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March 28, 2008

Foods in fashion: Greek-style yogurt

Filed under: Appetizer, Snack ideas, Tips and tricks — Jen @ 10:11 am

homemade yogurtOne of the foods we always, always have in the refrigerator is yogurt, and usually more than one kind. When the kids want a snack, I direct them to fruit or yogurt first. When they want to make a smoothie with frozen fruits and juices, there’s plain yogurt to blend in with it. When Sunshine was about a year old, we used to joke that her four major food groups were peach yogurt, pear yogurt, banana yogurt and vanilla yogurt. She still eats two to three containers a day.

Thicker, richer, creamier

In the last eight months or so, we have become big fans of Greek-style yogurt. Greek-style yogurt usually is made with milk that has a higher fat content than typical American yogurts (though nonfat Greek yogurts are still very, very good), and it’s strained to filter out some of the excess water. It’s thick and rich and creamy. It’s dessert, almost! We drizzle honey on it. We use it to garnish soups. We mix it with cereal and fruit. We use it in cooking and baking (it easily replaces sour cream in several family recipes). We use it as part of a favorite summertime appetizer. It feels so decadent.

While it is a little expensive, I’m not so averse to buying the larger cartons at Trader Joe’s. And one individual container per week per person as a treat is not the worst thing in the world. When I bring home the containers of Fage, usually Woody is the first one to ask if can have it, even before he asks for chips or cookies or some other snack. I’m investing in his longer term health, I say to myself.

One of my favorite appetizers in the summer is a dollop of Greek-style yogurt and a smear of herbed Chardonnay jelly on a Melba round. The combination of sweet and creamy and tangy and herby and crunchy without being too heavy is wonderful hot summer evenings. If you can’t find Greek style yogurt, you can make yogurt “cheese” with plain American yogurt.

chardonnay wine jellyYogurt and Chardonnay Jelly with Crackers

Thick Greek-style yogurt, or strained American yogurt “cheese”
Herbed Chardonnay Jelly (we get ours from Westport Rivers winery, but there are other sources)
Crackers (we prefer Melba rounds)

On a large serving plate, place two small bowls. Put the yogurt in one and the Chardonnay jelly in the other. Arrange the crackers. I find a small knife is best for spreading the yogurt and a small spoon best for adding the jelly on top. Set out several completed crackers so that guests know what to do with the ingredients.

Yogurt “Cheese”

One 32-oz container of plain lowfat (not nonfat) American style yogurt
Cheesecloth
Strainer
Bowl
Plastic wrap
Honey (optional)

Line the strainer with cheesecloth and place over the bowl. Dump in the entire contents of the yogurt container, cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator at least over night and up to two days.

Carefully lift the strainer out of the bowl and dump out the excess water and whey. Dump the now very thickened yogurt out of the strainer and cheese cloth into this or another bowl. Drizzle honey over the yogurt and mix well.
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Store in the original yogurt container in the refrigerator for as long as the yogurt would have been good otherwise.

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March 25, 2008

Novelty bakeware and Lemon Pound Cake

Filed under: Baking, Dessert, Gadgets — Jen @ 7:00 am

Right up there with my love of gadgets is my adoration of novelty bakeware.

 600-lemon-pound-cake.jpg

When I first started seeing elaborate Bundt cake pans in the catalogs several years ago, I thought they were cute. I had a Bundt pan, though, and didn’t need another. But then Nordicware came out with a sunflower pan, and I was smitten. It was the only thing I asked for one birthday and I was almost giddy when my husband arrived home the day before that birthday, carrying a Williams-Sonoma bag but not letting me see what was inside.

You see, if I had the kitchen space, I’d have six or seven of these novelty pans, and countless other novelty cooking items as well. They are just so much fun! I’d have the chrysanthemum, the wreath and/or the poinsettia pan, the ice cream cone pan, and a few others for cupcake sized cakes.

sunflower-cake-pan.jpgI’m sure you have one or two novelty items in your kitchen; just about everyone does. Sure you enjoyed it when you first acquired it, but when was the last time you used it? I admit it had been a while since I’d used my sunflower, and I admit that I do go in phases in terms of the frequency with which I use it, but even infrequently used, it makes me smile. Every time, mid-winter, summer or spring. It’s a happy pan.

