cooking

Quince finale (double header)

| Green Card Gardener

When I started gardening I always made lists of what I wanted to accomplish that day, or that week. However those lists quickly became a source of frustration. Once outside, I always got sidetracked by the many additional things that need to be done.

As a result, today, on a gorgeous early fall day, I am happily working in the garden without a list. I only came into the house to write down the last two quince recipes, and, of course, to have a slice of the Quince Meringue Pie I made this morning.

Quince Sorbet

8 cups water

1¼ cups sugar, more to taste

2 pounds peeled and cored quinces

¼ cup applejack

You also need:

An ice-cream maker

1. Bring water and sugar to a boil. Cut the quinces into chunks and cook covered for about 40 minutes, or until soft. Remove from the heat and cool.

2. Puree the quinces very finely with all of the cooking liquid. As long as you peeled and cored the quinces neatly, there is no need to strain the mix. Refrigerate overnight.

3. Add the applejack to the chilled mixture and stir well. Process in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Since this recipe makes a large amount, I processed it in two batches and put the freezer bowl back in the freezer after the first batch until it was solidly frozen again.

4. Fill sorbet in airtight freezer containers and freeze for 12 hours, or until solidly frozen.  Take sorbet out of the freezer 15 to 20 minutes before serving to soften, but not much longer because it melts quickly.

Makes 1.5 quarts

Quince Meringue Pie

This pie tastes best the same day, as the meringue tends to get soggy after a while.

Pie crust:

1 cup flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3  cup (about 2½ ounces) shortening, at room temperature

4-6 tablespoons quince poaching liquid, chilled

Filling and topping:

2 ounces unpeeled almonds, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons golden raisins

1 teaspoon golden rum

16 ounces poached quinces, drained

3 egg whites

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

You also need:

A pastry blender

Wax paper

A 9-inch pie pan with removable rim

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

2. For the pie crust, mix flour, salt and shortening with a pastry blender until crumbly. Add poaching liquid by tablespoons until the dough holds together in a ball. Blend briefly to get rid of any lumps.

3. Roll out the dough to an 11-inch circle between two sheets of wax paper. Remove the top layer of the wax paper and flip the wax paper over to fit the circle into a 9-inch fluted pie pan with removable rim. Carefully remove the wax paper. Let the dough come up to the height of the rim. Trim the dough along the rim with a sharp knife.

4. Loosely line the crust with lightly greased aluminum foil (shiny side down) and fill with pie weights. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, remove the pie weights and the aluminum foil and bake for 10 to 13 more minutes, or until the crust has a golden brown color. Let cool on a wire rack. Do not turn the oven off.

5. While the pie crust is baking, toast the almonds in an ungreased pan until lightly browned and fragrant. Set aside to cool.

6. Wash the raisins under warm water and pat dry with a paper towel. Mix with the rum in a small bowl.

7. Whip the egg whites until very stiff, gradually adding the confectioners’ sugar.

8. Carefully toss the poached quince slices with the almonds and raisins with rum. Arrange them on the cooled crust. Top with the meringue and bake in a 350 degrees F preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the peaks are lightly browned. Remove the pie rim and let cool on a wire rack.

Quinces part 2

| Green Card Gardener

After looking at dozens of quince recipes (there’s really not so much out there), I poached a good amount of the quinces, which was the easiest and most versatile way. Any recipe that uses quinces whole or with their skins still on was a reject right away, because as much as I like quinces, I do not like the particular taste of their skins and cores.

I followed the recipe for poached quinces from Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Fruit, using a full two pounds of peeled and cored quinces. That leaves me with a big container of quinces in syrup to use for pies, desserts and other experiments.

This morning I wanted to do something quick so I made Quince Danish. I couldn’t get away from my desk so I left the puff pastry thaw on the countertop for too long. It was sticky and difficult to handle but it still tasted good.

Quince sorbet is next.

Quince Danish

2 cups sugar

6 cups water

½ organic lemon, in slices

½ vanilla bean

2 pounds peeled and cored quinces

1 sheet puff pastry

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 tablespoons cream cheese

Apple or crabapple jelly for brushing

1. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a heavy saucepan. When the sugar is dissolved, add the lemon.

2. Split the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds with a sharp knife. Add pod and seeds to the pot.

3. Cut the quinces into rather thick wedges and add the them to the pan. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the quinces are soft but not falling apart. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Remove the vanilla bean and the lemon. Refrigerate.

