Posts from the ‘Pies’ Category

Apr 4

Lemon Meringue Tart

I’ve been wanting lemon meringue pie or tart for a while now. I planned on making it last week but got sick. I have had this recipe in my to do pile for a while now and since lemon is one of my favorite flavors it went straight to the top of recipes I wanted to try. Usually when I make a lemon tart I use the tartine lemon cream recipe, It has the perfect consistency and holds up beautifully giving a perfect slice. Most recipes for lemon meringue pie that I have tried have been really tasty but are a bit on the runny side. When I saw the photo that came with this recipe I thought I had found nirvana, a lemon meringue pie that looks perfect, produces a clean slice and sounds like it’s very tasty. This recipe is all that except that it is still a bit on the runny side even after sitting overnight in the refrigerator. Don’t get me wrong it tastes amazing but it does not produce a clean slice. Next time I will add more cornstarch, while I was making it my gut instinct was to add more but I held myself back. Oh well, should have gone with my gut.

Pate Sucré

Makes 9 inch tart or 6 tartlets
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
8 ounces cold unsalted butter cut into pieces
3 egg yolks from large eggs
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Put the flour, salt and sugar in the food processor, pulse to combine, add the butter and pulse until it resembles fine crumbs. Add the egg yolk and cream and pulse until the dough comes together, it will be shaggy but thats ok, test it by pinching a piece and if it holds together it’s fine. Divide in two, press into disks and refrigerate for an hour. Pre heat the oven to 375, line tart pan or tartlet pans, prick with fork and place in freezer for 30 minutes. Place a piece of parchment in the tart pan or pans and pour in pie weights or beans. Bake 20 minutes remove the parchment and weights and place back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Cool on rack.

Lemon Filling

Fills a 9 inch pie or tart

1 cup water

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch (Next time I would add an additional 1-2tbs of cornstarch)

pinch of salt

4 eggs separated – the yolks are for the filling and whites for meringue

5 tbs cold unsalted butter

4 tsp lemon zest

In medium sauce pan add the water. lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and salt and whisk to combine so there are no lumps. Turn heat to medium and cook stirring constantly until mixture is thick, Whisk the egg yolks and slowely add the hot lemon mixture whisking while adding. Pour back into the pan and cook for 60 seconds (1 minute). Remove from heat and add the butter and lemon zest. Let come to room temparature and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Swiss Meringue

4 egg whites

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl of the stand mixer over a double boiler and cook, stirring occasionally, until the egg whites are very warm to the touch and the sugar has dissolved. Whip the egg whites on medium-high until stiff peaks form. Add in the salt and vanilla extract and whip to combine.

A little runny but delicious

Mar 15

98 Comments

A Pi Day Surprise

Yesterday was Pi Day, to celebrate Pi we cooks and food lovers take just a little liberty and make it all about Pie. Now I just love pies, fruit pies, cream pies, tarts, galettes, savory tarts and pies. They are all good. I love making pastry crust, I always have frozen pie dough in the freezer in case I need it.

I was busy, lots going on with work. I didn’t check my spam folder as I normally do every day until later in the afternoon and when I did I saw an email from Kate at Food52, she wondered if I would be home today between 1-5PM, they wanted to deliver a surprise. Honestly, I was flabbergasted and intrigued. I love surprises and rarely get one. At 5PM on the dot one of the Food 52 staff hand delivered this pie in this amazing pie box (which I have been meaning to order and now I need to get another one or 2), how cool is that? It made me feel really really good, they thanked me for being a long time member, it made me feel so special. Thank you Food52 for making my day!! Oh and I can’t forget to mention the pie was a salted honey pie, with an amazing flaky buttery crust. SO DELICIOUS!! I ate way too much pie!!

Pi Day Surprise

I also want to update everyone on sweet Percy, he is doing really really good. He was a little under the weather yesterday, I think it was the rain and cool temps but today he is doing great. He is very happy in Brooklyn and has adjusted to his new life, made lots of doggie friends and is getting to know his neighborhood.

Rolling in the grass

Handsome boy

Feb 7

145 Comments

Lamb Pot Pie With Saffron Pastry

Jan 20

155 Comments

Chocolate Orange Cream Tart

The lastest contest at Food52 is all about tarts, Your Best Tart to be exact, I have to say that making pies and tarts is something I love doing, I put my thinking cap on because I wanted to come up with a recipe that was a little different and creative. Buttery pastry with an assortment of fillings whether sweet or savory is comfort food at it’s best IMHO. I was already in the cream or curd mode after making the scones so I whipped up another batch just using oranges and tangerines, it has substance from the addition of cream cheese which give a little tang also, the crust is adapted from Martha Stewarts recipe for Pate Sucré. The combination of chocolate and orange has always been one of my all time favorite flavor combinations so I covered the orange cream with a ganache gently flavored with orange thanks to the addition of Grand Marnier. A simple whipped cream garnish and some candied orange zest make this a lovely dessert.

