Dessert marathon
At least it seemed like a marathon, but it was nothing to my cousin and her daughter staying up until midnight baking cookies... Happily, they were gifts so we reap the benefits. ;)
For today's holiday potluck, I brought the desserts. Many people seem to be watching their weight so I wanted to take it easy with the calories. The first two were from the Cooking Light 2003 annual recipes book.
The Peanut Butter-Banana Cream Pie (cover picture on the book) was a lighter replacement for another "death by peanut butter" dessert I have that is so rich it makes you gag. Well, makes me gag - my husband loves it.
Cooking Light's version has peanut butter, cream cheese and whipped cream, but unbeknownst to the eater, it's done with less fat. The layer of banana slices on the bottom completes the classic combo.
The second was a Lemonade Layer Cake, one of their top self-rated recipes for the year. No argument it was yummy, but if this is the best the book has to offer, that would be disappointing. Lemon lovers will enjoy this dessert - don't skimp on the zest.
Luscious Lemon Cake
From Cooking Light Magazine, April 2003
Rating: great
Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie
From Cooking Light Magazine, June 2003
Rating: great
Lastly, I choose a snack bread for those that didn't want sweet. I baked an Applesauce Spice Bread, which included homemade applesauce. What's the appeal for homemade applesauce? It wasn't spectacularly better than store bought. Healthier, but not much better. I used Rome, Fuji and Ya pears (yes, pears) - and the pears took for-ever to cook down! Perhaps other apple combinations would yield better results.
The recipe for the applesauce, and the bread too, was not exact. The book left the seasoning details up to the cook. The author also alternately suggested pears and/or quinces in the "apple"sauce (again more room for improvement through experimentation). I used cardamom over cinnamon because cinnamon seems overused this time of year. The cardamom gave it an unfamiliar flavor for a this style of bread. It was good, but strange because you expected the classic cinnamon. *sigh*
The bread was taken from my latest cookbook purchase: a vegetarian book. I'm not vegetarian by any definition; but it's an award winning book so what the heck. I skimmed its 700+ pages (whew!) and was attracted to many of the recipes. Of course, the book includes breads, eggs, cheese, tofu, pasta, beans, ...you get the picture...it ain't just leafy greens. I also appreciate that the recipes don't seem to rely on farmer's market quality produce - if only that were convenient. Don't be too intimidated by the volume. The index sucks :( , but the chapters are arranged logically and you can skip sections that don't appeal to you. I also noticed that the cook is sometimes required to apply a little common sense - now that is intimidating...
Applesauce Spice Bread
From Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison
Rating: good
I'd try it again with cinnamon instead of cardamom (or use less). I suspect it would let more of the fresh apple/pear flavor come through.
For today's holiday potluck, I brought the desserts. Many people seem to be watching their weight so I wanted to take it easy with the calories. The first two were from the Cooking Light 2003 annual recipes book.
The Peanut Butter-Banana Cream Pie (cover picture on the book) was a lighter replacement for another "death by peanut butter" dessert I have that is so rich it makes you gag. Well, makes me gag - my husband loves it.
Cooking Light's version has peanut butter, cream cheese and whipped cream, but unbeknownst to the eater, it's done with less fat. The layer of banana slices on the bottom completes the classic combo.
The second was a Lemonade Layer Cake, one of their top self-rated recipes for the year. No argument it was yummy, but if this is the best the book has to offer, that would be disappointing. Lemon lovers will enjoy this dessert - don't skimp on the zest.
Luscious Lemon Cake
From Cooking Light Magazine, April 2003
Rating: great
Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie
From Cooking Light Magazine, June 2003
Rating: great
Lastly, I choose a snack bread for those that didn't want sweet. I baked an Applesauce Spice Bread, which included homemade applesauce. What's the appeal for homemade applesauce? It wasn't spectacularly better than store bought. Healthier, but not much better. I used Rome, Fuji and Ya pears (yes, pears) - and the pears took for-ever to cook down! Perhaps other apple combinations would yield better results.
The recipe for the applesauce, and the bread too, was not exact. The book left the seasoning details up to the cook. The author also alternately suggested pears and/or quinces in the "apple"sauce (again more room for improvement through experimentation). I used cardamom over cinnamon because cinnamon seems overused this time of year. The cardamom gave it an unfamiliar flavor for a this style of bread. It was good, but strange because you expected the classic cinnamon. *sigh*
The bread was taken from my latest cookbook purchase: a vegetarian book. I'm not vegetarian by any definition; but it's an award winning book so what the heck. I skimmed its 700+ pages (whew!) and was attracted to many of the recipes. Of course, the book includes breads, eggs, cheese, tofu, pasta, beans, ...you get the picture...it ain't just leafy greens. I also appreciate that the recipes don't seem to rely on farmer's market quality produce - if only that were convenient. Don't be too intimidated by the volume. The index sucks :( , but the chapters are arranged logically and you can skip sections that don't appeal to you. I also noticed that the cook is sometimes required to apply a little common sense - now that is intimidating...
Applesauce Spice Bread
From Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison
Rating: good
I'd try it again with cinnamon instead of cardamom (or use less). I suspect it would let more of the fresh apple/pear flavor come through.
posted by hbt @ 11:29:00 PM
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