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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Fresh Fruit Tart with Vanilla Pastry Cream

Philip had PRK (photorefractive keratectomy aka eye surgery) this morning so he is sleeping on the couch. I should be working but I am distracted by him being home...so I am blogging instead.


This tart was so good! I made the mistake of running to the store while the crust was in the oven. Turns out my version of golden brown and Philip's version of golden brown are two entirely different things. Unfortunately by the time I got home it had reached a "chocolate brown" color. Oh well...the non-burnt pieces were delicious! I don't have any changes that I would make...but you could easily change up the fruits.
This recipe comes from Baking Illustrated and I have come to the conclusion that nothing bad ever comes out of Baking Illustrated or Cooking Illustrated!



Fresh Fruit Tart with Vanilla Pastry Cream
(Source: Annie's Eats)


Fresh Fruit Tart with Vanilla Pastry Cream
Ingredients:

For the tart dough:
1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

For the pastry cream:
2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch salt
5 large egg yolks
3 tbsp. cornstarch
4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the topping:
2 large kiwis, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced
6-9 oz. raspberries
1/2-1 cup blueberries
Apple jelly, for glazing (Of course I bought this and forgot to use it!)

Directions:
To make the tart shell, whisk together the egg yolk, cream and vanilla in a small bowl; set aside. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Process briefly to combine. Scatter the butter pieces over the flour mixture; process to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about fifteen 1-second pulses. With the machine running, add the egg mixture and process until the dough just comes together, about 12 seconds. Turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a 6-inch dish. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 48 hours.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. (If refrigerated for more than an hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable.) Unwrap and roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a 13-inch round. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch tart pan. Mold the dough to the sides of the tart pan and remove the excess off the top. Set the dough-lined tart pan on a large plate and freeze for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to middle position. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Set the dough-lined tart pan on a baking sheet, press a 12-inch square of foil into the frozen shell and over the edge, and fill with pie weights. Bake for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through the baking time. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the foil and weights. Continue to bake until deep golden brown, 5-8 minutes longer. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To make the pastry cream, heat the half-and-half, 6 tablespoons of the sugar, and the salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat until simmering, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl and whisk until the sugar has begun to dissolve and the mixture is creamy, about 15 seconds. Whisk in the cornstarch until combined and the mixture is pale yellow and thick, about 30 seconds.
When the half-and-half mixture has reached a simmer, slowly add it to the egg yolk mixture to temper, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula. Return the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a few bubbles burst on the surface and the mixture is thickened and glossy, about 30 seconds. Off the heat, whisk in the butter and vanilla. Strain the pastry cream through a fine mesh sieve set over a medium bowl. Press plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate until cold and set, at least 3 hours and up to 2 days.

To assemble the tart, spread the cold pastry cream evenly over the bottom of the tart shell. Arrange the fruit on top of the pastry cream as desired. Heat the jelly in the microwave for 20-30 seconds, just until slightly melted and easy to stir. Using a pastry brush, paint a light layer of jelly over the fresh fruit. Serve.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Garlic Bubble Loaves


If one could live solely off carbs alone I would be the girl to do it. I love bread. I'm not even picky about what kind...I just LOVE bread.

This bread was YUMMY! I can't even find words to describe this bread...just try it.

I think I would cut the recipe in half next time. We definitely don't need two loaves of this laying around the kitchen.

Garlic Bubble Loaves
(Source: Amber's Delectable Delights)

Ingredients:
2 packages of active dry yeast, (2 scant Tbls)
1/4 warm water (110-115 degrees)
2 cups warm milk (110-115 deg)
2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon shortening
2 teaspoon salt
6 1/4-6 1/2 cups all purpose or bread flour
1/2 cup butter
1 Tablespoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons garlic powder

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, sugar, shortening, salt and 2 cups flour, beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into fourths. Divide each portion into 12 pieces. In a shallow bowl, combine the butter, parsley and garlic powder. Shape each piece of dough into a ball; dip into butter mixture. Place in two greased 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pans. Pour any remaining butter mixture over dough. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. (Don't crowd them into the pan. put about 12 (24 total) spaced out in two irregular layers per pan)Bake at 375 deg for 35-40 min or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes. remove from pans to wire racks.

