fruit Archives - The Midnight Baker

Air Fryer Strawberry Cheese Danish

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 07 May 2019 23:00:55 +0000

A quick and easy strawberry cheese strip danish made in your air fryer.

Your Best Kitchen Buddy

If you don’t have an air fryer yet, you’re really missing out! This is one of the most versatile appliances I have in my kitchen.

It really does so much. The funny thing is I rarely use it to “fry” anything. My personal opinion is that the air fryer doesn’t replace a deep-fat fryer. What it’s best at, in my opinion, is replacing your oven!

I’ve baked small sweets and roasted chickens and beef in it and you just can’t beat the flavor. I tell everyone you’ll never roast a chicken conventionally nor buy one at the deli anymore once you’ve cooked one in this appliance.

And it’s perfect for this strawberry cheese strip danish too. Since some fryers vary by the amount of wattage they have, you may have to alter your times to cook a bit longer. My fryer is 1800W so that’s what my times are based upon.

The Ever Popular Crescent Roll Dough

Crescent roll dough is a real boon. It’s one of those convenience foods that can be used many ways–either sweet or savoury. One of my favorite ways to use it for something savoury is in my Chicken Crescent Bake. That recipe is great if you have leftover chicken or turkey.

Now this recipe is one where I used it for something sweet. And it was also the first time I used the type that came as an uncut sheet. I guess they got the idea to make it solid because so many people have been pinching and sealing the cuts in the usual variety. For this, I strongly suggest you use the solid sheet variety. The filling is somewhat dense so the seams could come apart easily. With the solid sheet, it’s still pretty soft and floppy to handle, but at least you don’t have to worry about a seal splitting when you’re putting it in the fryer!

Fresh Fruit

I used some strawberries that I had in the freezer from when they were on sale, but if you don’t have any, it can be an ingredient you may leave out.

Any flavor fruit jam can be used. I just like strawberry so that was my choice. This would taste just great with raspberry or black currant jam too.

The Recipe

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Air Fryer Strawberry Cheese Danish

Quick and easy strip danish made in the air fryer

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: air fryer

Servings: 6

Calories: 219kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 tube full-sheet crescent roll dough
4 oz cream cheese softened
1/4 cup strawberry jam
1/2 cup diced strawberries

Glaze:

1 cup confectioner’s sugar
2-3 tbs cream or milk

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Unroll sheet of crescent roll dough on a flat surface.
Microwave cream cheese for 20-30 seconds; stir until creamy and spreadable.
Spread the softened cream cheese over the sheet of dough. Then spread the strawberry jam on top of the cream cheese. Distribute the fresh diced strawberries evenly across the top.
Roll up from the short side. Pinch seam to seal.
Place a parchment round in the basket of the air fryer; spray with oil.
Fit the rolled-up pastry in the basket. You may have to curve it to fit—like a horseshoe shape.
Set air fryer for 350 degrees F and cook for 20-25 minutes. Remove from fryer and place on a rack or plate to cool.
Mix glaze ingredients and drizzle over cooled danish.

Video

Video in post (if one is available)

Nutrition

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Fruity Chicken Salad Croissants

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 26 Dec 2018 00:00:39 +0000

Here’s a different chicken salad that’s chock full of fruit.

Fancy Chicken Salad

This chicken salad is extra special! And done up on croissants or mini croissants, it’s perfect for brunches and buffets in any season.

The best thing about this salad is–at least to me–the surprising ingredients. When I make chicken salad, I’ve got the standard onion, celery and mayonnaise trifecta. That’s pretty standard and delicious by itself. However, when I saw this recipe on a local supermarket’s website, I wasn’t even sure I’d like it. I liked all of the ingredients, but I wasn’t sure if I’d like them all together in one salad–let alone with a savory ingredient.

Apples?

It was the apples that I was dubious about in this chicken salad.

They’re not in the actual mixture, but laid on the croissant like you’d use cheese in a ham sandwich. It looked pretty in the picture, but would it taste good. I wasn’t sure, but as my mother would always say, “You never know until you try.”

I’ve seen recipes for chicken cooked with grapes so that wasn’t outlandish to me. I also cook with a lot of white wine and I’m a huge consumer of chicken so I guess you could say I cook chicken with white grapes all the time.

I was delighted to find that the apple slices added a brightness to the flavor of the salad. It gave it a sweet crunchiness. I used a red delicious apple for this because the original recipe called for a red-skinned apple probably for a pop of color. But a granny smith would be a good choice too if you’re going for taste more than interesting color.

Party Perfect

If you are hosting an informal party that includes a buffet, put a big bowl of this chicken salad out with a few dozen mini croissants so your guests can help themselves.

This would also an interesting addition to a Super Bowl party if you do them. It’s pretty different from the usual items put out for such affairs and would be a great choice for your guests who want to eat a bit healthier.

The Recipe

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Fruity Chicken Salad Croissants

A delicious twist on traditional chicken salad; This one is packed with fresh fruit!

Prep Time20

Total Time20

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken, chicken salad recipe, fresh fruit

Servings: 6

Calories: 452kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

10 oz cubed cooked chicken
1/2 cup green grapes cut in half
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
1 pinch salt
1 pinch black pepper
1 red-skinned apple cut into 12 thin slices
2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup water
6 large croissants OR 12 mini croissants
lettuce leaves amount is to your taste

Instructions

Mix water and lemon juice in a bowl. Add the apple slices (this prevents them going brown); set aside.
In another bowl,combine the chicken, grapes, almonds, celery, yogurt, mayonnaise, salt and pepper.
Slice croissants lengthwise, but not all the way through.
Lay lettuce leaves in each croissant. Remove apple slices and pat dry. Place 2 (if using large croissants) apple slices on each croissant with red side facing outward.
Divide chicken salad equally to each roll, Secure with a toothpick.

