I apologize for the lack of entries lately — I’ve been completely invested in spending most of my time with my mom, because she’s my favorite.  It’s hard to believe that her visit is soon coming to an end, a week to be exact.  The entire situation still seems surreal to me.  I’m hoping that the day of, I don’t have a complete mental meltdown and cling to my mother’s leg screaming “NO DON’T LEAVE DONT DO IT!” as she’s trying to get out of the car to catch her plane, but I’m not making any promises.  ^_^

It’s been a blast though — we’ve been sharing recipes, she’ll cook her Chinese dishes and I’ll cook her some French American dishes — one of her favorites discoveries has been the creme brulee.  She kept Ooooing and AAAaaahing over this recipe so I figure I’d share it with yall, it’s pretty epic not gonna lie.  Aside from that she’s been feeding me traditional Chinese medicines that make my stomach churn but I take it anyways because apparently it’s good for me (or so she claims). It’s just unfortunate that most of the concoctions she makes taste like feet…   just kidding mom, you’re the best! But seriously, I’ve spent a lot of time figuring out her secret of staying forever young.  I’ll share pictures soon, you’ll see what I mean…

One of the first desserts I learned working in at a French restaurant was the Creme Brulee and Souffle.  Souffle is definitely the more temperamental dessert and the failure rate is much higher than creme brulee – so we’ll warm up to that recipe later.  I love this creme brulee recipe because of its soft delicate texture and of course everyone’s favorite part: the crunchy burnt sugar on top, hence it’s latter name — burnt cream.   Plus it always adds a dash of sophistication and excitement to any dinner party when you bust out the torch!  I mean seriously guys, who doesn’t like a little fire show?

Ingredients for Citrus Cardamom Creme Brulee:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 star anise
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest
• 4 tablespoons raw sugar

Preheat oven to 260 degrees F (150 degrees C) and line the bottom of a large baking pan with water.  Bring a large pot of water to boil. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine cream, cardamom, citrus zest and 1/4 cup sugar and salt stirring occasionally 4 to 5 minutes, until steam rises. In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla until smooth. Pour hot cream into yolks, a little at a time, stirring constantly, until all cream is incorporated. Pour mixture into four 6 oz. ramekins.

Place ramekins in the baking dish with water and cover the whole pan loosely with foil.  , and place dish on oven rack. Pour boiling water into dish to halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover whole pan loosely with foil. Bake 60 to 75 minutes in the preheated oven, until custard is just set. Chill ramekins in refrigerator 4 to 6 hours.  Before serving, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of raw sugar over each custard. Use a kitchen torch or oven broiler to brown top, 2 to 3 minutes.

As I’ve mentioned before, my mother will be moving back to Shanghai this year — September 14th to be exact.  I’m picking her up from Houston this weekend where she will come to stay with me and Collin in Dallas before she goes home.

A bittersweet feeling for sure, the child in me screams “DON’T LEAVE! WHAT WILL I DO WITHOUT YOU?” but I know it’s for the best.  For years my mother has sacrificed her own personal happiness for mine, I could tell she always missed China.  Her food always evoked her longing — I remember as a child I’d always complain “AW MAN MA, CHINESE AGAIN??” But now I realize it was one of the few connections she had to home.

Week after week it was always something different — braised pork belly, sauteed peat shoots, tea smoked duck, herbal chicken soup — I lived like a king when it came to food, I knew I had it good.  Now that she’s leaving, I wanted to keep my mother behind with me, through her recipes.

I really look forward to learning traditional Chinese cuisine and at the same time exposing my mother to the different types of cuisines I make at home.  A month’s worth of cooking adventures with my mother in my new kitchen, can life be any better?  I can’t wait for everyone to meet her, she is truly the sweetest, cutest and the most talented lady I know.  You’ll see

I made this healthy breakfast over the weekend — I love poaching eggs because it’s a great alternative to frying and you still get the same delicate texture and of course the best part, the runny yolk.  I got my recipe from Epicurious and made a few minor changes — I used less oil and used Smoked Provolone.  I really enjoyed the addition of the Pistou, very bold in flavors but light in textures — a great breakfast for the summer.

