Monday, July 18, 2011

Lemon Velvet Tart with Caramelized Sugar Spirals

My daughter chose this recipe for her birthday dessert from the 2008 Southern Living cookbook.


1 packaged refrigerated pie crust
2 (4 oz.) white chocolate bars, chopped
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
10 oz. lemon curd
8 lemon candies (lemon drops)
caramelized sugar spirals (recipe following)

Fit piecrust into a lightly greased 9 1/2 inch tart pan with removable bottom; press into fluted edges.  Fold any excess dough over outside of pan, and pinch to secure to pan.  Generously prick bottom and sides of piecrust with a fork and freeze 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place piecrust on a baking sheet and bake 15 minutes or until light golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack 20 minutes or until completely cool.  Gently tap excess crust from sides of pan with a rolling pin.  Remove tart from pan and place on a serving plate.

Microwave white chocolate in a small microwave safe bowl at high 1 1/2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring at 30 second intervals.

Beat softened cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add melted chocolate, and beat until blended, stopping to scrape down sides.  Add lemon curd and beat until blended.

Spoon into prepared crust.  Smooth filling with a spatula.  Chill 4 hours.

Arrange lemon candies evenly on top of tart and prop sugar spirals against lemon candies.


Now on to the fun.....
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
crushed lemon candies

Stir together sugar, corn syrup and 1/2 cup water in a 3 1/2 quart heavy saucepan until blended.  Place pan over medium high heat and cook without stirring until a candy thermometer registers 305 - 315 degrees or until mixture begins to turn a golden caramel color, about 25 - 30 minutes. 


Remove from heat and stir just until color is even distributed, using a clean wooden spoon.


Carfully place bottom of saucepan into cold water to stop the cooking process.  Remove from water, and let stand 2 - 3 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Sprinkle crushed lemon candies over a piece of parchment paper.  Carefully spoon about 1 T. hot syrup over candies in a circular motion creating 3 inch discs. 




If syrup gets too thick, place saucepan back over heat for 3 - 4 minutes or until syrup slightly melts.  Use a clean spoon to continue making spirals.  Let cool 10  minutes or until complete cool.  Mixture will harden as it cools.


Girly Birthday Party

This was our table for my daughter's recent birthday party.  So much fun to use my Fancy Shoe plates!









4th of July Table






Monday, July 11, 2011

Crab Balls



This recipe comes from July 2011 Bon Appetit magazine.  A reader had requested the recipe for the crab balls from T.W. Graham and Co. in McClellanville, SC.  I can see why they requested it....these are delicious.

1 lb. fresh crab meat, picked over
2 cups crushed Ritz crackers, divided
6 T. unsalted butter
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup canned evaporated milk
2 T. Dijon mustard
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup whole milk
1 large egg
vegetable oil for frying

Mix crab meat and one cup cracker crumbs in a large bowl. Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add green pepper and onion, saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add to bowl with crab mixture. Stir in evaporated milk, Dijon mustard Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Cover; chill for 1 - 6 hours.

Using scant 1/4 cup for each, form crab mixture into 16 1 1/2" diameter balls. Whisk whole milk and egg in a medium bowl. Place remaining 1 cup cracker crumbs in another medium bowl. Roll balls in egg/milk mixture and then coat well with crumbs. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.

Pour oil into a large wide pot to a depth of 2" or heat oil in a deep fat fryer. Heat oil to a temperature of 350 degrees. Working in batches and turning occasionally, fry crab balls until golden brown, 4 - 6 minutes per batch. Transfer to paper towels to drain. 



Sunday, July 10, 2011

Summer Berry Cobbler



Nothing says Summer like wonderful berries.  I love them all and they are full of antioxidants which make them doubly wonderful to enjoy!

2 lbs. mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries (or even some cherries)
3 T. sugar

1/2 stick unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1 3/4 cups self-rising flour
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
finely granted peel of two lemons and freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
scant 1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Pick over the berries, discarding any really soft or bruised fruits.  Mix them with the 3 T. sugar and spoon into a medium ovenproof dish.

Rub the butter into the flour and salt until it resembles fine bread crumbs.  Stir in two thirds of the sugar and the grated lemon peel.  Add the milk to the flour mixture, stirring with a blunt knife to form a faily soft and sticky dough.  Tip the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead lightly.  Roll into a long then sausage and using scissors, snip off little marble sized pieces.  Scatter these lightly over the berries.

Mix the lemon juice with the remaining sugar and liberally brush this mixture over all the dumplings.  Bake in the prehated oven for 15 minutes unti the scones are golden brown and the fruit bubbling.  Serve hot.

from cinnamon, spice, and warm apple pie

Spicy Dr. Pepper Braised Shredded Pork


I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman's website. I changed a thing or two and added a little bit of my twists and here's the result.

1 whole large onion
1 whole Pork Shoulder (pork butt) - 5 To 7 Pounds
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Granulated Garlic
1 can (11 oz.) Chipotle Salsa
3 cups Dr Pepper
2 T. Dark Brown Sugar
1 T. Light Brown Sugar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Peel the onion and cut it into medium sized wedges. Lay them in the bottom of a large dutch oven. Generously salt and pepper the pork roast and then liberally sprinkle with granulated garlic. Place the pork on top of the onions in the pan.

Pour the can of chipotle salsa over the pork. Slowly pour in the Dr Pepper. Add brown sugars to the juice and stir in until dissolved.

Place lid tightly on pot, then set pot in the oven. Cook for at least six hours, turning roast two or three times during the cooking process. Check meat after six hours; it should be absolutely falling apart (use two forks to test.) If it's not falling apart, return to the oven for another hour.

Remove meat from pot and place on a cutting board or other work surface. Use two forks to shred meat, discarding large pieces of fat. Strain as much of the fat off the top of the cooking liquid as you can and discard it. Return the shredded meat to the cooking liquid, and keep warm until ready to serve. (You can also refrigerate the meat and liquid separately, then remove hardened fat once it's cold. Then heat up the liquid on the stovetop and return the meat to the liquid to warm up.  

Night one we ate this on toasted sub rolls.

Night two we had this alongside some new potatoes and baked beans.

Night three the delicious pork was wrapped in warm tortillas with some pepperjack cheese, salsa and sour cream. 





Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Lightened Squash Casserole


Thanks to July 2011 Southern Living for this lightened up version of a Southern classic squash casserole.  No cheese in this one, but you won't miss it at all.

3 lbs. yellow squash
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1 1/2 t. salt, divided
1 cup grated carrots
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
1 (8 oz.) container light sour cream
1/4 chopped fresh chives
1/2 cup crushed cornflake cereal
1/2 cup crushed French fried onions
2 T. melted butter
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place in a Dutch oven. Add onion, 1 tsp. salt and water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and cook 5 minutes, drain well.  Pat squash dry with paper towels.

Stir together grated carrots, next three ingredients and remaining 1/2 t. salt in a large bowl. Fold in squash mixture. Spoon into a lightly greased 2 quart oval baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes until bubbly. Remove from oven.

Stir together cornflakes and next three ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle over squash mixture. Return to oven for 5 - 7 more minutes until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.




4th of July Celebration

I hope all of you had a wonderful and safe 4th of July with family and friends.  We had a great time at our house.  Here's a photo of the menu and the dining table.  I even threw in one of my napkin ring project!