I was struggling with the proper way to name this dish since “tamale” isn’t a word in Spanish. However, this dish is nothing like tamales, so I guess “tamale” is appropriate since both are are not authentically Mexican 
. Anyway, when I told my Mexican girlfriend that I was making this dish, she went crazy because it is nothing like a tamal. I’ve made tamales, and I’ve helped my girlfriend’s mother make tamales as well. So, I’m aware of how much work, time, and ingredients are involved in making the real thing.
LOOK! As a reward to myself for completing my paper, I bought my first Le Creuset item at an outlet mall! It is a 3 1/2 quart casserole pot. I love it!
Nevertheless, I was curious about the combination of cornbread, cheese, and seasoned meat all in one dish and wanted to try out this dish. No matter how this dish should be called, I must say it is beyond tasty. I loved it so much that I immediately spooned out seconds after eating the portion you see on the plate below.
Look at that crust!
I compared a few recipes online, but I preferred the one I used because of the layer of corn and the mix-in of cheese in the cornbread batter. The “originator” of this recipe used Jiffy cornbread mix, but I used my favorite cornbread recipe instead. Even though I’m a southerner, I prefer a little sugar in my cornbread, but feel free to reduce or eliminate the sugar. It was easy to put together the cornbread batter, so I really don’t think you need go out and buy a pre-made box of cornmeal, flour, and baking soda. That is really all it is, you know haha.
I know I almost always tell you all to try out whatever meal or dish I post, but this is really good. You can make it with ground turkey or a load of beans if you don’t eat beef. Make sure you season the meat/bean section well. I added the other filling options in the recipe below. Enjoy!
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp veg oil
1/2 medium onion 1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1 lb ground beef, turkey, or canned beans (I actually used grass-fed beef for the first time)
1 cup diced peppers of your choice (optional; I didn’t use)
1 16-oz jar salsa (I used Pomì chopped tomatoes)
1 tsp salt (I used Lawry’s Seasoning Salt)
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp chipotle pepper (I used 3 Tbsp homemade adobe chile sauce; recipe here)
1-2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano (I used 1-2 tsp Mexican Oregano)
4 oz cheddar cheese, divided (I used sharp)
4 oz monterey jack cheese, divided
2 cups frozen or fresh corn
In a skillet, melt butter and oil. Add onions and garlic, and cook until translucent. Add the beef, turkey, or beans and green peppers, and cook until brown (for beans, just move on to the next step).
Add salsa or chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper, chipotle pepper/adobe sauce, cumin, and oregano. Once the mixture is seasoned well, allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, p
reheat the oven to 375 degrees, and prepare the cornbread batter.
Buttermilk aka Dixie Cornbread
1 3/4 cups enriched white cornmeal
(I used yellow)3 Tbsp AP flour
1 tsp salt
(I used kosher)1 tsp baking soda
1-3 Tbsp sugar
(depends on how sweet you like your cornbread)1 1/2 cups buttermilk (You could use milk + lemon juice, too)
1 egg
2-3 Tbsp melted butter
Stir together dry ingredients. Add buttermilk, egg, and add melted butter. Mix the ingredients until they are moistened; do not over-stir. Mix 3/4ths of the cheese to the cornbread batter.
Pour 1/4 of the mixture into the casserole pan.
Add 1/2-1 cup of the frozen or fresh corn on top of the batter.
Add all of the meat mixture. Then, add the rest of the corn (1/2-1 cup) (optional;
I forgot to do this, so I had only one layer of corn, and it tasted more than fine.)
Add the rest of the cornbread batter.
Add additional cheese on top.
Bake uncovered in a preheated hot oven for 45-60 minutes. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
03/03/2010 | Categorias: beans, beef, breads, cheese, Mexican, pie, tamales, vegetables, vegetarian | 19 Comentários »
I don’t like Pumpkin Pie, and I don’t like Sweet Potato Pie. I must have something against orange veggies or something because I’m not crazy about carrots either. In fact, as a kid I thought that carrots were the causes behind my nightmares 
. Anyway, my mother loves sweet potato pie, and I love her, so I made this pie…well, two pies because of the excess filling. I brought them to my grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving, so the rest of the family partook in the consumption of this pie as well.
I was dubious about the outcome of this pie because I was unsure of how it was supposed to taste. Since I got the recipe from my stepmother, who is a whiz at making sweet potato pies, she told me to go by taste! It is hard to go by taste when you don’t like the taste of what you’re making, so I couldn’t figure out how much sugar to add to the pie.
