Mini Quiches

I made mini quiches for this baby shower. Although these take more time than I would spend on any given morning, they are delicious for a special occasion. I used red onion, red bell pepper, black forest ham and a blend of shredded mozzarella and parmisan cheese.

Mini Quiches
adapted from bhg.com
ingredients
1 recipe Pastry Dough
1/2 cup shredded Italian-blend cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped red sweet pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped ham
3 tablespoons diced red onion
1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Shape chilled Pastry Dough into twenty 1-1/2-inch balls. Place each ball into a 2-1/2-inch muffin cup. Press dough into bottoms and up sides of muffin cups. Set aside.

For filling, in a medium bowl combine cheese, sweet pepper, the 1/4 cup pancetta, the green onion, flour, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper. Divide mixture evenly among pastry shells.

In the same bowl beat together eggs and half-and-half. Pour egg mixture over filling in each pastry shell.

Bake about 20-25 minutes or until filling is set. Let stand in muffin cups for 5 minutes. Using a small sharp knife, gently loosen edges of the shells from the sides of muffin cups; remove from the cups. Cool slightly. Serve warm. 

Pastry Doughingredients

• 2
  cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2
  teaspoon salt
• 3/4
  cup cold butter
• 1/4 - 1/3
  cup ice water
  
  
  In a medium bowl stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until pieces are pea size. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon ice water over part of the flour mixture; toss gently with a fork. Push moistened dough to side of bowl. Repeat with additional ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all of the flour mixture is moistened. Gather mixture into a ball, kneading gently until it holds together. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.

• 
  

Mini Pop-Tarts

For this baby shower, I made these mini pop-tarts. Inspired by these, I made lemon curd-filled pop tarts. These are easy and were a hit at the party. You just cut refrigerated pie crust into rectangles, fill with desired filling, crimp with a fork and bake!

Because the baby shower theme was yellow, I used white frosting and yellow sprinkles. These are delicious and I would love to try them with different fillings!

Lemon Curd

(adapted from Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan)

2/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
3 Tbs butter, cut into 3 pieces
juice of 3 lemons

Whisk together all ingredients in a medium heavy saucepan. Place over medium low heat and cook, stirring vigorously and constantly, until butter melts and mixture starts to thicken. The curd is done when you can make a track with your finger on a spoon or spatula and the curd doesn't run into the track. It will look thin, but thicken as it cools. If desired, for a smoother texture, strain curd while still warm through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Press plastic wrap over the top so a skin doesn't form, and cool in the refrigerator.

TWD- Quick Berry Tart

I think I'm going to have to go with CB on this- not really that "quick." The tart shell comes together quickly, the pastry cream comes together fairly quickly, but by the time you add that up, not so quick.

But oh, so worth it.

Put plainly, you need to make this.

 Now.

Go to Cristine's blog for the recipe.

Now.

TWD- Flaky Apple Turnovers

I always approach pastry recipes with a little apprehension- I don't love cutting butter into flour until it "resembles crumbs." But this recipe sounded so good and easy, I was excited to make it. Chosen by Julie of Someone's in the Kitchen, this recipe was pretty easy, although it required more dough-chilling than I like. I admit I skipped the second chill- I rolled it out between waxed paper, cut the circles and put it in the freezer for a few minutes. Then I peeled the circles off, filled and baked them.
I quartered the recipe and still got close to 8 turnovers. This pic was taken by husband before he ate them all. :)

BB- Apple Turnovers

This week's bonus recipe was chosen by Anne of Anne Strawberry. I made it for a last-minute dessert the other night when friends came over for our "Italian Night" (a.k.a. husbands cook. yipee!). It's simple and quick- to make it even easier, I used the pre-sliced Granny Smith apples from Trader Joe's. I also cut the recipe in half (it makes 8!!). My husband really liked them, but I thought the filling was a little dry. I served them with cinnamon ice cream, which helped. Definitely a good, simple recipe for comfort food!