Chicken Marsala Pasta Toss

I really like chicken marsala but it is quite a bit of work for a weeknight. This was a good alternative to a normal chicken marsala that required a whole lot less work and was delicious as well!

I am not sure as though I would use whole wheat pasta. Normally I really like whole wheat pasta. I am not really sure what it was that I didn't like...maybe the texture, maybe the flavor. Something just didn't work with this dish.

Chicken Marsala Pasta Toss
(Source: Milk & Honey)

INGREDIENTS:
Half a box of whole wheat rotini
2 tsps olive oil
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 1/2 cups sliced button mushrooms
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, cut into cubes (We grilled ours.)
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/2 tsp dried marjoram, crushed
2 tbs. butter
2 tbs. flour
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry marsala wine

DIRECTIONS:
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta to al dente. Drain and set aside.
Heat 1 tsp. olive oil in a large skillet, cook green onions and mushrooms until tender, about five minutes. Season with a pinch of salt. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add remaining olive oil to skillet and add chicken. Season with salt and pepper and add marjoram, stirring until just warmed through, about 3 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
Melt butter in skillet and add flour, stirring to form a roux. Cook for one minute. Slowly add chicken broth and wine, stirring constantly. Simmer sauce until bubbly and thickened. Add chicken and veggies to the sauce and heat through. Add sauce mixture to pasta and toss to combine. Garnish with additional green onion strips, if desired.


Chewy Coconut Chocolate Chunk Blondies

Blondies are fun to make. Once you find a good base recipe you can basically add in anything you want. There are so many possibilities. Whenever I make them Philip always says "Mmmm...I love blondies. Wait, I like blondies and I love brunettes." Quick one that boy. :)

I have had this bag of coconut for quite sometime. I keep meaning to make coconut cream pie because that is my favorite but I never get around to it. But then I saw these, had all the ingredients and the hope for a coconut cream pie flew right out the window. I am glad I made these though. They were quite tasty and they reminded me a lot of magic cookie bars.

Chewy Coconut Chocolate Chunk Blondies
(Source: About.com: Southern Food)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 ounces unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chocolate chips or chunks (I used mini-chocolate chips because that is all I had.)

***Optional Topping***
1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chip
1 teaspoon butter or shortening

Preparation:
Grease and flour an 8- or 9- inch square baking pan. Heat oven to 350°.
Combine the flour and salt; set aside.
Beat melted butter and brown sugar together until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla extract until well blended.
Slowly beat in the flour and salt until blended, then stir in the coconut and chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until set in the center but still soft. Do not overbake. Let the bars cool slightly before drizzling with chocolate, then cool completely before cutting into small squares.
For topping, if using, melt chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon of butter or shortening until smooth. Drizzle over the bars with a spoon or pour the mixture into a sandwich bag and cut a very small piece of the corner off. Drizzle, squeezing the chocolate out over the bars.

Broccoli-Almond Chicken



Stir-fry is one of my favorite foods. I love the flexibility of it and the fact that it never has to be the same. Plus it is super easy to make for one...so I tend to live off it while the husband is deployed.

We both really liked this stir-fry. It had a nice subtle lemon flavor.

Broccoli-Almond Chicken
(Source: Cate's World Kitchen)
Sauce
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbps broth or water
1 tsp cornstarch

Whisk together all ingredients and set aside.

Stir Fry:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 lb boneless-skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 a small yellow onion, chopped
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
1/3 cup almonds, cut in half lengthwise
Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, onion, and ginger, and cook, stirring, until chicken is cooked through. Add the broccoli florets and a few tablespoons of water. Cook until broccoli is crisp-tender. Add the sauce and almonds, and stir until sauce has thickened and coats the chicken and broccoli.