Saturday, May 30, 2009

Sometimes A Quickie Is Just What You Need



Bet I got your attention with that title, didn't I?? :)

OMG, what a month it's been. I've been out of town on business 3 times, and have barely had time to tend to anything except work stuff. This week, except for Memorial Day, I have been too preoccupied, exhausted, or busy even to venture into the kitchen. DC and I have been eating out instead. Sad indeed! I miss cooking, and blogging, and reading and commenting on everyone else's blogs. Thanks so much to all of you for continuing to read and support DomesticMuse!

As you can imagine, my only 80% unpacked house is in sad, sad shape as well. And this has not been helped one bit by the fact that our idiot dog, Huckleberry, dined out of the garbage can two days in a row (despite the fact that I made certain the lid was tightly shut) and on day three, finished off his spree by eating a bag of DC's Doritos from the kitchen counter. (The counter!! Such bad, bad manners!)

Huckleberry has been extremely indisposed for the past several days, even needing to go out for what my dad so charmingly referred to as "hurry calls" in the middle of the night. Plus, we have almost used up a whole bottle of carpet cleaner!

Today, I was determined I was going to clean the downstairs thoroughly AND cook dinner, even going so far as to steam-mop the kitchen while DS and his dad were having an impromptu algebra tutoring session at my kitchen table. Poor DS has exams all next week. (DS's Dad: So what is the greatest common factor here? Me: WHOOOOOOOOSSHHHHHHHHH! WHOOOOOOSSSSSSSHHHHH! DS: What? What? Dad: OK, you need to use the reverse FOIL method-- Me: WHOOOOOOOOOSSHHHH! (skid, crash) OH, SH$T! THAT WAS SLIPPERY! DS: Wait, what's a polynomial, again??)

For dinner, I was happy to find I had all the ingredients in the house for Nathan's Cuban Meatballs, always a huge family favorite. I posted about this fantastic dish earlier, but have included this don't-miss recipe below. I had also been cherishing the idea of making a cherry pie, but when the meatballs were finally simmering, I realized I was just too exhausted to do A Whole Pie. Still craving a homemade cherry dessert, I hit upon the idea of a clafouti instead.

In case you are unfamiliar with this humble but tasty traditional French dessert, a clafouti (claw-phoo-tee) is sort of a cross between a custard and a cake, and is generally fruit-based. Cherry clafouti is a classic flavor, but you will find recipes for everything from Apple Clafouti to Pumpkin Clafouti.

It's in the category of desserts that I call "Dump Its"-- where you open a few cans or chop up a few ingredients and dump everything in a pan, yet still come out with a yummy homemade treat. Of course, I wanted to put my own special spin on the clafouti, and here's what I came up with. It could hardly be quicker or simpler!

Cherry-Chocolate Chip Clafouti
by DomesticMuse



1 can cherry pie filling
1 c. milk chocolate chips
1/2 c. slivered almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

Spray a 2 qt. baking dish with non-stick spray and layer the above ingredients in it.

In the blender, combine 1 c. whole milk, a pinch of salt, 4 eggs, 1/2 c. sugar, 1 t. vanilla, the grated zest of 1 lemon, and 1 stick butter, melted. Blend on low speed. With motor running, pour in 1/3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour and process until combined. Pour the batter over the other ingredients, and bake at 375F for 40-50 minutes, or until browned and set.


I served ours with some vanilla ice cream, but it really doesn't NEED more than a dusting of powdered sugar.



A quick and easy dessert was a great way to end a busy day!

Cherry-Chocolate Chip Clafouti

See Cherry-Chocolate Chip Clafouti on Key Ingredient.



Nathan's Cuban Meatballs

Makes 5–6 servings, with rice or pasta

See Nathan's Cuban Meatballs on Key Ingredient.

11 comments:

  1. Ooo, I'm loving this super fast clafouti, and those meatballs look awesome, too! Sorry that the past few weeks have been so hectic. I can't believe how much you've been out of town; that's crazy! Here's hoping tonight was somewhat relaxing--sure looks like you had some great food to munch on.

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  2. Hi Karen- Nice to see you back here. That clafouti is something I would love to try and soon. I think I will try apple,as thats what my kids like best. Hope everything slows down for you a bit and you get a chance to breathe!!

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  3. I love cherries and almonds...this is almost too easy, I love it!! And yes, I'm glad to see you still doing a post in the middle of your madness ;) p.s...the Chile Pepper roundup is now up!

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  4. I made an actual clafouti a while ago and didn't really care for it, maybe it was the recipe. I love yours though it looks fantastic and I'll e making this one!

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  5. chocolate, cherries and quickies, slow down a minute let me catch my breathe.....

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  6. I have no doubt that if I gave you an empty bag and said cook something out of this, tee-hee, that you would whip up something amazing. The clafouti looks great with chocolate added in. Cuban meatballs, where have you been all my life? How delicious! I hope things slow down for you soon! I miss your posts!

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  7. Chocolate cherry clafouti sounds fabulous, love that it is so easy and quick to make! I hope things will slow down for you in the summer!

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  8. Bad dog!!! But it does make for one funny story!

    I just love that American Cherry Clafoutis! Much more decadent than a traditional one. Yum!

    And boy do those meatballs look fabulous! That is one recipe I need to try!

    Welcome back, breath deeply and jump back in!

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  9. Tasty looking treat - welcome back, I know the feeling that things just happen so quickly that you can't catch up - trust me, you'll catch up :) Take a deep breath and relax!

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  10. Look what I have missed! Yummy dessert and I have none in my house :(, guess I have to teach hubby to bake now, he did okay with the shopping! I also like cherries and almonds...

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  11. Elyse-- thank you! you really must try the meatballs!

    Heather-- it's sad when life is too busy for making pies. Though maybe not that sad, piecrust is one of my nemeses as a cook, LOL!

    Bunny-- it may be a dish that grows on you. I wasn't that crazy about it when I first tried it. Between the chocolate and the cherries, this one is pretty easy to love!

    Natasha-- thanks!! sometimes simple is best :)

    Doggybloggy-- LOL!! Would that I had our girl Donna's er, writing skills!

    Reeni-- your comment totally cracked me up and made my day at the same time-- thank you so much, what a nice thing to say! BTW, I found those candied chocolate covered sunflower seeds I was looking for-- at Trader Joe's. They would be an awesome addition to your nouveau Rice Krispie Treats.

    Donna-- Interesting! I never thought of trying it with apple pie filling, I usually use fresh apples. I can't get fresh sour cherries here so have to use the canned stuff. If this works with apple pie filling, LMK!!

    Jamie-- Thanks so much! LOL, I am sure many a French person would shudder at what I have done to the poor clafouti! But we enjoyed it (tacky Americans, what can I say!) You really MUST try the meatballs. They are so good. When DC came home from work, the first words out of his mouth were, "Something smells freakin' awesome! Even from the garage!"

    E-- you have my heartfelt sympathies. Hope your foot is soon on the mend! Yes, might as well teach hubby to bake while you are laid up! :) K

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