Pots and Pins

Apple Pie Cake...

The mister returned home from his San Diego March Madness weekend (which lasted 5 days!) looking a little green under the gills...apparently there was a bit more madness that went on than he confessed to!  He lugged his over-stuffed bag upstairs and proceeded to pull out a half dozen new T-shirts and ball caps for his favorite teams.  His closet can now double as a Sports Authority!  While the mister was away...drum roll...I cleaned the garage.  (Obviously you can see there is something really wrong with our marriage...San Diego vs clean the garage!!!)  I tossed everything that wasn't nailed down and took 4 loads of crappola to Good Will.  Our garage is now a thing of beauty and I'm tempted to leave the garage doors up to show off my garage-scaping-skills!   When I was all done, I made cake.  Apple Pie Cake.  It's pie and cake - the perfect marriage if there ever was one!

 

 

 

This recipe's original name is French Apple Cake but after tasting it, I had to change the name to reflect the taste...it really is apple pie in cake.  If you like apple pie you'll love this!  The apples are peeled, cored, nuked until soft, then they are left to cool and marinate in a bit of rum.  If you don't want to use real rum you can use rum extract.  My apples were mashed into 1/2-inch  bits so when I bit into a piece of cake I got a nice piece or two of apple.

 

 

 

While the apples are being microwaved/cooled, which takes all of 10 minutes, the batter is made.  Browned butter is the key to this batter - browned butter!  OMG!  It give this cake such an amazing flavor, I'm tempted to use browned butter in everything from now on!

When I made Italian Almond Cake a while back (which put me into a little cake baking mode) I baked it in my little cake pans and I liked it so much that way that I decided to bake the Apple Pie Cake the same way.  You can also use a 9-inch cake pan and just make one large cake but I think you can see that having four little cakes is SO much better...that way you can eat an entire cake and not feel guilty!  (I used two 6-inch and two 4-inch cake pans for my little cakes.)

This is a very easy cake to make - simple, almost rustic looking, but it tastes like it came from an exclusive French bakery!  The next time you get a hankering for apple pie, make this cake instead, you'll thank me.  Serve it with ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream or serve it naked - this one is worthy of five dangs on the Ol' Meter my friends because it's dang, dang, dang, dang, dang good!

Apple Pie Cake - Adapted from Hungry Rabbit

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 8 wedges, and sliced 1/8 inch thick crosswise  (Fuji and Honey Crisp work great, too)

4 tablespoons rum

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

3 large eggs, room temperature (did you know that if you put cold-from-the-fridge in a cup of hot water for 3 to 4 minutes the eggs will be room temp!?)

10 tablespoons butter (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons)

3/4 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease cake pans, (either one 9-inch pan or four smaller pans, I used two 6-inch and two 4-inch) whichever size you are using, and line bottoms with parchment, then grease parchment.  Place pans on rimmed baking sheet and set aside. 

In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook the butter until it turns golden brown, about 5 to 6 minutes, being careful not to let it burn; remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Place prepared apples in a microwave-safe dish, cover with plastic wrap and microwave until apples are soft, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Remove and drizzle 1 tablespoon of rum over apples, then sprinkle lemon juice over apples, toss to coat and allow to cool about 10 minutes.

While apples and butter are cooling, make the batter:  In a small bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  In a large bowl, whisk eggs, browned butter, milk, remaining 3 tablespoons of rum and vanilla together until smooth.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and whisk until just combined.  Batter will be thin.  Fold in cooled apples.  Pour batter into pan(s) and sprinkle remaining tablespoon of sugar evenly over top(s).  Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of cake(s) comes out clean and top(s) is golden brown, about 45 to 50 minutes.  Transfer to wire racks to cook for 15 minutes in pans, then run a knife around the sides of pan and invert cake(s) onto wire rack to cool completely.

 

 

 

 

Celery Root Salad...

My March Madness Mister is out and about.  You might recognize him under the brim of one of his team's hats, or by the NCAA logo on his sweater, or maybe by his white Converse High Tops.  Or, maybe you'll be lucky enough to see him dunk an imaginary basketball in the middle of Starbucks - he didn't even know he was doing it until I gasped with humiliation!  While he is soaking up every bit of March Madness and regurgitating it to me on an hourly basis (I feigned shock that Ohio State lost, I pretended to weep when BYU fell on the sword, and I even did my best imitation of a whale wailing when he told me Harvard whooped Cincinnati) I have been busy with real life.  You know, work.  Someone's got to be responsible!!  I hate it when it has to be me! 

As you may or may not know, I'm a recent convert to celery root.  I only discovered it last year and it quickly moved into my #1 vegetable category.  I've made Celery Root Soup a half dozen times and have used celery root in other soups and stews but didn't think beyond the pot, (not the kind you smoke - legally in Seattle) as in what else could I do with it?

It's not the most visually appealing veggie, is it?  Celery root can have green shoots coming from the top of the bulb or not and the more firm they are, the fresher.  Don't buy one that's soft...and if you're not yet a fan, not to worry, you don't eat the peel.  When cooked celery root has the texture of a potato but tastes like celery...wonderfully bizarre!