Ingredients for Poached Eggs with Pistou: (serves 2)

• 1/3 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 small garlic clove
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 large eggs
• 2 1/2-inch-thick slices french bread, toasted
• Smoked Provolone cheese shavings

Puree basil, garlic, and oil in mini processor until very smooth. Season pistou to taste with salt and pepper.

Add enough water to medium skillet to measure 1 1/4 inches. Sprinkle salt generously into water. Bring water to simmer over medium heat. Crack eggs 1 at a time and gently slip into water. Cook until egg whites are just set and egg yolks are still runny, about 3 minutes.

Place hot toasts on plates. Top each with Parmesan. Using slotted spoon, transfer 2 eggs, well drained, to each piece of brioche. Sprinkle eggs with salt and pepper. Drizzle with some of pistou and serve.

There are many things in life that are unpredictable — but there’s one thing I’ve always believed every person is able to control and that is his/her health.  Sure we are inclined to certain genetic factors, however by maintaining a healthy diet, exercise regimen and an overall spiritual well-being we can insure ourselves a better life.  Too often I will see friends and family eating foods that clearly are not beneficial to them, whether it be processed foods like microwavable meals, mystery meats or foods high in sugars and sodium found in candies and snacks to high saturated fats in meats, cheeses and fried foods.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m no saint myself. There will be times where there are no other options but the bad, but what can you do? Socially ostracize yourself and only eat at home?  Subjecting yourself to a life of healthy eating but suffer the consequences of lonely solitude?  No not necessarily.  But being conscious of what we put into our bodies is better than living in ignorance, which in this case will not bring you bliss but a myriad of health problems — high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes just to name a few.

Maybe next time when you go out to eat with friends, opt out for the vegetarian option or maybe a salad (with no dressing). With most lessons in life, prevention is key, the whole “better safe than sorry” shpeal makes a lot more sense now that I’m older.  How can you even imagine enjoying your retirement when you can barely climb up a flight of stairs?  Or not be able to travel on a plane or even a train because of your heart condition?  How can your mind possibly be in a good mood when everything inside your body constantly hurts?  These are all important things we need to think about at an early age, and for those that are older, it is never too late to change.

I received this e-mail this week from Mommy Wells about causes of cancer along with cancer prevention techniques and really wanted to share it with you guys.  The following information was obtained from John Hopkins Research –

• Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer
  cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have
  multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients
  that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after
  treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the
  cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable
  size.
• Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a
  person’s lifetime.
• When the person’s immune system is strong the cancer
  cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and
  forming tumors.
• When a person has cancer it indicates the person has
  nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic,
  but also to environmental, food and lifestyle factors.
• To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing
  diet to eat more adequately and healthy, 4-5 times/day and by including supplements will strengthen the immune system.
• An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer
  cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply. 

Cancer Cells Feed On:

• Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses, but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color Better alternative is Bragg’s aminos or sea salt.

• Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer cells are being starved.
• Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little other meat, like chicken. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

• A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C)

• Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

• Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup.

• Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body’s killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to
have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer
cells.

1. No plastic in microwaves.

2. No water bottles in freezer.

3. No plastic wrap in microwave.

Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don’t freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn’t bad but you don’t know what is in the paper. It’s just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper The dioxin problem is one of the reasons. Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.

What better way to share healthy information than to pair it with a healthy (yummy) recipe? I discovered Dover Sole while working at a French restaurant, since then it has become one of my favorite fish.  The meat is very delicate and moist, but because it is very thin it cooks very quickly.  Therefore, when cooking your dover be sure not to over cook the fish or it will taste dry.

I paired the dover with a raw summer couscous that I found in Raw, a cookbook written by Charlie Trotter and Roxanne Klein.  I found it interesting that they put red grapes with the cauliflower.  I was quite hesitant about it at first but it really put the finishing touches on the couscous itself, providing a very nice sweetness and playfulness to this dish both in flavors and textures.

Ingredients for Raw Summer Couscous:

• 1 cup cauliflower, finely chopped
• 1/8 cup red bell pepper, small diced
• 1/8 cup yellow bell pepper, small diced
• 1/8 cup parsley, minced
• 1 cup grapes, washed and halved
• 1/2 cup radish, small diced
• 1/8 cup raw honey
• 1/2 lemon squeezed
• salt pepper to taste

In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice and honey together.  Place the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix with honey lemon mixture.  Taste with salt and pepper.  Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes and serve with dover sole.

