Pine Cone Cheese Ball – So Good, You’ll Want to Hug a Tree

Any cheese ball is a welcome addition to a holiday party spread, but when you bring one that looks like a pine cone, you’re talking about a real showstopper. 

The only danger, as I joked about in the intro, would be hurting the feelings of other guests who also decided to bring a cheese ball, sans camouflage. Hey, they’ll just have to raise their game next year.

Obviously, this seasonally appropriate appetizer can be made using any cheese spread, or cheese ball recipe, but if you’re going to use this one, which comes highly recommended, we should talk about the garlic. I love raw garlic, and since I felt a little cold coming on, I decided to be generous with the amount.

For normal people, two cloves might be a little strong here, so fair warning. If you’re a fan of roasted garlic, that would be beautiful in this as well. Also, if you’re a fan of our beer cheese recipe, there’s no way that wouldn’t be perfect too. I really hope you give this easy, delicious, and gorgeous-to-look-at pine cone cheese ball a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for one giant or two normal size pine cone cheese balls:

2 package (8 ounce ea.) cream cheese

4 ounce goat cheese

Salt, pepper and cayenne taste

1/2 to 2 cloves minced garlic, depending on how strong you want it, or roasted garlic cloves to taste

3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

1 tablespoon picked fresh thyme leaves

whole almonds as needed

Next Up: Whole Roasted Pinecones ;-)

Ricotta Pie – Call It “Cheesecake” At Your Own Risk

You would certainly be well within your rights to call this ricotta pie a “cheesecake,’ except then your guests would be expecting cheesecake, and that might cause some problems. 

If you tell me I’m about to get a slice of cheesecake, I’m picturing something tall, dense, sweet, and very rich. Those adjectives are why people order cheesecake in the first place.

That’s why this lighter, less sweet variation is being called a ricotta pie. So much of cooking for people is managing expectations, and a recipe’s name is a big part in that. Moving past semantics, I really enjoyed this cannoli-inspired take on the rustic Italian classic.

I played around with a hybrid pie-dough/cookie crust, with flavors borrowed from a cannoli shell, as well as studded the filling with chocolate and candied orange; also common features of that other ricotta-based dessert. If you don’t want to mess around with my crust, or you’re still trying to do the paleo thing, you can skip that step, and just butter and flour the pan first. Your favorite graham cracker crust will work as well, especially with some ground almonds tossed in.

Regarding the sweetness: Generally, ricotta pies are not very sweet, and contain only about half the sugar of a traditional cheesecake. For this size pie (9-inch), you could use between a 1/4 and 1/2-cup of sugar, depending on your tastes. I used a 1/3-cup, which is perfect for me, but I’m not you, so adjust accordingly. Same goes for the grated citrus, and chocolate. I really hope you give this great ricotta pie a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 8 portions:

For the crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

1/2 cup cold butter, cut in chunks

1 large egg

2 tbsp marsala wine

2-3 tablespoons ice water, or enough to form dough

Prebake crust for 15 min at 400 F.

For the filling

3 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese

4 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, to taste

1 or 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon and/or orange zest

pinch of salt (not shown!)

2 tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips, optional

2 tbsp diced candied orange zest, optional

Bake 45 minutes at 350 F., or until just set (160 internal temp)

*I garnished with chopped pistachios, and some  additional orange zest that I tossed with some simple syrup (1/4 cup water and a 1/4 cup sugar brought to a simmer and allowed to cool.)

Fesenjan (Duck Stewed with Pomegranate and Walnuts) – Better Later Than Never!

Sorry for the delay, but if there's anything that deserves the “better late than never” tag, this duck fesenjan is it. A savory stew featuring duck, pomegranate, and walnuts, which is every bit as exotic as it sounds.

Keep in mind, I’m brand-new to Persian food, so this is just my interpretation of the ancient classic. I’m assuming like most similar recipes, every household has their own version, and this kind of thing can be obviously, and easily be tailored to your tastes.