So, I was beyond eager to see how the pie tasted to my mother. When she took her first taste, I waited anxiously for her critique. When my mother enjoys a dish, she closes her eyes and moans excitedly. Sadly, she didn’t do that after tasting this pie. Being the supporting and loving mother she is, she said, “It’s good. It’s just not that sweet.”
With a saddened heart, I said, “I knew you wouldn’t like it.” She said she did like it, but I didn’t believe her. My aunt, on the other hand, said that she did like it, but she likes her pies to be less sweet.
I know where I went wrong, though. I added another sweet potato (so, 3 in total) because I was afraid I wouldn’t have enough filling for some weird reason. I should have been satisfied with two sweet potatoes and the same amount of other ingredients. I will stick with my stepmother’s recipe because I know my mom loves her pies (yes, my stepmother has made pies for my mom. Isn’t that cool?!). Don’t expect precise measurements on this recipe. As my stepmom stated, go by taste… So, if you like this type of pie, you should get it right the first time around.
My Stepmother’s Sweet Potato Pie
I slightly adapted her recipe by adding in brown sugar and making the cream cheese optional.
Homemade, unbaked pie crust (recipe below)
2 lbs sweet potatoes (2 large, sweet potatoes)
1/4 – 1/2 cup sugar (by taste)
1/4 – 1/2 cup brown sugar (by taste)
1 tsp – 1 Tbsp cinnamon
Nutmeg or allspice (by taste)
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 stick melted butter
1/2 box of cream cheese (4 oz), room temperature (optional)
Then 3 eggs (add AFTER you get the taste you want)
Prepare the sweet Potatoes:
Wash and boil the potatoes whole and check if their done by poking them with a fork (there should be no resistance) after 45 mins to an hour. Pour out the hot water and add cold water. The skin should come off easily.
Prepare the filling:
Place the boiled and peeled sweet potatoes and the rest of the ingredients, except the eggs, in a mixer bowl, and mix really well. Taste the mixture to see if it has the right amount of sweetness and spices. Mix in the eggs one by one. Pour mixture into an uncooked pie crust.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 min. Lightly touch the top of the pie. If dry, then ready. If wet, cook longer. Make sure crust is nice and brown.
Pie Crust
from A Baker’s Odyssey (Youtube video of the author making the crust here)
Yields two 9-inch pie crusts
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup(1 stick) cold unsalted butter; cut in Tbsp size pieces
1/2 cup cold shortening or homemade lard or commercial lard; cut in Tbsp size pieces
6 Tbsp. ice water
1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar (or regular vinegar)
Keep all ingredients cold while making this dough. Place dry ingredients into food processor. Add in butter first and pulse three times for 5 seconds. Add in the shortening and pulse three times again. Add in the cold water, starting with 4 Tbsp of water and vinegar, adding more water until a ball ALMOST forms in the processor. Do not over-mix! Remove the dough from the food processor and divide the dough in halves either by weighing them or just “eye-balling” it. Then shape each half into a rough disk and wrap each half separately in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Then roll out one of the cold disks for the bottom crust, set it in the pie pan, and fill it with pie filling. Then roll out the second cold disk for the top crust.
03/12/2009 | Categorias: dessert, pie, Thanksgiving, vegetables | 5 Comentários »
I want to apologize now because this post will be devoid of yummy photos; however, I hope to be successful in creating yummy visions of Thanksgiving dishes in your head.
I’m getting excited (which is a rare emotion for me) about Thanksgiving just because I get to cook and bake as much as I want for a bunch of people I love – my family.
As a single, graduate student, cooking for one can be a lonely, bittersweet activity. While I enjoy baking and cooking, I don’t enjoy having all of that food in my kitchen just for me. I would love to have others around with whom I can share my goodies!
So, since I’m so excited, I thought I’d share my list of dishes I plan to prepare for my loved ones this year. I made almost all of these dishes at least once last Thanksgiving and/or Christmas, and everyone loved everything. They were also shocked since almost all of our family members are quite inept in the kitchen, excluding one of my aunts who brings the veggie dishes (which explains why I have to make so much in order for us to have something to eat on holidays. LOL). So, without further ado, here is my tentative list for this Thanksgiving:
- Wolfgang Puck’s Turkey with Turkey Stock and Cream Gravy (involves brining the turkey the night before, which yields a shorter cooking time and a moister turkey without basting!)