 

 

 

 

This recipe came to me from my dear friends Elizabeth and Bryan - they're both French no matter what he says.  Elizabeth is from Southern France, where I left a part of my heart, so I didn't need any convincing from her when she told me this is a typical French bistro salad.  The Dijon dressing is bright, refreshing and the julienned celery root, uncooked and crisp, gives a sweet brisk crunch that will renew your work-weary-tired-to-the-bone-spirit!

Bryan told me the correct French pronounciation of this dish is Celery-Rave Remolade (sel-leri rawv re-mo-laud) and if you want to say it like a Frenchman, put 6 or 7 ice cubes in your mouth and then give it a go...call it what you want, just as long as you call it good!

Celery Root Salad - Adapted from Saveur Recipes

1 egg yolk

1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

3/4 cup olive oil (original recipe calls for grapeseed oil, but I was fresh out!)

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 large celery root or 2 medium, peeled

2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley

In a small bow whisk egg yolk and mustard.  Pour in 1 teaspoon of oil to creat a thick mixture.  Continue whisking, adding the oil slowly so it becomes emulsified, thick and creamy.  Whisk in 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, then cover with plastic wrap and chill until serving.

Using a mandoline, if you have one, or a very sharp knife, cut celery root into very thin slices.  Stack 2 to 3 slices at a time and cut lengthwise into matchsticks, as small as you can get them, about 1/8" thick.  Repeat until all is julienned. Transfer julienned celery root and remaining juice to a bowl, toss to combine.  Add chilled dressing, season with salt and pepper, toss.  Cover and chill salad until celery root wilts slightly, about 30 minutes.  (It will still be crispy but will not be hard.)  To serve, garnish with minced parsley.  Serves 4 to 6.  It looks like pasta in the pic below!  This is such a good salad - I hope you'll make it soon!

French Beef Stew...

Let's cut straight to the chase, I was blown away by this one, kids.  It not only gets a resounding 5 dangs on the ol' Dang Meter, but I might go as far as to give it 5.5 dangs!  This is what I'll make the next time we have company over for dinner.  This is what I'll make when I want to impress someone, like a foodie who thinks they know what good food is.  This is what I'll make for my last meal, provided I still have teeth and can lift a fork.  I've never had anything that I liked as much in the comfort food category - because that is what this is...extreme comfort food...it hits all the marks, it's filling, it's warm, it's bursting with a heady mixture of rich, complex flavors...to begin with, it has bacon (!) and then there's the beef, so tender you can cut it with a feather, but use a fork as feathers are messy...and, and, and...it's all served on top of a bed of garlic grits.  Boy Howdy!  Zee cowboy meets zee French chef and zee magic, she 'appens!

 

 

 

 

 

If taste was not enough of a reason to make this, let me give you another...everything goes into one pot at the same time.  The lid is put on and 3 hours later...voila!  You will have one of the finest meals this side of the Seine.  Let me rephrase, you'll have one of the finest meals, including any you could have at any famous French restaurant you can name, this side of the Seine ...it will Eiffel your tower.

 

 

 

This recipe is from Daniel Boulud, famous French chef, New York restaurateur, cookbook author...I saw him on television before Christmas making this recipe.  His charming French accent had me from the get-go but when he took bread dough and put it on top of the Dutch oven lid to bake, well, right then and there this recipe went to the top of the heap.  After the lid is brushed with egg yolk and dusted with flour, the dough is placed on top, where it seals the lid to the pan, and baked!  Fascinating, no?

As impressive as this was obviously meant to be, it wasn't...there had to be some behind the scenes "TV magic" because my bread was burned after 45 minutes!   I even put foil over it but it didn't help.  I used frozen bread dough, and after thawing, when baking it normally, it only bakes for 25 to 30 minutes, so zee chef must have been into zee wine because had I left the bread in the oven for 3 hours it would have been blacker than the mister's heart!   I loved the presentation so much though that I'll continue to tinker around with it and hopefully find a way to make it work, without the magic of TV.)

We shared this stew with some friends, who immediately asked for the recipe - they loved it as much as we did.  And I do mean we...the mister lapped it up!  He loves beef stew, but the usual kind, meat-potatoes-carrots in  gravy...this stew is very different from the usual...along with bacon and beef this also has fennel, fresh basil, fresh rosemary, kalamata olives, and an orange...very different!  Flavors that you wouldn't think would go together, all braised together in a lovely bath of red wine and broth (although you could use all wine or all broth).  It also has the traditional potatoes and carrots - it's  cave-man proof! 

Zee chef suggests ladling all of that deliciousness over a bowl of creamy garlic grits.  I used instant grits and cooked them in milk instead of water (QFC carries them) so they would be extra creamy.  You could also serve this over rice or pasta if you don't like grits.  Give this one a try...a one pot wonder that is a real crowd pleaser!

French Beef Stew - Adapted from Daniel Boulud via Live with Kelly and Michael

(I adapted Chef Boulud's recipe quite a bit, for starters, he used lamb (Provencal Lamb Daube) and he marinated it over-night. Which is a great idea if you're serving this to company, you can assemble it the day before and just pop it into the oven 3 hours before you want to eat - the house will smell heavenly when your guests arrive.  If you'd like to see his recipe, click here.)