I know I posted this already but I decided to bring my little tarts to the party, Fiesta Friday #103 the big event Angie is hosting and her lovely co hosts this week are two of my all time favorites Your co-hosts this week are Sonal @ simplyvegetarian777 and Petra @ Food Eat Love. YAY!!!

Makes 9 inch tart or 6 tartlets
Pate Sucré
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
8 ounces cold unsalted butter cut into pieces
3 egg yolks from large eggs
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Orange Cream
6 egg yolks from large eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange or tangerine juice
4 teaspoons orange zest divided
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 tablespoons cream cheese softened
Ganache
4 ounces dark chocolate
4 ounces milk chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or orange liquor
Tart Crust-Put the flour, salt and sugar in the food processor, pulse to combine, add the butter and pulse until it resembles fine crumbs. Add the egg yolk and cream and pulse until the dough comes together, it will be shaggy but thats ok, test it by pinching a piece and if it holds together it’s fine. Divide in two, press into disks and refrigerate for an hour. Pre heat the oven to 375, line tart pan or tartlet pans, prick with fork and place in freezer for 30 minutes. Place a piece of parchment in the tart pan or pans and pour in pie weights or beans. Bake 20 minutes remove the parchment and weights and place back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Cool on rack.
Orange Cream-Zest the fruit and juice and set aside. In mixing bowl add the egg yolks, sugar and a pinch of salt. Beat with hand held mixer until creamy and light. Whisk in the juice and 2 tsp of zest and pour into sauce pan. Cook at medium low heat stirring constantly until the sugar has melted and it’s hot to the touch. Now add the butter one piece at a time stirring constantly until the butter is melted. Place thermometer in and continue cooking until it reaches a temperature of 175 degrees. Remove from heat. Pour through a sieve into a bowl or large measuring cup, add 1 tsp of orange zest stir to combine and cover with plastic that sits directly on top of the curd, allow to come to room temperature then refrigerate overnight. Pour the chilled curd in the blender with the cream cheese and the rest of the orange zest and blend until thick and creamy. Spoon into container and refrigerate until ready to use.
Ganache-Heat the cream to scalding, chop the chocolate and place in mixing bowl, pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth, add the liquor and stir. Let the ganache come to room temperature stirring frequently. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to thicken a bit you want the ganache to be thick but still pourable.

Assembling and serving:
tart shell or shells
Ganache
orange cream
whipped cream and orange zest to garnish
Spoon the chilled orange cream into the tart shell filling the shell halfway. Pour the ganache on top of the orange cream and return to the refrigerator where it needs to chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and some candied orange zest.

Dec 31

103 Comments

Happy New Year, Some Favorites And 2015 in review

Taken from Pinterest

I wish each and everyone of you an amazing, healthy, happy, joyous and prosperous 2016. I want to thank you all for being such great friends, for leaving such uplifting and kind comments and for being my source of inspiration. Below is the report compiled by the WordPress helper monkey’s. I don’t really keep track of the stats, but do appreciate the work that WordPress puts into these reports, thank you to the good people at WordPress!! Both 2014 and 2015 were hard years for me, harder than I can even express. The start of a new year brings with it hope and we also reflect on the past year, the good and the bad, the sad and the happy, triumphs and failures. Life can sometimes be like a rollercoaster ride.

Going into my 4th year of blogging in January is quite momentous for me. I can’t believe I am still doing this, have made such great friends and learned so much. Hope you all have a wonderful time on New Years Eve and joyously welcome 2016, peace, love and joy to all. Below are some photo’s I compliled with some of my favorite dishes both sweet and savory.

Savory favorites

Baked, desserts and the epic biscuit!

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 37,000 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 14 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Nov 18

95 Comments

Thanksgiving Preparation

Photo by James Ransom for food52

I don’t know where the time went, next week is Thanksgiving. It dawned on me today so I started prepping. I make the same thing every single year, no change there would be a coup if I did. Part of me didn’t want Thanksgiving to get here even though it’s my favorite holiday, it’s my first without Izzy and Nando and I feel sad. That said I have started prepping, write the shopping list, order the turkey, make what I can in advance, bread cubes are drying in oven as I type this. Took a whole chicken out of the freezer to make stock. There is a lot of work and planning that goes into one meal and I do what I can in advance. Is that what you do? I usually have 8-10 here for Thanksgiving. How many do you have over?

