Rustic (aka Non-Fussy) Strawberry Tart

It's officially that time of year- strawberry season. Actually, it has been for about a month now, but I'm procrastinating as always.

For the past 27 years of my life, I actually thought I didn't really care for strawberries. I thought they were too tart and didn't have all that much flavor. I could take them or leave them, I certainly wouldn't go crazy over them. Well, as it turns out, I only dislike out-of-season strawberries shipped from halfway across the world. In season strawberries grown on our CSA farm 15 minutes away- OMG. Totally. Different. Story.

I can't believe it's taken me this long to realize that- I am absolutely kicking myself. And now- let's just say I'm making up for lost time. We've bought about 8 quarts in the past couple weeks.

One of the most especially delicious recipes I've enjoyed with all the fresh strawberries we've had was this rustic strawberry tart from the kitchen sink recipes.

I've always thought tarts were beautiful and tasty, but have shied away from making them. They just seem so... fussy. Overlaying the fruit in a pretty pattern and achieving the perfect crust seems so difficult... that and I don't exactly own a tart pan. So when I cam across this tart recipe, I was sold. I will hereby refer to it as the non-fussy tart.

It was absolutely delicious, and so easy to make. I definitely see more of these in my future. I am excited to try different fillings as well- the dough can be used for both sweet and savory purposes.

Rustic (aka Non-Fussy) Strawberry Tart
Serves 4 (individual tarts)

for the crust:
1 cup of all-purpose flour, leveled off
1/8 of a teaspoon of salt
4 Tablespoons of cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 Tablespoons of ice cold water

for the filling:
2 1/2 cups of strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon of corn starch

for topping:
4 teaspoons of raw sugar
1 egg white

Directions: Place the 1 leveled cup of flour and the salt into a mixing bowl and whisk together. Cut in the butter and mix until it resembles course meal. Add the 4 Tablespoons of water, and mix until just moistened. Knead a few times to bring the dough together. (I found the dough to be pretty crumbly at this stage- like there was too much flour. Don't worry, it all works out.)

Divide the dough into four quarters. Wrap each portion in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

While the dough is refrigerating, combine strawberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice in a mixing bowl. Allow to sit. Preheat oven to 350 F.

After 30 minutes, unwrap each portion of dough and place on a square of parchment paper. Place the plastic wrap back on top of the dough and press the dough down into a disk. Roll into an approximately 8" circle.

Peel off plastic wrap, and using a slotted spoon, place 1/4 of the strawberry mixture in the center. Leave a couple inch border around the edges to fold over. Fold over the edges and brush with the egg white. Sprinkle a bit of raw sugar on top of the whole tart and place the tart, parchment square and all, onto a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining 3 dough rounds.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Enjoy!

Adapted from kitchensinkrecipes.com, original recipe here.

Tomato and Cheddar Pie with Herbed Mayonnaise

As soon as I saw this recipe in the August issue of Bon Appétit, I knew I had to make it. It had everything I love- a carbalicious crust, ripe summer tomatoes, and cheesy-oozy goodness. It turned out delicious, although it is pretty heavy and definitely an indulgent treat. The crust is very thick and rustic, and the herbed mayonnaise was so good I wanted to lick it up! I think there is a lot of potential for changing this recipe up too, with different kinds of cheeses and sauces.

The dough for the crust is very sticky and wet, but it turned out fine. And also be warned, it takes a bit of time to put together, and then needs to sit at least an hour after baking and before serving. So skip this one if you're in a hurry, the waiting was tortuous!

Tomato and Cheddar Pie with Herbed Mayonnaise
(serves 4)

For the crust:
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt
6 Tablespoons of butter, cut into 1/4" cubes
3/4 cup of buttermilk

For the mayonnaise:
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1 scallion, sliced thin
2 Tablespoons of chopped fresh dill
1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons of white sugar
1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt
dash of black pepper

For the pie:
3 large ripe tomatoes, sliced into 1/4" slices
6 oz. of cheddar cheese, shredded
1 oz. of Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 1/2 Tablespoons of cornmeal
1 Tablespoon of olive oil for greasing and brushing

Directions: Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl. Add butter cubes, and mix by hand until mixture resembles coarse sand and some small lumps remain. Add in buttermilk, mix until just combined and form dough into a ball. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Place sliced tomatoes on a baking sheet lined with 2 layers of paper towels. Cover with 2 more layers of paper towels, and lightly press down. Allow to sit for 30 minutes, to draw out the moisture.

