the second in a series of desserts featuring pennington’s strawberry rye, to read the entire post, please follow this link
pennington’s icebox cake: a no-bake summer dessert
Author: alisahuntsman
farmers market foray; colonial williamsburg
this week, i am posting from colonial williamsburg, the area i will be calling home in the very near future. hard to believe but after a quick 19 years, darry and i have sold the house and are relocating to williamsburg for his new position. as part of that transition, i went out there this week to begin the search for a place to live.
part of that process included getting to know the area. sure, i visited colonial williamsburg as a kid but this is the first time i have done so as an adult. my father will be proud to know that this time, i truly appreciate the historical aspect of the city and i am looking forward to getting to know all i can about this beautiful place.
during the summer, the historical merchants square is home to a weekly farmers market. each saturday morning, the street is filled with vendor booths stocked with products ranging from flowers, baked goods, chocolates and produce to meats, cheeses and honey. if you cannot find it here, it just isn’t in season! be sure to check out the website as it lists the vendors who will be in attendance each week-yes the website is updated weekly, so you can plan your trip in advance if there is a specific item you would like to purchase. darry and i spent the morning wandering from booth to booth while listening to live music courtesy of a local group of what we assumed were very talented high school students. the best part about the market, you can purchase wooden nickels, tokens if you will, for $5 each and then spend them all season long at the market-a great idea if you want to stick to a budget or if you happen to pop in at the last minute and are short on cash. these tokens spend like cash and if your total is less than $5, they will give you change in cash.
having lived in tennessee for a while now, i was a little surprised to see such a small variety of tomatoes. it seems that the folks in nashville are much more tomato crazy-must be the tomato sandwich that drives it. only one vendor had cherokee purples-a tomato that darry is completely hooked on, and rightly so! we settled on a basket of mixed tomatoes to snack on.
i love fresh flowers and was amazed at how many of these bouquets had giant marigolds in them. looks like i will have to plant the monster sized ones in my new garden so that i can put them in bouquets too. to see them here, look at the blue bucket in the bottom left corner, that was mostly marigolds.
nothing like fresh berries from the market-just picked and juicy!
apples are coming into season here. we were going to snap up a few honey crisps but as we approached the booth, they were wiping them off the list because they had already sold out…maybe next time!
no shortage of freshly picked melons here, love these baskets-they would be great for the garden
this sign made me laugh-embrace new cultures…did someone tell them we are moving here? trust me, we may be moving a mere 660 miles but it is a whole new world and a completely different place and culture!
did you know that the virginia peninsula which is where williamsburg is located, meets the chesapeake bay making fresh blue crabs and mollusks a truly local product. the virginia seafood booth in the market sells cooked crabs (without the claws) for a dollar a piece. while that may seem like a bit of a rip off, the majority of the meat is in the body and as we stood there looking into the cooler, darry’s eyes lit up; he had visions of an inexpensive source for crab shells to make bisque and that totally works for me!
and while i am truly sad to be leaving friends, gardens(as well as gardeners) and fellow food bloggers behind, i am comforted to know that my suspicions are correct: pie fixes everything!
pennington’s icebox cake; a no-bake summer dessert
summer is the season for no-bake desserts. honestly, who wants to turn the oven on when it is 90+ outside? while i can say that i am guilty of baking during the heat of summer, having discovered icebox cakes, i will probably think twice, especially since they are so easy to make. the best part about them is that by simply changing cookies or adding a little something to the layers, you have a whole new dessert each time.
for this version, i used biscoff cookies and pennington’s strawberry rye and it was as tasty as it was easy to make. the hardest part; letting it sit in the fridge long enough for the cookies to soften!
whip up 2 cups of heavy cream with 2-3 tablespoons of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla until stiff peaks form. choose a plate that is completely flat and spread a tiny bit of the whipped cream in the center to act as glue for the cookies. line up 6 cookies as i did in the photo above and brush them with about a tablespoon of pennington’s strawberry rye. cover the top of the cookies with some of the whipped cream and repeat the process until the entire package of cookies is gone. there should be five layers of six cookies with a thin layer of cream between them. for those of you that like a lot of cream, go ahead and whip up 3 cups of cream with a 1/4 cup of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla, the rye amount will remain unchanged; you will need at least 1/3 cup. if i recall correctly, there will be a couple of cookies left over so just dip them in some additional rye and eat them quickly, i’ll never tell…
it comes together quickly and easily. the hardest part is waiting until it is soft enough to slice. refrigerate the cake for at least 4 hours so that the cream and the rye will soften the cookies and make slicing it possible.
