We did it again! Elizabeth Stone, Owner and Executive Chef of The Stone Kitchen Catering & Specials Events upheld her title again this year of Dessert Chef of the Year 2011 Competition for Food and Wine Week in The Woodlands. Elizabeth’s winning dessert was a Peach Cherry Napoleon emphasizing the theme of this year’s event, Southern Hospitality to the Max. The recipe is listed to the right, enjoy!
Elizabeth Stone crowned the "2010 Dessert Chef of the Wine Rendezvous" with her Raspberry Rose Vacherin. The recipe is listed on the right.
Peach Cherry Napoleon
Serves 6
2 cups Caramelized Peaches
2 cups Cherry Custard
12 Bing or Dark Red Cherries, pitted and halved
12 Rainer Cherries, pitted and halved
2 cups Peach Sorbet
6 Almond Lace Cookies
6 Tablespoons Lavender Peach Reduction
Assembly
Place about 2 – 3 tablespoons of caramelized peaches in a brandy snifter or other wide mouth glass. Top each glass with 2 – 3 tablespoons of the custard. Sprinkle in 4 halves of each type of cherry. If having guests over. Complete all to this step and refrigerate until ready to use. Drizzle cherries with lavender peach reduction and top with one scoop of peach sorbet and almond lace cookie.
Caramelized Peaches
6 Fresh Peaches, skin removed, pitted and diced or 2 cups Frozen Peaches diced
6 tablespoons Butter
3 tablespoons of Brown Sugar
Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed skillet or sauce pan over medium heat. Add in the brown sugar and the peaches. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture begins to bubble. Reduce the heat to low and stir occasionally for about 5 minutes. The peaches will be tender and the caramel sauce will have a syrup consistency. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Lavender Peach Reduction
1 cups Water
1 cup Sugar
1 bunch Fresh Lavender Leaves
½ cup Peach Puree
In a medium heavy bottomed saucepan, place water and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add lavender leaves and the peach puree. Reduce the heat to simmer and allow to simmer for 10 minutes or until mixture thickens and is syrupy. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Discard the leaves and store in refrigerator until ready to use.
Note: Peach Puree can be purchased at the grocery store
Cherry Custard
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 cup Milk
½ cup Frozen Dark Cherries, thawed, drained and chopped
3 Egg Yolks
½ cup Sugar
½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Place the heavy cream, milk and cherries in a heavy bottomed medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until the cream is scalded (steam is coming off cream but not boiling.) Strain the hot liquid through a sieve or a strainer with a cheese cloth. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar with electric beater until pale yellow in color. Very slowly stir the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture. Make sure you stir constantly so that the eggs do not curdle. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats a wooden spoon (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature before refrigerating.
Almond Lace Cookie
1/8 cup Light Karo Syrup
1/8 cup Light Brown Sugar
1/8 cup Butter
¼ cup Flour
¼ cup Almonds, Sliced
¼ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, combine Karo syrup, brown sugar and butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat and stir constantly. Remove from the heat and slowly stir in the flour and then the almonds and vanilla extract. Do not allow to cool completely.
Drop the hot mixture by spoonfuls onto a cookie baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 3 – 4 minutes until they have spread out. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 1 minute; then remove from parchment. At first, they will still be very soft but will harden as they cool. Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Raspberry Rose Vacherin
Rose Flavored Meringues Cookies layered with Fresh Raspberries, Rose Water Greek Yogurt Mousse, and Raspberry Sorbet
finished with organic Rose Petals, Candied Orange Zest and an Orange Rose Reduction
Raspberry Rose Vacherin Serves 4
2 pints raspberries
12 Rose Flavored Meringue Cookies
2 cups Rose Water Greek Yogurt Mousse
1 pint Raspberry Sorbet
1 organic edible rose
Zest of one Orange, Candied
¼ cup Orange Rose Reduction
Place one meringue cookie on a plate. Arrange 5 raspberries around the edge of the cookie and fill the center in with about 2 tablespoons of the Rose Water Greek Yogurt Mousse. Place a second meringue cookie on top of that and again arrange 5 raspberries around the edge and place 1 small scoop of raspberry sorbet in the middle. Place the third cookie on top of that and dollop 5 – 6 tablespoons of the yogurt mixture on top of the cookie allowing is to begin to run down the sides of the tower. Garnish the top with diced rose petals and candied orange peel. Drizzle the plate with a rose water orange reduction.
