Pastry Cream

I probably watch Food Network more than any other channel. I was watching Barefoot Contessa make this divine looking Strawberry Tart. Since I really didn't want to make a tart, I comprised and filled strawberries. I wanted to try the cream before making something more elaborate. Normally, I have an easy time taking photos of my son. Not this time, he just wanted to eat all the filled strawberries. He also made lots of faces. He looked angry. He crossed his eyes at me. He looked scared. He ate the filled strawberries bottom first. I am really surprised he didn't make a mess. Most of the photos were not even in focus. It is hard to take a photo if one is laughing. He does make me laugh often.

Pastry Cream
5 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp arrowroot 
1 1/2 cup  milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp heavy cream

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar for 4 minutes in a mixer on medium high speed.
2. Add the arrowroot and mix well.
3. In a medium pan, heat the milk until steaming. Stir constantly.
4. Slowly, pour a Tbsp of heated milk into the mixer while the mixer is mixing.
5. Gently, pour a little more of the heated milk into the mixer to temper the mixture.
6. In a steady stream, add the remaining amount of the milk into the egg mixture. 
7. Add the egg mixture into the medium pan and heat over low heat for 7 minutes. Stir constantly.
8. Once the mixture begins to become a thick pudding, whisk the mixture for 2 minutes.
9. Remove from heat.
10. Stir in the vanilla, butter, and heavy cream. 
11. Transfer the pastry cream into a bowl.
12. Cover with plastic wrap. Press down so the plastic wrap is touching the top of the pastry cream.
13. Refrigerate the pastry cream until cooled completely.

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten.

One year ago.............................I made Steak Sandwich.
Two years ago...........................I made Banana Split Cake.

Did you already know........................
-Pastry cream is a rich custard.
-Custards have been around since the Middle Ages. 
-Pastry cream is the filling for eclairs and Boston Cream Pie.

Lemon Cream Cookies

The chorus of the peepers has announced it is Spring. My oldest daughter has told us it has been Spring in California for awhile. She also told her coworkers that the snow doesn't melt until May. It really isn't that bad. Almost all the snow is gone. To celebrate Spring, I made some lemon cookies. I have been trying using decorating tips more which made the cookies look fancy.

Lemon Cream Cookie
2 sticks (16 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp lemon zest
1 egg
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Direction: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and powdered sugar.
4. Add the lemon zest, vanilla extract, and the egg. Mix until incorporated.
5. Gently, fold in the flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix until incorporated.
6. Using the star tip, fill a pastry bag with the batter. 
7. Pipe the batter into a circular pattern onto the baking sheet. Space about 3 inches apart.
8. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
9. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.

Recipe by Jen of Sweet Morris. 

Lemon Cream Filling:
1/2 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup margarine/vegetable spread (I used I can't believe its not butter)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp heavy cream

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, cream the butter and spread.
2. Add the powdered sugar and zest. Mix well.
3. Add the vanilla and heavy cream. Mix until well incorporated. 

One year ago................................I made Mixed Berry Lemonade.
Two years ago..............................I made Peanut Butter Cupcakes.

Did you already know.................................
-Peepers are small frogs.
-The frogs are nocturnal creatures.
-During the winter, peepers can still survive after the majority of their bodies have froze.

Creamy Polenta

The first time I had polenta I was attending a wedding. I thought it was pretty good. Someone told me that it was grits. Now, I've had grits and I would rather pass. My Dad is Southern and tried to get us to eat grits often. Several years ago, my Aunt made grits for my husband and he wasn't impressed. When I decided to make this dish, I figured it was probably a good idea not to tell my husband that it was like grits. My husband said when he saw me making this dish he was wondering how he was going to get out of eating it. He was glad he didn't since he loved it. My husband told me several times that I could make this dish again. My son and I loved it.

Creamy Polenta with mushrooms
8 cups half and half
1 Tbsp salt
1 cup coarse polenta
4 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup freshly grated Parigiano Reggiano cheese

Directions

1. In a large pot, heat the half and half for 5 minutes over medium high heat.
2. Whisk in the salt.
3. Slowly, whisk in the polenta. Continue to whisk for 8 minutes.
4. With a wooden spoon, continue to stir for 5 minutes.
5. Turn the heat to medium and continue to stir until the mixture evenly bubbles.
6. Cover and turn the heat to low. Stir every 15 minutes. Allow to cook for 2 hours.
7. Once the liquid has reduced down, stir in the butter and cheese.

Recipe adapted from Foodnetwork.

