Brandied Fruit Custard Food

BRANDIED PEACH CUSTARD PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• For the peaches: Over high heat, in a saute pan, heat the butter. When the butter is hot add the sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the peaches and saute for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the sugar starts to turn dark amber in color. Incorporate the brandy into the peach mixture. Carefully ignite the brandy and flambe the peaches. Remove from heat and allow to cool, about 10 minutes.
• For the custard: In a mixing bowl, whisk all the ingredients together until fully incorporated. In an unbaked pie crust, spoon the brandied peaches over the pie crust. Place the crust in the oven and pour the custard into the shells. This prevents spilling the custard in the oven. Bake for 1 hour or until the custard sets. Place foil around the crust for the first 30 minutes and then remove. This keeps the crust from getting too brown. Allow to cool for about 30 minutes. Place a slice of the pie on the plate and garnish with powder sugar, whipped cream, and fresh mint.
• For the crust: In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and sugar. Add the shortening and work it through with your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and work it in with your hands until you have a smooth ball of dough. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a lightly floured surface. This recipe will make two pie crusts.
• For the individual crust: Divide the dough into fourths. Roll out the dough on the floured surface into a circle about 5 inches in diameter and 1/8-thick.
• For the whole pie crust: Roll out the dough on the floured surface into a circle about 14 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick. Gently fold the circles of dough in half and then in half again so that you can lift it without tearing it, and unfold into a 9-inch pie pan.

BRANDIED CRANBERRY FRUIT PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Line a 9-inch pie pan with your favorite pastry. In a large bowl, combine orange, lemon juice, peach pie filling, cranberries, raisins, sugar, tapioca, and 1/3 cup brandy. Mix well. Spoon filling mixture into pie crust. Top the pie with another crust and seal and flute the edges. Cut slits into the top crust. Cover the edge of the pie with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 20 minutes until the crust is browned. Place pie on rack to cool.
• Icing: Mix the confectioners' sugar, butter, and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons brandy in a small bowl until smooth. Gently drizzle or spread over cooled pie.

BRANDIED STRAWBERRIES

Steps:

• Combine the sugar, orange and lemon zest and 3/4 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the strawberries and brandy; let cool to room temperature, 1 to 2 hours. Ladle the strawberries and syrup into a large jar (or multiple smaller jars) and refrigerate at least 24 hours or up to 2 months.

DRIED-FRUIT TART WITH BRANDIED CRèME ANGLAISE

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out dough 1/8 inch thick (about an 11-inch round). Fit dough into an 8-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim and trim edge. With a fork prick bottom of shell all over. Chill shell 30 minutes, or until firm.
• Preheat oven to 375° F.
• Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights or raw rice. Bake shell in middle of oven 20 minutes. Carefully remove weights or rice and foil and bake shell until golden, 8 to 10 minutes more. Cool shell in pan on a rack.
• Make dried-fruit mixture:
• In a heavy saucepan simmer water with sugar and vanilla bean, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Halve apricots and add to syrup with prunes and cherries. Simmer mixture 10 minutes and pour through a sieve into a 2-cup glass measure (you will have about 1 2/3 cups syrup). Reserve fruit and vanilla bean.
• In a food processor purée 1/2 cup reserved fruit and 2 tablespoons syrup until smooth. Spread purée evenly over bottom of tart shell and arrange remaining fruit on top. In a cup sprinkle gelatin over cold water to soften 1 minute. In a small saucepan boil 1/2 cup remaining syrup until reduced to about 1/4 cup. Remove pan from heat and add gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved completely, and with a pastry brush brush glaze on fruit. Reserve remaining cup syrup for crème anglaise.
• Make crème anglaise:
• Have ready a metal bowl set in a larger bowl of ice and cold water. In a 2-quart heavy saucepan combine cream and reserved cup syrup. Split reserved vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape seeds into pan. Discard vanilla bean. Bring mixture just to a boil and remove pan from heat. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together yolks and sugar until thick and pale. Add hot cream mixture to yolk mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Transfer mixture to cleaned pan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until slightly thickened and a thermometer registers 170° F. (Do not let custard boil.) Pour custard through a fine sieve into metal bowl set in bowl of ice water. Cool crème anglaise completely and stir in brandy. (Crème anglaise may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, its surface covered with plastic wrap.)
• Serve tart with crème anglaise.

