Pecan

My sister hates bananas. Imagine all of the yummy recipes that eliminates for her! Nonetheless, when my niece Ashley makes this banana bread, it’s so good, even Beth will eat it. Maybe it has something to do with all that butter.

My sister Beth’s sister-in-law, Margaret, makes this salad, and it’s a nice alternative to plain cranberry sauce for holiday meals. In fact, it’s rich enough to serve as a dessert!

We always made this to take to Family Night suppers at church. Its official name was Congealed Fruit Salad, but it was known at our house as pink salad, because, well, it’s pink! Besides, anything with the word congealed in the title just sounds gross to me, and this is anything but.

I think making someone else’s recipes is a wonderful way to remember them when they’re no longer with us. Garth’s brother Jerry loved my cooking, and he was a good cook himself. He always made me feel he truly appreciated the meals I made for him, and I loved him for it. He had a wonderful smile and a great spirit. Jerry brought these pecans out to the house one day, and I only stopped eating them when they were gone! The butter and sugar make them crunchy, sweet, and rich.

This is my sister’s go-to appetizer for church socials, Super Bowl Sundays, and Christmas munchies. Several years ago, she put too much of the ranch dressing mix into the recipe, and it was hard to serve. My dad renamed it the “cheese wad.” We think Ranch Dressing Cheese Ball sounds more appetizing, but at our house, it will forever be known as Cheese Wad!

Spiced pecans add sophisticated nuance to this cinnamon-spiked chocolate ganache tart.

This pull-apart bread, also called bubble bread, was inspired by a photo of Apple Cinnamon Monkey Bread in the King Arthur Flour's Baker's Catalogue. This bread looks just like the KAF version and tastes outrageous—not too sweet with a pleasing amount of caramel.

Editor's note: Chef Donald Link of New Orleans restaurants Cochon and Herbsaint, shared this recipe as part of a special Mardi Gras celebration he created for Epicurious. Chocolate Yummy might not be part of your dessert vernacular, but in Cajun Country, everybody knows what this dish is. The "yummy" architecture begins with a base of crumbled cookies (usually store-bought), followed by layers of sweetened cream cheese, chocolate pudding, and Cool Whip. I have a few aunts who specialize in this dessert, so it never fails to conjure up memories of family get-togethers. This is the type of dessert that someone pulls out of the fridge after a big meal or cookout, and even when guests think they're too full, they find themselves polishing off a portion of yummy.
Here is a grown-up version that's a bit more sophisticated, because I have lost my taste for the super-sweet original. Here, a rich pecan shortbread base is topped with cream cheese, a silky pudding made with dark chocolate, and fresh whipped cream. I'm pretty sure it would even win my aunts' approval.

When an occasion calls for an indulgent dessert, Charlie Trotter’s chocolate bread pudding should be on the short list. Chef Trotter makes bread pudding glamorous, enriching it with bittersweet chocolate and topping it with crunchy handmade praline. By any measure, it’s a “wow” dessert.

Florida chef Oliver Saucy, who attended the 1995 Workshop, tosses the peaches in his fruit crisp with crystallized ginger—a nice touch. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream. Tapioca flour thickens the peach juices without making them cloudy or imparting a floury taste. If you can’t find it, purchase pearl tapioca and grind it fine in a spice mill or coffee grinder.

When he attended the 1997 Workshop, Florida chef Pascal Oudin coated California salmon with a pecan crust, seared it, and paired it with a carrot emulsion. Brian has adapted the recipe to catfish, to give the dish some Floridian style, and replaced the crust with a toasted pecan garnish to make less work for home cooks. Serve with sautéed spinach or other wilted greens. On another occasion, prepare the silky carrot emulsion for grilled halibut or sea bass.

Like the Devil’s Food Cake recipe, this recipe is oil based, so it can easily be mixed by hand. Cake flour is used here, but not all grocery stores carry it. If necessary, you can substitute all-purpose flour—just use 1/4 cup less and be very careful not to overmix the batter. Also, you’ll notice that this is a raisinless carrot cake; that’s a personal preference. If you want to add raisins to yours, go ahead and add 1 cup. You can also omit the pecans, particularly if nut allergies are a concern.