4 lbs. beef, cut into 1-inch cubes (use whatever beef cut you like, sirloin, rib-eye, chuck roast, stew meat, etc. or you could use lamb)

6 slices bacon, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 large head of fennel, thinly sliced

1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes

1 small orange, peel on, cut into thin slices

4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

8 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch or so pieces

4 small carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 onion, cut into thin slices

3 celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup small olives, pitted (I used kalamata but you could use a mixture or your favorite green olives)

2 cups red wine (or substitute additional beef stock)

1 container (32 oz.) beef stock (or you can use more red wine, which zee chef used)

2 teaspoons fennel seed

2 teaspoons black peppercorns

1 small cinnamon stick

3 sprigs fresh basil, 2 springs fresh rosemary, 2 sprigs fresh thyme - all three tied together with butcher's twine so they can be removed easily

1 large bay leaf

In a large Dutch oven layer one third of the beef and bacon and top with one third of the vegetables.  Repeat, creating three layers of meat and vegetables, finishing with vegetables.  Add wine and broth, followed by the fennel, peppercorns, cinnamon stick and the fresh herbs and bay leaf.  (At this point you can cover and refrigerate overnight if you want and then 3 hours before dinner you can pop into the oven - no fuss, no mess.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place a rack in the center.  Transfer the Dutch oven to a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 275 and bake for another 2 1/2 hours.  Remove from the oven to rest at least 15 minutes before serving.  Remove fresh herb bundle and cinnamon stick.   Ladle over garlic grits (recipe below) into bowls.  Serves 8.

 

 Garlic Grits - Pots and Pins

2 cloves of garlic, minced

3 cups milk

3 cups water

1 1/2 cups instant grits

3 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the milk and water just to the boil.  Whisk in the grits, stirring constantly, until well combined.  Stir in the butter, salt and pepper, cover and reduce heat to low.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until grits have thickened.  Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes.  Taste for seasoning and add more salt and/or pepper if desired.  Serve with French Beef Stew, makes 8 servings.

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In my last post I told you about me breaking a treasured cake plate...I was really so sad about it, much more sad than I should have been but then I have issues.  This morning, as I was trudging back up the hill from my walk, a good friend was sitting in her car in my driveway waiting for me - she had a big box for me!  As we walked into the house I remembered she had already given me a Christmas gift and it wasn't my birthday so I was perplexed, until I read her card..."There are certain rules in life...particularly in the kitchen AND if you break a cake plate it MUST be replaced!!!" 

Who knew?!?!

 

 

There is nothing so sad as an empty cake plate, feel free to quote me, so I'm off to bake a cake!  A huge THANK YOU to my very generous (and wise) friend Kareena!!

Provencal Tomatoes...

When we were in the South of France...love how that sounds...we would have lunch each day at some little sidewalk bistro...and maybe because the Mediterranean Sea was lapping at the shore or the palm trees were swaying in the breeze or the promise of macarons for dessert were before us...maybe that's why everything we ate tasted so good...delicious...Heavenly.  It's nothing short of miraculous that we both lost weight in France - even though we ate our weight in food every day, we walked for hours at a time...from one bistro to another.

Pictured above is the harbor of Marseille...it's a very old city (founded in 2600) and it was in the middle of a face-lift while we were there - jack-hammering and bull-dozing every where we went...but behind all the scaffolding and piles of debris (seriously, the entire city was a construction zone!) we managed to find fabulous food...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taking a picture of the main part of our meals was easy - but I often overlooked the side dishes - and Provencal Tomatoes are a side dish - so I didn't get a photo of any authentic Provencal Tomatoes...but lucky for me (and you) they are very easy to make ...all you need are some really nice tomatoes...

This time of year it's not easy to find great tasting tomatoes...which is why Provencal Tomatoes are so good - a bland, tasteless tomato turns into something quite fabulous with just a little help.

 

 

 

And it turns out that Provencal Tomatoes look fabulous on a Christmas buffet because they're red and green...Ho-Ho-Ho!  But they'd be great for a New Year's buffet, too...or any other buffet...I like the word buffet.  And I like buffets.  Duh.

(My apologies for not knowing how to type Provencal with that little dohickey under the c - I do what I can with what I've got!)

Provencal Tomatoes - Adapted From Les Meilleures Recettes de Provence by Christian Etienne

15 medium to large tomatoes, washed and dried

1 cup chopped fresh parsley, firmly packed, divided

10 cloves of garlic, minced

4 cups fresh bread crumbs

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 cup Parmesan cheese, divided

Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut tops off tomatoes and make a very small slice on the bottom, just to tomatoes will sit straight.  Very carefully, scoop out the insides of the tomatoes, leaving about 1/4-inch all around.  Turn tomatoes upside down on paper-toweling to dry for 15 minutes.

