Monday, January 10, 2011

Dorie Greenspan's Alsatian Apple Tart


 We were sent some Piñata apples for review, so I decided to try Dorie Greenspan's Alsatian Apple Tart. I finally found not one, but two tart pans (thanks Marshalls!) so I was really happy to be making this. If you don't have a tart pan, with a removable bottom, then you could use a spring form pan as well. This recipe is SO easy, once the tart crust is cooled it's oven ready in just minutes. This tart is delicious (as many of Dorie's recipes are) and the kids especially  loved it.


Alsatian Apple Tart
Dorie Greenspan, BAKING FROM MY HOME TO YOURS

1 9" tart shell made with Sweet Tart Dough, partially baked & cooled (see below)
1 pound apples - about 3 medium apples (I used Piñata apples)
3/4 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
3/4 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.
Peel the apples, cut them in half from top to bottom and remove the cores. Cut the apple halves lengthwise into thick slices (about 1/4 to 1/2" thick), I got 12 wedges from one apple. Lay them in the tart shell, overlapping a little.
Whisk together the cream, sugar, whole egg, yolk and vanilla and pour over the apples.
Bake the tart for 50-55 minutes or until the apples can be easily pierced with the tip of a knife. Transfer to a cooling rack. Serve at room temperature with a powdered sugar dusting.


Sweet Tart Dough
Dorie Greenspan, BAKING FROM MY HOME TO YOURS

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (4 1/2 ounces) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk

To make the dough: Put the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in the work bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is cut in coarsely - you'll have pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pea-size pieces and that's just fine. Stir the egg, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses - about 10 seconds each - until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before your reaches this clumpy stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change - heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface.

Very lightly and sparingly knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

Butter the tart pan and press the dough evenly along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Don't be stingy - you want a crust with a little heft because you want to be able to both taste and feel it. Also, don't be too heavy-handed - you want to press the crust in so that the pieces cling to one another and knit together when baked, but you don't want to press so hard that the crust loses its crumbly shortbreadish texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.

To partially bake the crust: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil tightly against the crust. Bake the crust 25 minutes, then carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. Bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, then transfer the crust to a cooling rack; keep it in its pan.

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Friday, January 7, 2011

Flavorful Fridays 2: Crockpot Pernil (Puerto Rican Pork)

  


I've been buying pork roasts from Costco a lot lately, they feed us well, are cheap (when you buy the big bag of like 5 roasts) and they can be done many ways. The day before I was going to roast one, I saw this recipe posted on Facebook. I ran in and put it together. This was going to be dinner instead! I love trying new recipes, and since this was really good, I've got to share it here. This is my Flavorful Friday post!


Skinny Slow Cooked Pernil (Puerto Rican Pork)
directions adapted from Gina's Skinny Recipes

3 lb pork shoulder blade roast, lean, all fat removed (I used pork loin roast)
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tbsp cumin
1/4 tsp crushed black pepper
3 oranges, juice of (1/2 cup)
2 limes, juice of

Using a sharp knife, cut slits into the pork and stuff holes with half of the crushed garlic. Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over pork and place in a large zip lock bag, overnight in the refrigerator.
Add pork roast and contents of bag into the crock pot and cook on low, 8 hours.

After 8 hours, remove pork and shred using two forks. Remove liquid from crock pot and add pork back to crock. Add about 1 cup of the liquid back and adjust salt, pepper and cumin, if needed. Let it cook another 15-30 minutes.




Mommy? Im Hungry!



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Monday, January 3, 2011

Scalloped Potatoes with Goat Cheese and Herbes de Provence


A friend told me about these potatoes and luckily I was able to find them online to share with you. I adapted the recipe a little and made half the recipe for an 8x8 dish. I made my own version of herbes de Provence since I didn't feel like paying $8 for a bottle I'll never use up. *I simply mixed a little of dried basil, rosemary, tarragon, garlic, lavender, marjoram, thyme and parsley together. The only things missing from their version was the chervil and savory. While this was simmering and baking it smelled SO GOOD! I loved these potatoes, but Mr. said it needed something. Pfft! It's got it all in there! I served these up with some grilled tri-tip roast steaks and veggies.


Scalloped Potatoes with Goat Cheese and Herbes de Provence
I make half this recipe for an 8x8 dish. Adapted from Epicurious

1 1/2 cups half & half
1 1/2 cups canned chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup minced shallots
1 tablespoon minced garlic
4 teaspoons herbes de Provence*
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 10 1/2- to 11-ounce log soft fresh herb & garlic goat cheese, crumbled
4 pounds russet potatoes, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Mix first 7 ingredients in large pot. Bring to simmer over medium-high heat. Add half of cheese; whisk until smooth. Chill remaining cheese. Add potatoes to pot; bring to simmer.
Transfer potato mixture to prepared dish, spreading evenly. Cover with foil; bake 15 minutes. Uncover and bake until potatoes are very tender and liquid bubbles thickly, about 50 minutes.
Dot potatoes with remaining cheese. Bake until cheese softens, about 5 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.



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