To Try Tuesday - Bill's Berry Tart

Math never was my strong point so it is no big surprise that I missed Pi Day.  I had this great idea that I would make Bill Granger's Cherry Tart to celebrate Pi Day (even though it is, technically, a tart not a pie) but I ended up having 3.14159265 other things to do, so it became a To Try recipe instead.

I planned on using cherries but Costco did not have any and I didn't want to be stuck with a big bag of frozen cherries.  So I went with blueberries instead, using about 2 cups of whole berries to make a single layer in the tart shell.  It therefore became Bill's Berry Tart.





There is not one thing about this tart that I would change - it was amazing.  If you are looking for a easy-to-make dessert that will impress your family and friends then this is your dessert.  Cherries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or even a mix of berries would be great in the filling.  I loved that the crust was a cinch to make and it did not have to be rolled out.  You know how the crust can shrink sometimes when you are pre-baking? Not with this one.  Also, those pie weights that you use to stop air pockets forming in the crust? Well, you will not need them for this crust. Simply make crust in less than 5 minutes, pre-bake, fill with fruit, pour custard over the top, and bake once more.  Mine baked for 35 minutes, so realistically you could have this pie ready in about an hour.  I sprinkled mine with a little powdered sugar after it cooled, but this is optional.  Ice cream or whipped cream would be a nice addition too.  Lastly, the original recipe was in metric, so if you prefer these measurements you can find the recipe here.

Bill’s Berry Tart

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Ingredients

Pastry

• ½ cup (1 stick) + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled 
• ⅓ cup sugar 
• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour 
• a pinch of salt 
• 2 tablespoons of ground almonds 

Filling 

• ⅔ cup cream 
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
• 3 tablespoons sugar 
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
• 16 oz cherries, halved and pitted 

 Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease a 9-inch round loose-bottomed tart tin. 

To make the pastry:

1. Stir together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the flour and salt and stir to make a soft dough.
3. Press dough evenly into base and side of tart tin with fingertips.
4. Put the tin on a baking tray and bake for 12-15 mins, until pastry is slightly puffy.
5. Remove from oven and sprinkle almond meal over base.

To make filling:

1. Whisk together cream, eggs, vanilla, sugar. 
2. Add flour and whisk until well mixed.
3. Arrange cherries over pastry base and pour cream filling over cherries.
4. Bake for 40-50 minutes until filling is firm.
5. Leave to cool and serve with cream or ice-cream.

Serves 8-10.  Original recipe appears in Holiday by Bill Granger.

Caesar Spaghetti

I'll be the first to admit that I find Rachael Ray a little over-the-top perky and I have to be in the right mood to watch her show.  When I saw her latest cookbook, Look + Cook, at the library I hesitated a little before adding it to the stack I was borrowing.  And then I forgot about it.  Well, not enough to earn me a library fine, but enough to give me just one quick look through before it was due.  I have to say that there were a few recipes that peaked my interest.  One recipe that jumped out at me was Caesar Spaghetti, and I quickly noted the recipe before I placed the book in the return basket.

Caesar Salad is a favorite around here, so I figured that these flavors in a spaghetti dish would be popular too, and I was right.  It is very easy to put together and the flavors were good.  I wish the sauce had been a little thicker, so I might play around with that a little.  I also found that the recipe was missing the croutons that you would expect to find on a Caesar Salad.  To fix this problem I cut some Hawaiian Sweet Bread rolls in half and lightly toasted them, and then gave them a nice schmear of garlic butter.  Problem solved.

I did have to make a few adjustments.  I looked everywhere but I could not find escarole.  Suitable substitutions are kale and spinach, so I went with spinach and it seemed to work out well.  Also, my daughters are not fans of little fishies (anchovies) so I omitted them and used the full tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce.  Leftovers were good too.

