Little Fruit Bites

I made Stuffed Pear in Puff Pastry the other night and had leftover puff pastry that I didn't want to go to waste.  So I thought, why don't I put a little spoonful of jam and fold the puff in half?

Trader Joe's fig butter and mango butter worked deliciously and wasn't too sweet (but I'm sure any jam would work) or even apple butter!  Perfect for autumn!

Just pop them in the toaster oven at 350 degrees and make sure it gets just a little golden brown (about 10-15 mins).  Yum.  Easy dessert, snack, or breakfast!

Crostini with Prosciutto, Goat Cheese and Fig Jam

Here's a appetizer that we intended to serve at our dinner party but we ran out of time and HAD to eat them all ourselves!

I found this recipe on a fun new blog The Italian Dish while looking for fig recipes.  If only I could find fresh figs in DC to accompany these delicious little bites, this presentation would have been perfect.

Although sweet basil is probably easier to find in the supermarket, we used thai basil from our balcony garden instead.  It gave it a little more punch and the leaves were the perfect size!

INGREDIENTS
1 fresh baguette
1/8 cup olive oil
sea salt or kosher salt
4 ounces goat cheese, plain, at room temperature
6 tablespoons fig jam
3 slices prosciutto, each cut in half
6 fresh basil leaves
(makes six crostini)

Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.

Slice six 1/2-inch slices of bread from the baguette. I slice mine slightly on the diagonal. Place on a baking sheet and brush generously with the olive oil. Sprinkle a little salt on each slice. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until crisp and slightly golden. Watch that they do not burn. Remove from oven and cool slightly.

Spread some goat cheese on each crostini. Spread about a tablespoon of fig jam on top of the goat cheese. Fold the half slices of prosciutto and place on top of each crostini. Lay a fresh basil leaf on each and serve.

Tarte au Citron

This weekend we hosted a 9-person formal dinner at our apartment to welcome yet another Class of '98 Campolindo High School grad (and her husband) to DC!  We had to pull out both leaves of our table, turn it sideways a tad, and pull over the desk chair to fit everyone, but it turned into a great night of good food and good friends.

One of the highlights of the night was the new dessert recipe I tried: Tarte au Citron (French Lemon Tart).  I found the recipe on Saveur and it looked simple enough, so I thought it would be a great dessert on a hot and humid DC summer evening.

Truthfully, it wasn't as simple as I thought because the crust didn't roll out as neatly as I expected, but I can honestly say that it was worth it!  The crust was like a delicious shortbread cookie surrounding this light, refreshing lemon custard.  The filling was super quick and easy to throw together and I garnished it with fresh mint leaves from our balcony garden and raspberries for a splash of color.



INGREDIENTS
For The Pastry:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup superfine sugar
Pinch salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
16 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces

For The Filling:
6 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice
6 tbsp. heavy cream

1. For the pastry: Preheat oven to 375°. Sift together flour, sugar, and salt into a mixing bowl. Beat together 1 of the eggs and the yolk in a small bowl, then add eggs, along with the butter, to the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter or 2 knives to work butter and eggs into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a clean surface and, working with a handful at a time, knead mixture with the heel of your hand into a smooth dough. Gather together and knead briefly to form a smooth ball, then dust with flour.

2. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 14" round, then carefully ease into a 12" false-bottomed tart pan. (Pinch dough back together if it tears or cracks.) Run rolling pin over the top of the pan to cut off overhanging dough, then prick crust with a fork. Line dough with parchment paper, add pie weights or dried beans, and bake on a cookie sheet until edge of crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Beat remaining egg in a bowl. Remove parchment and weights from crust, brush bottom with egg, and continue baking until crust is golden, 5–7 minutes more. Set aside to cool.

3. For the filling: Reduce oven to 300°. Beat eggs and sugar in a medium bowl until thick and well mixed. Gradually add lemon juice, then cream, whisking constantly. Pour filling (you may have a little extra) into prepared crust and bake until filling is set, about 40 minutes. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Creamy Peach Tart with Smoky Almond Crust

Seriously yum!

It's like an easy cheese cake with delicious fresh peaches on top!  Perfect summer dessert from this month's issue of Food & Wine:

INGREDIENTS
2 cups vanilla wafer cookies, such as Nilla Wafers (5 ounces)
1/2 cup smoked almonds
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
2 firm, ripe medium peaches, peeled and cut into thin wedges

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a food processor, combine the vanilla wafers with the almonds and 2 tablespoons of the sugar and process until fine. Add the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the side of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes, until the crust is set.

