And just out of the oven.

I didn’t offer a taste of these tarts to Michael fearing his opinion. If it is in a pie pan and Michael eats it, it better be pie. I did however, eat 3/4 of one by myself and found it absolutely delicious. I am not going to get precise on the amounts in my recipe because the size of the baking vessel will determine how much is needed. This could be made in a pie pan, regular tart pan, ramekins, or mini tart pans as I did. It could be served hot, warm, room temperature, or cold. It could be cut into bite-sized pieces and served as an appetizer. The small tarts could be served whole for brunch or lunch. The possibilities are endless. I imagine that second tart will turn up around breakfast time tomorrow morning.

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Roasted Tomato Tart

Ingredients

• Prepared pie crust, baked for 8 minutes and cooled
• Grape tomatoes, cut in half
• Kosher Salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• Olive oil
• Sweet onion slices
• Garlic cloves, pressed (I used 1 clove for two mini tarts)
• Basil leaves, sliced into thin strips
• Gruyere cheese, grated
• Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare your tart pan or pie shell with a prepared crust. Bake the crust for 8 minutes or until it just begins to turn brown. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before filling.
2. Place the sliced cherry tomatoes on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Toss gently to coat each with oil. Place the baing sheet in the 375 degree oven for approximately 12-15 minutes but watch them carefully to prevent burring. You want to to soften and release their liquid but not burn. Remove the roasted tomatoes to a plate lined with a paper towel. Sauté the sliced onion in a frying pan with a small amount of olive oil until tender but not caramelized. A minute before they are done, add the pressed garlic and stir it with the onions. Be careful that the garlic does not burn. Drain the onion and garlic on a plate lined with paper towel. Grate the cheeses.
3. Prepare the tarts as follows:
4. Place a layer of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese in the bottom of the pie crust. Follow with a layer of the onions and garlic. Add a layer of Gruyere cheese followed by the roasted tomatoes and basil. Fill your tar pan or pie shell to the top with a mound in the center as it will cook down. Add additional cheese on top. Bake in a 375 degree oven until the cheese is melted and bubbling. I baked my mini tarts for about 12 minutes with the filling. Allow to cool at least slightly before cutting. I removed mine from the tar pan and cut them in quarters with a sharp knife.

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A few months ago I bought an espresso cupcake for Michael at a specialty cupcake shop. He said it was the best cupcake he had ever eaten. I wanted to see what I could come up with using the last of the stout. The cake itself was moist and flavorful. Michael ate all the centers I cut out to add filling. I adapted the filling and buttercream frosting to espresso flavor instead of whiskey or Baileys as the recipe was written. I ordered a triple espresso this morning at Starbucks and it gave me plenty for the cupcakes, filling and buttercream frosting.  I even have a little left over to add to my morning cup of coffee. If you love coffee and chocolate, this one’s for you!

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Chocolate Stout Espresso Cupcakes

Ingredients

• For the Cupcakes:
• 1 cup (minus 3 TBS) double chocolate stout
• 3 TBS espresso
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• ⅔ cup sour cream
• For the Espresso Ganache Filling:
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• ⅔ cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 2 tsp espresso
• For the Espresso Buttercream Frosting:
• 4 cups confections sugar
• 1½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 TBS heavy cream
• 2 TBS espresso

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 24 cupcake tins with liners. Bring stout, espresso, and butter to a simmer in a heavy, large saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, and ¾ teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add the stout-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add the flour mixture and beat briefly on low speed. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until it’s completely combined. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners, filling them two-thirds to three-quarters of the way. Bake the cupcakes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 16-18 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack before filling.
3. Make the Espresso Ganache:
4. Chop the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then whisk until smooth (if there are still pieces of unmelted chocolate after whisking for a couple of minutes, you can heat it over a double boiler, whisking constantly until it’s completely smooth). Add the butter and espresso and stir until combined.
5. Fill the Cupcakes:
6. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped. Meanwhile, using a 1-inch round cookie cutter, an apple corer, or a small sharp knife, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for ⅔ of the way. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip (or a plastic bag with a corner snipped off) and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.
7. Make the Espresso Buttercream Frosting:
8. Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes until very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time. Add the heavy cream and espresso one tablespoon at a time beating in-between until the frosting looks thick enough to spread. You may need to add additional powdered sugar or withhold some of the liquid to get the correct consistency. Frost the cupcakes with an offset spatula or pipe the frosting on top.

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As if the outside of this cupcake weren’t enough, just look at the espresso ganache filling!

Let’s get back to the eggs. There is a lot of leeway when making huevos rancheros. You can use just about any Mexican sauce you have on hand. I used the sauce that was leftover from making enchiladas last night. You can also use chili verde sauce, mole, or just plain salsa. You can add beans, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, chilies, cheese, avocado, sour cream, cilantro, green onions, or fresh lime juice. I also added cooked fresh white corn. You can use poached, fried, or scrambled eggs. Pour on hot sauce to your liking. Here’s how I made mine.

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Huevos Rancheros from Cinco de Mayo leftovers

Cuisine: Mexican

Recipe type: Breakfast

Ingredients

• 1 TBS canola oil
• 2 corn tortillas
• Refried beans or any cooked beans
• Mexican rice
• Enchilada sauce or salsa
• 2 eggs cooked as you like
• Garnish:
• Sour cream
• Chopped lettuce
• Tomato
• Cheese
• Avocado
• Lime wedge

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan on low heat. Cook each tortilla on both sides until lightly golden brown but not yet crispy. Drain on paper towels. Place one tortilla on a plate. Spread beans on the tortilla followed by sauce and rice. Add another tortilla and spread beans and rice on top. Cook an egg or two as you like and place atop the tortillas. Add garnishes.

