"floo·zie \ˈflü-zē\: a usually young woman of loose morals." Thus a Food Floozie is not a woman who can be seduced by virtually any man, but rather a woman who can be seduced by virtually any food (other than sushi).
Tomorrow is Hallowe'en, a feast and festival of candy. Whatever its pagan origins, it has evolved into merely a sugar rush and a chance to play dress-up. Have some fun with your food, even if - like me - you have no little ones to take Trick or Treating or even many kids in the neighborhood anymore to ring your doorbell. It's still a holiday, and you know we always celebrate holidays - religious, secular, literary, whatever! - here ... :)
Christmas Eve is also National Eggnog Day, so you'll want to have this recipe on hand for celebrating both occasions. It's an easy make-ahead dessert, so all you have to do when serving it is pull it out of the refrigerator ... et voilà! A rich, luscious treat.
Here are some recipes for you, if - like me - you're in the midst of a cookie baking spree:
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 cups prepared eggnog
1 tablespoon rum or vanilla extract
2 eggs
whipped cream, for serving
pinch of nutmeg, for serving
In a medium saucepan, combine cornstarch, salt, sugar, and water; bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes translucent and thick like rubber cement. Slowly whisk in the eggnog and the rum; cook for 7 minutes until boiling rapidly and thickened, stirring constantly.
Place the eggs into a medium bowl. Remove 1/2 cup pudding and whisk it into the eggs; whisk this mixture back into the pudding and cook for 1 minute.
Pour pudding into serving glasses. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap against the pudding to prevent formation of a skin. Refrigerate until chilled.
To serve, top pudding with whipped cream and a slight pinch of nutmeg.
It's National Rice Pudding Day, and I'm happy to celebrate the occasion! Except that I try not to eat too many refined carbs. And really, given my own preferences, I try to stick to lean protein and lots of fruits and vegetables.
However, I think my sweet tooth is pretty legendary, so I'm obviously not a zealot; how many cakes, cookies, and pies have I posted about??? And I definitely make an exception to any dietary guidelines when it comes to indulging in rice pudding, one of my very favorite desserts (and Jeremy's, too).
So when making this pudding, I used brown rice which adds not only a bit of a nutty flavor but also more nutrition and fiber. Sure, its benefits are discounted by the sugar and the half-and-half, but every little bit counts!
The cherries add a really lovely sweet-tartness, and are enhanced by the almond extract, although the traditional raisins would be more than welcome if you prefer. (You know me - I always have to tinker a bit.) Dates are also wonderful in rice pudding, if you have those on hand.
This recipe is ridiculously easy to make, as are all puddings - sugar, milk, cornstarch, eggs, stir, set, done. But it's a great luxury and indulgence to enjoy ... :)
Brown Rice Pudding with Cherries
2-1/2 cups water, divided
1-1/2 cups instant brown rice
1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of kosher salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups half-and-half
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
whipped cream, for serving
In a small saucepan, bring 1-1/2 cups water to a boil; add rice, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes or until water is absorbed. Place rice and cherries into a 2.5-quart casserole dish.
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, salt, cornstarch, and remaining cup of water; bring to a boil, whisking until mixture thickens and turns translucent. Add half-and-half and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, for 5 minutes until thickened. Whisk in eggs; cook, whisking constantly, for 2 more minutes. Add extracts, then pour custard over rice. (The mixture will look like rice in milk, but the rice will absorb the custard.)
Cover with plastic pressed against the pudding to prevent a skin from forming, and refrigerate for 2 hours. (If it sits longer than that, you may want to stir in a splash of milk before serving.)
Serve warm or chilled, topped with whipped cream. Makes 10-12 servings.
I got together with friends from Temple Beth Emeth's Sisterhood recently. I love spending time with this great group of women with whom I always have a good time!
The event was a potluck, and there was so much fabulous food! Croissants, a cinnamon sugar-topped coffee cake, walnut spiral pastries, assorted fruits, a mushroom-cheese frittata casserole, a quinoa and vegetable salad, green salad, pasta salad, watermelon gazpacho, spinach lasagna, cucumber sour cream salad, lemon-glazed cake, and a 4-berry pie ... sigh ... :)
We'd been asked to contribute either breakfast or lunch dishes ... well, we all know where this is going, don't we? What to bring? Which meal? Sweet? Savory? Brain hurts ... ack!
But it turned out that the breakfast options were going to be a bit sparse, so I jumped onto that bandwagon. Whew! I'm always so much better when given direction, rather than being left to my own indecisive devices. (And, of course, there was plenty of food for each meal. I've joked with friends before that Jewish women never feel there's enough, no matter how full the table is, so there's always way too much ... and everyone always enjoys the bounty!)
