KILLER ALMOND TARTLETS

by Sheila Connolly

I love it when things come together.

So, picture it:  I'm wandering in one of the several antique malls in downtown Plymouth, in the company of one of my oldest friends, who appears to share my fascination with weird antiques, particularly cookware.  Yep, two not-young ladies wandering around picking up things and muttering to themselves (what's worse, we were picking up the same things individually—I knew there was a reason we were friends).

And I happened upon a treasure—well, to me at least: a set of Swedish tartlet tins, all twenty-four of them, in pristine, unused condition. I was smitten, especially because of the recipe on the cover (the maker kindly provided both the English and the Swedish versions, not to mention a supplemental recipe inside the box).  I give them here forthwith.

Okay, I know, we're all cookied out after the holidays.  Yes, I have eaten every cookie I made, with a little help, and I thought I had moved on, until I found the Mörmått.  What's so special about this recipe? The bitter almonds.

If you're not a classic mystery buff, you might not know that bitter almonds are the basis for the poison cyanide (and its distinctive odor).

So these are the tins for a murderer—except you can't buy bitter almonds in this country. Maybe overseas.  So, alas, I am forced to make a substitution:  the trusty almond extract.  They'll still taste good, and no one will drop dead in your parlor.

Of course I didn't follow either recipe, exactly.  One was made with ground almonds and flour, the other with flour only.  One, all butter; the other, a blend of butter and shortening.  I wanted a bit of texture, so I followed substituted a half-cup of almonds (from Recipe 1) ground in the food processor for a half-cup of flour (from Recipe 2).

Almond Tartlets

½ cup salted butter

½ cup solid shortening
1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp almond extract

2 cups flour

½ cup ground almonds

Cream the shortening, butter, and sugar.  Add the egg and almond extract.  Add flour and mix until you have a stiff dough. 

Take about a tablespoon full of batter, place it in a tin (you do not need to grease them, but feel free to use a cooking spray if you like) and press the dough evenly inside the tin.

Place the tins on a cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let cool and remove carefully from the tins. Makes at least 24 tart shells.

Fill with whatever you want!

Observations: The instructions say, once the ingredients are mixed into a stiff batter, take pieces and squish into the little tins to make a crust, as thin as possible. Talk about labor-intensive! I picture a lady hosting her bridge group—and the hired help filling the molds in the kitchen. I ended up with rather thick tartlet shells, but that saves you on the filling.  They're good eaten plain, but if you want to add something, you can use a dollop of whipped cream, some of that ganache from last week, a nice jam, even fresh fruit.  Or you can just go ahead and make cookies out of them!

Pizza Margherita

Last Friday, I set out to make homemade pizza.  It's one of my go-to dishes, so it shouldn't have been a big deal.  But I decided to mix things up a bit:  I wanted to try a different crust than my normal recipe, and I wanted to make a pizza Margherita (with very fresh-tasting, simple toppings).  Again, shouldn't have been a big deal, but I messed things up a bit.



See, I got home at about 4 PM and started to make the crust recipe I'd found on the Cooks Illustrated website.  I had combined all the ingredients when I came to a line in the instructions advising me to place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days.

In the immortal words of my governor, "oops."

That put a wrinkle in our dinner plans.  But since the Margherita part of my pizza equation came from a recipe on Epicurious that actually called for store-bought refrigerated pizza dough, I decided to follow that path.

The result was that we had the pizza Margherita from the Epicurious website on Friday night ... complete with the dough from a cardboard tube.  It was actually surprisingly good.  The only things I didn't love:  first, the tomato sauce called for a little crushed red pepper, and I thought it was a bit too spicy; and second, the crust was OK, but nothing to write home about.

Thin, store-bought dough

Thick, homemade dough

Still, I had that ball of homemade dough sitting in the refrigerator.  So I pulled it out on Sunday evening, and we did Pizza Margherita Redux.  And it was DELICIOUS.

Thus, I present you with this recipe for pizza Margherita, a mash-up of two recipes with a few of my own modifications to boot.  The store-bought crust option will yield a smaller, thinner pizza; the homemade crust is thick, but remarkably flavorful.

Enjoy!
