Cremini mushrooms
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
2 shallots, minced
1 cup cremini mushrooms
2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup white wine

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add the butter and the shallots. Cook for about 5 minutes and stir often.
3. Add the cremini mushrooms. Stir  often.
4. Stir in the thyme and salt. Cook for 1 minute.
5. Add the white wine and cook for 1 minute.
6. Serve over the polenta and then top with roasted chicken. 

One year ago........................................I made Lemon Cookies.
Two years ago......................................I made Margaritas.

Did you already know..............................
-Polenta is made with a coarse ground yellow cornmeal.
-Polenta is a native Italian dish. 
-Cooled polenta maybe sliced and then fried.

White Cake

This weekend we went to see Captain America. Before we went, my daughter asked us if we knew Captain America's name. Sadly, I failed her little quiz. Many of you are sadly shaking your head in disbelief. Of course, my husband told us Captain Steve Rogers. Since we had just watched the movie, my son wanted a cake that looked like Captain America's shield. Well, I decided to try to make a blue, red, and white checkered board pattern inside the cake. I took the cake out of the oven and allowed it to cool on a wire rack. Then I wasn't thinking and decided to cut out the circles on the wire rack. I learned a big mistake. I don't know why I didn't catch it but the cake pressed through the cake and made some nice checkered patterns on the cake itself. I had to push half the cake back through the cake. Even with my mistakes, even with the cake not looking as great as I hoped, my son still wanted me to bring it to the party. He really is a great son. The kids still wanted the cake. They didn't care. My sisters told me it tasted good. My husband didn't even get a piece. I had no cake leftover to take a photo of the inside. I think I'm going to attempt it again at a later date.

My sister made the poster for the party!

White Cake
1 cup of unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Coat three 9 inch round cake pans with nonstick baking spray and flour. 
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and shortening.
4. Slowly, add one cup of sugar at a time. Mix until incorporated.
5. Add one egg at a time and incorporate well before adding the next egg.
6. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
7. In a large cup, combine the milk, buttermilk, and vanilla. 
8. Add 1 cup of the flour mixture followed by 1 cup of the milk mixture into the butter mixture.
9. Continue to alternate adding another cup of flour mixture then the milk and followed by the remaining flour mixture. Gently incorporate all the ingredients together.
10. Evenly, separate the batter between the three prepared cake pans. 
11. Bake the cakes for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
12. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before transporting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from Add a pinch. 

One year ago............................................I made Yogurt Pancakes.
Two years ago..........................................I made Tortilla Soup.

Did you already know..........................................
-In 1941, Captain America made his first appearance.
-Captain America has no superhero abilities but the serum gave him peak human abilities.
-Captain America's shield is made of fictitious Vibranium and weighs 12 pounds.

Egg Cupcakes

My sister brought me over a carton of eggs. These aren't ordinary eggs. These eggs are cupcakes. Aren't they so cute! My sister made them for her daughter's class for April Fool's Day and she made us a carton too. My husband couldn't wait to crack into them. So, he handed me the carton with the expiration date facing me. I didn't realize he was trying to trick me. I told him that if the eggs were old then he should just throw them out. He told me that I should take them and I said alright. Before I could throw them away, he told me that my sister had brought the eggs over to me. Since I had already talked to my sister, I knew they were cupcakes. He wasn't going to trick me. My husband had thought I would open them and ask why my sister would give me broken hard boiled eggs. I know my sister doesn't like hard boiled eggs and she would not have boiled the eggs just to bring them to me. He has been trying all week to try to trick me. I guess it must mean that it's April Fool's week? Month? Don't worry I've already gotten him once on April Fool's Day and he is just trying to get me back. I will have to think up of a couple more tricks to play on him now.

Egg Cupcakes
12 miniature white frosted vanilla cupcakes
2 cups white candy melts
1/4 cup lemon curd
2 drops of yellow food dye

Directions: 

1. In the microwave, melt the white candy melt. Stir often.
2. Pour the melted candy melts into plastic Easter eggs. Fill some eggs with a lot of candy melts so it looks like a whole egg and some lightly coated for some cracked eggs.
3. Refrigerate the plastic eggs until the candy melts harde.
4. Carefully, squeeze the sides of the eggs to remove the candy melt egg molds.
5. Top the egg molds on top of the cupcakes. 

Recipe adapted from What's New Cupcake? cookbook by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. 

One year ago.............................................I made Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Two years ago...........................................I made Chocolate and Peanut Butter Ribbon Dessert.

Did you already know..........................
-Eggs should be used within three weeks of purchase.
-After cooking, hard boiled eggs should be eaten within a week. (Candy ones won't even last that long.)
-Frozen, shelled eggs should be used within a year.