Apricot Tart

Every summer the apricot tree that my Dad, Walter planted in the backyard produces at bumper crop of this wonderful tasting stone fruit.  This year the little apricots were not so little.  They were quite huge and so plenty.  So the proverbial apricot jam has been made and shared with the neighborhood and work.  I am trading apricot for strawberry with my nephew, John, if he remembers.  This year I made a summer peasant apricot tart.  Home made crust too.  Quite easy crust with the Cuisinart.

So here goes:

Short Crust Pastry
1  1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbls granulated white sugar
1/2cups unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into small/medium pieces
1/8 cup to 1/4 cup ice water

Apricot filling:
1 1/2 pound apricots...  8 to 14 apricots.... cut in half a pitted
1/3 to 1/2 cups white sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Crust:  In a food processor, pace the four, salt ad sugar and process until combined.  Add the butter and process until the mixture looks like corn meal.  Add the water slowly in a steady stream through the feeding tube of the processor until the pastry just holds together.  (To make sure the water is chilled I put a couple of ice cubes in the water).

Turn pastry out onto floured surface.  Roll out into a 12 inch circle.  Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet and place the dough on parchment paper.  Set aside.

In a large bowl mix together apricots, sugar and salt.  Mix until apricot juice starts to cling to fruit.  Sugar will become a little pasty.  That's perfect.  Pour apricots and juice onto the middle of the dough
and place them flat side down leaving about a 2 inch border.  Gently fold the edges of the pastry up and over the apricots, pleating when needed.  Make sure to seal any cracks in the pastry.

Bake the tart in a preheated 405 degree oven for 35-45 minutes or until pastry in golden brown.  remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Very tasty...and so easy-peasy!

Mousse au Citron

Mousse au Citron

My friend Erin and her Mother, Colleen, came over for lunch the other day.  We were celebrating Colleen's birthday.  Of course, I made a Spinach and Ham quiche and my famous French Onion Soup. However, for dessert instead of the usual chocolate torte I decided on something with lemons because I have a lemon tree that is full.  I found this recipe for lemon mousse in the Saveur magazine.  It took 2 days...started on Monday and finished on Tuesday.  But it was good...a little heavy but good.

Mousse au Citron

serves 8 - 10  

8   eggs
1  1/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Juice and zest of 4 lemons
1  cup heavy cream
1  tsp. vanilla extract

Whisk together 4 eggs, 4 yolks (reserve remaining whites), and 1 cup sugar in a 4 qt saucepan.  Add salt and juice and zest; stir until smooth.  Place saucepan over medium heat; cook stirring, until mixture thickens to the consistency of loose pudding, about 10 minutes.  Pour through a fine strainer into a large bowl and chill.

Next Day:
Whisk egg white and remaining sugar n a bow until stiff peaks form:  add to curd.  Fold gently until combined: set aside.  Which cream and vanilla in a bowl until stiff peaks form: add to curd mixture.  Fold until combined.  Spoon mousse into serving cups: chill before serving.

It was really tasty "cool" but filling.  No wonder it serves 8 to 10.  But worth the time.

So enjoy...

Ingredients for French bread baguette recipes:

4 cups Flour
1 tbsp. Dry Active Yeast
1-2 tsp. Salt
2 cups Warm Water
Oil for bowl

How to make it:

1. In a bowl, mix together the flour and the salt.
2. In another bowl, combine yeast, warm water, and half of the flour/salt mixture. Using your hands, mix until it forms a dough. Then, cover with a dish cloth and let sit at room temperature for 3 hours. It should triple in size.
3. Gently incorporate the rest of the flour/salt, using your hands.
4. Place on a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes. It should be supple and elastic when you stop kneading.
5. Lightly oil a bowl. Place dough in bowl. Cover with a dish towel. Let sit for 1 hour. It should double in size.
6. Preheat oven to 450°F. Knead again. Then cut dough into 3 parts and form each part into a long baguette. Place on a baking sheet. Let sit for at least 20 minutes.
7. Place a bowl of water in the oven. Bake baguettes for about 25 minutes (maybe less). Remove the bowl of water after 15 minutes of baking.
Voilà!

Tip for French Bread Baguette Recipes:

Baguettes are particularly crusty and light because they are cooked at extremely high temperatures and are vaporized. Even though domestic ovens can't go as high a real French bakery ovens, you can still make an excellent baguette, by remembering to put a bowl of water in the oven. And, of course by baking at a very high temperature.

Tilapia with Shrimp in a pouch

Something oh so easy and good tasting and an old Boy Scout way of cooking on an open fire. However, I used the oven. My neighbors Judy and John came over for dinner the other night and I made talapia. Easy to do....

