Fruit

This cake is an everyday favorite at Crystal’s mom’s house. Any time Crystal’s family gets together for a Sunday dinner, she has this tasty treat to look forward to. It got the nickname “Rice Cake” from Crystal’s niece, Alexis, when she was little because she thought the coconut flakes were little pieces of rice.

Ever heard of “loafering”? Obviously, this is a Southern version of “loafing,” a favorite Sunday afternoon occupation. “Loafering” was a term used often in Crystal’s childhood—a word Crystal’s mom used to describe their Sunday afternoon drives and visits with friends and family. Every Sunday, Crystal would climb into the family car with her mom and off they would go. One of their favorite stops was at Crystal’s Great Aunt Cricket and Aunt Doc’s house. (Yep, that is not a typo. When Crystal was a tiny red-haired child, she mistakenly called her Great Uncle Doc “Aunt Doc,” and it stuck! Everyone called him Aunt Doc, and he didn’t mind at all!) Aunt Cricket was the epitome of the Southern hostess, and she always had a pot of coffee brewed and a freshly baked cake on hand. The family would sit around her kitchen table and listen to Aunt Doc tell his outrageous stories, and the cake would always make the tales that much sweeter. This blueberry cake reminds Crystal of those afternoons and “loafering” around with her mom!

Oatmeal is one of the healthiest and most energy-packed breakfast foods around. To give our loved ones a great start to their day while keeping a lazy weekend morning—well—lazy, we created this casserole. The three kinds of dried fruit and touch of vanilla dress it up just enough so that it still feels like a treat.

The area where Sandy grew up in the Rio Grande Valley is one of the best places in the nation for growing citrus. There is something about the soil, climate, and constant sunshine that lends itself to perfect citrus farming. Sandy’s dad Max worked the citrus farms, and every year Sandy would go out with her dad to the farms to help him harvest and to sample the goods! It’s only natural that when developing recipes, Sandy wanted to pull from this fond memory. This wonderfully delicious spin on traditional blintzes has all the great taste but without all the work. Forget the trial and error; use this surefire recipe to woo your crowd.

Sounds strange, but it is really delicious. (Crystal had to convince Sandy, too.) There’s something about the sweet-salty combination of pineapple, Cheddar cheese, and Ritz crackers that’s irresistible. This casserole is generally served as a side, but it’s sweet enough for dessert.

Fruit in a meatloaf? What were we thinking? Trust us; we thought the exact same thing when Crystal’s sister, Cindy, suggested it one night in our test kitchen. But since Cindy is usually right (don’t even bother trying to play a game of Trivial Pursuit with her), we gave it a whirl and it worked! In fact, the sweetness from the mandarin orange brings an exciting new twist to this old-time dish. As soon as you try it, you’ll understand. Substituting ground turkey keeps the calories and fat in check, and when served with a side of stir-fried veggies and brown rice, this healthy meal is sure to become a regular household favorite.

Careful! Drinking more than two of these can make your ideas seem better than they actually are.

Shortcakes remind me of the ice cream socials we used to have in my small town when I was growing up. We always had strawberry shortcakes, but now I throw raspberries into my version to make them a little bit fancier and a lot more fun. I also make them free-form—by not using a biscuit cutter, I get cakes that look craggy and knobby, kind of like little toads. But they have a beautiful crumbly texture and act like sponges for the fruit juice without getting soggy. These are SOOOOO delicious that I can hoover a few of them in one sitting!

Biscotti are traditional Italian cookies that you bake twice—they’re super-hard and crunchy because they’re meant to be dunkers. What I love about them is that you can flavor them any way you like. I love dried cherries and almonds (a killer combo!), but you can have fun swapping in other dried fruits, nuts, or spices if you want. Biscotti are the perfect dipping cookie—so whip up a batch and grab an espresso, some milk, or better yet, a glass of Vin Santo!

Anything with a crisp topping makes me a happy, happy girl. Crisps are homey and rustic and they make the most of whatever fruit is in season. When nectarines and blueberries are at the farmers’ market at the same time, this combo is totally amazing. Crisps also work beautifully as individual portions or as one nice big one. I like to serve mine with lots of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream . . . mmmmm.

