Easy Butter Pastry

Easy Butter Pastry
1 1/2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 Tablespoon granulated (white) sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup ice water

Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Blend in the butter until the mixture begins to clump together. Add the water and blend to form a dough. Gently knead into a ball.
At this point the dough can be wrapped and chilled to be used later, or used immediately.
You can use a rolling pin on this dough, but it's really not necessary. It's an easy dough that can just be pressed into the pan.

Panko Crusted Cod Fillets

Panko Crusted Cod Fillets
boneless, skinless cod fillets
all-purpose flour
old bay seasoning blend
eggs
milk
panko bread crumbs
oil

Set up a "pane" station - flour, egg and breadcrumb station meant for breading foods.
Have your fish fillets at one end.
Mix together the flour and seasoning and set in one container.
Beat the eggs with a little milk and set in a second container.
Place the panko in a third container.
Have any empty container or tray at the other end for the breaded fish.
I like to use shallow, long containers for pane, especially with fish fillets. This allows you to oat multiple fillets at once time and evenly coats them. It is particularly handy if you have containers with lids. This does take up a lot of counter space, but it the most efficient way to do it.

Place several fillets in the flour and shake to coat the flour to cover the fillets (this is when you can slap a lid on the container and gently shake back and forth. Don't get too crazy though, fish is delicate).
Shake the excess flour off the fillets before placing them in the egg mixture.
Turn the fillets to coat completely in egg (I don't recommend the lid method here).
Allow excess egg to drip off before placing fillets in the panko, and again, shake to coat the fillets with the crumbs, turning them over as needed.
Place fillets on prepared tray.

To cook: Heat the oil in a pan until smoking, then sear fillets (do not crowd them, cook in batches, if needed) on both sides. They will only take a minute or two on each side until they are golden.
Transfer to a baking sheet and finish in the oven until cooked through.

Lemon Herb Crusted Bass

Lemon Herb Crusted Bass
thin striped bass fillets
freshly squeezed lemon juice
chopped parsley
panko bread crumbs
lemon pepper

Place the bass fillets on a baking tray and drizzle the top side with lemon juice.
Place the parsley, bread crumbs, and lemon pepper in a food processor and pulse until well combined, and mixture is light green, but still dry and not moist.
Sprinkle crumbs liberally over the fish, pressing it to stick to the fish.
Bake at 425◦F for about ten minutes until cooked thoroughly.

This is a really easy recipe to bake any kind of white fish. It adds a great punch of flavor and some texture; and is quick, easy, and convenient to do!

Tart Dough

This tart dough I used for my apple tart. It isn't a flaky pie dough, nor a buttery shortbread crust, not a sweet sugar cookie dough. Is is somewhere in the middle of all three. It is easy to make and not so finicky as typical pie doughs. I prefer it to be rolled thick, but this recipe can also be rolled more thinly into two pie bases.

Tart Dough

125 grams unsalted butter, softened

60 grams granulated (white) sugar

1 large egg

250 grams all-purpose (plain) flour

Cream butter and sugar together well until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Stir in the flour. Roll into pie or tartlet crusts.

Bake at 350◦F for 10-20 minutes depending on size and thickness.

To avoid inflating, the crust may be weighed down with pie weights, but uncovered for the last five minutes of baking.

Bake slightly longer if the filling does not need to be baked.

Caramel Apple Oat Frangipane Tart

Caramel Apple Oat Frangipane Tart
one freshly baked nine inch pie crust
one can or jar dulce de leche
6 medium cooking apples, peeled and cut into eighths
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon water
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
one recipe oatmeal frangipane (see tomorrow's post)

Preheat oven to 320◦F.
Spread the dulce de leche over the crust bottom.
Place the apples, sugar, water and cinnamon in a wide pot. Bring to a simmer and cook until apples are just beginning to soften. They will continue to cook in the oven. Drain well.

Arrange the apples over the dulce de leche.
Spread with oatmeal frangipane.

Bake for about 40 minutes until frangipane is golden and set and a toothpick inserted in the frangipane comes out clean.

Serve hot, warm, cooled, or even cold. If reheated, the oven is much better used than the microwave.

Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Pie

This makes a big batch of pumpkin pie....six good sized pies! The filling can also be  baked into tarts, custards, muffins, loaves, etc. It is a classic pumpkin pie recipe with plenty of spice and is super easy to make. Just ensure you  have a bowl or tupperware container big enough to mix the batter in. What's sad is the 12 cups of pumpkin hardly put a dent in our pumpkin supply.

