Tuesdays with Dorie: Gooey Chocolate Cakes

Leigh of Lemon Tartlet chose Gooey Chocolate Cakes for us Tuesdays with Dorie bakers to indulge ourselves in this week. Since Smell The Basil is written by both Erin and myself, I'm going to post our individual takes on this this week's TWD challenge in a single post.

First Up: Erin's Take
So, these little cakes turned out really good, but not exactly what I expected. For some reason I had it in my head that the cakes would be almost molten in the middle. I thought that when you would start eating them that chocolate would ooze out from the middle. However, that's not what happened. Even though there is only 1/3 cup of flour in the entire recipe, my cakes still set up like cakes all the way through. Don't get me wrong, they were full of moist chocolatey deliciousness, but not what I expected. I cooked them in muffin tins like Dorie suggests, just sprayed them when cooking spray and they slide out perfectly. Oh, the recipe called for finely chopping the final ounce of chocolate and sprinkling it on top of the batter before they went into the oven. I used a

microplane to grate the chocolate and ended up with almost a fine powder. Perhaps next time if I actually chop the chocolate this will make the centers more gooey. I cooked them for exactly 13 minutes, but perhaps next time I'll cook them a few minutes less to see what happens. Regardless, this is a wonderful chocolate dessert that is not sickingly sweet. And the best part, use of the muffin tins create the perfect portion size. Enjoy!

Now, My Take:
One of my favorite aspects of special dishes is the way that making them again can bring back memories of past times you've enjoyed them. Whether it's the smell, the taste, or whichever sense stirs the memory, I'm amazed at its ability to transport me back to that time or place. It's almost as though the memory becomes part of the dish, like an ingredient would. This cake holds a special place in my heart as it reminds me of the night my husband, David, asked me to marry him. We were in New York, and he insisted on a stop-off at the Empire State Building prior to dinner because he was meeting his friends there (so he said). This story was beyond implausible, but I didn't bother questioning because I was cold, tired, hungry, wearing unsensible shoes, and I was ready to go eat already. Did I mention how hungry I was? At any rate, by the time he slipped that ring onto my frigid finger, I was shocked and speechless. Though he was a broke law student, he'd made reservations at Tavern on the Green, and we went on to enjoy one of the most special meals of our lives. The best part of our meal was sharing a molten chocolate cake with my sweetheart. I've subsequently made cakes such as this one for special occasions. It's a very indulgent treat for someone special. This time, however, I added a teaspoon of espresso powder to the chocolate/butter mix as well as a teaspoon of Frangelico liqueur to the final batter for a twist on the recipe. I think both were nice additions to the molten decadence. My husband and I enjoyed reminiscing about our momentous engagement day in New York while we polished off these cakes. Finally, please visit the blogs of other Tuesdays with Dorie participants to see everyone's results.

Gooey Chocolate Cakes
From "Baking: From My Home to Yours" by Dorie Greenspan
Ingredients:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, 4 ounces coarsely chopped, 1 ounce very finely chopped
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
6 tablespoons sugar
Preparations:
Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter (or spray - it's easier) 6 cups of a regular-size muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet.Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.Set a heat proof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water just until they are melted - you don't want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water.In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogenous. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don't beat) them into the eggs. Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle the finely chopped chocolate over the batter.Bake the cakes for 13 minutes. Transfer them, still on the baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.) Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3-minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board. Use a wide metal spatual to lift the cakes onto dessert plates.

* Note: My cakes were very molten in the middle. I cooked them for 12 minutes, not 13, and because of how gooey they were, I had to unmold them directly onto the dessert plates rather than a piece of wax paper as Dorie instructs in her book.

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Chicken Pot Pie

My husband was out of town last week so I used the opportunity to look into the depths of our freezer and use up food that has been in there for quite awhile. I happen to come across two frozen chicken thighs. After much pondering, and taking into account the cold rainy weather, I decided that those thighs were destined for chicken pot pie.

I have never actually made chicken pot pie before, so I glanced over a few recipes online to get an idea of how to put it together, and came home that evening ready to embark on creating it totally from scratch.

