Five Superstar Summer Salads

Here are some salad recipes that do not appear to have many ingredients in common. Some are based on a traditional vegetables and fruits, others are a little more unexpected. When you are not sure what to serve, these salads provide a perfect solution, suitable for an informal meal with your family, or a quick snack before the movie theater, or just a lunch with a friend where a full meal is not required. Fresh, light and easily done, these salads are attractive and sure to please.

Wheat Bran Morning Cakes with Pears

Quick breakfast cakes are made from the same type of batter as muffins. They share the same uneven, sometimes cake-like crumb. They are breads we fill with nuts and cranberries at Christmas, pumpkin puree near Thanksgiving, and zucchini at summer's end when garden is overrun with the squash.

Full of the goodness of wheat, these wholesome, hearty morning cakes taste wonderful on their own, yet are made even better by stirring a handful of pumpkin seeds and the poached pears into the batter.

Panforte, a Nougat-like Cake Dessert, have a Sweet Weekend!

Panforte is a nougat - like cake, rich in nuts and fruit. It is a speciality of Siena in Italy. Visit this beautiful country and you’ll find hundreds of variations of this Christmas-feeling sweet treat.

Autumn Pear Cake with Cinnamon and Walnuts

This Pear Cake recipe glows with the golds, a bright yellows, sparkling oranges and warm browns of the season. It features pears, cinnamon, walnuts and the warmth of my heart.

"No spring, nor Summer Beauty bath such grace,
As I have seen in one Autumnall face".

John Donne

September Dessert - Cardamom Pear Compote over Vanilla Tapioca with Meringue and Pistachio

Ingredients:

For the vanilla tapioca:

• 2/3 cup large tapioca pearls
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup almond milk
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 tsp  ground cardamom
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

For the pear compote:

• 4 firm, but ripe pears, peeled, halved, cored, cut into thick slices
• 1 1/5 cup water (or for adult version you can use sweet white wine)
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom pods
• 2 cloves
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp allspice berries
• lemon zest from 1/2 lemon

For the meringue:

• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup pistachio, crushed

Directions:

Prepare the vanilla tapioca:
In a medium bowl, soak the tapioca pearls in the water for an hour. Drain and discard the water. In a large saucepan set over medium heat, bring the tapioca, milk, almond milk, honey and cardamom to a boil. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into saucepan; add bean. Lower the heat and simmer 20-25 minutes or until the tapioca looks translucent. Remove from the heat, discard vanilla bean and place a piece of plastic wrap right on top to prevent a skin from forming as it cools.

Prepare the pear compote:
Combine water, sugar, lemon zest, cardamom,allspice berries and cloves in heavy large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil. Add pears and simmer until tender, about 7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to medium bowl. Boil liquid in saucepan until slightly thickened and syrupy, about 15 minutes. Pour over pears.

Prepare the meringue:
Preheat an oven to 275°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine the egg whites and sugar. Place over simmering water and whisk until the mixture is hot, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the bowl to a mixer and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture is lukewarm, 4 to 5 minutes. Using a soup spoon, drop the batter in large mounds spaced 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with pistachio. Bake until crunchy outside and still chewy inside, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and cool completely before removing the cookies from the parchment.

When ready to serve the dessert, spoon the tapioca into the bottom of each of 6 glasses, dividing it evenly. When the pear compote is cool, divide it in between the serving glasses on top of the tapioca. Top with meringue cookies.

Bon appetite!!!

Chocolate Cake with Poached Pears in Red Wine and Happy Birthday to Everyone Who Was Born in the Month of July!

I had a desire today to bake something special, not only for my Birthday but for everyone who is celebrating Birthday in July. This is an easily prepared dessert with a sophisticated taste. Warm poached pears coated in a rich red wine sauce on a top of chocolate heaven - who could resist?

Happy Birthday Dear Friends, I wish you all very sweet year!


