Old Glory Tart

We're going away for vacation on the Oregon coast and our first night out will fall on the 4th of July. We'll make it just over the Ca./Ore. border with our first stop being at the Rogue River State Park. Our celebration will be with a few good friends and of course, a BBQ. I'm making Portuguese Burgers, Kimmy is bringing the macaroni salad, and CeeCee is bringing chips and dips. I thought it would be fun to end the evening with this easy patriotic tart!

I made a practice version this last weekend for two reasons.

1. I wanted to practice and made a smaller version,

2. I wanted to share it with you before the 4th!

Its just a simple crust of store bought puff pastry, with a layer of whipped Creme Fraiche flavored with orange zest and Grand Marnier. Red raspberries make the red stripes while piped creme fraiche make the white stripes. Blue berries and piped stars complete Old Glory. I found my creme fraiche at Trader Joe's but if you can't find it, you can sub heavy cream.


Old Glory Tart
By Nancy Kenmore

1 LB frozen puff pastry, defrosted in refer.
1 egg yolk, mixed with 2 tsp water
1 1/2 LB (3 8 oz tubs) creme fraiche
grated rind of 1 large orange
4 TBSP confectioners sugar
4 TBSP Orange liqueur
1 cup blueberries
1 pint red raspberries
2/3 cup raspberry jam

1. Roll out puff pastry into a 16X12 inches. Cut a rectangle out of the middle of the pastry leaving 1/2 inch stripes all around. Place pastry on foil lined baking sheet.Use the strips to make a vertical lip all around the rectangle. Use ice water to help it adhere. Trim away excess pastry.Chill the pastry shell for about 1/2 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork and brush the outside lip with the egg yolk mixture. Line the bottom of the shell with foil weighted with dry beans, keeping the foil away from the lip. Bake the pastry until the edges begin to brown, 12-15 minutes. Remove the foil and beans and continue baking untill the shell is golden brown, about 7 more minutes.
3. In a small bowl, beat creme fraiche and orange zest till soft peaks form. (creme fraiche will whip more quickly then heavy cream) Add confectioners sugar and 2 TBSP
of the orange liqueur and continue beating till stiff peaks form.
4. Transferee 1/2 the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Spread the remaining mixture on the bottom of the cooled tart shell.
5. Arrange the largest unblemished blueberries in a checkerboard pattern in the upper left hand corner of tart. (See picture for reference) Select the largest unblemished raspberries and place in alternating rows about 1/2 inch apart to stimulate the red stripes. Using the creme fraiche mixture in the pastry bag, pipe in the white stars and white stripes.
6. Melt the jam with the remaining 2 TBSP liqueur. Using a small pastry brush or clean painters brush, glaze the tops of the berries.
7. Play a John Philips Sousa march to celebrate your accomplishment!

NOTE:
In my trial dessert, I ran out of the cream fresh mixture and finished off with whip cream in a can. I don't recommend you do as I did. The cream in a can does not have any stabilizers and it doesn't hold up. (I just used what I had in the fridge)

Enjoy!

2 Winners! Caramelized Onion Pie and...

Fist of all, I'd like to thank everyone for their love, prayers, and good vibrations. We were hoping my operation would be an in and out procedure with no nights spent in the hospital. That was not the way it ended up. I spent 4 WHOLE days and 3 LONG nights for a triple hernia repair. Want to talk about the gory details???
About the ALL the scar tissue in my abdomen and the cyst they found on an ovary??? I even have pictures to share! Yea! Of the scar tissue and the cyst. Now that's getting your moneys worth when you leave with the surgeons photography.
O.K. Not all of you want to hear about it.
I understand! It is a food blog. Not a "How I survived a Triple hernia" Blog.
For the rest of you, I'll meet you on tweeter! Hehe!

So I'm back, but I'm in no shape to be up and cookin. I'm still extremely sore and a shower is enough to send me back to my recovery chair. Thank God for The Food Network! But I do have a few tasty pleasures waiting in the wings to share with you. Like this Caramelized Onion Pie

I first made this onion pie last year after seeing it on Deborah's Blog Taste and Tell. It was delicious then and it's delicious now! I saw a slightly different version on Rita's Blog Pink Bites, and it sent me straight to the frying pan. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.00!

The recipes are very similar, using different cheeses, so I kind of went with both. You can do that you know. And I did! With Gruyere cheese and a pinch of nutmeg. Yum. I have to thank both Deborah and Rita for the inspiration to make this pie again. It was caramelizedonionpielicious if I may say so myself. :)
Try it, You'll like it.