Normally this would be a good meal to use leftover already cooked chicken, but my chicken was not cooked. So, I poached the thighs in chicken broth and saved the broth to use in the sauce. I used a combination of veggies that were in my fridge: lima beans, green beans, corn, peas. A bag of mixed frozen veggies would be the easiest way to go, but I absolutely hate cooked carrots, so I buy veggies individually. I added pesto to the filling and it was all the herb flavoring needed to make this delicious.

I also made a homemade pie crust for the top. Some people swear that pie crusts are extremely hard to make, but for some reason I have always had really good luck. You just have to remember to keep everything cold and to work quickly. I make my pie crusts in the food processor. When done properly I think they can be put together much faster and kept cooler than trying to do it by hand. It is important to make the crust dough before the filling so that it can be put back into the fridge to chill before going on top of the pot pie.

This recipe does take a little time, but it is well worth the effort. If you can plan ahead, say make the pie crust the night before then it will be that much quicker. I was able to put the whole thing together in about 45 minutes and it took another 45 minutes or so to cook in the oven. This is enough filling for a 10 x 7 inch pan which made about 4 servings.

Hope you give this one a try.

Pie Crust
1 ¼ cup flour
1 teas. salt
5 tbs. cold butter, diced
3 tbs. vegetable shortening
1 tbs. vinegar
3 tbs. cold water, more if needed

1. Place four, salt, butter and vegetable shortening in food processor. Pulse the processor on a few times to chop up the butter. The mixture should look like coarse meal.
2. With the motor running, stream in vinegar and water until just incorporated (about 10 seconds). The dough is finished if when you squeeze a handful of dough it stays together. Add more water by the teaspoon full if needed and pulse again. The dough will not be formed together in one cohesive ball at this time.
3. Dump dough onto a floured board and press together to combine. The dough will be a little crumbly, but that’s okay.
4. Form the dough into the relative shape of whatever pan you plan to make the pot pie in. I used a rectangle pan, so I formed by dough into a rectangle. You will roll the dough out later into the proper size.
5. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Note: If you don’t have vegetable shortening then you can use 8 tbs. cold butter.

Chicken Pot Pie

3 tbs. oil
1 ½ cups potatoes, peeled and diced small
½ cup diced shallots or onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups frozen vegetables (any combination you like)
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
4 ½ tbs. flour
3 cups stock (I used a combination of chicken and vegetable, but use whatever you have on hand)
2 tbs. pesto
½ cup milk
1 egg, beaten

1. Heat a medium sized pot on medium heat. Add oil. Add shallots and garlic. Sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes.
2. Stir in potatoes, cook another 7 minutes. Stir often so potatoes don’t stick.
3. Stir in mixed vegetables and chicken. Cook 1 minute.
4. Add flour, stir well to combine and cook 1 minute.
5. Pour in stock. stir well to get rid of any lumps of flour. Bring this mixture up to a simmer. It should begin to thicken. Add a little more stock if it gets to thick.
6. Stir in pesto and milk.
7. Pour mixture into a 10x7 inch pan.
8. Roll out pie crust large enough to cover pan with a little overhang.
9. Brush edge of pan with the beaten egg then place the crust on top. Push the crust down around the edges to seal. Cut off any extra crust. I you want to get fancy you can pinch the crust edge like you would for a pie.
10. Brush top of crust with the beaten egg. Sprinkle top with a little salt.
11. Cut a few vent holes in the crust to let the steam escape.
12. Place on a cooking sheet and cook about 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
13. The pot pie is done when the crust is brown and the filling is bubbly.

Enjoy!

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Tuesdays with Dorie: Caramel Topped Flan

Flan is a simple dessert to prepare with a big "wow!" factor. I'm still shocked by how easily the flan slithered out of the cake pan and how elegant it looked surrounded by the pool of just-shy-of-burnt caramel. I still don't understand how the caramel remains a liquid in spite of 4 hours in the refridgerator. I was expecting the caramel to adhere the flan to the pan (ha!) but if there's one lesson to be learned by this recipe, it's that you must always have faith in Dorie Greenspan. Although this dessert isn't for me, (I found it tasted a bit eggy), my husband enjoyed this delicate caramel-bathed custard.

