banana custard tartlettes and julia & me

I think I am going to float away with all this heavy rains we've (cape cod & the islands) have been having. We either have the 3H's (hazy, hot, and humid) or we have the leftover would-be-tropical-storms that are now pure rainmakers for us living on the oceanside. Making tarts, pastries and the like can be tricky when you've got 85 degrees temps, high humidity and high dew points OR pure rain and pure humidity. Keeping the doughs chilled and dry can be tricky. So I had to wait a bit to make this...and then poof, there was one day that I could make this as we were finally lacking the humidity. But my first baking adventure was not this, no, it was croissants-- from scratch I might add. Trying to find a decent croissant around these parts is impossible, as is a decent espresso. Trust me I almost thought of driving all the way to nyc to get some croissants here, and then a quick trip to Baked to see my friend. When you have a craving, you have a craving, right? So I didn't make croissants, but got inspired to make a banana custard (totally random I know).

Before I share the recipe with you, I wanted to see if I am one of the only ones that has not seen the movie Julie & Julia? I want to, but I don't want to. My memories of Julia Child are perfect for me, I would hate to have something else change that. Julia Child was a huge part of my childhood. I was the young child glued to the TV set wearing my "Coke bottle" eyeglasses, watching her brutally take apart a chicken, flambe a crepe, and able to conjeur up the creamiest of sauces with little to nothing on hand. I loved her ease and her strength (all at once) in the food preparation; not mention her ability to take the boring meals and make them superior. Remember those were the times when frozen dinners were big and famous (very scary to me). I was not into Sesame Street, I wanted to see Julia's food masterpieces. But you know what I loved best of watching her? It was those times when she had people taste her food; the expressions on their faces; the noises coming from their mouths--that was what got me the most excited and truly one of the reasons I love to cook today. Julia and my father, the ones who taught me how to order my meals in french at the age of 9-10 while dining at the finest restaurants. Julia and I both knew exactly what it took to make the perfect bearnaise sauce, how to use a sauce mère as base for other sauces, that a bordelaise sauce was best for meats only, and knowing by eye-gauge when the filet mignon was done to perfection. I also knew what frites are and how to ask the waiter for extra sauce, on the side, just for my frites--si vous s'il vous plaît! (my father wanted me to practice my french too). The waiters were amazed and stunned when I asked this, but I loved it when they bent all the way down to listen intently to me while writing notes down on their scratch pads. Remember when waiters used plain old pads to take orders? If I could, but wasn't because of the fire aspect, I was certain I could easily flambe brandy crepes. We would dine, frequently at Maison Robert in Boston. It is now closed, but it was one of the best french restaurants in the world. When it closed in 2004, my heart sank a bit; it was a fine establishment, offering the finest in french cuisine, maitre de's, and one of Julia's many favorite places to dine in Boston. One of the many sommelier's there was a close friend of our family, who has since retired but travels the world counseling restaurants (nice eh?). But the main reason I loved it was because Julia loved it, and she sat there. I always tried to imagine which private table she sat at, was it the one with the closed curtains? Or the one closet yet most private to the back kitchen? What was the first topic of food she talked with the head chef or maitre de? See, big memories for me and Julia. I'm still thinking on going to see the movie, but I don't know.....

Banana custard tarlettes
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Sweet Tart Dough
by Dorie Greenspan

8oz plain flour
2oz icing sugar
4oz butter, cut into cubes
pinch salt
1 large egg yolk

Using a food processor, blend the flour, icing sugar and pinch of salt with the cubes of butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and pulse gently until the pastry comes together. If the pastry is not binding properly, your egg yolk may not have been big enough, so add a little water or milk, a teaspoon at a time until it does come together.
Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll it out to fit your tart tin(s). Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes before baking.
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Butter the shiny side of a piece of foil and put it buttered side down on the pastry, bake for about 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 10 minutes until nicely browned. (see my note at the end!)

