Desserts
Mood:  on fire

TIRA MISU

Heidi made up small 'loaves' of Tira Misu

from scratch, then we froze them.

We take them out before dinner,

slice however many pieces

we need,

then as the time comes for dessert

they are perfectly thawed.

 

REVERSE AEBLESKIVERS

These are unique.

Dan Mousseau gave me the idea.

I had collected a small number

of vintage Griswold pieces.

These are old, pre-war (WWII that is),

cast iron cooking pans

that have an undeniable

distinction as the preferred age and style

for the modern outdoor chef.

One particular pan is of special interest,

and it is one I waited for.

My investment is less than $100 total for ALL my Griswold pans.

Anyway, the cool pan is a Gris #36 or '962' casting.

This is the aforementioned 'aebleskiver' pan.

 

 

An aebleskiver is an apple puff-pancake, Amish

or Dutch origination, and while the pan is

an authentic puff-pancake pan,

Dan looked at it, flipped it over

and wondered aloud if the convex side

could be used for cooking something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, no sooner had he mentioned it

that I thought exactly how one could use the 'flipside'.

Here now, with a left-justified margin

is my recipe for

REVERSE 'SKIVERS

 Cherry Reverse 'Skivers

Once the dinner and all other food is removed from the grill, and the coals are still aglow, a tasty dessert can be cooked either while you dine, or later, depending on the life left in the fire.

In advance, prepare a pie crust dough from scratch. You will need flour,

salt, Crisco shortening for the dough, and some fruit filling and butter.

In a bowl, put in one cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Cut in 3/8 cup or 3/8ths of a bar of Crisco until crumbly, pea-sized balls.

Sprinkle in water, one tablespoon at a time, and then stir with a FORK

until it turns into a ball. DO NOT HANDLE EXCESSIVELY.

Using flour liberally, roll out the dough using a rollpin to about 1/4" thick.

Use a drink glass as a cutter and make 7 discs, about 4 or 5 inches round, out of the dough.

Put a dab of Crisco on each bump or reverse side of the pan. Place the dough discs on all 7 bumps, using the tines of the fork to seal the edges to the pan, and also to give the edge a decorative fluting, or knurling. 

Once the dough is in place, put a dab of butter on the top of each disc, and spread it around the dough a little as it melts. The pan is now ready for the coals.

The fruit filling can be either home made or from a can. Apple 'skivers I usually make homemade, from apples here on the property. For cherry 'skivers, I use the fruit compote that comes in a can. It's fine.

So, you just put the pan on the grate in the firebox, check it every 5 minutes, rotate it once if possible, and as soon as you think they're  ALMOST DONE, quickly remove the pan from the heat. The cast iron will continue to cook so pop them off the pan with a good whack onto the grill shelf before they burn. If they break, it's OK, they are going into a Margarita glass. 

Prepare the glass with some whipped cream; homemade or Redi-Whip, down in the lower well of the Margarita glass, and put some fruit down there too.

Then place the 'skiver, like a cup, into the glass, on top of the whipped cream and fruit. If the 'skiver is in pieces 'cause it broke, simply arrange them into a cup shape.

Fill the cup with fruit, top with whipped cream and/or vanilla ice cream.

Serve & enjoy!