Pumpkin Pie
6 pie crusts, not par-baked
12 cups pumpkin puree
10 cups evaporated milk
12 eggs
6 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon ground ginger
1 Tablespoon ground nutmeg

Prepare the crusts. Whisk remaining ingredients together. Pour into crusts. Bake at 400◦F for 15 minutes, then at 350◦F for 20 minutes or until set. 

Chicken Pot Pie with Two Crusts

Chicken pot pie ... rich, creamy, delicious, and chock-full of vegetables and chicken. This one contains shredded chicken meat, peas, carrots, turnip, and potatoes in a creamy sauce. This pie is extra cook because it contains two different crusts - the bottom in a buttery puff pastry crust that absorbed all the flavor and moisture from the sauce making it merely a vessel for the filling. The top crust is crisp, light phyllo pastry that adds a nice crunch to the dish.

Pumpkin Pie

Mmmm... no Christmas feast is complete without a pumpkin pie or two for dessert. This pumpkin pie has the signature flaky crust, and creamy rich pumpkin filling made from canned pumpkin puree and a rich custard or condensed milk, eggs, sugar, and flavorings. To make it even more special, we topped it off with homemade, soft-serve vanilla ice cream which was as fluffy as a marshmallow. Who says pumpkin pie has to be a fall dessert?

Fall Pot Pie

Flaky puff pastry dough + sweet squash lentil apple filling + sliced apples seasoned with cinnamon and salt, arranged in a bowl and baked until crust is golden, apples are soft, and filling is hot and bubbly. This is a super delicious dish that is sweet enough to be served for a healthier dessert but also great for lunch as well. These pies can be made as big or as small as you wish. Nuts or other fruits can easily be added.

Quick Apple Tarts For Two

The inspiration for this treat just came along one day while trying a rum. Though there was nothing wrong with the rum, it wasn't all that pleasant to drink straight. The flavor did, however; spark my imagination as to all the great thing sit could pear with. I found an apple in the fridge, cinnamon and almonds in the cupboard, and went to work. Rum in an apple tart with rum caramel sauce? One of the best ways to 'drink' some rum!

Quick Apple Tarts For Two
1/2 cup almonds
1 Tablespoon syrup (honey, maple, agave)
1 green apple, thinly sliced (I left the peel on)
rum of choice
ground cinnamon
rum caramel sauce (recipe to follow tomorrow)

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Grind the almonds in a small food processor. Add the syrup until it forms into a clump. Press this mixture into the bottom of two mini casserole dishes or ramekins. Bake while preparing the topping (until the crust is golden and firm).
Meanwhile, saute the apples in enough rum to cover, add cinnamon and cook until apples are just softened and some rum has evaporated. Arrange the apple slices artistically over the crust.
Drizzle with rum caramel sauce all over and serve immediately! 

Dough Danish Turnovers

Going along with the same idea as those pie dough scraps from last week, here we have dough 'turnovers' or shortcut Danish pastries. We took the leftover dough from making a tortiere meat pie, and made mini turnovers and one large turnover. We didn't really worry about getting perfect triangles as we were just utilizing scrap dough anyway. 

Some are filled with dark chocolate chips, which melted just enough to form a nice filling but not enough to ooze out of the pastry. Some are filled with spiced almonds, some with crushed maple walnuts, some with cinnamon sugar, and some with a combination of those. They are simply sealed with water, but also could be brushed with egg wash or milk before baking to allow more toppings to adhere. They can be brushed or dipped in melted butter after baking to give them a little more flavor. This is a basic pie dough for a savory pie, so the dough itself is not very sweet, making it the perfect vessel for a maple glaze or a frosting as well.

Lemon Meringue Pie Fix

The other day a friend came to me with a lemon meringue pie that didn't set up quite properly. It was strange, because the crust was delicious and perfectly baked and the filling was firm and tasty. Then the meringue was spread on and torched. I think the issue either came with not letting the filling set and cool long enough before being put in the pie shell, or before the meringue was put on. Also the meringue was not cooked or baked - only the top was torched so it weeped.

