Carol’s Comfort Foods

Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Pudding with Fresh Berries

Yield:  6-8 Servings

INGREDIENTS

1-½ cups buttermilk

1 cup granulated sugar – divided

4 large egg yolks

1/3 cup fresh Meyers lemon juice

Zest of one lemon

¼ cup all purpose flour

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 large egg whites

Assorted fresh berries

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter 8×8x2 inch glass baking dish.  Blend buttermilk, ½ cup sugar, egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest, flour, butter and salt in blender and blend until smooth.  Transfer buttermilk to medium bowl.  Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in large bowl until soft peaks form.  Gradually add remaining ½ cup sugar and beat until stiff, but not dry.  Gently fold buttermilk mixture into whites in 3 additions (batter will be runny).

Pour batter into prepared dish.  Place dish in roasting pan.  Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of dish.  Bake until entire top is evenly browned and cakes moves slightly in center, but feels slightly springy to touch, about 45 minutes.  Remove dish from roasting pan.

Cool cake completely in baking dish on rack.  Refrigerate until cold, at least 3 hours and up to 6 hours.  Spoon the pudding cake into shallow bowls.  Top with assorted berries. 

Adapted:  Bon Appetit – January 2005

Yield:  6 Servings

INGREDIENTS

½ cup golden raisins

1 cup boiling water

1/3 cup slivered almonds

3 ½ cups cooked medium or long grain rice, at room temperature

2 ½ cups milk

2 ½ cups heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

1 ¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

¼ teaspoon ground fennel seeds

PREPARATION

In a bowl, place the raisins and cover with boiling water and let sit until plumped, approximately 5 minutes.  Drain.

In a skillet over medium heat, toast the almonds until golden and fragrant, 3-5 minutes.  Remove from heat.

In a large saucepan, combine the rice, milk, cream, sugar and salt.  Bring to a simmer stirring over medium heat.  Reduce the heat slightly to maintain a low simmer and cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until the mixture starts to thicken, about 30 minutes.  Continue to cook, stirring occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking, until spoon is just able to stand up in the pudding.  Remove from heat and stir in the raisins, almonds, and remaining ingredients.  Serve warm with dollop of whipped cream. 

Source:  Emeril Lagasse - 2003

Yield: 4 cups

INGREDIENTS

3 cups half and half

1 cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs

2 egg yolks

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

PREPARATION

Bring half and half to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan.  Whisk sugar, eggs, egg yolks and flour using an electric mixer with whisk attachment.  Gradually whisk in hot half and half.  Tip:  Be patient and make sure that you gradually whisk the hot mixture into the egg mixture otherwise, the heat will cause the eggs to scramble! 

Transfer to saucepan.  Whisk over medium heat until mixture thickens and comes to a boil, about 5 minutes.  Boil 1 minute.  Pour into medium bowl.  Stir in vanilla.  Press plastic onto the surface of the pastry cream.  Chill until cold, about 4 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead and keep chilled).

Pastry cream is extremely versatile and can be used in cream pies, filling for cream puffs or as a simple pudding.

Now, here’s a quintessential southern comfort food – Banana Pudding.  The recipe is straight off the box of Nabisco’s Nilla Wafers.  Makes a great banana pudding!

Yield:  8 Servings

INGREDIENTS

¾ cup granulated sugar, divided

1/3 cup all purpose flour

Dash of salt

3 eggs, separated

2 cups milk

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

45 Nilla wafers, divided

5 ripe bananas, sliced (about 3 ½ cups), divided.  Additional Nilla wafers and banana slices for garnish.

PREPARATION

Mix ½ cup sugar, flour and salt in top of double boiler.  Blend in 3 egg yolks and milk.  Cook, uncovered over boiling water, stirring constantly for 10-12 minutes or until thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Reserve 10 wafers for garnish.  Spread small amount of custard on bottom of 1-1/2 quart casserole; cover with layer of wafers and a layer of sliced bananas.  Pour about 1/3 of custard over the bananas.  Continue to layer wafers, bananas and custard to make a total of 3 layers of each, ending with the custard.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form; gradually add remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar and beat until stiff, but not dry.  Spoon on top of pudding, spreading evenly to cover entire surface and sealing well to edges.

