CCC: Butterscotch cupcakes

I was excited when this month's Cooking Club Challenge was chosen to be Riccardo's Butterscotch cupcakes.  I was excited to have the opportunity to make real butterscotch from scratch, something I may not have tackled otherwise.  While I love chocolate cake and icing, it's something I naturally gravitate towards while baking, so this recipe gave me the chance to try something completely new.  Plus after the rich German Chocolate Cake I made last week, as much as I wasn't hankering for cupcakes, there was something about these little bites that I was excited to make.

CCC: Italian Stracciatella

It's been almost two years since I last participated in a FoodNetwork.ca Cooking Club Challenge.  I figured with the New Year I'd start to get into it again, I love the community over at FoodNetwork.ca, they've given me pic of the week twice in the last few months and I felt that taking part in the challenge was another way to participate and support it.  It didn't hurt that January's recipe was a delicious sounding Italian soup, I mean we all know how much I love Italian food.  Stracciatella comes from the Italian word stracciato which means "torn apart."  The name references the eggs, which have been torn apart in the soup.  Nadia G also had us add some mini meatballs and tortellini to the soup.

As it's often difficult for me to follow a recipe exactly below is how I did it.  Nadia recommended making her liquid gold, but I had some of my own personal chicken stock made so I went with that.  For my standard chicken stock I use the carcass from a 5 lb roaster, two celery stalks, two onions, two carrots, a tsp whole black peppercorns, 3 whole cloves, 3 sprigs of parsley, 2 bay leaves.  I cover the whole thing with water bring to a boil then cover to simmer for about 5 hours.  Strain the stock a few times and then reduce down to 3/4 to 2/3.  You can either freeze it in 1 cup measures or in ice cub trays or use immediately.  Those are the veggies I generally have on hand but I'll also throw in some fennel or parsnips if I have them when I make stock.

YWPWT - Orange Chocolate Walnut Tartlette

This month's theme is brought to us by the ever fabulous Jacque at Daisy Lane Cakes:

Nuts about Pie!!

Let’s get creative with nature’s protein and nutrient powerhouse, the humble nut. Peanuts, cashews, almonds, pecans, pistachios… whatever you chose, let’s use nuts as a prominent feature in next month’s pie. Whether it’s a nut-based shell that perfectly complements the filling, or a nut-studded filling, I can’t wait to see what all you creative bakers come up with.

Don’t forget about coconut, which is a nut too, right?

And for those with nut allergies, feel free to use substitutions… or skip the nuts and get artistic with peanut shaped crust… or whatever. Be creative! Whatever you do, have fun and we’ll see you next month!


Now I like nuts, but I have to be honest I wasn't that jazzed about making a nutty pie. I love peanut butter but I already made a peanut buttery pie for my Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous Pie. Thus I was faced with a dilemma, what to do, what kinda of pie would be tasty and satisfying and would use up some ingredients I already had on hand. In looking in my cupboard I found a huge bag of walnut halves making my choice if what nut to use easy. I decided on a walnut crust and since I love chocolate and walnuts, it turned into a chocolate & walnut crust that I made with walnuts, cocoa powder, butter and an egg. I also found some lovely organic Valencia oranges from a Mama Earth box that were on the verge of turning and though Chocolate and Orange are a classic combo so I made them into a delicious orange curd, following this recipe for lime curd. To make it even more rich, like that was necessary!?! I folded the orange curd with a mascarpone whipped cream mixture. It truly was a dish I just threw together and didn't pay much attention to recipe or amounts, which is why I am not writing it up here.


The folks at the office gobbled up three 4" tarts and I kept one at home for the boy and I. I ate my half while he was still at work was really happy with the flavors, it could use a little more orange I thought but it was a solid start. The boy was not a fan, he admitted to not liking chocolate and orange together and felt the crust was too chocolaty (as if that's even possible) and the custard needed more orange. Well, you can't please them all, but I liked what I came up with considering I thought about bailing this month. Head on over to You Want Pies With That after August 7th to check out what the other talented ladies created. Enjoy!

T&C: Buffalo Chicken Pizza

For this month's Taste & Create I was paired up with Rachelle at Mommy, I'm Hungry. Not only is she my T&C partner, but she also adopted my bloggie friend Tania over at Love Big Bake Often. Please check out both of their blogs for delicious treats.

Moving on to the food...last weekend my best friend and college roommate flew up to Toronto from Boston for a weekend filled with baseball, beer and bonding. We have a full weekend with a fab dinner on Friday night, baseball game and bar crawl on Saturday and a baby shower on Sunday. Knowing we'd be wiped by Sunday night I had planned ahead to cook dinner on Sunday night so we could relax on the patio with some wine. I found just the perfect thing to make on Rachelle's blog in her Buffalo Chicken Pizza. We lived on Archie Moore's Buffalo wings in college and since the boy was going to eating with us too, he's a fan of all things Buffalo Chicken. For all the things I've made from scratch I couldn't believe I had never made my own pizza dough and this would give me the perfect opportunity to try. I decided to do grilled pizzas, lucky for me Rachelle had a delicious sounding Buffalo Style Chicken Pizza recipe on her blog. I tweaked the crust to make it whole wheat and even though I'm one for using my own tomato sauce for everything, I decided to try her Pizza Sauce as is.


Grilled Buffalo Chicken Pizza
adapted from Mommy, I'm Hungry

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - shredded
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (2 ounce) bottle hot sauce (I used 3 TBL)3/4 cup blue cheese dressing
1/2 cup pizza sauce (see recipe below)
1 prepared pizza crust (see recipe below)
6 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
6 oz shredded smoked cheddar cheese

1. Preheat grill to medium low. In a medium bowl combine the shredded chicken, melted butter and hot sauce. Mix well. Mix together pizza sauce and blue cheese dressing.
2. Oil heated grill and place one of the pizza dough rounds on it. Let grill until light grill marks begin to appear and the bottom side is cooked, approx 5-10 minutes.
3. Flip crust and top with Blue cheese pizza sauce mixture. Shredded chicken & hot sauce and equal amounts of the cheeses. Let cook until bottom is cooked through and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
4. Remove to a cutting board and let cool for 5 minutes before cutting.
5. Repeat with other dough round and the rest of the ingredients.

Pizza Dough
adapted from Mommy, I'm Hungry

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 Tbsp honey
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 cup unbleached all purpose + 1/2 cup more for kneading
1 1/4 cup organic Red Fife whole wheat +1/2 cup more for kneading

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and honey in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.
Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 1 1/4 cup all purpose and 1 1/4 cup Red Fife.
Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour.
Divide dough in 2 even pieces. Punch down the dough, and form each into a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.