Place all the ingredients for the mayonnaise in a small bowl, mix well, and set aside. Mix the cheddar and Parmesan cheeses in a separate bowl, and set aside as well.

Preheat oven to 425. Grease a 9" glass pie pan with half of the olive oil, and place the refrigerated dough in the pan. Press down on the middle of the dough, pushing it towards and up the edges. Sprinkle the cornmeal on the bottom of the crust. Top with about 1/4 of the cheese mixture, then place tomatoes overlapping in a circular pattern (pressing down slightly to push out the crust) on top of the cheese, and then spread 1/3 of the herbed mayonnaise on top of the tomatoes. Continue to layer cheese, tomatoes, and mayonnaise, ending with cheese, until all ingredients are finished.

Brush crust with rest of olive oil, and bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted. Allow to sit for at least 1 hour before serving. Enjoy!

Adapted from Bon Appétit, original recipe here.

Cherry Hand-Pies

Last week our grocery store had an amazing sale on cherries. Needless to say, we now have ... quite a lot of cherries. While H loves to snack on them and I froze a bit more for later, there was still a lot left over that I wanted to use for some baking. When I saw these little hand-pies, I knew they were exactly what I wanted to make.

I loved the concept- all the tasty goodness of a pie, but ... portable. (As if the lack of mobility is what was missing from your traditional pie.) It's possible though! These are perfect for a cookout or a picnic, where it might be too messy and difficult to bring, slice, and eat a full pie. Just grab one of these babies!

Cherry Hand-Pies

for the dough:
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
8 Tablespoons of cold buttermilk
2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of lemon extract (or 2 teaspoons of lemon zest)
2 sticks of cold butter, cut into 1/4" pieces
powdered sugar, for dusting

for the filling:
4 cups of cherries, pitted and halved
1 Tablespoon of lemon juice
1 Tablespoon of cornstarch
1/4 cup of sugar

for finishing:
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup of sugar

Directions: Combine buttermilk and vanilla extract in a small mixing bowl. Add flour, sugar, salt, and lemon extract (or zest) to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Give it a quick beating to combine. Add the butter cubes, and mix on low speed until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Remove bowl from mixer, add buttermilk/vanilla mixture, and mix by hand until dough just comes together. Move dough to a powdered sugar covered surface, and flatten into a thick disk shape. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile, put three cups of cherries in a large mixing bowl. Pulse the remaining one cup of cherries in a food processor with the lemon juice until they are a thick liquid. Add the cornstarch to the cherry liquid, and whisk until combined. Then add the sugar, and stir to combine. Add the liquid back to the bowl of cherries, and stir to coat.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator, and place on a powdered sugar-dusted surface. Divide dough into 12 equal parts, and roll each part into a 6" circle, about 1/8" thick.

Preheat oven to 400. Have beaten egg and sugar, as well as cherry filling ready in bowls. Place a dough round on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Spoon about 3 Tablespoons of cherry mixture into the center of the dough. Brush the edge of one half of the dough round with beaten egg. Fold opposite side of dough over to meet the egg-brushed side, into a half circle-shape Press edges together, containing the cherry filling. Brush tops of pies with egg, and sprinkle with the sugar. Cut three 1" slits in the dough to let steam escape. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until tops start to turn golden brown. Allow to cool on pans for 10 minutes, and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Enjoy!

Adapted from Annie's Eats, original recipes here and here.

French Apple Tart

One of my farm market finds last weekend was large basket of red delicious apples. They ended up being more than we could eat, so I went on a mission to find something to bake them into. Pies still intimidate me something fierce, so I decided to look for a tart. H loves fruity desserts, and probably would have been (secretly) disappointed had I baked them into muffins or cupcakes. I found a recipe for a French Apple Tart from Ina Garten, and since I've heard nothing but praise for her recipes, I decided it would work. To be honest though, it did still intimidate me, but I decided to bite the bullet.

And yes, I'm glad I did! Of course it didn't turn out as beautiful as the one in the picture, it was still delicious and not as difficult as I expected. And H loooved it, which of course, made me happy as well :) 

French Apple Tart
(serves 6-8)


For the dough:
2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt
1 Tablespoon of sugar
12 Tablespoons of cold butter, diced
1/2 cup of ice cold water

For the apples:
 4-6 Granny Smith apples (I used red delicious, which worked as well)

1/2 cup sugar
4 Tablespoons of cold unsalted butter, diced
2 teaspoons of cinnamon


Directions: In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse to mix. Add diced butter, and pulse 10-12 times for 4 second intervals, or until butter is no larger than the size of peas. With the motor running, slowly pour ice cold water down the feed tube until dough starts to form. Dump onto a floured work surface, and knead into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out dough onto a floured work surface and trim to about a 10x14" rectangle. Place on baking sheet, and place in refrigerator while you prep the apples. Wash and peel apples, and slice them vertically into 1/4" slices (removing the cores). Arrange them in overlapping slices over the dough. Sprinkle the whole cup of sugar all over the apples, then cinnamon, and then arrange the diced butter on top of that.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until apples start to brown slightly. Remove from oven, and let cool slightly. Loosen tart from parchment paper with a metal spatula. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Adapted from Food Network, original recipe here.

