St. Francis Inn Pear Custard Pie

We may be thinking of fall and Halloween but Inn and B and B owners are lining up their treats for Christmas.

St. Francis Inn, St. Augustine, FL.

In St. Augustine, Florida, the nation's oldest city, the historic  St. Francis Inn (circa 1791) is gearing up for its 12 Days of Christmas tradition, a dessert for every verse of the popular carol.

Janice Leary.

Chef Janice Leary, who prepares the daily Southern breakfasts, catered events and sweet treats, has her dishes in a row, from the partridge in a pear tree to all of those drummers drumming.

With pears lusciously in season, we're sticking to tradition and starting with Pear Custard Pie.

I think it works as well for fall.

St. Francis Inn Pear Custard Pie

Streusel
1/2 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1/4 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 TBS. butter or margarine, softened

Pie
1/2 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 TBS. butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
3 medium fresh pears, peeled, sliced (about 3 cups)


Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray. In small bowl, stir together 1/2 cup Bisquick mix, the oats, brown sugar and nutmeg. Cut in 1 TBS. butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until crumbly. Set aside.

In small bowl, stir 1/2 cup Bisquick mix, the oats, brown sugar and nutmeg. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter, using pastry blender (or puling 2 table knives though ingredients in opposite directions), until crumbly. Set aside.

In medium bowl, stir all pie ingredients except pears with wire whisk or fork until blended. Pour into pie plate. Arrange pears evenly over top.

Bake 25 minutes. Sprinkle streusel over pie. Bake 12 to 15 minutes longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on cooling rack 30 minutes. Serve warm. Store in refrigerator.

St. Francis Inn's German Chocolate Cake

St. Francis Inn

'Tis the season to indulge and this recipe for German Chocolate Cake fits the trend. It comes from Margaret and Joe Finnegan, innkeepers of St. Francis Inn in St. Augustine, the nation's oldest city.

St. Francis Inn's German Chocolate Cake

Cake
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 cup hot water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. coarse salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 TBS. plus 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Grease and flour 2 9-inch round pans.

Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined.

Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.

Pour batter into prepared pans, bake for 20-35 minutes, until set.  Let cool on wire racks.


Coconut Pecan Frosting
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup of white sugar
3 egg yolks (mixed with one tsp of water)
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups shredded coconut
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine milk, sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla in a sauce pan, bring to a boil stirring constantly.  Boil for about 5 minutes, remove from heat them mix in the coconut and pecans.

Spread on top of cake.

Prize-winning Datil Pepper Feisty Fiesta Cheesecake

Stella Brown

When Hot Shot Bakery in St. Augustine, FL, announced a Spicy Holiday Heat recipe contest, Stella Brown had the perfect entry. Everyone else thought so too and she won.

Stella Brown’s Datil Pepper Feisty Fiesta Cheesecake

2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups sour cream (divided)
1 package taco seasoning mix
3 eggs, room temperature
1 TBS. Datil Pepper 2nd Degree Burn Sauce
2/3 cups salsa
1 package blue corn chips with flax seeds

 Heat oven to 350.

Combine cream cheese and shredded cheese in large bowl. Beat until fluffy.
Stir in 1 cup sour cream and taco seasoning mix.

Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Fold in datil pepper sauce and pour into a 9” spring form pan.

Bake 35-40 minutes or until center is firm. Remove from oven and cool for ten minutes.

Spoon remaining sour cream over cheese and bake 5 minutes longer. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate several hours.

Before serving, remove sides of spring form pan and top with salsa.
Serve with taco chips or blue corn chips.

Note from Stella: This is a recipe that can be served easily. The recipe has been developed over many years; I have substituted the datil pepper sauce for a feisty taste. It looks attractive and can also be served sliced with chips. It freezes well so it can be made in advance!


Note from me: You could substitute another hot sauce, but make it a datil pepper one.

Datiled Crawfish and Crab Savory

 Datil peppers have been a key flavoring and source of fiery spice in St. Augustine, the nation's oldest city, for generations. Historians think they originated in Peru and were brought to St. Augustine by the Spanish who founded the city in 1565.

Wherever and whoever, the peppers add a tang to any dish. At the Hot Shot Bakery & Cafe, Sherry Stoppelbein has finally combined her restaurants, bakery and prize-winning hot sauce company. In October, she took the grand prize in the St. Johns County Fair's Datil Pepper Festival for her combination of the peppers with local seafood.

Here's the recipe.

Datiled Crawfish and Crab Savory

CRUST:
1 cup Cornmeal
½ cup Flour
1 TBSP. Baking Powder
1 TBSP. Dried Datil Peppers, Crushed
1 Egg (beaten)
½ cup Milk
Mix all of the above and pour into prepared 9” spring form pan

 FRESH SALSA:
4 very ripe plum tomatoes, cubed
1 small onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 vine ripe tomatoes, washed and pureed
Pour one cup of salsa over the crust and reserve the rest.

FILLING:

½ lb. Drained Crawfish meat
½ lb. Fresh Crab Claw meat
1 cup Softened Cream Cheese (beaten until smooth)
½ cup Sour Cream
6 Eggs
1 cup Shredded Provolone Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Hand mix all of the above until well blended and pour over crust.  Top with reserved salsa.
Bake 350 for 30 minutes or until firm when pan is shaken. Enjoy!

Florida Foodie Opportunities

So many areas hold restaurant weeks, food festivals and wine tastings that fall has become a great time to be a foodie.



                                                     




 

Take note of these two for Florida-bound travelers.

As the nation's oldest city St. Augustine has had ample time and many cultural influxes to develop special cuisines. The month of October is when residents focus on the "Flavors of Florida's Historic Coast."

Oct. 1-31 enjoy month-long fixed price dining specials at 24 of the top restaurants.

Oct. 1 Aviles Street, the oldest street in the oldest city reopens with more authentic 17th century ambiance, including sidewalk dining.

Oct. 2-3 will be a hot time in the old town because of the Datil Pepper Festival.                            

Oct. 8-10 it's Opa! time at the 13th annual Greek Festival.

Oct. 16 celebrates Cracker Day with bluegrass music, horsemanship demonstrations and of course, barbecue.

Oct. 23 get your oompah on for the Oktoberfest Celebration.
                                                         

Last and perhaps most hotly contested, Nov. 7  brings the 25th annual Great Chowder Debate.

Consider: an auction of 100 different bottles of 100-point wine. Down in Naples, plans for the 2011 Naples Winter Wine Fest have oenophiles salivating. Included are a bottle of 1955 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion, a 1989 Chateau Petrus and a 1985 DRC Romanee-Conti, considered by many the best Burgundy ever made and valued at more than $11,000. You can see the entire list of 100 at www.napleswinefestival.com in October.


A celebrity chef wine dinner brings in 17 masters of cuisine including Chef de Cuisine Lee Hefter of Spago. 

The cause is a good one - needy and at-risk children - and festival isn't until January 28-30 so you have plenty of time to get your financing in order, but contact them soon because tickets quickly sell out.