Plum Crumble with Cardamom Cream

It's springtime! And you know what that means: time for asparagus, avocados, fennel, spinach, strawberries, rhubarb, plums... oh yes! I love spring fruits and vegetables. This will be the first of many posts taking advantage of the seasonal produce.

This plum crumble is a perfect balance of sweet but slightly tart and a little bit of crunch. You can make this an adults only treat by adding two tablespoons of rum to the filling ;-)

Plum Crumble with Cardamom Cream
Makes: 4 servings

Filling:
5 -6 medium plums
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp orange juice
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 orange

Topping:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 tsp salt

Cream:
1 cup heavy cream (or whipping cream)
1 tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom

• Rinse the plums. Leaving the skin on, cut them in half, remove the pit, then cut them into a 1/2" dice.
• Toss the plums with the sugar, flour, lemon juice, orange juice, lemon zest, and orange zest.
• Transfer to either a large glass baking dish or four individual sized ramekins. If you choose to use ramekins, you can place them all on a baking sheet. This makes it easier to remove them from the oven when they're hot.
• Make the topping. In a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer on medium, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add the egg and vanilla and stir until combined.
• Add the flour, almonds, and salt. Mix until just combined. The texture will be dry and crumbly, almost like the texture of bread crumbs.
• With your hands, sprinkle the topping evenly over the plum filling.
• Bake at 350° F for 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
• Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.
• Make the cardamom cream. This comes out best if you chill the bowl and beaters in the freezer for about 30 minutes first. In an ice cold bowl, whip the heavy cream on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 2 - 3 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and cardamom, mix until combined.
• Serve the cardamom cream on the warm plum crumble.

If you're egg free, either due to allergy or other dietary restriction, you can leave out the egg with out any real impact to the recipe. It just helps the topping stay together a bit better.

If you're wondering why this recipe, like many fruit recipes, calls for lemon juice and orange juice, it's because the acid helps to bring out the flavor. Think of it like salt; it makes food taste more like itself.

And for my final note, if you don't have cardamom, cinnamon will work well too. Though I really do recommend cardamom. It's absolutely delicious and you can find it at any grocery store. It is a little bit pricey (around $10 - $15) but if you need an excuse to buy it, check out my recipe for Cardamom Chocolate Lava Cakes. If that doesn't convince you, I don't know what will!

Chicken Cordon Bleu with Green Beans Almondine

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted. We were on vacation last week visiting our family back home in Massachusetts. It was a lot of fun. Those vacations never last long enough...

Anyways, onto the reason we're here! We had Chicken Cordon Bleu for dinner tonight. I love this dish because it seems so fancy but it really is simple. It's an easy weeknight dinner and it will pass the test with even the pickiest eaters (ahem! Matt!). You can serve this with potatoes, rice, or pasta. Tonight we had pasta. I like to keep a common theme with my meals and a great way to do that is to use the same herbs on the vegetables or pasta/rice/potatoes as you use on the meat.

Chicken Cordon Bleu
2 Chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise so that you end up with 4 pieces of chicken
1 Cup panko bread crumbs
1 Tbsp chives, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 egg, beaten
1/4 lb sliced ham
1/4 lb sliced Swiss cheese

• Place a chicken breast on your work surface. Layer 1 slice of cheese, 2 slices of ham, then 1 more slice of cheese on top of the chicken. Leave about ¾" of room at the top end of the chicken breast.
• Roll up the chicken, ham, and cheese. Then secure with 3 toothpicks.
• Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.
• Mix together the bread crumbs, chives, and olive oil.
• Dip each chicken roll in the beaten eggs, then roll in the bread crumb mixture.
• Place the chicken rolls on a greased baking sheet, seam side down.
• Bake at 400° F for 30 to 35 minutes, until cooked through.
• Don't forget to remove the toothpicks!

While the chicken is baking, you can make the pasta and green beans.

Garlic and Chive Pasta
1/2 lb penne or other tube pasta
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter (I actually use Smart Balance)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 Tbsp chives, chopped

• Cook the pasta until al dente, making sure to salt the water well.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes until fragrant and soft.
• Strain the pasta, then add to the garlic and olive oil.
• Add the chives, then toss together.

Green Beans Almondine
1/2 lb green beans (I use the kind that come in the steamer bag)
2 Tbsp toasted slivered almonds
Salt and Pepper

• Steam the green beans until al dente. Make sure you don't over-cook them!
• Toss with the toasted almonds. Add salt and pepper to taste. I like a lot of pepper on mine.