So, then I thought about some sort of easily transported casserole. Something that wouldn't be messy, something that was easy to serve, something that just needed to be baked and brought ... bread pudding, one of my very favorite dishes. And since it's blueberry season, what a perfect addition!
And so, croissants were transformed into a creamy, cinnamon-scented treat, with some gorgeous fresh fruit added in, too. Gotta love bread pudding! And I'm very happy to say that the entire pudding was eaten, not even one serving left ....
Blueberry Bread Pudding
6 cups of cubed day-old croissants (1" cubes)
3/4 cup blueberries
3 large eggs
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/8 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 cup brown sugar
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 10" round baking dish.
Place the cubed croissants and the blueberries into the baking dish. Whisk together the eggs, confectioners' sugar, sugar, vanilla, and half-and-half; pour over the croissants, and let soak for 10 minutes, pressing down on the bread a bit to help it soak up the custard. Sprinkle the top with the cinnamon and the brown sugar.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, until pudding is puffed (it will sink as it cools) and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Makes 12 servings, and is ideal with either ice cream or whipped cream.
It's National Vanilla Pudding Day, an occasion which celebrates the beauty of simplicity. There are no bananas or vanilla wafers in this pudding; no chocolate or butterscotch has been stirred in. This isn't being used as a custard for trifle or for a parfait. It is glorious all on its own!
Periodically, a debate pops up between chocolate lovers and vanilla afficionados. I adore chocolate, and will almost always prefer it over what seems to be plain ol' vanilla. But it's a matter of the quality of the vanilla. A rich, fragrant, luscious vanilla - using beans or pure extract to impart flavor - is a truly wonderful taste not to be underestimated.
And that's the beauty of this pudding: it lets the true vanilla essence shine through in a creamy, seductive dessert.
This pudding would be perfect for Shavuot [shah-voo-OTE], the two-day holiday celebrating receipt of the Torah at Mount Sinai, which begins Saturday at sundown. It would be especially lovely served with fruit; then it would honor both the dairy and the harvest traditions of the holiday, though the former is predominantly acknowledged. (To read my article about Roman food to serve for Shavuot, scroll down to page 25 of this month's issue of the Washtenaw Jewish News.)
Because chag ([HAHG] = the holiday) follows Shabbat ([shah-BAHT] = the Sabbath) and work is prohibited on all three days, here are some recipes that can be prepared ahead of time for your upcoming holiday weekend featuring both religious and secular celebrations. The recipes are also delicious for those who are still free to cook all weekend, and who are looking for great treats for the three-day break or for a Memorial Day barbecue.
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 cups half-and-half
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten
Place the cornstarch, salt, sugar and water into a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. As soon as the mixture is translucent, turn heat down to medium-low and whisk in half-and-half, vanilla, and eggs. Cook, whisking constantly, for about 10 minutes until the pudding is thickened. Place into a medium bowl, cover with plastic wrap pressed against the surface to prevent the formation of a skin, and refrigerate until cold.
Rather than sponge cake made with matzah meal or plain ol' fruit or sesame seed candies, why not try a pudding for a special dessert during Passover? Why not make something a bit luxurious, rather than feeling as though food is becoming a punishment with no access to breads, cupcakes, oatmeal, or other items - both decadent and mundane - that will suddenly seem miraculous on Saturday evening when they're permissible again after the holiday?
This rich, luscious dessert uses ricotta cheese, though I know that it can be difficult to find this particular ingredient with a hekhsher[HEK-sher], certifying that it's kosher for Passover. Pureed cottage cheese would work just fine, if that's easier to acquire. Or make this after the holiday ends, when you're still trying to use up leftover tins of macaroons.
The pudding isn't terribly sweet, so that it offers a nice contrast to the sugary cookies. Layers of texture and layers of flavor ... this coffee-almond parfait is simple but beautiful.
In a large bowl, whisk the ricotta to break it up a bit. Whisk in the sugar and the espresso until smooth.
Fill 4 wine glasses one-third full with the ricotta mixture. Divide half of the crumbled macaroons among the glasses. Divide the remaining ricotta mixture among the glasses, then top with the remaining macaroon crumbs. Top with whipped cream, if desired.
I'd driven by so many times, yet had never managed to get to the small soul food restaurant on Michigan Avenue in Ypsilanti no matter how good my intentions were. "I need to eat at that place." "I should really stop by and pick up a little something to take home." And yet, it didn't happen until just recently. I always seemed to be whizzing down the road to some destination other than food.
So, I'm here to tell you: don't wait to go to Cuppy's Best Soulful Deli! It offers generous portions of great food, homemade desserts, and fabulously friendly service. Jeremy and I are so sorry that we didn't try it sooner.
