Fresh Mint Chocolate Truffle Tart

I love chocolate mint combinations and this did not fail. However I will note that this chocolate mint combo is not similar to an Andes mint or a girl scout cookie. This is fresh mint...it's like if you were to purchase some mint and smell it, that's the mint taste in this dessert because its fresh mint and not mint extract. That being mentioned, this would also be wonderful using the extract versus the fresh mint if you prefer. (Wow I just used the word 9 times is 4 sentences-yikes)

This tart was fairly quick and easy, I made the dough in a food processor, though you don't have to. Instead of chopping up chocolate bars, I used chocolate chips. Please give this a try!



Fresh Mint Chocolate Truffle Tart (from William Sonoma)

1 rolled-out rectangle of basic tart dough (from here)
1 1⁄2 cups heavy cream
8 to 10 fresh mint sprigs (about 40 leaves), plus sprigs for garnish
12 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped into small slivers, or use chocolate chips
2 Tbs. light corn syrup
Confectioners’ sugar or unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

Fold the dough rectangle in half and carefully transfer to a 9" tart pan, preferably with a removable bottom. Unfold and ease the rectangle into the pan, without stretching it, and pat it firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim off any excess dough by gently running a rolling pin across the top of the pan. Press the dough into the sides to extend it slightly above the rim to offset any shrinkage during baking.

Refrigerate or freeze the tart shell until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 375°F.

Line the pastry shell with aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or raw short-grain rice. Bake for 20 minutes, then lift an edge of the foil. If the dough looks wet, continue to bake, checking every 5 minutes, until the dough is pale gold, for a total baking time of 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the weights and foil. Continue to bake until the shell is golden, 7 to 10 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the cream until small bubbles appear on the surface. Remove from the heat and add the mint sprigs. Let stand for 20 to 30 minutes.

Put the chocolate in the top of a double boiler, set over but not touching barely simmering water and melt, stirring occasionally. Pour the cream through a fine-mesh sieve into the melted chocolate, discarding the mint sprigs. Add the corn syrup and stir until smooth. Pour the filling into the tart shell.

Refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour. If using a tart pan with a removable bottom, let the sides fall away, then slide the tart onto a serving plate. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving to take the chill off. Just before serving, lay strips of waxed paper over the top of the tart and dust lightly with confectioners sugar. Carefully remove the strips and garnish with fresh mint sprigs.

Enjoy!

Grilling "How-To": Smoked Baby Back Ribs

My husband I both love the smoky taste barbecuing lends to foods. However, we've never tried to smoke something. We have a gas grill, and I have heard that you could do it, though I wasn't sure. I know that with charcoal grill you could, and if you had a designated smoker, it was obviously possible.

With a little help from a friend, I felt confident giving it a try. In order to smoke something, you have to use indirect heat/cooking method. With a gas grill, you have control over which burners/zones to use and how hot you want to make them, or whether you just want to keep them off.

Our grill has four burners, and I don't think it matters how many yours has, as long as you keep it even, half is designated to use as the direct heat, half designated as indirect heating.

Supplies Needed:

Wood Chips/Chunks (I used mesquite, experiment with other types of woods for different flavors)
Disposable cake or lasagna pan. Just make sure sure it fits in and on half of the grill.
Aluminum Foil
Roaster Pan
rack to fit inside roaster pan
Rack of Baby Back Ribs (recommended prep here)

Method: Soak the wood chips/chunks in water for about one hour, this is very important for a longer cooking methods like this. Once that is complete, scoop the wood out and place in disposable pan and cover disposable pan with foil. Poke generous size holes in the foil to allow all of that smoke to escape.



In the roaster pan, place an inch or two of water. Remove a good length of foil from the dispenser and ball it up, these acts as supports for the rack that fits inside roaster pan so the ribs do not sit in the cooking liquid.



Place the prepared ribs on the rack, that is sitting on the foil supports, that sit in the cooking liquid.

Move the wood chip filled pan to the grill area and preheat half of the grill to high heat, once the grill is preheated, put the wood chip filled pan on the half of the grill that is preheated over high heat and close the lid of the grill.

