The Essential James Beard Cookbook (63 page)

For the Batter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup lager beer, at room temperature

2 large eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon kirsch or Cognac

Pinch of plain salt

Vegetable oil for, deep-frying

Flavored fruit (see choices below)

1 to 1½ cups stale almond macaroon crumbs or sponge cake crumbs

Superfine or confectioners’ sugar

To make the batter: Sift the flour into a bowl. Add the beer, eggs, melted butter, kirsch, or Cognac and salt and whisk until smooth. Or whirl until smooth in an electric blender. Let the batter stand at room temperature for 2 hours before using.

When you are ready to fry, stir the batter with a spatula in case the flour has sunk to the bottom of the bowl. Heat the oil in a deep fryer to 350°F. Roll the fruit in the crumbs, then dip into the batter and lower into the hot fat with a slotted spoon, a few pieces at a time. Deep-fry until golden brown on all sides, about 2½ minutes. Remove with the slotted spoon and transfer to paper towels to drain. Dust with sugar and serve hot.

VARIATIONS

APRICOT FRITTERS:
Drain 12 pitted canned apricot halves. Marinate them in
¹
⁄
₃
cup kirsch for 1 hour; drain again.

APPLE FRITTERS:
Peel, core, and quarter 4 apples and poach gently in syrup (see
Hot Fruit Compote
) until just tender when pierced with a fork, about 5 minutes. Drain. Marinate for 30 minutes in applejack; drain.

PEAR FRITTERS:
Poach 6 small, peeled, cored, and halved pears in syrup (see
Hot Fruit Compote
) until just tender when pierced with a fork, about 5 minutes. Drain. Marinate for 30 minutes in eau-de-vie de poire or kirsch; drain.

PINEAPPLE FRITTERS:
Marinate 12 slices of canned, drained pineapple or fresh pineapple in
¹
⁄
₃
cup kirsch for 1 hour; drain.

BROILED GRAPEFRUIT

MAKES 1 SERVING

For each serving, allow
half a grapefruit.
Remove the seeds with the point of a knife or spoon. Cut around the membranes and between the outer peel and the pulp with a grapefruit knife to loosen the sections. Arrange the halves on a baking sheet and sprinkle them lightly with about
2 teaspoons brown sugar.
Add about
½ teaspoon Grand Marnier
to each one. Dot with
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
cut into small pieces. Preheat the broiler. Broil the grapefruit with the surface 5 inches from the heat until the topping is brown and bubbly—about 5 minutes. If you serve these for breakfast, omit the Grand Marnier.

MELON WITH PORT

MAKES 1 SERVING

Cantaloupe, honeydew, or Crenshaw melons
are all perfect for this dish. Be sure the melons are fully ripe and sweet.
Cut them into halves or slices
, depending on type and size, and make 2 or 3 gashes in the flesh of each piece with a spoon. Add
2 ounces of Port
to each piece and let it chill half an hour to mellow. Serve a half cantaloupe or a slice of a larger melon per person.

SUGARED ORANGES

MAKES 1 SERVING

Sometimes people forget how satisfying good oranges can be when served as a dessert. In Spain and Mexico the oranges are peeled and sliced as below and arranged in layers in a serving dish. Each layer is sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar and ground cinnamon. Extra orange juice is sometimes added.

For each serving peel
1 or 1½ oranges
very carefully with a sharp knife, removing all the white pith, and cut them into
³
⁄
₈
-inch slices.
Sugar
them lightly, sprinkle them with
Grand Marnier
or other
orange-flavored liqueur,
and chill them.

Crème Anglaise

Makes about 2
¹
⁄
₃
cups

½ cup sugar

4 large egg yolks

Pinch of plain salt

1 cup whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whisk the sugar, egg yolks, and salt in a heavy-bottomed saucepan until pale and creamy. Heat the milk and cream together in another saucepan. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens enough to heavily coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. The sauce should not be allowed to boil. Strain the sauce through a wire sieve into a bowl, stir in the vanilla, and cool. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled. Serve chilled. (The crème anglaise can also be served warm, right after it is strained, or keep warm over hot water in a top insert of a double boiler.)

PEARS CONDÉ

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Editor:
Condé
means “earl” in French, and these poached pears served with rice pudding are truly fit for the nobility.

