Riding Shotgun

Hmmm. Now, what should I write about this week? I could write about cooking wild game, such as quail. But, really, who in their right mind goes out quail hunting these days?

I could write about pepper. Lots of people like to pepper their food. Some even like to pepper their friends.

I’ve already written about decorative shot, so writing about shot is out.

The thing is, writing this column is a gamble. The column is submitted to the editor a week before it is actually printed; by the time you read this quail, pepper, and shot could be old news. Something entirely different could be in the forefront of the news. Maybe White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan will run over a paddle of ducks with his tricycle. I had to look that up; I had no idea what groups of ducks were called.

Or, and here’s a unique thought, maybe nothing at all will happen within the administration. Maybe a week will go by when no one within the president’s administration will try to kill someone, or steal someone’s rights, or choke on a pretzel, or alienate another country. Nah, who am I kidding!

So, putting all my ducks in a row, and quailing in apprehension, I’m going to give it a shot and write about bird’s-nest pudding.

Bird’s-nest pudding, also called crow’s-nest pudding, is a very old New England fruit pudding most commonly made with apples. The finished result somewhat resembles a bird’s nest.

I can’t wait to see what next week’s news brings my way. I should start early and do some research on beaten biscuits, sad cake, and quaking custard.

Bird’s Nest Pudding
6 tart apples
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 cups heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. Peel the apples and remove the core by cutting from the end into the middle, leaving the apples whole. Place them in a deep pie dish, close together. Stuff the core of each apple with brown sugar, pressing down slightly. Reserve any remaining sugar. Sprinkle all the apples with the 1/4-teaspoon grated nutmeg. Place dish in the preheated oven to start baking while you prepare the batter.

Separate the egg. Beat the egg whites until stiff. In a separate bowl, beat the yolks until they change color. Stir the milk into the beaten yolks. in a third bowl, combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking powder, salt, and any remaining brown sugar until well mixed. Pour flour mixture all at once into egg yolk mixture and stir until smooth. Fold beaten egg whites into the batter.

Remove apples from the oven and pour the batter evenly over and around the apples. Bake in preheated oven 45 to 60 minutes more, until crust forms and is brown.

Make the sweetened cream. Stir sifted confectioners’ sugar and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg into the heavy cream. Stir well to combine.

To serve, scoop out each apple with surrounding fluffy crust onto a plate and serve with sweetened cream. Serves 6.