Ingredients for Dover Sole: (serves 2)

• 2 x 6oz dover sole fillets
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon shallot, minced
  
• salt pepper to taste

In a large sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat (about 4-6) and once it is bubbling add the minced garlic and saute for about a minute.  Season the fillets lightly with salt and pepper and fry 3 minutes on each side (depending on the thickness of the fillets it may take longer, but remember that the fish will also continue to cook once it is taken off the pan so plan accordingly!). You can check the “doneness” of the fish by using the tip of the knife or fork — if it pierces through the flesh easily, it is done, if it still feels rubbery it needs more cooking time. Serve immediately with couscous.

To Plate:

I topped my plate off with some orange segments — I always love a little citrus with my fish.  Feel free to leave it off.  Using a hollowed out can or cookie ring cutter (I used a 4″ ring), fill the mold with the couscous mixture.  Immediately plated the fish once it has finished cooking and garnish with orange segments.  This dish would go well with a glass of Pinot Grigio or a Sauvignon Blanc.

I think dishes like these are perfect for the summer.  The contrast in textures, the whimsical bright colors and flavors — all it takes is a little creativity to make eating healthy…fun! Bon appetit and hope everyone is having a fabulous summer .

You guys will not believe the weather we are having in Dallas.  For the 17 years I’ve lived in Texas I have never seen this much snow, a record breaking 12.5 inches of snow in a 24 hour period.  INSANE!!  We had a transformer blow out last night and the power went dead, thankfully we were able to seek shelther at Collin’s parents.  Thank goodness for family

We woke up early this morning and built an 8 foot snow man!  Actually it was more Collin who built the entire 8 foot body and I sculpted the face .  I was off taking pictures and I turned around and what do I see?  Collin rolling a gigantic snow ball around the front yard that sat almost as tall as my shoulders… I was concerned as how he was going to get the midsection on there, which weighed at least 200 lbs.  Thankfully with a family full of big Polacks (sp?), Collin and his dad moved it on there just fine.

It’s been years since I’ve built a snow man, and never one of such massive proportions (Which I have my intense fiance to thank for that)! On our way back to our house this morning we saw streets decorated with all different types of snowmen of all shapes and sizes, it was truly adorable.

With weather like this I felt nothing could be better than warm bread and soup.  This classic cream of potato soup recipe can be dressed up in several different ways.  You can add bacon or sour cream, or perhaps some smoked chicken and cheddar cheese?  I decided to add some heat and drizzled it with some Jalapeno oil to give the soup an extra kick!

The popovers are to die for.  I had my first popover experience when Collin’s father took us out for dinner over the holidays and the restaurant had served them as starters.  They were warm and had a crunchy outside but a warm and chewy inside.  The recipe I am using is Neiman Marcus’, they suggest using a their popover pan, which I recommend using if you have it, but if not you can use a muffin pan.

Ingredients for Cream of Potato Soup with Jalapeno Oil:

(serves 4)

• 8 medium sized potatoes, cleaned peeled and cut into 1 1/2″ pieces
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 jalapeno, top discarded and thinly sliced
  
• 2 small leeks, white part only, washed and finely chopped
• 4 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, washed, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 celery washed and finely chopped
• 4 cups of chicken broth or water
  
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
  
• salt pepper to taste
  

Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter starts to foam.  Add the leeks, celery, carrots, onion and shallots along with some salt and cook over gently heat for 5-6 minutes until the vegetables start to soften.  Add the stock and potatoes, bring back to the boil, then lower the temperature to a simmer and cook slowly for 10 minutes.  Puree the soup in batches in a blender.  If you’d like you can pour the soup through a metal sieve.  Heat the pureed mixture and cream in a pan, check for seasoning and taste with salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat until oil slightly smokes.  Add the sliced jalapeno and allow to sautee until oil is fragrant and jalapenos are softened, about 3-4 minutes.  Remove from heat and pour oil mixture through sieve.  Set jalapenos aside for garnish.Divide the soup among four bowls and add a generous dash of black pepper.  Drizzle with jalapeno oil and add jalapeno slices.  You can also serve this soup with some crostinis as I have.  You simply slice a baguette into 1″ pieces and brush with a butter mixture.