For the Rice Pudding

1½ cups boiling water

¾ cup raw medium-grain rice

2 cups whole milk

½ cup sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Pinch of plain salt

4 large egg yolks, slightly beaten

For the Poached Pears

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 medium pears, peeled, cored, and halved

Candied fruit, chopped pistachio nuts, and
Whipped Cream
for serving

To make the rice pudding: Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Stir in the rice and remove from the heat. Let stand for 10 minutes; drain. Heat the milk in the saucepan over medium heat until tiny bubbles appear around the edges of the milk. Combine the drained rice, milk, sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt in a bowl. Pour into a buttered shallow baking dish. Bake at 325°F, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender, about 30 minute. Remove from the oven, stir in the beaten egg yolks, and bake until the rice is lightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, poach the pears: Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Stir in the vanilla. Add the pears, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until just tender, about 10 minutes. Set the pears in the syrup aside.

To serve, spoon equal amounts of the rice pudding in a ring onto each plate. Place 2 pear halves in the center of each ring, and garnish with candied fruit, pistachios, and whipped cream.

FRESH PEARS AND CHEESE

The delicious
Oregon pears
are at their peak at the beginning of the year. Most of us seem to get them as early as Christmas. Look for them at a good fruiterer’s. Serve ripe with
Roquefort, a fine Camembert, or even with cream cheese
and preserves.

Editor: The superiority of Oregon pears has not changed, and if you don’t find them at the best produce store where you live, look for a mail-order purveyor online, such as
www.harryanddavid.com
.

STRAWBERRY FOOL

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

Editor: Nothing more than fruit and cream, this dessert needs to be made with the very best in-season produce and top-notch (i.e., nonpasteurized or organic) heavy cream.

Hull
1½ pints ripe strawberries
and process into a purée in a food processor. Stir about
½ cup sugar
(or to taste) into the purée, and add a drop or two of
freshly squeezed lemon juice
to accent the flavor. Whip
1 cup heavy cream
in a bowl with an electric mixer until stiff. Fold into the strawberry purée. Chill until serving.

VARIATION

RHUBARB FOOL:
Cook about
1 pound rhubarb,
trimmed and cut into ½-inch pieces, with
1 cup sugar
in a saucepan over very low heat until it is quite soft, about 15 minutes. Substitute for the strawberry purée.

RICH STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS

Editor: To most Americans, strawberry shortcake represents summer on a plate. In this version, Beard does not use whipped cream, and instead pours cream over each serving. Look for a thick heavy cream at a local dairy or farmer’s market and skip over the ultra-pasteurized version. If you wish, substitute sweetened whipped cream for the poured cream.

For the Shortcake

4 cups all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons plain salt

12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

1½ cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 quarts fresh, ripe strawberries, washed and hulled

Sugar, to taste

1 pint heavy cream, for serving

To make the shortcake: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Add the cold butter pieces and rub them into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-size pieces of butter (or pulse a few times in a food processor and transfer to a bowl). Add the cream and mix thoroughly until a soft dough is formed. Gather it into a compact ball and place on a lightly floured board. Knead briefly, then divide into two pieces, one a third larger than the other.

Press the larger piece of dough into a 9-inch round about ½ inch thick on a greased cookie sheet. On another greased cookie sheet, press the second piece into an 8-inch round about ½ inch thick. Brush each with melted butter. Bake about 15 minutes or until firm to the touch and golden brown. Let cool slightly.

Set aside the most attractive strawberries to garnish the shortcake. Coarsely chop the remaining strawberries. Place the larger shortcake on a serving platter. Spread the chopped strawberries on the larger shortcake layer, sprinkle with sugar, and gently slide the smaller layer on top. Garnish with the whole strawberries. Cut the shortcake into wedges and serve with the cream poured over each serving.

STRAWBERRIES ROMANOV

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

If there is one satisfactory version of strawberries Romanov, there are twenty-five. The classic is probably that of the great Escoffier. As served at the Carlton in his day, it was a simple but extraordinarily good dish notable for the interesting contrast of flavors.

1 quart large, ripe strawberries, washed and hulled

4 tablespoons sugar, or as needed

1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

¹
⁄
₃
cup Grand Marnier or other orange-flavored liqueur

1½ cups heavy cream