Author Archives: michele343

Easy Pastry Shop Apple Tart

22 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in Baking, Desert, Recipes

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Ingredients

  • For the crust:
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • For the cream filling:
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • For the top:
  • 3 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds or chopped walnuts

Notes

If you want to put on a glaze, I’d use apricot jelly, but thin it out with a little water first because you’re working on a bumpy surface with those nuts.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Make the crust: Cream the butter and sugar. Stir in the vanilla. Finally, mix in the flour to make a smooth dough. Alternately, put the butter, sugar, vanilla, and flour in the food processor and pulse to crumbs. Pour them into your pan and press into place. Press into the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan, giving it about a 1-inch rim. Bake 15 minute, or until lightly golden. Remove the tart shell from the oven.

While the crust bakes, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla for the cream filling until smooth. Make the topping by tossing the apple slices with the cinnamon, sugar, and nuts.

Remove the tart shell from the oven. Spread over the cream mixture. Arrange the apple slices on top, and then scatter over the nuts. Bake until the apples are tender and golden, about 40 minutes.

Coq au Riesling

22 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in Dinner, Recipes

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Ingredients

  • 6 chicken legs, split at the joint (or a 3-pound/1.4-kg whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces)
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 tablespoon each butter and olive oil (or 2 tablespoons goose fat), plus more butter for frying
  • 4 shallots, minced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons Cognac
  • 1 cup/250 ml dry Riesling
  • 1/2 cup/125 ml chicken stock
  • 8 ounces/250 g mushrooms, quartered
  • 1/2 cup/125 ml creme fraiche or sour cream
  • Chopped fresh parsley or tarragon, for garnish

Directions

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the fat in a saute pan and brown the chicken on all sides, working in batches. When all the chicken is browned, remove it to a plate and add the shallots and garlic to the pan for 1 minute. Pour in the Cognac to deglaze. Put the chicken back in the pan. Pour in the wine and stock, cover and cook until the chicken is tender, about 20 minutes, turning once.

Meanwhile, melt a little butter in a frying pan and cook the mushrooms until golden. When the chicken is cooked, remove it to a serving platter and keep warm. Boil the cooking liquid down to sauce consistency. Stir in the creme fraiche and mushrooms. When hot, taste and correct the seasonings. Pour the sauce over the chicken, sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

Beef Bourguignon

22 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in Dinner, Recipes

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Ingredients

  • For the stew
  • 4 pounds boneless stew beef, such as chuck or sirloin tip, cut into large chunks
  • 2 tablespoons pork fat or olive oil, plus more if needed
  • 2 carrots, peeled and halved
  • 2 onions, peeled and halved
  • 4 cloves garlic, just crushed
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 (750ml) bottle red wine
  • 4 cups beef stock
  • 1 bouquet garni (made from bay leaf, parsley stems, and thyme sprigs)
  • For the garnish
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more if needed
  • 6 to 8 slices bacon, cut into lardons
  • 40 baby onions, peeled
  • 16 ounces mushrooms

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove the meat from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large casserole. Working in batches, brown the stew meat well on all sides, removing as you go. When the meat is done, cook the carrots and onions in the same pot until tender and lightly golden. Add the garlic, and cook one minute. Add the flour and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Pour over the wine and the stock. Add the bouquet garni. Return the meat to the pot, cover, and transfer to the oven until the meat is very tender, about 2 hours.

While the meat cooks, prepare the garnish: Heat the oil, in a pan and brown the bacon, and remove. Add the onions and cook until browned all over, remove. Finally, brown the mushrooms, and remove. Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup water, reduce, and then pour over the garnish. Set aside.

When the meat is done, remove it from the pot. Strain the stock, discarding the vegetables. Pour the liquid back into the pot, and boil until thick enough to coat a spoon. Return the meat to the pan and add the garnish. Cover, and simmer until the onions are tender and the flavors have blended, 10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings. Serve.

Creamy Potato Gratin

22 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in Dinner, Recipes

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Ingredients

  • 4 1/2 pounds all-purpose potatoes
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 onion, peeled
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • Approximately 1/4 cup unsalted butter

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices, neither especially thin nor especially thick (approximately 1/2-inch) and put them into a large saucepan with the milk, cream, onion, minced garlic and salt. Bring to the boil and cook at a robust simmer or gentle boil (however you like to think of it) until verging on tender, but not dissolving into mush. The pan might be hell to clean afterward, but any excuse for long, lazy soaking rather than brisk pre-or postprandial scrubbing always appeals to me. And, for what it’s worth, I find that when pans are really, dauntingly, stuck with cooked-on gunge, it’s more effective to soak them in hot water and detergent (i.e., the stuff you put in the washing machine, though I haven’t tried, and don’t think I would, with tablets) rather than dish liquid.
Use some of the butter to grease a large roasting pan (15 by 12-inches) and then pour the almost sludgy milk and potato mixture into it. Dot with remaining butter and cook in the oven for 15 minutes or until the potato is bubbly and browned on top. Remove, let stand for 10 to 20 minutes and then serve.
This is not the most labor saving way of cooking potatoes, to be sure, but one of the most seductive. And it reheats well as an accompaniment to cold roast pork, or indeed anything in the days that follow.