Admittedly, many of the good ol'-fashioned dishes - smothered pork chops, ribs, catfish, oxtails, chitlins - cost more than our mandatory $5 per person Frugal Floozie Friday budget allows, unless you share them. But Jeremy ordered a generous cheeseburger with all the trimmings for $3; it came with fries for an extra $1, and his bottle of water cost $1. He hit the target perfectly.
I wanted a bit of variety, so I ordered two of the small (in name only) side dishes for $2 each: macaroni and cheese and collard greens. Side dishes at Cuppy's are all vegetarian, as one of the owners doesn't eat meat. Yes, even items that are normally cooked with pork products, such as black-eyed peas, are made without the usually traditional ingredient.
The collards were tender, not too salty, and ever so slightly sweet. They were very good, and didn't even need hot sauce (though it was provided on the table).
The macaroni and cheese was ideal comfort food. It was creamy, and the pasta practically melted on my tongue. There were generous flecks of black pepper to add just a hint of zest, and the caramelized cheese on top complemented the rest of the dish perfectly. Jeremy actually dared to tell me that he thinks Cuppy's mac 'n' cheese is better than mine!
We also ordered dessert because ... well, who needs a reason? They call to you, tempting you, luring you in. For only $3, you can happily indulge in your seductive sugar fix.
I picked the gorgeous, rich red velvet cake pictured above, and was even nudged to choose a corner piece featuring more of the creamy icing by a server after my own heart (and sweet tooth). Jeremy thought the banana pudding sounded most enticing, and it was really an effort to restrict myself to only one taste of it.
The pudding was as thick as frosting, lusciously decadent. It featured generous slices of bananas and whole cookies that had softened into the perfect texture. When Jeremy had finished, I'm not ashamed to admit that I scooped up the last remnants of this treat from the corners of the container.
Cuppy's is clearly enormously popular, as there were easily a dozen customers placing take-out orders while Jeremy and I sat and ate. There is a small counter with stools, and also two larger tables; you're welcome to stay while you enjoy your food, which is brought out to you by exceptionally friendly staff members.
A great deal is the Early Bird Special for only $4.99, offered Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can choose one of the following dishes for a great lunch: 4 wings, 1 pork chop, meatloaf, or 1 piece of fish, and each is served with a side dish and bread. Or you could order a sandwich with fries, choosing among the chicken breast or the pulled pork.
As we paid for our lunch, Jeremy and I raved about the food. A very nice man in the kitchen said, "Tell a friend." I said, "I'll do better than that, I'll tell all of Ann Arbor!"
If you haven't yet been to Cuppy's, you must rectify your negligence. You'll find excellent food cooked with love and served with smiles. And you can eat very well for only $5 per person!
Today I'm offering a luscious, creamy pudding to show case the fabulous flavor of the star ingredient. And who could go wrong by adding a bit of chocolate as a garnish? Especially when the chocolate comes in the form of Reese's peanut butter cups!
Whether you enjoy this rich dessert, an Elvis peanut butter and banana sandwich, some Asian noodles in peanut sauce, or some other dish, just be sure not to miss the party today!
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup brown sugar
pinch of kosher salt
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup half-and-half
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 Reese's peanut butter cups, halved
whipped cream
In a 1-quart saucepan, combine cornstarch, brown sugar, salt and water; cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until it becomes translucent and gelatinous. Lower heat to medium. Slowly whisk in the half-and-half. Stir in egg and vanilla and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter.
Divide the pudding among 4 small dessert cups, then cover with plastic wrap. Let cool completely in the refrigerator.
To serve, top with whipped cream and garnish each with half of a peanut butter cup.
Jean Stapleton, who was so beloved as Edith Bunker on "All in the Family," is celebrating her 88th birthday today. In her honor, I'm offering a recipe that uses peaches ... cling peaches, specifically. Cling peaches in heavy syrup.
Some of you are just reading along, waiting to see what Jean Stapleton and cling peaches have in common with each other. Others of you, though, are showing your age (just as I am!) and your good memories. You're humming along, saying "mmm MMMmmm."
Now, let me explain by having you watch a short clip from the show. (It's much, much funnier to watch than it is to read about - trust me. And you only have to watch the first 5 minutes.)
Now, of course, you understand that I had to honor Edith's integrity and Jean's comedic talent today by showcasing the mmm MMMmmms!
Edith wasn't a sophisticated woman at all, though she had a heart of the purest gold; what she lacked in education and intellect, she more than offered in genuine kindness.
A simple dessert seemed fitting, then - the kind of treat Edith might enjoy with a neighbor while chatting and sipping coffee as they took a break from their household chores. And then I had an epiphany: I looked to see if there might be a celebrity cookbook, or one "written" by the fictional character that could offer a recipe ... et, voila!
