Pistachio And Cherry Bombe Food

PISTACHIO AND CHERRY BOMBE

Steps:

• In a food processor, grind the pistachios and granulated sugar into a fine meal.
• Transfer pistachio meal to a medium bowl; add the zest, honey and egg whites and combine the ingredients using your hands until fully integrated.
• Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, pressing evenly until about 1/3-inch thick, and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. The mixture should still be soft and pliable, like the center of a chewy cookie, with some color on top. When you poke it with your finger, the dent should remain.
• Line a 10- to 12-inch, freezer-proof bowl (about 4 quarts) with parchment paper and plastic wrap, allowing enough overhang to cover the top of the bowl. Set aside about one-third of the biscotti dough (this will form the bombe's base later) and press the remaining dough into the bowl while the dough is still warm. (The layer should be as even and thin as possible, ideally about 1/3-inch thick.) Set aside until completely cooled to room temperature, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, roll out the remaining biscotti dough into a rough circle between two pieces of clean parchment paper. It should be about 1/3-inch thick. Trim it to fit the opening of the bowl. Set aside to cool completely.
• Prepare the filling: In a medium saucepan, cook the cherries with the granulated sugar over medium heat for 10 minutes; they should be sweet and soft with a good amount of liquor. Set aside to cool completely.
• Remove 2 pints of ice cream from the freezer to soften slightly, about 10 minutes. When the biscotti bowl has cooled and the ice cream is easily scoopable but not at all runny, spoon 2 pints of ice cream into the center of the pistachio bowl and spread evenly with a spatula in the bottom and up the sides, about 1-inch thick. Place a nesting bowl or any smaller bowl in the center and use the bowl to tamp the ice cream down. Transfer the large bowl to the freeze to chill until firm, 2 to 3 hours.
• Remove another pint of ice cream from the freezer and let soften 10 minutes at room temperature. In a medium bowl, fold the cooled cherries and their juices into 1 pint of ice cream, leaving some pockets of vanilla. Spoon this mix into the center of the biscotti bowl (which is now covered with a frozen layer of plain vanilla ice cream). Freeze until firm, 2 to 3 hours.
• Spread the remaining 1/2 pint vanilla ice cream on top of the cherry layer. Cover the top of the bowl with the rolled-out remaining biscotti and tamp down. Freeze at least 8 hours, or overnight.
• To serve, turn the bombe out onto a plate. Sift confectioners' sugar on top. Using a Microplane, grate pistachios all over the top of the bombe. More cherries are a lovely garnish. Slice and serve immediately.

PISTACHIO-CHERRY CRUMBLE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9" pie pan. In pan, mix cherries with 1 tablespoon sugar, juice and 1 tablespoon flour. In a food processor, pulse remaining 1/2 cup sugar, remaining 1/3 cup flour, pistachios, oats, walnuts, cardamom and salt until nuts are finely chopped, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in butter; sprinkle topping over cherries. Bake until juices bubble thickly and topping is browned, 25 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

CHOCOLATE CHERRY BOMBE

Steps:

• Line a 1 1/2 quart glass or stainless bowl with plastic wrap, leaving enough excess hanging over the edge, and stick it in the freezer.
• In a medium pot, combine the cherries, 1 cup of sugar, lemon juice, kirsch, and 3/4 cup of water. Simmer over medium-high heat until the juice from the cherries is released and the fruit is soft, about 20 minutes. Mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water to make a slurry and add it to the cherry mixture. Simmer, stirring, for another 2 minutes to thicken. Remove the cherry sauce from the heat, you should have about 4 cups. Put the cherry sauce in the freezer or in an ice bath to chill until cold.
• Using a wire whisk, beat 2 cups of the heavy cream, the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, and vanilla together until soft peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into half of the cherry mixture (2 cups) to make a light mousse - don't overdo it, it's ok if there are streaks of cream in the filling. Gently fold in the pistachios. Take the plastic-lined bowl out of the freezer and spoon the cherry mousse into it, filling it all the way to the top, and spreading evenly around the rim. Freeze again for at least 8 hours, so the mousse sets up firm.
• Heat the remaining 1 cup of cream and the chocolate in a pot over medium-low flame. Stir to melt the chocolate completely and smooth it out into the cream. Cool until warm to the touch, the chocolate should still be pourable.
• Take the bowl of cherry mousse out of the freezer and invert it, bottom-side up, on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Carefully peel off the plastic and pour the chocolate ganache over the bombe to cover it completely, allowing the excess to drip down into the sheet pan. Stick the chocolate cherry bombe back in the freezer to chill. Using a couple of flat spatulas, carefully remove the bombe from the rack and put in on a chilled platter. Cut into wedges; serve with the reserved cherry sauce.

PISTACHIO CHERRY BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease and flour two 9 x 5" loaf pans.
• Mix together cake mix, eggs, oil, water, pudding mix, sour cream, cherries, and food coloring.
• Pour into prepared pans.
• In a small bowl, stir together cinnamon and sugar.
• Sprinkle tops of loaves with mixture.
• Bake for 45 minutes.
• Cool.