Caramel-Topped Flan-

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours
makes one 8″x2″ flan

Note: You can make individual servings by using six 6-oz or seven or eight 4-oz ramekins or containers instead of the larger cake pan.

For the caramel:

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons water

squirt of fresh lemon juice

For the flan:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/4 cups whole milk

3 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Getting ready:-Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a roasting pan or 9″x13″ baking pan with a double thickness of paper towels. Fill a teakettle with water and put it on to boil; when the water boils, turn off heat.
-Put a metal 8″x2″ round cake pan– not a nonstick one– in the oven to heat while you prepare the caramel. (If you are using individual molds or ramekins, then skip this step.)

To Make the Caramel:-Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice together in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Put the pan over medium-high heat and cook until the sugar becomes an amber-colored caramel, about 5 minutes-remove the pan from the heat at the first whiff of smoke.
-Remove the cake pan from the oven and, working with oven mitts, pour the caramel into the pan and immediately tilt the pan to spread the caramel evenly over the bottom; set the pan aside.
To Make the Flan:-Bring the milk and heavy cream just to a boil.
-Meanwhile, in a 2-quart glass measuring cup or in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar. Whisk vigorously for a minute or two, and then stir in the vanilla. Still whisking, drizzle in about one quarter of the hot liquid-this will temper, or warm, the eggs so they won’t curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the hot cream and milk. Using a large spoon, skim off the bubbles and foam that you worked up.
-Put the caramel-lined cake pan in the roasting pan. Pour the custard into the cake pan and slide the setup into the oven. Very carefully pour enough hot water from the kettle into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. (Don’t worry if this sets the cake pan afloat.) Bake the flan for about 35 minutes, or until the top puffs a bit and is golden here and there. A knife inserted into the center of the flan should come out clean. (Small, individual molds will take less time– start checking for doneness around the 25-minute mark).
-Remove the roasting pan from the oven, transfer the cake pan to a cooking rack and run a knife between the flan and the sides of the pan to loosen it. Let the flan cool to room temperature on the rack, then loosely cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
-When ready to serve, once more, run a knife between the flan and the pan. Choose a rimmed serving platter, place the platter over the cake pan, quickly flip the platter and pan over and remove the cake pan–the flan will shimmy out and the caramel sauce will coat the custard.
Storing: Covered with plastic wrap in its baking pan, the flan will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. However, once unmolded, its best to enjoy it the same day.
Serving: Bring the flan to the table and cut into wedges. Spoon some of the syrup onto each plate.

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What happens when you add homemade ice cream to the exalted World Peace Cookie

I just had an ice cream sandwich for lunch. I couldn't help myself. They were supposed to be for tonight's dessert, as we are having some of David's co-workers over for dinner. Dorie Greenspan's World Peace Cookies (aptly christened by her neighbor who believes one of these a day are enough to bring about peace) are perfect on their own. Indeed, these cookies have set the bar high for me when it comes to the characteristics I admire in a cookie. Their crumbly texture is still tender, and the chunks of top quality chocolate take center stage amongst the other few ingredients. I'm guess I'm channeling my inner Ina Garten by encouraging you to use "the best chocolate you can get your hands on." And, to top these cookies with homemade vanilla bean ice cream-- my, I think I now know what nirvana should taste like!

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Adapted from Bon Appetit, June 1999

2 cups half and half

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

3/4 cup sugar

6 large egg yolks

1 cup chilled whipping cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

To prepare custard: Place 1 cup of chilled whipping cream into a large bowl and place a mesh strainer over bowl. Set aside. Pour half and half into heavy medium saucepan. Add sugar. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to boil, stirring to ensure sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat; steep 30 minutes. Whisk egg yolks in medium bowl to blend well. Gradually whisk warmed half and half into yolk mixture. Return mixture to same saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens and leaves path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across, about 4 minutes (do not boil). Remove from heat. Pour into mesh strainer so the entire mixture is in the same bowl as the chilled whipping cream. Add vanilla extract. Remove vanilla bean, rinse it and save for another use. *Note: I keep the used vanilla beans in a large canister of sugar to make vanilla sugar, which I then use for subsequent batches of vanilla ice cream. Refrigerate the custard thoroughly, overnght is preferable.Using ice cream maker, process custard until firm, following manufacturer's instructions. Your ice cream should have doubled in volume. Transfer to container; cover and freeze.

