South Louisiana Pralines

Growing up, I was not a fan of pecans. I think it was the strange astringent sensation you get in your mouth from eating one too many under ripe pecans. Or maybe it was that pecan pie was too sweet.

At any rate, I revisited pecan desserts I few years ago and found that I liked them. In particular, I loved the pralines made at the candy stores in Jefferson, Texas. They often serve two styles of pralines: chewy, carmel-ly Texas style and soft, crumbly Louisiana style.

Recently, I got a hankering for some pralines. I found this interesting recipe in an old cookbook for a Louisiana style praline. It calls for caramelizing sugar at the beginning, which I haven’t seen in most recipes.

This is lightly adapted from Mrs. Myrtle Simms Fun Cooking Guide.

South Louisiana Pralines

2 cups of sugar

2/3 cup of evaporated milk

1 tablespoon of white Karo syrup

1 tablespoon butter

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups of toasted pecans.

In a heavy bottom pot, place ¼ cup of sugar. On medium to high heat, let the sugar melt until it turns a deep, golden brown.

Add remaining sugar, butter, syrup, and salt. Stir until the mixture comes to a boil. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture reaches “soft ball stage” or registers 236 to 240 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer.

Add vanilla and pecans. Stir until smooth.

Remove pot from heat. Working quickly, drop the mixture by the tablespoon onto wax paper or a greased surface.

Makes a small batch of 12 pralines.

In Season: Fresh Figs

The fig tree beside my garage apartment... it teases me. Everyday I walk by it's lush green foliage. In the summer, the tree produces a plethora of tiny green fruits. Tiny, green, perpetually unripe fruit. I wait for their skin to darken. But, at some point, the birds will descend. They'll be hardly any trace of them left, save for one or two strays under a leaf. I'm left with the nagging feeling that if I could protect them, I would eventually have delicious plump figs.

I've since discovered that some varieties of our localized figs never ripen. Also, neglecting to fertilize and water the trees on a regular basis can contribute to immature fruit.

So to stay at my current, comfortable level of plant neglect, I'm going to go with the theory that the garage apartment's fig tree just isn't able to bare ripened fruit. Because otherwise it's gorgeous and appears to be healthy. You know, too pretty and healthy to need anymore attention from me! Luckily, it's July and I can get fresh purple figs from the farmers market. I usually buy them from Gunderman Farms since they tend to have the biggest and plumpest. This year I've seen smaller LSU purple figs from other vendors. I bet they're tasty too.

The following is a classic way to serve figs as an appetizer or dessert. It's so easy I'm sort of embarrassed to present it as a recipe. Since it's so fast and non-fussy it's a great, elegant extra for any night of the week.

I think the savoriness of blue cheese would make this a great appetizer . Otherwise, I serve it as a dessert using plain goat cheese. My tip for for Houstonians: use Blue Heron Farm's Perfectly Plain Chevre with local honey drizzled on top. Beautiful.


Fresh Figs with Soft Cheese

4-6 large fresh figs cut in half long ways
Small log of goat cheese or a small wedge of blue cheese
Honey to drizzle

Prepare figs on a plate with cut side facing up. On each fig, add a dollop of cheese. Drizzle with honey. Serves 4 as a light dessert / appetizer

Summer Fruit and Mascarpone Tart

It's mid June in Houston and it's already too hot to bake. In fact, it's getting pretty close to too hot to cook. But luckily one of my favorite summer desserts requires very little heat to pull off. The extent of "cooking" in this recipe is the melting of butter.

The creamy mascarpone base pairs wonderfully with just about any seasonal fruit. You can make the tart with a mix of a few different fruits or just pick one kind. Both choices are awesome. I chose this combo because it features some of the local fruits currently in-season at our lovely farmer's markets.

A quick note about raw eggs: I used fresh free-range eggs from a farmer who checks his hens regularly for salmonella. When preparing this for parties ('cause I don't want to risk anyone getting sick), I've always used Eggland's Best pasteurized eggs. With the pasteurized eggs, the whites will take a lot longer (think several minutes) to form stiff peaks. So, to prevent your arm from falling off, I recommend using a stand or hand held mixer.

Adapted from Nigella Lawson's Black and White Tart from How to Be a Domestic Goddess

Summer Fruit and Mascarpone Tart

Crust:
1 c. plus a few tablespoons of crumbled graham crackers
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Filling and topping:
1 large egg, separated
1/4 c. sugar
2 c. or 16 oz mascarpone *
Squeeze of a lime, to taste
1 tbsp tequila
1 to 2 ripe peaches, sliced
1/2 c. fresh blackberries
1/3 c. fresh blueberries

Process or blend graham crackers into fine crumbs. Combine graham crackers and melted butter. Combine until mixture's texture resembles something like dampened sand.

Sprinkle the mixture evenly onto the bottom of a 10 inch tart pan. Using your fingers, press down onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Keep crust in the refrigerator while you make the topping.

In a bowl or a mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg white until stiff but not dry. Set aside. In another bowl, by hand or with a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine egg yolk and sugar. Whisk until mixture is thick and pale. Beat in mascarpone until smooth, then mix in the tequila and lime. Fold in egg whites until incorporated.

Pour mixture into prepared crust. Smooth mixture evenly in the tart pan. Arrange berries on top in whatever manner floats your boat.

Serves 8.

*Mascarpone is found in the fancy cheese section of larger supermarkets. It's sold in both 8 oz. and 9 oz. tubs. If you find two 9 oz. tubs, use two of those for a total of 18 ounces of cheese. It will make a slightly more viscous filling and still be totally delicious.

Hot tip for Houstonians: You can find good prices on mascarpone at larger HEB stores, Spec's Downtown, and Nundini's Italian grocery.