Pizza Sauce
adapted from Mommy, I'm Hungry

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
6 fluid ounces warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons honey
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
salt to taste

1. In a small bowl, combine tomato paste, water, Parmesan cheese, garlic, honey, onion powder, oregano, marjoram, basil, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and salt.
2. Mix together, breaking up any clumps of cheese.
3. Sauce should sit for 30 minutes to blend flavors; spread over pizza dough and prepare pizza as desired.


This was a perfect summer night dinner, especially on a hot summer night since very little was cooked inside, keeping my little hot box of a kitchen cool. I roasted my chicken breasts before shredding, but you could easily use leftover chicken or grille it. The pizza sauce needs no cooking and is delicious! Aside from all the ease in putting this together, it was so very tasty and enjoyed by the boy and the college roomie, both very tough critics when it comes to all things Buffalo Style. Thanks Rachelle for such a tasty recipe! Don't forget to check out the other Taste & Create entries here. Enjoy!

Daring Cooks: Cod, traditional flavors powdered

Last month I joined the group Daring Cooks, one of the groups from the Daring Kitchen which also includes the Daring Bakers. I joined because many of my favorite bloggers also cook and bake along and because I was looking to challenge my ways of cooking a bit more with harder recipes and hopefully new techniques. Well I got more than I bargained for with this first challenge! For my first Daring Cooks challenge, our host Sketchy chose a recipe from Grant Achatz Alinea cookbook. Now for those of you that don't know who Grant Achatz is he is a chef that specializes in molecular gastronomy. Now what is molecular gastronomy? I personally didn't know much about it until a few years ago, so I went to good ole wikipedia for a definition:

Molecular gastronomy is a scientific discipline involving the study of physical and chemical processes that occur in cooking.^[3] It pertains to the mechanisms behind the transformation of ingredients in cooking and the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in general (from a scientific point of view).

On of the more well-known techniques used in molecular gastronomy is spherefication, where something like olive juice is taken and formed into olive like spheres that burst when placed in your mouth. I know these olives are on the menu at the Bazaar at the SLS Hotel in LA, a place I've been wanting to visit on my next trip home.

On to the recipe, my thoughts on making and eating will follow.


Skate, Traditional Flavors Powdered - I used cod as it was a substitution allowed if you could not find skate
from Grant Achatz Alinea Cookbook

• 4 skate wings
• * Beurre monte
• * 300g fresh green beans
• sea salt/kosher salt
• 1 banana
• 454g butter - 4 sticks
• 300g lemons
• 5g citric acid/vitamin c tablet
• 150g cilantro
• 150g parsley
• 100g dried banana chips
• 300g spray dried cream powder (or powdered milk)
• 100g cup minced red onion
• 200g capers (brined, not oil)

* For green beans, slice each beans into very thin rounds (2 mm)
* Beurre Monte - 454g butter (4 sticks, 1 pound) cubed and cold, 60g water. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil, remove from heat and whisk in the butter 1 cube at a time. This should from an emulsion. Keep this heated, but under 195 degrees. The emulsion will not break - this is your poaching liquid.

Powders - prepare ahead of time
caper / onion
lemon powder
cilantro/parsley powder
'brown butter' powder

Powders
once dried, all powders should be pulsed in a coffee grinder/spice mill/morter and pestle then passed through a chinois or fine mesh strainer.

citrus powder
300g lemons
1000g simple syrup
5g citric acid/vitamin c tablet

zest 300g of lemons (10.6 oz), remove the pith from the zest and poach in the simple syrup three times. dry with paper towels and move to a dehydrating tray. 130 for 12 hours. pulse the zest in a coffee grinder, pass through chinois, and mix with citric acid/vitamin C powder.

If you do not have a dehydrator, place in microwave for 8 to 10 minutes at medium powder. Once dried, follow the other instructions.

cilantro/parsley powder
150g cilantro
150g parsley

blanch the parsley in boiling saltwater for 1 second, submerge the leaves in ice water for 3 minutes. Dry on paper towels and place on dehydrator tray. 130 for 12 hours. grind and pass through chinois.

If you do not have a dehydrator, place in microwave for 30 seconds, turn over leaves and microwave for another thirty seconds. They should be dry by now, pulse in coffee grinder, pass through chinois and reserve.

onion powder
100g cup minced red onions

dehydrator - 130 for 12 hours
microwave at medium power for 20 minutes.

pulse in grinder, pass through chinois

Caper powder
200g capers (get the ones packed in brine/vinegar)

run the capers under cold water for two minutes to remove some of the brine.
dry on paper towels and dehydrate for 12 hours at 130 degrees.
microwave instructions are unclear. Dry them as much a possible with paper towels, the microwave on medium for 1 minute. Check the moisture content and stir them. repeat for 30 second intervals until they are dry. If you use this method, pleas post the time needed to dry the capers.

Once dry, pulse and sift the powder. Mix it with the onion powder.

Brown Butter powder

100g Dried banana chips (unsweetened if possible - many are coated in honey - the freeze dried ones would be brilliant)
300g spray dried cream powder

If you cannot find the cream powder, you can substitute Bob's red mill non fat dry milk powder, or even carnation instant milk powder. The substitutions will alter the flavor a little, but you will still get the general idea.

preheat the oven to 350 degrees, sift the cream powder into a fine layer on a silpat or on parchment. bake for 4 minutes, then remove for heat. If it bakes for too long, it will burn. Be very cautious with all powders in the oven. They all go from browned to burnt in a few seconds.

grind the banana chips in a coffee grinder and mix with the toasted cream powder. Pass this through a chinois and reserve.

---

* For green beans, slice each beans into very thin rounds (2 mm)
* Beurre Monte - 454g butter (4 sticks, 1 pound) cubed and cold, 60g water. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil, remove from heat and whisk in the butter 1 cube at a time. This should from an emulsion. Keep this heated, but under 195 degrees. The emulsion will not break - this is your poaching liquid.

Skate
Prepare the skate - 50G v shaped cuts are recommended
Bring 100g water, 100g beurre monte, and green bean rounds to a boil over high heat. Cook until the water has evaporated (about 3 minutes), when the pan is almost dry, remove it from heat and season with 3g salt

bring 300g water and 300g beurre monte to simmer over medium heat, add skate wings and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and flip the wing over and let rest in pan for two more minutes. Transfer to warming tray lined with parchment and season with 5 grams of fine sea salt.