These cupcakes have a lighter consistency than the other cakes in this chapter. Whereas the other cakes could almost double as bread, there’s no mistaking these as cake. Citrus Cream Cheese Icing (page 146) and the “Sassy” Cinnamon variation on the Vanilla Icing (page 136) are scrumptious toppings. Use the cream cheese combination for a brunch dessert or the sweeter cinnamon icing to dress them up for an autumn evening. The brown sugar and mix of spices in the batter augment the woodsy sweetness of the pecans. For a slight variation, peel and dice a sweet apple and add it to the batter before baking.

Many countries, including Greece and Russia, have variations on these crumbly, sandy, nut-rich cookies. Whatever their origin, the treats are nearly always rolled twice in confectioners’ sugar after baking, which is why there’s so little sugar in the dough.

Here, peanuts lend a golden, crisp crust to chicken breasts—and because the dish is baked, there’s no need for a frying pan. Other nuts, such as pecans or walnuts, can be used instead. Blanched asparagus, tossed with butter and lemon zest, rounds out the dish.

Using the oven to toast nuts is best. You get more uniformly toasted nuts than in a skillet on the stove, and there’s less chance of burning them (if you set a timer, that is). Let toasted nuts cool completely before using them in a recipe or storing in an airtight container.

THIS SWEET AND SAVORY STUFFING offers a textural element in every bite. It is a perfect side for poultry dishes.

SMART SUBSTITUTION This lighter interpretation of a traditional Waldorf salad replaces the sweet mayonnaise dressing with one made from reduced-fat sour cream, white-wine vinegar, and just a hint of sugar.

Serve these nuts as candy, use them to garnish a cake, or fold into homemade ice cream.

Crisps and cobblers are humble desserts, not too sweet, and full of flavor. A deep layer of fruit is baked under a crunchy topping or cream biscuits, much like a deep-dish pie with a top crust. Every season has fruit to offer: apples and pears in fall and winter, rhubarb and strawberries in the spring, and all the stone fruits and berries of summer. A crisp topping is a coarse mixture of flour, brown sugar, nuts, and spices, with butter worked into the flour mixture just until it’s crumbly. Crisp topping is as easy to make in large batches as it is in small batches, and it freezes very well for up to 2 months. It is a convenient staple to have in the freezer for a quick dessert for an unexpected occasion. Topped with biscuits, cobblers are less sweet than crisps and best made with juicy fruits. I make simple cream biscuits out of flour and butter worked together, leavened with a little baking powder, and moistened with heavy cream. The dough is rolled out on the thick side and cut into shapes. Once cut, the biscuits can be held in the refrigerator for an hour or two before baking. Crisps and cobblers work best when the fruit is piled high. For both desserts the fruit is cut into bite-size pieces (1/3-inch-thick slices or 1-inch cubes) and, like fruit pie fillings, tossed with a little flour and a little sugar. Use less sugar for crisp fillings because the crisp topping is so sweet. Tart rhubarb needs quite a bit of sugar, apples need less, and sweet fruits such as peaches need almost none at all. Taste the fruit while you are cutting it and again after it is sugared; you can always add more. The flour thickens the juices that would otherwise be too soupy. It doesn’t take much, a tablespoon or two at the most. A crisp or cobbler is served straight from the dish it has been baked in, so choose an attractive one. Ceramic dishes are best, as metal pans will react with the acid of the fruit. The dish needs to be about 3 inches deep to accommodate a generous layer of fruit. Place the dish on a baking sheet to catch any overflowing juices. Cook until the crisp is dark golden brown and the fruit is bubbling up on the sides; a cobbler’s biscuits should be cooked through and golden. If the crisp topping is browning before the fruit is done, place a piece of foil over the top to protect it. Lift off the foil for the last few minutes to recrisp the topping. Serve right away or put back in the oven to warm for a few minutes before serving. Cobblers and crisps are delicious on their own but are even better served with a little cold heavy cream or whipped cream.