In a large bowl combine 3/4 cup parsley with garlic, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and 3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.  Mix well.  Stuff tomatoes with bread crumb mixture, stuffing firmly.  Place each tomato onto a baking dish or in a cupcake tin, which works great.  Top each tomato with a sprinking of the remaining parsley and a sprinkling of the remaining Parmesan cheese.  Drizzle olive oil over the tops of each tomato.  Bake at 350 for 10 to 15 minutes or until the tomatoes have softened a bit and the tops of the tomatoes are lightly browned.  Serve as a side dish.  Serves 15, one each.

Think of these as a bite of Provence...they are colorful, delicious and a nice addition to any meal.

Fig Galette with Frangipane...

It's been so beautiful in the Northwest the last few days - and we have another week of sun to look forward to!  THIS is why people live here...for the two weeks a year where it's sunny and nice...at least, that's what I tell myself during the monsoons!  So a while back I gathered up some unsuspecting kids and took them blueberry picking...it was a stellar day at the blueberry patch and my little friends thought picking berries was SO much fun!

 

 

 

 

They tried to pull a fast one though...every few minutes one of them would tell me they had spilled their berries on the ground and they would come and ask me if they could have some of MY berries!  I would quickly shoo them away - I love 'em but not enough to share my berries!  Then I discovered they had picked their little fingers to the bone and had almost a FULL bucket!  Between the 5 of us we picked about 15 pounds of blues!

 

 

This was our backdrop - hard to not have fun picking berries with scenery like that!  Once we got back home I sorted through my berries and put about 3/4's of them into freezer bags to use in my Morning Mocktail during the winter...and with the rest I decided to make a blueberry pie...which got eaten before any pics could be taken and a Blueberry Galette...again, scarfed up before the camera even had a chance to blink green!  We were about blueberried out at this point...but I had some pastry dough to use up and remembered the fresh figs that are now in available at Whole Paycheck Foods .  A Fresh Fig Galette with Frangipane...that intoxicating almond paste that can make one a Frangipane Junkie in two bites!

 

 

 

 

Frangipane is made from toasted almonds, butter, sugar and an egg - it's processed until smooth and then it's ready to be used.  Not only it is great with figs, but with peaches it's sensational!  Peaches and almonds just go together, do they not?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this galette, I used mission figs and my new favorite pastry recipe, click here.  When the pastry is ready to roll out, it's like a color by number painting...you spread on the frangipane, top with slices of figs (or peaches!) and then fold the top up and over.  One, two three and just like that you've made one of the best tasting summer desserts - and if you serve it with ice cream, well, you'll enter another dimension of happiness.  Feel free to quote me.

 

 

(Update:  I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later...me repeating a recipe!!  But this one is worth repeating!  Last year, while in Italy, we had fig tarts almost everywhere we went...and over the course of the last year I have made many fig tarts...so when I saw fresh figs I couldn't wait to make another tart...forgetting I had already given you the best Rustic Fig Tart recipe EVER!  But THIS recipe is slightly different, because of the new pastry recipe...actually, to know which one is better I guess I'll have to make the old one and the new one and compare them side by side...dang it...making more tarts, having to eat them, life is hard!)

Fig Galette With Frangipane - Pots and Pins

For Frangipane:

1/2 cup whole almonds

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1 large egg

1 batch of pastry dough, use this recipe here (you can use purchased refrigerated pastry dough but it will definitely not be as flaky and light...but whatever makes you toe tap!

10 large figs or 15 small ones, I used mission figs, they are sweeter, quartered and peels left on

1 egg for an eggwash

2 tablespoons of turbinado sugar or granulated sugar for sprinkling, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the almonds evenly on a baking sheet and place them in the oven.  Roast them for about 10 minutes, or until slightly toasted and fragrant.  Transfer to a plate and let cool to room temperature.

Put the cooled almonds and the sugar into a food processor and process until fine.  Add the butter and the egg and pulse until well-combined.  If you don’t want to use it right away, divide the frangipane into four equal parts, wrap each tightly in plastic.  They will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, and up to a month in the freezer.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Roll out your pastry dough to about 10-inch diameter – more or less won’t harm anything.  Spread about 1/4 of the quantity of frangipane on the dough, leaving about 2-inches around the outer edge of the dough.  Arrange the figs, pointy end up - in concentric circles to cover the frangipane.  Fold the edges up and over, pinching a little to make sure they stick.  Brush with beaten egg over top of pastry and sprinkle entire galette with turbinado sugar.  Bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until the pastry edges are golden brown.  (Chez Pim suggests using a microplane to add some lemon zest over the top of galette after it comes out of the oven, I did not do this, but only because I forgot!)  Serves 6.

This galette barely made it to a plate - it kept getting cut into until it was "pieced" to death!  So dang good...I'm giving this 5 Dangs on the ol' meter for sure!  And since one galette is never enough, and since I had ripe peaches begging to be used...

 

 

Peach Tartelettes...

My dear friend Venna just turned 87...and if you think that's old you should see her!  She is the picture of health - takes not ONE drug, has NO aches or pains, does all of her own yard work/house work and walks every morning up and down hills...I swear she's bionic!  I can barely keep up with her and I'm half her age...or thereabouts...I'm still in the "lying about age" phase but Venna proudly announces her age because no one can believe she is 87!

