See Helen on the set of KMOV-TV’s Great Day St. Louis!
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By Helen S. Fletcher, on December 20th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted. 
Before getting on with this week’s post, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all of you wonderful readers a happy and safe holiday season and the best new year ever! Thank you for being a part of my life and sharing my joy of food with you.
Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Port Wine Sauce is the start of this simple dinner fit for company. So much so that this is our Christmas dinner along with Orange Ginger Green beans, roasted red potatoes, brioche rolls and finishing with individual banana caramel tarts topped with rum pastry cream and crushed pralines.
This reduction sauce can be made days ahead of time. Its complex flavors are perfect with the simply roasted meat. The green beans can be blanched, shocked and stored in the fridge several hours ahead of time. Sear the tenderloin just before the guests arrive and your ready to enjoy your own party. The New Red Potatoes are simply cut in half, splashed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Roasted until golden and crispy, this is the ideal accompaniment to this dinner.
One last note. When I had the retail store, people always asked how we got our pork so tender and juicy. By roasting the meat to 145 degrees and letting it rest, it will slightly pink when cut. That is how it should be. Overcooking pork is no longer necessary.
This dinner serves 4.
Continue reading Pork Tenderloin with Port Wine Sauce
By Helen S. Fletcher, on December 13th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  With the holidays here, parties are everywhere and so are crudite platters. How easy is it to pile veggies on a tray and fill the center in with a bowl of dip. How about updating that favorite of all appetizers by making individual crudite shot? The old and the new combine to keep a really good appetizer but update it for the 21st century. It also solves the problem of double dipping. I love the dip on the end of the celery or carrot stick but then I’m left with the naked veggie. Do I hope no one is looking and dip in again – better not take the chance. Ditch the remainder of the veggie? No, just munch it up and go for a shorter veggie. I used carrots, red and yellow pepper strips, cucumbers, green beans, grape tomatoes and cauliflower. I blanched the cauliflower slightly but the remainder of the vegetables are raw. I used a goat cheese pesto dip in the bottom of the containers. It is easiest to pipe the dip in the bottom of the glass. Just put the dip in a small freezer bag, clip off the tip and pipe in the dip. It keeps the dip from hitting the sides of the glass if you drop it in from a spoon. No piping skills needed here. Crudite Shots what fun! Continue reading Crudite Shots
By Helen S. Fletcher, on December 6th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  These Lemon Raspberry Muffins are really easy requiring two bowls, a whisk and muffin tins and they freeze beautifully. This recipe makes twelve regular size or six Texas size muffins. For a quick hostess gift or a pick me up for someone down with a cold, grab a tin, pack these up and you’re ready to give these Lemon Raspberry Muffins.
Fruit has a tendency to stick to paper liners but spraying the liners solves that problem. Other fruits can be substituted for the raspberries. It is easier to fold frozen berries into the batter as they don’t break up as much and they don’t discolor the batter as does Continue reading Lemon Raspberry Muffins
By Helen S. Fletcher, on November 29th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted. 
If you got a notification that the Lemon Raspberry Muffins were this week, I apologize. They will be here next week as I wanted to announce the of the book is here.
It took longer than having a baby and was definitely as much a concern as a teenager, but I am so glad to tell you all that it’s here – European Tarts, Divinely Doable Desserts with Little or No Baking”.
Just go to see the blog filled with how-to photos as they are for this one. And remember, if you have any questions or suggestions, I am an email away and happy to help.
The book is available on Amazon.com, Kitchen Conservatory and Left Bank Books (both stores).
Tony’s hosted the Book Launch party on Sunday and it was so much fun. Almost all of the written media in St. Louis attended along with others instrumental in helping with the book. The surprise of the day was when my son Dirk drove down from Chicago. Shortly after that, my LA son, Eric, flew in to help celebrate the book and our anniversary. I was dumbstruck (well actually, Joe Bonwich said he wish he had a video of me seeing the boys when they first came in. Everyone seemed to feel what I felt and some had tears in their eyes.