Bake at 350 degree F in top half of oven for 15-20 minutes or until browned.  Cool slightly or refrigerate.  Garnish slices just before serving.

Yield: 6-8 Servings

Union Bar and Grille, Boston, MA

INGREDIENTS

Praline

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

2 cups sugar

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Bread Pudding

8 large eggs

1 quart whipping cream

1 cup sugar

1 cup maple syrup, plus more for drizzling

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 – 1lb loaf brioche or egg bread, torn into bite-size pieces

Vanilla ice cream

PREPARATION

Praline:  Spray rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray.  Stir sugar and ¼ cup water in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves.  Increase heat to high and boil without stirring until mixture turns a deep amber color, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with wet pastry brush, about 7 minutes.  Stir in nuts.  Quickly spread mixture on prepared baking sheet.  Cool.  Chop praline into small pieces. (Can be made 1 day ahead and store in airtight container at room temperature).

Bread Pudding:  Whisk eggs, cream, sugar, 1 cup maple syrup, and vanilla in large bowl to blend.  Add brioche; stir to coat.  Let stand at room temperature 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Butter 13×9x2-inch baking dish and transfer bread mixture to prepared dish.  Bake until puffed and golden and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.  Cool slightly.  Cut into 6-8 pieces.  Place on a serving plate and add scoop of good vanilla ice cream on top, drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with praline.  Time saver tip:  If you don’t have time to make the pralines, top with toasted walnuts and drizzle with warm maple syrup.

My daughter Maria made these Chocolate Tartlets and they were delicious! The recipe looks a bit complicated, but she made the pudding first and refrigerated it overnight. The next day she worked on baking the tartlets and final assembly. The pudding was rich and creamy with a wonderful chocolate flavor. The tartlets were made using my “tried and true” recipe for pastry. Really simple when you use a food processor and a Silpat for rolling out the dough.

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

Pudding:

2 cups whole milk or half and half

½ cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder

4 teaspoons cornstarch

3 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

PREPARATION

Combine 1 ½ cups of milk, sugar and cocoa in a non-reactive saucepan. Bring to a simmer over a medium-high heat. Remove from heat and set aside. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining ½ cup of milk, cornstarch, salt, egg yolks and vanilla in a bowl. Gradually whisk the hot milk into the egg mixture (this is called tempering). Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat whisking constantly until the pudding comes to a full boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Pour the pudding into a medium sized bowl and let cool for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight until set.

INGREDIENTS

Pastry Dough for Tarlets

3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup cold lard or other shortening

1 ½ teaspoon salt

1 egg

5 tablespoons cold water

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

In a food processor bowl, process the flour, lard and salt until mixture resembles coarse flakes. In a small mixing bowl, combine egg, water and vinegar. Pour egg mixture over the flour mixture. Pulse until the dough begins to mass together to form a ball. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and work dough into a round shape. Roll out dough to approximately ¼ inch thickness. I use a Silpat and it makes rolling out dough a breeze. Using tartlet pan as a guide, cut out dough approximately ¼ inch larger than tartlet pan. Press into the tartlet pan, fluting the edges. Place tartlets on a small baking sheet and freeze for approximately 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and using the tines of a fork, pierce the bottom and sides of the tartlet pastry. Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until the crust in the wall of the tartlet pan is set. Remove tartlets from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes. Remove from tartlet pans to wire rack and let them finish cooling.

INGREDIENTS

Whipping Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2-3 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

PREPARATION

Place whipping cream in bowl of electric mixer with the whisk attachment. Begin whipping the cream on high speed (watch out for splatters or use the splatter guard that you may have with your mixer) until it starts to form soft peaks. Add confectioner’s sugar to your taste and vanilla. Continue to beat the whipping cream on high until it starts to form solid peaks. Do not over beat or your whipping cream will turn to butter.

Tartlet Assembly

Fill each tartlet with approximately ¼ cup of the chocolate pudding. Using a pastry bag, you can pipe whipping cream around each tartlet, or just place a dollop of the whipping cream on each tart. Garnish with grated semi-sweet chocolate and a sprig of mint.

Source: Chocolate Pudding – Tyler Florence – Food Network – Episode-#TU0211