Peach Cobbler

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Ours was relaxing, but went by too fast (as always). We enjoyed a quiet night in on Friday. On Saturday, we had a family reunion on H's mom's side of the family, which was great fun. The food was absolutely delicious, and it was really good to see a lot of family we haven't seen since our wedding (almost a year ago- when did that happen??). And then we enjoyed a nice (albeit crazy hot and humid) night out on the boardwalk with some of H's cousins. Sunday was more relaxing, but with a trip to the farmer's market for some Jersey fresh tomatoes (and peaches) and the beginning of my next project.

This is one of the two matching nightstands we currently have in the guest room. They're from IKEA and we got them when we first moved into our first apartment. They have since been banished to the guest room, and I didn't feel the oak finish was working in there. I decided they would look a whole lot better all pretty-ed up in a really pale spring green.

So here are the two drawers in their new color. I'm super excited about it, I'm positive they'll look great when they're all done. I also got some new hardware for them at Lowe's, that looks just like those super cute and fancy ones from Anthropologie. Score!

But unfortunately, that's all I can show you for now... because that's all I've done so far (I know, I'm easily distracted)! Those peaches we picked up at the farmers market were calling my name, begging me to turn them into this:

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup milk
• 4 cups fresh peach slices
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon 
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg 

Preparation

Melt butter in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish.
Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt; add milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter over butter (do not stir).
Bring remaining 1 cup sugar, peach slices, and lemon juice to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly; pour over batter (do not stir). Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Bake at 375° for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve cobbler warm or cool.

from Southern Living, on myrecipes.com. Original recipe here.

It was super-easy, and absolutely delicious. I halved the recipe, because somehow I knew we'd probably devour the whole thing in one sitting. I also used skim milk, which didn't affect it at all. All in all, a wonderful way to use up fresh peaches!

New Recipe Review- Key Lime Pie

For my new recipe this week I decided to make Key Lime Pie. H's parents, brother, and aunt were coming over for dinner and I needed a dessert. I'm kind of "known" for making cupcakes, so I wanted to do something unexpected. I wanted something easy and summery and thought key lime pie would be perfect. I didn't have a recipe bookmarked for a while, so I turned to good old Google (and made sure it had a couple good reviews). Here is the recipe I found, on gourmetsleuth.com and it seemed to fit the bill. 

It was super easy to make, which surprised me a bit, and turned out to be absolutely delicious! I did have to use regular limes, because my grocery store didn't have Key limes but I couldn't taste a difference. This is definitely something I will be making again!

And bonus- the directions for the crust definitely made more than needed for a 9" pie dish, so I got to shove heaping spoonfuls of graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar into my mouth. You can't beat that :) Below is the original recipe from gourmetsleuth.com, with my changes in italics.


INGREDIENTS
Crust
16 graham crackers, crushed
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cube (1/4 lb) margarine or butter

Pie
4 large or extra large egg yolks
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh key lime juice (approximately 12 Key limes) (I used regular limes- needed about 4)
2 teaspoons grated lime peel, green portion only

Whipping Cream For Garnish
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla


INSTRUCTIONS
Crust:
Mix the ingredients and press them into a 9" pie plate. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Place on a rack to cool.

Pie Filling:
Use an electric mixer and beat the egg yolks until they are thick and turn to a light yellow, don't over mix. Turn the mixer off and add the sweetened condensed milk. Turn speed to low and mix in half of the lime juice. Once the juice is incorporated add the other half of the juice and the zest, continue to mix until blended (just a few seconds). Pour the mixture into the pie shell and bake at 350F for 12 minutes to set the yolks and kill any salmonella in the eggs.

Serving:
If you are using the whipping cream garnish, prepare the cream. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream. (I spread the whipped cream on top of the entire pie before serving to pretty it up, as the shell was only 3/4 filled and it looked a bit empty and sad)