Dorie Greenspan's World Peace Cookies

"From My Home To Yours"

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar

¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon fleur de sel or ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous ¾ cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

Makes about 36 cookies

Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.Turn off the mixer. Pour in the flour, drape a kitchen towel over the stand mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek — if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple of times more; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour disappears into the dough — for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don’t be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you needn’t defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.)

GETTING READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.Working with a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you’re cutting them — don’t be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them.Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won’t look done, nor will they be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.

To make Ice Cream Sandwiches: Do I really even need to tell you?! Grab a cookie, top with a huge scoop of ice cream and place a second cookie on top, creating a sandwich. Smush the top cookie down into the scoop of ice cream and allow yourself to be transported to a time when you clamored down the street after the ice cream truck.

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Pear Caramel Almond Tart

Ever since last Thanksgiving, I can't face apples. I had a crowd of family and expectations were high. I feverishly scoured the internets for the perfect apple pie recipe. You see, my mother in law was part of the group I needed to please. She has discerning tastes and my goal was to make her swoon with joy at the first bite. Apple pies are notoriously tricky, just read any holiday edition of Cook's Illustrated. I finally found the perfect recipe; but since I shouldn't point out deficiencies, well, we can just assume user error on this one. My apple pie for Thanksgiving was a total failure. This apple pie was characterized by a limp, soggy crust and a giant black hole of space between the top of the crust and the uppermost layer of mush i.e. lemon flavored apples. I mean, who needs lemon in apple pie? That's all I could taste and I swear I followed the recipe exactly. That's the reason for my apple phobia now. Pears, though, you see, are a different animal. I can boil a pear like a champ. And nothing goes better with pears than caramel; this lesson I learned from David Lebovitz' ice cream book. And everyone knows how nicely pears and almonds go together; isn't a Pear Frangipane Tart a quintessential French dessert? I urge you to make this. It is made in several steps, over several days if you wish or all at once.

Caramel, Pear and Almond Tart
adapted from Bon Appetit, February 2005

Step 1:
Sweet Tart Dough
adapted from "From My Home To Yours", by Dorie Greenspan
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 total tablespoons) very cold or frozen unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk

Preparation: In the bowl of your food processor, pulse flour, confectioner's sugar, and salt to combine. Scatter pieces of butter over dry ingredients and pulse until butter is coarsely cut in (some pieces will be the size of oatmeal and some will be the size of peas). Stir the yolk to break it up and add it little by little, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses, around 10 seconds each, until the dough forms clumps and curds. Alternatively, you can cut the mixture in a large bowl with a pastry blender until you have clumps and curds. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead dough very lightly to incorporate any dry ingredients that escaped mixing.
Prepare your tart pan by buttering all inside surfaces. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer prior to baking.

To Bake Crust: Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. The crust can be baked without pie weights since you froze it prior. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Remove foil. Inspect your crust and press down any puffed up parts with the back of a spoon. Bake an additional 10 minutes until it is firm and golden brown. Transfer tart pan to a cooling rack and cool crust to room temperature prior to filling.

Step 2:
Prepare Almond Filling
2/3 cup blanched slivered almonds
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
7 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

Finely grind almonds and flour in processor. Mix in 7 tablespoons sugar, then butter, blending until smooth. Mix in egg and almond extract. Transfer filling to medium bowl. Cover and chill at least 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.)

