How to Open a Fresh Coconut

You know. Just in case you ever need to.

Step 1- Acquire a coconut.

Step 2-Go grab a towel,a hammer and a screwdriver, nail, or other cylindrical sharp object. On one end of the coconut there will be small, circular indentations. Using the hammer and nail or the screwdriver, CAREFULLY nail/screw holes through each of these soft spots.

Make sure the holes go all the way through.

Step 3-Drain the coconut over a bowl or other container to collect all the juice. Shake it a few times, when it is empty, you simply won't hear the juice sloshing around anymore.

Step 4- Wrap the coconut in a towel, making sure it is completely wrapped with no open ends.And finally, the fun part-smash it to bits with a hammer. I would recommend you do this outside. Preferably on bricks or concrete.We don't want any counters broken, now. 

Yummy!

 Step 5- Using a small knife, CAREFULLY  pry away the brown skin from the meat of the coconut. Be warned, this part takes forever! Once it is all pure of the skin, feel free to eat as is (which I vehemently suggest not doing...) or you can shred it up and toast it for a future recipe!

 

 http://www.howtoopenacoconut.com/

Maple Cheesecake with Roasted Pears

As I mentioned in my previous post, I made two classic desserts for Thanksgiving this year. A Triple Chocolate Pumpkin Pie and this fantastically sweet maple cheesecake with roasted pears.

Now if I had to choose a favorite type of cake, it would most certainly be cheesecake. To be completely honest, I'm not a huge fan of traditional cake.
Shocked?
Most people are when they discover that a baker doesn't enjoy one of the quintessential sweet treats. I find cake to be too dry and a tad too simplistic and doesn't supply the right texture and flavor combinations. Then again, perhaps I simply haven't had a good enough cake. Now what  I do enjoy is a good cupcake. They have a much better cake to frosting ratio.
But, I digress. Onto the cheesecake!


As most cheesecakes are, this dessert is powerfully sweet and exceedingly creamy. The pears give it some extra texture and a hint of irregular flavor.


Maple Cheesecake with Roasted Pears
original recipe from Martha Stewart
2 bars (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 cup cold heavy cream
1 pie crust made in a 9-inch springform pan with vanilla wafers or graham crackers
Nonstick cooking spray
2 medium pears, sliced lengthwise 1/8 inch thick
Crust
6 ounces cookies (about 12 graham crackers, 46 vanilla wafers)
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted



                 1. Prepare the crust. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse cookies until finely ground or break up the crackers using a the flat bottom of a cup or can.Add sugar, salt, and butter and pulse (or combine with hands) until combined. Firmly press crumb mixture into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. (If using a springform pan, press crumbs halfway up sides.) Bake until crust is dry and set, about 12 minutes. Let cool completely in plate on a wire rack before filling.
                 2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese on high until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the maple syrup; beat until smooth. In a medium bowl, beat cream and sugar on high until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. With a rubber spatula, stir about one-third the whipped cream into cream cheese mixture, then fold in remainder. Pour into crust and refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours (or up to 1 day, overnight is always a good default).
                 3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Coat a parchment-lined baking sheet with cooking spray. Arrange pear slices in a single layer on sheet and brush with 2 tablespoons maple syrup.

 Roast until pears are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and brush pears with 2 tablespoons maple syrup and broil until browned in spots, about 4 minutes, rotating sheet frequently. Let cool. To serve, arrange pear slices, overlapping slightly, on cheesecake.