I pulled out my sunflower pan this weekend, in anticipation of spring. I searched for just the right recipe, and found it in a lemon pound cake that uses lots of real lemon juice and peel, and not just extract.

Even though the pan is coated in Teflon and supposedly non-stick, I do find that efforts to grease and flour the pan are worth it. Extracting finished cakes can be just a little delicate with all those nooks and crannies. I use canola oil spray to grease it, and a light hand with flour (or occasionally powdered sugar)

The cake turned out really nicely. Excellent edge of pucker to it with the fresh lemon juice. I dusted the finished cake with powdered sugar – but not enough to obscure the shape. When I put it out on the table after dinner, even the dog was grinning.

sunflower-cake.jpgFresh Lemon Pound Cake

1 3/4 cup sugar
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks
2 lemons (zest and juice)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a cake pan or load pan.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and yolks one at a time, blending well after each addition. Add the zest, juice, and vanilla extract and incorporate completely.

Add the flour, baking powder and salt and integrate completely, but be careful not to over mix, either.

Pour the cake into the prepared pan and bake about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool, then turn out onto a plate. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

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March 23, 2008

Meal plan: Easter Dinner, Homemade Pizza and more

Filed under: Dinner tonight, Holiday cooking, Main course, Meal planning — Jen @ 6:35 am

After two calm weeks and meal plans met, last week was more than a little discombobulated. Not a single meal was eaten on the initially prescribed day and we have a leftover meal.

600-homemade-pizza.jpg

This week I have to consider a package of chicken breast purchased late in the week on sale, intended for the freezer but somehow never made it there, so must be consumed early in the week. And I need to think about some family schedule changes starting next week. Hmmm.

Meals with an asterisk have recipes printed below.

Sunday: Easter dinner. Pomegranate- glazed Grilled Leg of Lamb, Mediterranean couscous, asparagus, salad, Swiss Easter Rice Tart for dessert.

Yes, a bit more extravagant than typical Sunday evening meals, but it is Easter. My grandmother used to make leg of lamb for Easter and on other special occasions, so it is a sentimental choice.

Monday: Buttermilk marinated crispy chicken strips*, steamed carrots, salad

The first of the meals to use up the chicken. The kids love this dish

Tuesday: Paradise pasta with chicken*

The second of the meals to use up the chicken, and an older family staple. You can omit the chicken easily.

Wednesday: leftovers for the kids and adults

Necessary. We’ll get back to unique parent meals next week.

Thursday: Foil-wrapped ginger chicken, rice, salad

I found this recipe just a few days ago and it looks tasty.

Friday: Homemade pizza

The kids love pizza night. I think I will pick up some dough from the market this time.

Saturday: Pasta Carbonnara, salad

Carried over from last week.

Buttermilk-marinated Crispy Chicken Strips

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into long strips
1-2 cups buttermilk
canola oil
breadcrumbs

Put the strips of chicken in a large Ziploc bag and add the buttermilk. Squeeze the air from the bag and seal it. Store it in the refrigerator for several hours, or up to a day.

Just before cooking, strain the chicken strips over a bowl. In a second Ziploc bag, place the breadcrumbs in the bag and add marinated chicken strips a few at a time, seal, and toss to coat.

Meanwhile, in a wide frying pan, pour in about a quarter inch of oil. Heat to about 325 degrees. When the oil is ready, carefully lay in strips of chicken from the breadcrumb bag. Cook about five to six minutes, turning once. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Repeat until all the chicken is cooked.

Paradise Pasta with Chicken

1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
8 ounces mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, cut into thin slivers
1 small zucchini, sliced thin (optional)
1 red, yellow, or orange pepper, sliced thin (optional)
1 cup chicken broth
1-2 cups broccoli florets
1 pound long pasta
grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

Toast the pine nuts in a small frying pan over medium heat (with no additional oil), stirring constantly, until the nuts are golden. Set aside.

Cook the pasta until al dente.

