Pecan Tarts

This recipe came from my mom, and I've been using it frequently to win over friends - everyone loves it! The tart shells do take a bit of time to make; they're probably the most time-intensive part of the recipe. However, you won't be sorry you tried them: they are absolutely scrumptious, with a flaky crust and just the right amount of filling to make you want that second, third, and fourth one. :)

Makes 24.

Crust Ingredients:

1/3 package (8oz) cream cheese

6 tbs softened/melted butter

1 cup flour

Crust Instructions:

1. Knead ingredients together. Make sure the ingredients are incorporated and the dough is smooth.

2. Cut the dough into 24 even pieces and place the pieces in the tart trays.

3. Form each tart shell by lightly pressing the dough down and up the sides.

Filling Ingredients:

1 egg

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

2 tbsp melted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 chopped pecans

Filling Instructions:

1. Whisk all ingredients except for the pecans together. Once the mixture is smooth, stir in the pecans. Make sure the pecan pieces are coated evenly.

Baking Instructions:

1. Before you begin filling each tart shell, pre-heat the oven at 350 degrees. Make sure the rack is on the middle level of your oven.

2. Fill each tart shell with 1 tsp of the filling.

3. When the oven reaches 350 degrees, place the tart trays into the oven. Bake for 20-23 minutes, until the crust is lightly golden.

Mochi Cupcakes

[An EurJean post, since I wasn't at their Dinner Meet.]

It helps to use two spoons to ball the an and scoop it into the middle of each cupcake. This cupcake does not rise as much as traditional cupcakes, so feel free to fill almost to the top. I bake them until the tops are very lightly golden brown. I also usually make a handful of no-an cupcakes for those who do not like red bean. I'm experimenting with making flavored mochi versions, like chocolate.

Ingredients:

1 box Mochiko (rice flour)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 can soft or coarse an (Japanese sweet red beans)

Method:
Thoroughly mix the first six ingredients. Place cupcake paper in cupcake pan and fill half way with mix. Place one heaping tsp of an into center of each cupcake. Use remaining mixture to fill cupcake - about 80% full.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until done. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Note: If mochi cupcakes get hard or dried, place in microwave or wrap individually and heat. Can also be stored in freezer for later use.

Tiramisu

This is one of those dishes that gets better with age. The ladyfingers require some time to soak in all the wonderful goodness of the cream and liquor. Sure, it's good when you've left it refrigerating overnight, but it's even better if it's been refrigerating for two days. Give it a try - you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients:

5 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

8 oz. mascarpone cheese

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 (12 oz) packages of lady fingers

1 cup coffee liquor

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Method:

1. Start boiling water for double boiler.

2. Put chocolate chips in food processor and pulse until chocolate becomes bits. Do not chop until chocolate is powdered.

3. Combine egg yolks and sugar in top of double boiler over boiling water. Reduce heat to low and cook until mixture reaches 160°, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and transfer to mixing bowl.

4. Whip yolks until thick and lemon-colored. Add mascarpone and beat until combined.

5. In separate bowl, whip cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold into yolk mixture and refrigerate.

6. Dip lady fingers in liquor and line bottom of large glass bowl. Spoon cream filling over lady fingers. Sprinkle chocolate bits over cream. Repeat until out of ingredients.

7. Optional garnishes to consider: cocoa powder, chocolate curls, whipped cream rosettes. Refrigerate overnight and serve chilled.

Cinnamon Sugar Biscotti

I have never made biscotti before, but then again I don't bake much. I've also been of the mind that biscotti is hard to make, but I think I might have just been intimidated by the exotic sounding name. Either way, the boys proved to me that baking is perhaps not as much a science as everyone else makes it out to be. (Don't hold me to this statement for baked goods that are not biscotti!) They totally forgot to cream the butter and sugar in a separate bowl prior to adding the dry ingredients. They somehow also managed to add eggs before the recipe called for them to add eggs. I was worried, but the biscotti turned out just fine in the end. It smells wonderful as it's baking - like churros!

