Pears, Brown Sugar, Rum and Cardamom Scented Galette

January 8, 2021 ~ Teresa Blackburn ~ 10 Comments

Fresh pears in a brown sugared-whole wheat crust, baked until caramelized with just a splash of dark rum and a hint of cardamom might provide some comfort and solace for this week in winter, January 2021. The kitchen is where I find I can take a deep breath and bring forth something delicious and comforting. That is a good thing and I need that right now.

Fresh USA Pears from The Fruit Company, ripened to perfection, golden and red and juicy, sliced and wrapped in a buttery cardamom crust.

A “Pear, Brown Sugar, Rum and Cardamom Galette” with caramelized edges to die for.

Seek solace where you can find it. Be well. Be kind.

Pears, Brown Sugar, Rum and Cardamom Scented Galette

Time: 1hr
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Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 sticks/1/2 cup chilled butter, but into small pieces
1 egg
1 to 2 teaspoons milk
2 large, ripe, but somewhat firm pears – cored, cut in half and thinly sliced, keeping slices together
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cream to brush edges of crust
1-2 tablespoons raw or Demerara sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

In a food processor combine whole wheat flour, granulated sugar, salt and cardamom. Pulse to mix. Add butter pieces and process until mixture is crumbly looking. Add egg and 1 teaspoon milk to processor and pulse until a dough forms. Add more milk if needed. Dough will be a bit moist.
Form dough into a ball, press out flat into a disc, wrap in plastic and chill for 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Let dough sit out for 10 minutes.
Mix together cornstarch, brown sugar, rum and vanilla extract until well blended.
On floured surface roll dough disc out to make a circle about 1/8 inch thick. Edges will be jagged and that is okay. Place dough on parchment paper lined sheet pan. Gently place sliced pear halves, cut side down, on dough circle nestling them close together, leaving an edge of dough all around to fold over fruit. Fold dough edges up and over the sliced pears, leaving the center open.
Drizzle cornstarch mixture over and down between the pears. Brush edges of the crust with the cream and sprinkle the raw sugar over all.
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until galette is golden brown and bubbly. Let cool on the baking sheet. Serve in wedges. Great with whipped or ice cream.

Brown Sugar, Butter and Cardamom Skillet Roasted Peaches E.A.T. #31

July 3, 2018 ~ Teresa Blackburn ~ 10 Comments

Ingredients? 4. Time? 15 minutes. Results? Ripe South Carolina Peaches Caramelized with Raw Sugar, Cardamom and Kerrygold Butter to make the easiest, most delicious, screaming Summer dessert ever! No joke….it is as easy-as-this.

Select firm, juicy ripe sweet peaches. No peeling necessary.

Arranged in an iron skillet cut side up with a dab of butter, a sprinkling of cardamom and crunchy raw sugar and that’s all.

Roasted at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes until sugar caramelizes and peaches begin to blister. Turn on the broiler if you like them a bit burnt like I do. You can also do this on a grill if you prefer. Serve with a quick cold, sour cream-brown sugar sauce and more sugar for crunch. How very summer is that?

Brown Sugar, Butter and Cardamom Skillet Roasted Peaches

Time: 15mins
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Ingredients:

4 firm, ripe peaches, unpeeled, cut in half with pits removed
3 tablespoons butter, room temp, Kerrygold is what I use
ground Cardamom powder, to taste
1 cup raw sugar, divided
1 cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Turn oven to 400 degrees. Arrange peach halves, cut side up, in an iron skillet.
Place a bit of butter in middle of each peach half. Sprinkle with cardamom to taste.
Top with 1/2 cup raw sugar sprinkled over each peach half.
Roast in hot oven for 10-12 minutes. If you like your peaches more blistered like I do, then turn broiler on for a minute or two.
While peaches are roasting mix together sour cream or yogurt and 1/4 cup raw sugar and lemon juice until blended. Chill until ready to use.
To serve place one or two peach halves on a plate and add a dollop of sweetened sour cream and another sprinkling of raw sugar. A wonderful, simple summer dessert.

Note: You can also place iron skillet on a pre-heated outdoor grill to roast. A scoop of ice cream is really good with theses peaches as well.

http://www.teresablackburnfoodstyling.com

Peanut Butter-Banana Bread, Clean Water & The “Farm to Fork” Dinner

October 21, 2016 ~ Teresa Blackburn ~ 13 Comments

My friend Liz makes the best banana bread. It is moist, nutty with just the right amount of spices & banana flavor. Every Christmas a few lucky friends are gifted a loaf or two of her bread. Due to her acumen in this field of baking I am always a bit hesitant to make my own banana bread fearing the results will be disappointing.

