Chilled Braised Apricots With Yogurt Honey And Pistachios Recipes

GLAZED POPPY SEED TEA CAKE

Steps:

• Place oven rack in middle position; heat oven to 300 degrees. Grease and flour one 8-inch round cake pan. Spoon flour and almonds into clean spice grinder, and process to fine meal. Transfer to medium bowl. Spoon a third of the poppy seeds into grinder, and process to break them open, adding them to almonds and flour. Repeat with remaining poppy seeds. Fluff, and separate clumps. Stir salt, cinnamon, allspice and lemon peel into ground mixture. Set aside.
• In bowl of mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 40 seconds. Scrape down bowl, add 3 tablespoons sugar and beat until smooth and light, 2 minutes. Add egg yolks one by one, beating well after each addition. Scrape down mixture with rubber spatula.
• With machine on low speed, add poppy seed mixture in three equal parts and milk in two, starting and ending with poppy seed mixture. Scrape down batter with rubber spatula, and set aside.
• In a separate bowl, beat 2 egg whites on medium speed with whisk attachment until foamy. (Save remaining whites for another use.) With machine running, add 1 teaspoon sugar; continue beating until soft peaks form, sprinkle in 2 remaining teaspoons sugar and beat until peaks are shiny and supple.
• Stir a fourth of the egg whites into cake batter with rubber spatula. Fold in remaining whites, and turn batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Bake until cake is light brown on surface and tests clean with toothpick, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove cake from oven, cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes, turn out of pan onto rack and cool completely.
• Combine ingredients for glaze in small bowl, and whisk until smooth. Pour glaze all at once on surface of cooled cake, and smooth with small spatula. Let glaze become firm, slice cake and serve.

APRICOTS, YOGURT, AND HONEY

Steps:

• 1. Top each apricot half with 2 tablespoons of the yogurt, drizzle with the honey, sprinkle with the pistachios, and serve.
• 2. While it's not necessary, if you want to give your plain (i.e., non-Greek) yogurt a thicker consistency, line a sieve with a paper coffee filter and set it over a bowl. Empty an 8-ounce container into the sieve, cover it loosely with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours.

NO-COOK OVERNIGHT OATMEAL

Steps:

• Combine milk, oats, Greek yogurt, chia seeds, honey, and cinnamon in a 1/2-pint jar with a lid; cover and shake until combined. Remove lid and fold in blueberries. Cover jar with lid.
• Refrigerate oatmeal, 8 hours to overnight.

CHILLED BRAISED APRICOTS WITH YOGURT, HONEY AND PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 300 degrees. Peel lemons, avoiding white pith, and toss strips into a large saucepan. Squeeze juice through a strainer into saucepan; add sugar and 2 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil, stirring once. Remove lid and simmer until mixture reduces slightly, about 10 minutes.
• Halve and pit apricots and place them cut-side down in a single layer in a small roasting pan. Apricots should be snug. Strain reduced hot syrup over them. Cover fruit flush with foil and braise in oven for 5 minutes. Turn apricots over carefully, replace foil, and braise 5 minutes more. Remove apricots from oven, turn again and cool. Transfer apricots, covered by their liquid, to a shallow container with cover, and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
• Remove apricot halves from their liquid and drain on paper towels. Pour syrup in a saucepan and reduce over high heat until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. In a small bowl, stir yogurt, confectioners' sugar and salt together until smooth. Spoon warm sauce on each plate, topped by 2 or 3 apricot halves. Spoon yogurt into their centers. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with nuts.

APRICOT JAM ON A WHIM

Steps:

• Pour sugar into a large Dutch oven or heavy saucepan, add pectin and blend together with your fingers. Cut each apricot in half lengthwise and remove pit. Cut each half into four pieces, drop into sugar and mash lightly with a fork. Add lemon juice and stir with a rubber spatula to combine. Let sugared fruit stand at room temperature, covered, for one hour. Stir occasionally.
• Place Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook fruit, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Bring to a full boil and cook, stirring constantly, until apricots are tender, virtually translucent and juices have thickened, 5 or 6 minutes. Skim foam as it rises. Remove jam from heat and stir in kirsch. Cool jam to room temperature then spoon into containers and refrigerate.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH ESCAROLE AND SICILIAN OLIVES

Steps:

• Trim chicken thighs of excess fat, and dry well on paper towels. Heat 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes. Place chicken in skillet, skin-side down, and sear until skin is well-browned, about 5 minutes. Turn thighs with tongs, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and sear until second side is golden, about 3 minutes more.
• Pour off fat. Reduce heat to low, add olive oil, and half of the sliced garlic, shallots and the herbs, and sauté until soft and fragrant, about 40 seconds. Add wine and chicken broth, cover, and simmer 7 minutes. Turn chicken, and simmer until meat pulls easily from bone, about 7 minutes more.
• Transfer chicken from skillet to plate. Add remaining garlic, shallots and herbs, olives, escarole and lemon juice to skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, increase heat to medium-high, and cover. Steam escarole until it wilts, about 5 minutes.
• Return chicken to skillet on top of escarole. Add butter, increase heat to high, and simmer until butter melts and sauce has emulsified slightly. (If sauce appears thin, transfer escarole and chicken to warm platter, then boil sauce until it has reached a pleasing consistency.) Taste to correct seasoning. Serve immediately.