- Southern Plate’s Dixie Cornbread and Crockpot cornbread dressing (OMG! You have to make this if you love good, southern dressing. Also, you can free up space on the stovetop and in the oven and leave the dressing in the Crockpot to warm until dinner is ready. You can even place the Crockpot in the living room or a clean garage as it cooks for more space. My mother adds that the intoxicating, comforting smell of this dressing will waft all through your house!)
- Pioneer Woman’s Mashed Potatoes (I add shredded, sharp cheddar cheese on top on special occasions. This dish could also be made in a Crockpot. In fact, that is how I prepared it the first time I made it. Just boil the potatoes in a pot, then transfer the mashed taters (hehe) to the Crockpot and add the other ingredients.)
- Croissants (I haven’t picked out a recipe yet (maybe Pierre Hermé’s?), but I’m going to make a laminated dough well ahead of time, shape the croissants, and place them in the freezer. Then a few days before I leave for Thanksgiving, I’ll just need to bake them at my grandmother’s house.)
- Sweet Potato Pie from Allrecipes (This dessert is not for me; I don’t like sweet potatoes, but my mom loves the stuff. So, because I love her so much, I’m going to make this for her instead of another variety of carrot cake. Anyway, I’m going to make the same revisions the second commenter (“SL”) made on Allrecipes.)
- Hershey’s Chocolate Cake (my go-to chocolate cake. I haven’t decided which type of frosting I’m going to put on it. Chocolate, vanilla, or my leftover coffee buttercream?)
- Paula Deen’s (White) Hot Chocolate (I’ll be blogging about this later. It is a rich, rich, fattening, hot chocolate especially made for special occasions. It’s so quick to make, too. I will be making it with Guittard milk chocolate chips instead of white chocolate or a mixture of the two.)
Now, I’ll open the floor, because I’m curious and excited. For those who will be celebrating Turkey Day soon, what is on your list? What dishes are you going to make? If you already celebrated Thanksgiving this year, what did you make? Add links to the recipes or your blog entries, if there are any.
I’ll be back with another food post very, very soon.
10/11/2009 | Categorias: breads, cake, chocolate, dessert, pie, Thanksgiving, turkey, vegetables, yeast | 8 Comentários »
If you’ve seen my pecanless pie tarts, then you already know I’m not a fan of nuts, but I’m addicted to the sugary center and the buttery crust found in pecan pies. So a few weeks ago, I had a hankering for some pie and found this bookmarked recipe for pecan pie cheesecake. Perfect!
Well, I made the cheesecake with very few problems…until…I unhooked the latch on my springform pan. Once I lifted up the sides, all of the pecanless pie “juice” started leaking out!
In an attempt to transfer the pie to another plate, I cracked the top of the pie (now I know how a cracked cheesecake looks in person!) because it was stuck to the sticky syrup on the bottom of the pan. So, I just decided to let it stay where it was – on the springform base.
Despite the problems, the cheesecake was very good, and I’m sure it would have been better with more of the syrupy filling. If I ever make it again, I’m going to double the crust amount so that it can hold in all of the filling.
I topped the cheesecake with homemade caramel (OVERKILL, I KNOW! But I had to make up for the lost syrupy filling right?!) and whipped cream. Needless to say, it was VERY decadent and so delicious. This recipe came from Bake or Break – one of my favorite blogs for desserts. Her photos are so perfect. She uses macro on many of her drool-worthy shots.
Nilla Crust:
1 & 3/4 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine wafer crumbs and brown sugar. Stir in melted butter. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9″ springform pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Pecan(less) pie filling:
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup dark corn syrup (I used light)
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
(1 & 1/2 cups chopped pecans)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into crust and set aside.
Cheesecake portion:
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 & 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 eggs
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Reduce oven to 325°. With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add brown sugar and flour and beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Stir in cream and vanilla. Pour over pecan filling. Bake for 1 hour. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake in oven with the door closed for 1 hour. Remove from oven and run a knife along the outside edges to loosen cheesecake from sides of pan. Let cool. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
08/11/2009 | Categorias: cake, cheesecake, cookies, dessert, pecanless, pie | 12 Comentários »
Many food bloggers are not fans of repeating recipes. I, however, am a creature of habit and repeat good recipes often (hence the reason I don’t post often). Why change a good thing? If I find a good go-to recipe for whatever I crave, I just make it. If a recipe is not satisfactory or if I find another recipe for the same item that seems more appetizing, then I try something new.
Well, in August, I made a double-crust pecanless pie. This time around, I felt too lazy to make a double-crust pie, and I wanted to save that other crust for something else for whenever I get another hankering for a pie.
