Caramelized Pears

It does not take many ingredients to make this easy dessert, but it looks really impressive. As if that's not enough, it's also very healthy.

• 1 pear per person
  
• about a tablespoon of white sugar per pear
  
• optional: whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or vanilla sauce
  

Directions

1. Halve pears lengthwise; remove cores. (A melon baller removes cores easily, but a small spoon works, too.) Place sugar on a plate.


2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. A regular (as in not non-stick) skillet works best here because you can see when the pears start to caramelize. Press cut side of each halved pear in sugar. Place cut side down in skillet. Cook until beginning to brown, 7 to 8 minutes.


3. Add 1/2 cup water. Cover; simmer until pears are tender, 5 to 10 minutes (depending on ripeness), adding more water if sugar begins to burn.


4. If liquid in pan is thin, simmer until thickened to a saucelike consistency; if it is thick, add more water. Serve sauce over pears.


5. Serve pears with a dollop of whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or vanilla sauce. Even without this addition, these are amazingly simple, delicious, and not even bad for you! You could even serve the pears on top of the spinach salad recipe (see salads category)
   

Martha Stewart's Cranberry Upside Down Cake

I cannot take any credit for this - it is all Martha Stewart and is so perfect that it needs no modifications. I've made it 4 times in the last month, and it's always eaten up before I get a chance to take a photo! If you don't have allspice, substitute with a little ground ginger and ground nutmeg.

The topping is made by simply baking cranberries placed in a layer over sugar and spices at the bottom of the pan. As the cake bakes, the sugar caramelizes, forming a rich syrup.

Prep: 20 minutes
Total: 1 hour

Serves at most 8, not very hungry people

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 3/4 cups cranberries (or any other berry, frozen or fresh)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch round cake pan with 2 tablespoons butter. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar with the cinnamon and allspice. Sprinkle mixture evenly over bottom of pan; arrange cranberries in a single layer on top.

With an electric mixer, cream remaining 6 tablespoons butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until well combined. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk, until well combined.

Spoon batter over cranberries in pan, and smooth top. Place pan on a baking sheet; bake cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes (or more!! Make sure it really is cooked in the middle). Let cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake; invert onto a rimmed platter.

Pavlova

INGREDIENTS:
4 egg whites
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pint heavy cream
6 kiwi, peeled and sliced
DIRECTIONS:
Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw a 9 inch circle on the parchment paper.
In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gradually add in the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until thick and glossy. Overbeaten egg whites lose volume and deflate when folded into other ingredients. Be absolutely sure not a particle of grease or egg yolk gets into the whites. Gently fold in vanilla extract, lemon juice and cornstarch.
Spoon mixture inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper. Working from the center, spread mixture toward the outside edge, building edge slightly. This should leave a slight depression in the center.
Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack.
Remove the paper, and place meringue on a flat serving plate. Fill the center of the meringue with whipped cream, sweetened if desired. Top whipped cream with kiwifruit slices.

Fruit Pizza

Layer 1

Purchase one roll of Pillsbury sugar cookie dough (in the refrigerator - NOT
freezer - section.) Put it in the freezer for 20 minutes before using.
Slice the dough to medium thickness (about ¼ inch) and arrange cookie slices
on an ungreased pizza pan (you can use a disposable aluminum one). Make sure
the cookies are touching each other. Put that in a 300 degree oven until
cookies are done but not brown - about 15-20 minutes. Take out of oven and
cool.

Layer 2

8 oz cream cheese, softened by leaving out of the refrigerator one hour
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Cream together the ingredients.

Layer 3

Assorted fruit. Try to choose fruit for their colors. I like to use kiwis,
canned mandarin oranges, fresh strawberries, rasberries, blueberries. Other
good fruits to use might be mangoes, pineapple, nectarines, blackberries,
bananas.

Layer 4

½ cup orange juice
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/8 cup water
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Mix together the sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan until well mixed. Add
liquids and stir until dissolved. Bring to a boil. Once liquid has boiled,
continue to boil for 1-2 minutes, until thickened.

