4 Years + The Lazy Lady's Summer Dessert

Four years ago I was listening to "Everybody Talks" on repeat all day, every day.

Four years ago I was deep in a 1950's fashion phase.  Big bows and lots of red lipstick.

Four years ago I spent a whole lot of time in the doctor's office.

Four years ago I had no notion of how to use a camera. 

Four years ago I would have thought this dessert was wayyyy too simple. 

Four years ago I had no interest whatsoever in the man that I am about to marry. 

Four years ago this blog was just beginning in a very inconsistent, Tumblr-like fashion. 

So much changes in a year, nonetheless four years.  I much prefer the person I am today over the lady I was when I first dipped my toes into the internet.  There is still so much I do not know, and I am even more aware of that fact today than I was several years ago.  But, growth is always happening and it's a joy to learn, and grow, and change.  I have learned to be more thankful, more content, and more concerned about meaningful evolution, rather than absolute perfection. 

To celebrate the past few years and the official beginning of Summer, I made us dessert.  The most wonderfully simple, summertime dessert. 

This dessert is your new best friend.  Give it a hug and say hello, because you're going to love this. 

It's incredibly easy and quick to make.  It’s customizable, gluten-free, and can even be vegan (for those of us who have those weird anti-butter friends)!  It is healthy-ish and guaranteed to please kids and adults alike, unless your friends are really weird and do not like fruit, cream, or delicious crunchy toppings.

I really want you to make this dessert because I think it will make you happy.  It’s like a pie, but for cheaters who just want a nice treat after Monday night dinner.

I was running into Trader Joe’s “really quick” the other day, when I noticed that they had just restocked their produce section.  Every angle of my view was billowing with fresh fruits and vegetables at the peak of ripeness, but my gaze fell upon the golden side of the botanical spectrum.

While nectarines and apricots were not on my list, once I gently felt their tender flesh which signaled utter perfection, I could not leave them in their wooden crates - they needed to come home with me.  I was not in the mood for pie-making or crumble-baking that day, I wanted to create the Summer dessert that we all want to eat and actually feel like making after a long, humid day. 

I snatched up a can of coconut cream, because whatever I ended up making would be instantly improved by coconut cream, and walked out of the store with high hopes and more groceries than I had anticipated. 

This dessert does not require any preheating of the oven, a welcome treat for those of us with small kitchens that turn into saunas come summertime.  This crisp-like topping is full of the familiar flavors we love, and it all comes together on the stovetop.  

Oats, shredded coconut, and sliced almonds - though you could really use any nuts that you like - are toasted.

Then, melted butter, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon are added, creating a salty-sweet, crunchy topping for our fruit.  

This topping is also a great thing to keep on hand for last minute desserts, or for jazzing up your morning yogurt. 

Now you must make the decision of whether or not you would like to make this dessert vegan.  

If so, just top your warm fruit with a spoonful of coconut cream that you have sweetened with a little bit of honey.  

I chose to go half and half and used a combination of heavy cream and coconut cream.  Coconut cream is a bit rich for me on its own. 

Four years and counting of recipes, ramblings, picture-editing, learning, eating, and utter delight! Thank you so much for spending them with me. 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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The Lazy Lady’s Summer Dessert

serves 6 (but you can half, or double, or multiply the heck out of this recipe)

for the topping

- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt 

- 3 tablespoons brown sugar

- 1/4 cup finely shredded, sweetened coconut 

- 1/4 cup old fashioned oats 

- 1/4 cup sliced almonds 

- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Use a fork to combine ground cinnamon, salt, and brown sugar in a small bowl. 

Combine coconut, oats, and almonds in a nonstick frying pan and place over medium heat.  Toast, stirring often, until the coconut and almonds are fragrant and deep golden in color.  Add the butter to the pan.  

Once the butter has melted, remove the pan from the heat, and add the brown sugar mixture.  Stir until all the ingredients are well combined and evenly coated.

Spread the crumble topping out onto a piece of parchment paper and allow to cool while you prepare the other components. 

for the fruit*

- 3 ripe nectarines, halved and pitted 

- 6 ripe apricots, halved and pitted 

- 3 tablespoons coconut oil

Set your grill to medium high heat.  

Use a paper towel to coat the grates of the grill with coconut oil.  (You will want to make sure that your grill is nice and clean for this!)

Place the halves of the fruits cut-side down on the grill and cook, covered, for about three minutes.  The fruit should be just slightly softened.

Allow the fruit to cool for several minutes while you prepare the cream. 