Banana Custard (the original is vanilla bean custard)
adapted from Gale Gand

2 cups half & half
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 ripe bananas (I added this, if you don't want to add then use vanilla beans)or you can use banana extract/oil if not using real bananas
1 vanilla pod & beans if not using banana

whipped cream (if using)
1 cup cream
1 teaspoon sugar

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk (if not using bananas this is where you add the vanilla bean) to a boil over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside to infuse for 10 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture, reserving the empty saucepan.
Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Take the 2 ripe bananas and pulse them through a food processor until no chunks are visible. Strain this through a fine sieve (to get all the tiny bits out, optional)--you could also just use banana flavoring in place of the real bananas. Mix in the banana with the pudding, then pour pudding into individual dessert dishes and/or tarts, then chill. Chill at least 2 hours or until ready to serve. (The custard can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Cover with plastic wrap if you are keeping it longer than that.). Once the custard was set, just decorate with fresh fruit. If you want whipped cream just whip the cream and 1 ts of sugar in a bowl until stiff peaks forms.
Note: I used mini cake pan tins as I did not want the fluted look this time around. Just make sure to use a glass roughly the same size as the pan to push down the dough or if you have oven-proof glasses then leave the glass in there to help it shape up right during cooking. I do not recommend this as a couple of my tart crusts did not come up right; the ones in the pic are my best ones--only 2. Best if you use the mini fluted ones for safer results.

tomato & spicy corn relish on puff pastry with horsey sauce

An easy post today as I had my butt kicked at the gym today, so I am exhausted, but it's a good kind of exhausted; a kind of exhausted that will make you sleep like a baby. I had a workout session that was easy in the beginning, harder in the middle because I wanted to give up and say that's enough for now, but no I pushed harder and made it to the end thus feeling like a million bucks. Don't you love that after workout feeling? Good stuff. But most times when I workout like crazy I get like 'prison hungry' afterwards. Ever get that? I try not to overeat and look like a pig eating four meals at once because I get the strangest looks from friends and family. Speaking of the gym, you know what's the worst? Those meatheads who make all those grunting noises. What's up with that? Why all the noises? I know it's hard lifting weights, but why all the excessive grunting and then "slam!" of the weights after each set? And a constant stare at me in between sets? Are you trying to get me to notice you? You're scaring me away...

Tomato, cheddar & spicy corn relish on puff pastry
by Dawn

2 large tomatoes, thinly sliced, left to dry out a bit on paper towels
1/4 to 1/2 cup of spicy corn relish (see below)
1/2 cup shredded cheese (your choice)
Puff pastry
Horsey sauce (see below)

I don't know about you but I do love working with puff pastry. Some times when I'm not in the mood to make my own puff pastry I use my go-to pre-made puff pastry Dufour's. Which I find at Whole Foods in the frozen section. Always keep your puff pastry frozen till ready to use, then defrost according to directions on package. Puff pastry does not keep in the fridge long after it's been thawed. Here's is the recipe I use for spicy corn relish. Or I use this pre-made relish, which is just as good, it's from Stonewall Kitchen who make wonderful products.

So all I did was slice the tomatoes thin and let them drain a bit on paper towels. Rolled out the puff pastry onto a greased cookie sheet, layer the puff pastry with a thin layer of cheese of your choice (I used cheddar) then a thin layer of the spicy corn relish, then the tomatoes.

Sprinkle with a bit of salt & pepper and bake in preheated oven (375 degrees) for about 15-20 minutes, making sure to turn pan at midpoint. Let cool and slice. You can top with the horsey sauce. Puff pastry, once cooked, does not keep well after a day, really should be eaten straight away--which is no problem in my house.

Horsey Sauce

1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup horseradish
1 ts of white wine or vinegar

In a small bowl stir together the sour cream, heavy cream, wine, and horseradish.
Makes about 1 ½ cups sauce; you can halve this or even quarter this recipe.