And now the moment we've all been waiting for.

The winner for the modest little prize package goes to....

Reeni! from Cinnamon, Spice & Everything Nice.

I hope you enjoy it. Send me your name and address and I'll get it in the mail as soon as my abdomen will let me get up and out of the house!

And for the rest of you? A winning pie recipe. Just cause I'm giving like that. ;)


Caramelized Onion Pie
inspired by Deborah and Rita

1 flaky pie dough, store-bought or homemade
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1 tablespoon of fresh oregano, chopped
2 large onion, thinly sliced
3 eggs

1 cup of milk ( I use 1%)
1 cup of shredded Gruyere cheese (or more, I wont tell!)
2 pinches of nutmeg
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

On a floured surface, roll the dough until you have a circle 10-11 inches in diameter. Lay dough into a 9 inch pie pan. Be careful not to stretch the dough, or it will shrink back in the oven. Trim edges around the pie plate leaving a 1/2 inch border. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork and refrigerate it for about 30 minutes.

Cover pie plate with foil paper and top it with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until golden, about 30 minutes, removing the foil paper and beans on the last 10 minutes. Set aside until it cools.

While dough bakes, melt butter over medium-low heat, add the onions and thyme and cook slowly until onions are browned, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, set aside.

Lightly beat the eggs with the milk and season with salt and pepper.

Spread 1/2 cup of the cheese on the bottom of the quiche, add the onions on top and cover with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Pour the egg mixture and bring quiche to the oven. Bake it until golden brown and puffed, about 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Apple VS Mushroom Strudel

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

OK, now that we got the requires verbiage out of the way, lets start this battle of the strudel. I made it two times. Once with disastrous results and once that was over the top delicious. Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

I was on Twitter, tweeting that I was about to start my DB challenge. Do you tweet? I'm addicted. If you do tweet, add me! If you don't, why not??? Give it a try. But let me make one recommendation. Use one of the platforms like tweetdeck. Replies and direct messages are laid out on one page. So mush easier to enjoy the fun.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yea, I was tweeting!

So Barbara of Barbara Bakes tweeted back that she was just starting her challenge too. So we went back and forth, comparing notes, asking each other questions, actually doing the strudel together in real time. Oh the power of tweeter!

My first strudel was a bomb. A series of comical events if you will.
Here is how it all played out.

Apple VS Mushroom Strudel!

Let's start with the dough. I mixed everything in my KA mixer. The first time the dough was too wet. April had already made hers and said (tweeted) that her dough was real wet. So I thought it was OK. But it was to wet to even knead for the 2 minutes by hand, like that the recipe said.

Second time, I had to add about 2 TBS of more flour. That was MUCH better and I was able to slap and knead the dough just as directed. I pretty much knew at this point that strudel #2 would be better. But at this point on strudel #1, I had no idea the mess I was making.

Strudel #1 would not stretch at all. It was more like one big hole. I wouldn't even take a picture.
Strudel #2 worked like a dream! Pictured below in all it's glory! :)

For the filling on #1, I went with the apple filling. I used orange flavored cranberries (from Trader Joe's.) for my raisins. They complemented the apples really well and
I was happy with the filling.

For the filling on #2, I went with caramelized onions and mushroom
with shavings of Parmesan Cheese. This one was awesome.

Now after stretching the dough, you are suppose to brush butter evenly over the pastry and sprinkle the bread crumbs over it. Before I got that far on strudel #1, I get a tweet from Barb. It said:

Oh Megan!!! I just made a huge mess of it!
I forgot the butter and the bread crumbs and it stuck and it's so ugly!

Well, I wasn't having such a good time myself and that tweet just cracked me up. I wasn't laughing at barb, I was laughing with her. But I don't think she was laughing. So I go back to the stretching of my dough, or in my case, the patching of my giant hole. I was deep in thought and remembered April had also said it was hard to move to the pan. Oh crap, I better get it on a tray now I thought. Still deep in concentration, I slide my pastry on to a cookie sheet and dumped my apples on top, and patch worked it to resemble a strudel. You can't roll a hole and besides with my pastry on a cookie sheet, there was cloth to aid me in the rolling
even if you could roll a hole!

Now... did you notice anything? Nothing? Read it again!

I forgot the butter and bread crumbs!

And I damn near forgot the second time too but thank God
I remembered and was able to still scatter them on top before I started rolling.