*While I used nectarines and apricots, you could really use any semi-firm fruit here.  Peaches, pineapple, or pears would all be great options!  

for the cream & assembly

- 1/2 cup heavy cream 

- 1/2 cup coconut cream

- 1 tablespoon orange blossom honey 

- grilled fruit 

- crumble topping

Place the heavy cream in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.  

Add coconut cream and honey and beat until smooth.

Place several halves of fruit in a bowl and top with a spoonful of cream and several tablespoons of the crumble topping.  Serve immediately.  Enjoy! 

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Pennette with Mushroom Cream Sauce and New York Strip

Though I am never one to pass up an evening on the town, at-home dates are often some of my favorites.

If you and your sweetheart have no yet decided upon your plans for this love-filled (or should I say, chocolate-filled) weekend, allow me to suggest a date at home.  Reservations are not required, crowds are evaded, and attire is left entirely to your discretion - though I would still highly suggest making an effort to look at least moderately gorgeous for your better half.  

An at-home date is a chance to serve the person you love in a way that a busy chef or overwhelmed waiter simply cannot.  So light some candles, iron the cloth napkins, and treat your Valentine to an elegant dinner at home.

This dish is one of those secret weapon recipes that I pull out frequently.  It is the perfect meal in my mind because, it is pretty all-inclusive, meaning that it only takes a simple salad (I’d totally freeze my legs off and defrost the grill to make this Grilled Romaine Salad) to make this a full dinner.  It is rich, elegant, creamy, and the best part?  This entire dish comes together in thirty minutes, including prep time, which means you are not scurrying in and out of the kitchen all evening.  Total win.

It is also stupidly simple, so if you are not entirely comfortable in the kitchen, this is an excellent choice for you.   

Gentlemen, I am looking at you.  If you make your lady a bowl of indulgent, cream-covered pasta, she will not only be highly impressed, she will love you forever.  Unless she’s a vegan in which case… Well, you should probably be reading a different blog.

This recipe has few ingredients so it is essential that they be quality.  Purchase a really good New York Strip with even marbling and prepare it simple.  A truly good cut of meat needs little adornment.  I like to go with a liberal sprinkling of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

I should mention that I chose to make this sauce with red wine because I was pairing it with steak, but you can certainly use white wine if you would like to use a sautéed chicken breast instead.  I have done both and one does not prevail above the other.  It just depends on your mood.

Regardless of your wine choice, the aroma of this dish is just sensational.  I fall in love all over again every time I make it.  

Let's be honest, pasta was my first Valentine.   

Dinner is served.  Now, if you happen to have some of this Chocolate Salami in your freezer right now for dessert, your work is done. 

Light the candles, freshen your perfume or cologne and go find your date.  Happy Valentine’s Day!

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Pennette with Mushroom Cream Sauce & New York Strip

serves 2, with leftovers / recipe adapted from “Pasta” by Eric Treiulle & Anna De Conte

for the steak

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- 1 New York Strip steak (about 3/4 lb) 

- kosher salt 

- freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour olive oil into a medium skillet and place over medium-high heat.  

Use a paper towel to pat the steak dry, as this will help it to brown properly.  Season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. 

When the oil in the skillet begins to shimmer, add steak.  It should immediately begin to sizzle.  If you cannot hear it, the oil is not hot enough.  Cook for 5 minutes, until seared and deep brown, and then flip and sear for an additional 5 minutes on the opposite side.  

Remove the pan from the heat and place in the oven for 6-8 minutes, depending on your preference.  

Cook’s note:  In my mind, 6 minutes should be just about perfect (medium rare), but my fiancé prefers medium well, so I typically go for 8 minutes.  This will of course change depending on the thickness of your steak, so just keep an eye on it and use a meat thermometer, if necessary. 

Allow the steak to rest for 7-10 minutes.  If the steak has released any juices in the pan, reserve for later use.  While the steak is resting, prepare the pasta.  

for the pasta

- 1/2 lb dried pennette*

- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

- 1 tablespoon olive oil 

- 1 clove garlic, minced 

- 10 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced into 1/8 slices 

- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

- 1/4 cup dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot 

- 1/2 cup heavy cream 

- finely grated parmesan, for finishing 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil; season the water liberally with kosher salt.  Add pasta and cook according to the producer’s instructions, or until al dente.  While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce. 

Place a deep-sided saucepan over medium heat and melt 2 tablespoons of butter.  When the butter has melted, add olive oil.  When the mixture begins to bubble, add garlic, mushrooms, and kosher salt.  Cook for 5-7 minutes, until the mushrooms have just begun to brown.  

