Mulled beverages are usually served warm and made from wines, beers or ciders that have been sweetened and spiced.  This afternoon I picked up a gallon of fresh apple cider from my local farmer’s market and decided to mull my own using a variety of dried spices and rum.  I chose to cook all of the alcohol out of the rum to make the cider more flavorful, while keeping it kid-friendly.  But, if you plan on serving your mulled cider to a group of adults, consider adding the rum after you’ve simmered the cider—it makes a great cocktail that is sure to warm you up on a chilly fall evening.

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Since fall has nearly arrived, I have begun my plan for consuming as much pumpkin as possible, which includes this recipe for Quick Pumpkin Pie that I just created!  When you don’t have the time to bake a pumpkin pie, try this recipe at home instead.   Served with a few broken graham cracker pieces and a dollop of crème fraiche, I find it does a fine job of substituting my favorite all-American pie.

Quick Pumpkin Mousse
Yield: 3 cups

1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1.5 cups Roasted Pumpkin Puree
Ground Cinnamon
Nutmeg—Freshly Grated
Dark Brown Sugar
Pinch Salt

• Whip the heavy cream to medium peaks.  Set aside.
• Place Roasted Pumpkin Puree in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
• Whisk in ground spices and dark brown sugar to taste—start with a small amount because you can always add more.
• Once the pumpkin puree is flavored to your liking, gently fold in the whipped cream.

As I was riding the subway home from work this evening I got to thinking about quick desserts to make at home.  (One would think that a professional pastry chef would not be considering more baking at home.  I, on the other hand, have a terrible sweet tooth which means dessert follows every meal.)  So here’s my idea, which would be an awesome treat for kids, by the way:

Individual S’mores Bombe

Vanilla Meringue ~

3 oz. Egg Whites
2 tbl. Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 lb. Sugar
1/2 cup Water

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whip attachment, combine the egg whites and two tablespoons sugar.  Mix on medium speed until just frothy then reduce to low speed.

While the egg whites are mixing, combine the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan.  Give the ingredients a quick stir then cook over low heat until the mixture reaches 238 degrees.

Once the sugar solution is up to temperature, remove the pot from the heat.  Increase the speed of the stand mixer to med-low and slowly pour the hot sugar into the egg whites.  This step is crucial—you must work quickly, but you must make sure to pour the sugar into the egg whites in a slow, thin, steady stream.

Once the entire hot sugar mixture is poured into the mixer, turn the stand mixer speed to high.  Let whip until the sides of the bowl feel about room temperature.

At this point, you can pipe the meringue onto your s’mores, or you can store it in the freezer until you are ready to use.  It will keep for at least a few days in the freezer, if stored in an airtight container.

S’mores Bombe Assembly ~

Place a generous scoop of store-bought chocolate ice cream on top of a store-bought graham cracker.  Place in the freezer to let the ice cream set-up a bit—maybe 5 minutes or so.  Then remove from freezer, set in serving dish and pipe or spread vanilla meringue over ice cream, taking care to ensure the entire scoop of ice cream is covered.  Then burn the meringue with a small kitchen torch until as golden as you would a marshmallow over a campfire.  Mmmmm….

I never would have imagined that this “Fudgie the Whale” ice cream cake I received on my birthday was well known enough to have its very own wikipedia entry.  I guess it goes to show that, although I am a pastry chef who knows lots about obscure desserts, I certainly have not seen it all!

And if you have children, please be sure to celebrate at least one birthday with this frozen treat.  After eating mine this year, I realized I missed out on 28 other opportunities to have eaten a Fudgie the Whale…

While browsing a few of the many beachfront souvenir shops on the Isle of Palms, I came upon a bag of “shrimp poop.” Of course, I had to buy it. But not too worry; it was just a bag of chocolate-panned peanuts labeled “certified fresh from the producer…”

Filmmaker, Adam Pesapane (better known as PES), creates short films using found objects. Western Spaghetti is a film that is just under two minutes and features a new way of cooking spaghetti. Although I don’t recommend you follow his recipe for your next meal, I do recommend you check his films out immediately! They are too cool!

At the end of a recent dinner of sushi, these tiny packages of Japanese bubble gum were presented with my bill. So cute and so delicious! Surprisingly, the bubble gum tasted just like fresh honeydew melon and Valencia oranges! Now I need to find a Japanese candy shop, so I can find more flavors!

Valrhona, a famous French-based chocolate manufacturer, that in my opinion (and many others), makes the best chocolate in the world has a product I recently found that takes their perfect chocolate to a whole new level!

(French for “the pearls”) are tiny little round balls of crispy cookie encased in a dark chocolate shell.  The center tastes and has the texture of a sugar ice cream cone, and the exterior has a thin, hard, chocolate shell, that gives way to a softer chocolate coating.  The combination is amazing and I can eat them by the handful (which is more obnoxious than amazing)!

On my current dessert menu, I am folding them into chocolate frosting, which I use on a classic chocolate layer cake.  It gives the dessert a great crunchy texture, which is similar to the combination of a candy bar and cake.  What could be better than that?!

Originally from McCall’s Family Style Cookbook (1965), then found again on a blog about retro foodstuffs, these marshmallow creations are so cool that I had to post them!

How great of a project would this be for kids?!

This is one of my all time favorite vegetable side dishes. It is simple to make and accompanies any number of entrees nicely. The earthy flavor of the Brussel sprouts is offset well by the sweetness of the caramelized onions and fresh grapes. And because of the sprouts disguise behind a very child-friendly fruit—the red grape, these less-than-loved veggies can sometimes be slipped past the pickiest of little eaters!

Here’s the how-to: Thinly slice about a quarter of a small red onion and one small clove of garlic. Sauté in olive oil until just soft and lightly caramelized. Add a couple of handfuls of cleaned and quartered raw Brussel sprouts and cook on medium heat until just soft (if they are sticking to the pan, add a bit more olive oil and a 1/4 cup of water). At this point, season with a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Once the sprouts are cooked to where you like them, toss in a couple of tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley and a couple of handfuls of fresh red grapes, sliced in half. Quickly toss in the pan, until the grapes have just warmed through, and serve!