There were 6 pears, sitting on my kitchen table, just begging to be eaten–scratch that–made into dessert. I decided on a making a simple crisp–you know, just baked fruit, with a buttery, oatmeal topping. Then I started thinking about ginger and that bag of cranberries I bought only because they were front and center in the produce department and they were just so darn pretty. Then I remembered this amazing crisp my mom made for my birthday a few years ago that had almond paste crumbled into the topping. And then I decided to let myself get completely carried away and roll all of those elements into 1 showstopper dessert.
Sometimes it’s important to practice restraint and other times, you just need to throw it out the door. My gingered cranberry and pear crisp with almond streusel is a very good example of when it’s a good idea to kick restraint to the curb. In this fall crisp, pears and cranberries bake together to make a perfect sweet-tart combination. Fresh ginger adds a pleasant amount of heat that warms the back of your throat, almost like you’re sipping bourbon. And an abundance of almond-oatmeal crumbly crisp topping? Don’t even get me started. [Read more…]
Pecan and apple pie aside, if I had to choose just 1 thing to load my plate with on Thanksgiving, it would be the stuffing. I mean, as a carb-aholic what’s not to love? And you can have so much fun with it! Herbs, sausage, nuts, veggies, I can’t wait…
It’s hard to determine the best thing this dish has going on. It’s a great combination of rich salmon and crème fraîche, cut with a squeeze of lemon, and paired with a warm potato salad. Mushrooms for earthiness, celery for crunch, and totally worthy of being accompanied by candles and wine. Oh, and once you have the potatoes are boiling, you’re about 15 minutes away from dinner. Nice.
There’s been an awful lot of 