pineapple-bacon crackers

You know I made these little savory gems back in winter--the season where my cheese cravings are at an all time high. Why I crave cheese so much in the winter is beyond me; a lack of calcium maybe?
So I'm just going through the "food porn" pictures archives and noticing how much I have not shared with you. I am fixing that stat. :::cue rap music::: "I'm gonna fix that stat, yeah you know that!..." OK, that's great, so much for the rap career.
I hate seriously hate to call these crackers as they are not thin and crispy. They are crispy and thick, and cheesy, and baconey, and pineapplely. Another wonderful savory sweet with the salty creation. Not diet food at all. These do go well with a nice crisp, dry white wine. What kind? I haven't clue what kind I just get whatever is on sale or prosecco, I'm easy.
I am back to being good at exercising. Little time off, but now I'm back to going to the gym every other day and doing my weightlifting routine. Getting my killer abs, legs, and guns back (and chest because I don't want my boobs in my shoes when I'm older). I'm kinda excited about this, I have finally found the perfect way (for me) to do my squats. To be honest, for years I avoided squats like the dentist. I hated them because they hurt so much and I was never seeing progress. Well, the hurt part made me stop more so. But now I do my squats with the aide of two chairs to help give me a little support as I plunge down and to watch myself in the gym mirrors to make sure my form is spot on. What I learned was I was never plunging down far enough in a squat. You need to plunge down further in a squat in order for all the muscles (upper & lower) in the leg to get worked. So now with the help of two of the gym chairs I can go down further and eventually get strong enough where I don't need the chairs. No wonder I never saw results! How did I figure this out? Well, first never seeing results and getting frustrated and second, my workout buddy Adam at Baking with Dynamite cued me in on how to properly do a squat. He's an all-natural professional bodybuilder who used to compete. If anyone knows best exercise forms and methods it's him. Thank you for all your help/advice past and future. My squats, although it's only been a couple + weeks, I'm already seeing results and the knees are definitely getting stronger: that, is the part that keeps me going to do more and more and more.....
Just out of curiousity what exercise are you bad with or let's say you neglect because of _______?

pineapple-bacon crackers
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1 & ½ sticks unsalted butter, room temp.
1 1/2 cups extra old (at least 3 years old) cheddar, finely grated
1 3/4 cups white flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup finely chopped dried, unsulphured pineapple
2 TB finely chopped cooked bacon (you can add more, I just wanted a hint of bacon)
¾ cup rice crispies
(I also used a dash of half & half as the dough was really dry)

Cream the butter and cheese together at high speed in your stand mixer.
In a separate bowl sift the flour, salt and baking powder together.
To the flour mixture, add in the pineapple, bacon and rice crispies, and mix.
By hand, add the flour mixture to the butter/cheese mixture; gently combine. If the end result is too dry add in drops of half & half, bit by bit. Remember these are dry by nature, so don't make them too wet when adding in the half & half.
Turn dough out onto a large piece of waxed paper. Roll the dough into a log shape, roll the paper around it and twist the ends shut. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes. You can freeze the dough at this stage as well.
Preheat oven to 375F. (these cook fast!)
Unwrap the dough log and, using a very sharp knife, slice the log into rounds 1/2 cm thick. Place rounds on parchment lined or greased cookie sheets and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Note: when they're cooking don’t wait for the tops to turn brown, it will be over-cooked by then. You want them lightly brown. They cook fast, so when the 10-minute mark comes up keep an eye on them.

Should make about 30.

mint chocolate Oreo chunk ice cream

Back in the beginning of spring I finally broke down and bought an ice cream maker. Of course it sat in the box unopened for a good two months before I finally used it. Why did I wait so long? To be honest, I truly though ice cream making was hard, very hard. Slaving for hours over the stove, stirring till your arm is numb, then chilling, reheating, then chilling again, then churning to finally freezing. That was so not the case. My friend the ice cream expert, Ms. Esi told me ice cream making couldn't be easier (kiss my hips goodbye!). I fell in love with the whole process of making ice cream; I can now make my own ice cream MY WAY. I don't know about you, but I am a stickler for having lots o' junk in my ice cream. I cannot eat boring smooth ice cream without some sort of texture and flavor combo. And my dear friend Ben & Jerry has, over the years, gone way down in the amount of stuff they put in their ice cream. I mean you're lucky if you get a whole smashed up cookie in their ice cream pints. What's up with that? Why all the decrease in stuff in ice cream? Is there a cookie shortage somewhere?
I will say this, ice cream is super hard to photograph! Tips I found out, thanks to my buddy Manggy, is too make sure the bowl the ice cream will be sitting in is kept in the freezer for a while before you put the ice cream in it. And get a good ice cream scoop! I bought one of those cheapy crappy ones at the grocery store and it broke on the third scoop! Which brings me to my photo; this is the only good photo I got as my ice cream scoop broke. I was lucky to get this one photo.
The easiest recipe people I promise! And it really tasted very rich and creamy just like a homemade ice cream should. I started with is Alton Brown's chocolate ice cream. And from there all I did was add in a hint of mint and lots of crushed up Oreo's. Mmm hmm.
So, the recipe is found here Alton Brown. What I did: I used only half the amount of vanilla extract; and before it goes into the fridge to chill that's when I added the peppermint flavoring or peppermint oil (1 tsp); lastly during the last 3 - 5 minutes of churning in the ice cream maker I added about 1 & 1/2 cups of crushed Oreo's. You can add as much or as little as you like.