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I went in search of a solution to the problem. Not surprising, Deb over at Smitten Kitchen had tackled the same issue a couple of years ago. Not interested in reinventing the wheel, I decided to follow her recipe to the letter and see if the pie met my expectations. I decided to try Deb’s pie crust recipe as well. She has already suffered the angst of perfecting pie dough, declaring a couple of versions the best ever, then changing her mind. I burned out on that with my banana bread.

I made the pie crust dough exactly as Deb describes in her pie crust tutorial v. 102. It was tempting to make the dough in the food processor but I fought the urge and used my own hands and a pastry blender. I chilled it as directed and rolled it out. I had the lovely clumps of butter that are necessary for a flaky crust. This crust was so buttery that the cookie sheet I baked the pie on had a layer of melted butter on it when I removed the pie from the oven.

Deb’s solution to the runny filling is the use of quick cooking tapioca in place of flour or cornstarch. I have tried this myself in the past but I used regular tapioca and the beads were still intact and chewy when the pie finished baking. I also took the opportunity to use my new pie bird, another weapon in the fight against leaking filling juices. The idea it that the steam vents through a hole in the top of the pie bird, preventing spillovers. You put the pie bird in before the top crust goes on. I cut a small x in the middle of the top crust for the pie bird to exit.

I also used my new silicone pie shields that keep the edges of the crust from getting too brown. Here is my pie, ready for the oven.

Both the pie bird and the crust shields worked exactly as advertised. There wasn’t a drop of oozing juice on the top crust of my pie and the edges were golden brown, not burned. Now I have to wait a few hours until it is completely chilled to taste it.

The pie has chilled and I have just enjoyed a slice. The tapioca worked great. There was just a little juice when the pie was cut. The fruit was perfectly cooked. It was done, but still firm enough to distinguish between the strawberry and the rhubarb. The crust was very flaky but I have to admit it was a bit tough, especially the bottom crust. I am definitely going to try this recipe again, maybe with less butter.

I loved the tart rhubarb and found this recipe to be just sweet enough. I also love the substitution of lemon for cinnamon. It lent a great brightness that the vanilla would not provided. Guess who is having strawberry rhubarb pie for breakfast. If you have some rhubarb, this pie is definitely worth making.

The original recipe was for enough batter to make two small mini loves. I had to double it for a regular loaf pan. I also used a lot more orange zest, added pecans, and fiori de Sicilia instead of vanilla. The result was a wonderful, moist bread delightfully tangy from the orange and rhubarb.

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Orange Rhubarb Bread

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 TBS grated orange zest
• ½ tsp fiori de Sicilia
• 1½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup sour cream
• ⅔ cup finely chopped fresh rhubarb
• ½ cup chopped pecans

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, orange zest and fiori de Sicilia. Combine the flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk to mix.A add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Fold in rhubarb and walnuts.
2. Transfer to a loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 50 – 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

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You can follow the recipe without adding the extras or kick it up a notch. Stop here or take it to the top!

Either way, they are delicious. Or the bombdiggitydog as my granddaughter Emily proclaimed.

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5.0 from 1 reviews

Triple Reese’s Cookies

Follow the recipe up to the optional ingredients to make traditional peanut butter cookies. Add the optional ingredients to kick your cookies up to Triple Reeses. Do not press the fork into the Triple Reeses version.

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  12 mins

Total time:  22 mins

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup peanut butter
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1¼ cups sifted flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 20 mini Reeses Peanut Butter cups chopped (optional)
• 4 Reeses Peanut Butter Sticks, chopped (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Mix together butter, peanut butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on low speed until soft dough forms.
4. Using a cookie scoop, drop cookies onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Press down lightly with a fork dipped in sugar to form a criss cross pattern.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes but watch closely to prevent over browning. Remove cookies with a thin spatula to a cooling rack. Do not crowd cookies on the cookie sheet as they spread out a bit. In between batches, chill the dough and cookie sheet briefly in the fridge. Drop the cookies on the chilled baking sheet, then chill cookies for a few minutes before baking. I kept two cookie sheets going, one in the fridge, one in the oven, This takes more time but cooling the pans and chilling the dough really helps keep them from flattening out.

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I took so many pictures of this masterpiece that I was able to animate them in a video. If oozing yolk isn’t your cup of tea, best to skip the video.

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Caprese Poached Egg

Ingredients

• 3 slices bread
• 1 TBS butter
• 3 slices fresh tomato
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 3 Bocconcini (small fresh mozzarella balls)
• Pesto, homemade or jarred
• Fresh Basil sprigs
• Water
• 2 TBS white vinegar
• 1 egg

Instructions

1. Use a biscuit cutter to remove the middle part of the bread. Add the butter to a skillet or grill pan on medium heat. Place the bread rounds into the melted butter and coat both sides. Add more butter if needed. Toast the bread on both sides until lightly golden brown and remove pan from heat. leave the bread in the pan to keep it warm.
2. In a small skillet bring two inches of water with vinegar added to a small rolling boil. Break the egg and gently slide it into the water. The vinegar should keep the egg white from shredding. Allow the egg to cook until the white is set and the yolk is still runny. Spoon the boiling water over the top to set the yolk. Carefully remove the egg with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain.
3. Assemble the dish with bread, alternating with tomato slices. Salt and pepper the tomato as you like. Place the bocconcini and basil along side the toast/tomato stack
4. and garnish with pesto. Place the poached egg carefully on top and salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

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