Summer Fruit Cake Cobbler Crisp

Watch me make this on my YouTube channel!

 

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Crisp Topping:

¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ cup dark brown sugar

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 16 cubes, chilled

1/3 cup whole raw almonds, roughly chopped

¼ cup old-fashioned oats (not instant)

 

Combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine, approximately 5 times. Add butter and pulse 10 times. Add the almonds and oats and pulse 10 times, until the texture is like chunky sand.

Transfer into a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to use. Do not clean food processor – you will use it to make the cake cobbler batter.

 

Cake Cobbler Batter:

1¼ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil (or other neutral oil)

2 large whole eggs

1 tablespoon grated ginger, peeled and grated on a Microplane

2 teaspoons orange zest, grated on a Microplane

2 teaspoons Amaretto

1 cup whole milk

 

Adjust an oven rack to the lower middle position, then preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Add flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cardamom to the food processor and pulse to combine, approximately 5 times.

With food processor running, stream in melted butter and oil. Turn off food processor.

Add eggs and process for 5 seconds.

Add the remaining ingredients. Process for 5 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom (as best you can around the blade) and process again for 5 seconds.

Set aside.

 

Fruit:

3 tablespoons butter, cubed into 12 pieces

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons corn starch

3 medium plums (9-ounces), pits discarded, diced medium

1 (6-ounce package) blackberries

 

Add the butter to a 7×11-inch (2 quart) casserole dish. Place on a sheet tray and transfer to the oven. Bake until the butter is melted, but not browned, and pan is hot, 8-10 minutes. (Set a timer!)

While the butter is melting, add the sugar, salt and corn starch to a small mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.

Add the fruit to a medium bowl.

Sprinkle the cornstarch mixture evenly over the fruit and fold together gently.

Gather your ingredients and bring them close to your oven – it’s go time!

Remove sheet tray with casserole dish (with now melted butter) from the oven. Pour in the batter and use a rubber spatula to make sure you get as much batter as possible into the dish. Evenly distribute fruit throughout the dish –  starting with the perimeter of the batter.  Evenly distribute/sprinkle over the crisp topping.

Transfer dish on sheet tray to the oven.

Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, rotating the sheet tray after 20 minutes, until the the top is golden brown.

Remove from the oven. Transfer dish to a cooling rack. Let cool for at least 45 minutes before diving in.

Green Tex-Mex Shakshuka (Eggs Poached in Tomatillos and Spices)

Watch me make this on my YouTube Channel!

Yield: 4 servings

 

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion, peeled and cut into eighths

½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

5 large cloves garlic, peeled

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon whole coriander seed

¼ teaspoon chipotle powder

¾ pound tomatillos, husked, rinsed and quartered

1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans (do not drain)

10-ounces frozen spinach (whole leaf or cut)

4 large whole eggs

1 cup crushed tortilla chips

1/3 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 cup salsa of your choice

1/3 cup sour cream

 

Add onion and garlic to a food processor. Pulse, approximately 20 times, until onion is chopped.

Place a large sauté pan over medium heat and add oil, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes, until the onions are soft and translucent.

While cooking, add tomatillos to food processor and pulse, approximately 15 times, until roughly chopped. Add pinto beans (beans + liquid) and pulse 5 times.

When onions are soft and translucent, add cumin, coriander and chipotle powder. Stir and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.

Add tomatillo bean mixture and spinach to the pan. Stir and turn heat to high to bring mixture to a boil, stirring until spinach has thawed. Once boiling and spinach has thawed, reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid has reduced by about half, 5 to 10 minutes.

Crack the eggs, equally spacing them apart, into the pan.

Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 5 minutes or until whites are just set. Remove from heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle over crushed tortilla chips, cilantro and salsa and dollop over some sour cream.

Tray Bake Sausage with Cabbage and Roasted Cherries

Watch me make this on my YouTube Channel!

Yields: 4 servings

 

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 small cabbage (1¼ pound cabbage) cored, quartered and thinly sliced (7 packed cups)

1 large shallot, peeled, halved and thinly sliced

4 (5-inch) sprigs fresh rosemary

1½ pounds fresh Spicy Italian Sausage (4 links), poked with a sharp knife (5-10 times per)

1 pound frozen, pitted cherries, thawed

½ cup roughly chopped toasted and salted pecans

¼ cup fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley leaves

 

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Add the mustard, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper to a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the cabbage, shallot and rosemary and mix thoroughly to combine.

Spread the cabbage mixture over 2/3rds of a parchment paper-lined sheet tray.

Evenly space the links on top of the cabbage mixture.

In the remaining 1/3 space on the sheet tray, spread out the cherries.

Bake for 15 minutes and then flip the sausages.

Continue baking until the internal temperature of the sausages reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit, approximately 15 minutes.

To serve, place some of the cabbage in a shallow bowl. Top with a sprinkle of pecans and parsley. Spoon roasted cherries around the cabbage and top with a sausage.

Ploye: your new waffle/pancake contender

Watch me make this on my YouTube channel!

The Ploye is an Acadian dish and can be eaten at breakfast, lunch or dinner – in a sweet or savory context. It’s similar to a pancake, but traditionally you do not flip a ploye when cooking.

Yield: 16 ployes

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup buckwheat flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1½ cups water (room temperature)

½ cup boiling water

 

Add flours, baking powder and salt to a medium bowl. Whisk to combine. Add room temperature water. Whisk to combine. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Add boiling water, whisk vigorously to combine and let sit for 5 minutes.

Place a medium nonstick pan over medium low heat. Once pan is hot, pour a ¼ cup of the batter in the pan. Swirl pan to distribute batter. As the ploye cooks, it will form bubbles. Cook until no light portions of the batter remain, approximately 45 seconds to 1 minute. Do not flip.

Serve with your favorite toppings, sweet or savory, or as is. Traditionally, the ploye is eaten by rolling it up into a tube-like shape and then taking a bite (no forks or knives needed)!