Instructions:

Prepare layer 4, set aside. Prepare layer 1. While it is cooling, prepare
layer 2 and fruits. When layer 1 has cooled to room temperature, spread
layer 2 on layer one. Arrange fruits. Pour layer 4 over pizza slowly. You
may not need to use all of layer 4. Refrigerate fruit pizza at least one
hour before serving.

Baklava

What you need: (you should be able to find everything at a regular grocery store)

Supplies:
Oven
9x13” glass baking dish
pastry brush or paint brush that has never been used for toxic materials

Ingredients:
SYRUP
1 ¾ cup cold water
1 ¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

OTHER
1.5 cups walnuts or pistachios
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
1 package filo dough

DIRECTIONS:
Heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Make the syrup. Combine the cold water with the sugar in a saucepan. Boil the mixture for 5 minutes, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes. The syrup is ready when it is light yellow. Turn off the heat and stir the lemon juice into the syrup. Put the syrup aside and let it cool.

Make clarified butter: In a saucepan, slowly melt the butter. After a while, the white part of the butter will float to the top. Remove the white part and throw it away. The other part is called clarified butter.

Chop the walnuts and mix them in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of sugar.

Take the glass pan now and brush the inside of the pan all over with a little of the clarified butter. Now, open the filo dough and cut it in half (the short way). The sheets will now fit in the pan. Put one sheet in the pan. Brush it with a little more butter. Continue layering the dough and brushing with butter until half of the filo has been used. Filo dries VERY quickly, so work fast!

Now, spread the walnuts into the pan. Sprinkle a little water on them, so that the next layer of filo will stick to the walnuts.

Now, layer the rest of the filo dough with the butter as you did with the first half. When you have put the last sheet of filo, brush the top layer and edges with butter.
Using a sharp knife dipped in hot water, cut through the dough halfway (to the walnuts) making triangle-shaped pastries.

Put the baklava in the center of the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, lower the heat to 325 and bake for 30 more minutes, until the top is light golden. Remove the baklava from the oven and then let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Recut the pastries along the lines all the way to the bottom of the baking pan. Now, pour the cold syrup evenly over the cut lines. Sprinkle some more nuts on top of the baklava, if you want. Now, let it cool completely before serving.

Afiyet olsun!

Irmik Helvasi (Wheat dessert)

½ kilo (2 cups) irmik (semolina - old style (not instant) cream of wheat can be used)
2 cups milk or half milk half water, room temp or hot
Slightly less than 1 cup olive oil
2 cups sugar
A few spoonfuls of pine nuts


Stir irmik, oil, and pine nuts in a heavy pan (with a tight fitting lid – you’ll need it later) continually over medium heat until pine nuts are hazel in color. Then add the milk/water mixed with the sugar. It may splatter, so please be careful. Stir and cover. The irmik will absorb the liquid within around half an hour. Can be eaten warm, room temperature, or cold. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon to serve. For a slightly lighter dessert, use 3 cups of liquid rather than 2.

Sütlaç (Rice pudding)

½ cup short-grain rice
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups water
Pinch of salt
4-1/4 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ cup heavy cream (optional)
Ground cinnamon
¾ cup sugar


In a medium-size saucepan over high heat, bring the rice to a boil in the water. Lower the heat, cover, and cook very gently for about 25 minutes, until the rice is tender and has absorbed the water. Stir in 4 cups of the milk, the cream (optional) and the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil. Meanwhile, dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining ¼ cup cold milk then gradually add it to the boiling rice mixture, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.

Lower the heat to medium, add a pinch of salt and the vanilla extract, and simmer for about 15 minutes, uncovered, stirring frequently. Transfer the mixture to individual serving dishes (small bowls) and let it cool. Place in the refrigerator for several hours to chill the pudding. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon and serve.
[1] Borrowed from The Sultan’s Kitchen cookbook, p. 146. (see references, page 1)