I can’t imagine anything more fulfilling than knowing your children truly love you and they are happy for your success and proud of you.
Truly memories for the ages.
By Helen S. Fletcher, on November 22nd, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  I became intrigued with the Hot Brown, an open face sandwich after seeing them on the food network.com show “Throwdown with Bobby Flay”. I had seen mention of them before but not really been interested. I think the Hot Brown story was as intriguing as the sandwich. I also thought it is a great way to serve leftover Turkey from Thanksgiving. See if you agree.
It seems in the 1920′s the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky drew over 1,200 guests each evening for dining and dancing. Certainly an enviable number then or now for any hotel. They obviously danced well into the night and early morning. Bear in mind – no TV, no internet few movies and apparently no early morning work hours, but lots of dining, dancing and conversation. It seems at the end of these marathon evenings breakfast was a must. The traditional breakfast of eggs and ham was on the wane so Chef Fred Schmidt created an open-faced turkey sandwich with bacon and a mornay sauce served hot. And so was born The Hot Brown. Chef Schmidt, being no dummy, based this on Welsh Rarebit. Continue reading The Hot Brown
By Helen S. Fletcher, on November 15th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  When I had the retail shop we offered Brined Turkey with All Purpose Gravy every Thanksgiving. We offered 12 pound or 14 pound turkeys and they had to be pre-ordered. What a production that was! We had a special 55 gallon plastic trash can that was bought new and stored each year just for the purpose of brining the turkeys. The can would be scrubbed and sanitized each year. Next the turkeys would be cleaned and washed. One by one into the can they went.
The recipe for the brine came from Cooking Light magazine but I don’t know what year. I still get that magazine, although I had cut out a lot of others for lack of reading time. I admire them for the change they made years back when they realized a tablespoon of cream or a pat of butter would not undo a person and would often add so much to the flavor and mouth feel of the recipe. They also are still the only magazine I know that publishes weights for baking recipes. Anyway, I sound like a commercial for them, but it’s a great magazine as far as I am concerned.
Brining meats adds moisture, flavor and a much better end product. It is perfect for turkeys or turkey breasts as they can be rather dry after roasting, especially if it isn’t pumped up with liquids before hand, which product I discourage. The original recipe calls for skinning the turkey breast but I leave it on as an additional safeguard to keeping it moist. The breast will be roasted standing up. It will brown considerably if it isn’t lightly covered with foil due to the honey and brown sugar. The brine is very straight forward, using thyme, honey, brown sugar a lot of salt and pepper plus water. We made huge batches of brine and submerged the turkeys under it for a day. After removing them, they were patted dry, the skin was oiled and they were placed in disposable roaster pans to be taken home and roasted – instructions included. People who had never roasted a turkey were elated (if they followed the instructions that were enclosed) and came back year after year for the turkeys they could roast on Thanksgiving day. Continue reading Brined Turkey with All Purpose Gravy
By Helen S. Fletcher, on November 8th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  I have absolutely no idea how this Savory Apple Chutney Bread Pudding came about. I am not even a chutney nut. But I love bread puddings – sweet or savory. See the Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding for a really special sweet version. Hmmm, I thought I had posted my favorite Chocolate Bread Pudding with Kahlua Cream Anglaise, but to my surprise found I have taught it but not blogged it. Next year!
In my ongoing effort this November to give you new choices for Thanksgiving, this bread pudding fits right in. The apple chutney, with it’s red peppers, cider vinegar, brown sugar and ginger is a little sweet and has a nice bite to it from the cinnamon, red pepper flakes, mustard and nutmeg. The chutney itself would be good as a side dish for pork also. I use Granny Smith apples for their lack of sweetness and coupled it with brown sugar cinnamon bagels. I like the bagels because they absorb a good amount of liquid without falling apart. The result is a little sweet and a little tangy. The chutney can be made a week ahead ready to assemble for the final dish. Continue reading Savory Apple Chutney Bread Pudding
By Helen S. Fletcher, on November 1st, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  This Sweet Potato and Pineapple Salad is an unusual combination of fruit and vegetable and is the perfect accompaniment to chicken, turkey and pork. Roasting the potatoes and pineapple bring out sweetness and flavor. The sweet potato is the large edible root belonging to the morning-glory family. It is native to the tropical areas of the Americas. There are many varieties of sweet potatoes but the two grown commercially are the large pale sweet potato whose skin is thin and the flesh is pale with the flesh being dry and crumbly. The second variety is the Garnet sweet potato.
