Burrata with Cherries and Balsamic Roasted Peaches

Burrata with Cherries and Balsamic Roasted Peaches | A Thought For Food

My love for all things dairy, fishy, and eggy keeps me from full-on vegetarianism/veganism. Eric and I both agree that the best meal from our honeymoon wasn't at the many restaurants we dined at, but, instead, the lunch we consumed together on a park bench in a small Provincial town. A baguette, the tupperware of tapenade, and a container of creamy, stinky cheese. The summer sun beating down from above. We moaned with every hunk of bread that was shoved into our mouths. Our heads shook side to side in disbelief at how something so simple could be so decadent and perfect.

When we dine out we'd much rather finish our meals with a cheese course than any chocolate creation that's on the menu. After many disappointing endings to dinners at upscale restaurants (one exception being The French Laundry, which blew us away), when a cheese plate presents itself, that's our dessert of choice. Which is why I ended up going the sweet route with this burrata. With all the recipes out there, I didn't find many that treated it as a finale.

As I've said before, I'm not much of a baker and rarely prepare anything more than a quick, rustic crisp for dinner guests. So, I did what I feel comfortable doing and roasted some peaches with balsamic, which were drizzled over the cream-filled cheese, and topped with some chopped cherries and a buttery oat crumble.

Burrata with Cherries and Balsamic Roasted Peaches | A Thought For Food

Burrata with Cherries and Balsamic Roasted Peaches | A Thought For Food

Burrata with Cherries and Balsamic Roasted Peaches | A Thought For Food

Burrata with Cherries and Balsamic Roasted Peaches | A Thought For Food

Burrata with Cherries and Balsamic Roasted Peaches | A Thought For Food

Burrata with Cherries and Balsamic Roasted Peaches

Yield 4 servings

Ingredients

2 large balls of burrata, cut in half

1 peach, sliced into 1/4" thick wedges

10 cherries, pitted and quartered

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

For the topping
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup oats
2 tablespoons slivered almonds
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, brown sugar. In a bowl, pour 1/4 of the liquid over the peaches and toss to coat. Spread onto the baking sheet in an even layer and roast for 10 minutes.

3. In another bowl, add the dry ingredients for the topping.  Using a fork, mix the topping ingredients while drizzling the butter in, until it begins to come together. Spread on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 8 minutes, until browned and bubbling. Remove from oven and let cool. At this point, it should begin to harden, break up into small pieces to sprinkle on top.

4. Transfer remaining balsamic vinegar liquid into a small saucepan and set over high heat. Once it reaches a boil, cook until liquid has reduced in half and is a syrupy consistency.

5. Place one large ball of burrata into a bowl or separate into two separate bowls if splitting amongst a few people. Spoon roasted peaches and chopped cherries on top, followed by the crumble topping. Drizzle balsamic reduction over before serving.

Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousse

It's hard to believe that we're approaching April. I was certain that we were going to be perpetually stuck in February, à la Groundhog Day. To our delight, the majority of the snow around our house has melted. A few lingering patches still decorate the yard, but it's much better than it was just a few weeks ago. Spending time outside isn't as challenging as it had been. I don't need to protect myself with hats and gloves and scarves and bulky boot every time I take the dog for a walk.

This week, Eric and I are heading down to New Jersey for a visit with my family. While we're there to take part in the Seder, we're also going to celebrate a number of milestones. My nieces just had their birthdays and my grandmother's (who is turning 85) and my mom's are coming up.

Of course, Passover can be a tricky time for celebrating birthdays as the traditional cake is not an option. Yes, you can go the flourless route. But not everyone is fond of finishing their meals with such a dense dessert. This smooth and creamy vegan chocolate mousse is perfectly decadent in a "I can't believe it's not..." kind of way. In this case, the ellipses refers to the dairy, which I can guarantee you and your dinner guests won't be missing as you devour the whole bowl.

Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousse

Yields 4-6 servings

Ingredients

3 - 13.5 oz cans full-fat coconut milk
2 1/2 tablespoons agave nectar
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
Fresh berries (blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)

Directions

1. Chill the cans of coconut milk in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to let the cream separate to the top.

2. Using a stand mixer (or a hand mixer), beat only the cream of the coconut milk at medium speed for 3 minutes, or until smooth. Add agave nectar and vanilla extract and mix to incorporate.

3. Transfer a third of the plain whipped coconut cream to a separate bowl.

4. With the stand mixer turned on its lowest setting, mix in the cocoa powder with the remaining two-thirds of the whipped coconut cream. Increase the speed of the mixer to medium and whip for another minute or two until the cocoa powder is fully incorporated.

5. Refrigerate chocolate mousse for at least 30 minutes to let it firm up.

6. Distribute the chocolate mousse into serving bowls.  Top with plain whipped coconut cream and fresh berries.

Crispy Ginger Snaps

Our winter routine now consists of a nightly pot of tea. Lemon or lemon-ginger are our go-tos. I often leave mine unadulterated, but sometimes there's a couple teaspoons of honey, an additional squeeze of lemon, and, on the weekends (or after an especially stressful day), a splash of rum or bourbon. We sip this on our couch, curled up under blankets (Maki is usually wrapped up under two or three of these in an attempt to keep her nose warm).  The TV streams episodes one after the next. We're in full hibernation mode.

On a recent trip to the store, Eric mentioned that he's been craving some ginger snaps to go with our tea. We bought a box and, while delicious, I couldn't help but think how nice it'd be if I made my own cookies. Not that it'd be healthier, but, unlike other prepared items we purchase, baking a batch of ginger snaps isn't terribly complicated. Now, I'm usually a fan of chewy cookies. A little crunch on the outside is fine, but I prefer them a little underdone in the middle. However, my goal here was to make crispy ginger snaps. And I wanted them to be little guys. A couple bites each.

This took a bit of work. I first made the dough, which I knew would result in a flavorful cookies, since I'd consumed half the bowl as I transferred it to the baking sheet. The trick was to roll the dough balls so that when they spread in the oven, it would only be a couple inches in diameter. Next, I needed to figure out how long to bake them for. Too long, and they get burnt (which happened a few times) and too short and they don't crisp up. It's a tough job, but I was happy to take on the challenge.

I've found that a number of ginger cookies don't call for crystalized ginger. For me, I love the kick that you get from those little bits, so I've included some in this recipe. There's no doubt that these are ginger cookies. None at all.

Crispy Ginger Snaps

Source:Slightly adapted from the recipe by Nick Malgieri via FoodNetwork.com

Yields: About 60 cookies

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground all-spice 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter 1 cup sugar 1 large egg 1/4 cup molasses 4 ounces crystallized ginger, minced 2 or 3 cookie sheets lined with parchment or foil

1. Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl; stir well to mix.

3. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together on medium speed the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes until very light, fluffy and whitened. Add the egg and continue beating until smooth. Lower speed and beat in half the dry ingredients, then the molasses. Stop the mixer and scrape down bowl and beater. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients. Mix in the crystalized ginger. Remove bowl from mixer and use a large rubber spatula to finish mixing the dough.

4. Scoop out the dough using a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon. Roll into balls between the palms of your the hands. Yes, they will be small. Place the balls of dough on the prepared pans leaving about 2 inches all around each, to allow for spreading.

5. Bake the cookies for about 8-9 minutes, or until they have spread, are golden brown and are firm to the touch. Using a spatula, transfer the cookies to cooling racks. Store the cooled cookies in a cookie jar or tupperware container with a lid.