And with the aid of the cloth, I just rolled that strudel right onto the baking sheet. Although I have to admit, it looks a little scary right now!

Wallah! The finished mushroom project!

I sprinkled the top of this one with Black Hawaiian Sea Salt.

This was a great challenge. I would have never tried it again if Barbara hadn't done it over and said it was killer, I needed to try again. Thank you Barbara for baking with me, inspiring me, and being my blogger buddy!


NOW...
Go make strudel!

Strudel Dough
from Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers

1-1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.
Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.

2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.
Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).

3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36-inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.
Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.

4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it’s about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.


2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum (I used my homemade vanilla)
3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins (I used orange flavored cranberries)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs
strudel dough (recipe below)
1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts (I didn't use nuts)
2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking)

1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.

3. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.

4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.

5. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.


Mushroom Filling
3TBS Olive Oil
2 sweet onions, sliced thinly
10 oz sliced mushrooms
1/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 TBS chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp pepper
Sea Salt for sprinkling on top
Saute onion in olive oil till wilted. Add mushrooms and cook till juices evaporate. Add cheese and parsley.

Chocolate Silk (Tofu) Pie!

Trying to keep with the healthy theme I have going on in my life, I bring to you this amazing chocolate pie. Please, PLEASE, don't let the tofu scare you. You wont even taste it. Just silky smooth chocolate that wont make you fall off the wagon. That is...if your on a wagon! A little piece of heaven it is. Pure bliss, I assure you!

The Blond Duck is having Pie Week over at the pond and I'm submitting this pie to her. A decadent silky smooth chocolate pie that wont bust a gut. Inless you eat the whole the pie. Well then, my little buddy..., your on your own!

Moo-Less Chocolate Pie
Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown

2 cups chocolate chips,

1/3 cup coffee liqueur

1 block silken tofu

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon honey

1 prepared chocolate wafer crust
Place a small metal bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. Melt the chocolate and coffee liqueur in the bowl. Stir in vanilla.
Combine the tofu, chocolate mixture, and honey in the blender jar. Liquefy until smooth.
Pour the filling into the crust and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until the filling is set.

Other peoples Chocolate pie

Baking Bites

Cocoajava

Brownie Points
Do Better

A Berry Happy Day!

Happy Father's Day Rich!

I hope it's a great day for everyone, where ever you are and what ever your doing. Here at the Pires household, It's a BBQ and dessert. Maybe a present or two!


This is my favorite (Pillsbury) Baked crust brushed with melted chocolate, filled with Dorie Greenspan's pastry cream. A crown of fresh berries top this easy tart with a glazing of raspberry jam. Refreshing and simple.

And a happy day it is!

I was so bummed when we heard of the closure of Tastespotting. For those of you who don't know about Tastespotting, it was basically a food porn site. A place you could go to drool over great food and find great new blogs.It was also a great way to generate traffic to your blog.

I just found a new site called Food Gawker
Chuck from Sunday Night Dinner stepped up to the plate and cloned Tastespotting!!!

All is well in my world again.

The Pastry Cream
makes about 2 cups

Ingredients
2 cups whole milk

1 plump, moist vanilla been, split and scraped

6 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted

3 1/2 tablespoons (1 3/4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 3 pats

Procedure
1. Bring the milk and vanilla bean (pulp and pod) to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cover the pan, turn off the heat, and allow the milk to infuse for at least 10 minutes or for up to 1 hour.
2. If the milk has cooled, it will need to be reheated now.
3. Whisk the yolks, sugar, and cornstarch together in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan. Whisking constantly, drizzle one-quarter of the hot milk over the yolks. When the yolks are warm, whisk the remainder of the milk into the yolks in a steadier stream; remove and discard the pod (or save it to make vanilla sugar).
4. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously, bring the mixture to the boil. Keep at the boil—still whisking energetically—for 1 to 2 minutes before pulling the pan from the heat and pressing the cream through a sieve into the small bowl. Let the cream sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in the butter. Cover the cream with a piece of plastic wrap—press the wrap against the cream—and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. You can speed up the chill by putting the bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water. (Keeping: Covered tightly with plastic wrap, pastry cream can be refrigerated for 2 days. To smooth the chilled cream, whisk it for a few seconds.)


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Dont forget to sign up for *Taste Like Home* goodie swap.
Sign ups end June 27th

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Strawberry Cream Diet Pie!