Ingredients for Crostini Butter mixture:

(for about 12 crostinis)

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon parsley, minced

Mix ingredients together in bowl and brush onto sliced crostinis.  Bake at 350F for 10 minutes or until bread is golden brown.

“The key to making great popovers is having the eggs and milk warm before mixing.  It is also important to let the batter sit for an hour before baking it.  Popovers do not freeze well, and pre-made batter has a tendency not to work properly the next day.”

Ingredients for Neiman Marcus Popovers:

(about 2 dozen popovers)

• 3 1/2 cups milk
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Place the milk in a bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes, or until warm to the touch.  Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl.  Crack the eggs into the work bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk and beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until foamy and pale in color.  Turn down the mixer to low and add the warm milk.  Gradually add the flour mixture and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes.  Turn the machine off and let the batter rest for 1 hour at room temperature.

Spray a popover tin or muffin pan generously with nonstick spray.  Fill the popover cups almost to the top with the batter and place the popover tin on a cookie sheet.  (If you are using a muffin pan, fill every other hole because the bread will puff up when baking).  Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Turn down the oven temperature to 375F and bake for 30 to 35 minutes longer, until the popovers are a deep golden brown on the outside and airy on the inside.  Turn out the popovers and serve hot with strawberry butter.

For Neiman Marcus’ recipe they used strawberry preserves, I actually used fresh strawberries and 1 tablespoon of agave syrup.  I have cut down the quantity of butter so the following recipe makes about 1/4 cup of strawberry butter.

Ingredients for Fresh Strawberry Butter:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup good-quality strawberry preserves (I used 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, chopped)
• 1 tablespoon of agave syrup (I added this)
  

Place the butter in a bowl with minced strawberries and syrup.  Beat on high until lught and fluffy.  To serve, spoon or pipe the flavored butter into a plate or bowl.

If you have leftover strawberry butter it goes great on toast or any type of bread you may have lying around.  It am sure it is great with preserves, but the butter is SO fragrant when I made it with fresh strawberries, I recommend that everyone tries this recipe.  It is so ADDICTING!!

I hope everyone has a great weekend.  I am off to ice a cake for a special someones birthday that is coming up!    Stay tune on Monday for a very special birthday dedication post for a very special lady!  In the meantime, everyone stay warm eat lots and be merry!!!

p.s.

Our 8 foot snowman

“Nom nom nommy nom nom” — are probably the only words that will escape your lips upon tasting this tart.  Recently at work I’ve been working on fruit tarts since Valentine’s day is only right around the corner and I’ve forgotten as to how delectably delightful a well made fruit tart can be.  A rich vanilla pastry cream topped with juicy and succulent seasonal fruit and a nice flaky buttery crust to bring it all together, *exhales* is this heaven?

Since I am watching my caloric intake, I decided to use fat free milk as the base for the pastry cream — I also replaced some of the sugar with honey.  (You can also use agave syrup if you’d like)  Also it is important to seal your fruit tart with Apricot jam.  Yes, apricot and only apricot.  The glaze helps seal in the moisture of the fruit and gives the tart a nice shiny beautiful appearance.  The reason apricot jam is chosen as the glaze for all tarts is because other preserves like orange or peach contain enzymes that will break down the fruit.

I had a little bit of pastry dough left from the quiche so I figured it’d be a great way to use it for this recipe.  I added some freshly grated orange zest to it to give it a nice citrus flavor throughout the crust.  You can also use lemon zest if you do not have oranges readily available.  You can find the pastry dough recipe and detailed instructions here.  I made an 8″ tart since I didn’t have much pastry dough left but you can easily make a 10″ tart with this recipe.

At my first job as a line chef at a French restaurant, the chef use to make a fresh batch of vanilla pastry cream every week.  I would always sneak a spoonful here and there when no one was looking because it was so DARN good.  They used lots of heavy cream along with fresh vanilla bean which probably attributed to me growing a second butt cheek in a matter of weeks.  Therefore, I made a lighter version and I think it tasted just as good.   I will list the original pastry cream recipe and then put the changes that I made beside it.