What are your plans for Thanksgiving? Do you cook/host the meal or go to friends or relatives. Have you started preparing? Would love to know what everyone does, I know that some of you from other countries do not celebrate Thanksgiving. What is on the menu at your house? Traditional or non traditional or a mixture of both. Here is my menu with links to the recipes.

Butter and herb roasted turkey

Dressing

mashed potatoes- yukon gold, sour cream. butter salt and pepper

brussels sprouts- oven roasted

corn – steamed and served with some butter

homemade potato dinner rolls

cranberry sauce- use the recipe on the ocean spray package but sub fresh squeezed orange juice for the water and add some orange zest.

pumpkin and pecan pie – I usually just use the pumpkin pie recipe on the can of LIbby’s pumpkin, may do something different this year from my good friend Johnny at Kitschen Flavors.

I have a pretty strict time line making as much as I can in advance.

Done in advance:

Make chicken stock (need for dressing)

Make cornbread and air dry (2 days before I make the dressing)

Dry bread cubes for dressing (doing that today)

Cranberry sauce made ahead and refrigerated (making it this weekend)

Make compound butter for turkey (Monday)

Make pie dough and refrigerate (Tuesday)

Day before:

Prep the turkey putting the compound butter under the skin, and refrigerate.

Make dressing cover refrigerate.

Make the bread dough, form into rolls, cover and refrigerate until a few hours before baking them.

Make the pies plus an extra for a friend, the apple and pear tart

Thanksgiving Day:

We eat late around 5:30 or 6PM. I’ve heard that most eat early like lunch time. This is actually the easiest day, I have already done a lot of the work. Set the table, get the wine ready, refrigerate the white, let the red breathe/decant.

Turkey goes in at around noon – I get at 18-20 lb turkey and it’s done in 3 ish hours because of the fast cooking method I use in my graniteware pan.

Peel potatoes and cut and let sit in cold salted water until ready to boil. (Usually around 4PM)

Make the corn and brussels sprouts.

Bake the dressing

Bake the rolls right before dinner is served so they are hot.

Whew, it’s a lot of work but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Love Thanksgiving!!

Izzy And Nando

Nov 13

124 Comments

Fall Apple/Pear Tart For Fiesta Friday #94

I have been a tart making mad woman lately. I feel like I always am elbow deep in dough and honestly, I love it. Making pies and tarts is one of my favorite things to bake. There is something about the flaky buttery pastry crust with some sort of filling whether it be sweet or savory that just feels like home and comfort. I had to make some tarts for an office potluck (sort of early holiday) party and made extra so I could bring to the party. I am bringing an apple and pear tart decorated with fall leaves. I used a different method than making an apple pie for this tart, I wanted it to have a crisp crust and it had to be able to be eaten standing so no juicy piece of apple pie for this event. I blind baked a rectangular tart shell and oven roasted some apples and nicely ripened pears in poire william and brown sugar letting them get nicely soft. The fall leaves were also baked ahead and placed on the tart half way through the baking process. It really turned out nicely.

Thank you to Angie@Fiesta Friday for hosting and our co hosts this week are Judi @ cookingwithauntjuju and Stef @ The Kiwi Fruit. Thanks for hosting and I hope you all enjoy the tart.

Pie Dough

Julia Child makes a 9 inch double crust pie or 2 9 inch tarts

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cake flour

6 oz good unsalted butter (I use Irish butter – Kerry Gold very cold

4 tbs shortening cold

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup ice cold water

Place flours and salt in mixing bowl, whisk to combine. Cut in the butter and shortening with pastry cutter so that it resembles course crumbs. Pour in the water and mix just to combine with a fork. Gather the dough and divide in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and press into a disk shape. Refrigerate at least an hour or overnight.

blind bake tart shell

Blind Bake

Pre heat oven to 400 degree’s.

Roll dough, I like it pretty thin. Cut off a little bit of each disk so you can make the leaves and set aside. Place in the tart pan, prick bottom with fork and place in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Line baking sheet with parchment, place another piece of parchment on the frozen tart and weigh it down with pie weights or beans whatever you use. Bake for 20 minutes watching that it doesn’t brown to deeply. Remove from oven, let cool for about ten minutes and remove the pie weights. Let the tart shell cool on a rack.