 

 

 

When you're 87 you deserve some recognition, or a badge or a medal...but in lieu of those things, I invited a few of Venna's neighbors to come celebrate her birthday over lunch - and I wanted something special for dessert, but not too sugary or frosted because Venna is not big on sugar...she's more of a Wheat-grass kind of gal!  After reading about these Peach Tartelettes here, I was inspired to create my own much simpler version and I am certain they are equally as tasty! 

With a dollop of sweet, almond-flavored whipped cream on top, these Peach Tartelettes could hold their own along side ANY dessert.  Don't wait for "peach season," you need to make these now and all summer long, they are definitely 5-dangers, as in they are dang, dang, dang, dang, dang good!

Peach Tartelettes - Pots and Pins

10 (5-inch round) tart pans with removeable bottoms

2 packages Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts rolls, (you will use 3 of the 4 rolls)

13 fresh, ripe peaches, peeled, seeded and sliced thinly (you could also use nectarines or a combination of both)

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup toasted, chopped almonds

2 teaspoons almond extract, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup powdered sugar (less or more depending on how sweet your like your cream)

Put sliced peaches into a large bowl; sprinkle with sugar and stir in 1 teaspoon of almond extract.  Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minute while you make the crusts.  (Note:  I allowed my peaches to sit overnight, in the refrigerator, because they were not quite ripe.  If you are using really tasty, ripe peaches/nectarines, you can just let them sit while you make and bake the crusts.  Allowing them to sit overnight in a bit of sugar makes their natural juices come out, so they sweeten up and it does not make them soggy, so no worries there!)

Make tartelette crusts:  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Unroll refrigerated pie crusts.  Using a 7-inch cookie-cutter (or an upside down bowl) cut out 10 circles of dough, rerolling dough as necessary.  Set circle of dough over tart pan, press around bottom and up sides firmly, poke holes with a fork around bottom, about 4 times.  Repeat with remaining tart pans. 

Bake crusts in 450 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned around top edges.  If crusts puff up on bottom, prick gently with a fork to deflate.  Remove crusts from oven and set on a rack to cool completely. 

Whip cream in the bowl of a mixer until soft peaks form.  Add in powdered sugar, the remaining teaspoon of almond extract and the vanilla extract.  Keep in refrigerator until serving time.

To assemble tartelettes:  Drain juice from peaches or remove peaches with a slotted spoon and reserve the juice for another use.  (You could boil the juice down to a syrup and then pour it over the tartelettes!)  When tart crusts are cooled, place peaches around edges of crust, in a circular pattern, staring with the outside and working in.  Sprinkle chopped almonds on top, then top with a dollop of whipped cream.  Makes 10 tarteletes.

You could change this up in a lot of ways - adding the almonds to the crust so they are baked in would be lovely.  This could also be made as one large tart, if you didn't have 10 shiny new tartelette pans lying about!

Eclairs...

After taking care of my domestic chores, the mister and I set out Saturday for a bit of shopping.  I forced him to take me to one of my favorite antique shops...vintage Christmas decorations were on my list.  We're strolling through the shop and I have my reading glasses on to see the prices - why they are all so small is a mystery to me!  Between looking down through the readers and over the tops of them to see things my vision was a bit blurred...that's my excuse...blurry vision.  So when I bumped into the mister, I just did what ANY spouse would have done, I reached down and pinched his behind - squeezed it really...twice...only IT WAS NOT THE MISTER!!  Horror of all horrors!!!  It was some old man, who just stood there and let me squeeze him!!  When I realized what I was doing - TWO squeezes later - the old man looked at me and said, "Well hi there, happy to meet you!"  Of course I could do nothing but blather about how sorry I was, while his wife looked on, laughing!  The old man put his arm around me and said, "It's okay, want to give it another go?"

  Unfortunately this is NOT the guy who's behind I pinched...pinching Santa Claus is perfectly acceptable, especially if you're on his GOOD LIST...which I fear I might not be if I'm labeled a geriatricophile...Now speaking of Santa, this year I will be leaving eclairs for him and not cookies...and I suggest you do the same, especially if you want him to leave you something you've always wanted! 

I made 50 eclairs for an friend's wedding open house - actually I made 75 but somewhere along the way 25 got eaten, or dropped and then eaten!  They were small, three-biters, so it's not like I gained FIVE pounds - or thereabouts!

 

 

 

 

Eclairs are easier to make than you might think...the cream puff pastry recipe whips up quickly in the food processor - scooped into a plastic Zip-lock style bag it pipes nicely onto a baking sheet.  They puff up as they're baked...making them a cinch to fill.  But they do take time...time to bake, dry and cool - they're not something you can rush through so allow plenty of time - it's SOOOO worth it!

The cream filling is a snap to make, too...and once cooled (about 2 hours) and scooped into another Zip-lock bag, filling these little babies is the most fun you can have in the kitchen!  Then there's the chocolate glaze...ooo-la-la-sis-boom-bah...that's French for Yeah BABY!

