Desserts

Melon Granita

July 12, 2009 by Charles 2 Comments

Granita siciliana, as the name suggests, is a granular, semi-frozen dessert with Sicilian origins. (Granita means “grained” or “granular” in Italian). Granita is a simple dessert, usually made from pureed fruit and sugar. The mixture is then frozen, and periodically scraped to give the dessert its granular texture. Indeed, breaking up the ice crystals is essential: it gives the dessert its signature crunch, and works to enhance the flavors within the dish.

The sugar and alcohol in the recipe help prevent the mixture from getting too solid. Beyond that, it helps to …

White Chocolate- and Chocolate-Chip Blondies

June 9, 2009 by Charles 9 Comments

A little while back, Caitlin and I were invited for a trivia night. The invitation was somewhat last minute, so we needed to find a dessert we could make quickly. These blondies were prepped and done in a flash. And naturally, they were great. That is, the blondies were a much bigger success than we were that evening. (People definitely had more blondies than questions we answered correctly).

The next time you need a travel treat,…

Almond-Stuffed Baked Apples

April 26, 2009 by Charles 3 Comments

On January 24, 1984, Apple Computer introduced audiences to its new computer, the Macintosh. The introduction, by way of a landmark 60-second Superbowl commercial, promised users that they would “see why 1984 won’t be like [George Orwell’s] 1984.”

The commercial owed its creation to the director Ridley Scott, who had recently filmed Blade Runner. The Macintosh computer owed its creation to Jef Raskin, one of Apple’s legendary computer makers. As does the computer’s trade name; McIntosh apples, legend has it, were Jef Raskin’s favorite type of apple.

And it’s easy to see why. McIntosh apples …

Rice Pudding

April 23, 2009 by Charles 3 Comments

Between Three-Cheese Risotto and the subsequent Suppli al Telefono, I seem to have rice on the brain. Naturally, I decided to make rice pudding with the little remaining rice I still had.

The beauty of this recipe rests in its simplicity. It’s six ingredients, one saucepan, and one stirring spoon. I use 1% milk and it remains delicious. If I have if after dinner, I can call it dessert. But with two cups of low-fat milk and a few servings of rice, I can also have it when I wake up, and call it breakfast.

I really recommend using…

Thin Mint Cookie Cookies

April 2, 2009 by Charles 2 Comments

In algebra, the equation f(x) = x² describes a parabolic function that never dips below the x-axis. For any number you can think of, be it negative or positive, be it an integer or a fraction, the graph will never give you a negative value. With the exception of zero, squaring the unknown will only produce a positive outcome.

Which is what I thought would happen when I decided to square my Girl Scout cookies: there could only be a positive outcome. Or so I tried to tell myself.

Taking a mallet and smashing perfectly good Thin Mint Cookies …