Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits

Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Introducing a new favorite around our house, Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits. Do I even need to tellyou that this is a Paula Deen recipe from the word go? My husband saw Miss Paula talking about her recipe for Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits a while back, and asked me to make a pan of them, after all, Pineapple Upside Down Cake is his very favorite cake. Miss Paula's innovation is to create individual servings by placing the pineapple and brown sugar mixture into a muffin pan. Miss Paula pops open a tube of biscuits to top off her little cakes and I thought why not make a homemade biscuit and wouldn't they be even better? And you know what? I was right.

Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits

1 (10 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained, with juice reserved

½ cup light brown sugar

½ stick butter, melted

12 maraschino cherries

1.       Preheat oven to 400. Grease muffin tins.

2.       Combine pineapple, sugar and butter in a small bowl and mix well. Divide mixture among the muffin cups. Place cherry firmly in center of each muffin cup.

Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour, White Lily preferred

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

4 tablespoons shortening, chilled

1 cup buttermilk, whole milk preferred (I use Marburger brand)

1.       Into a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add shortening and cut the fat into the flour using a fork or pastry blender. I use my fingers to rub the fat into the flour ~ it’s messy, but I get a better feel for how the fat is distributed throughout the flour.

2.       Pour in buttermilk and using a large spoon, stir until a dough is formed. With a light touch, place dough on lightly floured counter, gently press out with your hands to a uniform 1/2-inch thickness and cut out 1 dozen, 2-inch biscuits. I usually end up with 14, so you may have extras to bake alongside the pineapple biscuits.

3.       Place biscuits on top of pineapple mixture. Bake in 400 degree oven for about 13 minutes. Biscuits will be lightly brown and spring back when done. Place muffin pan on countertop to cool for five minutes.

4.       Cover a baking sheet with foil and turn muffin pan out onto baking sheet. Serve biscuits warm. Store leftovers in a covered container and refrigerate.

Text and images copyright 2014, Lucy Mercer.

Splendid Ice Cream with Cherries (!)

Goat cheese ice cream with roasted cherries by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

An artist’s eye and confectioner’s soul have led Jeni Britton Bauer to create rich, flavorful ice creams that tempt the palate. Bauer is the founder of “Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams” with 10 stores in her native Ohio and now expanding into Tennessee. Her revolutionary flavors and ice cream bases are tailored to at-home ice cream artists in her new book, “Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home” (Artisan, 2011).

Jeni Britton Bauer by Stacy Newgent

In Jeni’s Splendid stores, Bauer and her employees use fresh local produce in their unusual flavor combinations, all made by hand in small batches. Salty Caramel is her signature flavor, and just perusing the book turns up mouth-watering temptations like Roasted Cherry Goat Cheese, Sweet Corn and Black Raspberry, Backyard Mint, Sweet Basil and Honeyed Pine Nut, Watermelon Lemonade Sorbet, and the Buckeye State Ice Cream: Honeyed Peanut Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Freckles.

The flavors are intriguing, but technique is what grabbed me – Jeni’s ice creams do not use eggs, instead substituting a cornstarch slurry to thicken the ice cream base and finishing with a smidge of cream cheese. Unlike my go-to custard-style ice cream, Jeni’s recipes yield a scoop-able frozen cream that is not the least bit grainy, but smooth and rich.

In the charming intro to the book, Jeni tells the story of her business and the pursuit of the ultimate ice cream. It’s a tale of an art student seeking fulfillment and small business success –there are lessons beyond the kitchen that can be found in here.

The kitchen is where the book really shines – the 100 recipes are arranged according to season, highlighting what’s fresh and in the markets during each month. Extras include tutorials for sundaes, a luscious-looking Baked Alaska Pie (Jeni’s a fan of Italian Meringue, too!), and recipes for marshmallows, cake and assorted sweet mix-ins and accessories (Honey Butterscotch Sauce is kind of calling my name right now).

It’s no secret that I love cookbooks – I read them compulsively to relax and gather ideas for feeding my family. It’s rare for me, though, to bookmark recipes that I intend to come back to. I couldn’t find sticky notes, so I tore up a scribble pad and marked all the flavors I want need to make. Tres Leches Ice Cream (“airy morsels of meringue and cubes of buttery cake in a light coconut-milk and cow’s milk ice cream”). Wild Berry Lavender Ice Cream (“intense lavender with hints of exotic spices and brambly berry flavors”). Do yourself a flavor and pick up a pack of sticky notes when you buy a copy of “Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams.” If you don't have an ice cream maker, start shopping now. I've used a Krups LaGlaciere countertop model for at least 10 years and I love it. If you do have an ice cream maker, consider getting a second one - you're going to want to try every recipe in the book.

Chopped dark cherries ready for roasting by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Roasted Cherry Goat Cheese Ice Cream

Cherries are my husband's favorite fruit, so it was natural to gravitate to this recipe. The roasted cherries are dead easy, and I will use the oven-roasting technique again: sugar + cornstarch + fruit + oven heat = syrupy roasted fruit bliss. The verdict on taste: "frozen fudge" - and that's a good thing - a slight tang from the goat cheese gives a kiss of spring to the sweet fruit and creamy dairy texture.

Makes 1 quart ice cream

2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ cup (about 4 ounces) fresh goat cheese
1 ½ ounce (3 tablespoons) cream cheese, softened
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
Roasted Cherries (see below)

1. Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Whisk the goat cheese, cream cheese, and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

2. Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar, and corn surup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

3. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture until smooth. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.

4. Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy. Pack the ice cream into a storage container, alternating it with layers of the cherries and ending with a spoonful of cherries; do not mix. Press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

Goat cheese ice cream with roasted cherries by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Roasted Cherries
Makes about 1 ¼ cups

2 cups pitted fresh or frozen (not thawed) red or black cherries
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Combine the cherries, sugar and cornstarch in a 9-inch square baking dish, tossing to mix. Roast for 30 to 45 minutes, until the juices are thickened and bubbly, stirring every 15 minutes. Let cool completely, then chill in the refrigerator.

From JENI’S SPLENDID ICE CREAMS AT HOME by Jeni Britton Bauer, Artisan Books, Copyright © 2011, Author photograph by Stacy Newgent.

"Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home" by Jeni Britton Bauer, hardcover, 217 pages. $23.95 list price. The publisher sent me a review copy. There was no compensation for this review and my opinions are my own. They're lovely opinions, aren't they?

A Cherry Jubilee

A bowl of cherries by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

We’re told to eat fresh and eat local and some days, that’s really easy. Squash, greens and watermelon are plentiful at local markets. But imagine the things you couldn’t live without, the good fruits and vegetables that don't grow in your climate. For my husband, if we ate local every day, every week of the year, the thing he would miss most would be cherries.

My sweet husband is from Macon, Georgia, known for its cherry trees, some 300,000 trees, that turn the streets to pink every spring. But as spectacular as the trees are to view, they are just the ornamental variety, the Yoshino. We have a few of the trees in our yard, and they are glorious to view, but sadly, not fruit-bearing.

I grew up in peach country, and the only cherries I remember from my red clay South Carolina girlhood are Luden’s Wild Cherry Cough Drops and the cherry on the top of the ice cream sundae from the Little Moo Dairy Barn. These days, eating cherries every May and June when they come into the markets here from Michigan and the Pacific Northwest, is a ritual. I remember in particular an abundant spring a few years ago when the cherries were 99 cents a pound and we loaded up at the store and ate cherries by the handful, like giddy sub-prime mortgage lenders before the bust.
We still eat cherries out of hand, but have a few recipes that showcase their sweetness and substantial texture. For convenience sake, I usually buy frozen, (which can be as expensive as fresh). Here are a couple of recipes, one using fresh and the other frozen.

The cherry focaccia is an adaptation from "Focaccia" by Carol Field. I substituted fresh sweet cherries for the wine grapes in the Schiacciata Bursting with Grapes recipe. Warm from the oven, it makes an indulgent breakfast or rustic dessert.
The cherry soup is appropriate for a first course or dessert, or in my house, breakfast. Chilled fruit soups are great kid-pleasers. Make a big deal out of a rimmed soup plate and real soup spoon and let the kids play little lord and lady with this absolutely yummy soup.

Chilled cherry soup by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Chilled Cherry SoupAdapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

3 cups plus 2 tablespoons cold water
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 lb. dark sweet pitted cherries (I used frozen)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 ½ tablespoons heavy cream

1. Combine 3 cups water, sugar, zest and cinnamon in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve sugar and boil for two minutes. Add cherries, return to a boil and boil for two more minutes.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons water and 2 tablespoons cornstarch, then whisk into boiling cherry mixture. Simmer, whisking all the while, until slightly thickened, about two minutes. Remove from heat, cool completely, then refrigerate for at least two hours. (I like a smooth texture with this soup, so I pureed the fruit and strained out the pulp before serving.)

3. Just before serving, thin sour cream with cream. Pour soup into bowls and drizzle with cream.

Cherry Bread by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Cherry FocacciaAdapted from Focaccia by Carol Field

Sponge
2 teaspoons instant yeast (or active dry)
¼ cup sugar
1 cup warm water
1 cup plus two teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour

Dough
3 tablespoons apple juice (or water)
3 tablespoons warm water
2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into eight pieces

Topping
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and halved
Demerara sugar

1. To make the sponge: Whisk the yeast and sugar into the warm water in a large bowl and let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes. Gradually stir in flour, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let stand until doubled, about 30 to 45 minutes.

2. To make the dough: Either by hand or with an electric mixer, add the apple juice, water and salt to the sponge. Gradually add flour. Beat in the butter one piece at a time until fully incorporated. Knead by hand for about five minutes or with a mixer for three. The dough should be smooth, stretchy and elastic.

3. First rise: Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.

4. Second rise: Divide the dough into four equal pieces and roll each into a ball. Place on a lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for one hour. About a half hour before baking time, place a baking stone in your oven and preheat the oven to 425°.

5. Lightly oil two 10-inch metal pie pans or springform pans. Take one round of dough and flatten it so that it fills the bottom of the pan. Cover with a ½ cup of halved cherries and sprinkle with a tablespoon of demerara sugar. Flatten and stretch a second dough ball and cover the cherry layer. Pinch the edges to seal. Cover with a layer of cherries and a final sprinkle of sugar. Make a second bread with remaining dough and cherries.

6. Place the baking pans on the baking stone in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 375° and bake until the top is golden brown, another 18 to 25 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack, but not too much, this is divine when warm. Leftovers should be wrapped tightly and stored in refrigerator.



Cherry Bread by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books



Text & Images © 2010, Lucy Mercer.

Cherry soup recipe adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook, © 2004.
Cherry focaccia recipe adapted from Focaccia by Carol Field © 1994.