Sex in a Pan from Scratch

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of recipes on the net for Sex in a Pan. They are all nearly identical: layer prepackaged this with prepackaged that, and let's call it cooking.

Over at The Copy Writer's Kitchen, there is a great list compiled by Lorraine Thompson of the Ten Good Reasons to Start Cooking From Scratch. It is really a fantastic list. If you've ever wondered why I (and so many others) are so adamant about cooking with real food, that list really says it all.

I've searched in vain for a from-scratch recipe for Sex in a Pan, but with zero success. Either I'm missing the one that's already out there, or it just doesn't exist. Changing that today!

It's all very basic. Rather than using instant pudding or cool whip, we'll use real pudding and whipped cream. If you really want to go all out, you can make your own cream cheese too! The rest is the same as any other Sex in a Pan: layer the various ingredients, chill, and voila! A wonderfully rich dessert. :)

SEX in a PAN from scratch

The Crust:

• 1/2 cup each unbleached and whole wheat flour (totaling 1 cup)
  
• 1/2 cup butter (8 tablespoons), cold, cut into tablespoons (not margarine)
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350.
While the oven is heating up, combine the flours with the butter. You can use a pastry cutter for this or, as I prefer, your hands. Pick up a piece of butter, pinch, and drop. Repeat until the butter is incorporated into the flour. It should resemble a coarse cornmeal in texture.
Stir in the pecans
Press into a 13x9 inch pan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until it is a light golden brown.
Cool completely, in pan, on a wire wrack.



Do the following step a few hours or up to a day in advance, since the pudding must cool completely before the dessert can be assembled
Layers 2 and 3--Puddings:

• 1 cup unrefined sugar
  
• 2/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 5 cups half-and-half or whole milk (5 cups = 1 quart + 1 cup)
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (not imitation)
  
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped

In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt.
In a separate saucepan, gently heat the half-and-half on medium heat for 5-7 minutes.
Slowly add half and half into sugar/cornstarch mixture, over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk.
Once it's combined,continue to stir until the mixture thickens.
Turn the heat down to very low and cook, stirring constantly, for 10-15 minutes.
Stir in vanilla.
Divide the pudding equally into two bowls.
In a small saucepan or double boiler, melt chocolate.
Add melted chocolate to one of the bowls of pudding, mixing until thoroughly combined.
Place both bowls in the refrigerator for a few hours until completely cooled. (No need to cover them with plastic wrap. When ready to use, just remove the "skin" from the top of each pudding.)


When the pudding is cooled--
Layer 1--Cream Cheese:

• 1 (8oz) package cream cheese, at room temperature (or make your own)
  
• 1 cup unrefined sugar

(Here you're going to make your own confectioner's [powdered] sugar. Once you do this, you'll never buy another package of the stuff! I like to use a coffee grinder that I have just for grinding sugar, nuts, grains and spices. To clean a coffee grinder between uses, run a tablespoon of white rice through it for about 30 seconds)
Take one cup of unrefined sugar and pulse it in a food processor or coffee grinder until it's a powder.. and that's it!
Combine the cream cheese with your confectioner's sugar. Mix well.
Set aside in a covered bowl until ready to assemble.


Layer 4--Whipped Cream:

• 1 quart heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sour cream (which you can also make, if you were feeling adventurous!)
• 1/4 cup unrefined sugar

In a chilled bowl, combine heavy cream and sour cream. In a standing mixer or with a whisk, beat cream just until soft peaks begin to form.
Add the sugar.
Continue to beat just until stiff peaks form. (Make sure you don't overbeat or you'll end up with butter!)


Layer 5-- Garnishes:

• 1 square semisweet chocolate, shaved
• 1 teaspoon Dutch-process cocoa powder (optional)
  
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Assemble it all!:

Over the cooled crust, spread the cream cheese mixture.
Then, evenly spread the vanilla pudding, followed by the chocolate pudding (using a large spoon or whatever utensil works best for you, remove skins from the top of each pudding before layering).
Next, spread the whipped cream.
Top it all off with any or all of the garnishes.

Chill and serve! Best if eaten within a day (as if this thing will sit around uneaten that long!! :)

Autumn, Thankfully

Autumn.. arguably one of the finest seasons of the year. Autumn is one of my favorites.

“Summer ends, and Autumn comes, and he who would have it otherwise would have high tide always and a full moon every night.”
~Hal Borland

Saying autumn is one of my favorites isn't saying much, as I claim each season as "one of my favorites." I like them all, each of the seasons, for their own beauties and bounties. Spring for its temperate breezes and renewal of life. Summer for its clear skies and vibrant energy. Autumn for its varied colors and crisp air. Winter for its dark calm and permission to stay indoors.

This morning, a friend on Facebook asked that people leave a comment listing things for which they are most thankful (in preparation for the American tradition of Thanksgiving coming up at the end of November).

A more appropriate question for me would be: what are you not thankful for. The answer would be, "Not much." Good and Bad. Yin and Yang. Summer and Winter. I am grateful for them all and everything in between.

"According to yin and yang theory, there is a permanent tendency to balance between opposite forces. Right and wrong, winter and summer, they always contain some of its opposite and are always interacting. According to this, there is nothing completely good or completely bad, and there is nothing permanent. All opposite aspects are always going through a cycle and looking for balance between each other."

~Yin and Yang-The Opposites in Balance

It might seem glib, but I mean it with 100% sincerity. (To who or what I am thankful can be left for another blog on another day! :)

For many people in this world, there is certainly more sorrow than joy. I do not necessarily speak of being thankful when one's land is taken away by corporations, or when one must work in a factory 12 hours a day for mere pennies so that people half a world away can have stuff. Rather, I speak from my own experiences.

(One might argue that happiness and gratitude are relative to one's own experiences; while I think anyone, in any situation, is capable of feeling happiness and gratitude, even in something as "simple" as a sunrise, an embrace, or a large plush toy, I do not wish to trivialize that kind of pain which I can only imagine.)

Life for many of us has been made simpler through modern conveniences and technology, to the point we might think we will never know again what it is to truly struggle. But, nothing, other than the changing nature of everything, is permanent, not even our current state of ease. Can we be thankful for what we have whilst not being equally thankful for the changes that made it possible, and the changes that are inevitable?

दुक्ख

~The Four Noble Truths and Dukkha

Would spring be as enjoyable if it wasn't a respite after a harsh winter? How sweet would laughter be if it did not occasionally follow tears of grief? Would dessert be as wonderful if it came before dinner rather than after?

It's true that sometimes dessert should come before dinner.. or take its place entirely! Were it to do so every time, however, dessert would lose its special oomph. We might in time come to view dessert as the thing we have to get through in order to get to the good stuff... like Brussels sprouts.

One might say, then, that to keep things in their right order, we should be immensely grateful for life's Brussels sprouts

so that we can better appreciate its Sex in a Pan

(btw, I tried and tried to find a recipe for Sex in a Pan NOT using crappy boxed pudding or cool whip. It can't be found. That must be changed! I will post one very soon!!)