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   "Cobblers, Crumbles and Crisps"
  August 19, 2010 - Volume 2 - Issue 16              
     
���������In This Issue
Sidewalk Sale!
Fantastic Fruit Finales
Better Bakers
Smart Cobbler & Crisp Making Tips
Q & A's
Cookbook Review
Three Classic Fruit Desserts

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          Fruits at their Finest!
Plum Crisp in Baking DishFruits, with their natural sweetness, are always an appropriate finish to a meal or the ideal answer to a sweet craving. Add a bit of pastry to the fruit, and the moment becomes even better! Classic fruit desserts such as cobblers, crumbles, and crisps, are effortless preparations meant to be assembled quickly without any fussiness. The results are simple and simply divine.

IN THIS ISSUE, we acquaint you with some of our favorite traditional fruit desserts. You'll be prepared to visit the market in search of the moment's best harvest of fruits and to begin baking. Baking dishes have never been more colorful or versatile; we'll advise you regarding some of our best recommendations, and why they rank high on our list. We conclude with three classic recipes that provide a sweet finish to any summer occasion.
          Sidewalk Sale!
Sidewalk Sale
          Fantastic Finales - Classic Fruit Desserts
Generations of cooks before us have been combining summer's fruit bounty with their culinary imaginations; we've been left with a rich legacy of wonderful fruit desserts. The names of the different concoctions are intriguing and entertaining all by themselves! Make a few of these fruit and pastry combinations and you'll discover distinct personality traits in each -- all worthy of a repeat performance.

classic desserts

          Better Bakers
Today's Le Creuset stoneware bakers not only offer a beautiful variety of color, they have a sturdy composition that makes them endlessly versatile in today's modern kitchen. Stoneware BakersLike Le Creuset's classic enameled cast iron and enameled steel products, Le Creuset stoneware is meant to last and become a classic heirloom in your home.

Practicality - Baking in stoneware provides even, steady heat to the food. Unlike metal pans where the bottom and edges burn before the center is done, stoneware absorbs and distributes heat more slowly at first and retains heat longer after baking. The quality glaze of Le Creuset stoneware provides a naturally non-stick surface.

Versatility- Le Creuset bakers feature All-in-One versatility. Bake, slice, serve, and store all in one dish. Reheat your dish in the oven or microwave the next day. The specially formulated stoneware is tempered to perfection that allows it to perform at high temperatures, up to 500�F, and store at 0�F freezing temperatures. The bakers move easily between the refrigerator, freezer, oven, table, microwave, broiler, and finally dishwasher.

Durability - Le Creuset's bakers are further distinguished in quality by their durability assessed in several ways. The firing and glazing processes create an "even" piece of stoneware. This means that Le Creuset bakers are resistant to chipping and scratching. The hard glaze refuses to stain, or absorb odors or flavors. Together, these characteristics provide a safer cooking scenario and easy clean-up routines.

Style-- A distinctive feature of all Le Creuset products are the bold, beautiful colors of their glazes and enamels. Choose from several sizes of bakers in the same hue, or mix-and-match your bakers across a variety of colors. The classic glazes and smooth stylings of Le Creuset bakers provide a graceful, ready-for-the-table presentation. Each baking dish is styled with handles that are easy to grasp even with thick hot pads or mitts; this allows for greater confidence when transferring a finished dish from a hot oven.

Le Creuset, as a company, has rich and colorful history. Begun in 1925, Le Creuset started with their classic enamel-on-cast-iron French oven - a classic still today. Blueberry CobblerThis quintessential pan was the result of an expert in iron casting and another expert in enameling meeting and combining their talents. The company flourished and became the standard in culinary tools. During WWII, the factory in Northern France was co-opted by the German Wehrmacht for the making of grenades. After the war, it was back to business and a renewed flourishing of their enameled cast iron products. Le Creuset also produces quality stoneware products, and enamel-on-steel products. The first color, an orange known as "Flame," is still a classic. Other distinctive Le Creuset colors include Kiwi, Caribbean, Cherry, Black Onyx, Cobalt, Dijon, White, Dune, and two new colors, Lilac and Cassis.

          Smart Cobbler & Crisp Making Tips
Tip #1: Hot MittWhen transferring a frozen, filled baking dish to the oven, begin with a cold oven and allow the dish to heat as the oven preheats. Lengthen baking time to accommodate defrosting. Check the center of the fruit dessert or casserole for doneness with an instant read thermometer.

Tip #2: For crumb toppings calling for oats, choose regular oats. "Quick-cooking" oats may absorb the fruit juices too quickly creating a mushy crumble instead of a crispy crumble.

