Tuesday, February 22, 2011

I can't believe how lucky I am!

       I have the best mom in the world! There's just no two ways about it! If only I had all day to tell you about her! I sometimes forget how much she knows and wishes to teach me! I can be soooo stupid! She has been here for me my whole life and I've always known she would never leave me! This has given me so much comfort! I know for a fact I would not be the person I am today if not for my faithful, patient Mom! I haven't always been the most wonderful daughter, but she still took care of me everyday and loved me, and sheltered me from so much pain. I'm so thankful for her.
      One of my favorite memories of my mom is every night before going to bed, she would pray for me, and every morning she would wake me up with a joyful "Rise and Shine!". She helps me see everyday as a gift, a new day! I'm so lucky to have the best mom in the world! I hope I'm just like her!
      Yesterday was I mom's birthday so my sisters and I got to make her a special dinner. We made grilled pizza! It was sooooo good. I also made my mom her favorite dessert,Keylime Pie . Happy Birthday Mom!



      

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Chocolate Truffle Tart.....

One of my weaknesses is cooking magazines! I have a ton but I always like adding to my collection. This week, I happened upon Cooks illustrated's (America's Test Kitchen) latest magazine. I glanced through it and stopped abruptly as my eyes fell on the recipe for a "Chocolate truffle tart"! Yum.. Off course I bought it! So here's the recipe. My tart turned out beautifully and this recipe is now one of my favorites! It's not to sweet, just chocolaty and creamy. The fresh raspberries were definitely the best garnish. Enjoy!






Chocolate Truffle Tart
Pastry
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (6 1/4 ounces), plus more for dusting work surface
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar (3 ounces)
1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa (3/4 ounce)
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks), cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Filling
1 1/2 pounds high-quality bittersweet chocolate , chopped
2 cups heavy cream
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature, cut into 12 pieces
2 tablespoons Cognac


Instructions

1. For the tart pastry: Whisk together yolk, cream, and vanilla in small bowl. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, and salt in food processor with four 1-second pulses. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture; process to cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal, about twenty 1-second pulses. With machine running, add egg mixture and process until dough comes together, about 12 seconds. Turn dough onto sheet of plastic wrap and press into 6-inch disk; wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 48 hours.
2. Remove dough from refrigerator (if refrigerated longer than 1 hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable). Unwrap and roll out between 2 lightly floured large sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap (or piece 4 small sheets together to form 2 large sheets) to 15-inch round. (If dough becomes soft and sticky, slip onto baking sheet and refrigerate until workable, 20 to 30 minutes.) Following illustrations below, transfer dough to 11-inch tart pan with removable bottom by rolling dough loosely over rolling pin and unrolling it over pan. Working around circumference of pan, ease dough into pan corners by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into corners with other hand. Press dough against fluted sides of pan, patching breaks or cracks if necessary. (If some sections of edge are too thin, reinforce them by folding excess dough back on itself.) Run rolling pin over top of tart pan to remove excess dough. Set dough-lined tart pan on baking sheet or large plate and freeze 30 minutes. (The dough-lined tart pan can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and frozen up to 1 month.)
3. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Set dough-lined tart pan on baking sheet; lightly spray one side of 18-inch square of heavy-duty foil with nonstick cooking spray. Press foil, greased side down, inside frozen tart shell, folding excess foil over the edge of the tart pan; fill with metal or ceramic pie weights. Bake until dry and blistered, about 30 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time. Remove from oven and carefully remove foil and weights by gathering edges of foil and pulling up and out. Return tart pan on baking sheet to oven and bake for additional 5 minutes. Set baking sheet with tart shell on wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
4. For the filling: Meanwhile, place chocolate in medium bowl and set aside. Bring cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium-high heat; pour hot cream over chocolate and set aside for 1 minute. Using whisk, slowly stir chocolate and cream until smooth, being careful to avoid aerating mixture. Slowly stir in butter until combined. Stir in cognac until combined.
5. Pour filling into cooled tart shell. (Filling should reach just below top of tart shell. If sides of tart shell have slumped a bit when baked, you will have a little extra filling.) Use offset spatula to spread filling to sides of tart and smooth top. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 48 hours. Slice into thin wedges and serve.




Tuesday, February 8, 2011

KeyLime Pie!!!

 This is the best ever Key Lime Pie! Soooo easy and very rewarding! Perfectly full of flavor, and it has that zesty zing to it! I hope you try this recipe! You won't be sorry!!! (The only change I did was I made a graham cracker crust instead of the pastry shell.)










Key Lime Pie
1 recipe Baked Pastry Tart Shell
4 egg yolks
1 14-ounce can (11/4 cups) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon finely shredded lime peel
1/2 cup lime juice (10 to 12 Key limes or 4 to 6 Persian limes) or bottled Key lime juice
Few drops green food coloring (optional)
Sweetened Whipped Cream


Directions

1. Prepare Baked Pastry Tart Shell; set aside.2. For filling, in a medium bowl beat egg yolks with a wire whisk or fork. Gradually whisk or stir in sweetened condensed milk; add lime peel, lime juice, and, if desired, food coloring. Mix well (mixture will thicken slightly).3. Spoon thickened filling into Baked Pastry Tart Shell. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Chill 2 to 3 hours before serving; cover for longer storage.4. To serve, cut tart into wedges. Pipe Sweetened Whipped Cream onto each wedge.5. Makes 8 slices

Friday, February 4, 2011

Yummy Recipe #2.... Truffles!