Meanwhile, wipe out the food processor bowl. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, egg and 2 tablespoons of the sugar and process until smooth. Pour the custard into the crust and bake for 15 minutes, until set. Let the tart cool slightly and transfer to the freezer to chill, about 15 minutes.

In a bowl, toss the peaches with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Arrange the peaches in 2 concentric circles over the custard. Remove the ring, cut the tart into wedges and serve.

Cherry Pie for the 4th of July!

As you can see above, my cherry pie is cooling on the windowsill with the pick-up truck in the driveway and Dad Merschat coming in after a hard day's work setting up for the 4th of July bonfire.  If that's not all-American, I don't know what is.

My brother-in-law searched high and low for traditional New England sour cherries but couldn't find them so he brought down these sweet pie cherries all the way down from New Hampshire.  And this is a new pie crust recipe passed down from our friend Nathan's sister up in Maine (and I had never made a cherry pie before) so this was quite an experiment.  Fortunately, it was a huge hit at the dessert table and got rave reviews from everyone at the 2nd Annual Merschat Family Garden Party & Bonfire!

All in all, it took me a little over an hour to put together and then another hour to bake but if I were organized enough, I could have made the crust up to a week in advance, pit the cherries the day before, and then assembled the pie in no time on the day of the party... but no, as usual I threw everything together at the last minute and poor Michael sat pitting cherries for an hour while I made the crust.  But it was worth it and I'll definitely make this again!

Sweet Cherry Pie

(edited slightly from Smitten Kitchen)

INGREDIENTS

4 cups pitted fresh cherries (about 2 1/2 pounds unpitted)
4 tablespoons cornstarch
2/3 to 3/4 cup sugar (adjust this according to the sweetness of your cherries)
1/8 teaspoon salt
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small bits
1 egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons water
Coarse sugar, for decoration

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Stir together the cherries, cornstarch, sugar, salt, lemon and almond extract gently together in a large bowl.

Roll out half of chilled dough (use larger piece, if you’ve divided them unevenly) on a floured work surface to 13-inch round. Gently place it in 9-inch pie pan, either by rolling it around the rolling pin and unrolling it over the pan or by folding it into quarters and unfolding it in the pan. Trim edges to a half-inch overhang.

Spoon filling into pie crust, discarding the majority of the liquid that has pooled in the bowl.  Top the pie with a lattice pattern.

If you've never done a lattice pie, this step-by-step tutorial was perfect for me. 

Bake the pie in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350°F. and bake the pie for 25 to 30 minutes more, or until the crust is golden. Let the pie cool on a rack (or on windowsill).

Pie Crust

INGREDIENTS

4 cups all-purpose flour (or 2 cups all-purpose and 2 cups wheat flour)

1 Tbsp. salt

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 3/4 cup butter/shortening

1 egg

1 Tbsp. vinegar

Up to 3/4 cup cold water (add 1 Tbsp. at a time)

Mix flour, salt and sugar.

Cut in butter/shortening with pastry cutter or pulse in food processor.

Mix in egg and vinegar.  If it needs a little more moisture, add a little bit of water at a time.  You don't want it too wet.

Divide in half.  Roll into ball and flatten into a disk.  Wrap in plastic wrap and leave it in the refrigerator for at least half an hour or up to a week.

Lightly flour surface to roll out dough and put it in the pie pan!

Easy Jam Tart

The crust is what makes this super simple tart.  It reminds me of buttery cornbread.

Spring is the perfect time for sweet and easy treats!  I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen, and she got it from David Lebovitz... and since I love both blogs so much, I figured this recipe had to be a winner.

Now, I'd love to try this recipe with apricot jam but I didn't have any in my pantry.  However, I did have two delicious looking jams in my kitchen so we did a bake-off: Cherry vs. Orange Cranberry Marmalade.

VS.

And the winner is.....

CHERRY!  (The marmalade is truly delicious but the cherry tastes better in this tart)

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (70 grams) stone-ground cornmeal or polenta
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons (4 1/2 ounces or 130 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg, whole
1 large egg, separated
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/3 to 1 3/4 cups (450 grams) jam (see Note above; I used the smaller amount) or marmalade
2 tablespoons (30 grams) coarse-crystal or granulated sugar

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a food processor, mix the butter and 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar together until smooth. Add the egg, egg yolk (keep the egg white from the second egg on hand for later) and almond extract and beat until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until the dough just comes together.