Last week 4 very, very ripe bananas were either going to be tossed or turned into a loaf….I chose the latter. Not trying to copy Liz’s bread, but to try something different, I made this loaf without nuts and with the addition of peanut butter powder. Have you used this yet? We add a shake or two to our smoothies each morning. It has all the yummy peanut butter flavor without the calories.

Brown sugar, Greek yogurt & vanilla bean paste…all part of the batter….

….resulting in this lovely loaf of goodness using over ripe bananas that could have been tossed, but were saved for better things!

Speaking of “better things”….You may now be curious about the heading for this post…”I get the banana bread part, but what is the reference to this “Farm to Fork” dinner?”

Coming up very soon, October 27th to be exact, is a celebration dinner and fundraiser here in Nashville. The Cumberland River Compact’s 5th Annual “Farm to Fork” Dinner once again brings together local chefs, farmers, artists & musicians to celebrate the fall harvest and keeping our waters clean. This is a very important fundraiser for us all.

The job of the Cumberland River Compact is to work to create awareness of the need to keep the waters of our beloved Cumberland River and it’s tributaries clean and safe. This takes the time of many dedicated folks and money to keep the public aware. For more information on this fun and delicious night next Thursday, October 27th click here.

Just imagine trying to cook and run a kitchen without clean water? Imagine and be thankful.

Peanut Butter-Banana Bread

Servings: 12slices
Time: 1hr15mins
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Ingredients:

4 to 5 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup peanut butter powder
1/2 stick unsalted butter, very soft
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup raw brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain Greek yogurt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a regular size loaf pan.
In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment mash the bananas. I leave them a little bit chunky.
Sprinkle in the peanut butter powder and mix.
Add in the softened butter, egg, vanilla bean paste & sugar. Mix well.
With mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the banana mixture, along with the yogurt, and mix just until blended.
Scrape batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until the top of is a dark golden brown. Test with a cake tester to make sure the inside is baked. The tester should come out clean with just a few crumbs. Let loaf cool in pan on a wire rack before slicing.

This bread is yummy for a few days and is sublime toasted and smeared with butter.

Teresa Blackburn www.teresablackburnfoodstyling.com

October Apples, Sauced in a Star Anise-Brown Sugar Syrup

October 11, 2016October 11, 2016 ~ Teresa Blackburn ~ 18 Comments

….’today, in October sun, it’s all gold—sky and tree and water. Everything just before it changes looks to be made of gold.’ (“The Wide Net” by Eudora Welty, The Collected Stories)

This “changing-time” is apple season…days are still sunny and warm, but the evenings are cool and crisp. It is time to once again crank up the stove and do some more serious cooking. Apple Sauce is a favorite of mine, but it’s almost impossible to find any canned or jarred product that is truly satisfying. The best in the world is homemade and a bit chunky in my opinion. I enjoy a bold flavor in my sauced apples so I often make my own.

A few years ago I bought a hand crank apple peeler that clamps onto my kitchen counter and is honestly just so much fun to use that I sometimes get a bit carried away and keep on peeling ’til there is not much left but the core! For making apple sauce this is one kitchen gadget/tool that you must have.

Beautiful apple peel ribbons.

Apples from a neighbor’s tree.

I made up a simple syrup using cranberry juice, star anise seeds and brown sugar. The peeled and chopped apples simmer and cook down in this very flavorful syrup making the final product uniquely delicious.

Apple sauce put up in wee jars so each bite is fresh.

Pick some local apples and make up a batch of this recipe…any type of tart, crunchy apple works…spread finished apple sauce on toasted bread, a turkey or grilled cheese sandwich or serve with your next pork roast. These little jars make very nice fall/winter gifts as well.

