Time to Tart It Up! By Taylor Lee

Disclosure: I write sexy murder mysteries and “tart” describes a goodly number of my heroines. Although I prefer to call them feisty.  But I’m on a tart rampage. One that appeals to my other obsessions–cooking and eating.  (I’m convinced that sex and food are, or should be, integrally related.)

On to tarts. My trusty NYT’s April food columns declared in so many words that sheet pan dishes were the “must make” recipes of the month. (All elements of the meal are baked on a single sheet pan). My guy and I made a series of concoctions that you’d never guess would work in one humble pan.

Carrot Tart

Pepperidge Farm

Come May, I was thrilled to see that “tarts” were the recipes of the month. Remember Pepperidge Farm puff pastry from years ago?  Guess what? It’s baaack. And it is now the foundation for every kind of tart you can imagine.

After making dessert tarts and meat and fish oriented tarts, I ended up with my favorite—vegetable tarts.  If you want to impress everyone from the most discriminating gourmand to grandsons who could care less about fine dining, win them over with this recipe I conceived.  Try it.  I promise everyone will be fighting for whatever leftovers exist.

Taylor’s Sumptuous Vegetable Tart

Ingredients:

Crust:  Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry (in frozen food section of your supermarket)

Cheese filling: 8oz ricotta cheese, 6 oz crumbled Feta cheese, salt pepper, fresh herbs (your choice).  Combine in a food processor to a “spreadable consistency”.

Vegetables:  My favorites – (you choose yours)

Multi colored carrots, bright red pepper, asparagus (thin), broccolini, sliced cremini mushrooms, red onion.

Directions:

Slice vegetables in thin strips. Generously drizzle with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer and roast in a 425 degree oven.  Different vegetables will require different roasting times.  Cool and set aside.

Thaw one sheet of puff pastry.  Line a 12 x 16 baking sheet with parchment paper (essential for scooting the finished tart onto a snazzy serving tray.) Generously sprinkle the parchment paper-covered cooking sheet with parmesan cheese.  Roll out the puff pastry and place on the prepared cookie sheet. Using the point of a sharp knife, score a ½ inch line around the edge of the pastry. Spread the cheese mixture over the pastry leaving the ½ inch border uncovered.

Decorate the puff pastry with your roasted vegetables. I used multi-colored carrots as placeholders.  Then I arranged the other vegetables to fill out the canvas. (See photos.  Note in one recipe I used multi colored heirloom tomatoes drizzled with pesto. Yum.)   Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes until pastry is crisp and puffy.

Tomato Tart

Present to your wowed guests.  You and they will never think about “tarts’ the same way again. Promise!

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If you’re ready for a seriously tarty young woman, grab Tanya: Book 1; The Trouble Sisters Saga.

Tanya by Taylor Lee

She’s a brash deputy. He’s an undercover agent. When sparks start to fly, a murderer might be the death of them.

If you like smart characters, tough-talking cops, and scorching passion, you’ll love this sizzling thrill-ride.

 

My Husband’s Baked Oatmeal * Yum!

Baked Oatmeal is delicious! My husband took over my kitchen yesterday and made this treat for me. It has just a touch of sweetness from the maple syrup and the raisins, and the melty chocolate chips make me want a second helping! This baked dish is best served warm. It is perfect for breakfast or brunch. And if a scoop of vanilla ice cream were added, it would make a wonderful dessert.

Baked Oatmeal

Bill’s Baked Oatmeal

Serves 6-8

For the batter:

  • 2 large very ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1 1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1/4 cup almond butter
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 2 cups oats
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup dark raisins

For decoration (optional):

  • 1 medium very ripe banana

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients until thoroughly incorporated.
  3. Pour batter into the pan and level with a spatula. Add some banana slices on top, if desired.
  4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until top is slightly golden and edges have dried.

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Sweetest Potato Pie ever!!!

I found this recipe on the web and it seemed easy enough even for me to try :->

And it was.

Internet   ****4.8 stars from 2,579 REVIEWS

Ingredients

1 (1 pound) sweet potato, with skin

 1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

½ cup milk

2 large eggs

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions

Place whole sweet potato in a pot and cover with water; bring to a boil. Boil until tender when pierced with a fork, 40 to 50 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Remove the sweet potato from the pot and run it under cold water. Remove and discard skin.

Break sweet potato flesh apart and place in a bowl. Add butter and mix with an electric mixer until well combined. Add sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla; beat on medium speed until the mixture is smooth. Pour filling into unbaked pie crust.

Bake in the preheated oven until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool before serving with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. Yummy!!!

English Crumpets #Recipe

Crumpets are light and airy pan-fried yeast bread. The holes that permeate the crumpet are perfect for capturing melted butter and jam. Toasted crumpets are a perfect addition to any breakfast table.

Crumpets

You will need 4 crumpet ring molds for this recipe. Recipe makes 6 crumpets, fried in batches.

English Crumpets

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup Lukewarm Water, 104°F
  • 1 teaspoon Active Dried Yeast
  • 1 teaspoon Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Milk, room temperature
  • 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1 tablespoon Olive oil or 1 tablespoon melted Butter, for greasing the crumpet rings
Directions:
  1. In a medium size bowl, combine water, yeast, and sugar and stir to dissolve. Allow yeast to activate for 10 minutes until it foams up a bit.
  2. Add the milk, flour, and salt to the bowl. Sift in the baking powder, pushing any lumps through the screen. Use a wire whisk to beat the mixture for 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl halfway through the process.
  3. Scrape down the bowl, cover with a clean tea towel, and place in a warm spot for 45 minutes. The doughy batter should almost double in size.
  4. Heat a large nonstick frying pan over medium high heat, about 375°F.
  5. Grease the crumpet rings. Use a pastry brush to coat the inside wall of one of the rings with olive oil or butter. Place the ring into the hot pan.
  6. Spoon the bubbly crumpet batter into the hot ring until it is half full. Repeat, using 2 or 3 more rings. Don’t overcrowd the pan.
  7. After 5 minutes, the classic crumpet bubbles will start to appear around the edges. Use a knife to pop any un-popped bubbles. Once crumpets look dry around the edges, put on an oven mitt and lift off the rings.
  8. When the center of the crumpets are set, carefully turn them over. Fry until golden brown. Remove from the pan and cool just a bit on a wire rack. Serve warm with butter and jam.
  9. Leftover crumpets can be frozen up to 3 months, or keep them in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Cold crumpets can be toasted in a slotted toaster or in a toaster oven and then served hot.

Crumpets 2