BRANDIED DRIED FRUIT

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the currants, cranberries, cherries, pears and apricots. Zest the orange and add the zest to the bowl. Add the lemon, ginger, anise seeds, black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom.
• Juice the orange and add the liquid to the bowl. Add the brandy and stir to combine. Transfer the mixture to a jar, cover and refrigerate. (If you don't have a jar that's large enough, keep the mixture in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap.) Allow the fruit to sit in the liquid for 2 to 14 days before using. The flavor of the fruit, spices and brandy will improve with time. At least once a day, turn the jar upside-down (or thoroughly stir the mixture if it's in a bowl) to make sure all the dried fruit gets coated in the brandied liquid. The mixture keeps in the refrigerator for months, stored in an airtight container.

BRANDIED CUSTARD CREPE FILLING

Steps:

• In a 2-quarter saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, and cornstarch and cook until thickened (or microwave for 5 to 7 minutes).
• Add ¼ of the hot milk mixture to the beaten eggs and blend well.
• Add the egg mixture to the remaining hot milk mixture in the saucepan and add stir over medium heat (or microwave for 2 minutes or until thick). Remove pan from heat; stir in the brandy (if using) and vanilla. Chill completely.
• For use as a crepe filling - Recipe makes enough filling for 10 crepes. Place 3 tablespoons of custard in the center of each crepe. Add about 1/3 cup of sliced strawberries, if you wish. Then gently roll each crepe and place on a plate. Top each crepe with whipping cream and fresh strawberries.

BRANDIED CHERRY CLAFOUTI

Steps:

• Mix cherries, brandy, and 1/3 cup white sugar in a bowl; let soak for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Spray a 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray.
• Remove cherries from brandy mixture using a slotted spoon and transfer to the prepared pie pan. Pour brandy mixture into a blender; add remaining 1/3 cup sugar, milk, flour, eggs, vanilla extract, lemon zest, salt, and allspice to the blender. Pulse mixture until batter is smooth; pour over cherries.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and continue baking until golden and puffy, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool slightly and dust with confectioners' sugar to serve.

BRANDIED FRUIT CLAFOUTI

Steps:

• Combine the apricot slivers and raisins in the brandy; cover and let the mixture blend overnight (refrigerated or not).
• The next day, drain off the brandy from the raisins; preheat oven to 400 degrees F and butter and sugar a 9-1/2 inch round baking dish (preferably Pyrex or ceramic).
• Spread the apricot/raisin mixture in the bottom of the prepared dish and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoons nutmeg.
• In a large bowl with a mixer, beat together the eggs and sugar until foamy.
• Add melted butter, almond and vanilla extract; then slowly add milk, flour, lemon zest, coriander, nutmeg and cinnamon.
• The mixture will be very runny, not thick at all.
• Pour the egg mixture over the apricot/raisin mixture in the dish; sprinkle with a bit more nutmeg, then bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is puffed and golden (the puffiness goes down as it sits -- ).
• Serve warm.

FRIENDSHIP BRANDY FRUIT STARTER

Steps:

• TO START: Combine all ingredients in a clean, large glass jar.
• Stir gently with wooden spoon.
• Cover and let stand at room temperature for three weeks, stirring at least twice a week.
• Fruit is fermented when it is translucent.
• CARE AND FEEDING: Stir mixture daily.
• Every two weeks add one cup sugar and one cup of fruit and stir gently. Alternate fruits each time.
• Cover and let stand at room temperature at least three days before using.
• Do not add fruit more often than once every two weeks.
• Do not delay adding fruit for more than one or two days past schedule.
• IMPORTANT: To keep the starter going, retain at least three cups at all times.
• SHARING: Whenever you have more than six cups of fermented fruit, you may divide it into two portions, being sure there are at least three cups in each portion.
• Do this just before you would do a normal feeding.
• Feed each portion.
• Give one portion to a friend (with Care and Feeding directions) and keep one for yourself.
• Search on "friendship fruit" to find recipes that use this.
• There is also a Friendship Sourdough Starter (Recipe #647936) - yum!