Eggnog Custard Pie for a Merry, Mary Christmas!

Christmas is here, and I'm sure you're feeling that panic of having too much to do, still, in too little time. Have no fear - I'm here to help! This is an easy but festive dessert, and you can even cheat by using a prepared pie crust to make your life a bit less stressful. The rich, luxurious filling more than compensates for it. And really - those who would judge you for being efficient deserve to have found coal in their stockings this morning!

This takes about 5 minutes of prep, followed by an hour of baking while you putter around wrapping gifts or brushing up the crumbs that Santa left or shoving clutter under the bed before guests arrive. And your house will smell of holiday happiness at the same time.

I want to wish every one of you a joyous Christmas filled with love and abundant blessings!

Look for my annual Top 10 (and more!) list next week ....


Eggnog Custard Pie
(modified from the recipe for Velvet Custard Pie in Marcia Adams' Cooking From Quilt Country)

1 9" prepared deep dish pie crust in a pie tin
2 cups eggnog
4 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
pinch of kosher salt
pinch of nutmeg
whipped cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 350F. Place the pie crust onto a baking sheet, to catch any drips.

In a medium saucepan, scald the eggnog over medium heat just 'til it starts to form a film.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, extract, and salt. Slowly whisk in the eggnog, then pour the custard into the prepared pie crust. Sprinkle top of pie with a pinch of nutmeg.

Bake for 1 hour until the filling has puffed up a bit and wiggles slightly when jostled gently; it will deflate as it cools. Let cool completely to set (so it slices beautifully), then refrigerate. Serve chilled with whipped cream.

Makes 8-10 slices.

The Tale of the Failed Macaroons

Today is National Macaroon Day.  So, of course, I'd planned to make macaroons.  What else would you expect from someone who celebrates holidays for literary figures, religious events, food fests, and any other occasion that amuses me?

I had hoped to make airy and crisp macaroons, rather than the ones that are rounder and taller and softer (which are loaded with coconut, usually, rather than being primarily made of egg white).   According to Wikipedia: "A macaroon is a type of light, baked confection, described as either small cakes or meringue-like cookies depending on their consistency."  So I beat the egg whites, stirred in the flavorings, and baked away.

But instead of seeing delicate white cookies tinged with just a hint of golden color at the edges, holding their shape in lovely little circles, this is what I found when I took the macaroons out of the oven:

Groan ....

But I don't waste food - nope.  I don't throw things out, I simply re-purpose them.  I tell people all the time that if a recipe doesn't work out as intended - if a cake falls, if a pie doesn't cut nicely, whatever - simply toss some ice cream or whipped cream onto the still-delicious mess, rename it (trifle? crumble? parfait?), and move on as though this was what you'd intended!

And thus, my failed attempt at making Coconut Rum Macaroons turned into a beautiful fruit-laden Pavlova instead.

Pavlova is a dessert with a meringue base, topped with fruit and whipped cream.  There are several variations on its origins, but it is thought to have been named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova.  It is light, sweet, and utterly enticing.  It was a perfect way to put my pathetic little macaroons to a far more noble purpose.

And if I hadn't told you this little tale of failure and redemption, you'd have never known that even food bloggers, chefs, cookbook writers, and other culinary professionals have their bad days in the kitchen, too.

Coconut Rum Meringues

2 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon dark rum
1/3 cup ground almonds
6  Manischewitz coconut macaroons, crumbled (2/3 cup crumbs), part of a lovely marketing gift sent for me to cook/bake with and sample

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly greased foil.

In a large bowl, combine egg whites, sugar, and rum; beat for 3 minutes, until the consistency of paint.  (Not an enticing description, but an accurate one.)  Stir in the almonds and macaroon crumbs.

Place tablespoon-sized dollops of batter onto the prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes, until the macaroons are set.  Let cool completely, then carefully peel from paper or foil.

Makes 21 macaroons.

To make Pavlova: Crumble 2-3 meringues into a bowl.  Top with whipped cream and chopped berries.

"Chopped" Challenge - Mini Carrot Latkes with Chocolate Rum Caramel Sauce

Rachel at Diary of a Chocoholic is a girl after my own heart!  Here is her dare for my "Chopped" challenge: "Dessert (because it's my favorite!)? Carrots, Chocolate and Rum!"


Well, how can we go wrong with chocolate and rum, and with a hint of nutrition to delude us into thinking we're behaving ourselves?

Today is sadly the last day of the challenge, in which I had asked readers to suggest ingredients that I would then have to use in creating a dish for a specific course of a meal.  It's been so much fun!  But at least we're going out on a sweet note.

I knew immediately that I didn't want to resort to making carrot cake with the suggested ingredients.  It is one of the great foods in the universe, absolutely!  But it's too obvious.  I debated candying carrot sticks, turning them into gorgeous translucent rum-scented dippers with a chocolate fondue-like sauce.  But adapting a candied orange peel recipe for a vegetable with a different consistency seemed to have too many variables to predict success - too soft or too hard or too gumdrop-y?  A noble notion to tinker with some day when I have time to play.

So, being a girl with a Jewish soul and appetite, I then thought of latkes.  They don't always need to be made with potatoes, and they don't always need to be savory; carrots offer an inherent sweetness that could be played up for dessert.  The combination of mini spiced treats with a luscious chocolate sauce started to sing a Siren song to me.

These little pancakes have a fabulously enticing fragrance, and are utterly enhanced by the addictive sauce.  (Pour it over ice cream and it thickens like fudge ... sigh.  I'm almost - but not quite! - ashamed to admit that I made a full batch of the sauce, ate and enjoyed it with a few of the latkes, and then simply took a spoon and ate the rest of it "as is." )

Thanks to Rachel, we can all be chocoholics today while still eating our vegetables!


Mini Carrot Latkes with Chocolate Rum Caramel Sauce


Latkes:
1/2-pound carrots, peeled, finely shredded
4 ounces sugar cookies, crushed fine
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup brown sugar
pinch of kosher salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil, for frying

Combine carrots, cookie crumbs, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, salt, and eggs in a large bowl.

Heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add batter by the tablespoon and cook 3-4 minutes per side, until nicely golden brown.  Remove from pan, drain on paper towels, and continue with remaining batter.  Makes 16 latkes.

Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons dark rum
2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup half-and-half

Melt butter, brown sugar and rum together in a small saucepan over low heat.  Add chocolate and stir until melted.  Slowly stir in half-and-half.

To serve:
Whipped cream

Drizzle chocolate sauce over 4 dessert plates.  Place 4 latkes onto each plate, and top with whipped cream.

Serves 4.