Mixed Berry Pie Bars

I found this recipe on Brown Eyed Baker and while I may have done something slightly wrong (I couldn't get the bottom cookie-like crust out of the pan easily) it got HUGE raves at tonight's family Thanksgiving!! It was super yummy it was the only dessert we brought back home and didn't leave for the host family. Haha





For the Crust and Topping:
Zest of 2 lemons (I'm not a fan of lemon zest so I used about 2T lemon juice)
1½ cups granulated sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

For the Blackberry Filling:
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup sour cream
¾ cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
6 cups fresh blackberries (I used a combination blackberry, strawberry, raspberry mix)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with butter; set aside.

2. In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and the lemon zest. Using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar until all of the sugar has been moistened. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the lemon sugar, all-purpose flour and salt. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and continue to pulse until the pieces of butter are no larger than the size of peas, about 10 to 12 pulses.

3. Measure out 1½ cups of the crumb mixture to use for the topping and put it in the refrigerator until needed. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake the crust until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes while you prepare the filling.

4. To make the filling, whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in the sugar, sour cream, flour and salt until thoroughly combined. Gently fold in the blackberries. Spoon the mixture evenly over the crust and make sure all of the blackberries are in one layer and not sitting on top of one another.

5. Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly over the filling. Bake until the top is lightly browned, about 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool for at least 1 hour before cutting.

Vacation Food

I spent this past weekend at Seaside (in Oregon) on a mini-vacation and I thought I'd share some photos of the yummy (and meh) food I had.

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First the meh.

Now we have a Pig'n Pancake in Portland but this was the ORIGINAL :)

My "poached" eggs were more like soft boiled.... how hard is it to poach an egg!?

Overall it was just "meh" and not that impressive - same as the one in Portland.

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Now for the "not too shabby".

Camp 18 is out on Hwy 26 - it's a restaurant and logging memorial -
went once before and the food wasn't too bad. Mostly though you go for the fun atmosphere

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Now for the yummy.

We originally had plans to go to a Southern place - but it apparently closed (for good)
the previous weekend, so this was one of the restaurants recommended
to us by the woman at our hotel front lobby.

As soon as we saw "Fried Artichoke Hearts" on the menu I was hooked -
they were garlic covered and so yummy.
You almost didn't need the garlic lemon ailoi dipping sauce

I ordered a Huckleberry Mojito before my dinner - only part of the meal I regretted. It was a tad too sweet (too much Huckleberry syrup) and left me burping tasting Huckleberry all night.

Mom ordered the Cod fish and chips

I ordered the 1/2 order of Baby Back Ribs...and we swapped 1/2 way through the dinner
...just so we got a taste of everything, not because we weren't enjoying the food

 

 

At the end of our meal we thought we'd take a dessert back to our hotel room to share later that evening. We asked to see a dessert menu....a few minutes later our waitress comes out with a tray of desserts! No menu just a visual display. They all looked yummy but we went with a chocolate layered cake. Can't go wrong with chocolate can you?

The vacation was refreshing and fun and the food was yummy. What else could I ask for?

Lemon Confit Shortbread

Next weekend I'll be making a Lemon Confit Shortbread for my mother's 57th birthday. I found the recipe last year in the NY Times.

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Recipe: Lemon Confit Shortbread Tart

Time: At least 2 hours

FOR THE CRUST:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 large egg
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon almond extract, or to taste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
FOR THE CONFIT:
8 lemons, preferably thin-skinned and seedless
3/4 cup sugar.

1. For crust, combine flour, salt, butter and 1 cup of sugar in a bowl. Mix with your fingers until it forms flaky crumbs and lumps. Mix in egg, almond extract and lemon juice. Continue to mix until it clumps; at first it may seem very dry. Shape into a ball, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to 1 day ahead of baking.

2. For confit, slice off and discard ends of lemons. Slice 5 crosswise, peel and all, as thinly as possible. Remove any seeds and place in a bowl. Peel skin, including white pith, from remaining 3 lemons, then slice thinly crosswise, and add to bowl. Add 3/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons water. Toss and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

3. Place lemon slices and their juice in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cook down until lemons are candied and small amount of liquid in pan is sticky and syrupy, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.