Eclairs - Adapted From Baking Illustrated

Make the Pastry Cream recipe first so it can be cooling while you make and bake the puff pastry.  Recipe for the Pastry Cream is below.  Make the chocolate glaze last, recipe below.

Cream Puff Pastry:

2 large eggs plus 1 large egg white

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces

2 tablespoons whole milk

6 tablespoons water

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

Beat the eggs and egg white in a measuring cup or small bowl; you should have 1/2 cup (discard the excess).  Set aside.

Bring the butter, milk, water, sugar, and salt to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring once or twice.  When the mixture reaches a full boil (the butter should be fully melted), immediately remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until combined and the mixture clears the sides of the pan.  Return the saucepan to low heat and cook, stirring constantly, using a smearing motion, until the mixture is slightly shiny, looks like wet sand, and tiny beads of fat appear on the bottom of the saucepan, about 3 minutes. 

Immediately transfer the mixture to a food processor and process with the feed tube open for 10 seconds to cool slightly.  With the machine running, gradually add the eggs in a steady stream.  When all the eggs have been added, scrape down the sides of the bowl, then process for 30 seconds until a smooth, thick, sticky paste forms. 

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper; set aside.

Fill a large Zip-lock style bag or a pastry bag with the paste.  Push the down, twist bag so top is sealed and snip off the corner of the bag.  Pipe the paste into 3-inch by 1-inch strips, spaced about 1-inch apart, onto the baking sheet. 

Bake 15 minutes at 375 degrees or until golden brown and fairly firm.  (Eclairs should NOT be soft and squishy.)  Remove the baking sheet from the oven and with a paring knife, cut a small slit into the top of each eclair to release steam; return the eclairs to the oven, turn off the oven, and prop the oven door open with the handle of a wooden spoon.  Dry the eclairs in the turned-off-oven until the centers are just moist (not wet) and the eclairs are crisp, about 30 minutes.  Transfer the eclairs to a wire rack to cool. 

Pastry Cream:

2 cups half-n-half

1/2 cup sugar

pinch salt

5 large egg yolks

3 tablespoons cornstarch

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Heat the half-n-half, 6 tablespoons of the sugar, and the salt in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat until simmering, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.  Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined.  Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar 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-n-half mixture reaches a full simmer, gradually whisk a little bit of the simmering half-n-half into the yolk mixture to temper, gradually adding a bit more, about 1/2 cup total.  Pour the yolk mixture into the saucepan, 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 skin from forming and refrigerate until cold and set, at least 2 hours.

Chocolate Glaze: 

3 tablespoons half-n-half

2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup powdered sugar

Place the half-n-half and chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl, cover with a paper towel and microwave for 20 seconds at a time, until the mixture just begins to steam.  Whisk together thoroughly, add the powdered sugar, and whisk until completely smooth.

To Assemble Eclairs:

You can either cut each eclair in half and fill, then replace the top or you can scoop the filling into a plastic Zip-lock style bag or a pastry bag, fitted with a metal tip, and squeeze the pastry cream into the eclair through the slit you made earlier.  I used the plastic bag method and it worked great - you'll know when the eclair is full of cream as it will begin to come out the top - just scoop off any extra with a spoon (try not to eat it!)  Once the eclairs are filled, make the chocolate glaze and dip the tops of the eclairs into the glaze, shaking off any excess and transfer to a wire rack to set.  Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving time.  Makes about one dozen 3x1-inch eclairs.

 

 

Trying to make perfect-looking eclairs was the only tricky part...but what they lacked in appearance they more than made up for in taste! 

I forgot to take pictures while I was filling and dipping them - and later at the open house I remembered in time to snap a pic of some on the silver tray...pictured at left are two "rejects" that didn't make it to the party...happily so!

 

Pear and Chocolate Cake Tart - Tarte-Gateau Poire Chocolat...

When we originally planned our European vacation it was just that - a European trip, with stops in France, Spain and Italy...then the mister, always willing to throw a monkey wrench into the mix, planned a meeting that he HAS to be back in the states for, cutting our trip short and doing away with the France and Spain portion...but I'm not complaining...not a bit, because while I was planning and preparing to go to France, I was also making and eating French food - and this cake/tart was one of the dishes I made.  It made me want to dust off my beret and tie a scarf around my neck!  I found the recipe in Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris - one great travel/recipe book - so even if you don't make it to France, if you have this book you can eat like you did!

 

 

 

This ranks in my top five desserts - it's THAT good!  And it was a bit of a surprise to me at just how good it was - oh sure, I expected the French pastry crust to be flakey and light but I didn't expect the rich, fudgy-chocolate filling that seemed like it couldn't decide if it was supposed to be a cake or a pudding!  And then there's the pears - sweet surprises that float on top of the cake, making it equally as delicious to look at as it is to eat.

(The mister and I are in Sorrento today, taking a cooking class - yes, BOTH of us!  I hope he isn't allowed to use a cleaver, no telling what might happen!)