PIZZA
MARGHERITA

Crust:

Toppings, ready to go

3 c. (scant) all purpose flour
3 Tbs. vital wheat gluten
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/3 c. ice water
1 Tbs. olive oil + extra for bowl
1 1/2 tsp salt

OR

1 13.8 oz. tube refrigerated pizza dough

Rustic sauce

Tomato Sauce:

1 Tbs. olive oil
12 oz. cherry or grape tomatoes (stems and leaves removed)
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds (coarsely crushed)
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
dash black pepper

1/3 c. chopped fresh basil
4 oz. fresh mozzarella, drained and chopped
4 - 6 oz. shredded mozzarella
1/3 c. shredded parmesan



To make the homemade crust:  Mix flour, gluten, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.  Mix until combined.  With mixer running on low, slowly add ice water and continue mixing until the flour is all absorbed into a ragged dough ball.  Allow dough ball to rest for 10 minutes.  Then add olive oil and salt; turn mixer back on and let run on low until oil and salt are combined and dough comes together in a smooth ball.  With floured hands, remove dough and shape into a nice, compact ball.  Transfer to a large bowl, cover tightly (with a lid to the bowl or plastic wrap) and refrigerate for 24 - 72 hours.

To make tomato sauce:  Heat a large skillet over high heat for at least two minutes.  Add oil to hot skillet and then, immediately, tomatoes.  Saute over high heat until tomatoes start to char and break down.  Transfer tomatoes to a large bowl and crush with a fork or the back of a spoon (until all tomatoes are mushed but the sauce is still chunky).  Add garlic, fennel, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Stir.

To make pizza:  If you made your own dough, remove it from the refrigerator about an hour before you plan to bake the pizza.  Shape dough into a tight ball (eliminating some of the air), place it in a greased bowl, cover lightly with plastic sprayed with cooking spray, and allow to sit for an hour.

Move oven rack to top third.  Preheat oven to 425.  If you made your own dough, go ahead and put a large cookie sheet in the oven to preheat.

Combine cheeses and basil.

If you are using store-bought dough, roll it out onto a cookie sheet and press it out to a 12 x 8 rectangle.  If you are using homemade dough, coat hands in flour.  Place dough on a large sheet of parchment paper and flatten/stretch until it's a 10 x 15 rectangle.  Top dough with cheese/basil mix and then dot with the tomato sauce.

Sauce dotted on top of pizza.

If using homemade dough, slide the parchment paper onto the preheated cookie sheet.  Place/return cookie sheet to oven and bake (20 minutes for either type of crust, oddly enough - until the crust is golden brown).

