Food & Wine

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 Halloween can go beyond hard treats According to the flood of press releases that have suddenly landed on me, people who wear braces are in there tough, come Halloween. In fact, we are actually warned, in stark black and white, "BEWARE, as certain Halloween candies can cause havoc, possibly damaging and prolonging treatment." Whoa! Not on our watch. So, by way of help, celebrity pastry chef Gale Gand, in conjunction with the American Association of Orthodontists, has concocted some braces-safe sweet treats, one of which is the following recipe for chocolate-baked bananas over ice cream. This serves just four, but could easily be doubled or tripled if you need more. The second option today for our dear bracefaces is provided by Pamela Waterman, author of "The Braces Cookbook: Recipes You (and Your Orthodontist) Will Love." It's a fast-fix, soft shortbread cookie dolled up with jam. Like the bananas, this recipe could easily be doubled or tripled. More AAO recipes, along with braces-friendly tips for trick-or-treaters, are available online at www.braces.org/nohm/. Additional information on the cookbook can be found at www.BracesCookbook.com. Chocolate-baked bananas over ice cream 4 whole firm bananas in the peel 4 tablespoons Nutella (optional) 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 pint ice cream, flavor of your choice Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place a banana on a work surface with the ends pointing up. Using a small, sharp knife, cut a horizontal slit down the inside so you can open the peel like an envelope and stuff it. Being careful not to rip open the peel, spread 1 tablespoon of Nutella (a chocolate hazlenut spread found next to the peanut butter in the grocery store) in each slit and add 1 ounce of chocolate chips. Close the peel and wrap the banana in foil. Repeat with the remaining bananas. Place bananas on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until the insides of the bananas are soft and warm and the chocolate is melted. To serve, peel off the foil from each banana and, using your thumbs, pop the baked bananas out of their peels into oval dessert bowls. Place 2 to 3 scoops of ice cream on each banana and serve. Makes 4 servings. One-eyed monster cookies 1/2 cup margarine, softened 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 11/3 cups flour About 1 cup jam of your choice (works better than jelly because it is thicker), use different jams for different colors and tastes Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the margarine, sugar, salt, egg and vanilla and blend with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix in the flour. Drop dough from tablespoons onto greased cookie sheet. Dip a teaspoon into water and use the backside of the tip to make a dent in the center of each cookie; dip spoon each time in water to keep dough from sticking. Fill each dent with about 1 teaspoon of jam. Bake for 9 minutes. When cool, store cookies in a covered container. Makes about 2 dozen. The next Forum will appear in Friday's Time Out section.

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