Apple Turnovers
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1 1/4 pounds tart apples, such as Empire or Granny Smith (3 apples)
3 tablespoons dried cherries
3 tablespoons sugar, plus extra to sprinkle on top
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch kosher salt
1 package (17.3 ounces, 2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine the orange zest and orange juice in a bowl. Peel, quarter, and core the apples and then cut them in 3/4-inch dice. Immediately toss the apples with the zest and juice to prevent them from turning brown. Add the cherries, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

Flour a board and lightly roll each sheet of puff pastry to a 12 by 12-inch square. Cut each sheet into 4 smaller squares and keep chilled until ready to use.

Brush the edges of each square with the egg wash and neatly place about 1/3 cup of the apple mixture on half of the square. Fold the pastry diagonally over the apple mixture and seal by pressing the edges with a fork. Transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Brush the top with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, make 2 small slits, and bake for 20 minutes, until browned and puffed. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Daring Bakers Challenge- Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs

This is my first DB Challenge. Meeta of What's for Lunch Honey and Tony of Tony Tahhan chose Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs. These were fairly simple and straight forward. After I made mine, I was concerned that they were too skinny and small, but after looking at some other's pictures, I guess they were ok. I thought the pastry cream was really yummy, but the pastry and the glaze were only so-so (was anyone else bugged to make all that chocolate sauce for just 7 T?). I thought the chocolate glaze with the chocolate pastry cream was a little too much chocolate for me (and believe me, I have a HIGH tolerance of chocolate). I'd like to try this recipe with a different filling and the chocolate glaze. Maybe just a vanilla or some kind of berry cream.

The pastry cream:


Right out of the oven:


All ready to eat!


Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• Cream Puff Dough (see below for recipe), fresh and still warm

1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Divide the oven into thirds by positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with waxed or parchment paper.
2) Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough. Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches chubby fingers. Leave about 2 inches space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff.The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.
3) Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking time should be approximately 20 minutes.
Notes:
1) The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.

Assembling the éclairs:
• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)

1) Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside thebottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.
2) The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the bottoms with the pastry cream.
3) Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottomswith enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry creamand wriggle gently to settle them.
Notes:
1) If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water,stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create bubbles.
2) The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.

Pierre Hermé’s Cream Puff Dough
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• ½ cup whole milk
• ½ cup water
• 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

1) In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to a boil.
2) Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough will be very soft and smooth.
3) Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using yourhandmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough. You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time youhave added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted itshould fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.
4) The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.
Notes:
1) Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.
2) You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined bakingsheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer thepiped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

Chocolate Pastry Cream
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé

• 2 cups whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 6 tbsp sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
• 7 oz bittersweet chocolate, preferably Velrhona Guanaja, melted
• 2½ tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1) In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.
2) Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.
3) Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stopping) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat). Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.
4) Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.
5) Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.
Notes:
1) The pastry cream can be made 2‐3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
2) In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.
3) Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.

Chocolate Glaze Recipe
from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1 cup)

• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 3½ oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tsp unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 7 tbsp Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature

1) In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.
2) Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.
Notes:
1) If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.
2) It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (104 F) when ready to glaze.

Chocolate Sauce Recipe
from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1½ cups)

• 4½ oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup sugar

1) Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.
2) It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.
Notes:
1) You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using.
2) This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.

TWD: Summer Fruit Gallette

Ok, so I tried the Summer Galette. I made mine with plums, which were very good. I had to make it in phases because I had a baby shower last night. So before the shower, I made the pie crust and blanched and peeled the plums, and finished it when I came home. I put too much water in the crust; it was really sticky. Needless to say, it didn't roll out and fold over well. And I wasn't sure from the directions if I was supposed to cut the plums in pieces or leave them whole. By the time I finished and got it into the oven it was almost 10 so I didn't make the custard. We ate it with cinnamon ice cream, which was really yummy. The pie crust is the best I've ever tasted. I'm for SURE making something else with it!!