Allow the wood chips to start to smoke a little bit, about 5 minutes. Open the grill and place the pan with the rack of ribs on the half of the grill that is not directly heated. Close the grill cover. And leave it closed.



Once the wood chips/chunks have started to fully smoke, turn the heat down to low. You do not want the grills temperature to get too hot. This is supposed to be a longer cooking method, higher temperatures will cook the meat too fast. That will toughen the ribs, rather than leave them tender and juicy.



You can peak in there once or twice if you want, but in general, leave the grill closed. You need to keep all of the flavor inside the grill.

My cooking time was a little more than two hours on the grill. Once your ribs have finished cooking, let them rest for 10 minutes, this help to redistribute some of the juices in the meat, leaving it more juicy.

Slice the ribs, serve on a platter with homemade BBQ sauce and enjoy your feast!



**While cleaning up afterwards, make sure the wood chips/chunks are fully extinguished before moving them to the garbage. I used the chunks and a few hours later, some of them were still smoldering.

Interesting Vanilla Info

So I received this Cooks Illustrated newsletter in my inbox and it had an article about vanilla taste testing. It said that overall real vanilla was preferred for cakes, icecreams, sauces etc., but for cookies artificial vanilla was preferred to the taste testers. The article went on to say that because cookies get hotter during the baking stage than cakes do internally, a lot of the components of real vanilla burn off or cook off because of the high temperatures. Artificial vanilla maintains its qualities at higher temps than real vanilla.

I usually use only Penzeys vanilla in everything, and I read up more on artificial vanilla (I was for a moment thinking I need to pick up some artificial stuff for cookies) and artificial vanilla, or vanillin, is derived from coal tar or a form of petroleum! Ish, I don't want that in my cookies! However, I feel it's six in one hand and a half dozen in the other. If the cookies taste better, why not use it? But fake stuff scares me, I try my hardest to only use the natural version of things. I don't know, it's a tough quandary right?!

To read the original article from Cooks Illustrated, click here.

Mango Salsa

This is a fresh, light way to enjoy fresh Mangoes, I had never used, purchased, or prepared a Mango until now, I never knew what to do with them! It turns out they are easy to use. They need to be ripe though before you use them, the sweetness really optimizes once they do, it's just not there if they are not ripe. The flesh of a ripe mango should give a little when pressed, if it doesn't, park it in a paper bag with an apple for a day or two to help speed it's ripening process.

Why does this happen? Apples and bananas and a few other fruits emit ethylene when they ripen, that ethylene gas converts starches to sugars in unripened fruit. Therefore, chemistry was important right?!

Use a paring knife or a vegetable peeler and peel the skin away. There is a pit in the middle of the mango. Slice the fruit away from the pit as you would a peach or an apple. Slice and dice the fruit and combine with other ingredients.

Mangoes are rich in phytochemicals, antioxidants, and nutrients-so eat up, enjoy!




Nancy's Mango Salsa

4 ripened mangoes, chopped
1 large clove of garlic, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 fresh jalapenos, seeded and finely diced (or 1 can of diced jalapenos)
1 tsp ground chipolte pepper powder
1/4 tsp cayanne pepper powder
1 small bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped finely
juice of half of a lemon
juice of two limes
2 tsp vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and stir thoroughly. Cover and refridgerate overnight so that the flavors can begin to intermingle.

Serve with tortillas chips and something cold to drink.

8 Layer Taco Dip

This little appetizer was made for a Cinco de Mayo party at work. This was my first try at this and I think it turned out fairly nicely :) The proportions are open for interpretation, if you like less tomatoes, use less, if you want to add chopped jalapenos, add them, this is YOUR dip after all :)

8 Layer Taco Dip

~14 oz can of refried beans (low-fat)
~10 oz low fat sour cream (seasoned with 1-2 Tbsp Taco Seasoning)
2 medium chopped tomatoes
1 1/2 cup shredded cheese (taco blend or cheddar)
2 green onions (chopped)
1/2 cup cilantro (chopped)
1 cup salsa (your preference)
1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded lettuce

Optional add-ins: Ground or Shredded Beef, Shredded Pork, Chicken, Olives, chopped jalapenos (canned or fresh)

Layer the dip in a dish** in the following order: Refried Beans, Seasoned Sour Cream, Salsa, Shredded Lettuce, Shredded Cheese, Diced Tomatoes, Chopped Cilantro, Chopped Green Onions.