Ingredients for Vanilla Pastry Cream: (From Le Cordon Bleu)

(yield: about 1 qt.)

• 4 cups mik (I used fat free)
• 4 oz sugar (I used honey)
• 4 egg yolks
  
• 2 eggs
• 2.5 oz cornstarch
• 4 oz sugar
  
• 2 oz butter
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

1.  In a heavy saucepan or kettle, dissolve the sugar (honey) in the milk and bring just to a boil.

2.  With a whip, beat the egg yolks and whole eggs in a stainless-steel (glass) bowl.

3.  Sift the cornstarch and sugar into the eggs.  beat with the whip until perfectly smooth.

4. Temper the egg mixture by slowly beating in the hot milk in a thin stream.

5.  Return the mixture to the heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

6.  When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat.

7.  Stir in the butter and vanilla.  Mix until the butter is melted and completely blended in.

8.  Pour out into a clean container and dust lightly with sugar and cover with waxed paper to prevent a crust from forming.  Cool and chill as quickly as possible.

Important steps to watch out for — it is crucial to sift the cornstarch as you are mixing it into the eggs, or else your pastry cream will come out lumpy and the corn starch will not be incorporated correctly.  Also, be sure to stir constantly once you return the mixture back to the heat — it literally is a 20-30 second time window when the mixture goes from liquid to suddenly a thick paste consistency.  This step is the easiest to mess up, because you can either end up burning the cream or making it too dry and thick.

For fruit selection, I would go with seasonal fruits — that ensures quality and flavor.  Be sure to choose a wide range of colors — greens, reds, orange, yellows, this will make your fruit tart visually appealing!  For my fruits I chose Mango, Grapefruit, Orange, Kiwi and Blueberries.

Ingredients for Mixed Fruit Topping:

• 1 mango, peeled and thiny sliced
• 2 oranges, peeled and segmented
• 1 grapefruit, peeled and segmented
• 2 kiwis, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup blueberries

Ingredients for Apricot Glaze:

• 2 tablespoons Apricot preserve
• 2 teaspoons water

Place in the microwave for 30 seconds, or until the mixture becomes a syrupy consistency.

Assembling the Fruit Tart:

This is the fun part — assembling your fruit tart!  Take you pastry shell that’s been baked and cool and leave it in the tart pan — this will ensure that your tart does not crumble as you are assembling.  (This happened to me, I made two big holes on the sides of my tart !! )  Using a spatula, spread your cooled vanilla pastry cream inside the tart.  Fill it up all the way and make sure all sides are leveled.

Next take your sliced fruit and begin planning out how you’d like to lay out your tart.  I would start the outside border with which ever fruit you have the most of, in my case it’d be the mangoes. Place the mango slices where they are slightly overlapping, allow the tips to hang beyond the edge of the tart.  Next take the citrus fruit and assemble the same way as the mango.  Be sure to place the citrus slices so you are still able to see the tops of the mango slices.

Next take your kiwi slices and lay them on top of the citrus, being sure to leave a hole to place your blueberries.  Put as many blueberries that will fit in the center of the tart — I chose to use some blueberries to decorate the sides as well, you can do whatever you like.  Be creative!!  Lastly, carefully glaze your tart using a pastry brush.  If you brush too hard all the fruit will slide off and blueberries will fly everywhere, just use a gentle dabbing motion and evenly coat the entire tart with the apricot glaze.  Place it in the fridge for 1 hour before serving.

The reason I love fruit tarts is because they are so versatile!  You can make them for a friend’s birthday, a get together, any type of party — you can also have it for breakfast with a nice cup of coffee or for dessert after dinner.  Honestly, what’s not to like?  Citrus scented crust?  Good.  Vanilla pastry cream?  Reaaallly good.  Delicious array of fruit?  It just can’t get any better!!!! You can also change the flavor of your pastry cream to whatever you — chocolate, praline, even coffee.  If you are interested in making any of those flavors just leave me a note and I will send over the recipe.

