Zesty Cook » pastry

Caramel Drizzled Ice Cream tart

zesty — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 13:00:04 +0000

I hope that your week is going great so far. Today, I want to share with you a super simple dessert that’s perfect for when you are in a pinch or when you are simply craving a sweet treat. Beat the HEAT with this simple and easy dessert for a crowd.

I don’t do this very often but I went with a frozen pastry tart as the base of this dessert. For one, they are simple to use and second they are very tasty and flaky.

This dessert literally only takes 17 minutes to prepare and yet it’s a delicious simple treat that you can dress up whatever way you like it.

Ingredients

12 Pastry Tart Shells
Ice Cream
Caramel Sauce
Blueberries

Method

Prepare the tart shells as per instructions.

Let tarts cool.

Drizzle bottom of tart with caramel.

Add ice cream.
Top with blueberries.
Drizzle with more caramel.
Set back in the freezer to harden.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: How to ensure a tender pastry crust? Minimal handling helps to achieve a tender crust. Think of your fingers as feathers, gently mixing the dough. Handle the dough just enough to mix it and roll it- it’s that simple. Lots of handling lengthens the gluten in the flour, making a chewy pie crust.

Before I leave for another day, I was wondering - what is your favorite flavor of ice cream? For me I am pretty plain on most days and love vanilla ice cream. Sometimes, when I’m feeling adventurous, I branch into Neapolitan. Have a great hump day – the weekend will be here before you know it.

Stay tuned for some house pictures on Monday. The landscaping is complete and looks great!

Take care

zesty

Fruit Filled, Sugar Topped Brie Bake

zesty — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:00:46 +0000

We made it! Friday is here and I am super excited. Why you might ask? I am so tired that I could sleep standing up! I am looking forward to relaxing on the weekend as well as doing a little blogging.

However today, I bring you the final installment of zesty’s catering week. I do though have a couple of other dishes that were served that I will likely fold into the mix next week. So stay tuned for that.

What surprise do I have for you today? A Brie Bake – my first time ever making this beauty! I was thumbing through a magazine where someone was talking about a Brie Bake which got me so excited that I had to try it out. This all comes back to the fact that I am a huge bread baby and I am always attracted to pastry.

For ease of time I opted to go for the puff pastry as I did with the Beef Mushroom Pastries from yesterday. This bake might be the easiest show stopper appetizer I’ve ever made. The look of this dish as it came out of the oven was pure bliss. I could almost taste the warm jam melted with warm soft cheese.

Ingredients

1 Pkg. Puff Pastry
1 Brie Wheel (1lb)
1 Egg
Sprinkle Sugar and Cinnamon
2 Tbsp. Fruit Spread ( strawberry)

Method

Preheat Oven to 325°.
Thaw the pastry and put a couple of spoonfuls of the fruit spread in the middle.
Cut one side of the rind off the brie and put it face up in the fruit spread.
Wrap the fruit and brie with the pastry.
Cover with egg wash (egg and a bit of water) and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
Bake for 20-30 minutes at 325°. You’ll be able to tell when it’s done!

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: For the filling, avoid the pastry from getting too wet from the spread by choosing what I call a tight spread (not too runny).

Before leaving for the weekend, I want to announce that the e-book will be ready for download early next week. I am really excited to have put this together. As well I am happy to have included some of the top food bloggers out there. I cannot wait to share with you the list of foodies that are featured in the book. Have a great weekend.

Take care

zesty

Tantalizing Beef Mushroom Pastry

zesty — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:00:02 +0000

Happy Thursday! This week is flying by and I am loving it! Today I want to share with you somewhat of a “thought up dish” in a way to incorporate beef as well as the “finger type” food at the same time.

I chose the mushroom beef pastry as it seemed like something that would be easy to eat and relatively easy to prepare. I created the filling the night before and then just warmed it through in a skillet before filling the pastry. I chose to use pre-made puff pastry and cut the slices relatively small so the pastries were manageable without the use of a fork and knife.