Serve with Tortilla Chips!

**Serving dish can vary, I used a 9" cake pan, you could also use an 8"x8" square baking dish.

Spaghetti and Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Spaghetti and Meatballs makes it on to our weekly menu fairly often. Who knew the addition of a little string cheese would make such a tasty difference. Gorgonzola also makes for a delicious stuffing for meatballs, but here I figured Mozzarella was in order!

Spaghetti and Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs (from foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients
Meatballs:
1/4 cup milk
2 slice white bread, cut into cubes
1 pound 80 percent lean ground beef
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 egg
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 sticks mozzarella string cheese, cut into small cubes or 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
Nonstick cooking spray

Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium onion diced
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes (I used San Marzano Tomatoes)
2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil leaves
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (16-ounce) box spaghetti

Directions
For Meatballs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl combine the milk and bread. Let the bread absorb the milk. Add remaining meatball ingredients except the cheese. Using your hands, gently combine all the ingredients until they are thoroughly mixed. Take about 3 tablespoons of the meat mixture and roll into a ball and press into a patty. Place a mozzarella cube or 1 tablespoon shredded cheese onto the patty and bring up the sides around the cheese and roll between hands to form a ball. Place onto a nonstick baking sheet or a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Repeat process with remaining meat and cheese. Place the meatballs into the oven and cook for 12 minutes. Remove baking sheet from the oven and set aside.

For Sauce:

In a medium pot heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and saute for 3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. Gently stir in the meatballs and any pan drippings from baking sheet and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Spaghetti:

Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and place the pasta on a large serving platter. Place the meatballs over the spaghetti, pour the sauce on top and serve immediately.


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Cream Cheese Brownies

These little bars taste as lovely as they look. I did not have enough unsweetend chocolate on hand, so I successfully swapped 3 Tbsp of cocoa and 1 Tbsp oil, butter, or shortening for every ounce of unsweetened baking chocolate you are substituting. The cream cheese brownies were easy to assemble, I do hope you get a chance to try them!

Cream Cheese Brownies (from Joy of Baking)

Brownie Layer:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped (see note above)
1 1/4 cups granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Layer:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg

Cream Cheese Brownies: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and place the rack in the center of the oven. Have ready a 9 x 9 inch square baking pan that has been lined with aluminum foil across the bottom and up two opposite sides of the pan.

In a stainless steel (heatproof) bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (with a wooden spoon) after each addition. Stir in the flour and salt and beat, with a wooden spoon, until the batter is smooth and glossy and comes away from the sides of the pan (about one minute). Remove 1/2 cup of the brownie batter and set it aside. Place the remainder of the brownie batter evenly onto the bottom of the prepared pan.

Then, in the bowl of your food processor (or with a hand mixer), process the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla, and egg and process just until creamy and smooth. Spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the brownie layer. Spoon small dollops of the reserved brownie batter evenly on top of the cream cheese filling. Then with a table knife or wooden skewer, swirl the two batters without mixing them.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until the brownies start to pull away from the sides of the pan and the edges of the brownies are just beginning to brown (for me I think I baked these close to 40 minutes, while upping the oven temperature to 350 degrees for the last few minutes.) Either way keep an eye on your oven and your bars and remove them when they match the description of finished product.

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Refrigerate the brownies until they are firm enough to cut into squares (at least two hours). Once chilled, remove the brownies from the pan by lifting with the ends of the foil and transfer to a cutting board. It is a good idea to have a damp cloth nearby to wipe your knife between cuts.

These brownies can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.

