Tuesdays With Dorie – Tarte Fine

Tarte Fine… an apple tart with a pretty French name. However, if we were getting specific, it’d be a Tarte Fine aux Pommes. It leaves the oven looking as beautiful as one you’d find in a Parisian patisserie window, and it tastes as delicious as one, too. I can say that from experience since I’ve been lucky enough to visit The City of Lights. I think the reason I love this one so much is because it’s almost identical to my TWD pick, the Parisian Apple Tartlet. Sweetly brushed with an egg wash, then lovingly sprinkled with cinnamon sugar before popping in the oven, this tarte is incredibly quick & easy… and you know just how much I love those kinds of recipes. 🙂

Thank you to Leslie, of Lethally Delicious, for hosting this week’s choice. Check her blog for the how-to on making this beautiful tarte… and don’t forget the other TWD bakers here!

Tarte Fine (pg. 315)
Source: Baking – From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

 

Cranberry-Apple Crisp with Oatmeal Streusel Topping

Christmas came early this past weekend, where C & I spent Saturday afternoon opening gifts and catching up over beers and chips & salsa with his dad’s family. C made his famous salsa and I was asked to bake an apple pie and an apple crisp. But, since I didn’t want to bring two plain apple dishes, I decided to mix things up with this yummy Cranberry-Apple Crisp. The filling was a brilliant magenta color and the topping… to. die. for. I’ve got extra cranberries in the fridge waiting to be used for cranberry bread, but now I’m rethinking my plans! 🙂

Cranberry-Apple Crisp with Oatmeal Streusel Topping

Topping:
1 c light brown sugar, packed
1 c old-fashioned oats
3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces

Filling:
2 (12 oz) packages fresh cranberries
1-1/4 lbs Golden Delicious apples (about 3 medium), peeled, cored and cut into 1/2″ cubes
3/4 c Splenda for Baking
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Combine brown sugar, oats, flour, salt and spices in a large bowl; toss to blend. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture comes together in moist clumps. Cover; chill while preparing filling (topping can be prepared 1 day ahead; keep chilled).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Generously butter 13×9 baking dish. Combine cranberries, apples, Splenda and apple cider vinegar in a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Boil until cranberries are tender and juices thicken slightly, about 5 minutes. Transfer filling to prepared dish. Sprinkle topping over the dish.

Bake crisp until filling bubbles thickly and topping is crisp and a deep golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes, then serve with ice cream, if desired.

 

Sweet Melissa Sundays – Fresh Peach Muffins

I’ve been super-busy this past week with high school reunion plans… ordering favors, keeping up with ticket sales, writing announcements, straightening out reservations and answering hundreds of questions. I can’t believe it’s been 10 years! I’m also preparing for 4 business trips within the next month and a half… so, God knows that when it’s time to eat, I need easy and quick recipes to use! Fortunately, that’s just what JoVonn of The Givens Chronicles chose for this week’s SMS pick!

These were really yummy… especially after I doubled the cinnamon. Perfect for dessert and breakfast the next morning! 🙂 Thanks JoVonn for such a great choice – click on her blog above for the recipe and don’t forget to check out the other SMS bakers here!

Fresh Peach Muffins (pg. 5-7)
Source: The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy

 

Blueberry-Coconut-Macadamia Muffins

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been on this huge coconut kick. I’ve also got all of these berries in the fridge that need to be used before they start to go bad. So when I came across this recipe, I knew these muffins had to be made immediately. 🙂 I love coconut (obviously), I love macadamia nuts and I love blueberries… these would be perfect, right?!

They were… they SO were. I had one for dessert and two with my Decaf Americano for breakfast the next morning. This is a great muffin for Summer – and good for you, too!

Blueberry-Coconut-Macadamia Muffins
Adapted from: Cooking Light, August/September 2006

Makes 12 muffins
2 tbsp plus 3/4 c all-purpose flour, divided
2 tbsp plus 1/2 c brown sugar, divided
5 tbsp chopped macadamia nuts, divided
2 tbsp canola oil, divided
1 c whole-wheat pastry flour or whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 large egg
1 large egg white
3/4 c nonfat buttermilk
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp coconut extract
1-1/2 c fresh or frozen (not thawed) blueberries

Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Combine 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 2 tablespoons macadamia nuts in a small bowl. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil; stir to combine. Set aside.

Whisk the remaining 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Whisk the remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, egg, egg white, buttermilk, butter and coconut extract in a medium bowl until well combined. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients; stir until just combined. Add blueberries and the remaining 3 tablespoons nuts; stir just to combine. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle with the reserved coconut topping and gently press into the batter.

Bake the muffins until golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and let cool on a wire rack at least 5 minutes more before serving.

Store, individually wrapped, at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. To reheat, remove plastic wrap, wrap in a paper towel and microwave on High for 30-45 seconds.

 

Tuesdays With Dorie – Honey-Peach Ice Cream

This weekend was a scorcher. Literally, it was 100 degrees. And very stupidly, I agreed to help my little sister plant flowers in her yard. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely didn’t mind helping her – I always love spending time with her – but I seriously melted while we were outside. Fortunately, I had this frosty ice cream waiting for us in the freezer! It cooled us down and was so yummy! The peaches were delicious and just the right amount of honey came out in each bite. Her yard came out looking pretty nice, too… if I do say so myself. 😉

Many thanks to Tommi of Brown Interior for such a great summer pick – don’t forget to check out the other TWD members here!