Since I live alone, I made small versions of these pies/tarts. They came out great despite the fact that I overcooked two out of the four tarts (Um, where is the fourth pielet, you ask? Um, yeah, in my belly. I ate it last night. )
As I stated in the other post about this pie, I abhor any type of nut. However, I love the syrupy part of pecan pies and the buttery, flaky crust that tones down the sweet flavor. Since I knew these tarts were just for me, I just removed the nuts from the recipe.
I’m so glad and thankful I know how to bake (even though my jiggly body would disagree). I no longer have to spend hours removing the deeply embedded nuts from the sticky goodness of the pie. I can go right at it and enjoy. If you, however, prefer that nutty stuff in your pie, feel free to add two cups of it to the recipe. The filling makes five tartlets or pielets, but I made only four because I ran out of pie crust and didn’t want use up the other crust.
1 Cup White Corn Syrup
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/3 Teaspoon Salt
1/3 Cup minus 1 Tbsp of Melted Butter
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
3 Eggs
(add 2 cups of pecans if you want a traditional pecan pie)
Put the butter in the microwave until it is completely melted. During this step, preheat your regular oven to 350.
In a medium to large bowl, mix or slightly beat eggs with a whisk. Then mix in the rest of the ingredients (if adding pecans, add them after you pour the filling in the pie crust).
Take one portion of the pie dough out of the refrigerator, and roll it out to about 1/8 of an inch in thickness. Then, apply more flour to the rolling pin. Wrap the dough around the rolling pin, and unroll it onto your pie pan. Allow the excess crust to hang over the pie plate or 8×8″ pan so that the crust hangs 1 inch.
Place the pie shell (rolled-out dough) and plate/pan in the refrigerator as you roll out the second portion of the dough. Once you roll out the second portion, take out the pie plate/pan, and then pour in the pie filling. Place the second portion of dough on top of the filling and then fold the edges of the bottom pie dough over the second one. Make a few incisions on top of the dough before placing it in the oven.
Now, put your pie in a preheated oven set to 350F for 1 hour (with my hot oven, it took 40 minutes). After the pie has been in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, take it out, and put strips of tinfoil around the edge to keep the pie crust from burning. Be careful not to spill you pie! The filling is runny and quite hot. Then, put the pie back in the oven.
After you put the pie back in the oven, it will need another 20 to 30 minutes. After about 30 minutes (a total of 40 mins to 1 hour in the oven), test the pie to see if it is done. You can test the pie by sticking a knife in the middle. If the knife comes out clean, the pie is done; if it comes out dirty, it needs about 10 more minutes in the oven. It will also no longer jiggle.
3 cups AP flour
1 1/2 cups Crisco (vegetable shortening)
1 egg
5 Tbsp cold water
1 Tbsp Vinegar
1 tsp salt
Measure 3 cups All-Purpose flour into a mixing bowl; add the Crisco to the flour. Using the pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour (3-4 minutes). Keep working until the mixture resembles “coarse meal,” or until there are no large chunks of shortening left. The flour should be integrated into the shortening.
Next, crack an egg into a bowl, and beat it with a fork. Now pour the egg into the flour/shortening mixture. Add cold water; add the white vinegar. Next, add salt, and stir together gently just until you incorporate the ingredients.
Remove one-third of the dough. Repeat to form three evenly-sized balls of dough (I weighed them out). Now place each dough into a large Ziploc bag and prepare them for freezing. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough to make rolling easier later… seal each Ziploc and place bags in the FREEZER. (If you decide to leave the crust in the freezer, just defrost it for 15 minutes before rolling it out)
Flour the surface. Remove the disc of dough from the Ziploc, and place it on the floured surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top. Don’t be afraid to use a little flour to keep it from sticking. With a rolling pin, begin rolling the dough from the center, outward in one stroke. Don’t roll back-and-forth. When the dough begins to crack around the edges, just use your hands to form it back into the shape of a circle. If you feel as though the bottom is really sticking to the surface below, just use a nice, sharp spatula, and flip it over. Be sure to flour the surface again before you flip it.
Continue the rolling process until the rolled dough is about 1/2 inch larger (all the way around) than the diameter of the pie pan (or tartlet pan). With the spatula, if necessary, lift the dough from the surface and gently set it onto the pie pan. Gently adjust the dough so that it’s laying right against the pan. Then tuck the excess dough under the rim.
If you’re using a tart pan, you do not need to tuck in the edges of the crust. Just lay the excess dough over the edges, and press down on the edges of the pan so that the dough cuts off. Pour the filling onto the pie crust, and follow the directions mentioned in the filling section above.
