips and almonds into my leftover dough and it was delicous! I might just use this dough and put anything into it, but trust me if you have the goat cheese, go that route. So good.

Note: I also did not put the almonds in the filling but rather opted just sprinkle the tops generously with almonds (after brushing them with egg so the almonds would stick), which allowed the filling to remain creamy and smooth on the inside. I mixed the raspberries into the filling directly also instead of adding them separately to each empanada.

Note: If you make 8 empanadas, use about 1/4 cup of filling per empanada.

From a Hint of Honey:

http://www.ahintofhoney.com/2009/05/raspberry-almond-and-goat-cheese.html

Ingredients:

For the basic sweet pastry dough:

3 C. all purpose flour (I used half white whole wheat)

1/4 C. sugar

Pinch of salt

2 sticks butter (16 T.), cut into 16 pieces

2 eggs

2-4 T. cold water

For the raspberry goat cheese filling:

12 oz. raspberries (fresh or frozen)

11 oz. plain goat cheese, room temperature

½ C. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 T. orange zest

½ cup sliced almonds

1 egg, yolk and white separated and lightly whisked

¼ cup demerara or Turbinado sugar to sprinkle on top

Directions:

1. Prepare basic pastry crust dough as follows:

1. Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor.

2. Add the butter, eggs and water until a clumpy dough forms.

3. Knead the dough for a few minutes.

4. Form dough into 2 balls, flatten into thick discs, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

5. Divide dough and roll out into as many thin disks as desired.

2. Combine the goat cheese, sugar, vanilla, orange zest in a bowl, mix well.

3. To assemble the empanadas place a spoonful of the goat cheese mixture, a couple of raspberries and a few almond slices on the center of the empanada disc.

4. Brush the edges of the empanada disc with the egg whites.

5. Fold the empanada discs and seal the edges, use a fork to help seal the empanadas.

6. Lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg yolk; this will give them a nice golden glow when baked.

7. Sprinkle the almond slices on the top of the empanadas, do this immediately after you brush them with the egg yolk, it will help the almond slices stick to the empanada.

8. Sprinkle each empanada with a little bit of the demerara sugar.

9. Chill the empanadas for at least 30 minutes or until ready to bake, this will help them seal better.

10. Bake the empanadas in a pre-heated oven at 375 F for 15-20 minutes (longer if making bigger empanadas) or until golden. Serve warm.

Yield: 8-20 empanadas.

Curried Lentils With Sweet Potatoes And Swiss Chard

So the Robber makes these amazing lentils and I asked him where he got the recipe from and he sent me this link which I kept to try out... but truthfully the Robber's lentils aren't really much like these at all, and are actually better. Which is not to say these are not good. They are really good, and I was surprised how much I liked the Swiss chard. Who knew Swiss chard? Anyway. If you have a good peeler and can get around the annoyance of chopping sweet potatoes, and if you like pea soup, these are for you. Perfect for a cold Rochester day when I want something warm and healthy and feel good. Would be good with some pita.

Note: I didn't have garam masala and I think it would have made a difference in bringing this from good to great. Also, self, try using chicken broth next time instead of vegetable stock.

Adapted from the NYTimes by Smitten Kitchen: http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/11/curried-lentils-and-sweet-potatoes/

(Note again to self: the above link has a link to this blondie recipe you want to try...)

Ingredients:

2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
1 1/2 tsp. garam masala
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded if desired, then minced (I omitted this)
4 to 5 C. vegetable broth as needed
2 lbs. orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
1 1/2 C. dried lentils
1 bay leaf
1 lbs. Swiss chard, center ribs removed, leaves thinly sliced (I used 2)
1 tsp. kosher salt, more to taste
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/3 C. chopped fresh cilantro
Finely grated zest of 1 lime
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/3 C. finely chopped tamari almonds, for garnish (optional)
1/4 C. chopped scallions, for garnish

Directions:

1. In large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, garam masala, curry powder and jalapeno. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

2. Stir in 4 cups broth, sweet potatoes, lentils and bay leaf. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium, partially cover, and simmer for 25 minutes. (If lentils seem dry, add up to 1 cup stock, as needed.) Stir in chard and salt and pepper, and continue cooking until lentils are tender and chard is cooked, about 30 to 45 minutes total.