Meanwhile, in a large pan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, oregano and basil and saute until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the chicken and continue to saute until lightly browned. Add the mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, zucchini and peppers, and saute another four to five minutes. Add the broth, then the broccoli. Turn down the heat to a simmer, and cover. Allow the broccoli to steam. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Toss the chicken and vegetable mixture with the pasta. Top with the toasted pine nuts and grated Parmesan cheese.

March 19, 2008

Food traditions: Easter Bunny Bread

Filed under: Dessert, Holiday cooking — Jen @ 7:41 am

bunny-bread-dough.jpgOne of the favorite spring food traditions in our house is bunny breads. Every year, in the week before Easter, we make at least two batches of these sweet yeast rolls. They are our culinary signal that spring is almost here.

The recipe comes from my husband’s side of the family. We know it is at least 42 years old as we have a fading photograph of my husband as a baby, sitting on a blanket in the sun, gnawing on a bunny bread. We have an equally loved photo of my oldest son on his first birthday, in red fleece jammies with a late spring blizzard raging through the windows behind him, gnawing on his very first bunny bread with a big grin on his face.

Bunny breads have been made for school and for church events, and always for Easter morning. We even dyed them green one year and shaped the dough into standard rolls for a St. Patrick’s party in one of the kids’ classrooms (the color was disconcerting; we found them easier to eat with eyes closed).

I hope you enjoy them.

Orange-flavored Bunny Breads

Dough:

1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 tsp salt
5 1/2 cups (give or take) all purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tbsp grated orange peel

bunny-bread.jpgGlaze:

1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup powdered sugar

In a saucepan, heat the milk, sugar and butter until the butter is melted and the mixture just reaches a simmer. Remove from the heat and let cool.

While the milk mixture is cooling, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let the yeast soften for about five minutes.

In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, place two cups of the flour. Slowly pour in the mixture and bring just together. Add the eggs, yeast and water, juice, and grated peel and continue to combine. Add enough flour to make a soft dough.

Knead 8-10 minutes, or let the stand mixer do the work, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Don’t add too much additional flour during this process; the dough should be slightly sticky.

Rise in a greased bowl covered with plastic wrap until the dough is doubled in size, about two hours.

Punch down the dough and let it rest while you prepare cookies sheets and get ready for the shaping. Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead lightly once or twice.

Pull off a bit of dough and roll it into a long rope (the approximate right amount of dough will take some practice). Then working on the cookie sheet coil about two-thirds of it to make the body of the bunny. With the remaining third, create another coil in reverse for the bunny’s head. Get a tiny bit of dough to roll into a small ball to make the tail. Get another small bit of dough, roll into a thin rope perhaps the length of you pinky finger. Fold that rope in half and stick it on the back of the bunny’s head (same side as the tail) for the bunny’s ears.

Repeat until all the dough is used up. Cover the shaped breads and let rise again, about an hour or so.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden.

After the breads have cooled, mix together the juice and the sugar for the glaze and brush over the baked bunnies.

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March 16, 2008

Fun in the kitchen: Garnish

Filed under: Tips and tricks — Jen @ 3:43 pm

Something that intrigued and amused me about my husband when we first started dating and first started cooking together is his attention to detail. Specifically, that he almost always garnishes the food he makes. Me? I’m rushing to get dinner on the table. Him? He’s holding back an extra minute and using that saved spring of basil to decorate an otherwise boring plate of pasta with pesto.

carrot-radish-celery-garnis.jpg

 

Does it have height?

I started teasing him about this occasionally, but really I was envious that I didn’t have the patience or presence of mind or whatever to do that. Most days it didn’t – and still doesn’t – occur to me. To my husband, a radish may be a potential flower; to me, it’s a radish, a vegetable I don’t like all that much.

Several years ago, my husband’s garnishing ways were put in perspective when we were watching a cooking show. The garnishing of dishes on this show was over the top. Of course every dish on the show was garnished, it’s that they were all garnished with tall elements. Indeed, that seemed to be the point of each garnish, to give the dish more height. There were potato lattices and fountains of chives and all sorts of tall food – often on top of food that already was stacked in some way for effect. It was absolutely crazy. It made my husband’s garnishing look like accidental herb droppings, and it set the stage for a long running joke in our kitchen.