Transfer about one-third of the dough to a lightly floured counter and shape it into a log about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until needed. (As always, I was in a rush and put this in the freezer.)

Transfer the remaining dough to a buttered 9-inch (23-cm) tart pan with a removable bottom of a 9-inch (23-cm) springform pan. Using your hands, press the dough evenly into the bottom. If using a tart pan, press the dough up the sides to the rim of the pan and set the tart pan on a baking sheet. If using a springform pan, press the dough about 3/4-inch (2-cm) up the sides of the pan. Refrigerate the dough-lined pan until firm, at least one hour. (Again, I used the freezer and it was firm in 30 minutes. I am impatient.)

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Spread the jam or marmalade evenly over the dough in the pan. Cut the chilled dough into very thin discs with a sharp paring knife. Arrange them slightly overlapped in concentric circles over the jam to form a top crust. Whisk the remaining egg white with a teaspoon of water until frothy; brush evenly over the tart lid and then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons (30 grams) coarse sugar. Bake until the top crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

Do ahead: This tart keeps beautifully for up to 3 days if well-wrapped at room temperature. David says that it’s pretty sturdy, so perfect to take along on a picnic.

Re-Post: Easiest Banana Bread Ever

This is a re-post of the easiest and best banana bread recipe from our old super-slow blog.  My competitive dancer, piano recital performing, active sorority member, always volunteering cousin SOMEHOW finds time to also keep her grades up at UC San Diego AND bake for her friends during finals.  I don't know how these kids do it these days!

So this recipe re-post is dedicated to my super woman cousin :) 

INGREDIENTS (you probably have most in your kitchen already)
3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour (I like using our favorite Trader Joe’s Multigrain Baking & Pancake Mix)
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips (or more if you’re a chocoholic like Michael)
1/3 cup toasted, sliced almonds OR walnut pieces (optional)

DIRECTIONS (No Mixer Required!!)
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and put on your apron
2. With a fork, mash up the bananas in a big mixing bowl
3. Then melt butter in a cup in the microwave and mix into the mashed bananas
4. Now mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla
5. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in
6. Add the flour last and mix just until it’s all blended
7. Fold in chocolate chips, almonds, or walnuts
8. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan and bake for 1 hour (or you could line muffin cups and poor mixture into 18 cups)
9. Bake until toothpick comes out clean (about 1 hour for loaf pan or 30 mins. for muffins)
10. Cool on rack for a while so it’s easier to flip out of the pan
11. Flip the bread out of the pan, slice, eat some while it’s still warm, bring some into work to share (or not), and never waste over-ripe bananas again!

Strawberry and Rosemary Scones

My co-worker Liana made these scones a few months ago and I wasn't sure if I would like them.  Well, I was wrong.  Strawberry and Rosemary compliment each other surprisingly well!  They are really good and perfect to serve at brunch (or a BYOCraft party).

Instead of a heart cookie cutter, I just used a biscuit cutter because that's all I had.  It worked fine but it would be fun to get cute cookie cutters and try this recipe again.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup strawberry jam

Glaze:
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, from 1 large lemon
2 cups powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons water
Special equipment: a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter

DIRECTIONS
For the scones: Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor (see below for hand-mixing instructions), pulse together the flour, sugar, baking powder, rosemary, salt, and butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Gradually stir in the cream until the mixture forms a dough. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 1/2-inch thick, 10-inch circle. Using a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out heart-shaped pieces of dough and put on the prepared baking sheet. Gently knead together any leftover pieces of dough and roll out to 1/2-inch thick. Cut the dough into more heart shapes and add to the baking sheet. Using an index finger or a small, round measuring spoon, gently make an indentation in the center of each pastry heart. Spoon a heaped 1/2 teaspoon of jam into each indentation.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Transfer the cooked scones onto a wire rack and cool for 30 minutes.

For the glaze: In a medium bowl, mix together the lemon juice and powdered sugar until smooth. Gradually add the water until the mixture is thin enough to spread. Using a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the scones. Let the glaze set for about 30 minutes. Serve or store in an airtight plastic container for 2 days.

Cook's Note: The dough can also be made by hand by stirring together the flour, sugar, baking powder, rosemary, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter. Using your fingertips or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Gradually stir in the cream until the mixture forms a dough.

Simplest Dessert: Cobbler

Cobbler.  The easiest last-minute, throw-together, what-to-do-with-all-this-leftover-fruit recipe! 

