Chocolate Tart

Warning: this dessert is rich! It is delicious and wonderful. Sometimes you just want chocolate. Maybe you want chocolate because it is tastes so good?  Maybe you want chocolate because you gave your daughter lots of loving care since she had a cold in which she shared? Maybe after having a cold it is a celebration that you can actually taste again?

Chocolate Tart
Pastry Crust:
2 cups whole wheat white flour
3 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cups unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp ice water
1 egg white

Filling:
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
10 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 egg white

Directions:

Pastry:

1. In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. 
2. Add the butter and pulse about 20 times. 
3. In a small cup, mix the egg yolk with the ice water in a small bowl.
4. Slowly, pour the egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture while pulsing.
5. Pulse until the dough comes together. 
6. Form the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. 
7. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
8. Roll out the dough into a 12 inch circle on a lightly floured surface.
9. Place the dough into a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
10. Press the dough evenly into the pan and into the scalloped edges.
11. Cut off any excess dough hanging over the edge with a knife.
12. Refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes.
13. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
14. Place the tart pan onto a cookie sheet. 
15. Line the tart with aluminum foil and add pie weights/dried beans to keep the sides down.
16. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and weights.
17. Using a pastry brush, coat the crust with a beaten egg white. 
18. Return the tart to the oven and bake for 8 minutes until golden color.
19. Set aside to cool.

Tart:

1. Lower the heat to 325 degrees F.
2. In a medium pan, heat the heavy cream and milk over medium low temperature.
3. Heat until the cream comes to a slight simmer around the edges.
4. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate. 
5. Stir the chocolate until smooth and melted.
6. Stir in the sugar and salt until incorporated.
7. In a small bowl, beat the eggs.
8. Stir the eggs into the chocolate mixture.
9. Pour the filling into the tart shell. 
10. Bake for 15 minute or until the filling is set and glossy.
11. If any bubbles or cracks form, remove from the oven since it is beginning to over bake (like mine).
12. Allow to cool before serving.

Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence.

One year ago.....................Provence Chicken.

Two years ago...................Lemon Bars.
Three years ago.................Roasted Hazelnut Ice Cream.
Four years ago..................Store Top Chili Mac.

Did you already know.............
-In the US, there are about 1 billion cases of the common cold each year. 
-On average, a 70 year old person probably had over 200 colds in their life time. 
-Most colds last about seven to ten days.

Thanksgiving Dinner

At Thanksgiving, I like to serve a similar meal as the previous years. I may change a couple of side dishes but normally our guest knows what to expect. Every year, I look for my Thanksgiving menu and it takes me a while to locate it. I always feel like I'm missing something. So, this year I'm posting it here so next year I will save some time. My favorite Thanksgiving dish is the Sweet Potato Casserole. What is yours?

My Thanksgiving menu:

Roasted Herb Turkey
Apple Cider Gravy
Sausage Stuffing
Stove Top Stuffing (for my sister)
Variety of Rolls: (Brotchen, Seven Cheese Bread, Cloverleaf Rolls, Honey yeast rolls, Butterflake Herb Loaf)
Cranberry sauce
Sweet Potato Casserole
Green Bean/ Broccoli/Squash Casserole
Mashed/ Roasted Potatoes
Carrots/Corn
Squash/Turnips/Rutabaga
Beets
Creamed Pearl Onions
Brussel Sprouts/Asparagus
Macaroni and Cheese
Dulce de Leche Rice Pudding 
Pumpkin pie/pumpkin custard/ pumpkin cake
Blueberry/Strawberry/Cherry/ Chocolate Pie
Other desserts: blueberry pie bars

On Thanksgiving, our grocery stores are closed. If I run out of something, well I better make it from scratch, improvise, or order Chinese. So, I figured I would post homemade butter recipe. I will admit I had the children shake,shake, shake, the mason jar. They thought it was cool.

Homemade Herb Butter:
1 cup cold heavy cream
1/4 tsp garlic
1 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp thyme

Directions:

1. Place the heavy cream in a mason jar.
2. Place the lid on the mason jar and close well.
3. Shake the heavy cream until it comes together.
4. Drain off the excess buttermilk liquid.
5. Gently, run the butter under water. 
6. Mix in the garlic, parsley, salt, and thyme if herb butter is desired.

Recipe adapted from Chef John.

One year ago...........................I made Smothered Pork Chops.
Two years ago.........................I made Cheesy Potato Gratin.

Did you already know..............
-150 years ago, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November to be a national day of Thanksgiving.
-In 2013, Minnesota raised more turkeys than any other states.
-Wisconsin grew harvested more cranberries than Massachusetts. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Macaroni and Cheese

To save time and hassle, I pick out my children's clothes for the week. I line them up on top of their dresser. Then they just have to put it on and head to school. My youngest daughter doesn't always like my combination so she will switch it. My son just doesn't think about it. Well, I hadn't realized but I had inadvertently placed his sister's pants in his pile. He wore her pants all day to school. When I arrived home from work, I noticed the hearts on the jean's pocket. So I asked, "Why are you wearing your sisters pants?" He took them off looked at them and put them back on. Then he replied, "Because you gave them to me to wear." True it was my fault. However,  I had to ask him, "After knowing that you are wearing your sister's pants, why are you continuing to wear them?" "Because they look good on me," my son replied. He looked like a male country singer in tight jeans. I will admit that his shirt did cover up the hearts on the pockets. Every since, I have been careful on sorting the kids clothes. 