With the reserved dough use cookie cutters in the shape of leaves and press out an assortment of leaves at least 1 dozen or more. Place on parchment lined baking sheet, brush with egg wash and place in freezer.

Reduce oven to 375 and bake the leaves for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned. let cool on rack.

Apples and Pears

2 apples peeled cut in half and cored

2 pears peeled cut in half and cored

1/3 cup Poire William or pear nectar, apple cider or combination of all or some

1/3 cup brown sugar

pinch each of cinnamon and nutmeg

Butter a baking dish and place your pears and apples cut side down, pour in the liquid and sprinkle on the brown sugar. Dot with some butter. Bake for about 40 minutes, the pears and apples should be soft but not mushy.

Drain off the liquid and reserve for later and let the fruit cool to room temperature.

Baking the tart

Place the pears and apples in the tart shell, whisk 1 1/2 tbs of corn starch, or flour, cinnamon and nutmeg with the reserved liquid. Pour over the fruit and place in the 375 degree oven. Bake for 20 minutes and remove from the oven and carefully place the leaves on top of the tart, return to the oven for another 20 minutes or until golden brown.

To finish the tart I heated some apricot preserves and brushed the leaves so they were lovely and shiny.

Aug 20

96 Comments

A Theraputic Tart

Peach and blackberry therapy pie

I have been absent for a while, a few weeks. Honestly, it has been very hard coping and adjusting and I was not doing well. I have felt uninspired and have not cooked at all for almost 3 weeks. Today though I started reading posts from you all, I have a back log and will try to get to them all, I may not be able to but I will try. Your blog posts inspire me and I actually felt better today after looking at some of your wonderful recipes and stories. It will take me a few days to catch up and I am looking forward to all the good reads.

So today I made a tart. Saturday for only the second time this summer I went to the farmers market and I thought seeing all the gorgeous summer produce would inspire me. I bought tomatoes, peppers, peaches, nectarines, Japanese turnips and a few other things. They sat in a bowl on my table until today. I decided I better start cooking again and the peaches were in danger of going bad so I made a peach tart I also threw in a few blackberries that I had in the freezer. I like to think of this as therapy, making myself get back into the kitchen was good for me. The peaches were amazing, tart and sweet at the same time, perfectly ripe and juicy.

The pie dough is my go to basic recipe from Julia Child. It has never failed me.

Julia Childs Pie Dough Recipe

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cake flour

1/2 tsp salt

6 oz cold butter cut into cubes

4 tbs cold shortening or leaf lard

1/2 cup ice water

Whisk salt and flour together, add the butter and shortening or lard, using your hands or pastry cutter work into the flour until it resembles crumbs with pieces of the butter the size of peas.Alternately you could use your food processor pulsing it. Add the water and mix with a fork until combined. Don’t over work. Gather it with your hands, divide into two discs and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate overnight or for at least an hour.

The fruit filling is simple I used 5 peaches and a handful of blackberries, peeled and sliced the peaches, added 1/3 cup sugar, 2 tbs flour and a pinch of salt and cinnamon.

If I were making pie I would not blind bake but for the tart I did. Blind bake the crust, line with parchment, weigh it down with beans or pie weights put it in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, remove the parchment and pie weights and bake another 10-15 minutes, it should be blonde only ever so slightly brown. Add the fruit, I like to make a lattice top, place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, lower the oven temp to 375 degrees and bake for about 45 minutes until its golden brown and bubbly. Oh, don’t forget to put an egg wash on the lattice top and sprinkle with a little sugar before baking.

Jul 10

89 Comments

Roasted Tomato, Ricotta And Herb Tart For Fiesta Friday #76

My favorite of all the summer produce is vine ripened tomatoes, they are starting to pop up at farmers markets now. There is nothing like a fresh tomato and this was my inspiration for this summer tart. I found some home made ricotta at the market and thought it would go very nicely with oven roasted plum tomatoes and herbs from my garden. I used basil, parsley, chives and oregano, you can use whatever you have on hand or like. It makes a great meal with a simple salad. The filling is so light and although similar to a quiche it has a different texture and flavor. Don’t skimp on the cheese or herbs!

I am bringing this savory tart to the party this week! Angie@The Novice Gardener and Fiesta Friday are doing something a little different this week, the party is a quiet one, yes usually we are a raucous bunch but not this week. There are no designated co hosts, we are all the co hosts this time and there will be no features. I hope everyone enjoys this tart!