This recipe is also easy! It is very delicious and looks very impressive!

Itatlian Chocolate truffles

6 oz. semi sweet chocolate
2 tbsp. Amaretto Liquer
3 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. powder sugar
1.75 oz. ground almonds
1.75 oz. grated chocolate

Melt chocolate and liqueor in a double boiler. stirring until well combined
Add butter and stir till melted. Stir in powder sugar ad almonds. Take off heat and let stand in a cool place. when cooled, roll into 1 inch balls. roll balls in the grated chocolate till coated. place in papers and chill. Enjoy! ( you can also dip in melted chocolate, it just is a little more time consuming!)


Yummy Recipes... Coconut Cake!


Hi there everyone! I thought I would take the next couple posts to post a few recipes some of my friends have been wanting! Sorry it took so long! First off we have a delicious coconut cake! I love this cake! I got the original recipe from a very good friend and neighbor! I was on vacation last and really wanted to make this moist coconut cake, and she was kind enough to email me the recipe. I had to alter it a little because of my limited resources. So, here's the easy method.






Coconut Cake
5 eggs
2 cp. Sugar
1 cp. Oil
2 cp. Flour
1 ½ tsp b. powder
½ tsp salt
½ cp. Coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp coconut extract
¾ cp. Coconut
1 cp. Toasted coconut
Sauce

½ cp sugar
¾ cp coconut milk
1 tsp. coconut extract
¼ cup butter


Preheat oven to350. Prepare a 9x13 pan. Grease with butter and sprinkle sugar.

Combine all your dry ingredients (flour, b powder, and salt) in medium bowl. In another bowl beat your eggs and sugar for about 1 minute. Add oil. Alternate dry ingredients and milk. Add extracts. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 mins or until toothpick comes out clean.

About 10 mins before our cake is done, combine all the ingredients for your sauce in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer until sugar is dissolved. Turn off

Take cake out of the oven, sprinkle our toasted coconut over the top, and then pour your hot sauce over the cake. Let cool for at least 30 mins. Enjoy!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

I can't believe how lucky I am!

Posted by Marie 2 comments
       I have the best mom in the world! There's just no two ways about it! If only I had all day to tell you about her! I sometimes forget how much she knows and wishes to teach me! I can be soooo stupid! She has been here for me my whole life and I've always known she would never leave me! This has given me so much comfort! I know for a fact I would not be the person I am today if not for my faithful, patient Mom! I haven't always been the most wonderful daughter, but she still took care of me everyday and loved me, and sheltered me from so much pain. I'm so thankful for her.
      One of my favorite memories of my mom is every night before going to bed, she would pray for me, and every morning she would wake me up with a joyful "Rise and Shine!". She helps me see everyday as a gift, a new day! I'm so lucky to have the best mom in the world! I hope I'm just like her!
      Yesterday was I mom's birthday so my sisters and I got to make her a special dinner. We made grilled pizza! It was sooooo good. I also made my mom her favorite dessert,Keylime Pie . Happy Birthday Mom!



      

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Chocolate Truffle Tart.....

Posted by Marie 3 comments
One of my weaknesses is cooking magazines! I have a ton but I always like adding to my collection. This week, I happened upon Cooks illustrated's (America's Test Kitchen) latest magazine. I glanced through it and stopped abruptly as my eyes fell on the recipe for a "Chocolate truffle tart"! Yum.. Off course I bought it! So here's the recipe. My tart turned out beautifully and this recipe is now one of my favorites! It's not to sweet, just chocolaty and creamy. The fresh raspberries were definitely the best garnish. Enjoy!






Chocolate Truffle Tart
Pastry
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (6 1/4 ounces), plus more for dusting work surface
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar (3 ounces)
1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa (3/4 ounce)
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks), cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Filling
1 1/2 pounds high-quality bittersweet chocolate , chopped
2 cups heavy cream
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature, cut into 12 pieces
2 tablespoons Cognac