banana-coconut cheesecake bars w/ rum soaked cherries

Any Cheesecake Factory lovers out here? Yes? Really the only reason I go there is for the crabcakes and then a big dessert. Small meal, big dessert. And personally I love the way they keep their restaurant so clean and shiny (cleanest bathrooms too). You know what cracks me up? They have a weight management menu, I mean seriously, The Cheesecake Factory and a diet menu are like an oxymoron. But hey you have to give them credit for appealing to all types.
They have the best tasting banana cheesecake. I have yet to find a similiar great tasting banana cheesecake, and they serve it with freshly chopped bananas. They do need a bit of help on their whipping cream though--it's really not that fresh tasting, does taste like it came out of a can. But that's ok, since I love the banana cheesecake so much. I have tried like the devil to recreate their banana cheesecake at home with no luck. On my last failed attempt I made these little gems. I'm still on my coconut kick so I had to add it to the base for these bars and I also wanted to add in some rum, but was afraid so I made rum-soaked cherries. Rum, can be at times a little overpowering, so I didn't want to chance it and ruin the cheesecake, after all all that cream cheese is expensive, so I added the rum to the cherries instead. It was a nice little hint of rum.
And if you do make this, make sure to grease your pans/tins. I forgot and it was impossible getting them out. Impossible. (as you can see in this photo the edges are frayed).

What is your favorite cheesecake?

banana-coconut cheesecake bars w/ rum soaked cherries
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for the base:
Butter, for greasing pan or tarts
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
9 graham crackers
¼ cup of dried coconut flakes (not the sweetened/moist kind)
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

for the filling:
16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 lemon, the zest of and all it’s juice
1/2 cup superfine sugar

topping:
¼ cup +/- of cherries, split in half or pitted, soaked in a bit of dark rum (soaked overnight is best)
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Make sure to pit your cherries, slice them in half, place in a bowl and sprinkle with a bit of dark rum; just a coating. Cover and store in fridge until ready to use; they should marinate overnight or at least 5 hours.

The base:
Grease the bottom of a mini cheesecake square tart pans or muffins pans (or you could use a 9 by 9-inch baking pan) with butter. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. In a food processor, process the sugar, cinnamon, and graham crackers until you have the texture of bread crumbs. Then add in, by hand the coconut and mix.
Add the melted butter and pulse a couple of times to fully incorporate.
Scoop out the mixture and press into the tart pans or baking pans. Make sure to press down good and get into all the corners. I used a small spoon for the corners of the mini tart pans.
Bake in the oven for 12 minutes until golden. When done set aside to cool.

The filling:
Add cream cheese, eggs, mashed banana(s), lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar to the food processor and mix until well combined; you want a nice smooth, lump-free consistency. I then transferred the mixture to a pouring cup and poured the mixture on top of the cooled graham base.
Gently put about 3-4 of the rum soaked cherries on the top of each of the mini tarts—don’t push them down, just let them sit on the top. They might sink a little during cooking. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes, rotating pan halfway through or until the center only slightly jiggles. The baking time might be more if you are using a pan. The square tarts that I used only took 35 minutes. But I could have gotten away with cooking them 30 minutes as they were a little over-done.
Remove from the oven and cool completely before refrigerating for at least 3 hours.
Once set, they should remove easily from pan. If using the 9 x 9 pan, cut them into rectangular bars. Dust with powdered sugar.