Baked apples, blueberry frozen yoghurt, lavender shortbread

Now this is the start of things to come. I have the ice-cream maker, so can make gelati, and I have Gordon Ramsey's Desserts book, so I can work through the repertoire of great classic desserts.
He has a recipe for Cumin shortbread, but I wanted to try it with lavender - just the smallest amount so it was fragrant but not soapy - lavender is really strong.

The shortbread was simply lovely. So light. I made 20 biscuits, and we just ate the lot. They were irresistable. I will try some with orange.

The apples were not as successful as I'd hoped. I chose braeburns and they were still quite firm after the cooking time. The one great thing was the peppercorns with the apple. The taste is phenomenal. Its subtle, but magically adds depth and warmth to the apple.
The recipe calls for brushing the apples with soft (but not melted butter) then rolling the apples in demerara sugar. I think I needed to embed the sugar better onto the apple, or use less butter, so that when they go in to bake,  the butter doesn't just slide off the apple. You want it to caramelise. I basted the apples in apple juice, with a touch of vin santo, and the taste is great, but I didn't get the golden caramelly surface I wanted. And at the end of the cooking time, the apples were too hard still. Some tweaks needed for next time.
I love the peppercorn idea tho' and loved getting the accompaniments together - the blueberry frozen yoghurt, and the divine shortbread. If I plan better which flavours go well together, this approach of dessert + gelati + biscuit is really fun.

Apple caramel rice pudding

To go with the Three Rice Salad, I added a fourth rice: pudding rice.
Got this recipe from Food from Plenty, Diana Henry and she credits French Laundry in California. Good pedigree.
And it was gorgeous.

Gently slowly cooked apple slices (i was using windfall from Matt's parents) in cider, so they kept their shape and took on amazing flavour.

Gently cooked the rice in water for 4 minutes, then drained and washed. Then cooked for 25 in milk, stirring occasionally.

Then made caramel - always my favourite bit. I love the burnt colour slowly developing and having to rescue it before it ends up a burned mess. So made that, then added 8 tbsp of cold water, and stood back as it spattered and sput. Then stirred in the caramel to eventually get a thin caramel.

Then assembled the dish in glasses. Layer of apples, spooned on caramel, layer of rice, repeat.

All in all the deep umber amber richness of the caramel deepened a creamy, appley pudding, seeping through it bringing all the flavours and aspects together and enhancing each. Just divine.

It went down a storm :)

Celery and apple soup

As someone who doesn't really like celery, this soup is a total winner. It is very fresh and light - and something very good happens when these two are together. Apple takes the edge of the celery and celery lifts the sweetness of the apple. Perfect. Celery and apple soup recipe from Shropshire's Organics.

tarte tatin

This is another dish I've always wanted to do well. I was inspired by Rowley Leigh's recipe - which uses Cox apples, cored with a teaspoon, and cooked in a frying pan with lots of butter and sugar. Very pleased with the results - altho' i need a bigger plate which doesn't have sharply raised sides.

 Tasted really good. Apples weren't too sweet and had enough acidity, despite the sugar and butter :) Meant the dish was really well balanced. Also the coxs keep their shape, so you get pillowy texture but not overcooked or mushy apples.