Sweet potatoes and yams are not the same thing. Yams are a different species and rarely found or grown in the States Look for Garnet sweet potatoes if they are marked. They are generally more slender, smooth skinned and more red in color. The flesh is sweet, orange and great for baking or mashing. I found them marked as Garnet sweet potatoes in one of the grocery stores the other day.
The pecans add crunch and the raisins sweetness to the salad.
The dressing is a combination of sweet and tart with a bit of heat from the ginger. White balsamic vinegar is a boon to salads as it doesn’t discolor the salad as does the dark.
Sweet Potato and Pineapple Salad is a great change up salad for Thanksgiving although we eat it anytime of the year. Continue reading Sweet Potato and Pineapple Salad
By Helen S. Fletcher, on October 25th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted. 
European Tarts – Divinely Doable Desserts with Little or No Baking will be released on December 1st – just in time for the holidays. So start making a list of anyone you ever knew that likes to cook/bake/eat. For an advance peek at the blog, go to www.europeantarts.com,
This is a unique concept in cookbook publishing. While this book is fantastic for anyone interested in baking, the blog that accompanies it makes it almost foolproof for anyone. The blog holds a lot of how to photographs, just like this blog, to assist anyone who needs additional help or just wants to see how I do something. So please do visit it to see what I mean.
European Tarts has been an unbelievable journey from start to finish. My birthday is Saturday and I couldn’t imagine my life being any better. Three weeks later, I will be married for 50 years. Mike, my two sons, their life partners, and two grandsons add up to much to be grateful for. Add to that this book, TV, being a pastry chef for Tony’s and blogging. Wow! Who knew?
I want to thank all of you who visit each week or just occasionally for your support. Your comments brighten my life and I enjoy knowing what you like, or don’t, and what you think. As a child, my parents were beside themselves because I just hated eating (they should see me now!). What a turn of events to have made food my life. I think what I learned early on was never to be to sure of what I did or didn’t like. Life has a way of changing your perspective on almost anything if you keep an open mind. It is a challenge at my age to keep up with what is current, especially in publishing and the internet.
Someone gave me a sweatshirt I still own and love. On the front it says, “God put me on earth to do a certain number of things. Right now, I am so far behind, I will never die.” While the sentiment is true – I’m having the time of my life!
http://www.theardentcook.com/european-tarts-divinely-doable-desserts-with-little-or-no-baking/
By Helen S. Fletcher, on October 18th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  I wish I could remember where I found this idea for these Spooky Peanut Butter Fingers. I know it was on the net and I would love to give them credit but alas that isn’t going to happen. The original recipe used peanut butter cookie dough from the store and specified it had to be plain. No chips or add in’s. Mike went to three stores and couldn’t find plain peanut butter cookie dough so here is the recipe I used for these. Super easy and it makes great PB cookies without the fingers! These are great for Halloween. The first attempt at shaping these was a hoot! They looked like wooden spindles instead of fingers, but another couple of roll outs and fingers they were! I suggest you shape two or three and bake them since they flatten out after baking. The reason I specify a length to roll them out to is because my first ones were super fat and lost their shape. So without further adieu here are the fingers. Continue reading Spooky Peanut Butter Fingers
By Helen S. Fletcher, on October 11th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  Brownies are authentically American. And the Mocha Kahlua Brownies are the quintessential example of the best of brownies. Over the years there have been literally countless variations of brownies. It’s almost impossible to make a bad one.
There are two types of brownies. One is cake like and the other is very dense and fudgy. All of the brownies sold at the shop were dense and fudgy and the Mocha Kahlua Brownies almost melt in your mouth.
