Saturday, August 27, 2011

Peach Jam Tart

 I used this meal from Trader Joe's

Baked until crust turned golden brown

Peach Jam Tart

I used a good quality peach jam


Recipe for the crust

1 large egg, plus one extra egg yolk for brushing on lattice top
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of almond extract
2 cups of flour, plus a little extra for rolling out dough
1 cup of almond meal (flour) sweet and nutty in taste
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 stick of room temperature butter
2/3 cup of sugar

Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Grease a 10 inch tart pan. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract. Mix the flours together along with the spice in a separate bowl. With mixer running, gradually add the flour ingredients into the butter mixture. Mix on low speed until dough is formed and clumps together. Take the dough and divide 2/3 of the dough to form a ball and shape the remaining 1/3 dough into a ball. Wrap the two forms of dough in plastic and chill for forty five minutes. I found I had to put the dough back in the refrigerator for another ten minutes for the lattice topping. The stiffer it was, the easier it was to lift and place on top of fruit mixture.
Roll out chilled dough on parchment paper. I did use around 3 extra tablespoons of flour while rolling out the dough to create better consistency. Place into the tart pan and spread the peach jam evenly on the dough. Roll out the remaining dough to place on top of jam. Cut the dough into strips and place in lattice pattern on top. Brush with yolk of egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
 Let cool before cutting. Serves eight. Serve with whipping cream or French Vanilla ice cream.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Fresh tomatoes with Asiago and fresh herbs

Fresh beefsteak tomatoes ready for broiler

Tomatoes just out from under the broiler   

Serve with grilled or broiled steak or chicken



A wonderful way to use those fresh tomatoes from your garden!   Position the oven rack at least 6 inches from the broiler. Slice four tomatoes, thick slices, and place in a safe baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Mix 1/4 cup of coarse breadcrumbs with 1/4 cup of finely grated Asiago cheese. Chop 1 tablespoon of parsley and 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme. Sprinkle mixture evenly over tomatoes and gently pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil directly over tomatoes. Broil until the  breadcrumbs begin to turn brown. You will need to stay close by and watch!  Drizzle with more oil before serving.                                                                                                 

Friday, August 19, 2011

For Julie~Roasted Beets with Feta

This is what you can do with the beets from your garden like my friend, Julie!

And, most likely, you will be growing green onions!

If you are not growing beets, I think canned  beets will do as well in this recipe.

A wonderful and delicious summer treat!


I have heard many of my friends from Seattle say, "this has just been the coldest summer ever".....believe it!
I was invited to several  showers and weddings(outside celebrations) during past two months. No one really was good at predicting how the weather would shake out especially with the cooler temperatures that Seattle has been experiencing all summer. Many friends were so disappointed about the condition of their flower and vegetable gardens~veggies were so stunted! Flowers were not blooming! How can there be weddings outside in this freezing weather?(well not really freezing, but you get the point)Weddings went off without a hitch! Flowers and veggies, not so good! Things are finally warming, growing and shaping up.
 One particular friend has a gorgeous garden this summer, but everything is "so not growing."It has just been too cold at nights and really not much above 70 degrees during the daylight. Last Sunday, Julie and I picked beets, little beets, from her garden. We managed to find four and threw them in the gathering basket. Julie wrapped them in foil, baked them to perfection and the rest is history!
 There is nothing more pleasing than to have grown your own vegetables and then serve  to your family. I can't tell you when I have had a better tasting beet!
Julie, when the other beets are ready, here is a quick recipe for you!

ROASTED BEETS WITH FETA

Peel 4 medium beets and cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Add one teaspoon of salt. Pepper to your liking.
Spread the beets on a baking sheet and roast  until tender at 450 degrees, about 35 minutes.
Transfer to a bowl and toss in 4 chopped scallions.
Add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, fresh if you have it.
Top with crumbled feta cheese. Serve chilled.

Another way to cook the beets is to bake then in foil, remove the skin, slice and just toss (roast) in the oven for ten minutes more with the oil, salt and pepper. Cool and add onions.

Serves 4

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Bourbon Infused Peaches

Boozy Peaches from Food Network 

Toasted pecans add that extra crunch!




For a quick seasonal dessert~

Slice 3 or 4 peaches, depending on size, with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
Add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Set aside and keep cool for 30 minutes or more

Whisk 1 cup of heavy whipping cream until it just starts to thicken. Beat in 4 teaspoons of brown sugar.
Add 4 teaspoons of bourbon and beat the whipping cream until soft peaks have formed.
Layer the peaches and cream in dessert glasses.
Top with toasted pecans.

Serves 4 ~so easy and beautiful to serve!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Refrigerator Pickles from Savoring Time's Mom!


Sweet, sour and crisp!

Can make in less than a half hour!

Refrigerator Pickles from Savoring Time Blog
Here is a great recipe from a fellow blogger over at Savoring Time. If you have a garden this summer and planted some cukes, put them in the frig!

Recipe
1 cup of white vinegar
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup of water
1-2 teaspoons of celery seed (she used 2 and so did I)
1 teaspoon of salt
3 cups of sliced cucumbers, baby ones for pickles
3 small onions, thinly sliced

Place the sliced cucumbers and the onion in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, stir in the vinegar,sugar,water and salt together until it has dissolved. Add the celery seed. Pour the mixture over the onions and refrigerate.

This took no time at all to prepare. I am going to leave them in the refrigerator for two days to marinate and then will serve them as a side dish or throw them on my turkey burgers!

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Fresh Peach and Cream Pie

This pie is so delicious and easy to prepare!

A great dessert to serve to your guests at a cookout or summer get together.

Ingredients
4 cups of fresh peeled peaches
1 cup of sugar
1 unbaked pie crust
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of flour
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of flour
1/4 cup of  butter
additional fresh sliced peach for garnish, if desired

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Place the 4 cups of fresh peaches into the unbaked pie shell. I chopped mine up. In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup of sugar along with 1/3 cup of flour and the salt. Add the beaten eggs and the sour cream. Blend all the ingredients well with a whisk. Spoon this mixture over the peaches.

In a separate bowl, combine 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of butter until the mixture resembles a course mixture. (You can use a pastry blender or forks for the flour mixture.) Sprinkle the course mixture evenly over the peach mixture.

Bake the pie for one hour or until golden on top. Garnish with fresh cut peaches and whipping cream!