3. Just before serving, stir in cilantro, lime zest and juice. Spoon into a large, shallow serving dish. Garnish with almonds if desired and scallions.

Yield: 8 to 10 side-dish servings; 6 main-course servings.

Chicken Tikka Masala ala the Robber

The Robber made this awesome chicken tikka masala, and just the chicken alone would make a pretty awesome meal, quoth the Robber. "What I would almost want to do," says he, "the grilled chicken is always super tasty coming right off the grill and I think the chicken tikka masala is going to be better on day 2, so we should make extra chicken and eat it fresh with rice and veggies and use the leftover chicken in the masala sauce." Good logic Robber!

For the marinade:

Ingredients:

3 lbs. chicken, boneless skinless breast and thigh meat

2 C. plain yogurt

2 tsp. grated fresh ginger

2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

1) Pound the chicken to flatten it and prepare it for the marinade. Mix together the yogurt and spices. Pour the marinade over the washed chicken and refrigerate overnight.

Next day:

2) Take the chicken out and scrape off the yogurt. Heavily salt the outside of the chicken according to your salting preferences.

3) You can broil or grill the chicken.

-- To broil: Cover the inside and edges of a baking dish with tin foil. Broil for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through.

-- To grill: Heat the grill on high, once the grill is maximum temperature (20 min or so) put the chicken on, let it cook for two minutes and flip it, then allow it to cook two minutes more. May need to cook additional minutes if not done.

4) When chicken is cool, chop into desired size of pieces for dish.

For the sauce:

Ingredients:

1 C. heavy cream

2 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes

1 onion, chopped

1 T. minced garlic

2 tsp. ground cumin

1-2 tsp. paprika

1-2 tsp. chili powder

2-4 tsp. garam masala

1-2 T. white sugar

Optional: additional cayenne pepper

Optional: 1/4 C. ground almonds

Directions:

1) Saute onion and garlic in a small amount of olive oil until onion becomes translucent. Add spices. Stir fry 1-2 min more.

2) Add in tomatoes (including juice) and sugar. Simmer for 10-20 minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened. Add in cream. Simmer for another 10 minutes.

3) Add chicken. Simmer for another 10 minutes until ready to serve.

Serve over basmati or brown rice.

Brown Butter Nectarine Cobbler/Cake

I made this a while back when the nectarines were on sale and we were invited to go to a friend's birthday affair. I ended up getting busy and couldn't make it for the event on time, but had purchased the nectarines and they were ripe and fussing to be used so I made it the next day for the Robber and me. The combination of flavors is satisfying in a subtle way, they all blend together without a grand pronouncement, just deliciousness, and a hint of browned butter. The texture of the cake was not satisfying for me as cake, and was not biscuity enough to pull off being a cobbler. Something in between. A satisfying way to bake with nectarines, but not likely to get made again too soon with the end of summer coming. What I might do however is use the almond topping part again-- that is a nice little tool of goodness.

From Mark Bittman:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/dining/brown-butter-nectarine-cobblercake-recipe.html?_r=1&ref=dining

Ingredients:

For the fruit filling:

3 C. fresh nectarines or peaches in 1/2-inch slices, about 1 pound

3/4 C. sugar

1 tsp. lemon juice

4 T. unsalted butter

For the cake:

3/4 C. flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

3/4 C. buttermilk

For the nut topping:

1/4 C. sliced almonds

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

2 T. Demerara sugar

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the fruit slices, 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a simmer, then take the pan off the heat.

2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until it smells very nutty, turns golden, and flecks of dark brown appear, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the brown butter into an 8-inch-by-8-inch baking dish.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour the buttermilk into the dry ingredients and mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Scrape the batter on top of the brown butter, use a spatula to even out the batter but be careful not to mix it into the butter. Scatter the nectarine slices and juice on top of the batter without stirring. Sprinkle with the almonds, nutmeg and Demerara sugar. Bake until golden brown, 50 to 55 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Sri Lankan Mango Almond Curry

A few months ago on a date in Santa Cruz the Robber and I just about died and went to heaven eating mango almond curry at this Sri Lankan place. In fact, if you google "mango almond curry" it will link you there because it is so good. I resolved that, if at all possible, the Robber and I would make it for ourselves. At home.

