Sunday, December 18, 2016

CHOCOLATE CRANBERRY PECAN TART

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!  It is baking season in so many homes, and a time to spend with friends.  Last night we were invited to a holiday dinner at friends, the Andersons.  I was asked to bring dessert.  What to bring?!?  So many options!  I came across this Taste of Home recipe in my online search of "cranberries" and "dessert," and I'm glad I did!  It was very easy to make, very festive and special for a holiday dessert.  The fresh cranberries give this very sweet tart a nice taste balance.   Serve it with whipped cream.

WHITE CHOCOLATE-CRANBERRY-PECAN TART.  Serves 12-14.
*  Pastry for single-crust pie (9 inches)
*  1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (I used frozen)
*  1 cup pecan halves (NOT chopped)
*  1 cup white baking chips (I used a 4-oz. Ghirardelli white chocolate bar, cut into "chips.")
*  3 large eggs
*  3/4 cup packed brown sugar
*  3/4 cup light corn syrup
*  2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
*  1 teaspoon grated orange peel (from 1/2 navel orange)
Preheat oven to 350º.  Roll out pastry to fit an 11-inch tart pan with removable bottom;  trim edges.  Sprinkle with the cranberries, pecans and chips.  In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, flour and orange peel; pour over chips.  Bake 40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.



I never got around to taking a photo of the finished tart.  Use your imagination!  xoxoxoxo, A

Sunday, December 11, 2016

QUICHE AS YOU LIKE IT!

It is unusual for me to use a purchased pie crust when I always have everything on hand to make a crust.  That said, I was recently at Aldi and bought frozen pie crust at a ridiculously low price, with two in the package.  I used one for my Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, and decided to use the other for a quiche.  

Quiche is one of the easiest things to make, particularly when you can use a frozen pie crust!  The beauty of this recipe is that it can be made to use what you have on hand, to suit your own taste.  Naturally, if you use all ingredients you love, you will love the final result.  

For this quiche, I used fried hot Italian sausage (previously fried up, then frozen), a mix of vegetables consisting of onions, minced garlic, sweet yellow pepper, and a seeded Roma tomato, and about a tablespoon of dried herbes d'Provence.   Here is a pic of Kevin fixing his breakfast.




QUICHE AS YOU LIKE IT.  Serves 6 - 8.
*  1 - 9" unbaked deep-dish pie shell
*  1 cup cooked meat, of your choice
*  1 cup vegetables, of your choice
*  1 cup shredded cheese, of your choice
*  6 eggs
*  1 cup milk or cream
*  1/2 teaspoon salt
*  1/4 teaspoon pepper
*  Fresh/dried herbs, garlic, chive, or other seasonings of your choice
Sprinkle cheese, meat and vegetables evenly on the bottom of the pie shell.  Beat together eggs, milk, salt, pepper and other seasonings until well blended.  Pour into pie shell.  Bake in preheated 375º oven for 35 - 40 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and outside edge comes out clean.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  



Thursday, December 1, 2016

WHAT NOT TO BRING TO THANKSGIVING POTLUCK.

Does this say "Thanksgiving" to you?




It's pizza casserole.  With all of the great traditional foods, it's hard for me to imagine someone having extra room in their stomach to handle this spicy, cheesy dish but, as you can see, much of it was eaten.  Fortunately, this did not show up at our house.  It was brought to the home of my dentist's administrative assistant (correct title?).  She and I got a bit of a laugh out of this dish that her sister brought to the family Thanksgiving meal!

For those of you who think this sounds good, if you do a Google search for "pizza casserole" you will get just under 1.8 million hits.  Good luck to you!

As for me, I think I'll stick with turkey, dressing, gravy, cranberries, pumpkin pie....