Pork Souvlaki

Souvlaki is a favorite Greek street food, it's also a favorite grill food. I've never had Souvlaki before. Whenever I frequent Greek restaurants, I tend to always drift towards my favorites. So I was so delighted that this turned out as lovely as it did, this will definitely be put into our dinner rotation!

One of the best parts was the grilled Naan. I don't think I've ever had it before. To me it was similar to a fresh pita bread. I picked up a package of two in my local grocery store, I didn't have to search for it at a special store. I had some roasted red pepper hummus from a local greek restaurant that went well with this dish.

Pork Souvlaki (From Food Network Magazine)

Ingredients
2 shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-to-2-inch chunks (I used Pork Tenderloin Tips because they were a better price than the Tenderloins)

Combine the shallots, garlic, oregano, jalapeno, lemon juice and olive oil in a large resealable plastic bag. Add the pork, turn to coat, and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.

Soak 10-12 wooden skewers in water, at least 20 minutes.

Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium. Remove the pork from the marinade and thread 2-3 pieces onto each skewer. Grill until cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes per side



Rub each side of the Naan and place on the grill or grill pan a few minutes on each side. This will warm and soften the bread.

Serve the Souvlaki with sliced cucumbers, tzatziki and/or hummus, and grilled pita or Naan. Opah!!

Grilled Chicken Legs

As summer gratefully draws closer and closer, I think most grill owners take advantage of the nice weather and fire it up! I want to do a how to on some basic's that are very easy, they are not rocket science, but if you do not grill often, it can be kind of daunting. I know, I've been there (sometimes I'm still kind of there I think :)

This how to can be applied to chicken legs as well as chicken breasts and thighs.

Fire up the grill, mine is a 4 burner. I usually turn on three of the four burners to medium high, the fourth one I leave off so later in the cooking process I can move the chicken to an area of indirect heat. Close the top of the grill, do not leave open.

Step One: Unwrap chicken

Step Two: Sprinkle the chicken on all sides with a seasoning or salt and pepper. I usually use Penzeys Poultry Seasoning or Penzeys BBQ 3000. Use whatever you'd like.

Step Three: Move outside to the grill and place the chicken, skin side down if grilling a breast or thigh, over direct heat. You really want to get some good color on the outside and some fancy grill marks on your chicken to make it look as tasty as it's going to taste! Close the top of the grill, do not leave open.

Step Four: Turn your chicken legs after a few minutes, and work on getting some good color on the other sides also. Close the top of the grill again.

Step Five: Once the outside looks golden and delicious, move the chicken to indirect heat (the side of the grill that does have the burners turned on.) Close the top of the grill again. Moving the chicken to indirect heat utilizes the heat of the grill, kind of like an oven. It keeps cooking without burning the outside of the meat.

Step Six: When in doubt, use a meat thermometer. The goal for chicken is 165 degrees. When you pierce the flesh, juices should run clear. But if the sunshine is bright outside, it may be hard to see, so try a thermometer.

Once you have achieved 165 degrees, pull your chicken off to your serving platter. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before serving.

*This same process can be done on a charcoal grill, when moving the chicken to indirect heat, use the perimeter of the charcoal grill not the center where the direct heat is the most intense.

*If you are using a sauce like barbecue or other sweet sauce, baste your chicken with it towards the end of the cooking time. The sugars will burn if added to early.

Boston Cream Pie

(*It looks like a reindeer cake doesn't it-heehee!)

Boston Cream Pie is a wonderful treat, it's definitely not an everyday dessert. I've had this one bookmarked for awhile so I was happy to try it finally. I, along with many people, wonder why is it called Boston Cream Pie? This explanation I found was originally presented on the Joy of Baking's website, it reads as follows:

There are two questions that immediately come to mind when you hear Boston Cream Pie. One is "Why is it called a pie?", and the other is "Why the name 'Boston'?". To answer the first question of why "pie" instead of "cake", it is probably because colonists baked their cakes in pie tins as they did not own cake pans. As far as calling it Boston Cream Pie, the story began when a New York newspaper in 1855 published a recipe for a 'Pudding Pie Cake'. This recipe was similar to the Boston Cream Pie recipe of today except that it had a powdered sugar topping. From there we go to Boston where a man named Harvey D. Parker opened a restaurant called the Parker House Restaurant. On the menu was a 'Parker House Chocolate Pie', the recipe to which was similar to the New York newspaper recipe except a chocolate glaze had replaced the powdered sugar topping. We are not sure how it was renamed to 'Boston Cream Pie', but Bo Friberg in his book 'The Professional Pastry Chef' thinks "the name stems from the original title (in the New York paper) combined with the reference to Boston."

Boston Cream Pie (from Joy of Baking)

Pastry Cream:

1/4 cup granulated white sugar
3 large egg yolks
1/8 cup all-purpose flour
Scant 3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sponge Cake:

5 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated white sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain cake flour (not self-rising)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Chocolate Glaze:

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon unsalted butter


Pastry Cream: In a medium-sized stainless steel bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks. (Do not let this mixture sit too long.) Sift the flour and cornstarch together and then add to the egg mixture, mixing until you get a smooth paste. Set aside.

Meanwhile in a small saucepan, bring the milk just to a boil over medium heat. (Watch carefully and remove from heat just as the milk starts to foam up.) Pour the milk slowly into the egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling.

Place the egg mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly. When it boils, continue to whisk constantly for another 30 - 60 seconds until it becomes thick.

Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Pour into a clean bowl and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming. Let the cream cool in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Sponge Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Butter and line the bottoms of two - 8 inch round cake pans with parchment paper. While the eggs are still cold separate three of the eggs, placing the yolks in one large mixing bowl and the whites in another bowl. To the yolks, add the two remaining eggs. Cover the two bowls with plastic wrap and allow the eggs to come to room temperature before using (about 30 minutes).

Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together the flours, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Place the milk and butter in a small saucepan, over low heat, and warm until the butter melts. Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm.

In your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, (or with a hand mixer) beat the whole eggs and yolks and 6 tablespoons of the sugar on high speed for about five minutes, or until they are thick, fluffy and light colored (when you slowly raise the beaters the batter will fall back into the bowl in a slow ribbon). Beat in the vanilla extract.

In another clean mixing bowl, with the whisk attachment, (or with a hand mixer) beat the egg whites and cream of tartar, at low speed, until foamy. Increase the speed to medium-high and gradually add the remaining sugar, beating until soft, moist peaks form. Gently fold a little of the whites into the batter to lighten it, and then add the rest of the whites folding just until incorporated. Sift half of the flour mixture over the top of the batter and gently fold through with a rubber spatula or whisk. Sift the remaining flour over the batter and fold in. Do not over mix.

Make a well in the center of the batter and pour the melted butter/milk mixture into the bowl. Gently but thoroughly fold the butter mixture into the batter. Do not over mix.

Divide the batter between the two prepared pans, smoothing the tops, and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until light brown and springy to the touch. (A toothpick inserted in the middle will come out clean.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Immediately run a spatula or sharp knife around the inside of the pans and then invert the cakes onto a wire rack. Remove parchment paper and re-invert. Cool completely. When the cakes have cooled and you are ready to assemble the Boston Cream Pie, make the Chocolate Glaze.

Place the chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Bring the cream and butter just to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for a 3-5 minutes. Gently stir until smooth. Set aside for a few minutes until it has thickened to pouring consistency.

To Assemble: Place one cake layer on your serving plate, bottom side facing up. Spoon the pastry cream onto the cake (if your pastry cream has thickened too much while chilling, using a hand mixer, beat the pastry cream with a little bit of milk and it should lighten up,) spreading to make an even layer. Place the second cake layer (bottom side up) onto the filling. Pour the glaze onto the center of the cake and carefully spread the glaze, with an offset spatula, to the edges of the cake, allowing the glaze to drip down the sides.

Let the cake sit until the glaze sets, about one hour. Serve. This cake is best eaten the same day it is made. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers. Serves 8-10