But alas, finding a recipe, so hard. I finally came across this one for mango curry, without the plaintain or almonds that the restaurant used, and adapted it trying to make what we had at Malabar. We made it last night and had it over coconut rice. It was close... but not quite there. Maybe not having the curry leaves or the pandan leaf made a big difference? Even without these more exotic spices, however, the dish was delicious and we will definitely be making it again.

Adapted from: http://www.cookingandme.com/2009/05/sri-lankan-mango-curry-recipe.html

Ingredients:

1 raw mango

1 plantain

1 C. blanched whole almonds

1/2 onion, chopped fine

2 tsp. crushed garlic

1 tsp. crushed ginger

(or use 2 tsp ginger garlic paste)

1 tsp. mustard seeds

2 T. vinegar

4-5 curry leaves

1 pandan leaf cut/torn into bits

a 1" cinnamon stick

1 15 oz. can thick coconut milk

1 15 oz. can light coconut milk

1 T. oil

Directions:

1. Peel mango and cut into long, thin pieces. Do likewise to the plantain.

2. Grind mustard seeds and vinegar together to form a paste.

3. Heat oil in a pan and add the onion, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and cinnamon. Saute until onion turns golden - about 5-7 mins.

4. Add the mango, plantain, almonds light coconut milk, pandan leaf bits and the mustard seed mixture and bring to a boil.

5. Reduce heat and simmer until mango and plantain is cooked and tender. Add the thick coconut milk and simmer for another 10 mins. Add salt. Serve over rice.

Apricot and Yogurt Parfaits

I've been dying to make something with apricots and I've been eating a ton of Greek yogurt lately so I thought why not? But perhaps this wasn't the way to go. I burned the puree a little and it wasn't sweet enough for me. I think I'll add some more sugar and some cinnamon to my puree before I eat another round. Or maybe in the future I'll get gutsy enough to make it again. If I do, I will simmer the apricots on a lower heat and stir them more often. :) And eat them with someone else, instead of alone on a Saturday night.

(Post edit: So I took about 3/4 of a cup or so and heated it up and threw in at least 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and 1 T. sugar and lo and behold, somehow the same combination but with warm puree and cold yogurt and the cinnamon made what was blah blah blah before to something lovely and comforting, so I am repentant but definitely in favor of more sugar and the cinnamon despite the added calories. Yes.)

From Recipes For Health:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/24/health/nutrition/24recipehealth.html?ref=nutrition

Instructions for the puree:

2 1/2 pounds fresh, ripe apricots

3 T. sugar, preferably organic, or mild honey like clover

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, drop in the apricots and boil for 20 seconds. Transfer to the ice water with a slotted spoon or a spider, and allow to cool for a few minutes. Drain, slip off the skins, cut in half and remove the stones.

2. Place the apricots and sugar or honey in a large, heavy saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until the apricots have broken down into a thick purée. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool in the pan. When cool, use a rubber spatula to scrape the purée into a jar or a container. Cover and refrigerate.

Yield: 2 cups.

Advance preparation: This will keep for two weeks in the refrigerator.

Nutritional information per 1/4 cup: 82 calories; 1 gram fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 19 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 1 milligram sodium; 2 grams protein

And for the parfait. . .

Ingredients:

1 cup apricot puree

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

2 cups low-fat (2%) thickened yogurt or Greek-style yogurt

1 tablespoon finely chopped almonds, toasted or raw

Directions:

1. Make the apricot purée as directed. If desired, add to it 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon almond extract.

2. Spoon 1/4 cup thickened yogurt into the bottom of each of four tumblers or parfait glasses. Top with 2 tablespoons of the apricot purée. Make another 1/4 cup layer of yogurt on top of the apricot purée, and finish with another 2-tablespoon layer of apricot purée. Cover tightly and chill for at least one hour. Just before serving, sprinkle finely chopped almonds over the top.

Yield: Serves four.

Advance preparation: The assembled parfaits will hold in the refrigerator for a day. Sprinkle on the almonds just before serving.