Plating

Take the tip of a small spoon and make a small mound of the citrus powder, the onion-caper powder, and the cilantro parsley-powder. Swirl these around in a hurricane type pattern. I found that it is easier, and you get finer lines if you lightly shake the plate to flatten out the mounds, then swirl the spoon through it to get the pattern.

Peel the banana into very thick slices (3mm) fan three slices on the plate, place green beans on top and place skate wing portion on top. On the tall edge, sprinkle the brown butter powder.

My first thought when going through the process of this meal was I now know why restaurants that specialize in molecular cuisine are on pricier end of restaurants. It's very time consuming. Drying everything for the powders in the over was a real test in patience for, someone who always burns bread in the oven. As it was I burned the red onions twice, so I decided to forgoe that powder because it just seemed cursed for me. I generally work best with set cooking times and with the powders there weren't any. That was tough. Making the buerre monte was tougher than I had first anticipated, I felt like I was hand whipping a buttercream icing. But this was a challenge and I love that I was challenged, I loved even more that I felt like I really accomplished something when it was all said and done something I NEVER would have tried before.

This dish is very interesting, the powders really make what is otherwise a very mild flavored fish sing. Both the boy and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I truly had no idea what to expect from this first Daring Cook experience and it's funny I went through a whole range of emotions from the reveal of the recipe to posting about it now. It started with straight up fear and then being so overwhelmed I procrastinated making it until this past weekend to complete and total frustration to exhaustion and finally to accomplishment. I doubt I will cook anything like this anytime soon, but it has made me want to dine at a molecular cuisine restaurant even more. My wish list is ever growing Alinea, The Bazaar, WD-50, The French Laundry and Colborne Lane at the top right now. With Colborne Lane and The Bazaar being the likely ones I'll visit first, since the former is in Toronto and the latter is in LA tow of my home cities.

Please head on over to the The Daring Cooks Blogroll to check out everyone elses attempts. And please please post here to let me know if you have tried any of this cooking, I'd love to hear how it went. Enjoy!

T&C: Lemon Olive Oil Mousse

I'm so glad I found the time to sign up and participate in this month's Taste & Create, the blogging event where you are paired up with another blogger and you try a recipe from your partner's site and they try one from yours. The last time I participated I made Grilled Wings with a Chipotle Dry Rub, and found a great new blog to follow Culinary Disasters. The boy loved the wings so much I've made them numerous times since. I was really looking forward to another winning experience with this month's go. My partner is La Recette du Jour, a lovely French & Mediterranean inspired blog. I had the hardest time picking one recipe to try but because of time constraints and a desire to use stuff I had on hand, decided upon a lovely Lemon and Olive Oil Mousse that looked easy and perfect to make amidst this insane heat wave we've been having here in Toronto.


Lemon & Olive Oil Mousse
adapted from La Recette Du Jour

finely grated zest of 1 untreated lemon
juice of 1 1/2 lemons
2 egg yolks and 1 egg white
1/4 cup fruity, good-quality Italian extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp acacia honey
2 tbs caster sugar
Mint & fresh blueberries to garnish

1. Put the egg yolks in a small, heavy pan with the zest and lemon juice. Heat gently, stirring constantly till it thickens to a custard consistency. This won’t take long; don’t overheat, or it will curdle.

2. Remove from the heat and stir in the honey and olive oil. Put in the fridge to chill. You can do this part in advance, even the day before.

3. No more than an hour before you want to serve the mousse, whisk the egg whites till stiff, then add the sugar and whisk till shiny and standing in stiff peaks. Fold into the custard mixture, spoon into 4 pretty glasses, and return to the fridge till ready to eat. Garnish with fresh blueberries and some mint.

I am so glad I chose to make this mousse it is so easy, light and refreshing. While it's not the fanciest dessert, the flavors are subtle and refined, making it impressive in flavor. The original recipe said 3-4 Tbsp of olive oil but the olive oil desserts I have had in the past really showcase the flavor of the oil and I wanted that here so I went the a full 1/4 cup (the equivalent of 4 Tbsps). While the tartness of the lemon was in the forefront here, I'm glad I went with the larger quantity of oil because it gave a really nice underlying olive oil flavor that made the dish for me. All in all this was a winner and one I expect to make for our next dinner party. The boy was working last night when I finished this off so I don't have his verdict on it. But I like it and I liked making it and that's what really matters, right?

One note on portions, La Recette du Jour said this recipe made 4 portions, I actually only got 2 out of it, but that could be attributed to my warped American sense of portions and the glasses I used for serving. But it was so tasty that I had no problem eating half of it! Enjoy!

Coconut Crusted Lime Tartlettes

This is my submission for the lovely Rachel Rappaport's 5th Blogoversary contest for her fabulous blog Coconut & Lime. Coconut & Lime was one of the first food blog I happened upon and part of the reason I decided to start my own. I love that her recipes are all original and I think she makes great stuff. There are 2 ways to enter this contest, (which is offering some great prizes, either of which I'd be happy to win) (1) make one of Rachel's multitude of recipes posted over the last 5 years or (2) create something with her signature ingredients Coconut & Lime. Even though I have used her recipes for inspiration in the past, I really want to work more at creating my own recipes and decided to go with the latter option. I had a few of ideas for recipes using these ingredients and really wanted to make something that combined sweet and savory, but alas I just didn't have the time to pull of my ideal dish, maybe next year. That being said this is a dessert I am very proud of and something I never would have come up with without this contest.


Coconut Crusted Lime Tartlettes
makes 4 4" tarts

CRUST
2 cups of sweetened flaked coconut
1/4 tsp salt
3 egg whites

LIME CURD
3/4 cup lime juice
2 tsps lime zest - packed
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
6 egg yolks

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a a medium bowl mix together coconut, salt and egg whites until well combined.
2. Spray tartlette pans with cooking spray. Press 1/4 of coconut mixture into each pan, along the bottom and up the sides.
3. Place tartlette pans on a cooking sheet and bake in preheat oven for 20-30 minutes until set and coconut begins to brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 2 hours. While still slightly warm remove outer shell of tart pans and let cool completely. Crust keeps well in a refrigerator overnight.
4. In a medium saucepan place butter, lime juice, lime zest and 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. Bring to a boil. In a bowl whisk together egg yolks and remaining sugar.
5. Temper the egg yolks, by adding a Tbsp of the boiling mixture at a time and whisking until the yolk have been slowly brought up to temperature.
6. Add egg mixture to saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking constantly until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat pour into a nonreactive bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap on to the surface of the curd. Let chill in the refrigerator overnight.
7. Assemble tarts by placing 1/4 of the lime curd into each tart shell. Even out with an offset spatula, let chill for 1 hour before serving.