When making the brownie itself, it is important to beat the batter on low and not to overbeat it. Just mix until it is well combined. On the other hand, the frosting should be beaten until it comes together and then continue beating until it is very light in color and texture.
I apologize there are no how-to pictures of the frosting being put together. I accidentally deleted a card holding those pictures as well as another blog.
If you are not a fan of coffee, omit it. Make these brownies once and I am sure you will make them again. Continue reading Mocha Kahlua Brownies
By Helen S. Fletcher, on October 4th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  I think a lot of people assume the kitchen of my dreams is large, especially since we do all of the photography in it. However, my kitchen is really small. When KMOV came out to do one of my segments in the kitchen, it was a push to get the lights and people in without falling all over each other. But it was fun.
When Mike and I were married, we lived in an apartment and a rented house before starting to look for our own house. It was during one of those times when banks weren’t excited about lending money to two young people just starting out. I remember Mike going to talk to our bank who turned us down. Mike told them we would withdraw everything and go to another bank if they could’t help us. What a threat – we didn’t have anything! Well, they must have figured someday we would because the gentleman came back with a piece of paper and gave it to Mike. On it was scribbled the name of a mortgage company down the street and an individual to see. After that, the loan sailed through with no problem and we stayed with that bank until they merged with another one. We were lucky enough to find a house that had been on the market for awhile and the owners were anxious to sell, as they were relocating. It was in a great area and we fell in love with it immediately, even though we knew it would take a lot of work inside. But we were up for the challenge – well at least I was! Continue reading The Kitchen of My Dreams
By Helen S. Fletcher, on September 27th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  I didn’t discover Chinese food until I was in my 20′s. I grew up in a European family and we never ate out or had carry in. Fortunately, my mother was a bang up cook, although as I child I hardly ate to the point everyone was worried. That doesn’t seem to be my problem now! One of he things I loved was Sweet and Sour Chicken or anything. When I had children of my own, we did eat out – and carry in. But one of the things they loved, was my sweet and sour sauce, to which we added pork, chicken and on really rare occasions, shrimp. The chicken used in today’s recipe can be roasted or poached and cut into bite size pieces, if you want to skip the frying part. I was in a hurry to finish this for photography, so I put a lid on the peppers when they were cooking. If you cherish bright green, beautiful peppers, do not put a lid on them as they turn army green. However, they taste great – your choice. This is just how I made Sweet and Sour Chicken for the children and Mike and I still eat it today – canned pineapple and all. Continue reading Sweet and Sour Chicken
By Helen S. Fletcher, on September 20th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.
 Anyone who knows me, knows I am a nut about my kitchen being clean including my sponge. In professional kitchens you are required to sanitize all washed dishes. There are several ways of doing this depending upon if you are handwashing or machine washing. At the shop, since I couldn’t install a machine washer, we used bleach in the rinse water which is an approved method of sanitizing dishes, pots and pans. I have seen (but not tried) putting sponges in a microwave, dishwasher and outside in the sun. But one of the easiest, least expensive and most effective methods of not only cleaning but sanitizing is to add bleach to the water.
Kitchen sponges can not only get dirty but can be the most unsanitary thing in the kitchen. I realized I was chucking these out with great speed. So I went back to my pro days and decided to clean and sanitize in one fell swoop.
Continue reading Clean Sponges – Quick and Easy
By Helen S. Fletcher, on September 13th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  I’m not sure what’s in the air, but Angel Food Cakes are turning up everywhere. So I decided to do some research and see where the differences were. I looked at blogs, the internet and yes, real books! Here is the list I checked out: davidlebovitz.com, americastestkitchen.com, joythebaker.com,(based on Alton Brown’s recipe), zoebakes.com, baking bites.com,(from thebestrecipe.com) foodnetwork.com, Alton Brown, “Bakewise”, author Shirley Cohrrier, “Professional Pastry Chef”, Bo Friberg, original “Joy of Cooking” and General Mills professional recipes. All the ingredients were the same more or less except one. Here is what I found.
Sifted cake flour was recommended by all ranging from 1 to 1 1/2 cups.