This causes a very yummy lemon meringue, well soup. It was liquidy and didn't stay together but the flavor was there. I suggested transforming it into a mousse, parfait, or trifle-type dessert. But then the pie was left with me to fix and I decided to try fixing it into a pie again. 

Lemon pie, take #2

I scraped the meringue off the top and put it into a bowl to set aside.
I scraped all the lemon filling out and put it in a pot, added some cornstarch and boiled it to thicken. Then transferred it to a bowl and cooled it to set.
I popped the crust in the oven briefly to crisp up and not turn out soggy from the lemon filling.
Then the meringue. I knew I couldn't rewhip it to form a nice meringue, so I decided to do something completely different with it. I put it in a saucepan, added some brown sugar for flavor and some cornstarch to thicken. I cooked it, then cooled it. This formed a 'burnt' (toasted from the meringue) caramel sauce that didn't harden because the cooked egg whites kept it soft and not overly sweet. It also enriched it without the use of butter.

To assemble, I spread the thick lemon filling into the crust, then since I didn't have a lot of the caramel, I piped it around the pie. The result? A really good lemon caramel pie that held together, and you would never know it had been a failure. The lesson? Learn from your mistakes, don't throw anything (that isn't spoiled) out, and get creative to use up leftovers.

It may not be the prettiest, but it is tasty considering what it came from!

Flaky Vegan Pie Dough

Flaky Vegan Pie Dough
3 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated (white) sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup cold water

Stir together the flour, salt, and sugar. Gradually stream in the oil, blending with a fork until incorporated. Add the water, one tablespoon at a time, just until the dough begins to stick together. It should be slightly crumbly rather than wet, and be able to be pressed into a ball. Press dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill - I recommend the freezer for an hour or two, but if preparing a day in advance, you can just chill it in the refrigerator overnight so it doesn't become too hard.

It shouldn't be too firm to roll out once you remove it from the fridge/freezer - so no need to wait for the dough to warm up. Dust the work surface with flour, dust the top of the dough or the rolling pin with flour, and roll dough out as thinly as required, depending on the desired use. Baking time/temperature also depends upon the application of this dough.

The dough can be used for pie crusts, savory or sweet (add a touch more sugar). It can also be used for biscuits, pot pies, and the pinwheel bites I made using the filling featured in tomorrow's post!

Healthy Sweet Nut Crust

I've never been much of one for pie dough. We never had shortening or lard on hand, the traditional fats of choice, and butter or margarine never seemed to work for me. The dough was too crumbly, and when I added more water than called for, this didn't help at all. I've used shortbread, graham crumb, and chocolate crusts for my pies instead. But this is a new crust I tried and I love it. It basically has two ingredients. The procedure here seems long, but that's only because I explained everything at length - really all you need to do is blitz in a food processor! You can use any nut you wish, but I like almonds. It's simple, healthy, vegan, and goes with a variety of pies. I used it for my wild berry tart the other day.

Healthy Sweet Nut Tart
1/2 cup pitted dates
water
1 cup whole, natural almonds
feel free to add a dash of spice, a splash of extract, or something else to add some additional flavor

Put the dates in a small saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Turn heat off and allow to cool so the dates will plump up and absorb all the moisture.

Drain all the liquid off. Reserve this liquid - it is amazing. It can be drunken warm as a hot date tea, as sweet as juice but with no added sugar. Or add some cocoa powder and make hot chocolate. It can be used to sweetened a variety of tings - baked goods, savory items, etc. etc. The liquid can be reduced to make date syrup or date honey, used as maple syrup or honey in baking (and cheaper!). 

Put half the dates in a food processor with all the almonds and begin to process until mixture comes together. The almonds will break into small pieces and the dates will bind them together. The almonds do not need to be finely ground, actually, I prefer them in larger pieces. If the mixture is not sticky, add some more dates. 

You may not need all the dates, but now you have dates that are already pre-plumped for another recipe, just store them in the fridge. 

Press mixture into one eight or nine inch round pie or tart pan, two four inch round pie pans, or a bunch (I'd estimate eight to twelve) baby tart pans. Place in the freezer to firm up, then add your desired filling!

Wild Berry Tarts

A stunning, colorful, individual-sized  wild berry tartlet featuring four juicy berry flavors, lemon, coconut, cream, and almonds!