Macaroni and Cheese
12 oz. package of macaroni noodels
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk (I used skim.)
1 Tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups Fontina, grated
1 cup Parmesan, grated
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Grease a 13x9 glass baking dish with butter. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the Fontina, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheese. Set aside. 
In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil before adding the noodles. Cook the noodles for about 5 minutes so it is still al dente. 
In a large bowl, whisk the heavy cream, milk, flour, salt, and pepper.
Stir in half of the cheese mixture to the milk mixture.
Drain the noodles and add the hot noodles to the milk mixture. Toss to coat.
Transfer the noodles to the baking dish. 
Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the noodles.
Bake the macaroni and cheese for about 20 to 25 minutes. The cheese should be melted and browned on top.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis.

One year ago........................I made Tiramisu with homemade Ladyfingers.

Did you already know..........
-Giada De Laurentiis was born in Rome, Italy.
-She is the granddaughter of film producer Dino De Laurentiis.
-After receiving her anthropology degree at UCLA, Giada De Laurentiis attended Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.

Icebox Dessert

It is hard to buy my husband a gift early. He seems to always be home when it arrives. It is just my luck. Well, my husband loves coffee. He drinks it all the time. It doesn't affect his sleep at all. Now, I drink half decaf sometimes. If I drink any past noon, I will not be sleeping any time soon. Which could be why I tend to do my blog late at night. So the day my husband received his new coffee maker, he made two cups. The machine takes k-cups and he thinks it is the coolest thing. The next day he had four cups. I have a feeling he really likes it.

Now, I haven't been feeling the best so the kids have been helping me in the kitchen. This is the best dessert for kids to make for Dad on Father's Day. I only instructed. I did not make it. My daughter loves it so we have made it several times. The first time I heard about this dessert was on Smitten Kitchen's website but the recipe is also on the box of the chocolate wafer cookies. I will say the first food blog I ever checked out was her website. I still check it out.

Oh, this is going to be good!

Icebox Dessert
2 cups heavy cream
2 Tbsp fine sugar
1 (9 oz.) package chocolate wafer cookies
1 oz. semi sweet chocolate square 

1. In a large bowl, beat the cream with the sugar until soft peaks form.
2. Take one cookie and spread the whipped cream on both sides.
3. Add a cookie to the whipped cream cookie and continue to add cookies to each end to form a long train. 
4. Take the remaining whipped cream and frost the top and down the sides of the cookie train to cover.
5. Grate the chocolate over the whipped cream.
6. Cover the dessert and refrigerate for at least several hours or overnight.

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Singing is allowed during assembly

Did you already know...
-It is estimated to be over 70 million father's in the U.S.
-In 1909, Sonora Dodd conceived the idea Father's Day to honor her widowed father who raised his six children.
- In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson designated Father's Day to be the 3rd Sunday in June.
-June was the month Sonora Dodd's father was born.

Homemade Mascarpone

Do you bookmark recipes you want to try? I have a long list of bookmarked recipes. When I saw this recipe, I knew I would try it but just didn't know when until I saw this recipe. It called for 1 1/2 lbs of mascarpone. I wasn't sure how close it would be to the mascarpone I purchase in the store. Mascarpone currently cost $4 for 8 oz. I calculated it is cheaper to purchase heavy cream and make it myself. I used Oakhurst fresh heavy cream since the heavy cream can not be ultra-pasteurized. This recipe makes 1 1/2 cups of mascarpone. 

I did purchase a container of mascarpone so I could compare. The homemade version was not as smooth as the commercial version. Both versions tasted the same. I didn't notice any other differences besides price. In the future, I will make homemade mascarpone since it is normally used in a dish. 

Homemade Mascarpone
2 cups fresh pasteurized heavy cream*
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)

Directions:

1. Drape 4 layers of cheesecloth over a medium empty bowl. The cheesecloth needs to hang into the bowl only halfway. Secure the cheesecloth by a large rubber band.
2. In a large pan, heat the heavy cream over medium heat stir occasionally so the bottom doesn't scorch.
3. Continue to simmer the cream until a candy thermometer reads 190 degrees F. 
4. Stir in the lemon juice and continue to heat the mixture at 190 degrees F for 5 minutes while stirring constantly.
5. After 5 minutes, the cream should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
6. Remove the mixture from the heat and allow the cream to cool to room temperature for about 30 to 45 minutes. The mixture will appear to be a little thicker than the original heavy cream.
7. Pour the cream mixture into the cheese cloth so it can drain into the bowl.
8. Cover the cream mixture with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 12 hours. 
9. Carefully lift the mascarpone cheese with the cheesecloth. Discard the liquid left in the bowl. 
10. Transfer the cheese from the cheesecloth to an airtight container.
11. Store the cheese in the refrigerator and use within a week.

Recipe adapted from The Pastry Affair.
*My husband is a milkman so I used fresh heavy cream which are sold to restaurants and not available in stores.

Did you already know...
-Mascarpone is a soft Italian cream cheese.
-Mascarpone can be used in savory and sweet dishes like Tiramisu.
-Some substitutes are ricotta cheese, creme fraiche, sour cream with some cream cheese, and cream cheese with a little butter but the taste will be different.

Whip Cream 101

Please do not say, "Jen, I can not make my own whip cream. It is too hard." Do you know what I'll say? "What? What! It isn't hard little grasshopper. You will become a master in no time." I always called my oldest daughter little grasshopper and my youngest daughter little sparrow. Don't be surprised but I am the Master! 

Now, listen to me little grasshopper because I am the Master! Follow the steps below to make your own whip cream. My son volunteered to show you the way.

Whip Cream 101
1 cup of heavy cream
1 Tbsp powder sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract


Directions:
1. Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl or a plastic container.
2. Whip

Whip

 Whip

Am I done yet?

Whip until the whip cream stays on the beater.
Stop beating because if you do not you just may make butter.
I did reward my helper with the beater.

You can vary the amounts of the powder sugar and extracts to your taste!

Enjoy with dessert!