cooking | Gunsmoke and Knitting

Posts Tagged ‘cooking’

What am I cooking with?

August 16, 2012

We all know that PopTarts are little bundles of goodness, but WHO KNEW that you can cook with them?

I just discovered PopTart recipes on the PopTarts website. I am stunned – what next – cooking with Twinkies?

Confetti Bursts
Ingredients

1 package (12 oz., 2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups Kellogg’s® Rice Krispies® cereal
3 cups white chocolate morsels
3 tablespoons shortening
30 lollipop sticks or ice cream sticks
4 Kellogg’s® Pop-Tarts® Frosted Confetti Cupcake toaster pastries

Confetti Bursts
Any day can be a celebration when you serve these crunchy chocolate balls, dipped in white chocolate and coated with colorful Pop-Tarts® Frosted Confetti Cupcake toaster pastries.

Prep Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
Servings: 15

Directions
1. In heavy, medium saucepan combine semi-sweet chocolate morsels, cream and butter. Cook over low heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until smooth, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Transfer to mixing bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

2. Beat chocolate mixture on high speed of electric mixer about 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Stir in KELLOGG’S RICE KRISPIES cereal.

3. Using small ice cream scoop or rounded tablespoon, divide mixture into thirty 1 1/2-inch portions. Use hands to quickly shape portions into balls. Place on baking sheet lined with wax paper. Freeze for 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in small saucepan melt white chocolate morsels and shortening over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Let stand for 10 minutes.

5. Insert lollipop stick or ice cream stick into each chocolate ball. Working with 1 ball at a time, spoon white chocolate mixture over each, allowing excess to drip off. Press KELLOGG’S POP TARTS Frosted Confetti Cupcake toaster pastry pieces into white chocolate. Place on baking sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate at least 15 minutes or until firm.

For the record, I also think this post is ironic coming on the heels of my homage to Julia Child yesterday.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cooking, food, Kelloggs, PopTarts, recipes, whimsey | Leave a Comment »

Whose birthday am I celebrating today?

August 15, 2012

Julia Child would have been 100 years old today. There is a nice tribute to her on the PBS site.

I loved Julia – both in her early TV appearances – she originated the television cooking show while revolutionizing American cooking – and in her later shows when she cooked with other master chefs. This was reality TV in its infancy with all of the mistakes left in. What is your favorite Julia moment? The production line omelets? The lobster dinner with the gargantuan lobster?

With over 300 cookbooks, I of course, have a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but I especially enjoyed My Life in France, written with Alex Prud’homme. In this book, Julia describes how she arrived in France with her husband Paul, after the war and to occupy her time, decided to enroll in the Cordon Bleu cooking school because she had no cooking skills at all at that point, nor did she speak French. Needless to say the experience changed her life and ultimately influenced so many other peoples’ lives. It is a warm and charming book, as was the author, herself.

So raise a glass today in a toast to this remarkable woman.

As Julia would say, “If you’re afraid of butter, use cream!” and “Bon Appetit!”

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bon appetit, cooking, cooking shows, food, Julia Child, recipes, television | Leave a Comment »

What am I celebrating today?

August 11, 2012

August 11 is Raspberry Tart Day. According to Punchbowl, tarts were first introduced in the Middle Ages. I think that may be when they were first introduced into society, but I suspect that those little tarts were around for a lot longer than that. This celebration, however, should focus more on the raspberries. The summer berry season is a short one and fresh red raspberries are a wonderful treat. So celebrate by giving someone you love the raspberries.

For future reference, Harry, it is raspberry…although of course, if I were a Death Eater, I would have been sure to research my own jam preferences before impersonating myself. ~ Albus Dumbledore

Brown Butter Raspberry Tart fro m Epicurious

Crust:

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
Pinch of salt

Filling:

1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, diced
2 6-ounce containers fresh raspberries

For crust:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Using rubber spatula or fork, mix melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl. Add flour and salt and stir until incorporated. Transfer dough to 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Using fingertips, press dough evenly onto sides and bottom of pan.

Bake crust until golden, about 18 minutes (crust will puff slightly while baking). Transfer crust to rack and cool in pan. Maintain oven temperature.

For filling:
Whisk sugar, eggs, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add flour and vanilla; whisk until smooth. Cook butter in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until deep nutty brown (do not burn), stirring often, about 6 minutes. Immediately pour browned butter into glass measuring cup. Gradually whisk browned butter into sugar-egg mixture; whisk until well blended.

Arrange raspberries, pointed side up and close together in concentric circles, in bottom of cooled crust. Carefully pour browned butter mixture evenly over berries. Place tart on rimmed baking sheet. Bake tart until filling is puffed and golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool tart completely in pan on rack. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.

Remove tart pan sides. Place tart on platter. Cut into wedges and serve.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Albus Dumbledore, baking, cooking, Death Eater, dessert, food, fruit, Harry Potter, history, holidays, pie, raspberries, raspberry jam, recipes, tart | 1 Comment »

What am I celebrating?

July 21, 2012

National Creme Brulee Day – July 21. How terrific is that – a dessert with its own holiday. . . and one of my favorite desserts to boot! This is one of the dishes that I try whenever I find it on the menu. And I have rules – just give me straight creme brulee. It does not need mango, or key lime, or chocolate, or anything else.
One of the best creme brulee I have had was in a little bistro in Paris off the Place d’Etoile. (Enough showing off.)

The absolute best creme brulee is made by my friend, Betty, who has the little white ramekins and the long-handled iron that she heats up on the stove in order to brulee each creme individually. She does not make these often enough.

There are a lot of different stories about the origin of this dish. Here is one of them.

And here is a recipe from Alton Brown:

Ingredients

1 quart heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 cup vanilla sugar, divided
6 large egg yolks
2 quarts hot water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the cream, vanilla bean and its pulp into a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and reserve for another use.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks until well blended and it just starts to lighten in color. Add the cream a little at a time, stirring continually. Pour the liquid into 6 (7 to 8-ounce) ramekins. Place the ramekins into a large cake pan or roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake just until the creme brulee is set, but still trembling in the center, approximately 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

Remove the creme brulee from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes prior to browning the sugar on top. Divide the remaining 1/2 cup vanilla sugar equally among the 6 dishes and spread evenly on top. Using a torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy top. Allow the creme brulee to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged baking, cooking, creme brulee, custard, dessert, food, Paris, travel | 7 Comments »