These were a really big hit with the group as I served them warm and let them dollop their own sour cream. Find the skinny on how to make these tantalizing beef mushroom pastries below.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 Cups sirloin tip roast (cooked in the slow cooker and pulled apart)
2 Cups mixed mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 Sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 Tbsp. rosemary
1/4 Cup buttermilk
1/2 Cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 Cup reduced-fat sour cream, for serving

Method

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high.
Add mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper, add beef pieces and dried rosemary and cook for 4 minutes.
Add buttermilk and let simmer for 5 minutes.
On a lightly floured work surface and using a pizza cutter or sharp knife cut the pieces fairly small.
Dividing evenly, mound mixture in the middle leaving room around the edges and top with shredded Parmesan cheese.
Lightly brush border with water and place another piece of pastry over filling, and press edges firmly to seal.
With a paring knife, cut 3 to 4 small slits in the top of each turnover.
Bake until golden and puffed, 20 to 25 minutes.
Let cool and serve turnovers with sour cream.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Slow cooking the beef adds so much dimension and texture in this dish. Prepping both the beef and all the mushrooms before hand can save a lot of time in making the filling. It literally can be a 10 minute job. As for the filling make sure the consistency is not too loose/runny as you do not want to make the pastry soggy.

Question of the day: Is the state of the economy affecting the way you buy groceries? I will have an interesting post and poll for next week regarding this topic.

Foodie News: Megan is having a very cool giveaway for some personal baking tags

I hope you have a great Thursday! I look forward as always to your comments.

Take care

zesty

5 Simple Steps to Fantastic Fruit Pies

zesty — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:00:43 +0000

Growing up with a mother and grandmomther who loved to bake – it was evident I was going to have the same passion when it comes to pastries and a sweet tooth.

Below I put together some simple tips to take to your kitchen the next time you decide to throw some flour on the counter top to ensure a delicious fruit pie.

Keep in mind I just added a few of my favorite flavorings – so feel free to switch it up and try your own twists.

Pie Chart for Double-Crust Fruit Pies

Type Of Pie	Prepared Fruit	Granulated Sugar	All Purpose Flour	Flavorings
Blueberry	4 Cups ( 1 L)	2/3 Cup (150 ml)	3 tbsp (45 ml)	1 tsp (5 ml) grated lemon rind
Peach	5 cups ( 1.25 L) peeled and sliced	3/4 cup ( 175 ml)	4 tbsp (60 ml)	2 tbsp ( 25ml) chopped candied ginger
Plum	5 Cups (1.25L) quartered if large halved if small	1 Cup (250 ml)	4 tbsp (60 ml)	1/2 tsp (2 ml) cinnamon
Raspberry	4 Cups (1 L)	1 Cup (250 ml)	3 tbsp (45 ml)	None Needed
Cherry	4 Cups (1 L) Pitted	1 Cup (250 ml)	3 tbsp (45 ml)	1/2 tsp (2 ml) almond extract

5 Steps to Perfect Pies

1. Line 9 inch (23 cm) pie plate with pastry.

2. In a large bowl, combine prepared fruit, sugar, flour, 1 tbsp lemon juice and flavoring

3. Fill pastry shell with fruit mixture; dot filling with 1tbsp of butter

4. Moisten edges of bottom crust. Cover with top crust. Trim and flute edges. Cut steam vents. Brush top with milk or cream; sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar.

5. Bake in 425 degree (220 C) oven for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 45-60 minutes longer or until fruit is tender, filling in thickened nd crust golden.

You can also freeze well-wrapped unbaked pies or up to 4 months, with the following changes: increase the amount of flour in each pie by 1 tbsp and don’t cut steam vents until just before baking. Bake still-frozen pies in 450 degree oven for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 375 degrees for up to 60 minutes longer or until filling in thickened and crust in golden brown.

If you don’t have time to bake pies now, you can freeze fruit without sugar in the quantities needed for pies (see pie chart), then thaw just enough to separate; make pies following the 5 steps to Perfect Fruit Pies, increasing flour by 1 tbsp, then baking for up to 60 minutes. If fruit has been frozen with sugar, subtract the amount of sugar in the fruit from the amount of sugar you add to the pie.