Joy the Baker » cherry

Bite-sized Baked Brie

joythebaker — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 21:19:05 +0000

My hair is straight today.

My hair is straight today only because a woman spent about two hours pulling, tugging, blowing, and spraying my hair into this state.

It’s still curly on the bottom. It’s also still frizzy on the top. It would appear as though the outside of my head is as stubborn as my inside brain. Stubborn!

I should just let my hair be how it lives. Curly with a charming hint of frizz. But… sometimes you want a change. Sometimes you want to toss your bangs like the girls with the long straight hair. Whatever. Sometimes you want to bake your brie up into little bite-sized squares so you can eat too many of them without feeling like you’re eating an entire round of brie. Again… whatever.

Also… it’s raining today. I don’t even want to talk about the frizz this will induce. I’m probably going to stay inside where the baked cheese is. Just so you know. Leave me be.

These bite-sized treats come together with puff pastry.

It’s buttery. It’s flaky and light. It’s buttery.

It’s totally buttery.

I cut the sheet of puff pastry into 12 rectangles… then each rectangle in half. That means 24 little rectangles that will make 12 little puffs.

That was math. I’m totally sorry.

I brush half of the squares with egg wash, a little nibble of cheese (do not be afraid of the brie rind!), a touch of jam, and more puff pastry.

It’s happening!

Yes. I put these little brie bites on sticks. I stuck a small popsicle stick half way up the puff pastry and then pressed it all together.

You don’t need popsicle sticks. You totally don’t. The sticks just make things more… sticky.

Sweet little cheese pockets.

A lot of brie was eaten in the making of these pockets.

Egg washed and a sprinkling of salt.

Major magic.

Baked and puffed and sometimes they bleed jam and cheese. No biggie.

These bites are best served warm… but I sure did eat several of them at room temperature. Delicious still.

It’s warm cheese baked in buttery crust with sweet jam. If you need convincing… I just… I dunno.

Bite-sized Baked Brie

makes 24 squares

Print this Recipe!

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed but still cold

1/2 wedge of brie, cold

1/3 cup cherry jam (or any flavor you fancy!)

1 large egg, beaten

splash of milk

All-butter, store bought puff pastry usually comes frozen and folded into thirds. We’re going to use these folded thirds to our advantage. Cut the puff pastry into thirds along the creases. Cut each panel into four pieces. They’ll be 2 1/4-inch tall and 3-inches wide. One sheet of puff pastry will yield 12 rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half. You’ll have 24 little rectangles that will create 12 little rectangle pockets.

Combine beaten egg and splash of milk. Brush 12 of the small rectangles with egg wash. If you’d like to make brie bites on sticks, now is the time! Place a popsicle stick halfway up the puff pastry and press in gently. Place a small sliver of brie (rind and all) on top of the egg wash (and stick). Top with about 1/2 teaspoon of cherry jam. Take another square of puff pastry and press between your fingers to make the rectangle slightly bigger. Place puff pastry on top of the cheese and jam. Use a fork to press the edges together. The egg wash will act as a glue. Make sure to seal the edges well by crimping with the fork.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place prepared brie bites on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with egg wash. Sprinkle with a touch of coarsely ground sea salt. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

Brie bites are best served warm, but are also delicious at room temperature.

Rainier Cherry Brown Betty

joythebaker — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 06:13:40 +0000

Were you wondering how many pounds of Rainier Cherries I’ve eaten in the four days I’ve been in Seattle? Well… just about six. Six pounds of cherries.

Were you wondering if you can get a terrible tummyache from too eating too many Ranier Cherries? Well… yes. Yes you can.

Wait… I just realized that this recipe is similiar to the Banana Bourbon Bread Pudding I just made. Yeesh. I’m on a baked bread and fruit and sugar kick. Bear with me.

I love a Brown Betty. They’re so simple. I imagine this is the sort of dessert I’ll make when I’m eighty, shuffling around the hosue wearing housecoats and slippers and lipstick.

This Brown Betty is cubed whole wheat bread, sugar, fruit and butter. You have that stuff on hand, don’t you.

My sister saw me cubing bread for this dessert and swore that it would be a terrible waste of cherries.

I called her a good for nothin’ whipper snapper and went about my business.

Pitting cherries is sort of like murder… without the death.

Layers of sugar, butter, bread and fruit bake up to be a simply sweet dessert that is just nutty enough, thanks to the whole wheat bread, and with just the right amount of moisture and richness, thanks to generous amounts of butter. I love cherries in this recipe, but you might want to try another summer fruit like : ripe peaches, raspberries or apricots. Win.

Oh! I had company while I made this Brown Betty. This is Charles. He doesn’t mind if you call him Chuck. He likes tomato soup and potato chips.