Sugar was almost always processed to make it finer. We used a special fine sugar in the bakery known as bakers sugar. Processing the sugar accomplishes this. Amounts ran from 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups on average. Continue reading Angel Food Cake
By Helen S. Fletcher, on September 6th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  Almost anything can be turned into a salad. Coming from a family that believed you should never run out of food when entertaining, we usually end up with an abundance of leftovers. The Pork Tenderloin with Wild Rice and Couscous in Cumin Honey Vinaigrette is a perfect example of this food philosophy. The pork and vegetables were wonderful hot from the grill with only the wild rice as a side dish the first time, but the leftovers called for a different meal all together.
The handful of wild rice left over was extended with a quick couscous and the cumin honey vinaigrette binds all of the ingredients together. The vinaigrette is a great addition to your salad dressing repertoire. It compliments southwestern or Asian cuisine. Continue reading Grilled Pork Tenderloin Two Ways
By Helen S. Fletcher, on August 30th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  I love peach anything. My very first blog Peachy Keen Mascarpone Parfait, was peaches. Then there is the Peach Pizza and now Peach Soup. With the peach season coming to an end, I wanted to get one more recipe on the books. For this soup to be most flavorful, use ripe peaches. If they are not ripe when you buy them, let them sit at room temperature for a few days.
Peaches vary in sweetness. Start with 1/3 cup sugar. After the soup is blended, taste it for sweetness. Add the additional sugar if necessary.
For a wonderful variation, drop a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream in the bowl and pour the soup around it. The best of all worlds! Continue reading Peach Soup
By Helen S. Fletcher, on August 21st, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.
The “secret” to these really crisp zucchini fries is panko, the Japanese bread crumbs. If you can’t find panko crumbs at the supermarket, it is well worth the trip to go to an Oriental or International Store where they will have them. The manner in which the zucchini is coated is also important to a crispy coating. It also insures thecoating will adhere to the zucchini.
These are so popular in my house that every time we have to photograph them, I have to make extra because we eat them before we can get them under the camera lens.
1 large zucchini
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup (or more) panko crumbs
Vegetable oil, as needed
Cut the zuchinni into thirds. Cut each piece in half lengthwise. With the flat side down, cut into 3 to 4 pieces lengthwise. If the pieces are too wide, cut them in half again, making “fries”.
Line two baking pans with paper towels. Place the flour, salt and pepper in one bowl, the egg in another and the panko in a third bowl. Dredge five or six fries in the flour. Shaking off the excess flour, place them in the egg. Turn them on all four sides to make sure they are completely coated with egg. Last, place them, one at a time in the panko crumbs, covering them completely. Place on the baking sheet. When they are all coated, heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a sauté pan. Fry until golden brown, turning to brown the other side. Remove to the second towel lined pan. Continue until they are all done. Sprinkle with salt. Place in a preheated 150 degree oven to keep warm if desired.
A Great Day viewer sent this to me and I wanted to share.
Mary Beth Baiskill, a Great Day Viewer sent this to me. I thought you might like to seen an alternative to the frying. ”Seeing your recipe for zucchini fries reminds to share my summer success on the grill. With the unbearable heat, I refused to use the stove top or oven and prepared a lot of meals on my grill (only me at my house). A friend gave me a recipe for zucchini fritters so I decided to experiment. With the primary grill removed, I placed a caste iron skillet directly on the hot coals on the lower grate and added about 1/2″ of canola oil. By the time I returned with the platter of fritters (same prep as your fries), the oil was shimmering. The deep frying went well, I even repeated the process with eggplant a week later. A little more rigmarole but no splattering or heat in the kitchen and delicious results. I may give your zucchini fries a go using this technique.”