While this recipe sounds complicated with alot of steps, they are actually all very easy. The hardest part is waiting for things to cool and set up, for me that is since I have no patience. The crust tastes like a macaroon, which I really like and the lime curd has just the right amount of tartness to complement the sweet crust. I am of course biased because I love fruit curd of any kind. Basically this dessert combines two things I love into one nice summer treat. I made four tartlettes, kept 2 for the boy and I and brought the other 2 into the office. They got all kinds of ooos and ahhhs which was good for my ego, but I also love having people besides the boy try these concoctions just so I know he's not just being nice when he says he likes something. I am also really proud of the photos for this post, it was the first time I had too many good pictures and I really feel like my food photography is turning a corner. All in all this has been my most fun recipe contest to date. I hope it shows in the results. Wish me luck!

YWPWT: Childhood Memory Pie

This month's You Want Pies with That theme was chosen by the fabulous Kittymama:

Childhood Memory Pie: Bake a pie or tart that is inspired by a favorite childhood memory. Maybe you spent a summer vacation in Maine so it's a blueberry pie; or your grandmother always baked lemon meringue, or you remember your first taste of apple pie ever. Tell us a little story that will help us walk down memory lane with you and relive some happy childhood memories!

For me this was a tough one, my Grandma (the one whose recipes I have often posted on here) always had pies around. The ones I remember were the refrigerator pies (even though I know she made fruit pies too), you know the kind with a cookie crust and some kind of pudding or custard filling. While they are definitely a childhood memory and delish, I have really been craving and for the most part prefer fruit pies. That being said it's hard to make a pie without thinking of my grandmother, no matter what kind, so that almost makes every pie a childhood memory pie for me. It was then that is came to me. Peaches! For as long as I can remember peaches have been up there among my favorite fruits, plus I remember for a few summers after my father started working in South Carolina that he would ship a massive crate of the biggest juiciest peaches up to us and we would have a ball making peach crisps and cobblers and even the occasional pie. So for the memories of my grandmother's pies and those massive crates of delicious peaches that I looked forward to every summer, I came up with this month's pie, a modern twist on a classic.

YWPWT: Family Favorite Pie

This month's You Want Pies With That Challenge is brought to us by Natalie of Oven Love. She chose the theme:

Family Favorite Pie

This month's theme comes from
Natalie at Oven Love

Everyone's family has traditions, including favorite desserts. What's your family favorite? Is it your mom's brownies, your grandmother's banana pudding, your brother's famous chocolate chip cookies? Whatever that favorite dessert is, take it and turn it into a pie! If it already is a pie, make the recipe with your own special twist. If you're feeling extra energized and willing to divulge family secrets, include the original recipe!

When I first started thinking no clear family favorite came to mind for me, then I realized the one dessert we have at least once a year, that everyone gobbles up while it's till hot and even eats the leftovers for breakfast is Apple Crisp. Now we are pretty specific about apple crisp, we are of the no oatmeal variety, just butter, sugar, flour and cinnamon and super golden and crispy! Now, to turn that into a pie, I could have just made an apple crisp pie, sounds easy enough, maybe a bit too easy! I then remembered that the boy loves Apple Blueberry pie. So in a effort to combine my family's favorite with his I developed these Apple Blueberry Crisp Tartlettes. It was still pretty easy, but I liked being able to incorporate something I grew up on with something that's newer.


Apple Blueberry Crisp Tartlettes
makes 2 6" Tartlettes

1 sheet of puff pastry - defrosted
1 large granny smith apple
1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup of blueberries - washed
2 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 all purpose flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt

1. Place oven rack one step about the middle (where you'd normally bake a pie). Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Peel and core apple and slice thinly. Place in a large bowl. Add in blueberries and toss with lemon juice.
3. Unroll puff pastry and cut two circles (approximately 6" in diameter). Place circles on a prepared cookie sheet (sprayed with cooking spray and line with parchment). Place a single layer of apple slices on the dough, leaving 1/2" border around. Top with as many blueberries as will stay. Fold and press the edges, covering just the very edge of the apples.
4. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Rub in the cold butter making crumbles. Top each tartlette with the crumbles.
5. Place in oven and bake for 30-45 minutes, until puff pastry and crisp become golden brown. Remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes. Serve while warm.

I wish I could have had my family try this one to get their take on it. I loved it! The boy liked it but though some honey drizzled on top before baking would've been better, he found it to be not quite sweet enough. I think it's because I used granny smith apples, which I always use in my pies but not often in apple crisp. A sweeter apple (like and empire or macintosh) and piling a bit more of the crisp on top of the pie would give him the sweetness he is missing. That being said he gobbled up the tartlette and I enjoyed it, so I'm calling this one a winner. Don't forget to check out the other entries over at You Want Pies With That. Enjoy!

FNCCC: Mushroom Ravioli

Food Network Canada's April Cooking Club Challenge is Laura Calder's Mushroom Ravioli. Now for those of you outside Canada, Laura Calder is a fabulous Food Network star who is based in France, but comes to Canada every summer to make her show French Food at Home. Having little experience with cooking French food, I love her show because she makes it all seem so easy and manageable. This recipe is very simple too and I think a French twist on a classically Italian dish. I decided to use this challenge as an excuse to finally make my own pasta. I don't have a pasta machine and while I want one, it was quite easy to make this pasta by hand. In a effort to be more healthy after the month of grilled cheese indulgences, I made whole wheat pasta. While my pasta sheets aren't perfect shapes, I love how rustic they are and since the pasta was so easy to make I doubt how often I'll buy the box kind moving forward.

This dish should have come together quite easily, but as I was mid cooking I realized I forgot to defrost chicken stock and didn't pick up fresh thyme last time I was at the grocery store. Perfect reason why it's better when I plan ahead. A minor freak-out later, I made some quick substitutions that made for a nice dish. Laura's recipe didn't specify a type of mushroom so I chose to use King Oyster Mushrooms. I chose them because I have never cooked with them before and have also heard that they are very meaty. The boy doesn't always go for a vegetarian meal, so I figured my best chance for success with this one was an nice meaty mushroom. Also instead of using the brown butter sauce, I made my own lemon cream sauce. The ravioli recipe below is how I made them, with a link to Laura's original recipe.