Caesar Spaghetti

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Ingredients

• salt
• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
• 6 anchovy fillets, drained
• 4 large cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 medium heads escarole, washed
• 1 lemon, halved
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 cup grated Pecorino Romano

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. 
2. Once boiling, salt the water and then add the pasta and cook until just shy of al dente, according to package directions. Before draining reserve 1 cup of the starchy cooking water.
3. While the pasta is cooking, put a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the anchovies and cook until they've melted into the oil, about 2 minutes. 
4. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the garlic, stir 1 minute then add in Worcestershire. 
5. Shred the escarole and add several handfuls at a time, wilting the greens in the garlic oil. 
6. Dress the greens with lots of pepper and a little nutmeg, then squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the pan. 
7. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually add the reserved starchy cooking water to temper them - do this slowly or you will get scrambled eggs.
8. Turn off the heat and add the drained pasta and the egg mixture. Stir to combine. 
9. Add half of the cheese and toss vigorously for 1 minute. 
10. Dress the pasta with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and transfer to a serving dish. 
11. Pass the remaining cheese at the table.

Recipe by Rachael Ray

To Try Tuesday - Portuguese Custard Tarts

I found this recipe for Portuguese Custard Tarts courtesy of the Cooking Channel and Bill Granger.  For those who might not have heard of Bill, he is a very popular Australian self-taught "cook", who was quoted in Food & Wine magazine as saying "I learned how to cook in a domestic kitchen which keeps my food simple and instinctual".   I just love his easy going manner and simple approach to food.  He has eight cookbooks, including his latest, Bill's Basics.  It is no big surprise that I own them all.

Pressing plastic wrap on the surface prevents a skin forming on the custard

Bill's recipe originally calls for puff pastry but I still have quite a few pie crusts left over from Thanksgiving and Christmas.  What can I say, Sam's Club was selling rolled and read-to-use Pillsbury pie crusts in bulk so I stocked up on a bargain.  I decided that two of these crusts would make a good replacement for the puff pastry.  I also wanted to make mini tarts because they are a nice little mouthful, and also because they are so darn cute.  I simply used a fluted biscuit cutter and gently pressed the cut out pastry into a mini muffin tin.  I had enough dough to make 48 mini tarts, although I only had enough custard to fill 30 empty tart shells, so I filled the remaining ones with jam.

My only complaint about these tarts is that the custard is very sweet. Next time I make them I will definitely cut the sugar in half.  I really don't think I will miss it as they are quite rich to begin with. About 12 disappeared before I had even finished taking these photos.  I was surprised because my husband is back in training mode so he is usually very disciplined about eating sweets, but I guess these were hard to resist.

Portuguese Custard Tarts

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Ingredients

• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup superfine sugar (I used regular)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 refrigerated pie crusts, thawed 
• nutmeg for sprinkling, if desired

Directions

1. Place the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch into a saucepan and whisk them together. 
2. Gradually beat in the cream and milk until smooth. 
3. Place the pan over medium heat, and stirring constantly, cook until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil. 
4. Switch off the heat, and stir in the vanilla extract. 
5. Transfer the custard to a bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming, and leave out to cool. 
6. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease 2 x 24 count mini muffin pans. 
7. Lay the pie crusts on a lightly floured board and, using a biscuit cutter, cut rounds from them.  Gather the left-over pastry scraps and re-roll, cutting more rounds as needed.
8. Press one round into each mini muffin hole. 
9. Spoon the cooled custard into the pastry cases, sprinkle with nutmeg if desired, and bake until the pastry and custards are golden, about 20 to 25 minutes. 
10. Leave the tarts in the pan for 5 minutes, and then remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Recipe adapted from Bill Granger and the Cooking Channel.

Creamy Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, and Apple Soup

In all honesty it really doesn't get cold enough here to be true soup weather.  That doesn't stop me from craving soup every now and again, especially on a rainy night.  Soup is one of those dishes that just screams comfort to me.  One of my favorites is pumpkin soup, but I decided to add a few different ingredients into my regular recipe.