Here's another recipe from allrecipes.com; check it out.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Ingredients:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, baking powder and salt, set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the 2/3 cup sugar and butter. Beat in 1 egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients.
3. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into two pieces. Roll each piece into a log about 9 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Place logs on the prepared baking sheet and flatten slightly. Brush with the beaten egg.
4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden and firm to the touch. Cool for 15 minutes.
5. On a cutting board, slice each log crosswise at a diagonal into 1/2 inch slices, using a serrated knife. Place back on the baking sheet, cut side down, and sprinkle with a mixture of the remaining cinnamon and sugar. Return to the oven for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until toasted. Cool on wire racks, and store in an airtight container.

Nectarine Cake Squares

After such a rich meal, it was nice to turn our attention to a light, fruity dessert. The cake layer itself is pretty thin, perhaps about an inch and a half in height after it comes out of the oven. (I mention this because I thought it was going to rise more.) Alice had picked out some nice nectarines and peaches to put on top, though I suppose the sugar Trang and Raymond mixed into the slices helped, too. :-) Recipe below:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp of baking soda

1/4 tsp of salt

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 cup plus 3 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond extract

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

2 medium firm, ripe nectarines (14 to 16 oz), quarted lengthwise and pitted

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsps confectioner's sugar for dusting

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 13- by 9- by 2-inch metal baking pan, knocking out excess flour.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl. Beat together butter and 1 cup granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes, then beat in vanilla and almond extract. Add eggs 1 at a time, mixing at low speed after each addition until just combined. Add flour mixture and sour cream alternately in 3 batches, mixing after each addition until just combined. Spread batter in pan, smoothing top.

3. Cut nectarines lengthwise into 1/8-inch slices and toss with lemon juice and remaining 3 tablespoons granulated sugar in a bowl. Arrange slices, overlapping slightly, in 4 crosswise rows over batter. Cover surface of cake with a piece of buttered wax paper (paper helps fruit glaze itself) and bake in middle of oven 15 minutes. Remove paper and bake until a tester comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes more.

4. While cake is still warm, dust generously with confectioners sugar, then cool completely on a rack.

Saffron Pistachio Kulfi

Wow. This was AMAZINGLY good, and Bhumi guarantees that it's super simple to prepare as well. I wasn't sure what to expect with this dessert, but I think the closest I can come to describing it is "Indian ice cream". The saffron and pistachios really added a nice touch to the creaminess of the dessert, and on such a warm night, the dessert was an instant hit. Bhumi says that the kulfi is traditionally made with a popsicle stick stuck in it so that you can eat it like a popsicle, but since she didn't have any, we just used some spoons and had the kulfi directly out of the Dixie cups. Delish!

I suppose I should add that the below method is the "quick" way; there's apparently a longer, more traditional way to go about this, but of course we're all about the quick wins here!

Ingredients:

Sweetened condensed milk - 14 oz.

Evaporated milk - 12 oz.

Heavy whipping cream - 16 oz.

Cool Whip whipped topping - 16 oz.

Saffron - 1 big pinch

Sugar – 1 tsp

Cashews, Pistachios, Almonds - 1/2 cup, coarsely ground (I think she only used pistachios in ours)

Instructions:

1. With a mortar and pestle, grind together Sugar and Saffron.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine Sweetened Condensed Milk, Evaporated Milk, Heavy Whipping Cream and Cool Whip.
3. Using an electric hand blender, gently mix all ingredients together.
4. Add in Saffron and Sugar mixture and Nuts. Mix well.
5. Pour mixture into small dixie style plastic cups. Cover cups with foil and insert a wooden popsicle stick into the center (or use a popsicle maker).
6. Freeze Kulfi for at least 4 – 6 hours, preferably overnight. Serves 20-25.

Sweet Corn and Rice Pudding

Growing up, I had a good mix of Vietnamese and Chinese food cooked at home since most of my ethnically Chinese family were born and raised in Vietnam. One of our favorite ways to end meals was to have che, Vietnamese dessert that usually consisted of some type of sweet soup. This is one of the less soup-like che, and it tends to fill me up way too much since it's just rice, corn, and rich coconut sauce. A little here goes a loooong way. Trang's recipe below.