October Apples, Sauced in Anise-Brown Sugar Syrup

Ingredients:

3-4 lbs tart fall apples – Honey Crisp, MacIntosh, Arkansas Black or Granny Smith
2 cups cranberry juice
2 cups raw/brown sugar
2 whole star anise seeds
Juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

Peel apples & rough chop. Put in a stainless steel cook pot.
Add the Star Anise simple syrup to the pot. Turn heat to medium high. Stir mixture until a soft boil begins then turn to simmer. Stir every so often to keep apples from sticking. Cook down until mixture has thicken but is still chunky.
Remove pot from stove and stir in lemon juice.
Spoon apple sauce into small glass jars with tight-fitting lids and process in a water bath for 20 minutes. Remove jars from water & set on a wire rack to cool. You should hear a soft “thump” when lids seal properly and they will be concave. Cool completely and store in pantry until ready to eat. Depending on the size of your jars this recipe makes 6-8 jars.

How to make simple syrup:

Put 2 cups cranberry juice, 2 cups raw/brown sugar & 2 whole star anise seeds in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir until sugar has dissolved and turn heat to low. Simmer for about 15 minutes until mixture thickens slightly. Set aside to cool. Use immediately or chill in a glass jar with a lid.

How to do a simple water bath processing:

If you have a canner then fill with enough water to cover the size jars you are canning up to one inch above the jar tops.
Place filled jars in wire rack that comes with the canner pan and lower it down into the water. Bring water to a rolling boil. Process jars in boiling water for 20 minutes. Turn heat off and leave jars in cooling down water for 30 minutes.
Remove jars from canner to a wire rack and let cool completely. Jars will seal as they cool making a soft “thump” sound. Jar lids will be concave when jars are properly sealed.

Note on canning:

I have used a large stock pot with a round wire cooling rack sitting on the bottom of the pan instead of a canner kit. You just put the rack in the pot, place jars, not touching, on the rack & gently cover tops of jars with water. Continue the processing as you would when using a canner from this point on.

Teresa Blackburn http://www.teresablackburnfoodstyling.com

Blood Orange & Bourbon Chipotle BBQ Roasted Chicken

February 1, 2016 ~ Teresa Blackburn ~ 16 Comments

I know it is citrus season when Blood Orange beauties start appearing in my supermarket…..along with Pomelos, Cara-Cara Oranges, Little Cuties, Tangerines, Grapefruit…..all packed full of Vitamin C for the dark days of Winter.

My citrus love affair continues in this post. I have been making salads with Pomelo, upside-down cakes with grapefruit, chocolates studded with candied orange peel, citrus salad dressings and today a deep-red-brown Blood Orange BBQ sauce laced with Bourbon and Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce for the heat.

Not a heavy, ketchup based BBQ sauce but rather a lighter, more liquid sauce brushed on chicken before and during the roasting process. The results? Crisp skin, moist meat and lots of good sopping juices in the bottom of the pan.

Lordy mercy that color is just stunning! .

Cooked down to thicken before brushing over the chicken.

Any chicken will do…whole, fryer pieces, leg quarters or bone-in legs and thighs. I purchased the chicken I used here through my CSA “Fresh Harvest” (Nashville area). Organic all the way. I believe this BBQ sauce would be equally delicious on pork.

Blood Orange and Bourbon Chipotle BBQ Roasted Chicken

Time: 1hr 30mins
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Ingredients for BBQ Sauce:

1 cup blood orange juice
zest of one blood orange
2-4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped (with some sauce)
1/3 cup pomegranate vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar or honey
sea salt & black pepper
1/4 cup bourbon whiskey
2 Tbsp butter

Directions for BBQ Sauce:

Put all in ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 30 minutes until somewhat reduced. Stir often. Remove from heat and let cool. This BBQ sauce will keep chilled for up to 2 weeks.

Ingredients for Roasted Chicken:

2 to 3 chicken pieces for each person – 8 to 12 pieces or the equivalent as in chicken quarters or cut-up fryer pieces

Directions for BBQ Roasted Chicken:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Rinse chicken pieces (leg quarters, half chickens, legs, thighs, cut up fryer pieces) and pat dry.
Place chicken pieces, skin side up, in a shallow baking pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Brush chicken pieces with BBQ sauce. Sauce is not thick so apply a few coats. Place in oven and roast for 45 minutes, basting with BBQ sauce every 15 minutes. Chicken will be crusty on the outside and juicy on the inside. Chicken juices should run clear. Serve chicken with good crusty bread for sopping pan juices and a side of cole slaw or rice.