Since I am trying to cut calories when possible, I decided to use fat free milk and whipped egg whites.  This reduced my calories and fat from the egg yolks and the cream that usually goes in this dish — the pastry shell recipe however, should not be changed.  I baked the quiche in a __x__ tart pan and cut it into 10 pieces so I have equal portions every time.  I enjoy having a slice of quiche on a bed of baby spinach, tomatoes and red onion — because the crust is heavy, the raw vegetables act as a nice balance.  I used Thomas Keller’s  basic quiche batter and quiche shell recipe from his wonderful cookbook, Bouchon. The proper way to serve a quiche is to completely cool it down and then reheating it in the oven, that way the quiche shell can become light and flaky while the custard stays moist and flavorful.  I made some changes to the basic quiche batter — I replaced heavy cream with fat free milk and one extra egg and separated my eggwhites and beat them into a foam before folding them into the mixture.  However, I stuck to the quiche shell recipe — I definitely understand the importance of a good crust, soggy crusts are never pleasant.

I even used Thomas Keller’s favorite method and made it by hand, I found the following passage extremely useful while I was making the dough:

“I put flour on a board and form a well, combine water and butter in the well, squeezing the butter into half-inch chunks in the water so the butter and water become even in temperature, then gradually stir in the flour as if I were making a pasta dough.  I’m old-fashioned and always make it by hand, but a heavy-duty mixer with a paddle attachment works well too.  Do not mix the dough too much or overwork it.  If you do, you’ll overdevelop the gluten, the protein in the flour, the dough will become elastic rather than “shortened,” and the crust will take on a dense, doughy quality rather than a light, flaky one.

To maintain the proper shape wthout cracks, you ahve to let the dough rest before you roll it out.  It must be rolled out to the right thickness, about three-sixteenths of an inch, or it will be soggy rather than crisp.  After you line the mold, you should let the dough rest again.  It’s best to put it in the freezer for a couple of hours and blind-bake it still frozen.”

I have also cut the quantities of the ingredients by half — so it makes a nice 10″ tart pan quiche opposed to a 9″ sprinfoam cake pan.

Ingredients for Basic Quiche Shell:

from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon:

(makes enough for one 10 x 1.125 ” tart pan, 10 servings)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted, plus additional flour for rolling
  
• 1/2  teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 4 ounces chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inches pieces
• 1/8 cup ice water
• Canola oil

If you want to use a heavy-duty mixer – place 1 cup of the flour and the salt in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Turn the mixer to low-speed and add the butter a small handful at a time.  When all the butter has been added, increase the speed to medium and mix until the butter has been added, increase the speed to medium and mix until the butter is completely blended with the flour.  Reduce the speed, add the remaining flour, and mix just to combine.  Add the water and mix until incorporated.  The dough will come around the paddle and should feel smooth, not sticky, to the touch.

Remove the dough from the mixer and check to be certain that there are no visible pieces of butter remaining; if necessary, return the dough to the mixer and mix briefly again.  Pat the dough into a 7- to 8-inch disk and warp in plastic warp.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to a day.  Place the dough on a floured work surface and rub on all sides with flour.  Flatten it into a large circle using a rolling-pin or the heel of your hand.  Roll the rolling-pin back ad forth across the dough a few times, then turn it 90 degrees and roll again.  Continue to turn and roll until the dough is 1/16″ thick and about 14 in in diameter.

To lift the dough into the mold, place the rolling pin across the dough about one-quarter of the way up from the bottom edge, fold the bottom edge of dough up and over the pin and roll the dough up on the rolling pin.  Carefully cover the tart pan and pinch the edges using your finger tips.  Carefully check for any cracks or holes in the dough, and patch with the reserved dough as necessary.  Place in the refrigerator or freezer for at least 20 minutes to resolidify the butter.  Reserve the reamining dough scraps.

Pu a rack set in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375F.  Line the quiche shell with parchment paper and fill the shell with pie weights or dried beans, gently guiding the weights into the corners of the shell and filling the shell completely.  Bake the shell for 35-45 minutes, or until the edges of the dough are lightly browned.  Carefully remove the parchment and weights.  Check the dough for any new cracks or holes and patch with the thin pieces of the reserved dough if necessary and patching any holes before filling with the quiche batter.