When we are cooking together now, and especially when we are cooking for company, we have running silly commentary about the height elements in our food. Does it have height? How can it have more height? Shall we fry up some eight-inch long potato lattices? Would a stalk of celery look nice in that? It can get ridiculous – but it’s fun.

parsley-sprig.jpgGive garnish a try

On most weeknights, I still don’t give garnishing the dinner a single thought. Garnishing food is one of those things that’s a nice, sometimes fun extra. Presentation is part of the complete effect of a meal, of course, but I’m just as happy with horizontal elements as skinny herbs rivaling my wine glass for height. I am more concerned with taste! If you are going to garnish, make sure the garnish actually complements the dish. Garnish for the sake of garnish only rather defeats the purpose, I think.

There are many fun ways to garnish out there…

>> Try these garnish ideas!

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March 15, 2008

Blackberry Milkshake

Filed under: Beverages, Dessert, Snack ideas — Betsy @ 3:20 pm

blackberry-milkshake1.jpgCreamy, fruity and unique! A fun dessert or snack for kids. You can make this as directed, or healthy it up with some protein powder or brewer’s yeast. The kids won’t even notice it’s in there, but it offers a nice nutritional boost! Don’t like blackberries? Substitute the fruit of your choice.

Blackberry Milkshake

Ingredients

1 cup blackberries, washed and frozen
2 tablespoons sugar or sweetener
1-1/2 cups vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt (4 scoops)
1/2 cup milk

Directions

Place the blackberries and sugar or sweetener in a blender and puree until smooth. You can skip the freezing step and add a few ice cubes in the blender before you puree. Add the ice cream or frozen yogurt and milk. Blend until smooth.

Serves 2.

Meal plan: Baked Tilapia, Spaghetti Carbonara, Meatball Sub and more!

Filed under: Dinner tonight, Main course, Meal planning, Recipe ideas — Jen @ 6:31 am

How is it possible? Two weeks in a row of no glitches in the weekly meal plan. That (almost) never happens.

600-spaghetti-carbonara.jpg

Recipes with an asterisk are included below.

Sunday: Asian baked tilapia from Entrée Vous, vegetable, salad, brownies

I went to a political event at the local Entrée Vous the other evening. While I wasn’t making food, I was pleasantly surprised at the number of frozen items made by the staff and available to take home, no work for me. I chose this fish dish. If it’s half as good as some of the samples that were set out during the conversation portion of the event, this store will be excellent backup for our family meals.

Monday: Leftovers, a green treat of some kind

Yes, I know, not in the least bit exciting, but I hate seeing food go to waste. Leftover night has to happen once every week or so. Since it’s St. Patrick’s Day, I’ll come up with some green treat to add to the meal.

Tuesday: Pasta with sausage and spinach

This is a family staple.

Wednesday: Meatball subs*

I have to be out for a dinner event on Wednesday night, and Alfs has choir. Meatball subs will be easy to prepare on the fly.

Thursday: Barbeque country ribs, rice pilaf, salad

I marinate the ribs in barbeque sauce most of the day, then bake them for a good long time. It a sticky but fun meal.

Friday: Chicken in Riesling, Mediterranean couscous, vegetable, salad

Thanks to Betsy for pointing out this recipe!

Saturday: Spaghetti carbonara*, salad

We parents might be out on Saturday night. I’m not sure yet. We can scale the pasta up or down depending on whether it’s for just the kids or the whole family.

Meatball Subs

Frozen meatballs, about five or six per person. Turkey meatballs work just as well as traditional meatballs
Marinara sauce
Slices of provolone cheese
Sub rolls

Thaw the meatballs according to package instructions. Then simmer the meatballs and the marinara sauce about ten minutes. Turn the oven to broil.

Slice the rolls lengthwise and place on a baking sheet. Place a line of meatballs in the roll. Spoon a little sauce on top, then place slices of cheese over the top. Put under the broiler for just a few minutes, until the cheese is starting to turn golden brown and bubbly. Watch them closely! Let cook for just a couple minutes and serve.