Summer Fruit Galette
Good For Almost Everything Pie Dough for a single crust
2-3 tablespoons jam or marmalade
about 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
Fresh summer fruit: about 10 apricots, 8-10 nectarines, 8 ripe but firm peaches, 8-10 firm plums or 2 stalks rhubarb
Decorating (coarse) or granulated sugar, for dusting

For the Custard
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Center rack in the oven and preheat to oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment (see below) or a silicone mat. To make it easier to move the pie dough onto the baking sheet, roll the dough between sheets of parchment paper (in which case, you can use one of the rolling sheets to line the baking sheet) or wax paper or plastic wrap. Alternatively work on a well-floured surface, taking care to keep the dough moving by turning it and flouring the surface often. Roll the dough into a large 1/8 inch thick circle. Using a pastry wheel or a paring knife, time the dough to a 13 inch diameter. Using a cake pan or a pot lid as a template and the tip of a blunt kitchen knife as a marker, lightly trace a 9 inch circle in the center of the dough- this is the area for the filling. With the back of a spoon or a small offset spatula, spread some of the jam over the circle- how much will depend of the jam flavor you want. Sprinkle over the crumbs, adding a little more than 2 tablespoons if you think you’ve got particularly juicy fruit. Put a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper over the dough and refrigerate it while you prepare the fruit.
Wipe the apricots, nectarines or plums clean with a damp towel and cut in half; discard the pits. Blanch peaches for 10 seconds in a pot of boiling water, transfer them to a bowl of ice water to cool, then slip off the skins. Halve and pit the peaches or peel rhubarb to remove the strings, and cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces.
Arrange the fruit on the dough, cut side down if using stone fruits, then gently lift the unfilled border of dough up and onto the filling. As you lift the dough and place it on the filling, it will pleat. If you’re not in a rush, freeze the galette for 15 minutes to give the crust a rest.
Brush the dough very lightly with a little water, then sprinkle it with a teaspoon or two of sugar. Bake galette for 25 minutes, or until the crust is brown and the fruit is soft.
Meanwhile, make the custard. Whisk together the melted butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in a bowl; set aside until needed. Remove the baking sheet from the oven (leave the oven on), and carefully pour the custard around the fruit. Depending one how much juice has accumulated and how much space you have between the fruit, you may not be able to pour all the custard into the galette, but even 2 tablespoons can give the right effect. Pour in as much custard as you can, then carefully return the pan to the oven. Bake for another 12 to 15 minutes, or until the custard is set- it shouldn’t jiggle when you gently shake the pan. Cool the galette on the baking sheet on a rack for 10 minutes.Very carefully slide a small baking sheet or cake lifter under the galette and slip the galette onto a rack to cool. The galette can be served when it is just warm or- my preference- when it has reached room temperature. Dust with confectioners; sugar just before serving.
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Good for Almost Everything Pie Dough
For a 9 inch Single Crust
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 sticks very cold unsalted butter, cut into tbsp size pieces
2 1/2 tablespoons very cold vegetable shortening, cut into 2 pieces
About 1/4 cup ice water
Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse just to combine the ingredients. Drop in the butter and shortening and pulse only until the butter and shortening are cut into the flour. Don’t overdo the mixing- what you’re aiming for is to have some pieces the size of fat green peas and others the size of barley. Pulsing the machine on and off, gradually add about 6 tbsps of the water- add a little water and pulse once, add some more water, pulse again and keep going that way. Then use a few long pulses to get the water into the flour. If, after a dozen or so pulses, the dough doesn’t look evenly moistened or form soft curds, pulse in as much of the remaining water as necessary, or even a few drops more, to get a dough that will stick together when pinched. Big pieces of butter are fine. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto a work surface. Shape the dough into a disk and wrap it. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour before rolling (if your ingredients were very cold and you worked quickly, though, you might be able to roll the dough immediately: the dough should be as cold as if it had just come out of the fridge).