4. Let the frozen puff pastry thaw for about 30 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

6. Place the puff pastry on a sheet of wax paper and cut it into 8 rectangles of even size.

7. Stir sour cream and cream cheese until smooth. Put a small dollop of the mix in the middle of each rectangle. Arrange 5-6 quinces slices on top, leaving enough space around the edges to crimp the dough.

8. Crimp the dough all around. Place the rectangles on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the quince slices with apple jelly and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until puffed up and golden.

9. Transfer to a wire rack immediately and cool.

Makes 8 small Danish

Quince a surpise

| Green Card Gardener

When I was biking to the post office this afternoon, our neighbor yelled over „Hey, I have quinces. Do you want some?“ Did I want some?!?

Last fall I asked every local farmer and vendor at farm markets for quinces, to no avail. Then, at the end of October, our neighbor spotted a couple of abandoned quince trees at the place where he presses his apples for cider. So one evening he knocked on our door with a big basket of quinces. They were already way past their prime but I was happy nonetheless. I divided the quinces into small batches to use them for as many different recipes as I could. The quince compote was yummy, other things were not so good yet the overall quince experience and taste made me want to try out more recipes with this ugly duckling of the fruit world.

Ugly duckling… maybe not. The quinces I lugged home today are big, plump and beautiful.

Now I have all weekend to think about what I am going to do with them.

Confessions of a raspberry hoarder

| Green Card Gardener

When it comes to raspberries, I turn into a combination of a hoarder and the food police – at least when the harvest is scarce in mid-summer. It ticks me off when someone pops a handful of freshly picked raspberries in their mouth after I have spent so much time picking (needless to say, I am particular about letting someone else pick the raspberries in my garden).

I admit that sometimes, I even leave the raspberries in the garage and wait until I’m alone in the kitchen so I can spread them on a baking sheet and freeze them.  I keep hoarding until I have a couple of 1-gallon bags in the freezer to make cakes, pies and desserts when the children are home so everyone gets their equal share of raspberries. The addictive Raspberry Almond Vacherin from Amanda Hesser’s Cooking for Mr. Latte is everybody’s declared favorite.

Now that I have reached my raspberry target for 2010 and I am still harvesting raspberries, I can finally relax! I used half of the two pints I picked today to make a custard pie just for my husband and me to splurge on.

One remark about shortening: Until I discovered the organic Jungle brand, shortening was a big no-no for me.  This is the only shortening I will use. It is non-hydrogenated and makes a great flaky pie crust.

Raspberry Pie with Crème Anglaise

Pie crust:

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3  cup (about 2½ ounces) shortening, at room temperature

¼ cup ice water

Crème anglaise:

¼ cup sugar

2 egg yolks

¾ cup + 2 tablespoons low-fat or whole milk

1½ teaspoons cornstarch

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling:

1 pint fresh raspberries

You also need:

A pastry blender

Wax paper

A 9-inch pie pan with removable rim

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

2. For the pie crust, mix flour, salt and shortening with a pastry blender until crumbly. Add water by tablespoons until the dough holds together in a ball. Blend briefly to get rid of any lumps.

3. Roll out the dough to an 11-inch circle between two sheets of wax paper. Remove the top layer of the wax paper and flip the wax paper over to fit the circle into a 9-inch fluted pie pan with removable rim. Carefully remove the wax paper. You might have do this by ripping off strips of paper in order to leave the dough intact (sorry, no recycling). Let the dough come up to the height of the rim. Trim the dough along the rim with a sharp knife.

4. Loosely line the crust with lightly greased aluminum foil (shiny side down) and fill with pie weights. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, remove the pie weights and the aluminum foil and bake for 10 to 13 more minutes, or until the crust has a golden brown color. Let cool on a wire rack.

5. For the crème anglaise, beat the sugar and the egg yolks with an electric mixer until thick and pale yellow. Cook with ¾ cup milk in a small heavy saucepan over very low heat for 5 minutes, whisking constantly. Dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tablespoons milk and whisk into the mixture. Cook a few more minutes until it thickens. Make sure it doesn’t boil or the eggs will curdle.

6. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Let cool to room temperature, whisking a few times to prevent a skin from forming.

7. Whisk the crème anglaise, then spread it evenly on the cooled pie crust. If it is lumpy, strain through a sieve before spreading.

8. Set the raspberries into the custard and refrigerate until the custard has completely set and the pie is chilled, about 1 to 2 hours.