Thanksgiving Recipe Treats from TASTE

Pastry chef Lucy Damkoehler of TASTE has two sweet holiday treats to share with you today--Eggnog Tapioca with blood orange sorbet and rum crisp, and apple spice fritters!
Eggnog Tapioca

Blood orange sorbet & rum crisp
by pastry chef Lucy Damkoehler

This is a great dessert for the holidays.  I love adding the fresh blood orange sorbet to keep this light and refreshing after a filling meal.

1 box (1 8 ounces) small pearl tapioca
Room temperature water
1/2 + 1/4 cup Smith Brother’s eggnog
1/2 + 1/4 cup milk
1/2 + 1/4 cup heavy cream
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Blood Orange Sorbet:
1 cup fresh squeezed blood orange juice
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons spiced rum

Soak the tapioca over night in enough water to cover by two inches. Strain the tapioca and rinse. In a stainless steel pot, pour the rinsed tapioca and cover with enough water to cover by two inches again. Place the pot on a medium-high burner and bring to a boil, stirring often. Strain tapioca and rinse. Repeat this step two more times. Strain tapioca and finish with a final rinse. Pour tapioca into a bowl and add 1/2 cup eggnog. Let cool in refrigerator for three hours.

In a stainless steal pot, bring the sugar and water to a boil. Immediately take off heat and cool in the refrigerator. Once the simple syrup has cooled, add to the blood orange juice and whisk together. Freeze in an ice cream machine according to manufactures instructions.

Place the butter, honey and sugar in a stainless steal pot. Bring to a boil to melt the butter. Take off heat and add the flour and rum. Mix until all the flour is incorporated. Cool for 3 hours in refrigerator. Prepare a sheet pan that is lined with a silicone baking pad (if a silpat is not available, line the sheet pan with parchment paper). Spread batter out very thin, about a 16th of an inch. Place in a 325 degree oven and bake for 9 minutes. Cool the crisp, and break into desired size.

Portion the tapioca into a pasta size bowl. Place the rum crisp in the center of the bowl, so it is floating on top of the tapioca. Place a petite scoop of the blood orange sorbet on top of the rum crisp. Sprinkle some freshly grated nutmeg on top for garnish.

Apple Fritters
These are great to serve in replace of your traditional apple pie or for a special breakfast treat during the holidays!

Makes 32 fritters

1 ½ cup bread flour, plus 3 cups
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
2 ¼ teaspoons or 1 packet active dry yeast
4 whole eggs
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
2 large apples
½ cup granulated sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
8 cups vegetable oil for frying

Mix together in a medium size bowl with a wooden spoon 1 ½ cups bread flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, yeast and eggs until all the flour is mixed in. Flour your work surface using the extra 3 cups of flour, ½ cup at a time. Pour the dough on to the floured surface, dust the top with another ½ cup flour and begin to knead. The dough is going to be very sticky. Knead it until all the flour on the surface is gone, then add another ½ cup, until you have used 2 cups. Your dough will still be sticky, but workable. Now take the diced butter and put it into the middle of the dough, and begin kneading again. Continue to add flour as you need it, kneading until all the pieces of butter are gone. Form into a ball. Put the dough into a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour or up to 3 days.

Mix together ½ cup sugar, 1 ¼ teaspoon cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon salt in a bowl and set aside.

Peal and core 2 large apples, and cut into ¼ inch pieces, then into thirds. Take your dough that has rested out of the refrigerator, place on a well floured surface and roll out to ½ inch thickness. Place the slices of apples in the center of the dough and fold the sides of the dough over the apples. Take a dough cutter and start to chop up the dough in many pieces, folding it over on its self and chopping more. Chop the dough until it forms back into a ball. Pat the dough into a ½ inch thick square. Cut into 32 pieces, and place on a baking sheet. Store the baking sheet in a warm area and let the fritters rise for 20 minutes.

Pre-heat the oil in a Dutch oven or a deep wok to 325 degrees F.

Carefully drop 6 to 8 fritters at a time into the hot oil. Fry until each side is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Take the fritters out of the oil and place on a paper towel, then toss into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Serve warm or room temperature.