Papaya Pineapple Fool In Hazelnut Florentine Cups Recipes

HAZELNUT FLORENTINES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Line a baking sheet with foil and apply a light coating of cooking spray to the foil. As an alternative, a Silpat sheet work quite well.
• In a medium mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, sugar, molasses and milk. (Lazy chef's tip: you can also mix the batter in the saucepan or bowl used to melt the butter).
• Mix in in the ground hazelnuts and flour.
• Drop scant teaspoons of batter onto the prepared sheets leaving 3 to 5 inches between each drop. Your drops should be smaller than a quarter.
• Bake for 5 or 6 minutes until the cookie until the cookie a deep golden hue and has a lace like appearance where the butter has melted off. Remove tray from oven and let cool until set, about 1 or 2 minutes. Remove from tray and place on a cooling rack. If your cookies are still soft at this point, they are not quite cooked and you can return them to the oven for another minute.
• To decorate the cookies, melt the chocolate according to your favorite method. Drizzle on cookies.
• (Melting tip: With small quantities of chocolate, you can place the chips in a small heavy duty storage bag and force the chips to one corner. Submerge the sealed bad in a cup of boiling water for 20 to 30 seconds and remove. Knead the softened chips into a liquid. If if needs additional melting, return the bag to the water bath. Once the right consistency is achieved, snip the corner and drizzle).

MOUSSAKA

Steps:

• For the Eggplant and Potatoes: Season the eggplant and potatoes with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 inch of oil to a large skillet and heat. When the oil is hot, fry the potato slices, flipping once, until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove the potatoes to a paper towel lined plate. Replenish the oil so there is still 1/2 inch in the bottom of the pan. Fry the eggplant slices in the oil, flipping once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Add more oil as necessary. Remove the eggplant from the pan and place on a paper towel lined plate.
• For the Lamb Tomato Sauce mixture: Place a saute pan on the stove over medium high heat. When the pan is hot, add the ground lamb. Saute the ground lamb for 2 minutes, until it begins to turn brown. Add the onions and garlic and saute for 5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Drain off any excess fat from the pan. Season the mixture with oregano, bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon and cook for 3 more minutes. Deglaze the pan with red wine. Cook over medium high heat until the red wine has reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally until the mixture is a thick tomato sauce consistency, about 30 minutes. Check for seasoning. Remove from the heat and cool completely.
• For the Bechamel: In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour to make a roux. Cook the roux over medium heat for 3 or 4 minutes, or until it becomes a very pale tan color. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Add the nutmeg and the lemon juice. Simmer, stirring constantly, over low heat for 15 minutes. The mixture should be fairly thick. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs together. Take 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture and whisk it into the beaten eggs. This will temper the eggs. Whisk the egg/milk mixture back into the milk mixture. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir. Over very low heat, cook this mixture for 3 more minutes. Be careful not to let the mixture simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and cool.
• To finish: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle the bottom of a 9x13 inch-baking dish with 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs. Place a layer of the eggplant over the breadcrumbs. Place a layer of the potatoes over the eggplant. Place 1/2 of the lamb tomato sauce mixture over the potatoes. Spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce over the lamb mixture. Top the bechamel with another layer of eggplant and another layer of potatoes. Top with the remaining lamb mixture. Place one more layer of eggplant and potatoes over the lamb mixture. Top with the remaining bechamel. Sprinkle with the remaining breadcrumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with mint and parsley.

GRILLED TROUT

Steps:

• Place the trout on a large piece of aluminum foil. Rub the trout with canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Pour orange juice over the trout. Place berries over the trout. Fold up the aluminum foil to create a sealed packet. Place the packet on the grill and cook for about 4 minutes per side. Remove from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes. Carefully open the foil packet (there will be steam) and sprinkle with the basil.

STRAWBERRY LEMON FOOL PARFAITS

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine the strawberries, lemon juice and sugar. Cook over medium heat until the strawberries begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Place the strawberry mixture in a food processor and process until smooth. Remove the mixture from the food processor and strain through a fine mesh strainer. Mix in the sliced strawberries and place in the refrigerator. Refrigerate until very cold. With an electric mixer, whip the cream. In parfait glasses, layer the strawberries and whipped cream, starting and ending with the whipped cream. Place in the refrigerate and chill for 4 hours.
• Remove the zest of the lemons using a vegetable peeler. Be careful not to get any of the white pith. Julienne the zest. Blanch the julienned zest in boiling water for 5 minutes to remove any bitterness. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of sugar and the water. Bring to a boil. Add the blanched zest to the sugar syrup. Remove the sugar syrup from the heat and let the zest steep for 10 minutes. Remove the zest from the syrup and lay out on a rack. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar.
• Top the parfaits with some of the candied lemon zest.

BLACKBERRY RHUBARB FOOL TART

Steps:

• For the tart crust: In a large bowl combine the flour and salt. Cut the chilled butter into 1-inh pieces. Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut the butter into the flour. Cut together until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, and mix very gently, just until the mixture can be formed into a ball. Do not overwork the dough. Press the ball into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thick and place into a tart pan. Trim the edges. Cover the crust loosely with parchment paper and weight with pie weights or dried beans. Blind bake the pie crust for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool completely.
• For the Fool: In a saucepan, combine the rhubarb, sugar and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until the rhubarb is very soft, about 15 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat. Puree the mixture in a food processor. Refrigerate until cold. Fold the puree into the whipped cream. Refrigerate for several hours. 1 hour before serving, spoon the fool into the prepared tart crust. Place the blackberries on top of the tart.

BRANDIED PEACH FOOL

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine the peaches, sugar and brandy. Cook over medium heat until peaches become tender, about 10 minutes. Remove peaches from the heat and refrigerate until completely cooled. Fold cooled fruit mixture into whipped cream. Refrigerate for several hours. Serve in chilled brandy snifter glasses. Garnish with a few sliced peaches.

PINEAPPLE, PAPAYA & MANGO SALSA

Steps:

• All the work is in dicing the fruit.
• One whole pineapple is around 2 1/2 cups, 2 medium papaya and 2 medium mangoes are around 2 cups per each fruit to give you a hint about how much to get.
• Combine everything and stir very, very gently.
• Chill for at least 6 hours.
• Keeps in fridge for 4-5 days.

COCONUT PAPAYA & PINEAPPLE SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, HALF the sugar (1/8 cup) and coconut.
• With pastry blender or hand mixer, cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbles.
• In small bowl, whisk the eggs slightly then add in the coconut milk and the coconut extract. Whisk until combined.
• Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Stir just until combined and then stir in the candied fruits. The dough will be wet and lumpy.
• Scrape the dough out onto the center of the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Using a spoon or spatula, pat & form the dough into a circle about 8 inches around & 1-1/2 inches high. (Doesn't have to be precise.).
• Sprinkle the top with the reserved amount of sugar (or less) and bake in center of oven for 12 minutes.
• Remove pan from oven & use pizza cutter or large knife to gently cut the circle into 8 wedges (like a pizza).
• Return pan to oven & bake for an additional 3-5 minutes or until scones are not wet in the center & are slightly browned.

MINI FLORENTINE CUPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Mix all ingredients except turkey until well blended.
• Fit turkey slices one slice at a time into 24 miniature muffin pan cups.
• Fill each with the spinach mixture, about 3/4 full.
• Bake 15 minute or until heated through.
• Serve warm.