i liked the way the sides looked with all of the layers showing but you could easily whip up another cup of heavy cream and frost the sides of the cake. use the tip of the spatula to make a zig-zag pattern on the top. fresh strawberries would be a pretty addition when served. slice them in half from the top down to make heart shaped garnishes and give each of the guests a shot of pennington’s to sip with dessert.
just to prove my theory, i tried the cake with gingersnaps. publix supermarkets sells a private labeled gingersnap that is the spiciest snap i have ever eaten. luckily, the whipped cream tempered the heat. while the flavors blended nicely, i thought the spice of the snaps overwhelmed the fruity flavor of the rye and honestly, as much as i like gingersnaps, i preferred the biscoff version much better.
twenty minutes of work and five minutes of cleanup equals one tasty icebox cake to serve and savor on a hot summer night!
special thanks to my good friend the food sheriff for sharing a bottle of pennington’s strawberry rye with me! to see the other desserts i made with it, follow these links:
strawberry tea-ramisu; a no bake summer recipe
if you give a pastry chef a bottle of pennington’s strawberry rye, chances are she will whip up a dessert. and if said pastry chef is feeling a little daring, she might just reinvent the classic tiramisu into something totally southern. guess what, this happened, it really, really happened! to read the entire post and see the full recipe, visit my new blog page by following this link
strawberry tea-ramisu; a no-bake summer recipe
if you give a pastry chef a bottle of pennington’s strawberry rye, chances are she will whip up a dessert. and if said pastry chef is feeling a little daring, she might just reinvent the classic tiramisu into something totally southern. guess what, this happened, it really, really happened!
with many thanks to my good friend, the food sheriff, i found myself in possession of some penningtons, strawberry rye and the instructions to “make something!” have i ever told you that i am good at following instructions? okay, that is stretching it, a lot, but this time, i did exactly that.
if you have made a true, classic tiramisu, you know it can be a little intimidating. zabaglione is one of those recipes that require you to follow instructions carefully for the best results. but that does not mean that you cannot improvise. for this recipe, the technique is intact, it is the components that have changed.
the first change came when i decided to replace the espresso with a strong batch of black tea. this dark tea was combined with the pennington’s strawberry rye and a little sugar to make the soaking liquid for the savoiardi.
to further adapt the recipe, the traditionally called for marsala was omitted from the zabaglione and the strawberry rye was used in a one to one switch. to keep it light and simple, whipped cream was used rather than whipped mascarpone cheese. the result of these changes is a lovely, creamy whiskey and tea infused dessert that is both simple and sophisticated.
the best type of cookie for this recipe is a true italian savoiardi, a crispy lady finger that soaks up the tea and rye syrup. finding them in the grocery store can be a challenge but in nashville, i quickly found them at publix. for best results, make the dessert the day before so that it has time to set and make cutting it into portions for serving.
strawberry tea-ramisu
1 (8″x 8″) pan serving 6-8
1 (7ounce) package of savoiardi
1 pint fresh strawberries
white chocolate shavings
tea syrup, recipe follows
zabaglione, recipe follows
press plastic wrap into an 8″x 8″ dish so that the sides and bottom are covered. dip a few of the savoiardi into the tea syrup and line them up on the bottom of the dish so that the surface is covered. carefully spread a third of the zabaglione cream over the top using a small, offset palette knife or a spatula. place enough tea soaked savoiardi over the top of the cream, going in the opposite direction to completely cover it. top with another third of the zabaglione cream and spread it out evenly. repeat the process with the final portion of tea soaked savoiardi and zabaglione cream. press plastic over the surface and allow it to sit in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours.
to serve the dessert, carefully invert the dessert onto a plate-do not remove the plastic on the cream side, leave it intact for now. holding the plastic wrap that is lining the bottom of the pan, gently pull the dish away. remove the plastic wrap that is on the cookie side of the dessert and place a serving dish over the dessert and invert it. remove the remaining plastic wrap and using the tip of the palette knife to create a swirled design over the top of the dessert. cut into the desired portions and serve with slices of fresh strawberries and a generous sprinkle of white chocolate shavings.
tea syrup
2 cups water
6 black tea bags, single cup size
3 tablespoons pennington’s strawberry rye
1/3 cup sugar
bring the water to a boil over high heat. add the tea bags and allow the tea to steep for at least 5 minutes and as long as 10 minutes. remove the tea bags and gently squeeze the liquid out of them and into the pot.
