Ginger-Vanilla Roasted Strawberries

It's here. I wait all year for this. It's berry season in the northwest. And if the strawberries you are used to are big, mild, and white in the middle, then that's a pale shadow of what a strawberry could be. Here, our strawberry season is short lived, but glorious: small crimson berries that are red all the way through, and once picked, they only last a couple days tops.

I become rather greedy during this season, buying pints frequently and often eating them in just a day or two. Sometimes in one sitting. I have no shame, and my obsession for summer fruits like this only extends to maybe Rainier cherries (I'll have to post on those soon, too) and of course heirloom tomatoes (ditto).

But though they are nearly perfect, after a couple pounds of strawberries all to myself, I start to wonder what else I can do with them. And so we have roasted strawberries: strawberries cooked until barely holding together, giving off their concentrated juices into a thick syrup, laced with vanilla and ginger. Is it possible to improve on perfection? Maybe. Try these berries and let me know.

Mocha Bûche de Noël

I did it! I made a trial run first, and learned from a few of my minor mistakes, but I tackled what I thought might be one of the trickiest things to make - a Bûche de Noël - and I came out victorious. The end result was a delicious and moist chocolate cake soaked with brandy and espresso, filled with a coffee-flavored whipped cream and ricotta filling with small, toothsome bits of dark chocolate, and the whole thing was covered with chocolate ganache. It was a lovely and yummy, and it actually tasted better as it aged in the fridge!

This was my first time making a genoise. I wasn't familiar with this type of a cake, as everything I'd done before had been a variation on the standard creamed butter and egg cake batter that goes into a 9" round pan and bakes for 40 minutes. I didn't know how it was going to roll without cracking, that confounded me. And I was wary of the syrup, having had only a single, and disastrous, experience with soaking a cake (I ended up with a flattened, soggy cake, ew). And I didn't think tiramisu counted, since the ladyfingers were purchased and therefore already a little dried out (did you know ladyfingers were piped genoise? I didn't!). But after all was said and done, it was pretty straightforward.

Rich and Delicious Mocha Bread Pudding

Continuing on the coffee theme, here's a rich bread pudding that pairs one of my absolute favorite flavor combinations - chocolate and coffee. I remember the first time I had bread pudding, it seemed like the oddest thing to me. But when I got it, I fell in love - the bread had been transformed from something simple to something decadent, creamy in the middle and crisp around the edges, all full of chocolate but not too sweet. I was hooked.

Make no bones about it, this isn't for the faint of heart, or those trying to diet. It's full of dairy, eggs, bread, and chocolate. It's rich. And it makes a lot! But it is an awesome dessert, and it's done the way I like, which is just sweet enough, but not too sweet. I suggest a little whipped cream for topping, especially if you spike it with something like a coffee liqueur or bourbon. Or, for extra decadence (and as I have done here), some caramel sauce and coffee ice cream.

Chocolate Cherry Almond Biscotti

Let me start right off the bat by simply saying this: this might be my favorite cookie ever. I love all the tried and true favorites - a good, thick, chewy chocolate chip cookie; a soft and chewy oatmeal raisin cookie; a crisp and delicate sugar cookie; and Newman-O's and Girl Scout Samoas and Thin Mints are oh-so-good. But this cookie fulfills all my favorite things I like about sweets in one go: chocolate, of course, preferably dark; sweet-tart and chewy dried cherries for a little bright-tart flavor, and texture; almonds and almond flavoring, because I'm a sucker for sweet almond treats; cardamom, since I adore it but I find it's rarely used in Western foods; and the fact that these are just sweet enough, but not too sweet. Put those all together, and make it into a cookie that's easy and not at all fussy, and you have a winner.

The base is also really versatile - chocolate, cherry, and almonds with a little cardamom is my personal favorite. But you could use cranberries, white chocolate, and pistachios; a little orange zest and anise seed; really, whatever you like. These last ones I drizzled with a little milk chocolate for a cookie exchange, and you can dip half in chocolate for a nice presentation if you like. But usually, I just make (and eat) these plain.