I found that there is, indeed, an "All in the Family" Cookbook and it contains a recipe for Peach Pudding Cake! Since I don't have the actual book though, unfortunately, I had to finagle my own version. Pudding cakes are very easy to make, and usually involve mixing dry ingredients in a baking pan and then pouring hot liquid over them; while baking, a layer of cake and a layer of pudding are then formed. This turned out to be sweet and spicy - a lovely treat.
For decades, I haven't been able to see a can of cling peaches without thinking of Edith and hearing her say "mmm MMMmmm" in my head. (I'm sure that says something very distinctive about me, though I won't take any guesses about what, precisely, it says!)
But I think my very dear friend Rob and I are the only ones who remember this episode. Rob teaches a regular "Lunch and Learn" class each week, and each spring he offers them as "Lunch and Laugh" sessions to focus on humor of all varieties.
One time, he was going to discuss integrity and honesty by using Edith's shining example as an illustration. He and I chuckled, remembering the scene with such fondness - it was so funny! We were sure the class would be a huge hit.
And yet, he came back a bit disillusioned afterwards. Many people in attendance - retirees, primarily, who were definitely old enough to have seen the cling peaches hilarity when it actually aired - didn't remember the episode, or they only remembered it vaguely. They laughed while watching the video in class, and they enjoyed discussing it.
But, c'mon! They should have known it as well as Rob and I did! So today, in Jean's honor, I'm making sure that this classic scene isn't forgotten.
And every time you see a can of this fruit from now on, remember that they're not "cling peaches" - they're "mmm MMMmmm ... in heavy syrup."
Peach Pudding Cake with Brown Sugar Sauce
1 15.25-ounce can cling peach halves in heavy syrup
water
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
1 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
whipped cream or ice cream, for serving
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9" pie pan.
Drain the peaches and reserve the syrup. Chop the peaches into 3/4" pieces and place into the bottom of the prepared pie pan.
Measure the syrup; add water to make 3/4 cup liquid. Pour the syrup into a small saucepan and add the brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla; bring to a boil, stir to combine, then remove from heat.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the buttermilk and remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla; pour into the flour mixture and stir to combine well.
Pour the cake batter over the peaches and spread to cover the peaches as much as possible. Pour the syrup over the cake and bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the peach sauce is bubbling.
Let cake rest for 5 minutes, then serve. Top with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.
After happily eating my way through Ypsilanti a few weeks ago at the Grub Crawl, I wanted to make a pudding of my own that was reminiscent of the spicy, creamy sample offered at the Corner Brewery.
Homemade pudding takes virtually no effort to make, just a few minutes of standing while stirring it on the stovetop. The hardest part of the process is simply waiting for the pudding to chill and set before you can eat it!
This is an exceptionally perfect dessert for Fall, and would make a lovely offering at Thanksgiving, too, if you're thinking that far ahead; simply put the entire batch into a decorative bowl and let it chill completely, then people can help themselves to individual servings.
Butterscotch Pumpkin Pudding
2 tablespoons cornstarch 1/4 cup sugar pinch of kosher salt 1/2 cup water 3/4 cup half-and-half 1 egg 1/4 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 cup butterscotch chips 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
In a medium saucepan, combine cornstarch, sugar and salt; add water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking to remove lumps. When the mixture becomes thick and translucent, turn heat down to medium-low.
Combine half-and-half and egg; add slowly, whisking constantly. Stir in vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg; cook, stirring constantly, for 5-7 minutes until thickened. Stir in butterscotch chips until melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in pumpkin.
Divide pudding among 4 dessert glasses, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 4 hours to set.
I haven't made my Chocolate Cannoli Cake in ages. It's a lovely dessert with an orange-scented ricotta cheese mixture swirled into the batter; remarkably, it's both rich and light at the same time.
The other night, I wanted the flavors of the cake but didn't want to bother baking. I'd also just made a blueberry cake that morning, and hardly needed a second seductress in the house calling to me sweetly!
So instead, I simply took the ricotta filling that is swirled into the cake batter (minus the raw egg, of course, since no cooking would be involved) and made it into a pudding instead.
This is light, refreshing, and absolutely ridiculously easy to make. If it's too hot out to cook or you need an elegant finish to a summer meal, this is the dessert you've been waiting for.
It's also perfect if you just want a slightly sweet, cool dessert at the end of the day. This pudding can be anything you need it to be ....
Italian Ricotta Cheese Pudding
1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese very finely grated zest of 1 large orange juice of 1/4 orange 2 tablespoons sugar 1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips 5 cinnamon graham cookie sticks, crushed
Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl; mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight for the flavors to develop, then spoon into decorative serving glasses. Sprinkle cookie crumbs over the top of the puddings.