Swedish Christmas Cookies

22 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in Baking, Desert, Recipes

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Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks), at room temperature
  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • Colored sanding sugars or chopped toasted pecans

Directions

Whisk the flour, cardamom, and salt in a bowl.

Put the butter and confectioners’ sugar in a food processor, and process until smooth. Pulse in the egg, vanilla, and lemon zest until combined. Add the flour mixture and process to make a soft buttery dough. Divide dough in half onto 2 (12-inch long) sheets of plastic wrap, using the plastic, shape into rough logs. Refrigerate the dough logs for 30 minutes until just firm enough to shape into uniform logs, 8-inches long by 2-inches in diameter. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Scatter either the sanding sugars or toasted nuts on a work surface and roll the logs until completely coated. Cut into 1/4-inch thick cookies and space about 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until golden around the edges, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool cookies on the pan on wire racks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks

Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup

22 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in Baking, Breakfast, Recipes

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Ingredients

  • 1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
  • 8 large eggs
  • 2 cups half-and-half
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Dash salt
  • Praline Topping, recipe follows
  • Maple syrup

Directions

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:

  • 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

Ricotta Orange Pound Cake with Strawberries

22 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in Baking, Desert, Recipes

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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups cake flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature, plus more to grease the baking pan
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 orange, zested
  • 2 tablespoons Amaretto
  • Powdered sugar, for dusting
  • 1 pint strawberries, hulled and quartered or 3 oranges, cut into supremes

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan with butter. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.

Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, ricotta, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the machine running, add the eggs 1 at a time. Add the vanilla, orange zest, and Amaretto until combined. Add the dry ingredients, a small amount at a time, until just incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 45 to 50 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Using a mesh sieve, dust the cooled cake with powdered sugar.

Meanwhile, place the strawberries (or orange supremes) in a small bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Let sit until the juices have pooled around the strawberries.

To serve, slice the cake and serve with a spoonful of strawberries and their juices over the top of the cake.

Trying not to scream

22 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in Family, My Story

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Today it is just another amazing day in my house.  My 3 year old wants the tv on but she won’t stay in the room to watch the movie or show that is on.  But the second you try and turn it she runs in the room and starts to throw and amazing 3 year old fit.  Oh yeah it is awesome. 

And then she has tried to love and squeeze the dog so much that he has tried to hide from her.  She at one point almost pushed him down the stairs trying to hug him as he was pusing away from her.  I had to pull the gate closed at the top of the stairs and look at the dog saying this is for your own safety.  Oh my it is just crazy the things you have to do to keep everyone safe.

Also, people in my family are asking what to bring for Christmas Eve dinner.  Well I have sent an email and also sent one on facebook.  It is the same list every year of what we eat and what to sign up for to bring.  It doesn’t change so I don’t know what the issue is.  But I guess I just wasn’t clear.  I guess I will have to find another way or do something different cause well this list of traditional food isn’t working I guess.

And for the family too that don’t tell you what they want for gifts or just ask for gift cards.  Well I am sorry I am not doing gift cards.  I a not going to wait til the last minute to get you what you finally think of.  Because running all over town or trying to get somthing shipped like over night well just isn’t going to happen.  I am not going to pay the same to ship it here as the gift I was going to get you just because you waited to tell me til the last minute.  I think that is just nuts.  You will just get the random thing that I got for you or the As Seen On TV item that I saw on late night tv or at the store and thought oh how amazing that looks & cool it will be.

I am trying to get the house prepaired, the menu planned, everything in order and ready for Christmas Eve & Christmas Day.  All in all while still trying to have fun and fit in some sort of tradition for my own family.  Yeah it is crazy and I think I found my first grey hair.

Lentils con Prosciutto

22 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in Dinner, Recipes

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Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 (9 ounce) piece prosciutto, cubed
  • 2 white onions, thinly sliced
  • Sprig rosemary
  • 2 chili peppers, diced
  • 2 1/2 (15-ounce) cans lentils, drained and rinsed

Directions

Saute prosciutto and onions in a frying pan in the extra-virgin olive oil, rosemary and hot peppers on high heat, until the prosciutto and onions are browned.

Add the lentils to the pan. Cook for a few minutes so that the lentils absorb the flavors of the other ingredients. Add a pinch of salt, but be cautioned that the prosciutto is already quite salty.

Remove the rosemary sprig and plate the lentils. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Swedish Meatballs

22 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in Dinner, Recipes

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Ingredients

  • 8 slices white bread
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon beef base
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
  • 2 1/2 pounds ground chuck

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Place the bread slices in a large mixing bowl and dampen with heavy cream. Once bread is soaked through, add the rest of the ingredients, except the meat, and mix well. Mix in the meat. Roll the mixture into 1-inch meatballs and bake, uncovered, on a lightly greased baking pan for 45 minutes.

Serve the meatballs hot, with gravy if desired.