Allow pizza to sit for about 5 minutes before cutting it.

~~~~~~

Wendy is the author of the Mysteries a la Mode. Visit her on the web or on Facebook. She also writes the Pet Boutique Mysteries under the name Annie Knox; you can follow Annie on Facebook, too!

Camembert Onion Soup by Avery Aames

I warned you that I was really getting into Camembert lately. Well, I've had the most delicious meals and fun!  I invited the local Southern Cal family over the other day and tried out two different dishes on them.

One you'll get next week, a Camembert Pear appetizer.



Today, I thought I'd share the Camembert Onion Mushroom soup.  I was inspired by a soup I had in New Orleans a year ago. Remember? I made a Brie and Shrimp with Champagne soup? From Chez Paul.

I love onion soup but I don't get to eat it out at restaurants. It's loaded with gluten. But at home, it's not a problem. And I adore the aroma of onions cooking in my house. If it's not the aroma of cookies and breads, it's got to be onions.

Beautiful Maui Sweet Onions

So I modified a previous onion soup recipe I had and, instead of the typical Gruyere (which is delicious in and of itself), I added Camembert (without the rind). Scrumptious.  [No toasted bread on this soup.] The kids liked it. Little and big.

My stepson has to eat less salt, so I didn't add much to the recipe. With the addition of the cheese, it was just enough salt for him. His little ones, one- and three-years-old, wanted their own cups. I had dessert cups, handed down to me by my grandmother, that were perfect "soup" size cups for them. They drank the soup and devoured it!

Here you go.  Enjoy

CAMEMBERT ONION AND MUSHROOM SOUP

Ingredients:

2 large Maui sweet onions, sliced thinly

½ cup unsalted butter

4 cups chicken stock (gluten-free, if preferred)

salt

pepper

2 bay leaves

½ pound sliced mushrooms

1 8 oz. round of Camembert

Directions:

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.  Add the onions and coat well with the butter. Cover and cook until tender, about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove the cover and raise the heat a bit. Sauté stirring often. Do not let the onions burn. They will turn a deep caramel brown, about 30 minutes to one hour.


Add the mushrooms and stir them with the buttery onions for about 2 minutes.

Grilling onions, yum!

Add the stock and bay leaves, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cover.  Simmer for about 15-30 minutes more.

Meanwhile, trim the bloom rind off the Camembert and dice the cheese into little bits. Divide the cheese into four portions.

Discard the bay leaves. Taste the soup and add salt and pepper to your liking. 

Ladle the soup into bowls and add cheese.  It melts instantly!

Love that first simmering.

Serve with crusty bread or crackers.

You can omit the mushrooms, but I adore them.

* * * * * * * * *

Cute cheese platter!

BY THE WAY, I'm having a fun SWEEPSTAKE CONTEST with author Kate Carlisle. It's via Facebook. Here's the link. SWEEPSTAKES  It runs until Feb. 1. You can win both of our books as well as a Bibliophile Mug and a cute cheese platter.

* * * * * * * * * * *

You can learn more about me, Avery, by clicking this link.

Chat with me on Facebook and Twitter.

And if you haven't done so, sign up for my mailing list

 so you can learn about upcoming events, releases, and
contests!

And watch for CLOBBERED BY CAMEMBERT, coming out February 2012.

* * * * * * * *

 

BOOKSELLERS LINK

Dumpling Dipping Sauce for Year of the Dragon from Cleo Coyle

Okay, let's get this out of the way right now. I do not make my own dumplings. I mean, are you kidding? I live in New York City, land of Chinese take-out. Despite cooking a handful of Chinese-inspired dishes at home, when it comes to dumplings, I leave it to the professionals. 


With New York's Chinatown only a subway ride away, Marc and I have enjoyed Chinese food, culture, and New Years' celebrations for years. I'll tell you a secret, too. Our favorite little hole-in-the-wall dumpling paradise can be found on Mosco Street. Blink and you'll miss it. Mosco is really more of an alley in Chinatown, but it's home to this little joint...

To find this dumpling shop yourself, simply locate Mosco Street in Chinatown and stroll down it. The street is so small, you can't miss this shop, which serves delicious street food. (See Mosco Street on Google Maps by clicking here. See our snack of fried dumplings and pork buns below...)

Dumplings really are a budget-friendly comfort food. So if you're looking for a change-up from pizza or fries, give dumplings a try this week because eating dumplings is a long-standing tradition for the Chinese New Year, and we've just entered the Year of the Dragon!

Yesterday marked the first day of the Lunar New Year and according to the Chinese zodiac, we said goodbye to the Year of the Rabbit and hello to the mighty and powerful Dragon. 


Have you ever wondered why the Dragon leads the street parades during Chinese New Year celebrations? It's for a very good reason: The Chinese say the Dragon leaves wealth and prosperity in his path--a much better prospect than following the NYPD's horses, wouldn't you say? :)

----------------------------

To see a short montage of the Lunar New Year
opening ceremonies in New York's Chinatown,
click the arrow in the window below...

There are 12 animal signs in the Chinese zodiac. The year you were born dictates your sign, and the Year of the Dragon is considered the luckiest year in the Chinese zodiac.


Which animal sign you were born under? The signs are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat/Ram/Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig/Boar. 