Nutrition

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Raspberry Sauce

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 00:00:34 +0000

This easy-to-make raspberry sauce is so good, you’ll eat it straight!

Make Your Own: It’s Easy

Raspberries have been on sale a lot lately. I’ve been getting them two for one and I take advantage of this.

Of course, most go in the freezer immediately because they will go moldy very quickly, but I wanted to try my hand at making some fresh raspberry sauce. The recipe is very simple and unlike some raspberry sauces (often called “coulis” in Europe), this one required a short cooking time.

Unlike doing a raw version–where you process the raspberries and add confectioner’s sugar–this one required cooking. I think that’s the key to the intense flavor since the liquid reduces somewhat. As I always say, any reduction results in a better and more intense flavor.

About The Seeds…

Raspberry seed are the bane of anyone with dental work and frankly even if you don’t have bridgework, they are annoying.

The only labor-intensive step here is you must strain or sieve the sauce. This is not difficult and you don’t need any special equipment. A simple screen strainer from the dollar store works very well. Of course if you have more sophisticated equipment such as a stand mixer attachment for straining or a Mouli food mill, use those since they’ll make the work even easier. However, you don’t need them. In fact, I have both of those specialty gadgets and I used the good ole dollar store strainer. For one thing, it’s easier to clean!

Use It Fast

Just like fresh raspberries, this won’t last forever once it’s made.

Sure, it’ll last a bit longer in the fridge than the fresh fruit, but it doesn’t have a long shelf life. Fortunately, this makes a rather small batch which can be used within a week. You can also freeze what you don’t use so you can have it on hand if you need it. Of course, I doubt it will last that long–most of mine was used with me eating it straight from the jar with a spoon.

The Recipe

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Raspberry Sauce

This easy-to-make raspberry sauce (raspberry coulis) is so good, you’ll eat it straight from the jar! The recipe yields one cup (8 oz).

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: American

Keyword: dessert sauce, raspberries, raspberry coulis, raspberry sauce

Servings: 8

Calories: 40kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 cups fresh raspberries
1/4 cup sugar (or up to 1/2 cup if more sweetness is needed)
1/2 cup water

Instructions

Place raspberries in a large saucepan.
Add the water and sugar (start with the minimum amount); stir.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 8-10 minutes. The liquid should be syrupy. Remove from heat and cool completely.
Process the raspberry mixture in a food mill (use the fine plate) or a fine sieve/strainer, pressing out the pulp. Discard the seeds.
Cover and refrigerate. This will last about 1 week.

Nutrition

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Summer Fruit Crisp

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 23:00:18 +0000

Take advantage of bountiful summer fruit and berries in this yummy fruit crisp. Very easy to make too.

Berries Berries

Summer is the time for berries–all kinds!

There have been fantastic sales on almost all varieties weekly. I have taken advantage of these sales by stocking up and freezing them. This way you have them stored for the proverbial rainy day!

Peaches And Nectarines

Peaches and nectarines are another summertime favorite.

These have also been on sale quite frequently this season.

I don’t bother to freeze fruit such as this because it loses something in the freezing. I prefer to use these fresh.

Summer Fruit Crisp: Combine Berries And Peaches…

If it’s one summer dessert I really love, it’s a fruit crisp. You guessed it–my favorite fruit would be peaches or nectarines as the main flavor.

However, I decided to throw some berries into the mix here. It was difficult to decide, but finally I chose blueberries. I thought it would be a nice color contrast to the yellow of the peaches and blueberries are just so darn popular lately!

Any berry would work in this. Strawberries would be lovely as well as blackberries and raspberries. But with the latter, you have to bear in mind the seeds and this could be bad for people with dental work. If no one has dental issues, then by all means use raspberries and blackberries.

You can make this super duper by adding a variety of berries in with the peaches or nectarines!

The Recipe

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Summer Fruit Crisp

Take advantage of bountiful summer fruit and berries in this yummy fruit crisp. Very easy to make too.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1

Total Time1 20

Course: desserts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy desserts, fresh berries, fresh fruit

Servings: 6

Calories: 399kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

FRUIT MIX

2 lbs peaches or nectarines slice about 1/4-inch thick (no need to peel)
1 cup blueberries see NOTES
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbs flour -OR- cornstarch -OR- Modified food starch Cooking Clear Gel
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon

TOPPING

1 1/2 cups oats quick or old-fashioned
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter cut in chunks
1/2 cup brown sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350℉. Lightly spray a 1.5 quart baking dish. A 9 x 9-inch pan may also be used as well as a deep pie plate.
Place the peaches/nectarines in a large bowl. Add the blueberries and the juice of 1 lemon; toss to coat.
Mix the sugar, flour/cornstarch/clear gel, nutmeg and cinnamon in a small bowl. Mix the sugar mixture in with the fruit. Toss to coat well.
Turn the fruit mixture into the prepared pan.
In a medium bowl, mix the oats, flour and sugar. Cut in the butter until it resembles peas. Sprinkle on top of the fruit.
Place the baking dish on a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil (this will catch the drips).
Bake for 60 minutes, or until fruit is bubbly.

Notes

You may use any berry you like or a combination of berries

Nutrition

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