Ingredients:
8 cups water
2 cups sticky rice
2 cups sweet corn
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 pinch salt

Coconut Sauce Ingredients:
1 can coconut milk
2 TBSP flour
2 TBSP granulated sugar
1 pinch salt

Instructions:

1. Add water and sticky rice to non-stick pot, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until sticky rice expands.

2. Add corn and continue cooking until thick. Add additional water as needed, to ensure that mixture does not get too thick before rice becomes soft.

3. Add sugar and salt and cook until porridge consistency. Serve with coconut sauce.

Instructions for coconut sauce:

1. Bring coconut milk to a scald, quickly whisk in flour, sugar, and salt so that flour does not clump. Turn off heat.

Almond Rochers

I need to go to Tartine to see if the bakery actually makes them better than these homemade ones. I find that hard to believe since the ones that we made at Walter's were incredible! Walter's friend Emory joined us this Wednesday to show us his technique to making the almond rochers. He used an adapted recipe from the Tartine recipe book.

Ingredients:

1 cup (4oz) sliced almonds

1 cup (4oz) confectioner's (powdered) sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large egg whites, at room temperature

Salt

Directions:

* Pre-heat oven to 350

* In oven, toast almonds on baking sheet. Let cool to room temperature. Crush with hands.

* Mix egg whites and sugar. Add vanilla extract and pinch of salt.

* Over double boiler, stir mixture until warm.

* In mixer, beat until mixture has stiff peaks. When you lift the mixer, it should be viscous and stick to the mixer blades, not dripping off.

* Stir in almonds. Put it in a pastry bag. Or go ghetto and use a big ziplock bag, snipping one of the corners.

* Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

* To create each rocher, place opening of pastry bag close to sheet and squeeze. Do not lift immediately as merinque oozes out. Instead let it build a foundation, about 2-3 inches in diameter. Continue squeezing as you lift, so that the rocher is shaped like a cone about as tall as it is wide.

* Bake until outside looks dry and starts to crack.

* Let cool before serving.

Mango with Coconut Sticky Rice

This dessert is a lot simpler to make than I thought. Who knew that there were specific rice grains meant to be sticky? (I didn't.) I think next time I make this, I'd want to add some toasted sesame seeds to the top as a garnish. That would give it a little extra something. As for the measurements in this recipe, the salt and sugar portions are guestimations. When I was making this, I kept adding pinches of salt/sugar and tasting the concoction til I got a good blend of salty/sweet. Keep in mind that you'll be pouring that coconut milk over the rice, so having a stronger flavor prior to the pour is good since the flavor will diminish slightly once the coconut milk is poured over the rice.

Ingredients:

1 mango, sliced

1 cup of sticky rice

1 cup of coconut milk

1 tsp of salt, to taste

2 tbsp of sugar, to taste

Instructions:

1. Soak the sticky rice in water for at least an hour. (My mom says this isn't really necessary, but we did it anyway since we were busy preparing the other dishes.)

2. Steam* the sticky rice for about 20-30 minutes until cooked. Water should just cover the sticky rice. When the rice is done, it should taste soft, and there shouldn't be any hard bits.

3. When the rice is almost done, prepare the coconut milk. In a saucepan, heat the coconut milk in a pot over medium heat. Stir constantly and let the coconut milk simmer, BUT NOT BOIL. Hard-boiled coconut milk will curdle. Add sugar and salt. Remove from the heat. Take the cooked sticky rice out of the steaming apparatus. Pour 3/4 of the hot coconut milk over the hot sticky rice. Let it sit for 5 min. (The sticky rice will absorb all of the coconut milk; it should be slightly mushy. Spoon the rest of the coconut milk on top of the rice at serving time.

4. Serve with sliced mango.

*Steaming: For me, I used a large wok, put a dim sum steamer at the bottom, and filled it with water til the water rose to seven-tenths the height of the steamer. If you don't have a steamer, you can use an overturned china bowl. I placed my bowl of rice on top of the steamer, and put a lid on the wok. You could also steam using the built-in steamer in most rice cookers or pasta pots.