Pear and Chocolate Cake-Tart - Adapted From Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris

For the Pate Brisee - the Crust:

1 large egg yolk (save the white for the filling below)

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon ice-cold water

pinch of fine sea salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted, plus extra for sprinkling

8 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, diced, plus a pat for greasing

For the Pears:

2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons dark rum or rum extract or vanilla extract

2 pears, ripe but still firm

For the Chocolate Filling:

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of fine sea salt

4 1/2 oz. good-quality bittersweet chocolate

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg white (saved from the crust recipe)

Prepare the crust.  In a small bowl, beat together the egg yolk, water, salt, and sugar, and set aside.  Combine the flour and butter in the bowl of a food processor, and process at low speed for 10 seconds, until the mixture forms coarse crumbs.  Pour in the egg yolk mixture all at once and process for a few more seconds, just until the dough comes together.  If it is too dry, add a little more ice-cold water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it reaches the right consistency.  Turn out on a lightly floured work surface and gather into a ball without kneading.  Flatten the ball slightly, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 20 minutes, or up to a day (if you refrigerate for more than an hour, let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before using.)

While the dough chills, poach the pears.  Combine 1 cup water, the sugar and the rum in a medium saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Peel and core the pears.  Cut each of them lengthwise into sixths, in order to get twelve pieces total.  Add the pears to the saucepan, bring back to a simmer, and cook for 4 minutes, until tender and slightly translucent.  Lift the pears from the syrup cautiously with a slotted spoon and set aside in a colander to drain.

Remove dough from the refrigerator.  Grease an 11 to 12-inch tart pan with a pat of butter.  Working on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out into a 13 to 14-inch circle and line the pan with it, trimming off the excess dough.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes (to prevent dough from shrinking as it bakes).  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and put the tart pan in the oven for 10 minutes.

While the crust is baking, prepare the chocolate filling.  Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl, and set aside.  Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler, or in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring regularly to combine.  Transfer to a medium bowl, add the sugar, and stir with a wooden spoon.  Add the egg and egg white, stirring well between each addition.  Add the flour mixture and stir again until just combined.

Remove the pan from the oven, but leave the heat on.  Pour the chocolate filling into the tart shell and even out the surface with a spatula.  Arrange the pear pieces over the filling in a sun-ray pattern, the small ends pointing toward the center of the tart.  Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the filling is just set at the center - it will continue to cook as it cools - and the crust is golden.  Transfer to a rack and let cool completely before serving, on it's own, or with a scoop of whipped cream.  Serves 12.

 

 

 This is worth the time and effort - I've had my share of chocolate desserts - and this one is at the top of that list - I'm ringing the Dang Meter a solid FIVE times on this one!

French Lemon Cream Tart...

The other night, after a few rousing hours with his good friend Jack, the mister came home in jolly form, scarfed up his dinner and retired to the boudior in record time to watch his nightly fill of re-runs.  I was much too busy to join him, feverishly working to finish up a few projects.  He was not happy that I was not there to watch him wield the remote with one hand and change channels at 6-second intervals, which is probably why he was asleep when I finally went to bed.  I tried not to wake him up, but as I crawled into bed, he mumbled, "I'm going to phase you out."  WHAT?!?  Risking bodily harm, I poked the bear, and demanded that he say it again...just in case I heard wrong...he only laughed, said he didn't remember what he said and then rolled over...and he laughed again.  HE'S GOING TO PHASE ME OUT!!!  That's what he said - no doubt about it.  So now you know, in case I go missing and there isn't a post for a very long time...you know who to point the finger at.  I'm going to phase you out...don't you think that's something a Soprano would say? 

   

First you make the crust - couldn't be easier!  Rolled between two sheets of plastic wrap, then pushed into place with fingers into tarts shells and THEN into the freezer for 30 minutes.  (Freezing will prevent the crusts from shrinking so weights are not needed.)  The crust will have almost a shortbread-like texture - it's very buttery and delicious.  I learned a little trick from Dorie, she suggests using all but a little bit of dough to make the crust - she saves the extra dough so if the crust cracks while in the freezer she can "repair" it...clever, no?  I doubled this recipe - needed tarts for some tarts I know - but one recipe of pastry dough is enough for a 9-inch tart.  

Making the lemon cream filling is easy, too...but plan on starting this recipe the day BEFORE you want to serve it, as it needs at least 4 hours of refrigeration but overnight is best.  You can make the lemon cream up to 4 days ahead of time (and even make and freeze it for up to 2 months, thawing in the refrigerator overnight) so this is a very versatile recipe and the perfect make-ahead dish for company.

    

Dorie Greenspan, truly a savant when it comes to baking, calls this, "The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart" and I'm certainly not going to argue with Dorie!  Wouldn't think of it because it IS extraordinary in every way...creamy smooth, lemony tart, and "buttah-fied" beyond belief.  This is not your average lemon curd filling - where butter is melted into the ingredients on the stove top...oh no...just when you think the curd has reached perfection, you remove it from the heat to a blender and THEN you add two-and-a-half-plus sticks of butter!   I read and reread the recipe thinking that amount of butter must be a typo but I did as instructed, expecting to cross the "too much butter line," which is silly as no such line exists, and to my amazement, the butter, instead of melting, emulsified and turned the already perfect lemon curd into the most velvety and light lemon cream.  Five dangs.  Without a doubt.  Five.  It's dang, dang, dang, dang, dang good...If you like lemon desserts, this one's for you...If you're a lemon freak, you'll get your freak on for sure!

