The Leftover Dough Solution: Turnovers

I made a tart on Saturday and had a little leftover pastry dough.  What a nightmare!

It ended up working out because there was enough to make a fresh raspberry turnover for mid-morning snack.  It's easy as pie-well, turnover- to make and yummy, too.

Try Martha Stewart's tart shell recipe for this.

The filling was
-3 T frozen raspberries (mashed)
-1 tsp. honey
-2 tsp granulated sugar

I cranked the oven up to 375(F) and baked it for round about 15 minutes, until it was golden-brown.
Beat up an egg with a few drops of water and brush the pastry before putting it in the oven if you want a nice shine.  Then sprinkle some sanding sugar.

Serve up the Pasta

New pasta shapes are always fun to learn.  I love imagining nonnas in their kitchens, sitting around the table.  I imagine that they sit there all day making pasta.  Which, of course, they never do.  Thus, we have pasta shapes that are very easy to make.  Even nonnas don't spend all day in the kitchen.

So, here comes trofie.  Trofie is just about the easiest shape you can make.  They are great if you like doughy pasta that tastes an awful lot like German Spaetzle.  You can watch this video to learn how to make trofie.   

I'd like to point out how easy pasta is.  You truly cannot mess it up.  It can be flour and water, egg and water with milk, oil or anything that you've got too much of.  You'll notice that I have a lot of egg yolks.  If you glance through my recent posts you'll see royal icing and coconut cake, both of which use just whites.  Pasta is the answer.

My Recipe:

8 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons cream (or milk, or water for that matter)

1. Place flour in a large bowl.  Make a slight well in the center for the wet ingredients
2. Incorporate wet ingredients with a fork or your fingers
3. When everything is just mixed, knead the dough for at least 10 minutes with the heal of your hand
4.  Let dough sit for 45 minutes before forming shapes
5. Boil heavily salted water and cook to taste

Sugar Cookies & Royal Icing

The rainy weather drove me into the kitchen for a little cookie decorating.

I got a few tips from this site before beginning.

I'm still a long way from pastry shop perfection, bear with me.

I used Glorious Treat's recipe for sugar cookies- plus 1 teaspoon lemon zest- and Alton Brown's royal icing- plus a pinch of cream of tartar.

Whip up the icing

Set out your cookies

Decorate to your heart's content

Eat 'em up.

Quack!

Happy Wednesday :)

Coconut Cake for Everyone

This blog revamp has been a long time coming.

I will literally start with a clean slate, because my canvas is a white on white cake.  Perhaps the most delicious cake flavor known to man, coconut, originated in the south.  This recipe is adapted from America's Test Kitchen - aka the most reliable recipe source.

Without further ado, the coconut cake.

Enjoy.

Really.


Just some ingredients

Mix it up, put it in the oven

Cool those cakes down

Make the buttercream, get to frosting

Hide a little coconut in between and start the crumb coat

Decorate it

Fertig!

Sliced and ready for eating

And my work here is done.

Healthier Brownies: She's a Genius, I Tell You

Have I ever ranted before about how much I love Martha Stewart?  Sure, I know she doesn't come up with all of the stuff in her magazines.  I realize that it is in fact quite likely that she comes up with none of it.

However, she does make it possible.  For that I respect her.  Even if she has served time.
Delicious food and adorable crafts can overshadow a multitude of sins.

Enough about Martha.  Let's get down to the point.

And that point is that it is possible to make brownies (from scratch) that do not completely demolish your waistline.

I know, you're probably thinking that I'm just a huge liar.

"It's too good to be true," you say.

I respectfully ask you to shut up and believe.  It is indeed possible.  Not that these are exactly healthy, but they aren't exactly horrible.

That's where Martha Stewart comes in.  She made me believe in low-calorie, absolutely delightful brownies.

Any guesses as to what makes the brownies low-cal?

Going once...

The secret ingredient is pureed black beans!

Crazy, right?  Can't even taste 'em.  Plus, they bring a little fiber to the party.

Recipe (adapted from Everyday Foods)

-1/4 cup unsalted butter
-1/4 cup pureed black beans (rinsed, too much sodium otherwise)
-3 ounces semisweet chocolate
-2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
-1 1/4 sups sugar
-2 eggs, plus 1 egg white
-1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
-1 cup flour
-1/4 cup cocoa powder
-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
-1/4 teaspoon salt

-Preheat your oven to 350 (F) and grease a 9x9 baking pan.
Melt chocolates, butter and bean puree together over double boiler or in microwave.
When melted, whisk in sugar.  When the mixture has cooled a bit, whisk in eggs and vanilla.

-In a separate bowl whisk together dry ingredients.  Stir them into the wet mixture and pour into prepared pan.
Bake for about 25 minutes or until the top is set and a few moist crumbs stick to a tooth pick inserted in the center.  Let cool completely before cutting.

Enjoy your 155 calorie brownie! I know I did.  Four times.

Straws courtesy of My Little Otter