How to make Zucchini Fries
This was the August 21th edition of Great Day St. Louis
By Helen S. Fletcher, on August 16th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  Bread baking is one of my favorite things to do and focaccia is one of my favorites. I’m encouraged by Mike who seems to love any bread I make – even first attempts that aren’t perfected. While Focaccia is usually made with all white flour or some semolina, I’ve added whole wheat flour to the mix to up the flavor. The raisins and cranberries add a touch of tangy sweetness. The big thing with this bread is the oil used at the end. Because it uses a lot of oil, use an olive oil you favor or if you want no added taste from the oil, use canola oil. Don’t be tempted to stint on the oil. One of my variations, cut the oil in half and the bread stuck so badly I couldn’t get it out of the pan. However, Mike ate it by handfuls! Loyalty is a wonderful thing.
This bread takes a lot of rising time but the actual work time is minimal. After the last rise the dough can be refrigerated until the next day if desired.
The raisins and cranberries should be moist, not leather like. They can be soaked in hot water if really dry and drained but Trader Joe’s, www.traderjoes.com has great dried fruit which is moist.
The chicken salad is so simple proving simple is often the best. Instead of poaching the chicken, it is baked so it doesn’t get water logged and loosen the dressing. By loosely enclosing the chicken in foil, it will not dry out while baking. The time will depend upon the size of the chicken breasts. A little celery added to the cut up chicken is dressed with a combination of mayonnaise and sour cream. Low fat versions of both of these may be used. Salt and white pepper finish this simplest of chicken salads. Continue reading Whole Wheat Cranberry Raisin Focaccia with Chicken Salad
By Helen S. Fletcher, on August 9th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  What a month this has been! I want to give you a catch up blog to let you know what is going on. My book, “European Tarts – Divinely Doable Desserts with Little or No Baking” is due out at the end of October for the holidays. There will be a companion blog to host all the how to pictures just like this blog does. All of the recipes in this book were sold at my bakery, Truffes Inc. As you may have noticed, all of these tarts are of the short quiche pan variety. To make up for their short stature, they are all rich and different. If you have bakers or wanna be bakers on your list, this is just the book to get them started. These are great additions to your repertoire of desserts. In addition, all but the ones finished with fresh fruit freeze well so you can stock up for the holidays
So start making your list and I will give you more details shortly as they become known to me.
In the meantime, here are some photographs that will be included in the book of a few of the tarts.
http://www.theardentcook.com/european-tarts-divinely-doable-desserts-with-little-or-no-baking/
By Helen S. Fletcher, on August 7th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  The original recipe for this came from “Bon Appetit” and, of course, I had to dink with it a bit. This topping is versatile and it can be used over other fruit, ice cream or anywhere you want a bit of sweet crunch.
The cookies are readily available in Italian stores (think The Hill) and are great on there own. Low in fat too!
Peeling the peaches can be a chore, but if the peaches are ripe, as they should be, the simple trick of popping them into boiling water for a couple of minutes, makes removing the skins a snap. Cut an X in the bottom of the peach skin before dunking it.
Run it under cold water as soon as it is done and just slip the skin off.
6 to 7 amaretti cookies (1 ounce or 30 grams)
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped or slivered almonds (1 ounce or 30 grams )
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar (1.33 ounce or 35 grams)
2 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, unsalted preferably, cold and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
Up to 4 ripe peaches
Vanilla Ice Cream
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil, spray and set aside.
Place all but the butter in a processor bowl. Process until large crumbs form. Cut the butter into several pieces and add to the bowl. Process to make crumbs. Set aside.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, cut an X in the bottom of each peach skin and boil the peaches for 2 to 3 minutes until you can see the skin loosening. A quick touch will tell you the skin is ready to come off. Run under cold water. Slip the skin off. Cut each peach in half along its dividing line. Pull apart and remove the pit.
Place the peach halves, cut side up, on the tray. Fill the cavity with 2 heaping tablespoons of the amaretti crisp. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, depending upon the size of the peach. They should be soft when tested with a cake tester or toothpick.
Serve warm with ice cream.
Note: If you have leftover crisp, store it in the refrigerator for another time.
How to make roasted peaches
This was the August 7th edition of Great Day St. Louis
By Helen S. Fletcher, on August 2nd, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  Spring greens, fresh strawberries, pungent bleu cheese and chunky pecans makes this one of the most flavorful summer salads to be found. The dressing originally came from the Missouri Governor’s kitchen although I am embarrassed that I don’t remember which governor. The original dressing was very sweet so I reduced the sugar in this one.