Whole Wheat Pasta (no machine necessary)

2 eggs
2 cups of whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
approx 1/2 cup of water

1. Mix together the salt & flour. Make a well in the center and break the eggs into it. Using a fork, start to scramble the eggs and slowly start to incorporate the flour into the eggs.
2. Once the eggs have been Incorporated into the flour, start to add water one Tbsp at a time, kneading the dough as you go, until all the flour is incorporated. I used 7 Tbsp of water, but use whatever it takes to get a nice smooth dough.
3. Flour your countertop or a large cutting board and the ball of dough. Start to roll out the pasta into a large rectangle. When you notice the dough starting to spring back, let it rest for about 10 minutes. You'll need to let it rest at least 3 or 4 times if you want to get your dough nice and thin.
4. Once it is rolled out cut into desired shape, for a rustic linguine carefully roll the dough into a jelly roll shape and slice using a sharp knife, use flour to keep the pasta from sticking together. I cut my piece into 12 squares for use in the ravioli.

Mushroom Ravioli
adapted from Laura Calder at foodtv.ca

1-1/2 pounds of king oyster mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed
2 Tbsp butter
A splash of olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to season
A generous 1/2 cup of white wine
A generous handful of finely grated truffled Pecorino Romano, more for garnish
2 Tbsp dried thyme
8 sheets of whole wheat pasta (approx. 3 x 4 inch)

1. Cut the mushrooms into a 1/2" dice. Boil a large pot of water for the pasta.
3. Add a splash of olive oil and the butter to a sauté pan. Set the pan on high heat, and add the mushrooms, sautéing until slightly coloured. Add the garlic, season with salt and pepper, and continue cooking until the mushrooms are soft, approx. 4 minutes more.
4. Pour over the wine and boil to reduce to 2 tablespoons. Stir in the cheese. Taste, check the seasonings, adding a squirt of lemon juice if you like. Stir in the thyme and keep the mixture warm while you cook the pasta.
5. Generously salt the pasta water once it's boiling. Add the pasta and cook al dente. Drain.
6. Lay a sheet of pasta on each of four serving plates. Spoon the mushrooms onto the pasta. Top with a second pasta sheet. Drizzle over the cream sauce (see below). Garnish with more cheese, and serve immediately.

Lemon Cream Sauce

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 shallot - minced
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp lemon zest - packed
1/2-3/4 cup half & half - at room temp
2 Tbsp butter
salt & pepper

1. Heat oil in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add in shallots and saute until soft and translucent. Sprinkle in flour and mix together to make a roux.
2. Pour the half & half in, whisking constantly to combine. Add in lemon zest and butter and stir to melt. Season with salt & pepper to taste.


This was a lovely and very filling lunch, the boy gobbled his up and really seemed to like it. I enjoyed it too, the mushrooms have great flavor and using the wine instead of stock gave the whole dish a sweet undertone that was very nice. I was impressed with how well my homemade pasta turned out and am glad I went for whole wheat with this dish as it added even more depth and flavor. I will make sure next time I have fresh thyme to cook with the mushroom and will also try drizzling the dish in the sage brown butter recommended, since it is one of my faves.

Check out how everyone else fared over at the Food Network Canada Food for Thought Blog, they'll be up after the first of the month. Enjoy!

T&C: Grilled Chicken Wings with a Chipotle Dry Rub

This month is my first time participating in Taste & Create, a blogging event where you are paired up with another blogger and you try a recipe from your partner's site and they try one from yours. I think it's a great idea because not only did it introduce me to a new food blog, but it means someone (that's not a friend or family) has to try one of my recipes!

My partner was Jeff from Culinary Disasters, he tried out my Maple Whiskey Pulled Chicken and seemed to enjoy, which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I was torn between the wings and his chocolate covered bacon with extra sprinkles! The bacon was intriguing to me because I recently ate at Animal Restaurant in LA where they have a Chocolate Bacon Crunch Bar, that was a bit disappointing. The flavors just didn't pop for me and I was excited for what I imagined to be a delicious salty & sweet treat. I wanted to try out Jeff's take in an attempt to get the deliciousness I had hoped for. That being said it seemed like an easy way out for my first Taste & Create go. So I went with dry rubbed wings, most because I love chipotle but also because the boy loves wings. I also loved the idea of grilling rather than baking or frying.


Grilled Chicken Wings with a Chipotle Dry Rub
from Culinary Disasters

chicken wings
1 teaspoon paprika
2-3 dried chipotle peppers (I had never worked with dried peppers before so I intended on using 2, but had trouble getting the 2nd one ground down with my mortal and pestle and it was late so I used 1 pepper and 1/2 tsp of ground chipotle chile spice)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of black pepper
4 TB of unsalted butter melted

Combine the dry ingredients, taste, and adjust.

Pat the wings dry, brush on the unsalted butter, and then sprinkle the rub over to coat.

I have found that a medium temperature on the grill is the perfect temperature for grilling chicken wings without torching them and taking half a lifetime to finish. If you don’t have a grill, still getting snow, or to windy then a 350 degree till the wings are done (about 30-45 minutes depending on thickness.

We are a fan of blue cheese dipping sauce in our house so I made some homemade sauce to go with these wings. Not sure Jeff would approve as he seems to be anti-sauce, to each their own.

Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
3 Tbsp sour cream
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Fresh cracked pepper

Mix all ingredients together and set aside in the fridge to let the flavors marry while making the wings. Garnish with a bit of paprika before serving.

These were a massive hit with the boy. He already has it planned for me to make them up at the cottage this weekend and called them "a winner" a compliment that doesn't get thrown around often. I really enjoyed them, but because of the way I made them (with 1 pepper and chipotle powder) they weren't as spicy as I would like. I take responsibility for that as I was making them at 10pm, got frustrated with a pepper in my mortar and pestle (and subbed in the cile powder) and was admittedly being conservative with the spice. There was some heat, about the equivalent to a mild to medium wing, I was just looking for a bit more and will adjust accordingly on the next go. One note on the amount of spice rub, I made about 1 1/2 lbs of wings and the spice rub was just barely enough. I'd say the recipe as written is good for 1 lb of wings if you want a good spicy crust.

All in all I enjoyed my first Taste & Create and will for sure make some of Jeff's chocolate covered bacon in the near future. Enjoy!

YWPWT: Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous Pie

For April's Pies With That Challenge the theme is Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous chosen by two love ladies, Natashya from Living in the Kitchen with Puppies and Jacque from Daisy Lane Cakes:

We’ve watched their movies, gone to their concerts, read about them in the history books. Now’s our chance to bake them a pie.

Presenting, “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” Pie.

