Apple Taretlettes

Warm apples with cinnamon and sugar remind me of cool, dreary days when all you wanna do is stay in bed, curled up with a good book and a steaming cup of hot chocolate. Those are the days I long for. Spring is right around the corner, and as the beautiful colors of spring flowers begin to bloom and give color to our lives, I don't lose hope for another cold front to breeze on by. This apple tartelette was so good and simple to make.

Apple Tartelettes

Apple Filling

Flaky sweet pastry dough ( see below for recipe )

4 Golden Delicious or Gala Apples

4 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 Tbsp light brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Pastry Dough

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

7 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small squares

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3 Tbsp ice water

To make pastry dough:

• Place the flour, sugar and salt in the food processor. Pulse to combine. 
• Add the butter squares and pulse until the mixture resembles course crumbs.
• Add the water and slowly pulse until the pastry mixture begins to hold together.
• Form a flat square and wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• Divide the dough into four equal parts. Roll each portion into a 6x6 square. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate until ready to bake.
• Peel and core the apples, then cut into thin strips 
• Heat the butter until hot ( not bubbly ) in a large frying pan

• Add apples and sugar to butter. Saute apples until lightly golden brown and they begin to caramelize.
• Remove pastry dough  from refrigerator, and spoon the apples into the center of the pastry squares.
• Fold up the ends of the dough and pinch the corners forming about a one inch border.

• Brush the border of the dough with beaten egg.
• Bake in the center of the over until golden around the edges, about 20-25 minutes.
• Combine brown sugar and cinnamon.

• Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon and serve. I can only imagine this with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream it would be even yummier..

Valentine's Dinner

I know alot of people like to go out to dinner on special holidays, but is it really worth it? There's always a long wait, the service is sub-par, and the menu... lets not even go there. After going out once or twice on a lovey-dovey holiday, whether it be Mother's day, Valentine's day or even father's day (which I think is overlooked), I have decided to stay home an make dinner for the one I love. This year, my hunnie and I are out of town, but that doesn't discourage me. I've got an entire meal planned out for us. I got this recipe from a Food Network magazine. The article is called "Surf & Turf for Two".... Without an oven, I made do with what I had. This is how it turned out..

And it was pretty tasty. Shrimp wrapped in pancetta, Green beans cooked with onions and pancetta, mashed potatoes, and of course, beef tenderloin, topped with an herbed oil.

This beef tenderloin was my favorite. I mean, c'mon, it looks delish!!! 

Dinner was a success. My man loved it. And best of all is that he didn't even notice that it was missing any thing. So, Here's the original recipe for those of you that wanna stay in this year and make it special.

Surf & Turf for Two

Ingredients

For the Herb Oil:

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

For the Surf and Turf:

• 6 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails intact)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, plus 2 to 3 sprigs
• Freshly ground pepper
• 6 slices pancetta (about 2 ounces)
• 1 10-ounce piece beef tenderloin, trimmed
• Sea salt
• 8 asparagus spears
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

Make the herb oil: Pulse the parsley, chives and olive oil in a mini food processor until smooth. Thin with water, if necessary, and add 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Transfer to a small bowl, cover and set aside. (This can be done up to 2 hours ahead.)

Prepare the surf and turf: Toss the shrimp, olive oil, lemon juice, chopped thyme, and pepper to taste in a bowl. Wrap each shrimp with a piece of pancetta.

Preheat the broiler. Arrange the shrimp on a foil-lined broiler pan. Season the beef with sea salt and pepper, press the thyme sprigs into the meat and set aside. Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus. Put the asparagus in a microwave-safe dish with 1/4 cup water and a pinch of sea salt.

Heat a medium ovenproof skillet over high heat and add the butter. When the foam subsides, sear the beef until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Using tongs, hold the meat and brown the sides. Transfer the skillet to the broiler and cook until a thermometer inserted into the beef registers 125 degrees F for medium rare, about 4 more minutes. Transfer to a cutting board to rest while you cook the shrimp.

Broil the shrimp until the pancetta is crisp, about 2 minutes per side. Meanwhile, microwave the asparagus until tender, about 2 minutes.

Slice the beef into 4 pieces. Serve with the shrimp, herb oil and asparagus.

Candied Lemon Wheels

I found this recipe on Biscuitsandsuch.com and it looked so good.

So I though I would give it a try. It can be a topper to any dessert. 

Best of all, you can keep the syrup you used to make this and use it as

a lemon flavored simple syrup. Can be added to drinks, food, etc. 

Candied Lemon Wheels

1 lemon

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

Bring the water and sugar to a gentle boil.

Cut the lemon into paper thin wheels.

Once sugar is completely dissolved, drop in the lemon wheels and let simmer about 15-20 mins, or until the lemons are translucent.

Remove lemon wheels from simple syrup and let rest on a flat plate or surface until hardened.

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

This is the first time I have ever made pancakes from scratch.. They were crazy easy! A little bit of this and a bit of that and viola! yummy pancakes. I added apples and cinnamon to give it a little more flavor and it was worth it. They are Delish! Or should I say "were"?!? 

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

1 cup plain flour ( I'm pretty sure you can use wheat flour and it might even taste better)

1 tbsp granulated sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup milk

1 small apple, chopped into small cubes

2 tsp cinnamon powder

Maple syrup

1. Combine all of your dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl, and then add all of your wet ingredients. 
2. Whisk batter until smooth.
3. Add in the cinnamon powder and apples
4. Then, with a ladle, pour the batter onto an oiled frying pan on medium-low setting or number 4.( If you have a non-stick skillet, its better for making pancakes.)
5. Once the pancake batter begins to bubble around the edge and in the center, its time to flip.
6. Give it about 2-3 minutes on each side. 
7. Top with a few pieces of fresh apples and maple syrup