Add wine and simmer for 3-4 minutes, until evaporated, and then add heavy cream.  Simmer for 2 minutes, or until slightly thickened.  Remove from heat and add 2 tablespoons of parmesan and reserved steak juices.  

Add drained pasta directly to the sauce and return to heat to simmer for an additional minute. 

Cut the rested steak on the bias, forming 1/4-inch slices.  Toss the sliced steak into the pasta.  

Serve immediately with a sprinkling of grated parmesan.  Enjoy! 

*If you are unable to find pennette pasta, penne will substitute nicely. 

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Brown Sugar & Ginger Roasted Pears with Vanilla Cream from Food52's Vegan

There's something is the air.  A quiet, bashful something that none dare speak of aloud.  It is the Christmas present that is never forgotten and never wrapped.  But it arrives nonetheless and is truer and realer than anything that lay beneath our candied-colored glowing trees.  

Hope.  I would claim that even the most grown up of us still feel a glittery sense of undeniable, unexplainable, magical hope at Christmas. 

Perhaps it is because we sanguinely believe that the upcoming new year promises better things than those left behind us.  New beginnings and blank slates are envious gifts indeed.  Perhaps it is because, as dear old Scrooge's nephew once declared, Christmas is a time "when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys."  Or perhaps, it is simply because we live in the light of that one, great gift, given so many years ago, that brought the most assured, truest hope the world could ever claim.

I received this book in the mail several weeks ago and approached its beautifully designed pages with both trepidation and delight.  

You may not be aware of this, but I am not actually a vegan.  Ha. Haha.  If you have spent more than thirty seconds on this site you have figured that out.  

Of course, I have a very good reason for not being a vegan.  Butter.  The end. 

But in pursuit of open-mindedness and for the sake of being a well-versed foodie, I decided to bring this book into my animal bi-product-loving home to see what treasures it had to offer. 

I was not disappointed.  In fact, if I could eat roasted pears and almond butter all day long I just might convert.  Until I saw a buttered yeast roll and then it would be all over.

Nonetheless, these pears are really, really good.  Like, really good.  They became my lunch, dessert, and afternoon snack.  But it's vegan, so it was healthy.  I think... 

These pears would have been fantastic on their own, but I added pomegranate arils and toasted pine nuts because you know what a jerk I am when it comes to following recipes.  

Doesn't all that caramely goodness make your heart flutter?  It does mine.  

Pears are so pretty.  I love it when I can score them with their stems intact. 

These sweet, ginger-spiced pears are served with a dollop of vanilla cream, which was also supposed to be vegan but...  I can explain.  I'm sure cashew cream is amazing, and I had every intention of trying it as the book encouraged me to, but I bowed out at the last minute because I could not will myself to look at a cashew.  I had a bad experience with them once.  Details can be spared, but let me just say that I can no longer look at them without getting nauseous.  

So that's why I used regular cream.  I cheated.  No shame.

I am sure that the cashew cream would have been amazing, and if someone would like to make it for me and keep the whole cashew thing a secret, I will happily take it off your hands.

This book is beautifully written from start to finish, and it may even inspire you to set aside the butter for a day.  Choose your adventure, whether it be Gingered Carrot Bisque or Blackberry Coconut Ice Cream.  

Being a quasi vegan wasn't so bad for an afternoon.  

Merry Christmas dearest friends, and thank you for making this year the my best yet.  Thank you for reading this blog and for giving me someone to write for - you are appreciated. 

Sincerely, 

  Pedantic Foodie  

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. As always, all opinions are completely my own.  You can purchase the book here or find more of Food 52's beautiful products on their website! 

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Brown Sugar & Ginger Roasted Pears with Vanilla Cream

recipe adapted from Vegan / serves 4-8

• 4 medium Bosc Pears, halved and cored
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar 
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger 
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 
• 1/2 cup pomegranate arils 
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts 

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 

Place pears, cut side up, in a large baking pan.  Drizzle the pears with lemon juice and rub with ginger and sprinkle with brown sugar.  Pour several tablespoons of water into the bottom of the pan.  

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the faces of the pears are golden and the flesh is fairly tender.  While the pears are baking, baste them once or twice with the juices they have released.  Remove from oven and flip each pear over, then bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. 

In a large bowl, combine cream and confectioner’s sugar.  Beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.  Mix in vanilla extract and fresh nutmeg.

To serve, place one or two pear halves cut side up, on each plate.  Drizzle with some of the juices from the pan and top with whipped cream.  Sprinkle with pomegranate arils and pine nuts.  Enjoy!