The ingredients are simple and easy to manipulate. If you have trouble finding pomegranate syrup, or pomegranate molasses as it’s sometimes called, check out the online retailers, but you can actually make your own.

If you want to try, check out this recipe from my friend Elise, from Simply Recipes. It takes an hour or so, but its usefulness goes far beyond this duck recipe. By the way, if you're not down with Simply Recipes, you really should be. Elise has an amazing collection of recipes. 

Regarding the duck, I like to sear the meat in a pan, since you'll get faster and deeper browning. The high sides of a Dutch oven can sometimes hold in moisture and you won’t get the same results. As long as you deglaze the pan, nothing is lost.

Other than that, it’s a very straightforward recipe. Just stew everything until the meat is tender, but not totally falling apart; then reduce the sauce until as thick and intensely flavored as you want. I really hope you give this Persian duck stew a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 8 to 10 Duck Legs or chicken leg quarters, seared in vegetable oil until browned

1 tbsp reserved duck fat

3-4 tbsp olive oil

2 cups diced yellow onion

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

6 cups chicken broth, or more as need to adjust liquid levels

1/4 cup honey

2/3 cup pomegranate syrup aka molasses

3 cups walnut halves, ground

salt and pepper to taste

Next Up: Fesenjān

Sorry, but due to a large pot hole and a really small tire, today's Fesenjān video will not air until tomorrow. I think it will be worth the wait. Speaking of waiting, time to call roadside assistance. Stay tuned!

Persian Rice – Sorry, Measuring Cups

I believe I’ve posted a few “fool proof” methods for cooking “perfect” rice, but this Persian version takes the grand prize, and it’s not even close for second. The beauty of this method is that it doesn’t rely on any specific measurements, or even exact times. This will make some of you very nervous, but just go with it.

As long as the pot you use to boil and steam the grains is large enough, this will work exactly as shown. Since we are basically steaming rice that’s already been par-boiled and drained, there are never any issues with too much, or too little water.

By the way, I’ve only made this a handful of times, and so I’m sure there are many things I could improve on. I hear that soaking the rice in cold, salted water before boiling it helps improve the texture even more, which I find kind of hard to believe.

I mean, is there a level of rice perfection that goes beyond perfection? Probably too deep a question for a food blog about rice, so I’ll simply close by saying, I hope you give this Persian rice a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 8 Portions:

2 cups basmati rice, rinsed very well

3 quarts water, brought to a boil with 3 tablespoons of salt

2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

1 russets potato, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch slices

salt to taste

pinch of ground cumin

5 or 6 slices of butter for top

pinch of saffron, ground and mixed with 1 1/2 tablespoons hot water
parsley to garnish 

Why Store-Bought Whipped Toppings Are Not Cool

Okay, so I may have embellished the grocery checkout line story in the intro, but all the important parts are true. You can quickly and easily make your own whipped topping that’s not only less expensive, but vastly superior in quality. By the way, you may know this stuff by its more common name, whipped cream.

I’d like to apologize in advance to all the people who will lose their jobs when whipped topping factories start closing down after this video goes viral. Hey, you had a good run. But really, who in their right mind would buy that stuff again, after seeing what’s in there, as well as how incredibly simple it is to make yourself?

Just be sure to buy, “Heavy Whipping Cream,” also sold as “Heavy Cream.” This should have a fat content of around 34-36%, and as long as it’s nice and cold, will make perfect whipped cream, every time. As I explain in the video, these are not egg whites, and require no special finesse. Regular whipping cream will work, but it doesn’t have the same rich, decadent feel.

I’d like to think the only reason people buy "tub topping," is because that’s what they (and their parents) have always done, and simply don’t know there’s such an easy alternative. Well, now you know, and with plenty of holiday desserts still to top, I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 8 large dollops:

1/2 cup cold heavy whipping cream

1 tbsp white sugar, or to taste

1/8 tsp vanilla extract