A very detailed zodiac chart, showing which years fall under which signs, can be found at this link: http://www.holymtn.com/astrology/year.htm When you jump to the site, click on each animal to read its characteristics. The charts include compatibility predictions and warnings. (...and if you have a spouse, do take those with a grain of salt!)

Because eating dumplings is a tradition for the Lunar New Year, I decided to share a few simple tips with you today for getting the best out of your take-out or (frozen grocery store) dumpling snacking.

Tip #1 - For making frozen at home or reheating take-out dumplings, you don't need a bamboo steamer. I use an inexpensive ($9) stainless steel collapsible basket that can be placed in any pot. This is a great little kitchen gadget that I often use to steam veggies. I'm sure most of you have seen one of these baskets; but for anyone who hasn't, click here to learn more or purchase.

Tip #2 - Line your steamer with leaves of cabbage, spinach, or another leafy green. (The leaves you see in my photos are from baby bok choy.) They impart a lovely, subtle flavor as the dumpling steams. They also keep the dumpling bottoms from sticking and provide an attractive serving base. As you see in my photos, I transferred the leaves from the steamer to the plate for a prettier presentation.


Tip #3 - If you’re using straight soy sauce to dip your dumplings, let me assure you that there is a much tastier option. Many Chinese and Japanese dipping sauces blend soy sauce (or tamari*) with other ingredients to create a flavorful eating experience. The ingredients in this one are easily found in American grocery stores, so the next time you pick up a package of frozen dumplings or call for take-out, try my recipe and…

Eat with Dragon joy!  
~ Cleo 

*Tamari [tuh-MAH-ree] is similar to soy sauce but thicker and darker. It is more mellow than soy sauce and tends to have a smoother, more complex flavor.

Cleo Coyle, who married
a Dragon, is the author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries

Cleo Coyle’s
Dumpling
Dipping Sauce



Also delicious with egg rolls, 
fried shrimp, chicken nuggets, 
tempura, sushi, and sashimi 

To download this recipe in a PDF form that you can print, save, or share, click here!






INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup water

¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari* - scroll up for more info)

2 Tablespoons lime or lemon juice (fresh is best!)

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 green onion (scallion)


Directions: Stir together first four ingredients. Be sure the sugar dissolves. Slice the green onion into the mixture. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes for flavors to blend.

Optional extras for added flavor:  A splash of sesame oil; a bit of ginger (freshly grated); a splash of your favorite drinking wine or Japanese sake (or, if you can find it, Chinese Shaoxing rice wine).

Basic ratio for smaller or larger batches:  1 part water + 1-½ part soy sauce + ½ part lime or lemon juice + ½ part sugar + 1 green onion (scallion) 

May this 
Year of the Dragon
bring you the four
blessings of the East:
wealth, virtue, harmony,
and long life!

~ Cleo Coyle, author of 

The Coffeehouse Mysteries

The Coffeehouse Mysteries are national bestselling
culinary mysteries set in a landmark Greenwich Village coffeehouse,
and each of the ten titles includes the added bonus of recipes. 





To get more of my recipes,
enter to win free coffee,
or learn more about my books,
visit my online coffeehouse by
clicking here. See you there! 


~ Cleo

-------------------------------------------------------------------

AVERY'S CONTEST!

My fellow Mystery Lover's Kitchen cook, Avery Aames, is about to release a new culinary mystery: Clobbered by Camembert. She's also holding a contest! Click this link to her facebook page to find out more and enter:

http://www.facebook.com/AveryAames?sk=app_197602066931325

Good Dragon Luck, Everyone!

Overnight Baked French Toast

Everyone is talking about Paula Deen having diabetes.  The announcement came at a time when many of us are already feeling guilty and trying to cut back after over-indulging during the holidays. 

Of course, these things are in the back of my mind when I cook.  Everyone loves a little splurge now and then -- there's nothing wrong with that. But some of our day-to-day recipes really could be lighter.  I can't wait to see interesting new recipes from Paula.

So when French toast loving company arrived, I was on the hunt for a recipe that I could prepare in advance.  There are tons of them. Paula Deen's five star recipe with 2 cups of half and half and a topping that include half a pound of butter leads the pack on Google.  I'm sure it's delicious, but I wanted to do something a little lighter.

I found the answer in a recipe from McCormick, the spice people.  It had four things going for it:

After a night in the fridge

it can be prepared in advance;
it's almost fat-free!;
it makes use of fruit;
and there's no heavy cream in it.

But would it taste like cardboard?

It was great!  We didn't miss the oil or heavy cream at all.  In fact, while I offered maple syrup and butter, no one even touched the butter. It's super easy to make, and I loved sliding it into the oven to bake while I was still staggering around pre-caffeine.  I switched it up a little bit to suit me, but this recipe is a no-brainer.
 

Overnight Baked French Toast

with Blueberries and Bananas

canola or light olive oil