Ingredients for Filling:

• 1/2 lb of bacon, cut into lardons about 1/12 inches long and 3/8 inches thick (I used 4 strips of bacon)
• 1 cup caramelized onions (recipe is here)

Spread the bacon on a baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until it has rendered its fat; the bacon will not be crisp at this point.  Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain.  Reduce the oven temperature to 325F.  Comebine the caramelized onions and bacon in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Drain on paper towels.

Ingredients for Basic Quiche Batter:

From Thomas Keller’s Bouchon

• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup heavy cream (I used fat free milk instead)
  
• 3 large eggs (I separate the yolks from the whites and added an additional egg)
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Combine the milk and cream (or all fat free milk) in a large saucepan and heat over medium heat until scalded (meaning a sin begins to form on the surface).  Remove from the heat and let cool for 15 minutes before continuing.

I added this step** Take your egg whites and whip until firm peaks can form, if needed, you may add a pinch of cream of tartar to help stabilize the whites.

Put the eggs (I only put the yolks), the milk and cream mixture (fat free milk), salt, white pepper, and nutmeg in a blender and blend on low speed for a few seconds to combine the ingredients.  Increase the speed to high and blend for 30 seconds to a minute, or until the batter is light and foamy.  I added this step***Fold in your egg whites, be careful to not over mix — use a gentle folding motion.  The mixture does not need to be completely uniform.

Pour half the mixture into the shell and add half of the bacon onion mixture.  Pour the remaining batter and top with leftover filling.  Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the top of the quiche is browned and the custard is set when the pan is jiggled.  Remove the quiche from the oven and let cool to room temperature on a rack.  Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 1 day, or up to 3 days.

To serve: Preheat the oven to 375F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly oil the paper.  Place a slice of quiche on the baking sheet and reheat for 10 minutes, or until hot throughout.  To check, insert a metal skewer into the quiche for several seconds and then touch the skewer to your lip to test the temperature of the quiche.

My healthier version turned out really great, I think by beating my eggwhites into a foam allowed the texture to still be airy and light but still flavorful from the bits of bacon and caramelized onions.  You would’ve never guessed that I used fat-free milk at all to make this quiche!  Could it be?  A healthy quiche? Okay maybe not quite yet, I am still on a hunt for a healthy tart dough recipes — any suggestions?  When baking the quiche, be careful to not overcook it — I would begin checking the batter around 40 minutes, even if there is still a slight jiggle, remember that it will cook further when you take it out of the oven.  I also encourage that you make the dough with your hands — cooking is all about feeling.  Quiche also make great leftovers and according to Thomas Keller, it’s also excellent cold!  Speaking of cold, it’s currently 30 degrees and my toes are frozen — good thing honey has built me a fire to warm me right up   Good Night Yall!

A couple weeks ago I signed up to compete in Foodie Fights .  Every week, the authors Nick and Dan pick two new ingredients and ask the chosen competitors to submit their top creation using the challenged ingredients and the winner is decided by guest expert judges as well as the general public vote.  Being new to this blogging world, I thought this would be a great way to meet new people and have some creative fun !

This week is Battle 16 (My lucky number!) and the two featured ingredients are: Chestnuts and Kumquats.   Unfortunately I was unable to find Kumquats anywhere in Dallas — many stores said it was too early in the season so I had to settle for oranges instead.  I just bought some ramekins over the weekend and instantly knew I wanted to make some type of brulee.  After much thought over the weekend I finally decided on making a Chestnut Brulee and topping it with some brandied soaked oranges for an extra punch, pow!

It turned out to be a pretty whimsical dessert, the nutty brulee served as a nice contrast with the sweet and tartness of the brandied oranges.  I also added a pinch of cinnamon to compliment the nuttiness of the chestnuts.  I think the best part of a creme brulee is cracking into the burnt sugar crust, nothing is better than the little “crunchies” of burnt sugar mixed with the creamniess of the custard.

If you enjoy this recipe, please do not forget to vote for me, it would be much appreciated ^_^!!!