Rose Flavored Meringue Cookies Yield: 12 – 15 (2”) Meringues Cookies
2 large egg whites
¾ cup 10x powdered sugar
1 teaspoon concentrated rose water
Preheat oven to 225° F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Do not use wax paper. The meringues will stick to wax paper.
In a bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they form and hold soft peaks. Once this happens, begin adding the powdered sugar a ¼ cup at a time. Once all the sugar has been added continue to beat the mixture for about 8 -10 minutes. The mixture will become very stiff. Fold in the rose water, a little at a time, to the mixture. Drop approximately one tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheet. Use the back of the spoon the spread out the mixture to the desired shape and size. The meringues will not spread very much. But do leave about 2 inches between each of them. Bake the cookies for about 2 hours, until they are completely dry to the touch. Allow to cool for 1 – 2 minutes and then remove the cookies from the liner paper. Store in an airtight container for up to one week until ready to use. Note: Do not attempt to make these on a rainy highly humid day. They will not work well.
Rose Water Greek Yogurt Mousse Yield: approximately 2 – 2 ½ cups
1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt (not low fat)
Cheesecloth
1 1/8 cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon of gelatin, powered, unflavored
½ cup 10x powdered sugar
¾ teaspoon of concentrated rose water
Place the cheesecloth in a sieve or colander that is sitting over a bowl. Put the yogurt in the cheesecloth and allow it to drain for about 30 minutes to one hour.The yogurt will reduce to about one cup. Discard the liquid in the bowl. Place the strained yogurt in the bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low or a whisk until very smooth. Place 1/8 cup of heavy cream in a small sauce pan. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cream and let it rest for 5 minutes. Warm the cream and gelatin over low heat and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved. This may take up to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Pour mixture through a sieve into the strained yogurt. Whisk until incorporated.In another bowl, whip 1 cup of heavy cream with an electric mixer until it is very thick and stiff. Be careful not to over-beat the cream or you will have butter instead of cream. Fold in the powdered sugar and the rose water. Fold the cream mixture into the yogurt mixture about ½ cup at a time until well incorporated. Refrigerate the mousse for about 4 hours or overnight until completely chilled.
Candied Orange Peel Makes 4 – 6 servings
1 large orange
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups water
Carefully cut the peel off of an orange into long strips using a citrus zester, vegetable peeler or a knife. Be careful to not retain any of the white pith on the peel. The pith is very bitter.In a medium saucepan, place the orange peel strips and cover them with cold water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Drain the water from the oranges. Once again, add cold water to cover them and bring to a boil over medium heat. Do this process once more for a total of three times. In a small saucepan, place 1 ½ cups of water and 1/3 cup of sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium until all the sugar has dissolved. Stir occasionally and boil for 2 – 3 minutes or until the liquid has become syrupy. Add the orange peel strips to the boiling syrup. Reduce to simmer and continue heating until the strips become translucent. This will take 10 – 12 minutes. Remove the sauce pan from the heat and allow the strips cool in the syrup for about one hour. Remove the strips from the syrup and toss in granulated sugar. Place on a cookie sheet for them to dry. Reserve the syrup for the Orange Rose Reduction.
Raspberry Orange Rose Reduction
½ cup of the Orange Syrup from the Candied Orange Peel
½ cup Raspberry Puree
1 Tablespoons Rose Water
Place the orange syrup in a heavy bottom small sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and add the raspberry puree. Boil for 1 additional minute. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Add the rose water. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