Spaghetti Carbonara

8 slices of bacon
1 pound spaghetti or other long pasta
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (Romano also works)

In a large frying pan, cook the bacon until crisp. Drain. When the bacon is cool, crumble it into small pieces.

With a fork, scramble the egg yolks and the egg together in a large serving bowl. Add the cheese and mix well with the egg.

Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, then immediately pour the hot pasta over the egg-cheese mixture. It’s the residual heat that cooks the egg in this dish. Start tossing the pasta with the egg-cheese mixture, really getting down to the bottom of the bowl. Spend a good minute doing this tossing and mixing; the pasta should be nicely coated with the sauce. Sprinkle the crumbled bacon over the pasta and toss some more.

You can always put the finished product in the microwave for a few moments if you have a question about the egg being fully “cooked.” We have never had an issue, but, of course, your mileage may vary.

March 14, 2008

Baby Greens with Oranges, Red Onion and Slivered Almonds

Filed under: Salad — Betsy @ 7:54 pm

I had a craving for salad with oranges tonight, so I kinda winged it with what I had on hand and made this fresh and easy salad dish!

spinach-orange-salad.jpg

Baby Greens with Oranges, Red Onion and Slivered Almonds

Salad ingredients

1 head butter lettuce, washed and torn
2-3 handfuls baby spinach, washed
1 large navel orange
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup slivered almonds, raw or toasted

Dressing ingredients

1 tablespoon orange zest
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6-7 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions

Peel orange and remove the pith. Slice crosswise and then slice again through the center of the circles to make half moons.  Set aside.

In large salad bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients until oil is emulsified. I also squeeze the juice of one of the orange sections, whisking it into the dressing.

Place salad ingredients in salad bowl and toss. Serves 4-6.

Meal planning: Google Calendar

Filed under: Main course, Meal planning, Recipe ideas, Soup — Betsy @ 4:28 pm

So lately I’ve been using the Google Calendar application to plan my menus and you know what? It kicks butt! In fact, my husband and I use the Google Calendar application exclusively for planning everything.

google-calendar.jpg

We each have our own calendars, we have a joint calendar, we have a calendar for the kids, plus we have the menu planning calendar. All color coded and set up so we both have access to them - and they all overlay each other so we can see everything that’s going on at a glance. I can access/update the calendar via my iPhone browser, but of course I mostly maintain it from where I sit most of the day, everyday: My computer.

Don’t ask me what’s for dinner.

One thing I particularly like about this approach is that hubby can look at the calendar and see what’s for dinner. If there’s nothing on the calendar… dude. Then there is nothing planned. He would be wise when observing this phenomenon to NOT ask that dreaded “what’s for dinner” question. Heck, he can even feel free to suggest an answer and do all the work.

Another thing I like is that as I’m inspired, I can add a menu idea to the calendar and paste a link to the recipe in the notes section of that entry to reference, research or print later. If I change my mind about the order of things, I can drag and drop the entry to another day.

My menu plan. (Do try not to drool on your keyboard!)

So here’s our plan for this upcoming weekend and week. Feel free to share your plans via comments, so I can be inspired.

Friday: Goat Cheese and Walnut Souffle and salad

My family loves this, even the kids! I make the salad with butter lettuce instead of the frisee and watercress. Mainly because I always have some in the fridge. ;-)

Saturday: Mesa Chili with cornbread. (Recipe below.)

It’s normal chili with ground beef and chopped onion and tomato sauce/crushed tomatoes, but instead of kidney beans, we use white beans. Also a nutmeg/cumin/chili powder spice blend make this unique and interesting. Recipe is adapted from the Chandler Chili recipe in the Best of the Best from Arizona Cookbook.

Sunday: Coq a Vin

It’s a lot like beef burgundy, except with chicken instead. This especially easy version caught my eye in latest Cookie Magazine.

Monday: Asparagus risotto, salad, browned butter rice crispie treats

Thanks to my fellow ChefMom columnist, Jen!

Tuesday: Vegetarian Cassoulet

Wednesday: Taco salad

Thanks again to Jen for the idea!

