This is a marvelous dessert that combines combine two of my favorites, pears and rum. Simple enough. Pera con Ron (Pears with Rum) brings that final, sweet tough to an evening meal, or you can have it as a treat anytime desired. It combines rum, honey and walnuts in majestic style. Let me add that this works best with dark rum. I’ve tried it with light rum, and it’s not the same. In this case, Puerto Rican dark rum is the best. Also, don’t worry about getting tipsy.  The alcohol content evaporates during cooking so that only the sweet flavor of the liquor remains.

So, make something extraordinary for family and friends today, be it a grand conclusion to dinner or lunch (not to mention brunch). You’re gonna like this one.

PERA CON RON
(Pears with Rum)

Ingredients:

6 ripe pears
2 tablespoons dark rum
½ cup honey
3 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons water

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Rinse pears under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Slice in half.
3.  Combine rum, honey and 3 tablespoons water.
4.  Arrange pear in baking pan and spoon rum mixture into center of each half.  Sprinkle with walnuts. Put 2 tablespoons water in bottom of pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
   Yield: 4-6 servings.

Majerete (Mah-heh-reh-teh) is a dessert that is popular in the Caribbean but, depending on where, it has variations. Traditionally, majerete is a corn pudding made from freshly husked corn.  Think of it as a smooth corn-type custard. The Spanish verb majar  means to grind or crush, and in the old days that’s  how it was done, with a mortar and pestle to grind the corn. The other thing is that, in some recipes, they use rice flower and still call it majerete. In our family we didn’t do the rice majerete, we used canned corn. Yes, canned corn. In the summer, when sweet corn was available, we would use fresh corn. However, year round, we found that canned corn is just as good. We are not purists in that regard.

Initially, the pudding was made from just 4 ingredients: corn, milk, sugar and cinnamon. In our version we add cornstarch to give it a thicker texture. In Spanish Harlem, we had people who preferred using coconut milk instead of regular whole milk in the preparation. We stuck with the milk. It was the flavor we were use to. Whichever way you spruce it up, you’re gonna love this dessert.

Ingredients:

2 cans (15.25 oz.) corn, drained
2 cups whole milk
Pinch of salt
¾ cup brown sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
2 cinnamon sticks
Ground cinnamon for garnish

Instructions:

1. In a food processor, add corn, milk, salt, sugar and cornstarch. Blend until pureed.
2. Strain the mixture through a metal or wire-mesh sieve removing all the corn kernel pulp and leaving just the liquid. You may have to strain it a few times or, if desired, you can use a cheese cloth.
3. In a medium saucepan or deep skillet, add the corn liquid and cinnamon sticks. Stir to combine until the sugar is dissolved. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan and the mixture has thickened to a smooth, pudding-like consistency, about 45 minutes. Rule of thumb: you know it has thickened when it coats the back of a spoon.
4. Discard cinnamon sticks and transfer the mixture to 6 small dessert cups or one medium size serving bowl. Cool about 10 minutes. Place in refrigerator and chill until cold and set, at least 45 minutes. Garnish with ground cinnamon, if desired.
   Yield: 6 servings.

This is one of the lesser known desserts in criollo cuisine. It is a type of custard for which there is no English translation. Although queso means ‘cheese’ in Spanish, there is no cheese in this dessert. Why it’s called quesillo I have no idea. There are two types of quesillo: one is made with pineapple juice boiled  with sugar, which is then baked and chilled in a mold. The other is Quesillo Blanco. Or White Quesillo. That is the recipe given below. This version is made with eggs and condensed milk. Whatever it is called, forget the  semantics. It’s a truly delicious dessert that will cap a fine end to any meal.

Note that in the dessert, when baked, the custard will rise in the pan, giving it a sooth, delectable pink/russet color that will entice you with a tasty finish.

Quesillo Blanco

Ingredients:

3 eggs, separated
1 14-ounce can sweetened  condensed  milk
Cinnamon for garnish.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2.  In separate bowls, beat egg yolks and whites until light and frothy.
3.  Add yolks to whites and beat well.
4.  Stir in condemned milk and beat until blended.
5.  Pour into a 1 quart mold or casserole.
6.  Fill a baking pan ¾ full with hot water. Place mold in water and bake for 1 hour. The custard will rise in the pan, and is done when a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7.  You can serve as it or, if preferred, run a knife along rim of mold or casserole and unmold onto a serving dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve.
   Yield: 4-6 servings.

A friend had given us a pumpkin and, honestly we thought, what do we do with this thing? A pie? Full disclosure, I am a cook but not a baker. Making pies, to me, has never been something I do on a regular basis. We have a local store where one of the employee makes great pies; and when we need one, we just call them, they bake it right on premises, and we pick it up the next day. So this pie thing, was new to me. But I decided to give it a try.