Nutritional information per serving: 165 calories; 3 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 8 milligrams cholesterol; 24 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 39 milligrams sodium; 12 grams protein

Almond-Lemon Macaroons

You know how on Epicurious sometimes the readers choose a recipe, make substitutions for everything, and then give the recipe five stars? That is exactly what I did here. They were out of almond meal at the grocery store and I didn't have any whole almonds, so I made these with hazelnut flour and pecans... and they were really delicious. So I guess these should really be called Hazelnut-Pecan Macaroons, but my guess is that you could use the basic idea with mix-and-match flours and nuts and come out with a satisfactory product. The texture of the cookie was excellent! So light and chewy, and the toasted-ness of the tops of the nuts gave just the right counterpoint to the sweetness of the cookie. I served these with chocolate-olive oil mousse with the cookies half dunked in the mousse at our Passover Seder, and the overall effect was like eating a Nutella cookie. Even I, the Nutella non-enthusiast, enjoyed the combination.

Note: I tried really, really hard to make the proper calculation from whole nuts to meal amount, because I don't have a food processor to grind the nuts myself, and I couldn't find the right conversion factors. So I just faked it and used 1 5/8 cups of hazelnut flour instead of 2 cups of whole almonds, and not knowing any better, found the product satisfactory. I also rolled the cookies in turbinado sugar instead of regular white sugar, so good!

The recipe comes from "Dulce lo Vivas," by Ana Bensadón as referenced in the Passover section of the NYTimes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/dining/283prex.html

Ingredients:

2 cups whole blanched almonds, plus about 30 almonds for decoration
1 cup granulated sugar (I put the whole cup into the cookies and used extra sugar for rolling)
1 large egg
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Directions:

1. Using a food processor equipped with a metal blade, grind 2 cups almonds very finely. Add 3/4 cup sugar, the egg and lemon zest, and pulse to make a cohesive dough. Transfer to a medium bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick liner. Place remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl.

3. Pinching off pieces of dough about the size of a walnut, roll them first into balls, then into sugar. Gently press an almond point first into top of each cookie, so that half the almond can be seen. Arrange cookies one inch apart on baking sheet.

4. Bake until cookies have barest hint of color but still remain soft, 8 to 10 minutes. (Cookies must be soft when removed from oven to avoid excess hardening when they cool.) Cool completely, and store in an airtight container.

Yield: About 30 cookies. (I made my cookies a little bit bigger and got 23.)

Cardamom-Scented Oatmeal Pancakes with Apricots and Almonds

From the Minimalist Blog at the NYTimes. Mark Bittman has this way of convincing you that really, oatmeal cardmom apricot almond pancakes aren't any harder than the usual kind. And don't they look even more delicious in the picture?

I don't always fall for what he passes off as "minimal," but this one taunted me into trying it this Sunday morning. I brought extras to my little teacher development class for a lesson and they were generally well received, although I don't think anyone is a permanent convert from the regular pancake.

I recommend following his suggestion and serving with honey, although maple syrup works too but it has a tendency to overpower the subtle flavors more than the honey. They are not too sweet alone and would also be overpowered served with very sweet fruit like pineapple or canned peaches. Fresh bananas and milk might be a better choice. These would well for a small brunch with friends.

If I made this again, I might increase both the cardamom and the apricots.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups cooked oatmeal
1/3 cup chopped dried apricots

Vegetable or olive oil, for frying
Honey, for serving.

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Combine the flours, oats, almonds, baking powder, cardamom and salt in a large bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and milk; stir in the cooked oatmeal and the apricots until just incorporated. Add the oatmeal mixture to the dry ingredients and stir gently; don’t overmix. The consistency should be that of thick pancake batter; add a little more milk or whole-wheat flour as needed.