That’s right, you get to go all out in the kitchen this month, making a special pie based on someone famous. Or you can pretend you’re making it for them (it’s always nice to have a pie idea at the ready, just in case Brad Pitt decides to drop by, you know.) Your famous person can be a celebrity, movie star, rock star or group, sports star, or even historical figure. Basically, anyone who’s had more than just 15 minutes of fame.

A few examples of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous pie might be:

Madonna, Put Some Pants On Pie

Trump Needs a New Hairdresser Pie

George Clooney Moussey Pie

Bogie and Bacall We'll Always Have Paris Pie

Have fun and we can’t wait to see what you come up with.

I had some trouble coming up with something for this one and after much thought I finally settled on something old school. Everyone knows that Elvis' favorite sandwich is peanut butter and banana. Peanut butter and banana is also one of my favorite combinations so what better time to turn it into a pie. I made a couple small, individual pies, but wrote the recipe for one standard 9" pie.


Elvis' Falling in Love with Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie

Single Pie Crust - I used my go to recipe and just froze what I didn't use
2 3/4 cups chilled whipping cream, divided
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup peanut butter chips
2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter - not the all natural kind or freshly ground
3 Tbsp sugar
2-3 bananas - cut into 1/4" slices

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Roll out crust for a 9" pie plate. Lay in plate, prick holes all over with a fork. Line crust with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans or rice. Bake for 20 minutes covered. Then remove foil weights and bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown (I could have baked my mini pies a bit longer to get the crust more golden)
2. Remove crust from oven and let cool completely (for a couple hours).
3. Using a double boiler melt peanut butter chips with 3/4 cup of heavy cream, stirring the whole time. Once melted, remover from heat and whisk in vanilla and peanut butter. Let cool until just lukewarm.
4. Beat 1 cup of cream with 2 Tbsp of sugar until just before stiff peaks form. Carefully fold in peanut butter mixture in 3 additions.
5. Spread 1/2 of the peanut butter mousse into the cooled pie plate. Top with a layer of sliced bananas. Top with remaining peanut butter mousse and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours.
6. Just before serving beat 1 cup of heavy cream with 1 Tbsp sugar and a drop of banana creme flavoring. Beat until stiff. Spread on top of pie, leaving some of the peanut butter mousse exposed. Top with a few more banana slices.

I was nervous that the peanut butter flavor would overpower the banana flavor, which is why I added the banana flavoring to the whipped cream. It was actually all very subtle, smooth and delicious, which is how I cam up with the title. Elvis' (Can't Help) Falling in Love with You is such a smooth song that it fit perfectly with this pie that after one bite, you can't help but fall in love with. It initially tastes just like a banana creme pie and finishes with a great peanut butter flavor. Overall this one is a winner and one I will make again.

Head on over to You Want Pies With That after April 8 to see what the other ladies came up with.

Enjoy!

FNCCC: Beer Battered Onion Rings

In honor of St. Patrick's Day March's Food Network Cooking Club Challenge the recipe chosen was Riccardo's Beer Battered Onions Rings. I was actually looking forward to trying this one as I have never made onions rings before and I love all things beer battered. The major downside was that this treat is in exact opposition to my return to boot camp and attempt at healthier eating. That being said I made them, the boy and I tried some and I threw the rest out! A bit wasteful, I know. but luckily it wasn't a time or wallet intensive treat.

As you know, it's rare that I follow a recipe to the letter. For this one I decided to use white (because I had one in the house) and red (for something different) onions instead of the recommend Spanish onion. I made one batch of batter using pale ale and another using a darker honey brown beer. I also made my own dipping sauces, a Chipotle Ketchup and an Apricot Mustard Sauce.

Beer-Battered Onion Rings
adapted from Riccardo's Beer-Battered Onion Rings

ONIONS
1 medium white onion
1 medium red onion
1/4 cup cornstarch

BATTER
2 cups pastry flour (separated)
4 Tbsp cornstarch (separated)
1/2 tsp baking powder (separated)
1/2 tsp salt (separated)
1 cup pale ale (I used Stella Artois)
1 cup honey brown beer (I used Sleeman's Honey Brown)
oil for frying

1. Preheat deer fryer (or large pot of oil) to 190C/375F. Place a cooling rack on a backing sheet or line a baking sheet with paper towels.
2. In a paper bag or a large bowl, toss the onion rings in the cornstarch to coat well. Set aside.
3. In a bowl, combine 1 cup of flour, 2 Tbsp cornstarch, 1/4 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt. Whisk in the pale ale.
4. Using your fingertips or wooden chopsticks, dip the rings in the batter, 4 or 5 at a time. Shake off excess batter and deep-fry for about 3 minutes, turning halfway through cooking, drain on the baking sheet. Season lightly with salt. Repeat with 1/2 of the onions, both read and white.
5. Repeat step 3 with remaining ingredients, this time using the Honey Brown beer.
6. Repeat step 4 with remaining onions.


Chipotle Ketchup

1 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp or more chipotle puree or chopped chipotles in adobo
1/4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1. Whisk together all ingredients until well combined. Add more chipotle if you like more spice.


Apricot Mustard

1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/4 grainy mustard
1/3 cup apricot jam
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1. Whisk together ingredients until well combined. Add more jam or mustard to taste.

These were really quite easy to make, although frying on the stovetop I found it hard to keep the oil a constant temperature. It's something that's definitely easier when you have an actually deep fryer, although that's not something I'll be adding to my kitchen arsenal anytime soon!

We could really taste the difference in the two batters and between the different onions. My favorite combination was the Honey Brown batter with the red onions dipped in the chipotle ketchup. The slight sweetness of the batter and rings paired with the spicy sauce was really nice. The boy also preferred the honey brown batter, but liked the Apricot Mustard sauce better. It was a fun Saturday afternoon treat, to taste the different the different rings, with different sauces and pick our faves. The boy liked it all so much, that he is hoping I'll make some beer battered fish for fish and chips next! We'll see when that happens.

Make sure to check out the Food For Thought Blog over at foodnetwork.ca on Wednesday or Thursday to see how the other participants fared. Enjoy!

Potato Gnocchi Two Ways

For February the Food Network Cooking Club Challenge gave participants three different comfort foods recipes to vote on to determine the challenge. The choices were Osso Bucco, Corn Chowder and Gnocchi. I was totally pulling for the Osso Bucco as it's forever been on my list of things to try, but alas Michael Smith's Potato Gnocchi won out. While it wasn't my first choice, I was definitely excited to try this since I do love gnocchi. The recipe as given includes Michael's recipe for a roasted tomato and olive sauce, but I decided to keep it traditional with a simple butter and sage sauce. I cut back on the gnocchi recipe by a 1/3 since I was just making this for the boy and I.