Last weekend, Michael and I came back from North Carolina with half a basket of DELICIOUS South Carolina peaches.  After we had eaten as much as we could, we had to cut up the rest at the peak of ripeness and put them in the freezer.  Fortunately, our friends Roger and Martha had time to come up for dessert and drinks after we had dinner at 2Amy's (yum!) so we could use a couple of our delicious frozen peaches.

Of course, you can use whatever fresh or frozen fruit you have on hand.  We usually keep a bag of frozen mixed berries or wild blueberries in the freezer just in case we have a cobbler craving!

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! 

INGREDIENTS
1 stick of butter
1 cup of flour (we strongly suggest using Trader Joe's Multigrain Baking & Pancake Mix if you can get it)
1/4 cup rolled oats (optional)
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar (can be reduced to 2/3 cup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 bag frozen fruit (or equivalent if using fresh fruit)

DIRECTION
Preheat oven to 425°.
While pre-heating, put the stick of butter in a 9x13 pan and into the oven until butter is melted.

Mix together the flour, oatmeal, milk, sugar, and vanilla.  It should be a pretty thin batter (similar to pancake batter) but if it's too runny, just put a little more flour in.  Now take the pan with the melted butter out of the oven and pour the batter into the butter.  Take your fruit and sprinkle it over the top.

Put it back in the oven and bake at 425° until golden brown (usually 30-35 minutes depending on oven temperature).  Just make sure the center is cooked.  The edges will be crispy and delicious.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Sweet Nectar of Summer: Sangria

This weekend of 4th of July party hopping is the perfect time to whip up a batch of my famous Sangria.  Over many years of adding more fruit and trying new juice combinations, here's a Sangria recipe that is always a crowd-pleaser (originally taken from epicurious.com)

INGREDIENTS
5 bottles of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon "Two Buck Chuck" from Trader Joe's work well)
1/2 cup brandy
1/4 cup Cointreau or Triple Sec
1 quart mango nectar (make mango ice cubes if you have leftover juice)
1 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup superfine sugar
1 quart chilled lemon-lime soda
Thinly sliced fruit of your choice: Apples, oranges, limes, any type of melon, kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, grapes (cut in half), peaches... you get the idea.  (This weekend I'm using watermelon, oranges, lemons, strawberries, blueberries, nectarines and grapes.)

DIRECTIONS
Note: The longer you let the fruit sit in the wine, the yummier it turns out.  I'm starting 2 days in advance.

Slice all the fruit.

Pour wine, liquor, juice and sugar into large bowl.  Stir.  Add fruit. (If you don't have a lot of room in your fridge - like me - I found that you can just pour 2-3 bottles into a bowl with the rest of the ingredients and just put it in the fridge.  Put the remaining bottles of wine in the fridge too so they are chilled when you add them to the punch bowl or cooler just before serving.)

Add lemon-lime soda and ice cubes right before serving.

Garnish wine glasses with with extra fruit or mint sprigs and serve to family, friends, and most importantly YOURSELF!

Raspberry Linzer Torte

Last week I was swamped finishing up the FERC Budget to send to Congress so I didn't have time to post anything. I know, where are my priorities?!?! :)

Anyway, this is a simple and great recipe that I found in Food & Wine. I used a little heart cookie cutter because Valentine's Day is just around the corner, but you can use any design you want.

Before you start, you need a food processor and a tart pan.

INGREDIENTS
4 ounces hazelnuts (or 1 1/4 cups) plus 2 tablespoons hazelnut flour (see Note)
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus a little more for rolling
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg yolk
1 cup seedless raspberry jam (10 ounces)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375° and lightly spray a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom with vegetable cooking spray. In a food processor, pulse the hazelnuts until finely ground. Add the 1 cup of flour and the sugar, cocoa, cinnamon and cloves and pulse to blend. Add the butter and egg yolk and pulse until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 2 or 3 times.

Press two-thirds of the dough into the tart pan in an even layer, pressing it into the corners. Spread the jam in the crust. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the remaining dough 1/4 inch thick. Using lightly floured small, decorative cookie cutters, stamp out as many shapes as possible and arrange them on the jam.

Bake in the lower third of the oven for about 45 minutes, until the crust is deep brown and the jam is bubbling. Let cool, then serve.


NOTE
Hazelnut flour, which is simply ground hazelnuts, is available at health food stores and from kingarthurflour.com.

I couldn't find hazelnut flour anywhere so I didn't use it and it turned out fine. Don't stress about it.