02/10/2009 | Categorias: dessert, pecanless, pie | 8 Comentários »
Pecanless Pie? With a double-crust? Yes. And yes. I don’t like nuts. I detest them, but I love Pecan Pie. Whenever I eat it, I have to spend 30 minutes picking all the pecans out of my slice, but it’s all worth it. I love the sugary filling and the flaky crust. YUM! So, I had been craving pecan pie for the longest time and kept putting off making it because there have been too many sweets in this house. Then I saw the Sour Cherry Slab Pie on Smitten Kitchen (SK), and my brain started reeling. I thought of making the exact same thing she made with the same cherry filling, but I wasn’t craving a fruity dessert; I wanted pecan pie sans pecans! So, once I gave away all of the cookies to my friend, I decided to make this pie.
Ahh, the advantage of baking and cooking your own stuff; you can customize your dishes to your liking (even if the rest of the world may disagree with your preferences).
I made the crust on SK’s site, and then I used the filling posted on this website. Now, pie crusts have never been difficult for me, but I thought I’d try to make it in my stand mixer. Big mistake! I remedied the problem enough to make a flaky crust, but there were big globs of butter in the dough when it was cold, and it kept breaking apart. Also, I forgot to add an egg wash or cream to the top of the pie. So, while the crust didn’t come out looking as good as my crust usually looks, it tasted great.
I really like the idea of doing a double crust with this pecanless pie because it offset the sugary flavor more than the standard type of pie. Without the pecans, one would think that the pie would be cloyingly sweet, but I like my pecanless pies either way. I think I will make my pecanless pies like this from now on, though. YUM!
Butter Pie Dough
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
1 cup cold water (you can drop in a few ice cubes or place cold water in the freezer while uou work on the other steps. That way you can avoid bits of ice cubes.
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
Two sticks (or 8 ounces or 1 cup) of very cold, unsalted butter cubed into 1/2-inch pieces.
Sprinkle the butter cubes over the flour and begin working them in with the pastry blender or fork, using it to scoop and redistribute the mixture as needed so all parts are worked evenly. When all of the butter pieces are approximately the size of peas — this won’t take long — stop.
Take the cold water out of the freezer. Start drizzling 1/2 cup of the ice-cold water (not the cubes, if you chose that method) over the butter and flour mixture. Using a rubber or silicon spatula, gather the dough together. You’ll probably need an additional 1/4 cup of cold water to bring it together, but add it a tablespoon as a time. Once you’re pulling large clumps with the spatula, take it out and get your hands in there. Gather the disparate damp clumps together into one mound, patting it together.
Divide the dough in half, and place each half on a large piece of plastic wrap (You will use one and a half portions of this dough). I like to use the the plastic wrap to pull in the dough and shape it into a disk. Let the dough chill in the fridge for one to two hours before rolling it out.
Do ahead: Dough will keep in the fridge for about a week, and in the freezer longer. If not using it that day, wrap it in additional layers of plastic wrap to protect it from fridge/freezer smells.
Pecanless Pie Filling
adapted from My Home Cooking
1 Cup White Corn Syrup
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/3 Teaspoon Salt
1/3 Cup minus 1 Tbsp of Melted Butter
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
3 Eggs
(add 2 cups of pecans if you want a traditional pecan pie)
Put the butter in the microwave until it is completely melted. During this step, preheat your regular oven to 350.
In a medium to large bowl, mix or slightly beat eggs with a whisk. Then mix in the rest of the ingredients (if adding pecans, add them after you pour the filling in the pie crust).
Take one portion of the pie dough out of the refrigerator, and roll it out to about 1/8 of an inch in thickness. Then, apply more flour to the rolling pin. Wrap the dough around the rolling pin, and unroll it onto your pie pan. Allow the excess crust to hang over the pie plate or 8×8″ pan so that the crust hangs 1 inch.
Place the pie shell (rolled-out dough) and plate/pan in the refrigerator as you roll out the second portion of the dough. Once you roll out the second portion, take out the pie plate/pan, and then pour in the pie filling. Place the second portion of dough on top of the filling and then fold the edges of the bottom pie dough over the second one. Make a few incisions on top of the dough before placing it in the oven.
Now, put your pie in a preheated oven set to 350F for 1 hour (with my hot oven, it took 40 minutes). After the pie has been in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, take it out, and put strips of tinfoil around the edge to keep the pie crust from burning. Be careful not to spill you pie! The filling is runny and quite hot. Then, put the pie back in the oven.