Thursday: Migas

I’ve never made these before. I saw a recipe on the back of a corn tortilla package and thought… yum.

Friday: Probably dinner out or takeout. I like a break every once in awhile.

Saturday: Chicken fajitas with crunchy lime cabbage and avocado

We had this recently with orange slices, chips and guacamole (I cheat with wholly quacamole) on the side and it was a hit!

Mesa Chili

chili.jpgIngredients

1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespooons red chili powder
2 cups crushed tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can cannellini beans (white beans), drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 cup water

Directions

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in large pot or dutch oven until onion is soft. Stir in ground meat and brown it. Add oregano, cumin, nutmeg, chili powder, tomatoes, beans, parsley and water. Cook for two hours over low heat, adding more water as necessary. Serves 4-6.

Gadgety goodness

Filed under: Appetizer, Dessert, Gadgets, Snack ideas, Tips and tricks — Jen @ 1:24 pm

600-garlic-press.jpg

A sucker for kitchen gadgets!

There’s nothing like a new gadget to perk up my cooking, if only for a short while. Any excuse to use it – any excuse at all – and I’m there. I love to peruse cooking stores and websites for new gadgets. I’m a sucker for new tools, and a complete idiot for those tools in funky colors.

Last year when I picked up a mango splitter, I proceeded to buy many overpriced mangoes for weeks just so I could use it. I figured out just the level of ripeness of the fruit that resulted in the best split. My kids thought this was just the best thing ever as they love mangoes and I would buy them only rarely. We had many smiles around the dinner table, and many mango fibers to floss out of our teeth.

I was equally excited when I received a microplane grater as a gift. I sought out all my recipes that contained grated citrus peel or fresh grated nutmeg. Fresh tangerine tart out of season? Eggnog in July? Why not! Then I started using it to grate Parmesan onto pasta. Those thin ribbons of cheese melted so easily, and prettily. I was in heaven.

Any excuse for a new gadget…

Even my new garlic press has me excited. Our 15+ year old garlic press gave up the ghost recently, so I got to pick out a shiny new steel one with these lovely rubber grips. There are so many things I could press with that. What to try, what to try…

There’s that new avocado slicer around that looks very interesting. Although I don’t often slice avocados (I usually smush them into guacamole) and don’t find it onerous when I do, it’s awfully pretty.

The pineapple slicer looks like lots of fun, too. Except that we have a fresh pineapple once or twice a year. Mere details!

My oldest son has inherited my love of cooking gadgets. He has short fingernails and asked for a citrus peeler for Christmas. Seriously, he did.

As you can imagine, my drawers are overfull with seldom used items. But when I do want that gadget, no other will do. Whether it’s the apple corer, melon baller, bowl scraper, or one of a dozen others, I love them all.

Tangerine Tart

Think of tangerine as the starting off point for this tart. Pink grapefruit, lemon, or lime also work.

tangerine-basket.jpg

Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp grated tangerine peel
14 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into chunks

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and tangerine peel. Whir together about 10 seconds. Sprinkle the butter over the top of the flour mixture, then pulse the food processor until the dough just holds together. Press the crust into a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. It will be a bit crumbly.

Bake 25-53 minutes until crust is light brown.

Filling:

2 large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup fresh tangerine juice
2-3 tsp grated tangerine peel
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup half-and-half

Keep that oven at 325 degrees.

With a mixer on high speed, mix all ingredients until well-blended, a minute or so. Pour into the baked crust, and bake 30-40 minutes, until the filling no longer giggles. Cool about 1 hour.

Topping:

3/4 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tsp grated tangerine peel

Beat cream, sugar, vanilla and tangerine peel together until just shy of soft peaks. Mound spoonfuls on the tart as you serve it.

avocado.jpgJen’s Guacamole

I’m not a big pepper fan, so this version has none. The focus is the lovely creaminess of the avocados.

3 perfectly ripe avocados
1 plum tomato, seeded and chopped fine
2 tbsp finely chopped red onion
juice of half a lime
generous pinch of kosher salt

Peel and mash the avocados well. Add the tomato, onion, lime juice and salt and mix/mash well.

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