Cobbler Information

Photo: flickr user Rachel from Cupcakes Take the Cake

Ingredients

Perfect topping takes cobbler to the sublime

It's the top that makes the cobbler.

Preparation

Though luscious summer fruit needs only the most minimal enhancement - some sugar and maybe a bit of lemon juice - it takes some thought and just a bit of skill to turn out a biscuit shortcake top that bakes up fluffy and tender, and is crusty golden brown.

Cobblers are a quintessential dessert of summer, showcasing berries, pears, cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots, apples - even tropical fruits such as papaya or mango. They are as good as fruit pies without all the labor.

Though similar to crisps, crumbles and other baked fruit desserts, a cobbler's defining characteristic is its top. The baking powder batter should be wetter than if you were making biscuits. It can be barely sweet, quite sweet or something in between. The dough can be simply dropped on top of the fruit, spread over it or rolled out into a solid shape and laid on top. This is a dessert that is meant to look homemade.

Whatever the topping, never completely cover the fruit layer with the dough.

Leave enough space for the steam to evaporate out of the fruit during baking.

The partially covered top will still act as a lid during baking, holding in enough steam to cook the fruit in its own juices.

Use one large 1 1/2-quart ceramic baking dish, or if you have little 6- to

(8-ounce) capacity baking dishes such as souffle dishes, ovenproof bowls or pudding basins, make individual cobblers that are sure to impress despite their homey nature. (Be sure to place the little dishes on a foil-lined baking sheet to catch the drips during baking.)

Remember that cobblers tend to be juicy, rather than thickened like pies, and they are best served warm with a bit of heavy cream poured on top. The biscuit topping tends to get soggy as it sits, so cobblers are best eaten within a few hours after baking.

COKE AND SOYA CHICKEN

6 Chicken Breasts (or leftover turkey), cubed 2 cups Coke1/4 cup light soya sauce1/4 cup dark soya sauce1 tsp. Salt2 Tbsp. Sugar1 tsp. Chinese 5 spice (available at any Asian food store)

1 green onion, sliced, including topsliced ginger root or ground ginger to taste 2 cloves garlic, minced.

Combine all ingredients except the chicken in a large saucepan. Turn on medium-high heat and bring to boil. Add cubed chicken meat or leftover turkey. Return to boil then reduce heat to Medium low. Simmer uncovered, stirring the chicken occasionally. Cook 30 - 40 minutes. Delicious served hot over rice. Also good cold, served with a tossed green salad.