Teresa Blackburn www.teresablackburnfoodstyling.com http://www.foodonfifth.com

Still Life with an Arkansas Black Apple Tart & A Scenic Road Trip

October 18, 2014November 5, 2014 ~ Teresa Blackburn ~ 28 Comments

I realize that many of you lovely readers of Food on Fifth and fellow bloggers travel to, or are currently vacationing in, exotic locations around the globe while so many other blogger friends live in cities and countries far & wide. Celia is in New Zealand visiting family, Roger actually lives in France, Tina is based out of Frankfurt, Germany but can be found in so many truly exotic spots it can make the mind reel. Selma resides in London & Cheryl in Glasgow and Meg might be blogging about Verona one day and Virginia the next. My recent travels were of a more humble nature, yet iconically American.

A couple of weeks ago my well-traveled friend, Terry, and I purposefully took a road trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. Deep in the Ozark forest is a wonder to behold, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. We will return to this thread later…..

Have you ever eaten an Arkansas Black apple? From a road side stand in Harrison, Arkansas I bought a half bushel basket of these very crispy, deep red, right on the edge of black, apples. They are long-keeping apples and are said to turn almost black when stored.

Last week after our return I gave away bags of these beauties to friends who love to cook. Jill at Jill Cooks Here took home a bag and Nancy at Good Food Matters just made a terrific seasonal cake with her bag.

These apples are very crisp and do not get mushy when cooked, but hold their shape and keep a bit of crunch when used in cakes & pies. I like this quality very much.

Maple syrup, brown sugar & cinnamon.

A crust using the seeds of a whole vanilla bean, almond meal & Kerrygold butter.

Filled and loosely….I like to think artistically….latticed.

Sugared top golden browned.

“Still Life with an Arkansas Black Apple Tart”

Best eaten warm from the oven.

Arkansas Black Apple Tart

Servings: 6
Time: 1 hr 30 mins
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tart

Ingredients for Crust:

the seeds from one vanilla bean
1 3/4 cup almond meal (I used Bob’s Red Meal/Gluten Free)
1/2 cup gluten-free flour + extra for rolling out the dough (King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 sticks cold/12 tablespoons butter grated or cut into small pieces (Kerrygold is my favorite)
2 tbsp cold plain greek yogurt

Ingredients for Filling:

5-6 Arkansas Black Apples, cored, peeled & sliced, or other seasonal local apple with a crispy, tart flesh
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg or any ground nutmeg
1/4 cup real maple syrup
2 tbsp cold butter cut into small pieces
1 whole egg well beaten for wash
Granulated Sanding sugar for dusting over the top before baking

Directions for Tart Crust:

Put the 1 3/4 cups almond flour, 1/2 cup gluten-free flour, the vanilla bean seeds & the 1/4 tsp sea salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times.
Add the cold butter & pulse a few times.
Add the cold yogurt & pulse until a sticky dough forms.
Scrape dough from the processor bowl, shape into a ball, wrap with plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes. This can be made the day before as well.
Lightly grease a springform pan. Press 2/3 of the chilled dough into the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pan. Set aside.
Roll the other 1/3 of the dough out on a floured board and cut into lattice strips. Use as much flour as needed as this dough is very soft and tender.

Directions for Filling the Crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl toss the apple slices with the juice of half a lemon. Sprinkle with the nutmeg and dark brown sugar and toss again.
Drizzle with the maple syrup and toss well.
Arrange the apple slices in the tart crust snuggly. Top with the butter pieces.
Place the dough strips over the top of the apple filling in a “lattice” pattern. As you can see perfection was not my goal, but I did want it to look pretty.
Brush lattice top with egg wash and sprinkle generously with the sanding sugar.
Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the apples are bubbling and the top crust is golden brown. If the crust browns to rapidly then cover the entire pan loosely with foil.
Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Best served warm and of course would be extra good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Scenes from a road trip….

A couple of hours into our trip we had to stop at Billy Tripp’s “Mindfield” in Brownsville, TN…now an official Roadside Attraction!

I always like to stop and wander about. A West Tennessee cotton field is a contemplative place.

Heading into the Ozarks on a cloudy day.

Bentonville, Arkansas. Home of Walmart. Old ad..a store wide selection of timely values.

Bentonville is also home to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Sam Walton’s daughter, Alice, the powerhouse behind this beautiful space is an interesting read on Google. A stunning space for both it architecture, designed by Moshe Safdie, and its remote location, it houses American art spanning 5 centuries of artists from Colonial times to the present.