8 slices bread (up to 3/4 inch thick)
5 eggs
3/4 cup milk (I used fat-free)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
sprinkle of nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 package Wyman's wild blueberries (frozen)
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 bananas

The night before, grease the bottom and sides of the baking dish with just a bit of oil.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla.  Place bread in an oven-safe baking dish.  Pour egg mixture over top.  Take a minute to turn each slice to be sure they're all covered with the egg mixture.  Cover and refrigerate.

In the morning, preheat the oven to 450. Uncover the dish and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile pour the package of Wyman's blueberries into a small pot, add the water and sugar.  Bring to a boil and simmer while the toast bakes.

To serve, top each portion with sliced bananas and ladle blueberries and sauce over top.

Serves four.

Celebrate with Champagne Cake!

A very warm welcome today to Paige Shelton, whose latest book, IF FRIED CHICKEN COULD FLY, was just released!  That's more than enough reason to celebrate with a cake this beautiful!

Thank you to the wonderful authors of Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen for the guest post opportunity. It’s great to be here!

When I started the first book of my new series, there were a couple recipes I just knew I had to include. The title of the book is If Fried Chicken Could Fly, so, of course, I included a fried chicken recipe. But there was another recipe, one that I’d been trying to duplicate for years that I really, really wanted to add.

A couple blocks from my high-school-and-college years’ home in Des Moines, Iowa, was a place called Barbara’s Bakery. It was only a short time after we moved to Des Moines that I found Barbara’s and their amazing “Champagne Cake.” I fell in cake-love at first bite. I left Des Moines after college, and I have craved that cake ever since. As I finished If Fried Chicken Could Fly I put some extra effort into trying to duplicate Barbara’s recipe, but it was to no avail. I did come up with a yummy champagne cookie that I included in the book, but, sadly, the cake just didn’t come together.



However, even after the book was turned in, I wasn’t able to give up the quest.

 
And surprising even myself, I think I finally got it! Okay, well, not “it” exactly. Once I quit trying to duplicate Barbara’s amazing recipe and just focused on creating something that tasted so delicious that it stood on its own, a recipe came together. And the craziest part of it all was that it turned out to be incredibly simple. I mean, really simple. Box cake mix simple, in fact. I’m thrilled to share it today on Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen.

Here’s Paige’s (Not-Barbara’s)
Shockingly Simple Champagne Cake recipe:

 
Ingredients:
CAKE:

1 package white cake mix

(You need a “three egg” mix. I just use Betty’s, and it has pudding in the mix.)








1 (3 1/2 oz.) package white chocolate pudding mix
(Adding this ingredient is what I think magnifies all the delicious flavors. It’s subtle, but I can tell it’s there.)


1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sour cream 

3 eggs

1 cup chilled champagne 

(I don’t even like the taste of champagne, but I LOVE what it does to a cake. And, I like my champagne-cake champagne like I like my bubblegum: cheap, pink and sweet.)
Red food coloring



FROSTING:
1 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
6 tablespoons champagne
Silver dragees (edible/decorative balls – some people like silver edible glitter, but I’m team-dragee all the way.) 

Red food coloring



That’s it! Those are the only ingredients you need. 




 

Cake:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour the bottom and sides of two 9 inch pans.



Except for the food coloring, put all the cake ingredients into a bowl. Stir to combine, beat until blended, and then beat for 4 minutes at low speed. While you’re beating at low speed, add some drops of red food coloring until you achieve a nice pink. I use gel food coloring and it takes me a good four drops to get to pink. 





Bake in the two greased and floured pans at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool about 5 minutes and then turn out to cool on rack.

After cake is completely cooled, place all frosting ingredients except for the food coloring into a bowl. Beat to combine and then start adding drops of food coloring until you again have a nice pink – for me this is also about 4 good-sized drops. Beat until stiff peaks form. 



Spread the frosting in between the layers:





Then frost the entire cake, and sprinkle the dragees on top:






So simple! And pretty! 







The recipe also makes about 30 cupcakes. I cut the frosting in half for cupcakes which leaves me scraping the bowl for the last few, but I find it’s wise not to have extra frosting hanging around. I can’t resist the stuff.

If you don’t want to include champagne in the frosting, you can substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla per every three tablespoons of champagne.

Since the frosting is of the whipped cream variety, I keep the final cakes or cupcakes chilled. 



This is a great cake for pretty much any occasion. In fact, I’ll probably make one in a heart shape for Valentine’s Day. I might even try a green shamrock in March. 



Thanks, everyone, for letting me stop by today. I’m sending you all happy cooking, baking, eating and reading wishes!   



And, of course - Cheers!


Paige