If you decide to make this with dried cherries, and you have a Trader Joe's nearby, I strongly encourage you to stop there and seek out their dried Montmorency cherries. I've tried various dried cherries, packaged and in bulk bins, but they are usually too sweet and mushy (and occassionally rotten, yuck). I've bought countless bags of the TJ's ones over the year, and they are by far the best AND most reasonably priced of the lot, with the best sweet-tart flavor and chewy texture.

Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Citrus Cream and Candied Carrot Curls

There's something really cool about getting your own, small, personalized cake. I'm not talking about cupcakes, although those are fine too. But your own small cake, on a dessert plate, maybe with a nice dollop of whipped cream or some glaze dribbling down the sides looking so prettily imperfect.

What a fun way to elevate the homely but honest carrot cake - one of my favorite cakes! - by turning it into a personal dessert. It's easily achieved with oversized muffin tins. Add an unexpected candied carrot curl (surprisingly tasty!) and candied pecan for that extra touch, and drizzle with thick, cinnamony and citrusy mascarpone frosting. The cake, icing, and even the candying are surprisingly easy, and can be done while the cake is baking or cooling. Your guests (or maybe just you!) will delight at having their own adorable little cake, and you'll have a showstopper you can be proud to serve for dessert!

Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Semifreddo with Caramel Sauce

This is such a snap to put together, and has a luscious taste of vanilla and brown sugar. It has all the components of ice cream - egg yolks and cream - but none of the cooling and churning. Plus, my ice cream always seems to turn out icy if not immediately consumed - this stayed nice and creamy. I highly suggest chilling the serving plates - this stuff melts quickly, and it will buy you time to serve to your guests, or at least keep your own serving from melting before you're halfway done.

For something that's even richer than ice cream, it has an amazingly light and fluffy texture.

Thomas Keller's Lemon Tart

What a fantastically, easy dessert: a lightly crisp crust, that crumbles easily but stays in shape while you cut slices, a sweet-tart lemon filling that is light, creamy and a snap to make. The crust is a pat-in-the-pan crust too - so no rolling, no patching, no fighting with the dough, and the filling takes 15 minutes to make, and sets up quickly.

I did make a few minor changes to the recipe - I added a little salt to both the crust and the filling, I increased the filling by 50%, so that it filled the tart completely, and I skipped the broiling part, opting for a smooth, glossy finish.

This is something I'll definitely make again and again.

Here is a link to the original recipe.

Mint White Chocolate Mousse

Mousse is one of those things that will always be a little bit of a mystery - how does something so laden with heavy cream and chocolate taste so light and delicious? It's a amazing what a little air can do.

This recipe is great in that it's pretty simple, tastes really fabulous, and I've never run across another mousse like this! You can make it ahead of time, up to about 12 hours. It will keep longer, but I get a little iffy about keeping it around too long because of the raw egg whites. It is so good - so rich, creamy, and with just a hint of mint.

And if that isn't enough, then make some chile chocolate brownies to go with it, and knock everyone's socks off!

Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Honey "Pearls" and Grapefruit-Ginger Syrup

At least a year ago, maybe even over two years ago, my hubby ordered the powders necessary to make those fancy molecular gastronomy "caviar" or "pearls" - sodium alginate and calcium chloride. And they sat in our cupboard until this weekend, when we finally dusted them off and got to using them.

If only I'd known how easy it was, I would have done it long ago! And for under $20 for both powders, you only use 1-3 grams at a time, so you get a lot of mileage out of your purchase. Plus, it's fun!

I wanted to make honey pearls, to go with a panna cotta, which I'd also never made before. After the one I'd had at Cafe Juanita, I felt I at least had a good benchmark, and would know if what I made would turn out good enough (it did).

It all came together nicely. Creamy, midly sweet, delicate vanilla panna cotta has a bit of tang from the buttermilk, and given an ethereal ring of lightly sweet honey pearls and tangy-bitter grapefruit. All of this is easy: the hardest part was actually getting the panna cotta out of the ramekin!