Think of this sweetie as a giant Linzer tart cookie. Use any flavor of fruit preserves that you want, add a bit of fresh fruit if you like, and have fun making a little crisscross lattice top! It’s super-cinchy—the only thing to remember is to use really high-quality preserves.

It’s pronounced MACH-a-donia and you can use any kind of fruit you want here—whatever you have in the house, or what looks best at the farmers’ market. The fruits that I suggest in this recipe are ones that I love, but have fun coming up with your own signature mix. The key to this recipe is to keep it REALLY cold so it’s totally refreshing and palate cleansing.

This is the most amazing upside-down cake you’ll ever make. And if you don’t already know how, you’ll learn to make caramel—which used to scare me to death. I always worried about burning it. But making caramel does not have to be an intimidating process—you just have to pay attention. You also want to remember that this is a flipper situation; you need to make the bottom of your tart look pretty because it’s going to end up as the top.

This is a super-yummy cake that you can whip together easily once you’ve got your mise en place under control. Start by preparing all your apples at once—then just break off what you need to sauté for the cake first, and put the ones for the topping in a bowl off to the side. After you’ve grated the lemon zest for the cake, squeeze the juice from the lemon and toss it with the reserved apples for the topping—this adds flavor and keeps them from turning brown while you make the cake. If you really have it together, you can make the topping ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve the cake. You don’t even have to serve the topping warm, but I think it’s really special this way. Got leftovers? This topping is great over ice cream, on pancakes, or, of course, on second helpings of cake!

Lemon curd is very elegant. For some reason people think it’s difficult to make, but it’s not—it’s simple, quick, and has a lemony freshness and creamy texture that just screams, “Eat me!” In this tart, I pair the bright lemon curd with a nutty, crunchy crust—they’re perfect partners. What a combo!

I’m a fan of anything called hash. When I was a kid my parents would make fried eggs for breakfast and bust out a can of corned beef hash—it was a huge treat. Now I jump at anything that reminds me of hash. In this recipe I mix together sweet potatoes, apple, onion, and, of course, a bit of bacon for my own take on hash—a bit sweeter and certainly healthier than anything from a can!

When I was working in Tuscany I made this dish every day. It’s a traditional osso bucco, but instead of using cross-sections, it uses the whole shank. I love it this way—big and meaty—but if you want to make these into individual portions, have the butcher cut the shanks into cross-sections for you. Because it’s a basic braise, you get started the way you would with any braise—by browning the meat really well and then browning the veggies. The big difference here is I’ve added apples to the soffritto for a little something special. SWEET!

Duck is one of those dishes that can be intimidating because it seems fancy and elegant. But there’s nothing to be scared of—making great duck just takes patience. To get a really beautiful, crackling, brown piece of skin you have to take your time and render the fat SLOWLY. If you rush it, you’ll end up with crispy skin but a thick layer of fat between the skin and the meat—which is totally icky. Taking your time to render the fat will not only make your duck absolutely delicious, but it will also leave you with a treasure trove of duck fat—an ingredient that in restaurant kitchens is considered liquid gold and makes killer Crispy Crunchy Duck Fat Potatoes (page 219). I think that duck lends itself to sweet flavors, so in this dish I use a sweet Tuscan wine—Vin Santo—to reconstitute dried fruit to make a chutney-like sauce with rich chicken stock. Together the rich, meaty, succulent duck and the intense, fruity sauce make this dish perfect for a holiday, a special occasion, or even a Tuesday.

Even the simplest roasted chicken always seems like a special dinner to me. I’m not sure why; maybe it’s because making a whole bird is like having a mini-Thanksgiving. The irony, of course, is that Thanksgiving is a huge deal and a ton of work, while there are few dinners faster or easier than roast chicken. All you have to do is buy a nice bird, lube it up, shoot it in the oven, and voilà! You have a beautiful chicken dinner. Add some gravy to that and mmmmm . . . Just for the record, I’m not a gravy strainer, but if you are, knock yourself out!