Tip #3: Check your collection of hot pads and oven mitts for holes or thin spots. Ensure kitchen safety with potholders that protect but are not too thick or clumsy. New fabrics and styles are available that provide insulation yet allow for greatest dexterity when handling hot items.

Tip #4: At the risk of stating the obvious, a scoop of a rich vanilla ice cream is the perfect accompaniment to a fruit cobbler or crisp. The warm cobbler with the cold ice cream is a great sensation along with the complementary flavors.

Baked CobblerTip #5:  Choose a baker for your cobbler or crisp that matches the volume of your recipe. Fruits will release their juices and bubble up during baking. Allow enough space at the top to avoid an oven spill.

Tip #6: For a presentation variation, use individual ramekins or au gratin dishes to bake your fruit dessert. Take care not to overfill and serve on a charger while still warm.

Tip #7: Le Creuset's enameled cast iron French ovens will also turn out perfect cobblers and crisps. They have the added advantage of being useful on the stovetop for making slumps and grunts.

          Q & A's
QandAQ:  Do I need to peel the fruits used in my desserts?
A: 
This is a matter of personal preference and the quality of the fruit being used. Tough skins will soften during baking. Most stone fruits, for example, nectarines, plums, and apricots, will not require peeling. You may wish to peel apples based on their variety, age, and your desired results.

Q:  The fruit dish was delicious, now what's the best way to clean the baker?
Emile HenryA: 
The sugar in fruit can caramelize along the edges during baking potentially challenging clean up. Simply fill the baker with water and allow to soak for a while until any residue is softened. Unless glazed all over, including the bottom, it's advisable not to fully immerse bakers in water; just fill the inside when soaking.

Q: My baked fruit dessert was very runny and juicy when finished. How can I get it to "set-up" better?
A:
Fruits vary in their water content and in their pectin content. Pectin is a natural plant component that when released from the fruit causes the juices to gel. Common fruits high in pectin include apples, plums, currants, and citrus fruits, Low pectin fruits include apricots, blueberries, cherries, peaches, strawberries. For low pectin fruits, add a tablespoon of cornstarch to every 2-3 cups of prepared fruit.

Q:  What is crazing?
A: 
Crazing, in the context of ceramics, appears as a fine spider web of cracks on the baking dish. Crazing represents cracks in the glaze and is undesirable in several ways. Cracks in the glaze may hold food and not clean well leading to an unsanitary condition. Crazing is often a precursor to cracking of the entire piece of pottery. Choose quality ceramics that resist crazing.

 Cookbook Review
Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson, copyright � 2009. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc. Photo credit: Sara Remington � 2009. Available from http://www.tenspeed.com

A Gourmet Magazine Cook Book Club Selection
James
Beard award-winning chef, Cory Schreiber, and
Portland's Baker &
Spice, Julie Richardson

CookbookThis charming book showcases a year's worth of fruit deserts in every way imaginable. Organized by season, the authors walk us from the orchard and berry patches, to the oven, and on to the table. Whether a crisp or a crumble, or a cobbler or slump, the recipes highlight fruits at their seasonal best. Each recipe begins with an opening context that puts the dessert into perspective while highlighting the accompanying pastry technique. We are schooled toward success in achieving the right crumb or batter consistency for each pastry type. The close-up photography is sumptuous and mouth-watering. We were reminded of fruit desserts from our grandmother's table and simultaneously treated to the latest trends in fruit and pastry desserts. Overall, a delightful addition to our summer!

          Three Classic Fruit Desserts
Nectarine, Boysenberry and Almond CrispNectarine
View & Print

The toasted almonds dancing on the top of this crisp were our favorite part of this summer dessert. The deep purple of the berries dominated the color of the crisp, but the dual flavors of the nectarines and berries paired beautifully in flavor and taste. The author recommends baking this crisp in a shallow baker to improve evaporation of these two very juicy fruits.


Apricot Raspberry CobblerApricot Raspberry Cobbler
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Part cake and part biscuit, the cobbler batter pushes its way up through a generous heaping of apricots and raspberries. The result is a luscious collage of cake and fruit in every spoonful. The fruit juices released during baking form a perfect sauce for the cobbler. A scoop of vanilla ice cream would fit nicely on top of this dessert.




Double-Crusted Pluot CrispDouble-Crusted Pluot Crisp

View & Print

If you can't get enough of the crispy topping on your fruit dessert, this recipe is for you. There's a double dose of streusel, one on the bottom, and one on the top, that vies for center stage in this crisp. While pluots, (a plum and apricot cross), are featured in this version, nearly any stone fruit or combination of fruits would be absolutely perfect with this crust.


Reprinted with permission from Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson, copyright � 2009. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

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