This is a fruit tart I made as my first creation and my first lunch for the New Year. My boyfriend has been hinting at me for awhile about fruit tarts with lots of berries, and I was excited to finally make one. I will definitely make another version in the summer time when fresh berries are in season, but considering I used frozen berries, this fruit tart turned out pretty darn good. Despite being composed of 0% chocolate and 100% vegan ingredients. It's also chock-full of fruit and nuts, no-bake, gluten-free, and dare I say, healthy?

Components
CRUST (almond cookie crust)
FILLING (lemon coconut cream filling)
TOPPING (four berry compote)
GARNISH (berries)
GLAZE (maple syrup)

Procedure
Prepare the crust and press into two four inch tart pans or miniature aluminum pie plates. Freeze to firm up while preparing filling.

Prepare the filling and pour over the crusts. You can now refrigerate this until firm or freeze it so it firms up within hours. I recommend freezing, especially if you just made the crust, because if the crust is not fully set, it will become too soft in the fridge. Freezing for longer does not seem to affect the texture of the coconut milk in the cream filling.

Prepare the berry compote. Ideally cool the compote completely and chill it first, but if you are short on time like me, you can spoon it straight over the partially set cream filling and smooth it out as best as possible. It may make the filling melt a little, but it will be fine once you pop it back in the freezer. Alternately, chill it in the fridge.

Take the pretty whole berries set aside from the compote and arrange them artistically on the tarts. You want to keep the berries frozen until ready to use because they are too soft to work with (without smushing them) when thawed. However, you don't want to serve a tart with frozen berries, so keep in mind this must be done a little before serving time to allow them to thaw. The tarts can also be placed back in the freezer after topping with the berries if they are being held longer.

Heat a little maple syrup in the microwave for thirty seconds or so and brush over the fruit on top to make it shine. The tarts can be frozen again if you want to hold them, held in the refrigerator briefly, or if you plan to serve them very soon, left at room temperature to warm up a bit before eating. If frozen for more than a few hours, gently place in a container or cover with plastic wrap.

Serving
Gently unmold the tarts from the pans and place on plates. I find this is really easy if you line the tart pans with plastic wrap before filling with the crust mixture - then the tarts simply lift straight out! You can add other garnishes such as lemon wedges, toasted coconut, chocolate sauce, or (coconut) whipped cream, but I like to let these fruit tarts shine on their own.

Planning these ahead and serving them can be slightly tricky. The crust can be made as far in advance as you wish, as long as you have your dates soaked - so I recommend doing this at least the day before to ensure a less soggy crust.

The coconut custard firms up much better in the freezer and causes the crust to become a bit soggy if left for too long at lower temperatures.

The berries place don top of the tart should be done as closely to serving as possible, still allowing enough time for them to thaw out, though I did have success with freezing the tart like this as well.

Glaze the berries last minute for optimum shine.

Ideally thaw frozen tarts only 6-14 hours before serving, and allow to come to room temperature to serve. Do not freeze for longer than a few days, and do not leave at room temperature. This will ensure optimum flavors and textures.

Perfect Pizza Dough

This pizza dough recipe is really a cinch to make and makes a perfect pizza every time! There are two alternative ways to make it; you could use a food processor instead of a stand mixer, or you could do it by hand but then it won't be as much of a cinch and will require some kneading.

Perfect Pizza Dough
4 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 Tablespoon instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup oil

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 3 cups flour, the yeast, and the salt. Attach the dough hook and mix on low, gradually streaming in the water, then the oil. Increase speed to medium, gradually add the remaining one cup of flour. Increase speed to high and mix until the dough forms into a ball. 

Dough can be used immediately, but will benefit from resting. Form into a round ball and place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot. This can be done for a few minutes or a few hours. This dough will make one large (12-15") or two small (8-9") pizza crusts. Alternately, it can be used for individual pizzas, calzones, and more. If you need to divide the dough, cut it, round each piece, and allow to rest for a few minutes before rolling it out. 
My nine inch pizza crusts took about ten minutes to bake at 425◦F.

I would classify this neither as a thick or thin crust dough, it's somewhere in between. But to true pizza connoisseurs, I guess it would have to be a thick crust as it certainly isn't a paper-thin dough. It rises quite nicely if allowed to rest as well as in the oven. And has a pleasing chewy and crisp texture that can stand up to heavy toppings and rich sauces.