to make the syrup, measure out 1 1/2 cups of warm tea and combine it with the rye and sugar. gently mix to dissolve the sugar. set aside to cool completely. can be made several days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
zabaglione cream
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup pennington’s strawberry rye
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
in a heat proof bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and rye together. to create a double boiler, choose a pot that is large enough to allow the bowl to rest over a few inches of water without touching. over medium-low heat, whisk the mixture continuously until it reaches 135 degrees F.
pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer with the wire whisk and allow it to whip until it reaches a thick ribbon. fold in the whipped cream and use immediately.
savory wheat crackers; a tuesdays with dorie post
after a truly action packed month, i am glad to be back! the master gardeners chapter i belong to hosts a festival each may and last month, i was the co-chair of the event. not sure what i was thinking when i agreed to do that-it ruled my life that last few weeks before the big day!
for the first challenge in june, the tuesdays with dorie bakers chose a simple, savory wheat cracker. the dough has 3 ingredients; whole wheat flour, water and salt. a variety of seeds and a spritz of water tops them off.
the dough is mixed up quickly in the food processor and then allowed to rest for 30 minutes.
to make thin, crispy crackers, it is necessary to roll the dough out as thin as possible and to roll it out so that it is all the same thickness. to do this, i used a pair of 1/16″ thick dowels. the dowels prevent the rolling pin from going any further and the result is a consistent thickness throughout the sheet of dough.
so thin! it was actually pretty easy to roll out the dough. resting it was the key and lots of flour on the table and the dough helped too.
i made half of the recipe and cut it into 4 pieces. each one was cut into a different shape. for this first sheet, i gave it a sprinkle of nanami togarashi, a japanese pepper blend.
to keep it interesting, i also changed the topping on each sheet of dough. these were simply sesame seeds.
because i love everything bagels, these are a combination of poppy, sesame, salt and onion flakes.
can’t go wrong with a sprinkle of salt! this is pink himalayan salt and i love the way it sparkles.
they took longer to bake in my oven than the recipe states. instead of 2-3 minutes, i baked the crackers for 8-10 minutes. in my opinion, the ones that were dark were the crispiest and the most flavorful.
the lighter crackers just do not have the crispy crunch a cracker needs.
the salted sticks are my favorite-especially so since they are also the darkest.
the spicy japanese pepper blend is a nice addition to the crackers.
all together in a tin-hopefully, they will stay crispy; a true challenge in the hot and humid south!
to see what the other bakers came up with, be sure to check out the tuesdays with dorie website.
sunday mornings are perfect for gardening. there is a certain sense of peace that the demonstration garden has early in the day which i find comforting. today i went out to the garden with a chocolate chip bundt cake and spent a few hours weeding the beds and chatting with my fellow master gardeners. as master gardeners, we spend time preparing gardens for tours and on occasion, those gardens are our own. it is a chance to share our most prized possession with fellow gardeners. this afternoon, i had the pleasure of visiting the garden of one of my fellow demonstration garden volunteers.
to read the whole post, visit my new blog page
roasted radishes with wilted greens
spring gardening means lots of radishes. the familiar red spheres are so pretty and colorful; a perfect accent or garnish. radishes are enjoying a moment now and there is no shortage of shapes or colors available to dress up your salad or hors d’oeurves . the entire plant is edible though so think twice about discarding the leaves and flower stalks as you pick them from the garden.
to read the whole post, visit my new blog page
let the broccoli harvest begin!
we plant broccoli in the garden for the spring and fall seasons. it is one of the few plants that we purchase without considering the variety. whether it is a hybrid or an heirloom, we aren’t concerned; we just want healthy plants to give us a head start since both spring and fall are pretty short seasons here in nashville. this is especially true for the spring season. while this past winter seemed like it would never end and as cool as the spring was, the cold weather crops began bolting quickly. we were late getting plants into the ground because of the unusually colder weather and by the time we got things going, the days began getting longer and some plants began bolting.
to read the entire post, follow this link to my new blog page
strawberry cake
strawberry season sneaks up on us and does not linger; it is sensitive to the cold and it is fleeting. the berries can be quickly saturated, left waterlogged and tasteless by a day of rain. gardeners with strawberries generally keep close watch on the berries as they ripen with daily trips to the bed to gather the ripest, reddest, plumpest fruits. those that make it back to the kitchen may become any number of treats. sorbet, ice cream, jam or cake-too many choices and honestly, most are consumed as they are picked; who can resist just picked berries? not me, that is a fact.
to read the entire post, follow this link to my new blog page
will garden for cake 