Michael Smith's Handmade Potato Gnocchi
from foodtv.ca

3 large baking potatoes (I used 2)
3 eggs, lightly whisked (I used 2)
3 cups flour (I used 2 cups)
1/2 tsp nutmeg (I used a heaping 1/4 tsp)
Sprinkled sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
olive oil

1. Bake the potatoes until they’re tender when pierced with a fork, about an hour. Scoop the flesh out of potatoes and put into a large bowl.
2. While the potatoes are still a bit warm add the eggs, 2 cups of the flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir and knead until a dough forms, adding more flour if it seems too sticky. You may not need all the flour called for as potato sizes and moisture content vary. It is important not to add too much flour, or the gnocchi will be too dry. (I slowly added in flour a couple Tbsp at a time to the right consistency)
3. Divide the dough into 4 even pieces and roll each piece into a 1” wide ‘snake’. Cut the long ‘snakes’ into 1” pieces. (I rolled one side of each dumpling across a fork and made a small indentation on the back side to help each piece cling to sauce better)
4. Heat a large pot of water to boiling and salt it liberally. Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water and let them cook for 2-3 minutes, until they float to the surface. Drain well and toss with a bit of olive oil.


Butter Sage Sauce

8 Tbsps unsalted butter
1/4 cup sliced fresh sage
freshly grated parmigiano
salt & pepper to taste

1. In a small sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat. Once it's melted add in the sage and let cook until butter begins to brown, but not burn.
2. Toss gnocchi in butter sauce and serve topped with parmigiano.



These were so tasty! I will admit I tried the recipe twice because the first time I made the gnocchi in the late morning and cooked them in the evening. I left the finished dumplings on a baking sheet and they stuck, turning into an unattractive mass of dough when cooked. The second time was perfect though and I actually peeled, chunked and steamed the potatoes for my second go round. This was to save time, since I was trying during the week and didn't want to wait an hour for the potatoes to bake. I'd be interested to know if anyone has ever made and refrigerated or froze gnocchi before, because while not completely time intensive it's not something that will always be easy to make right before cooking.

After the success and ease of the standard potato gnocchi I decided it would be interesting to try to make them with sweet potatoes and whole wheat flour. This was initially in an attempt to make them healthier but also for a different take. I found that the sweet potatoes require alot more flour than a russet potato, but otherwise the recipe worked out almost exactly the same as with a white potato. I served them with a cinnamon butter and a dollop of mascarpone to play up the sweetness of the potato.


Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Gnocchi
adapted from Michael Smith's recipe
serves 2 (as a side dish)

1 large sweet potato
2 (or more) cups whole wheat flour
1 egg - lightly whisked
salt & pepper to taste
1/8 tsp nutmeg

1. Bake potato at 400F for 1 hour, or until tender. Scoop flesh out of skins into a large bowl.
2. While the potatoes are still a bit warm add the eggs, 1 cup of the flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir and knead until a dough forms, adding more flour if it seems too sticky. You may not need all the flour called for as potato sizes and moisture content vary. It is important not to add too much flour, or the gnocchi will be too dry. I ended up using 2 full cups of flour.
3. Divide the dough into 2 even pieces and roll each piece into a 1” wide ‘snake’. Cut the long ‘snakes’ into 1” pieces. Roll one side of each dumpling against a fork while gently pressing one finger into the back, making a small indentation.
4. Heat a large pot of water to boiling and salt it liberally. Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water and let them cook for 2-3 minutes, until they float to the surface. Drain well and toss with a bit of olive oil.

Cinnamon Butter

5 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cinnamon stick
salt & pepper to taste
2 Tbsp mascarpone cheese - whipped (optional)
ground cinnamon (optional)

1. Place butter and cinnamon stick into a small saucepan. Melt butter over medium low heat. Let cook until just golden brown. Then remove from heat.
2. Remove cinnamon stick and toss with gnocchi. Serve topped with a dollop of whipped mascarpone and sprinkling of ground cinnamon.


The boy is not a huge fan of sweet potatoes and wasn't exactly looking forward to my take on gnocchi, but was pleasantly surprised when he tried them. The whole wheat flour adding a different texture to each dumpling which I found to be very enjoyable. They were served as a side dish to some leftover pork roast (stay tuned for a post on that this weekend) and some steamed broccoli. The sweet potato gnocchi went extremely well with the pork roast, especially when paring a bite of pork with a bite of gnocchi. I will be making both types of gnocchi again in the very near future. Check out the Food for Though blog on foodtv.ca (after February 28) to see how the other participants fared. Enjoy!

YWPWT: Literary Pie

This month's You Want Pies with That Challenge was chosen by Mary the Food Librarian and is exactly what you would expect from The Food Librarian:

"Literary Pie (really, what did you expect from the Food Librarian?) Libraries have a wide range of books and materials...and "literary" simply means the written word. Your pie can be inspired by Shakespeare, John Grisham, the latest Chick Lit, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, or anything else that came from the fabulous imagination of your favorite author. The Food Librarian says: "Bonus points from me if you've visited your local library in the past year!" :) Have fun, and eat your words!"

I was really excited by this challenge as I have always loved books and have been recently thinking alot about food inspired in books. My first idea and attempt was inspired by A.A. Milne's Winne the Pooh and was a honey-custard pie in a whole grain crust. Let's just say it was a complete and utter failure. Me and custard/creme pies just aren't friends yet and it will take more time than I had this past weekend to work it out. Not being one to take failure lightly I decided to regroup and re-concept and came upon a book that was a childhood favorite of mine, The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder.


The Velvet Room is the story of Robin, a young girl who is one of many children of a family of migrant workers. He father finally gets a permanent job on the McCurdy ranch in California. It is on the ranch that Robin finds the old and abandoned Las Palmeras house and what becomes her beloved hideaway, the Velvet Room. It is a grand old library full of books with lovely velvet drapes and benches (which why Robin named it as such) where she is able to escape from her everyday life and get lost in a book.

The inspiration from the pie came from the day Robin and her siblings were all sent to work pitting apricots. The following quote was so visual to me and provided exactly the inspiration I needed for my pie:

"When Robin picked up the first apricot, her mouth watered. It was always like that at the first of the season. They tasted wonderful for the first day or two, but after that you were sick of the very smell of them. The apricot was still warm from the sun and so ripe that the juice ran down Robin's chin as she bit into it. She wiped her chin on her skirt and started to work." (p. 120 iUniverse edition)

I knew I had to do something with apricots and decided I wanted something very rustic and simple, since Robin and her family would not be eating fancy-schmancy sweets, if any at all. It was with this thinking that I decided to make an Apricot Crostata.