Roasting pumpkin, sweet potato, and apple just brings out all of their yummy goodness.  Once these vegetables have been roasted this soup comes together very quickly.  That drizzle of honey and sprigs of rosemary add that something special to the soup.  Actually honey and rosemary together have become one of my favorite combinations.  Both ingredients have health benefits too so I am happy to use them whenever I can.  Honey has been proven to energize the body, boost immunity, fight bacteria, promote healing of cuts and burns, and help heal sore throats.  I remember my Home Economics teacher telling the class that if we could keep honey in our throats permanently we would never suffer from a sore throat.  Research has shown that rosemary contains anti-inflammatory compounds that may make it useful for reducing the severity of asthma attacks and substances that are useful for stimulating the immune system, increasing circulation, and improving digestion. Also, rosemary has been shown to increase the blood flow to the head and brain, therefore improving concentration.  I think I will go and pick a branch a day to test out the last fact.



It also freezes well, but make sure that you do not add the cream prior to freezing as it tends to curdle the mixture after you thaw it.  I find that if you thaw it out, gently reheat, and then add the cream it works like a charm.  I love serving this with a little Greek yogurt on top and some crusty bread.  I have also added coconut milk rather than cream to my regular pumpkin soup, and I bet it would taste great in this soup too.

Creamy Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, and Apple Soup©

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Ingredients

• 1 butternut pumpkin (about 2 lbs), chopped into cubes
• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped into cubes
• 2 sweet potatoes, chopped into cubes
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup cream (or half & half)
• 1/2 cups water (or more depending on desired consistency)
• sour cream or Greek yogurt

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Pour 2 tablespoon olive oil in a roasting pan and add sweet potato, pumpkin, and apple in a roasting pan.
3. Drizzle honey over top and toss to coat. 
4. Add sprigs of rosemary, salt, and pepper and roast for approximately 30 minutes.  Toss the mixture, and then continue roasting for another 10-15 minutes, or until tender.
5. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a soup pot and saute the onion until translucent. 
6. Remove rosemary sprigs and add roasted vegetables and stock and bring to a gentle boil.
7. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
8. Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor.
9. Return pot to a gentle heat and add cream, nutmeg, and water. 
10. Check seasoning and serve with a little sour cream or Greek yogurt on top.

Makes approximately 10 cups.

Recipe by All That's Left Are The Crumbs.

To Try Tuesday - Cream of Broccoli Soup

It was a little bit of a surprise to find out it was Tuesday today.  It is always like this on a long weekend.  I think that the holiday Monday is Sunday, Tuesday is Monday, and so on.  It usually takes me a week to catch up with the right day.  However, I already had my To Try Tuesday made and ready to be blogged about.



This week's recipe comes from Deb at Kahakai Kitchen.  Deb also lives in Hawaii and we met up recently for coffee.  She is a great person and so easy to talk to.  If you haven't been over to visit her blog I strongly urge you to do so.  It is full of wonderful recipes, including the broccoli soup that I made for this post and her split pea soup that recently made the Foodbuzz Top 9.

This soup is souper-easy easy to make and so tasty.  To make it even easier I purchase a bag of broccoli from Costco that is already cut up.  Basically there is a little sautéing of the onions, celery, and garlic and then everything else goes in the pot until tender.  I used my immersion blender rather than transferring everything to a regular blender to purée it. I didn't have any thyme so I omitted it, but I will definitely add it next time.  I also added some cream and a little grated Parmesan cheese to finish the soup.  It was delicious!   We easily served 6 with left-overs.  I am sure it is going to be even better tomorrow.

Creamy Broccoli Soup

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Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• 8 cups chopped broccoli
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (optional)
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Heat butter and oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat until the butter melts.
2. Add onion and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes.
3. Add garlic and thyme; cook for about 10 seconds.
4. Stir in the broccoli.
5. Add broth and water; bring to a lively simmer over high heat.
6. Reduce heat to maintain a lively simmer and cook until very tender, about 8 minutes.
7. Puree the soup in batches in a blender (I used my immersion blender).
8. Stir in cream (if using), and season with salt and pepper.
9. This recipe can be made ahead - cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Recipe adapted from Eating Well Magazine, February 2011