I was ready to shovel this Betty in my mouth even before I put it in the oven…

… but warm from the oven, totally worth the wait. I need ice cream.

Rainier Cherry Brown Betty

makes 8 servings

adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks… that’s Ree… she’s rad

Print this Recipe!

2 cups pitted fresh Rainier Cherries, yes you can also use regular red cherries

7 slices whole wheat bread

3/4 cup salted butter, cold

1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Pit and halve enough Rainier cherries to make two heaping cups of cherries. Set aside.

Dice the seven slices of bread into small cubes.

Coat a 9 or 10-inch pie pan with butter. This doesn’t have to be perfect, just make sure the entire pan is well greased.

Add 1/3 of the brown sugar, to the buttered pan. Top with 1/3 of the fresh cherries and 1/3 of the cubes bread. Slice butter and place on top of the bread crumbs. Repeat the layering process two more times, ending with the breadcrumbs and top with the last of the butter. Sprinkle with water.

Cover the pie dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil from the pan and bake for 5 minutes to brown and crisp the bread.

Allow to cool to room temperature and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Swell.

Cherry Bourbon Ice Cream

joythebaker — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 19:50:29 +0000

On the Lamb threw a Speakeasy last night… complete with Bathtub Gin and Juice, Pork and Wild Boar Sliders and Cherry Bourbon Ice Cream. There was bourbon and scoundrels as far as the eye could see. Before we get down and dirty with my new favorite ice cream flavor, here’s a peek at what setting up a roarin’ Speakeasy looks like.

A Speakeasy requires a guest list, a password at the door, and a cash box for cashmoney.

The menu. Stellar.

I think every good Speakeasy should have the option to play Spin the Bottle… don’t you?

As the night progressed, we would come to know these strawberry flavored marshmallows very well.

Silly games for a party full of strangers.

We are the ladies of On the Lamb and we require pretty dresses.

We had streamers on the ceiling. No… these streamers did not hang themselves. We hung them. Every one.

Ever go snooping in a medicine cabinet? Yea…. me too. We have candy in our medicine cabinet. Everybody wins.

Brioche buns for the pork and veal sliders. Shut up. So good!

We run a tight ship. Our night was all planned out.

And before we got the hungry grumpies from all our prep work, Rachel made us lunch. Bless her soul.

The Speakeasy was a raging success. Pictures of the evening will be up shortly. I was running around with food and cocktails, not my camera. Thank you to everyone who shared their evening with us. You people made our gathering amazing! Y’all know how to bring the fun! Thank you for your support and your thirst and your appetites.

If you’d like to know more about On the Lamb and be on the mailing list for our upcoming events, check out onthelambfb.com. Oh! Daily Candy likes us too.. RAD!

Now let’s get down to business. We have some ice cream to talk about… just about the best ice cream ever! Bourbon soaked cherries in a gorgeous vanilla ice cream. Take a few days to soak dried cherries in bourbon. They’re amazing in desserts, in cocktails, in your face… you can’t go wrong.

This ice cream base is Alton Brown’s recipe. I love that it is devoid of eggs. Sometimes ice cream bases with egg yolks get a little too… eggy for me. In this recipe, the cream is heated to 170 degrees F, then cooled overnight and churned the next day. It works out wonderfully! The bourbon in this recipe really works to keep the ice cream pretty soft even when it’s in the freezer. Dreamy. Do it.

Cherry Bourbon Ice Cream
adapted from Alton Brown

makes 1 quart of ice cream

Print this Recipe!

2 cups half and half
1 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons cherry preserves (not jelly. preserves)
1 vanilla bean split and scraped
1/4 cup bourbon soaked cherries, roughly chopped
1 to 2 cups of bourbon for soaking cherries, 2 Tablespoons bourbon for the recipe

Make bourbon soaked cherries by combining 1/2 cup dried cherries with 1 to 2 cups of bourbon. Let the mixture sit in a clean jar with a lid, for at least two days. Once the cherries have plumped up you can make this ice cream with the cherries and a bit of the bourbon… and you can sit around just sipping on the rest of the bourbon. Deeelicious.

Combine all ingredients except the chopped cherries and bourbon, in a large saucepan over medium heat. Place a candy or frying thermometer in the milk mixture. Stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to 170 degrees F. This is pretty hot for milk. If your milk breaks a bit, don’t worry too much. It’ll work out in the end.
Once 170 degrees F is reached, remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Remove the vanilla bean and add the chopped cherries and bourbon. Stir to combine and place mixture in a lidded container and refrigerate overnight. This will allow the flavors to mellow and improve the texture of the milk.
Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The mixture will not freeze hard in the machine but will increase in volume and be the texture of soft serve ice cream. Place the mixture in a container with a lid and freeze for at lease one hour before serving.