3 talapia fillets
18 medium shrimp, cooked or uncooked
butter
salt
pepper
paprika
dried parsley

Okay that is it. 3 pieces of foil.... spray each piece of foil with cooking spray. Place
one fillet in the middle of foil, put 2 tabs of butter on top of fish. Add 6 shrimp, salt, pepper, dried parsley and paprika for taste. Take long end of foil and touch together and fold foil over twice. Then fold in each side. Puncture 3 holes on top of foil to stream can release. Place on a cookie sheet and place in a pre-heated 350* oven. Bake for 30 minutes.

Place on plate and carefully undo the folds or cut down the middle but be careful steam will release and it is hot. Enjoy... fish is flaky and tender and not fishy tasting.

You can also add mushrooms, asparagus, small potatoes to the pouch.

I love this way to cook. You can pre-make the pouches ahead of time in the morning and then when you get home take them out for about 15 minuted before you cook them...while oven is preheating.

You can also place these on the BBQ using the heavy duty foil. So easy and non-messy for parties. And, your guests will love the whole pouch idea....

Easy-peasy....and tasty too!!!!

Sage-Rubbed Pork Ribs with Sauteed Cabbage

Hello and sorry for being so long in a new recipe but I have been busy settling in to my new routine with a new part time job that is on the weekends. So I have had to change my cooking habits to during the week instead of the weekend because when I get home from Armstrong's garden Center I am exhausted and can barely move.

Sage-rubbed pork ribs from the Weekend Magazine, is this weeks try. The recipe called for pork chops but summertime pork ribs boneless were in the discount pile at Vons and they looked really good. Meaty and not much fat. So I used them instead.

2 pork ribs, boneless or 2 pork chops
1 tbls chopped fresh sage or 1 tsp dried (I have sage in my kitchen garden)
1 large clove of garlic minced (I used 3 since I love garlic)
1/2 tsp salt
pepper
2 tbls. olive oil

1/4 head cabbage, sliced thin


Combine all ingredients, except olive oil in a bowl. Wash ribs/chops and pat dry. Rub mixture all over meat and set aside for 15 minutes. Preheat a iron skillet, and olive oil and then add the meat. Sear on one side for 5 minutes, turn and sear on other side for 4 minutes. Remove meat and place on an oven proof plate, cover with foil and place in oven to rest.

Add, a tad more olive oil and butter and sliced cabbage. Add a splash of seasoned rice wine vinegar. Cook cabbage until wilted. About 10 to 15 minutes.

Place cabbage on plates...place ribs/chops on top of cabbage.

It was really good. The pork was juicy since it was allowed to sit for 15 minutes. It was just barely pink inside. Remember, "resting" meat still continues to cook. I would add applesauce on the side for this dish next time I make it.

There you have it easy-peasy!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Easy but don't let this happen to you....

Preheat 350* Bake 50 minutes

6 eggs
2 sticks butter, room temperature
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 oz cream cheese

Mix sugar and butter very well. Add cream cheese and then add one egg at a time and mix well. Add flour, baking powder, vanilla and mix well.

The recipe that I took this from did not mention what type of baking pan or loaf pan or dimensions to bake this in. So I used one (1) standard glass loaf pan. Just to see what would happen. Since there was more batter than should have been in the pan I had to cook this longer than the 50 minutes, hence the burnt bottom. Another lesson in...follow the directions.

Well the pictures speak load and clear. Although the kitchen smelled great from the over flowed batter that was cooking on the bottom of the oven I would suggest using two (2) loaf pans.

After the pound cake cooled off I trimmed off ALL of the brown crust and it was still good. So even with mishaps and burnt offerings a perfect bite can still be had.

Relish's Yogurt Biscuits

AWESOME!!!!!!!
As the Relish magazine article stated this is three ingredients only. Tastes just like little sourdough balls. However, my personnel change would be to make them bigger. Using a 2 inch biscuit cutter like the recipe calls for is very small. Too small in fact...I would use no smaller than a 4 inch....double the recipe...

Preheat oven to 450*

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups plain Greek yogurt

Whisk flour and salt together in a large bowl. Make a hollow in the center. Pour yogurt into the center and stir with a fork or spoon pulling the flour into the yogurt. Mix until dry ingredients are moistened and the dough forms.

Sprinkle a clean surface with flour. Turn dough out, sprinkle with flour and fold in half. Pat dough until 1/4 inch thick. Flour again and fold dough in half a second time. Pat dough into a 1/2 inch thick round.

Dip a 4 inch biscuit cutter into flour and cut out biscuits without twisting.

Place biscuits close together on a baking sheet. Bake 10 to 14 minutes, until light golden brown Serve hot. Makes 12 biscuits.


NOTE: I did not have self rising flour on hand so I had to make my own. 1 cup flour add 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoons salt.