Now, the recipe given can be done with cooked fresh pumpkin. Problem with that is that you have to cut the thing, take out the seeds, scoop out the interior, etc.. , and then cook it. Last time I checked you can get cooked canned pumpkin. That will save time and effort, and make it a whole lot easier.

The recipe itself is one I got from discussions I had with people who bake. I’ve added a caramelized topping made from slivered almonds since I had a package of almonds on hand. I’m told this is not the usual topping for a pumpkin pie. My learned friends tell me that a pecan topping is the   de rigueur preferred topping for pumpkin pies. Well, the caramelized almond topping turned out great with the pie, so there. Also, the recipe is easy to make, and perfect for a holiday treat.

Another thing,  the idea of making a pie crust from scratch is not something I would contemplate. If you want to do it, go right ahead. I opted for a pre-pared Graham cracker pie shell that can be found in almost any market these days. And you know what? It came out just fabulous.  However you do it, I’m sure the results will be more than satisfactory.

EASY PUMPKIN PIE

Ingredients:

2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup maple syrup or brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1½ cups evaporated milk

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degree F.
2. Blend together eggs and pumpkin. Stir in maple syrup, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Add and blend in evaporated milk.
3. Pour into pie shell and bake 45-50 minutes or until  knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, top with caramelized almond topping and serve.

CRARAMELIZED ALMOND TOPPING

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons soft or melted butter
2/3 cup maple syrup or brown sugar
2/3 cup slivered almonds

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, combine butter, maple syrup and almonds.
2.  Gently drop by spoonfuls over cooled pie to cover top. Place in broiler and broil until mixture begins to bubble, about 3 minutes. Watch carefully: if cooked too long, top will turn syrupy. Cool and serve.

I have a friend who has a pear tree. And every year around this time I go to his place and collect a many pears as I can. I do this because every years I make pear schnapps. It’s become a tradition in our family. This time around, as opposed to last year, the tree was fruitful, and we got a lot of leftover pears.  So, apart from pear schnapps, what can I do with these things? The most obvious was create some sort of dessert. And that is the recipe given today, Sherry Baked Pears. Now, keep in mind these are wild pears falling from the tree. Once they hit the ground, they were fairly ripe.  If you try the recipe with store bought pears or those from a farm stand, just make sure they’re ripened.

I make the pears with a combination of sherry, lemon and honey. It makes a delicious sugarless dessert that can be served warm by itself, with whipped cream, or spooned over plain vanilla ice cream.

SHERRY BAKED PEARS

Ingredients.:

1/3 cup water
1/4  cup honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter
6-8 ripe pears, depending upon size (enough to make 4 cups)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a saucepan, combine sherry, water, honey, lemon juice and butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
3.  Wash, core and split pears into halves or quarters. Again, should have enough for 4 cups. Lay pears on a greased baking pan or dish and bake for 1 hour.
   Yield: 4 or more servings.

The following recipe is a dessert, and an Indian dessert at that. You may ask, why do I hype an Indian dessert? Simple: because it is delicious and  easy to make. As I’ve discovered, it pays to explore  and discover other cuisines and cultures. That’s the process of growth.

Halvah is a sweet, dense confection popular in India. It could be that it derived from Arabic cuisine and subsequently spread throughout the sub-continent. It can be made from many ingredients, such as tahini (sesame paste), nuts, beans, lentils and vegetables. Our version consist of bananas. You can make this one as sweet as you want, or less sweet, for that matter.  And the sweetener can be plain sugar, cane sugar, honey, or even maple syrup. You are only limited by your imagination.

Now, for this recipe you may use clarified butter, also known as ghee. I’ve discovered that it comes out just as good using regular butter. But, if you’re a traditionalist, an easy way to make clarified butter is: melt 2 cups butter in a heavy pan over gentle heat and cook without stirring until the butter begins to foam. Skim off the foam and continue heating without browning, skimming frequently until the butter stops foaming.  Let the butter cool until the sediment has sunk to the bottom of the pan. Strain the liquid through a cheesecloth or fine strainer into a container. Cover and store in the refrigerator until required.

BANANA HALVAH

Ingredients:

6 large bananas, peeled
3 tablespoons butter or ghee (see recipe above)
1¼ cup water
¾ cup sugar  or honey
½ teaspoon ground cardamom

Instructions:

1. Cut the bananas into 1-inch pieces.
2. Heat the butter (or ghee) in a pan over moderate heat and stir-fry the bananas for 4-5 minutes until soft. Remove from heat and smash the bananas with 3 tablespoons of the water. Return to the heat and cook 2-3 minutes more, stirring frequently,
3.  In a separate pan, dissolve the sugar (or honey) in the remaining water over low heat. Pour the syrup over the bananas and continue cooking, stirring frequently for 15-20 minutes or until the mixture is quite thick. Stir in  the cardamom.
4.  Spread the mixture into a buttered dish or plate. Allow to cool. Cut into small pieces and chill before serving.
   Yield: 8 servings.

i