3. Put a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. When a few drops of water dance on its surface, add a thin film of vegetable oil and let it become hot. Spoon out the batter, making any size pancakes you like. Cook until bubbles form on the top and pop, 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully flip the pancakes and cook until they’re browned on the other side, a couple of minutes more. You may have to rotate the cakes to cook them evenly, depending on the heat source and pan. As they finish, transfer them to a plate in the oven while you cook the remaining batter. Serve with honey.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Tomato-Watermelon Salad with Feta and Toasted Almonds

See link below. I made this for Mormon med school dinner. I added in some plums and pears, which I really loved in the salad, used grape tomatoes cut in half, and substituted balsamic for the red wine vinegar. I also omitted the arugula with no regrets. I venture to say that this was probably much, much better without it. Fabulous, but very watery so it is best eaten all in one sitting!

Ingredients:

• 8 cups 1 1/4-inch chunks seedless watermelon (about 6 pounds)
• 3 pounds ripe tomatoes (preferably heirloom) in assorted colors, cored, cut into 1 1/4-inch chunks (about 6 cups)
• 1 teaspoon (or more) fleur de sel or coarse kosher salt
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons chopped assorted fresh herbs (such as dill, basil, and mint)

• 6 cups fresh arugula leaves or small watercress sprigs
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 5 ounces)
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted

Directions:

1) Combine melon and tomatoes in large bowl. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon fleur de sel and toss to blend; let stand 15 minutes. Add 4 tablespoons oil, vinegar, and herbs to melon mixture. Season to taste with pepper and more salt, if desired.

2) Toss arugula in medium bowl with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Divide arugula among plates. Top with melon salad; sprinkle with feta cheese and toasted almonds and serve.

I tossed the watermelon with regular salt and placed it in a colander for some time while I cut up the plums, tomatoes, etc. I think this helped to reduce a little bit of the extra liquid, but even then it was still a pretty liquidy salad!

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tomato-Watermelon-Salad-with-Feta-and-Toasted-Almonds-235588#ixzz0yavoNMRa

Linzer Cookies

My sisters made these over the Christmas break for the Rawle-Matheson bash. They are so good! My sister-in-law R requested the recipe, so Mom sent me this and I blog it here in case I want to make these cookies some time in the future.

Linzer Cookies

Cookies inspired by the famous jam-filled Linzetorte. These are ideal for any occasion. This recipe taken from the insert which came with the linzer cutters.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups of whole nuts, hazelnuts or almonds
1 c. butter
2/3 c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1 t. lemon zest
Confectioner's sugar for dusting
1 c. seedless jam

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. Place nuts in a food processor and process until medium fine in texture.

3. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside until ready for use.

4. Beat butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium high until light and creamy in texture.

5. Add eggs and beat until smooth.

6. Add in the vanilla and beat until combined.

7. In a separate bowl, combine flour, nuts, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and lemon zest.

8. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat to combine.

9. Place in freezer until firm, approximately 30-40 minutes.

10. Dust a clean surface generously with flour, and roll out the dough to approximately 1/8 inch thickness.

11. Using the linzer cutter without an insert, cut out cookies (at least 36) and transfer to the prepared cookie sheets--these will be bottom pieces.

12. Next cut out 36 more with an insert shape in cookie cutters--these will be the top pieced of the cookies. You can either re-roll the cutouts or bake them.

13. Bake all cookies for about 8 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack until completely cooled.

14. Sift confectioners sugar over top pieces of the cookies.

15. Spread about 1 t. jam on each of the bottom halves and place the top half (cut out piece) on jam covered bottom half.

15. Cookies can be stored carefully in an airtight container for up to one week.

Rooftop Couscous

A couscous I dreamed up using what Jane had lying around in her Manhattan apartment:

Cook some couscous. (Jane did this, I didn't watch how much she put in.)

Saute some chopped carrot in olive oil, after a while add in chopped onion and minced garlic. Right before they are done, add in blanched or sliced almonds until oiled and barely browned.

Chop raisins. Drain and rinse red kidney beans.

Mix everything together with the couscous, seasoning with salt, cumin, nutmeg, and ginger. Delicious!

Apple-Cheese Pancakes

A delicious Sunday morning treat from our favorite: The Moosewood!

Ingredients:

1 cup cottage or ricotta cheese (ricotta is obvi the way to go)
1 heaping, packed cup grated apple (and kind by delicious-- I always use honeycrisp!)
3/4 cup flour (you can use 1/2 cup white and 1/4 cup wheat)
1 Tbs. honey
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs. sunflower seeds or chopped almonds (almonds, again, obvi)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
dash of nutmeg or allspice
4 eggs, separated
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1) Mix everything together except the egg whites.

2) Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into batter.

3) Fry pancakes in butter on both sides until brown.

4) Serve with maple syrup or preserves, sour cream or yogurt, fresh fruit, cinnamon sugar. (Mix and match!)

Mollie says: Serve these pancakes for breakfast brunch or lunch. They could even be a dessert after a light meal. The recipe makes enough to satisfy four reasonably hungry sorts.

I've made these twice now, a year apart from each other. The second time I made larger pancakes and enjoyed the effect. Note: You have to flatten the batter out in the pan or they won't cook all the way through! Delicious when toasted the day after. I might make these for PBL one of these weeks.

Cheddar Dill Scones with Simple Chicken Salad

I love to try something new when I feed the missionaries, but this time more important things prevailed. MH was in town and we went to the Moosewood in Ithaca to celebrate. This was only fitting because as MH said, "If men were restaurants, I would marry the Moosewood."

We had chickpeas over coconut rice and vegetarian enchilada pie and fresh bread and creamy spinach dressing on salad and pomegranate Italian soda. And banana cake to go. Our server sat us in the sun at a perfect table. He probably dug us. We were, of course, in full charm.

But then after bouncing along rural New York roads in the truck we realized that we had to throw together a meal pronto, so we turned to an old Melville classic-- the cheddar dill scone. Only this time we served it with a twist-- the scones split open and served with chicken salad on top, akin to the pepper and onion shortbread espoused by the Moosewood.

We served it with grapes, bananas, pink lemonade, and multi color icecream cones for dessert. Perfecto. While a bit daring, we found that the stronger flavors of the scones blended perfectly with the mild flavors of the salad, creating a wonderful mix of textures and flavors in the mouth that was surprisingly pleasing. I would definitely serve this combo again. The chicken salad recipe is below:

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breasts

4 stalks celery

1 cucumber

1 medium sized package slivered almonds

1 small container mayonnaise

Spices to taste (I use salt, garlic salt, paprika, oregano, white pepper, and just a bit of cardamom)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375F. When heated, spread almonds out on baking sheet and toast in oven ten minutes or until golden brown. Remove from heat and cool.

2) Fill large pot 4 inches full of water, add salt, bring to boil. Once boiling, add chicken (make sure water is covering chicken thoroughly) and boil until cooked thoroughly. Cut chicken into smaller cubes/chunks and allow to cool.

3) Peel cucumber and cut into wedge-shaped slices. Wash and chop celery into desired size pieces.

4) When chicken and almonds are cool, combine everything in large bowl with mayonnaise and stir. Add spices to taste.

5) Serve cold over warm scones.

Banana Sour-Cream Pie

Looking for the Creamy Rice Pudding recipe, I came across this second recipe in the Moosewood and was immediately intrigued. I just knew I had to make one, especially as I had ripened bananas attracting fruit flies on the counter. In fact, I thought it was such a good idea that I made two.

Original:

Ingredients:

Crust
1/3 lb. (1 "stay fresh" package) crushed graham crackers
6 Tbs. melted butter
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1/2 C. finely chopped almonds

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Press firmly into a 9" pie pan, building up thick sides with a nice edge.

Filling
12 oz. softened cream cheese
1/2 C. (packed) light brown sugar
3/4 C. mashed, ripe bananas
2 Tbs. fresh lemon or lime juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1/4 C. sour cream

Beat together all ingredients, until well blended. Pour into crust; Chill 3-4 hours, at least. Overnight chilling is ideal.

My comments:

I used sliced almonds from a package in the store and didn't chop them any further, this seemed to work well for me and I liked having the almonds visible. Also I used dark brown sugar instead of light, as that is what I had. This pie does have a very rich filling, but it is very distinctive and very delicious. The first pie disappeared in the first 24 hours and I think the 2nd pie will go almost as fast. VERY FAST to make as far as pies go-- if I go anywhere for Thanksgiving this year maybe I will consider contributing this pie, as it will be easy to make late the night before or early the morning of and still have enough time to chill.