FIGS!

[gumbo lover]

Can't go search for old threads for this subject and since we need to rebuild food information...

Your basic backyard figs are coming in. What do you do with figs?

I'm not a big fig preserves fan. I don't make ice cream, but I should. I'm stuck on stuffing them with blue cheese or goat or feta,wrapping them in prosciutto and baking.

[ChefGuy]

Try this one:
Pan Seared filet Mignon with Port Wine and Mission Figs
Serves 2



8 ounce Mission Figs
8 ounce Tawny Port wine
2 ounces Clarified Butter
2 each Filet Mignons, 8 Ounce
1 ounce Chopped Shallots
3 ounce Tawny Port wine
6 ounce Veal stock
6 ounce Unsalted butter
To Taste Salt and freshly ground white pepper


Marinate the figs in 8 ounces of port wine and place in the refrigerator the day before.

Heat fry pan and add the clarified butter, sear the Filets on all sides and place in a 375º oven and cook until medium rare (approximately 5 minutes). Remove from oven and place on warm serving plate. Add shallots and the figs to the pan and deglaze with 3 ounces of the tawny port and reduce by half. Add the veal stock and reduce by 25 percent. Add the unsalted butter in small pieces and season sauce with salt and pepper. Place the Filets on serving platters and pour the sauce over. Serve with roasted or mashed potatoes and a fresh steamed vegetable.

Guy D. Sockrider, C.E.C.
Celebrity Chef Consulting

[PNG]

Preserves, pizza, added to pork dishes, many things. For some reason the birds are not eating all of our figs this year. The tree is loaded with fruit, but no bird attacks. This is the first time that the figs have not been stripped from the tree as soon as they become ripe.

[gumbo lover]

I received my issue of Fine Dining yesterday and found a nice article on figs with some recipes when I reviewed it last night. It's a pretty good mag if you see one around.

[gumbo lover]

Try this one:
Pan Seared filet Mignon with Port Wine and Mission Figs
Serves 2

Guy D. Sockrider, C.E.C.
Celebrity Chef Consulting

Thanks for this recipe!

[edible complex]

grilled figs w/goat cheese and lavender honey. I've had this combo on top of a frisee salad w/pecans or on a pizza w/prosciutto.

[Cocktailtime]

Suppose you don't have access to a tree? Are you just out of luck or does a place like Whole Foods have them?

[gumbo lover]

Some folks sell their backyard harvest in the classifieds under produce or wherever that sort of thing might be listed.

I would think some farmers' markets would have them as well.

[hungryone]

My next door neighbor brought over a dishpan of figs last week, and I made a fig upside down cake, cribbed from an Emeril recipe. You half or quarter the figs and cook in a black iron skillet with butter and brown sugar, then pour over a cake batter, pop in the oven, and bake until done. Just like pineapple upside down cake, but with figs. It was delicious.

[DivaKitty]

Yeah Figs... my favorite fruit (at least right now.) Thanks for the posts. My fiance keeps asking me to cook something with the figs off of our tree, but they don't last that long around me!
Oh and hi everybody! Jon just told me about the new board.

[Isabella Maja]

My next door neighbor brought over a dishpan of figs last week, and I made a fig upside down cake, cribbed from an Emeril recipe. You half or quarter the figs and cook in a black iron skillet with butter and brown sugar, then pour over a cake batter, pop in the oven, and bake until done. Just like pineapple upside down cake, but with figs. It was delicious.

That sounds divine! Do you have a link to a recipe or your own tweaked version? I'm getting ready to go pick figs next week!

[hungryone]

That sounds divine! Do you have a link to a recipe or your own tweaked version? I'm getting ready to go pick figs next week!
Izzy--here's the link: http://www.emerils.com/recipe/4161/Fresh-Fig-Up-side-Down-Cake-with-a-Hazelnut-Ice-Cream
My tweaks included 1)cooking the figs with brown sugar instead of white sugar, 2)cooking for a little longer than suggested, 3)using much less butter for the sauteed figs and 4)using a 12" black iron skillet (recipe didn't specify pan size). I also added some nutmeg and ground ginger to the cake batter.

[Isabella Maja]

Izzy--here's the link: http://www.emerils.com/recipe/4161/Fresh-Fig-Up-side-Down-Cake-with-a-Hazelnut-Ice-Cream
My tweaks included 1)cooking the figs with brown sugar instead of white sugar, 2)cooking for a little longer than suggested, 3)using much less butter for the sauteed figs and 4)using a 12" black iron skillet (recipe didn't specify pan size). I also added some nutmeg and ground ginger to the cake batter.

Excellent! Thanks Hungry One!

I like your tweaks!

BTW, do you ever encounter something called "Cake Spice"? I have some, it's almost gone. I never see it.

[hungryone]

RE: cake spice, never seen it, but I have seen liquid flavorings like "bakery cake" etc in the King Arthur Baker's catalog.

[JudiB]

hugryone, that sounds DELICIOUS! And so simple, too. I'm going to try it, thanks!

gumbolover, I don't get that magazine, if you try some of those recipes that you really like, would you post them for us, please?

Cocktailtime, I only saw figs in the grocery once. They were over ripe, too. I think you need to befriend someone with a tree. :)

[Suzy Wong]

I'm sure there are other sites, but this is the first one I found, Isabella,

http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/cake-spice

[Isabella Maja]

I'm sure there are other sites, but this is the first one I found, Isabella,

http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/cake-spice

Thanks SW, I appreciate the tip!
The one I bought is a bit different, but the one you found sounds good too & I'll probably get some.

I use this in a variety of things & it adds just a bit of a zing & a twist!
Some of those things are: Butternut Squash Bisque, Spinach dishes & Spinach quiche and even some types of sauces & baked apples.

The cake spice that I have is made by Sauer.
Yes, the Duke's Mayonnaise folks!

The ingredients on the label: Allspice, Cinnamon, Coriander, Ginger, Nutmeg.

I must have really liked it because all I have left is about 1/4 t.