French Lemon Cream Tart - Adapted Slightly From Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Pastry - Tart Dough:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick plus 1 tablespoons very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg yolk

Put flour, powdered sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine.  Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in - pieces should be about the size of small peas.  Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition.  When the egg is in, process in long pulses, about 10 seconds each, until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds.  Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.  Press the dough into a buttered 9-inch tart pan using your fingers or you can roll the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap and then set into pan.  (The dough is very sticky so rolling it out on the counter will not work.)  Save a small piece of dough, as mentioned above, to use to repair any cracks from freezing.  Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.

Remove crust from freezer and preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Adjust rack to center of the oven.  Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust.  Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes.  Carefully remove the foil.  If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon.  Bake for another 8 minutes or so, or until it is firm and golden brown.  Remove and cool to room temperature before filling.

Lemon Cream Filling:

1 cup sugar

grated zest of 3 lemons

4 large eggs

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 4 to 5 lemons)

2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces, at room temperature

Have an instant read thermometer on hand, a strainer and a blender.  Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in the bottom of a double boiler.

Put the sugar and zest in the top of the double boiler and before placing on the heat, rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic.  Whisk in the eggs, followed by the lemon juice.  Set on top of the simmering water and start stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch.  Cook the lemon cream until it reaches 180 degrees.  As you whisk - constantly - to keep the eggs from scrambling - you'll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as it gets closer to 180 degrees, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks.  The tracks mean the cream is almost ready.  Don't stop whisking or checking the temperature, and have patience, depending on how much heat you're giving the cream, getting to temp can take as long as 10 minutes.  As soon as it reaches 180 degrees, remove the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of the blender; discard the zest.  Let the cream stand, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140 degrees, about 10 minutes.  Turn the blender to high and, with the machine going, add the butter about 5 pieces at a time.  Scrape down the sides of the container as needed as you incorporate the butter.  Once the butter is in, keep the machine going - to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to blend the cream for another 3 minutes.  If your machine protests and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats. 

Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and refrigerate for at least 4 hour or overnight.  When ready to assemble the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell.  Serve the tart, or refrigerate until needed.  Serves 8.

  

This tart needs nothing - it absolutely can stand on it's own - but if you just can't help yourself, a little bit of whipped cream and a few fresh raspberries will lead you to your happy place...and if you REALLY can't help yourself, top this with a bit of meringue...need I say more? 

Dijon Crusted Pork Tenderloin...

Oh the whining and wailing and gnashing of teeth!  Day 5 of the mister's punishment...eating healthy without dessert...and let me tell you, it's baaaaaad...you'd think he was ordered to have an enema while getting root canal surgery!  Dessert withdrawal is quite interesting...it's caused the mister to stand in front of the open refrigerator for 15 minutes at a time...searching for an ort of something sweet.  It's caused short outbursts of anger...like when I asked him if he wanted to go see a movie, he responded with, "Well maybe if I had a piece of PIE I'd take you to a movie!"  And it allowed me to catch the mister red-handed...or rather, marshmallow-mouthed, when I sneaked up behind him as he was stuffing mini-marshmallows as fast as he could into his pie-hole.  It was a sweet moment of victory for me.

 

Pork tenderloin is such an easy thing to make...usually I grill it, but this time I decided to bake it, which allowed me time to prepare the mister a nice fresh artichoke (which was drizzled with only a teaspoon of butter and a little salt and pepper...no extra butter or mayo to dip the leaves in...sad was him!) and to cook up a pan of brown rice and make a big, fresh green salad.  He should have been too full to eat another thing but as he says, "Eating 'green' is like eating Chinese, and hour later and I'm hungry."  Actually, in his case, an hour after eating ANYTHING and he's hungry...he probably has worms. 

 

Rubbed with a Dijon mixture and rolled in fresh whole wheat bread crumbs, this pork tenderloin is, in a word, delicious.  The distinct mustard flavor goes so well with the pork, just enough of a "bite" to make it interesting, yet not enough that it's overpowering.  And because I used poultry seasoning, the crust will remind you of Thanksgiving stuffing as it melts in your mouth.  This gets 4 dangs on the ol' meter - it's dang, dang, dang, dang good.

Dijon Crusted Pork Tenderloin - Me

1 pork tenderloin (usually two come in a package, I just prepared one and put the other in the freezer for another meal.  This recipe makes enough for only one tenderloin.)

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup fresh whole wheat bread crumbs

vegetable spray for coating baking dish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a small bowl combine the mustard, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper and garlic and mix well with a spoon.  Rinse and dry the tenderloin with paper toweling.  Smear the mustard mixture over the tenderloin, coating well.  Spread the bread crumbs onto a plate; roll the coated tenderloin in the bread crumbs.  Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and place the tenderloin in the dish.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the pork registers 160 to 165 degrees on a meat thermometer (which is medium).  Cut into 1/2-inch slices.  Serves 4.