Ingredients for Chestnut Brulee:

• 4 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, hot
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 10 oz chestnut,peeled, skinned and pureed

Preheat the oven to 350F.

For the Brulee, mix the egg yolks and sugar until well combined.  In a medium sauce pan, heat the cream at a medium heat.  (Be careful to not burn it).  Pour the hot cream gradually into the egg and sugar mixture, whisking until thoroughly combined. Slowly fold in the chestnut puree and mix well. Set 4 shallow ramekins in a sheet pan and divide the custard mixture equally amongst the dishes.  Pour water into the sheetpan high enough to come up halfway to the side of the ramekins.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the custard is set.  (You can test this by lightly hitting the side of the sheet pan and seeing if the how much the custard “jiggles” to the force, if it does not move much it is ready)

Take custard out of the oven and place in the fridge to cool, about 1 hour.  When ready to serve, evenly coat the surface with sugar and using a hand-held torch, burn the sugar until it forms a thin caramel brown crust.  Be careful not to burn your fingers!

Ingredients for Brandied Oranges:

• 1 orange, peeled, sliced into 12 sections
• pinch of cinnamon
• 1 tbsp of brandy

Mix the oranges with the cinnamon and soak in brandy for 20 minutes.  Serve with Chestnut Brulee.

I hope you guys enjoy my creation for Foodie Fights, it was definitely a fun challenge.  I had a blast looking for the featured ingredients and brainstorming ideas and flavor combinations and am happy with what I have created.  I hope everyone enjoys this recipe as much as I have, I love how the burnt sugar harmonizes with the brandied oranges and it was fun using chestnuts in a new way!  Thank you to Ed and Dan for letting me participate and I look forward to competing again

Prep Time: 20 minutes Total Cooking Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

I bought a beautiful cut of wild-caught Alaskan King salmon from the grocery store this week at a great price and my fiance automatically assumed something must be wrong with it.  Fortunately that was NOT the case, it was of great quality and absolutely delicious!! I always buy wild-caught fish, though it can be pricier, the flavor is usually better and it is much healthier for you too.  Now and days a lot of fish are “farm-raised” and my step-dad who is a toxicology specialist, has done numerous studies on the dangers of farm-raised fish.  Now I’m not saying all farm-raised fish are bred in horrible conditions and contain  cancer causing pollutants, but a lot are.  So if possible, limit your farm-raised fish intake to once a month.

A few things to remember when picking a good quality fish or fish fillet:

• Look at the skin for a bright metallic sheen with smooth scales and color.
• Ask to smell the fish, there should be no odor.  If it smells very “fishy”, it probably is old and was not kept in proper conditions.
• Look at the eyes, they should be clear, shiny and bright.
• Check underneath the gills for a rich bright red color, if they look gray or drab it’s definitely not fresh!
• Touch the fillets to see how firm they are.  Press down on the fish to see if it has resiliency, it will bounce back if it is of good quality or sink down from the pressure.

Ingredients for Salmon:

• 4 – 13″x13″pieces of parchment paper cut into hearts
• 4 – 8 oz salmon fillets
• 16 – thin slices of lemon halved
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Ingredients for Herb Sauce:

• 1/4 cup dry white wine (like Chardonnay)
• 1 cup fish broth
• 2 shallots, finely minced
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/3 cup chopped herbs (chevril, basil, dill, tarragon)
• salt pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400F.

For the salmon, place a fillet on one side of your heart-shaped parchment paper and fold the other side over to enclose the fish.  Begin folding the edges of the parchment paper together, starting towards the small end and ending at the big end, forming a pouch or “Papillote” as the French would say .  Put on a baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on how thick the fillets are.  You can test the doneness by the firmness of the fillet.

To make the herb sauce, saute the shallots with the wine, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the stock and simmer until the mixture has reduced by half, about 8-10 minutes.  Add the cream and allow the mixture to thicken slightly.  Season with salt and pepper and stir in the chopped herbs.

You can serve each person with a parcel to unwrap at the table and place the herb sauce in a seperate bowl.  The reason for a “papillote” is so each guest can enjoy a fresh whiff of the aromas and flavors trapped inside the packet while cooking in the oven.  I hope you enjoy unwrapping this tasty treasure!