Rhubarb and Almond Crostate

There was some homemade rhubarb jam in the fridge and I thought I'd better do something constructive with it besides slathering it all over toast every morning. These little gems are a cross between a crostata and a cookie. I cheated too. I used some packaged pie crust that was in the freezer. Quelle horreur! But oh, that rhubarb jam was divine. And the almond filling on top has cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg in it. Really, as Ina would say, how bad could that be?

I like the pick-up and walk away aspect of this dessert (kids will too), but also, you could serve it on a plate for dessert with a dollop of whipped cream (or even ice cream) on top. Lisa from Lisa is Cooking made them with a strawberry and fig jam, without the almond topping. Crostate are common in the bakeries of Italy.

You can use any jam (homemade is certainly best) and you don't need to make the almond topping if you don't want to, but I like that little "hat" on top and it adds more layers of flavor. You can cut the pastry circles any size you want; I made them large cookie size.

Rhubarb and Almond Crostate
Adapted from The Mozza Cookbook by Nancy Silverton

Ingredients:
For the crust:
Use your favorite pie crust recipe and add some orange and lemon zest to it (or cheat and use packaged) OR you can find the original recipe in her cookbook (also online) and make it from scratch.
For the jam layer:
8 heaping tablespoons homemade jam
For the almond filling:
¾ cup almond meal/flour
2 extra-large egg whites (save yolks for another use)
½ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:
Make the crust.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.
Use a plate about 6-inches in diameter as a stencil and cut out four rounds. (I cut them smaller) Save the scraps for the lattice. Place four on each prepared baking sheet. Chill the scraps.
Roll the edges of each round inward forming a 1/2-inch rim. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of jam into the center of each round, then smooth the jam right up to the edge of the rim. Repat with all the rounds. Refrigerate.
To prepare the almond filling, in a medium bowl stir together the almond meal, egg whites, powdered sugar, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Spoon 1 teaspoon of almond filling onto the middle of each tart and spread it out slightly, leaving the marmalade visible around the edges of the tarts. (You may not use all of the almond filling.)
Remove the scraps from the refrigerator. Then pinch off a piece and roll it out with your fingertips to create a long, thin noodle like strand about 1/4-inch in diameter. To get it nice and even, I rolled it on parchment paper, stretching while rolling.
Lay three strands evenly spaced across each jam-topped dough round. Then lay three more at an angle, creating a diamond-shaped lattice on each jam-topped dough round. Trim the strands with your fingertips, pinching them into place to stick.
Cover the baking sheets with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to one day.
To bake: Adjust the oven racks so that one is on the top third and the other is on the bottom third of the oven. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Remove the baking sheets from the refrigerator, take off the plastic wrap and bake about 25-30 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through, until golden. Remove the sheets to cool on a rack to room temperature.

Sharon's Jello Dessert for the 4th

Do you remember this dessert? Truly retro. My sister gave me the recipe back in the 50's when the kids were little and they loved it. Of  course back then, there was no blueberry Jello so you had to make do with blueberries on top. I'm not sure the adults at your house will enjoy it as much as the kids, but it was fun to revisit the recipe. Desserts like this were called "Broken Glass" because of the cubed jello in a variety of colors and flavors. Not very portable and certainly not what I call a quick dessert as it takes two days to make. But, as clichéd as it is, it kind of goes along with the 4th if you stick to red, white and blue. 

As for me, I'd rather eat cake. :)


Sharon's Retro Broken Glass Jello Dessert

Ingredients:

1 (3 oz.) pkg. blueberry Jello

1 (3 oz.) pkg. raspberry Jello

1 (3 oz.) pkg. blackberry Jello

Boiling water

2 (3 oz.) pkgs. lemon Jello

1 1/2 c. pineapple juice

1 pt. heavy cream, whipped

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

Method:

Prepare the three Jello's using 1 cup boiling water per package and 1/2 cup cold water; let set in separate pans overnight or until set. I used 9 x 9 inch pans. Cut into small squares when set.

Make a graham cracker crust: 

Combine crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and butter; pat firmly into 13 x 9 inch pan and bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

Dissolve lemon Jello in 1 cup boiling water; add pineapple juice; let thicken somewhat. Whip cream with 2 tablespoons sugar; fold in lemon Jello mixture. The fold in remaining Jello cubes and refrigerate until set.

Decorate the top with fruit, cut into squares and serve.

Rhubarb Bread Pudding

When I was researching Darina Allen for the game-changer series, I ran across this recipe. My mother's recipe for bread pudding is our all time favorite (my kids won't let me make any other kind), but how could I resist trying a rhubarb bread pudding? It was excellent, but more of a souffle bread pudding than the dense bread puddings I am accustomed to. Here's a big plus:  this is one of those dishes that is even better if it sits overnight in the fridge before baking; so you can prepare it a day in advance and bake it the next day.


Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding
Via Epicurious, March 2007 by Darina Allen, From A Year at Ballymaloe Cookery School 

Ingredients:
1 pound red rhubarb
Sugar
4 tablespoons butter, preferably unsalted
12 slices good-quality white bread, crusts removed
2 cups cream
1 cup milk
4 extra large free-range eggs, beaten lightly
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon extra sugar, for sprinkling on top of pudding
Garnish: whipped cream


Method:
Cut the rhubarb into 1-inch pieces. Put into a dish and sprinkle with sugar. Let macerate for an hour. 
Butter the bread. Arrange four slices, buttered-side down, in one layer in the buttered baking dish. Scatter half the rhubarb over the bread, and cover with another layer of bread, buttered-side down. Scatter the remaining rhubarb on top and cover with the remaining bread, buttered-side down. 
Whisk together the cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and sugar in a bowl. Pour the mixture through a fine strainer over the bread. Sprinkle the extra spoonful of sugar over the top. Let the mixture stand, covered loosely, for at least 1 hour or refrigerate overnight. 
Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
Bake in a water bath — the water should be boiling and come halfway up the sides of the baking dish — in the middle of the preheated oven, for about 1 hour or until the top is crisp and golden. Server the pudding warm, with some cream or softly whipped cream.