After you put the pie back in the oven, it will need another 20 to 30 minutes. After about 30 minutes (a total of 40 mins to 1 hour in the oven), test the pie to see if it is done. You can test the pie by sticking a knife in the middle. If the knife comes out clean, the pie is done; if it comes out dirty, it needs about 10 more minutes in the oven. It will also no longer jiggle.
01/08/2009 | Categorias: dessert, pecanless, pie | 4 Comentários »
The June Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart… er… pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800′s in England.
I was at first very excited about this challenge because it involved the preparation of three layers of desserts I’d never prepared (frangipane/Victoria Sponge, homemade jam, shortbread pastry dough), and it was a dessert I’d never had or heard of. After thinking about each layer later on, my excitement waned because I thought that the dessert would be boring and lacking in flavour/flavor. Every time I ached to make a dessert, my eyes would glaze over the assigned Bakewell Tart/Pudding to some other “more appetizing” dessert. After I finally had given in and made the Bakewell Tart/Pudding, however, I regretted delaying the process for so long. The tarts/puddings were so good.
Since I live alone, I halved the recipe and prepared them in small, individual tart pans. Also, I’m not a fan of nuts, so I made half the recipe of a Queen Victoria Sponge Cake as the top layer instead of the frangipane. I also made homemade strawberry jam and blueberry jam for the middle layer to make two different tarts/puddings. I made the shortbread crust a day before making the entire tart/pudding. The crust was very similar to making regular pie crust.
All layers were very easy to make and quick to come together. My only problem was getting the sponge cake to cook throughout. In both varieties of tarts/puddings, the cake layers came out very brown on top but were not fully cooked on the bottom of its layer. I’m assuming they came out like that because of the jam layer. Nevertheless, both tarts/puddings were very good. I preferred the blueberry one out of the two.
Thanks for this challenge; it was fun!
27/06/2009 | Categorias: daring kitchen, dessert, pie | 9 Comentários »
For months I have been craving Key Lime Pie. I don’t know what prevented me from making it. I guess it was because I didn’t want an entire pie in my house, because I know I will end up eating all of it instead of sharing it with my colleagues. [Hey! I'm an only child (on my mother's side)! I'm not used to sharing! That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it.]
I cheated with this recipe by purchasing Nellie and Joe’s Key Lime Juice and an already prepared graham cracker crust from my favorite store, HEB Central Market. I also used the recipe on the bottle and added some lime zest.
Nellie & Joe’s Key Lime Pie
adapted from Nellie & Joe’s
9″ graham cracker pie crust
14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks
1-2 tsp lime zest (optional)
½ cup Nellie & Joe’s Key West Lime Juice
Combine egg yolks and lime zest. Then add in the milk and the lime juice. Blend until smooth. Pour filling into pie crust and bake at 350º for 15 minutes. Allow to stand 10 minutes before refrigerating. Just before serving, top with freshly whipped cream and garnish with lime slices.
The whipped cream on top was homemade, of course. After my first batch of homemade whipped cream, I vowed to never ever purchase or taste Cool Whip again. The homemade stuff is so good and has a softer, creamier, more luscious texture. The taste is just unbelievable, and it is so easy and fun to make!
Homemade Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
Place the (mixer) bowl and a whisk (or the whisk attachment) in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Afterward, pour the heavy cream into the (mixer) bowl and start whisking vigorously or on med-high. Once the cream reaches the soft peak stage, add in the sugar and vanilla. Continue to mix until it reaches the firm peak stage. Don’t mix too long, or you will end up with sweet butter and buttermilk. After the mixture reaches the soft peak stage, I stop and start the mixer every few seconds to make sure I don’t over mix it. Then, dip your finger in the cream, put the cream in your mouth, close your eyes, and savor the best whipped cream in the world!
02/04/2009 | Categorias: dessert, fruits, pie | 5 Comentários »
Stir together dry ingredients. Add buttermilk, egg, and add melted butter. Mix the ingredients until they are moistened; do not over-stir. Mix 3/4ths of the cheese to the cornbread batter.
Pour 1/4 of the mixture into the casserole pan.
Add 1/2-1 cup of the frozen or fresh corn on top of the batter.
Add all of the meat mixture. Then, add the rest of the corn (1/2-1 cup) (optional; I forgot to do this, so I had only one layer of corn, and it tasted more than fine.)
Add the rest of the cornbread batter.
Add additional cheese on top.
Bake uncovered in a preheated hot oven for 45-60 minutes. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