Olive Cheese Focaccia

Olive Cheese Focaccia
1 flatbread or prepared pizza crust or round of focaccia
hummus of choice
cheeses of choice, cubed or shaved. I used two different varieties of hard cheese
sliced black olives

Spread the bread with the hummus, then top with the olives and cheese. Bake at 425◦F for about 20 minutes until hot, crisp, and cheese is melted. 

I will not call this a pizza, though it is similar. Rather I call it a flatbread because it doesn't use the typical pizza sauce and myriad of toppings and ooey gooey cheese. This is an artisan flatbread that makes a nice quick lunch. Of course it could be topped with whatever, this is hardly even a recipe. I just used what I had on hand. Try spreading it with pesto or guacamole, and topping with sautéed or grilled vegetables, or meats, and different cheeses. 

Caramel Cream Pie

Caramel Cream Pie
1 nine inch pie crust, baked and cooled
2 packages (four serving size) instant vanilla pudding 
3 cups heavy whipping cream (35%)
thick caramel sauce, as needed

Beat the pudding mixes and cream together for a couple minutes until thickened. Spread a good layer of caramel sauce in the bottom of the pie crust. Top with the pudding filling. Drizzle more caramel sauce over top, then use a fork to swirl it around. 

This is such a simple pie - another one of my 'cheat' cream pies using pudding mix. Alternately, the filling could be made from scratch as well, and any type of pie crust could be used - even shortbread, graham crumb, or chocolate crumb. Caramel isn't one of the typical cream pie fillings, and here caramel is just used on the top and the bottom, with a vanilla filling in between. However, this pie was a huge crowd pleaser, largely due both to its taste and its uniqueness. 

Mint Nanaimo Bars

I have always been a pretty big fan of the classic nanaimo bar. I am not sure why the combination of a nutty, chewy base, a sweet, creamy filling, and a rich chocolaty topping is so good, but it always seems to be a hit! This is one of those cases where you hesitate to mess with a good thing, but there are several yummy variations, usually involving a different flavoring in the filling such as mint, cherry, or pineapple. I also made a ‘reverse’ nanaimo bar once, where the filling was chocolate and the base and topping were vanilla. The filling can be died green to identify it as mint, if desired, but I didn’t bother with the added dye. This version is extra minty because the use of mint chocolate chips ensures a hint of mint in each layer.

Mint Nanaimo Bars

BASE

1 cup mint chocolate chips

½ cup butter or hard margarine

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup flakes coconut

FILLING

2 cups icing (confectioners’) sugar

¼ cup butter or hard margarine, softened

2 Tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon mint (peppermint) extract

green food coloring, optional

TOPPING

¾ cup mint chocolate chips

2 teaspoons oil

BASE: In a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate chips and butter over medium heat. Stir in the crumbs and coconut. Press firmly into a greased or lined 9x9 inch square pan. Chill.

FILLING: Beat all ingredients together until smooth. Spread evenly over base. Chill.

TOPPING: Melt chips and oil together. Spread evenly over filling. Chill until set but not too hard, then cut into bars.

Pistachio-Crusted Mint Chocolate Cream Pie

This pie is a triple Saint Patrick’s Day treat with the green pistachio crust, minty chocolate filling, and green clover on top. It is also a healthy option because it contains no refined sugars and no added fats. It is still creamy and tasty. The avocado clover on top is optional, but it does add a nice presentation and you don’t really taste the avocado too much.

Pistachio-Crusted Mint Chocolate Cream Pie

CRUST

1 cup unsalted pistachios

½ cup golden raisins

1-2 Tablespoons water

FILLING

3 cups milk (non-dairy will work)

¼ cup cornstarch

¼ cup maple syrup

3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon mint (peppermint) extract

TOPPING

½ ripe avocado

2 Tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon lemon juice

CRUST: Pulse the nuts and raisins until well grounded. Dribble in the water, a little at a time, until mixture just begins to come together. Press into a nine inch pie plate.

FILLING: In a medium saucepan, whisk together one cup of milk and the cornstarch. Whisk in the remaining milk, then the maple syrup and cocoa. Bring mixture to a boil, then boil lightly for about eight minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the mint extract. Pour into prepared crust and place a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap directly on the filling to prevent a skin from forming. Cool, then chill for a few hours until firm.

TOPPING: Mash together the avocado, honey, and juice until smooth. Spread in a clover pattern on top of the filling. Garnish with additional pistachios.