If the salads are plated individually ahead of time, cover them with film and refrigerate until serving. Pass the dressing or serve in individual containers to be added at the table by each person. Continue reading Spring Greens, Strawberries and Bleu Cheese Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
By Helen S. Fletcher, on July 26th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  Very Chocolate Cake, as promised! It took six tries and a ton of frustration to get this posted. Even after it was fixed, it crashed twice more. I have never been so frustrated or relieved to get a post up but here it is and I hope you enjoy it.
The Very Chocolate Cake was our best selling retail cake and one of our most popular wedding cakes. Making the cake is actually simplicity itself but the tricks of getting it put together and finished are here to assist you. While I have often found chocolate cakes made with cocoa to be lacking, this is anything but. It’s incomparably deep chocolate flavor is matched by the simple Cream Glaze that fills and finishes it. Continue reading Very Chocolate Cake
By Helen S. Fletcher, on July 19th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted. I am sorry to say there is no blog this week. I had every intention of posting the Very Chocolate Cake as promised. It is a very long blog with about 40 photos and one I am very proud of. I posted it twice, spending a minimum of 8 hours trying to get it up. Each time as I just about finished, it was erased somehow. I have my IT person looking into it and hopefully it will be fixed so I can get it posted next week. Hopefully we will have this solved and I will be able to continue blogging with no problems.
By Helen S. Fletcher, on July 5th, 2012
Copyright, Helen S. Fletcher, 2010. All rights reserved.
All photos by T. Mike Fletcher, unless otherwise noted.  This past week has been a wonder. The Chicago Fletchers, Dirk, Kate, Sam and John came in last Thursday for a whirlwind visit. As they left on Sunday, my brother was coming in from Wichita. Everyone loves to eat, for which I am very happy. It is fun to have family around who truly appreciate what you do.
The surprise hit with the Chicago gang, was the Creamy Pound Cake with Strawberry Lemon Sauce. 
I made two that week. The first one was made for the Chicago gang that stays with us. After years of releasing cakes from pans, I don’t I don’t know how I managed to drop this one. When I looked, it was in gobs of large pieces. Undaunted, I put them on a cake plate, shoving them together as best I could and that is how they ate it – that and quickly! The second one was made when I realized the Very Chocolate Cake Sam requested for his birthday was not big enough to serve everyone. So it was rather a black and white birthday.
The other hit was the updated Puppy Chow I was experimenting with. You pretty much had to wrestle Sam for the canister! I have to admit the first time I ate this was watching John compete in an equestrian event. Sam shared his bag and I practically absconded with it. So I guess turn about is fair play!
We celebrated Sam’s birthday at his Grandpa John’s house and it is the perfect place. The abundant number of children love the pool  and the basement, which is set up as a great big play area. The big boys (as in fathers) love the pool table! Kate and her sisters prepared the food and Dirk ‘cued….in 106 degree weather.  As a total coward, I stayed inside, not alone I might add. Bridget made a chicken kebob simply marinated in a low fat Italian salad dressing. I loved it. The fresh fruit salad they make is always the best with tons of different fruit. The appetizers included a lot of fresh veggies and dip. It was interesting watching the children load their plates with the veggies, minus the dip. A great start for the young ones. The parents are doing a great job introducing carrots, cucumbers, celery, etc. early in a fun way. Of course the Very Chocolate Cake and the second Creamy Pound Cake turned all their good intentions upside down, but what are celebrations for?
I was recently involved in a discussion that revolved around scratch cooking. While I agree that scratch cooking is a great way to go, this group would have frowned on the bottled salad dressing used for the chicken. What a bunch of snobs! The important thing to me is to enjoy food and family however it comes. There is nothing I treasure more than watching all the young ones as they grow into soon to be adults and listen to what is going on in other lives.
Food is fun, family is fun and I’ll take those anytime I can get them!
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