And Happy Birthday to my sweet, sweet friend Amy!! 🙂 Love ya!

Honey-Peach Ice Cream (pg. 437)
Source: Baking – From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

 

Tuesdays With Dorie – Parisian Apple Tartlet

I’ve patiently waited for this day since April ’08… and it’s finally here!! I went back and forth about what to choose from Dorie’s amazing book (seriously, TWD and ‘Baking’ changed my life), and I finally decided on the Parisian Apple Tartlet. Not only is the tart adorable in the picture, but the name reminds me of my last trip to France.

As I sent in my choice, I had reservations about using ready-made pastry, almost as if it was a cop-out recipe… but I eventually realized that if it wasn’t so amazing, Dorie wouldn’t have put it in the book!

So, here it is, my choice for the 75th week of ‘Tuesdays With Dorie’… the Parisian Apple, Plum and Peach Tartlet!! 🙂

Parisian Apple Tartlet (pg. 319)
Source: Baking – From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

1 1/8″ thick, 4″ circle cold Puff Pastry (preferably all-butter; see note pg. 315*)
1/2 firm, sweet apple, such as Golden Delicious or Fuji, peeled and cored
Light brown sugar
1 tsp cold butter, cut into 3 pieces
1 tsp cinnamon (my addition)

Getting Ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat and put the pastry circle on the sheet.
Cut the apple half into 4 chunks and center the chunks on the pastry circle. Sprinkle the apple with 1-2 teaspoons brown sugar (and the teaspoon of cinnamon) – depending on how much sweetness you want – and dot with the bits of butter.
Bake the tartlet for about 25 minutes (the time will vary depending on how your apple bakes), until the pastry is deeply browned and puffed up around the apple and the apple can be easily pierced with the tip of a knife.
Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and let the tartlet cool – it’s great just a little warm and equally good at room temperature.

*Note: Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets are available in every supermarket across the country. However, I can’t encourage you enough to search out an all-butter puff pastry at a local specialty store. If the store doesn’t carry frozen all-butter puff pastry, perhaps it will order it for you. The pastry I buy – which is so good I quit making puff pastry at home – is made by Dufour Pastry.

Serving: You’ve got a choice – you can wrap the tartlet in a piece of waxy paper and eat it standing up, pretending you’re walking the cobblestone streets of Paris, or you can put it on a proper plate with proper cutlery and serve it as an elegant finish to a meal.

Storing: The tartlet should be served soon after it is baked and certainly on the day it is made.

Playing Around: Use this simple construction to make a pear, plum, apricot, peach or even a mango tartlet.

 

Sweet Melissa Sundays – Bear’s Peach Cobbler

Normally, in the South, you stick with your tried-and-true, but sometimes I find that trying different cobbler recipes is fun. I loved Melissa’s addition of the lemon juice to the filling… I’ve never seen it added in before, but it was delicious and I’ll definitely try it that way again! The biscuit topping was also great! Easy and quick to put together!

Thanks to Andrea of Nummy Kitchen for such a great choice! It was a perfect summer Sunday afternoon treat! 🙂

Bear’s Peach Cobbler (pg. 154-155)
Source: The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy

 

Fruity Summer Sangria

This was a perfect Sunday evening drink… along with pizzas on the grill and a little spinach-artichoke dip. It wasn’t cool enough to eat on the patio, so my little sis, my bestie from high school and I had dinner in front of the TV while enjoying the MTV Movie Awards and the New Moon trailer premier. It was super-yummy and I don’t have to tell you that the pitcher was empty by the time they went home… 😉

Fruity Summer Sangria
Source: My name & my good buddy Amy’s recipe

One bottle of your favorite red wine
2-3 c Ginger Ale
2 blood oranges, sliced
2 lemons, sliced
Handful of sliced strawberries
One package frozen peaches, thawed, with their juice

Mix everything together in a large pitcher and chill until ready to serve.

 

Daring Bakers/May ’09 – Apple Strudel

The May Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

Several hours, calls, miles driven from store to store, $25 and a new USB cord later… the pictures are finally up! 🙂

Since my dad absolutely loves his apple strudel, I decided to forego savory and take the traditional route. This was so good that Dad almost ate the entire thing!! Thank goodness there’s one more piece left… maybe as a 4 o’clock snack at work tomorrow??

 

Adopt a Blogger #3 – Meet my Adoptee!! (and a yummy recipe!)

There’s a new member of Hornedfroggy’s family! Shelley of Shelley Bakes is my new “bloggin’ baby” for this awesome project, hosted by Kristen of Dine & Dish.

Adopt A Blogger #3… where veterans mentor newbies on the ins-and-outs of food blogging. I’ve been blogging for about a year and a half now and I love it. I didn’t have anyone to help me out when I got started, so I did a lot of research, read a lot of fabulous blogs and learned as I went (and I’m still learning!). Hopefully, I’ll be able to give Shelley some good advice… if anything, she’s got a great listener and a new friend! 🙂

To welcome Shelley to the Hornedfroggy family, here’s a yummy fruit salad that’s perfect for summer picnics and parties on the patio!

P’s Poppy Fruit Salad
Source: Family friend, P.E.

Strawberries
Kiwis
Apples
Oranges
and any other fruit you want

Dressing:
Sour Cream (I use fat-free)
Brianna’s Poppy Seed Dressing

Mix the two together and pour on top of fruit!*

*P uses no set amount. When I mixed the two together, it was about 1/4 cup of each for about 3 cups of fruit. It’s also great as a fruit dip!