Adapted from Gâteau «Reine de Saba» by Pierre Hermé

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 5 oz dark chocolate with 60% cocoa, chopped into very small pieces
• 4 Tbsp. butter, room temperature plus more for greasing
• 3 eggs, separate 
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 1/3 cup potato starch 
• 2/3 cup almond flour 

For the poached pears:

• 4-6 pears, peeled and cored 
• 2 cup red wine, recommend Shiraz or Merlot
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 cinnamon stick 
• 1 anise star
• lemon zest from 1 lemon

Directions: 

To make a poached pears: Combine wine, honey, sugar lemon zest, cinnamon stick and anise star, and bring to a boil. When the wine mixture is boiling, turn heat down to a simmer and add the pears. Simmer pears for 25-30 minutes until they are tender and are easily poked through with a fork. Remove pears and let them cool. Boil wine sauce until the liquid has been reduced by half.

To make a cake: Preheat the oven to 325°F.  Butter an 9-inch pan with 2-inch sides.

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over but not touching barely simmering water in a saucepan. Heat, stirring, until the chocolate melts, about 2 minutes. Add the butter and continue to stir until the butter melts and is incorporated. Let it cool.

In a bowl, sift together the almond flour and potato starch. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar. Using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes. Fold in the starch mixture and then the chocolate mixture until blended.

In a clean grease-free bowl, using an electric mixer beat the egg whites slowly until they are frothy. Increase the speed, and continue beating until the whites are stiff and glossy. Stir one-fourth of the whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining whites just until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and level the top. Bake until the top is risen and crusty and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes.

To serve, top the cake with the poached pears and red wine sauce.

Cream of Roasted Beet Soup with Pears and Ginger

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs beets (roast, then peel and chop to put in the stock)
• 1 large onion, chopped coarsely
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 2 Bosc or French Butter pears, (cut out the fibrous sections connecting the stems to the cores, then trim off the stems, using a melon baler, scoop out the cores)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbs, fresh ginger
• Salt and pepper

As topping: 1/2 cup sour cream, lightly whipped with wasabi and chopped fresh thyme



Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Wrap beets in foil and roast until tender when pierced with fork, about 1 hour. Cool. Peel beets. Cut beets into 1/2-inch pieces.



Melt butter with oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, and celery and cook until beginning to brown, stirring frequently, about 13 minutes. Stir in ginger, pears, pepper, and 1/2-inch beet pieces. Cook until vegetables begin to stick to bottom of pot, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes. Add stock, bay leaf, thyme sprig. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 25 minutes.  Cool soup slightly. Working in batches, puree soup in blender with cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 
Gently rewarm soup (do not boil). Divide between bowls.
Garnish each with sour cream. Sprinkle with chopped fresh thyme.

Poached Pear and Almond Souffle Cakes

Adapted from Tartelette.



Ingredients for the poached pears:

• 6 small pears like Forelles or Seckel
• 1/2 cup (100gr) sugar
• 2-3 cloves
• 2-3 cardamom pods
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 5-6 allspice berries
• 1-2 star anise
• 1/2 lemon
• 4 cups (1 liter) water

Ingredients for the souffle cakes:

•  3 tablespoons (40gr) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100gr) sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup (190ml) heavy cream
• 1 cup ground almonds (blanched or skin on - your preference)
• 1/4 cup 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions for the poached pears:
Place the pears, spices, lemon and water in tall saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Lower the heat and let them simmerfor 15-20 minutes or until the pears are just soft (poke with a toothpick to check).
Remove from the water using a slotted spoon and allow to cool on paper towel or baking rack.



Directions for the souffle cakes:
Preheat the oven to 350F and position a rack in the middle.
Slightly butter or spray 6 ramekins and place them on a baking sheet. Set aside.



In the bowl if an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffly (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one a time and beat well in between each addition. Reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla, heavy cream, almonds, flour and baking powder and beat until incorporated. Fill each ramekins about 1/3 full with the batter and place a poached pear in the center.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.



Serve at room temperature with some powdered sugar dusted on top if desired.
Serves 6.