Makes a 9 inch round or rectangular tart or approximately 6 individual tarts

Blind baking the tart:

Blind baked

Pre heat oven to 375 degree’s. Place pie dough (recipe here) in your tart pan, prick the bottom with a fork and place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Place a piece of parchment or foil in the tart pan and fill with pie weights or beans. Bake for 25 minutes the crust will be light blonde you don’t want it to be browned, remove from the oven, and take the pie weights and parchment out. Let cool on a rack. Keep the oven on you will need it for the tomatoes.

Roasting the tomatoes:

8-10 roma or plum tomatoes cut in half

2 shallot sliced

olive oil

Place the tomatoes skin side down and shallots on a sheet pan drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven turning the tomatoes over after 20 minutes, continue roasting for another 15 or 20 minutes until the tomatoes and onions are caramelized. Note: If the tomatoes give off too much juice pour excess off and don’t throw it away it can be used in another dish. My tomatoes were very juicy, I saved almost 1/4 cup of juice. When the tomatoes and onions are done remove from sheet pan and set aside.

The filling

Make the filling and bake the tart:

10 oz whole milk ricotta (I recommend draining in cheesecloth)

2 large eggs lightly beaten

1/2 cup grated parmesan or whatever cheese you want to use (I used a mix of parmigiana, romano and asiago)

handful of parsley chopped

8 basil leaves chopped

1 tbs fresh oregano chopped

1 tbs chives, chopped or snipped

salt and pepper

Place the ricotta, eggs, grated cheese and herbs, season with salt and pepper and mix until combined. Add the ricotta mixture to the cooled pie crust, arrange the tomatoes and onions on top and bake in the 375 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. Let cool on rack and serve room temperature. I like to drizzle a little olive oil on the tomatoes and sprinkle with some of the chopped herbs. NOTE: I recommend draining the rictotta for at least an hour before making the filling, you don’t want any water seeping out to make the crust soggy.

ready for the oven

I had a little ricotta that I didn’t use in a rectangular tart so you could use a about 1 1/2 cups if you don’t want leftovers. I used the leftover ricotta mixture with pasta, it was delicious.

So good

Mar 13

121 Comments

Leek, Asparagus,Chanterelle And Gruyere Mini Quiche For Fiesta Friday #59

Mini quiche

I am not re-inventing the wheel here, quiche in all it’s forms with varied and myriad ingredients has been made over and over but no matter how many times you see, eat or make it’s always delicious. I decided to make individual quiche, no cutting just grab and go.

I like to blind bake my crust so it doesn’t get soggy, use half and half in the custard, I’m generous with the cheese and vegetables making this a substantial and satisfying meal. I used fresh asparagus, chanterelle mushrooms, a young leek, and some lovely gruyere. One of my favorite meals is a fresh salad with quiche and look at this salad that Margi@La petite casserole made.

Angie@The Novice Gardener and her cohosts this week Jhuls@The Not So Creative Cook and for the first time Mila@Milk And A Bun are ensuring that a good time is had by all, the drinks are flowing and the food is plentiful. Thank you all!!

Quiche With leek, asparagus, chanterelle, gruyere

Makes approximately 8 mini tarts(4 inch)

Recipe for double crust flaky pastry I used my go to Julia Child recipe

Approximately 1/2 lb gruyere grated

4 large or extra large eggs

1 1/2 cup half and half

asparagus (enough for 3 stalks on each quiche)

mushrooms (I used chanterelle) about 1 cup chopped

1 spring or young leek cut into rounds and cleaned thoroughly

pinch nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Blind baking your pie crust:

1. Press your pie dough into tart pans and refrigerate (I like to make the night before and refrigerate covered overnight. Preheat oven to 400 degree’s

2. Place parchment in each tart pan and add beans or pie weights

3. Bake for 15 minutes, remove parchment and pie weights and bake for another 15 minutes or until just lightly browned.

Making the quiche:

Place mushrooms and asparagus on baking sheet lined with parchment, brush with olive oil and bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Remove from oven to cool and keep the oven temp at 375 degrees.

Heat a tbs of butter in saute pan and saute the leeks after they have been cleaned and dried.

Grate the cheese and set aside.

Beat the eggs and half and half, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Assembling:

Place some cheese at the bottom of each tart pan, add leek and mushroom filling to the top of each pan, pour enough egg custard to fill each, lay the asparagus on top and add a little more of the grated cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the egg is set.

Enjoy with a fresh salad.