Instructions

1. For the tart pastry: Whisk together yolk, cream, and vanilla in small bowl. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, and salt in food processor with four 1-second pulses. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture; process to cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal, about twenty 1-second pulses. With machine running, add egg mixture and process until dough comes together, about 12 seconds. Turn dough onto sheet of plastic wrap and press into 6-inch disk; wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 48 hours.
2. Remove dough from refrigerator (if refrigerated longer than 1 hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable). Unwrap and roll out between 2 lightly floured large sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap (or piece 4 small sheets together to form 2 large sheets) to 15-inch round. (If dough becomes soft and sticky, slip onto baking sheet and refrigerate until workable, 20 to 30 minutes.) Following illustrations below, transfer dough to 11-inch tart pan with removable bottom by rolling dough loosely over rolling pin and unrolling it over pan. Working around circumference of pan, ease dough into pan corners by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into corners with other hand. Press dough against fluted sides of pan, patching breaks or cracks if necessary. (If some sections of edge are too thin, reinforce them by folding excess dough back on itself.) Run rolling pin over top of tart pan to remove excess dough. Set dough-lined tart pan on baking sheet or large plate and freeze 30 minutes. (The dough-lined tart pan can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and frozen up to 1 month.)
3. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Set dough-lined tart pan on baking sheet; lightly spray one side of 18-inch square of heavy-duty foil with nonstick cooking spray. Press foil, greased side down, inside frozen tart shell, folding excess foil over the edge of the tart pan; fill with metal or ceramic pie weights. Bake until dry and blistered, about 30 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time. Remove from oven and carefully remove foil and weights by gathering edges of foil and pulling up and out. Return tart pan on baking sheet to oven and bake for additional 5 minutes. Set baking sheet with tart shell on wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
4. For the filling: Meanwhile, place chocolate in medium bowl and set aside. Bring cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium-high heat; pour hot cream over chocolate and set aside for 1 minute. Using whisk, slowly stir chocolate and cream until smooth, being careful to avoid aerating mixture. Slowly stir in butter until combined. Stir in cognac until combined.
5. Pour filling into cooled tart shell. (Filling should reach just below top of tart shell. If sides of tart shell have slumped a bit when baked, you will have a little extra filling.) Use offset spatula to spread filling to sides of tart and smooth top. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 48 hours. Slice into thin wedges and serve.




Tuesday, February 8, 2011

KeyLime Pie!!!

Posted by Marie 2 comments
 This is the best ever Key Lime Pie! Soooo easy and very rewarding! Perfectly full of flavor, and it has that zesty zing to it! I hope you try this recipe! You won't be sorry!!! (The only change I did was I made a graham cracker crust instead of the pastry shell.)










Key Lime Pie
1 recipe Baked Pastry Tart Shell
4 egg yolks
1 14-ounce can (11/4 cups) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon finely shredded lime peel
1/2 cup lime juice (10 to 12 Key limes or 4 to 6 Persian limes) or bottled Key lime juice
Few drops green food coloring (optional)
Sweetened Whipped Cream


Directions

1. Prepare Baked Pastry Tart Shell; set aside.2. For filling, in a medium bowl beat egg yolks with a wire whisk or fork. Gradually whisk or stir in sweetened condensed milk; add lime peel, lime juice, and, if desired, food coloring. Mix well (mixture will thicken slightly).3. Spoon thickened filling into Baked Pastry Tart Shell. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Chill 2 to 3 hours before serving; cover for longer storage.4. To serve, cut tart into wedges. Pipe Sweetened Whipped Cream onto each wedge.5. Makes 8 slices

Friday, February 4, 2011

Yummy Recipe #2.... Truffles!

Posted by Marie 3 comments
This recipe is also easy! It is very delicious and looks very impressive!

Itatlian Chocolate truffles

6 oz. semi sweet chocolate
2 tbsp. Amaretto Liquer
3 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. powder sugar
1.75 oz. ground almonds
1.75 oz. grated chocolate

Melt chocolate and liqueor in a double boiler. stirring until well combined
Add butter and stir till melted. Stir in powder sugar ad almonds. Take off heat and let stand in a cool place. when cooled, roll into 1 inch balls. roll balls in the grated chocolate till coated. place in papers and chill. Enjoy! ( you can also dip in melted chocolate, it just is a little more time consuming!)


Yummy Recipes... Coconut Cake!

Posted by Marie 5 comments

Hi there everyone! I thought I would take the next couple posts to post a few recipes some of my friends have been wanting! Sorry it took so long! First off we have a delicious coconut cake! I love this cake! I got the original recipe from a very good friend and neighbor! I was on vacation last and really wanted to make this moist coconut cake, and she was kind enough to email me the recipe. I had to alter it a little because of my limited resources. So, here's the easy method.






Coconut Cake
5 eggs
2 cp. Sugar
1 cp. Oil
2 cp. Flour
1 ½ tsp b. powder
½ tsp salt
½ cp. Coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp coconut extract
¾ cp. Coconut
1 cp. Toasted coconut
Sauce

½ cp sugar
¾ cp coconut milk
1 tsp. coconut extract
¼ cup butter


Preheat oven to350. Prepare a 9x13 pan. Grease with butter and sprinkle sugar.

Combine all your dry ingredients (flour, b powder, and salt) in medium bowl. In another bowl beat your eggs and sugar for about 1 minute. Add oil. Alternate dry ingredients and milk. Add extracts. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 mins or until toothpick comes out clean.

About 10 mins before our cake is done, combine all the ingredients for your sauce in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer until sugar is dissolved. Turn off

Take cake out of the oven, sprinkle our toasted coconut over the top, and then pour your hot sauce over the cake. Let cool for at least 30 mins. Enjoy!