Robin's Apricot Crostata

PATE SUCREE - (Sweet Pastry Dough) from Clemence Gosset at Gourmandise Desserts

350g butter
150g sugar
1 egg
500g flour
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
¼ tsp assorted spices (optional- cinnamon, ginger, etc)

FILLING
1 cup good quality apricot jam
zest from 1 lemon
1 blood orange - peeled and sliced into rounds, make sure pith is removed

1. In a mixer, beat butter and sugar with the paddle attachment (I used the dough blade on my food processor).
2. Add the egg and beat well. Add flour, spices (I used ginger) and vanilla (again this was all done in my food processor).
3. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hr. Roll out your dough (you'll need about 2/3 - 3/4 of the dough you made) to an 11" circle and carefully transfer to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper
4. Preheat oven to 350F. Mix jam with lemon zest and spread onto crust, leaving a 1 1/2" border. Gently fold the border over the jam to enclose the dough, pleating it to make a circle. Evenly space the orange rounds just around the inside of the crust.
5. Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let cool for 1 hour before serving.


I added the blood oranges slices because they were on sale this week at my grocery store and I thought it would be nice color and the acid from the lemon zest and the oranges balanced out the sweetness of the pastry and jam. Plus since the book takes place in California, I figured I could take the liberty of using oranges.

I learned how to make this pastry a few years ago when I took a baking class with Clemence Gossett of Gourmandise Desserts. She had just started giving classes and was working out of a small kitchen in Venice, CA. He business has grown since then and I have regretted not getting to any of her new classes in her new space as it was this class that gave me, a self-proclaimed non-baker, the confidence to bake more. She swears by using a scale in baking and since I've gotten one I have to agree. It allows for more precise measurements and is much less messy that using measuring cups and spoons. But onto the pastry, it is perfect and so easy. We learned to make this for use in lemon curd tarts and chocolate tarts, but it can also be used for delicious butter cookies or as I found for a crostata. If you are in the LA area take one of Clemence's classes they are great!

The boy loved this as the crust tastes alot like shortbread. I loved the flavor and the ease of this. I think this is a great dessert to throw together for a dinner party as it's easy and can be made in advance. I'm actually grateful my first attempt didn't work out because it allowed me to make this delicious treat. Enjoy!

YWPWT: Resolution Breaker Pie

For this months You Want Pies With That challenge the theme is "Resolution Breaker Pie - A pie that sounds so decadent and delicious that you simply can't resist. A crust so buttery and flaky you quickly call dibs on a 2nd slice. A filling so gooey and creamy that you dig out your fat pants without remorse. A pie so fantastic you begin hatching a plan to keep the whole pie for yourself...... of course telling the entire family that the dog/cat/drunk Uncle Ed ate the whole thing and sadly there will be no pie tonight."

As I began to think about this pie I thought about what my own resolutions for the year are. Among other things, losing weight is probably up there for everyone (making pie a bad thing to make) and when trying to lose weight it is often a good idea to cut alcohol out of your day-to-day diet. I am a fan of the South Beach diet, which doesn't allow for any alcohol for the first two weeks. I start it on Monday but promise I'll have tons of SB friendly posts in the coming weeks for anyone who wants to try with me.

Anyway, in thinking of my perfect resolution breaker pie it had to involve chocolate and alcohol, two things I won't be having soon. My favorite thing to pair with chocolate (other than alcohol) is raspberry, so I decided to top my chocolate tart with raspberry curd. It is a tart in four parts: crust, raspberry layer, chocolate layer and whipped cream. Below is the recipe for my concoction, I am calling it "Really I'll Start My Diet on Monday Chocolate Raspberry Tart"

Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Hazelnut Shell (adpated from epicurious.com)

1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and any loose skins rubbed off in a kitchen towel, then cooled completely (for how to toast hazelnuts click here)
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

1.Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Pulse hazelnuts with flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until finely ground (be careful not to grind to a paste), then add butter and pulse until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Add egg and vanilla and pulse just until mixture begins to clump.
3. Press dough evenly over bottom and up side of tart pan and chill 10 minutes. Line tart shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake in middle of oven until pale golden along rim, about 15 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and bake shell until bottom and side are golden, about 10 minutes more. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes.


Raspberry Curd (make while tart shell is baking)
I used this recipe (it's in grams i converted the measurements based on what I weighed on my scale)

150 grams raspberry puree - 5.3 oz (I'm not sure if you can buy this premade but I just used a hand blender to puree some frozen raspberries I thawed)
30 grams lemon juice - 1/8 cup or juice from 1/2 lemon
170 grams sugar - 3/4 cup
4 ounces butter - 1 stick
6 egg yolks

In a medium pot, boil the raspberry puree, lemon juice, half of the sugar and the butter. In a bowl, whisk the remaining sugar and the egg yolks together. Temper the egg mixture by adding in a little of the raspberry puree mixture, whisking constantly. Add this mixture to the raspberry puree mixture, then boil, whisking constantly. Strain and cover.


Chocolate Kahlua Filling

3 oz bittersweet chocolate - chopped
6 oz semisweet chocolate - chopped
10 Tbsp butter
3 eggs
3 Tbsp Kahlua
3 heaping Tbsp sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 300F. In a double boiler melt the butter and chocolate together.
2. In a separate bowl mix beat the eggs until fluff. Mix in the Kahlua and sour cream.
3. Add the egg mixture to the chocolate mixture, mix until combined and pour into the prepared tart shell. Bake for 40 mins in preheated oven.
4. Let cool for 10 mins on a cooling rack and then gently spread the raspberry curd on top of the still warm tart. Let sit for at least an hour to let both fillings set.
5. Serve topped with Kahlua spiked whipped cream (2 Tbsp Kahlua to every cup of cream)


This was the most decadent and rich tart I've had in awhile. The raspberry adds just enough freshness to the richness of the chocolate. Although I bet the chocolate on it's own would be pretty fabulous.

This recipe calls for a ton of eggs (10 to be exact) and since I was home over the holidays and we drove, I was able to pick up some of my favorite eggs Eggland's Best. They only sell them in the US and are the closest to farm fresh eggs you can get at the grocery store. I highly recommend them for any and all of your egg needs. We picked up a couple dozen at the Vermont/Quebec border for me to have for the next week or so. I love them just scrambled with a bit of salt and pepper or in an uber decadent dessert :) Enjoy!