4. To bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide dough in half and form each half into a ball. Roll one ball until large enough to fit into a 9-inch round tart pan. Dough will be crumbly (more shortbread than pie crust); if it falls apart, press it back together. Spoon confit over crust, spreading evenly. Roll out second ball of dough and place on top, sealing edges but making sure no crust overlaps the rim (or tart will be difficult to remove later).

5. Bake until edges of tart are lightly golden, about 35 minutes, then sprinkle top with remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Return to oven for about 10 more minutes; edges should be lightly golden and crust cooked through but not browned. Serve warm or cooled.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

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I'm not a huge lemon-dessert person so I think I might make a side of coconut milk whipped cream for the side. 

Ingredients

One 15-ounce can full-fat coconut milk

1 tablespoon sugar or more to taste (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla or more to taste (optional)

Equipment

Large bowl

Hand beaters or a stand mixer

Instructions

1. Place the can of coconut milk in the refrigerator and leave it there until well-chilled; I left mine in overnight.

2. Open the can of coconut milk. There will be a firm, waxy layer on top.

3. Scoop out this firm layer coconut cream that has solidified at the top of the can.

4. Stop as soon as you reach the water at the bottom of the can; don't include anything but the solid cream. (You can use the water in smoothies, or just drink it straight.)

5. Place this cream in the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large bowl.

6. Turn your mixer or hand beaters to high speed, and whip the coconut cream for 3 to 5 minutes.

7. Whip until it becomes fluffy and light, with soft peaks. Mix in sugar or vanilla, if using.

Bridal Shower Pictures

This past Sunday I threw a Bridal Shower for my sister and her partner. I spent two months planning, organizing and test running the menu. And then cooked Friday night, all day Saturday and the better part of Sunday morning putting the final touches on everything. I was so busy cooking I didn't have much time to stop and take pictures. Here is what I did manage to capture on film.

We adapted a few recipes from here - including the Asian style meatballs

I also made 3 types of cupcakes

Mexican Hot Chocolate Mini Cupcakes

 

Vanilla cupcakes with a strawberry filling

Angelfood cupcakes with a lemon curd center and coconut/almond tops

Since my sister is vegan I tried to make food for her too.

Sauted Veggie wonton cups

Cashew Mushroom Pate

Martha's Pasta Crunch (<big bummer)

The food came out beautiful as did the decorations and table settings:

 

Citrus Burst Cupcakes

Made orange pound cake cupcakes with a lemon frosting for a Japanese Relief Fundraiser-Bake Sale tomorrow.

Recipe: Roasted Cauliflower with Lemon Butter

I'm not a big fan of (overly) cooked vegetables. Creamed spinach is one of the least appetizing foods out there in my opinion. Even steamed veggies can sometimes go to long and then are just mush.

I prefer a little *snap* to my vegetables and one way that I love is to roast/bake them instead. You have control over how long you roast them for and even if the inside is soft the outside crisps up. I've done something similar to this NY Times recipe with broccoli (sans the sage salt) and the family just loved it 2 Thanksgivings ago.

Roasted Cauliflower With Lemon Brown Butter and Sage Salt

Time: About 1 hour

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sage leaves, loosely packed
1 tablespoon coarse salt, more for tossing
3 heads cauliflower, cut into florets
About 1 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 lemon, zest finely grated.

1. Heat oil in a small pan until rippling. Add sage and cook, stirring, just until crisped, about 2 minutes. Lift out sage and drain on paper towels; transfer oil to a large bowl. Let sage cool and crumble with fingers into a small bowl. Stir in coarse salt and set aside.

2. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place roasting pan with an inch of water in oven bottom. Add cauliflower to bowl with oil, add about 1 teaspoon table salt, and toss gently until coated. Spread out on two large baking sheets. Bake until browned, 20 to 30 minutes.

3. Melt butter in a small pan over medium heat. When foam subsides, watch closely and stir often. When white solids are brown and butter smells toasty, turn off heat, squeeze in juice of lemon and stir well.

4. Transfer cauliflower to a bowl, pour butter over, and add lemon zest. Add half the sage salt and toss. Taste and season with remaining salt as needed.

Yield: 10 to 12 servings.