Spring is here in 2 weeks and that means Summer is right around the corner. I don't know about you but I'm not ready to break out the etty bitty teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini. Or in my case, the fat lady suit.

With all the baking I do, I try to get my share of chicken and veggys. But, I always add, Diet Pie.

I got this recipe from Weight Watchers years ago. But you don't have to be on a diet to enjoy this
pie. It's light and refreshing and perfect for anytime. Even for company!

The original recipe calls for a low fat graham cracker crust, but I add an extra WW point (per piece) and use a chocolate crust. It was also for a lime pie but I mix it up. Strawberry, raspberry, orange, what ever my mood desires. I call it strawberry cream pie because I was to lazy to completely incorporate the cool whip into the yogurt mixture. Beside the fact, I kind of like the cream spots.

So without further adu, I give to you my version, of Diet Pie.

Diet Pie

from: Weight Watchers

Ingredients:
1 prepared low fat graham cracker crust (I just use regular choclate crust)
1/4 cup boiling water
1 pkg (4 serving size) sugar free strawberry jello (or any flavor)
2 containers strawberry yogurt (or any flavor to match jello)
1 container cool whip

Dissolve jello in boiling water. Add yogurt. Mix well. Fold in Cool whip.
Pour into prepared pie crust. Chill 2 hours.

In Weight Watcher talk- 3 points for 1/8 piece of pie.
In Megan's Cookin talk-4 points for 1/8 piece of pie.

Can Jen float my boat?

When they first announced Lemon Meringue Pie, I wasn't that thrilled. It is not in my top 10. Come to think about it, I don't think it even ranks in my top 20. Funny, I love lemon bars, I love meringue cookies, I love pie. Lemon meringue pie just doesn't float my boat.

Until now!

I waited till the last minute to fulfill my challenge. That gave me ample time to read every one's trial and tribulations on the DB blog. So I expected some weeping of the meringue and puddles of congealed lemon curd. What I got was an amazing pie. I made four mini pies because I thought I could give one or two away. (which I didn't) Besides the fact, that they are just so darn cute!

The lemon curd set up nice without even a hint of ooze.

The meringue, Oh the lovely meringue. It was a billowing melt in your mouth fluffy puff. Yes, I loved the meringue!


The pie crust. Well, as careful as I was not to overwork it, it came out a little tough. But not so tough that it stopped anybody from eating it.
The crust, The pie, I'd like to try again.

A big thank you to Jen of The Canadian Baker for hosting and picking such an awesome recipe.

You made my boat float!

You can find the recipe there. So grab another cup of coffee and go look at all the other pies and start keep drooling over their creations.

I hope you have a lemon meringue kind of day!

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Bourbon Pecan Tart With Chocolate Drizzle

It was thanksgiving,
and the house was as clean as could be,
The Christmas decorations came down from the attic, only not the tree.
The lights went up outside, despite the cutting wind.
The children are almost grown, so in Santa we only pretend.
Ma in her stockings, dad in his jeans
His only request was the green beans
Dessert for thanksgiving, what should it be?
There's only 3 of us to make happy you see.
So we had to have the molten cakes,
but also a tart I wanted to bake.
Then in the kitchen arose such a clatter,
I went to the window to see what's the matter.
Rich was loading the golf stuff, a game to play,
While Rudolph was busy playing in the hay.
As they took off, out of my sight,
I turned to my tart for another big bite.
I checked the newspaper for the big deals.
I'm not getting up at four, not even for those thrills.
The holiday is just around the bend,
I don't suppose you have any money to lend? Later that night, with my curlers wound tight,
I climbed into bed without even a fight.
We all had a belly full that went to our head.
As I fell into a deep sleep, I appreciated my nice warm bed.
On this Thanksgiving lets not forget, to say our prayers and be grateful a bit!


This is my entry for "Waiter, there's something in my..." hosted by Cooksister.




Bourbon Pecan Tart With Chocolate Drizzle

Cooking Light-Nov issue 2007

1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2Tbsp bourbon
2Tbsp molasses
1Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 egg white
2/3 cup pecan halves
Pie dough
1/2 oz chocolate
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. combine first 19 ingredients, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in pecans. Poll pie dough into a 13 in. circle; fit into a 9in removable-bottom tart pan sprayed with cooking spray. Trim excess crust using a sharp knife. Spoon mixture into prepared crust. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely.
3. Place chocolate in microwave safe dish and microwave on high 1 minute. Stir till smooth. Drizzle over tart.




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