Brown Rice Rice Pudding

joythebaker — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:26:07 +0000

or should I just call it Brown Rice Pudding?

When I was a little one, I remember lulling myself to sleep by listing off in my brain all of the things that I might like to find in heaven should I find myself there. I started off with important things like:

I’d like to find my little sister Lauren in heaven, but I don’t want to have to share my toys with her if I don’t want to.

I’d like to find my best friend Natalie in heaven because I love to play with her hair.

I’d like to find Grandmother, Granddaddy and Aunt DeeDee in heaven because they make the best hamburgers every Friday night .

And then this list would surely devolve into something that resembles my Christmas wish list:

I want an Easy Bake Oven in heaven…

I want a Barbie Dream House in heaven.

I want mechanical pencils in heaven… I had a serious thing for mechanical pencils. Still do.

Nowadays I’m barely awake enough to get my socks off before I’m zonked out on my pillow. I’d like to put this down on record now, if you’ll indulge me.

I want Rice Pudding in heaven. Rice pudding with raisins. Rice pudding with dried cherries. White rice. Brown rice. Any kind of rice cooked with milk and sugar. Please.

A few mechanical pencils might be nice too.

Awesome. Thanks.

It’s hearty. It’s warm. It’s creamy and sweet. It’s filling and it might just be the most comforting bowl of goodness I’ve ever encountered.

Note: When served cold, the brown rice has a bit of a bite to it. I like it cold as much as I do warm, but be warned that cold brown rice pudding will be just a tad more work for your jaw.

Brown Rice Rice Pudding

serves 4 to 6

Print this Recipe!

4 cups water

1 cup brown rice

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons butter

4 cups whole milk

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons honey

1/2 vanilla bean, split open (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

1 cinnamon stick

pinch of ground cardamom

1/2 cup dried sour cherries (or any dried fruit you fancy)

Rinse brown rice in a strainer under cold water for 30 seconds. Set aside.

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Stir in brown rice and salt. Turn flame down to medium and simmer rice, uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 30 minutes, drain rice and water. Let rice sit in strainer for 10 seconds and then return to the pot you cooked it in (not over a flame) and immediately put a tight fitting lid on the pot. Let rice rest and steam for 10 minutes.

Once rice is cooked, place it in a bowl and set aside. Add 4 cups of milk, sugar, honey, cinnamon stick, pinch of cardamom and vanilla bean to the pan. Bring to a very low boil, stirring often so the milk doesn’t burn. Add the cooked rice, butter and cherries to the hot milk. Stir often. Don’t ignore the milk or it might boil to furiously and curdle. Simmer until the milk cooks down and the rice is creamy, about 30 minutes. Place in a large bowl or serving dishes to cool. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Cherry Jam Cookies

joythebaker — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:32:09 +0000

I need this recipe in my back pocket. It’s the recipe that tricks everyone into thinking that I’m the girl with a constant supply of eggs, flour, butter and every other baking necessity constantly on hand. In reality, I often only have one egg in the fridge, and just enough butter to have to take an trip to the store.

Don’t believe me? Would I lie? Um… no.

Here’s one thing I do fib about: sleeping. I just woke up from a nap. I have sleepy nap time marks on my face… totally undeniable napping has just occurred. If you were to ask me if I just woke up from a nap, I would deny it up and down. I dunno… just a little weirdness from Joy the Baker. I prefer to think of the white lie as somehow charming, and the sleep marked face as evidence of a guilty but of so indulgent afternoon.

Enough about napping. Go check your fridge for that lone egg and stick of butter, and you must have a bit of jam in there too!

Cookies… maybe even Valentine’s Day cookies. Let’s keep it simple.

Buttery Jam Cookies

Simple and sweet. When you’re down to your last egg, this recipe is a dream come true. If you don’t have ground ginger on hand, you can skip it, or add something like cinnamon or a few drops of almond extract. For jam flavors, use any good thick jam you have on hand.

Print this Recipe!

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cups sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup of cherry preserves, or any thick jam you have on hand

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, ginger and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fit with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth. Add the sugar and beat for a minute. Add the egg and beat for 2 minutes more. The mixture will be satiny. Add the milk and vanilla and beat just to combine. Don’t be concerned if the mixture looks curdled, it will even out shortly. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the jam and beat for 1 minute more. With the mixer still on low add the dry ingredients and mix only until they are incorporated. You’ll have a very thick dough.

Spoon the dough by the rounded teaspoonfuls into a dish of granulated sugar. Toss to coat and place on a baking sheet, leaving about an inch between the mounds.

Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The cookies will be only just firm, fairly pale and browned around the edges. Pull the sheets from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for 1 minute, the carefully transfer them to racks to cool to room temperature.

Repeat with the remainder of the dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.