Step 3:
Prepare Pears
4 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 medium-size firm but ripe Bosc pears, peeled (each about 7 ounces)

Bring 4 cups water, sugar, and lemon juice to boil in large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add pears. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until pears are very tender, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool pears in syrup. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Step 4:
Make Caramel Sauce:
Adapted from The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 liquid cup water
1/2 liquid cup heavy cream, heated in microwave for 1 minute
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a heavy saucepan, stir together the sugar, syrup, and water until the sugar is completely moistened. Heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup is bubbling. Stop stirring completely and allow it to boil undisturbed until it turns a deep amber*. Immediately remove it from the heat and slowly and carefully pour the hot cream into the caramel. It will bubble up furiously.
Use a high-temperature heat-resistant rubber spatula, or a porcelain or wooden spoon to stir the mixture until smooth, scraping up the thicker part that settles on the bottom. If any lumps develop, return the pan to the heat and stir until they dissolve. Stir in the butter. The mixture will be streaky but become uniform after cooling slightly and stirring. Allow the sauce to cool for 3 minutes. Gently stir in the vanilla extract.
To Store: Room temperature, up to 3 days; refrigerated, at least 3 months. To reheat: If the caramel is in a microwave-safe container at room temperature, microwave it on high power for 1 minute, stirring twice. If cold, it will take a few seconds more. Alternatively, place it in a bowl in a pan of simmering water and heat, stirring occasionally, until warm, about 7 minutes.
* I cooked the caramel on medium-low heat and it took about 18 minutes to turn the deep amber I was striving for. Read David Lebovitz's post on creating the perfect caramel.


Step 5:
To assemble tart:
Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread almond filling evenly in cooled, baked crust. Pour 3/4 of the warm caramel over almond filling. Stem pears and cut each in half lengthwise; scoop out cores. Cut each half crosswise into thin slices. Gently press each pear half to fan slices but keep slices tightly overlapped. Slide spatula under pears and arrange atop filling like spokes of wheel with narrow ends in center.
Bake tart until golden and tester inserted into center of filling comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool tart in pan on rack. Push pan bottom up, releasing tart from pan. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) Cut tart into wedges; sprinkle with powdered sugar, and/or reserved caramel sauce, if desired, and serve.

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A Touch of Spring!

I just can’t take this horrible winter much longer. Really, I don’t mind the cold weather, but if there is going to be cold weather then some significant amount of snow needs to be included in the package. This year in Maryland the winter weather has been terrible. Cold and rainy. That’s it. Maybe we have gotten 5 inches of snow this year total. We had some ice, but who likes ice. Right now, cold and rainy. Tomorrow, cold and rainy. Day after that, cold and windy!

Needless to say, I am dying for some spring. So, when I saw a beautiful package of blueberries at Trader Joe’s the other day I just had to buy them. I know, I know… they came from Chili, carbon footprint, etc. But I just couldn’t take the cold weather anymore. I needed to create some form of spring in the house and blueberries fit that bill.

The recipe for Lemon-Lime Blueberry Squares has been in my pile of “recipes to make” for awhile now. In the past I rarely have lemon and limes in the house at the same time. But this week I was in business.

The recipe is pretty straight forward. Make and blind bake the crust first (Blind bake means to bake a crust without filling). Then pour in the filling and bake until set. Top with blueberries, bake a few more minutes, then cool in the fridge. It all worked at great, except that when I put the blueberries on top of the filling they didn’t stay on top as I would have liked. The filling was already set, so the berries just kind of rolled around. Next time I will put the blueberries on top earlier so that they can be pressed into the filling. The appropriate adjustments have been made to the recipe below, so you shouldn’t have the same problem.

So, did these squares give me hope that spring is around the corner? Sure did! They were great. Reminded me of lemon squares, not quite as tart, with the nice sweetness of blueberries on top. The key to making these great is fresh citrus. Yes, those little plastic containers of lemon and lime juice are easy to keep in the fridge, but if you don’t use freshly squeezed lemon and lime juice then I don’t guarantee the results. It truly makes all the difference.

Lemon-Lime Blueberry Squares, adapted from Gourmet Magazine

Crust
½ cup flour
¾ cup yellow cornmeal
6 tbs. confectioners’ sugar
½ teas. salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Filling
3 large eggs
½ cup sugar
1 ½ tbs. all-purpose flour
½ teas. finely grated lemon zest
½ teas. finely grated lime zest
1 tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 tbs. fresh lime juice
2 tbs. milk
Pinch salt
2 cups blueberries
3 tbs. apricot jam, warmed

Preheat over to 375 degrees

Crust:
1. Line 8-inch square pan with 2 sheets of foil, overlapping them in opposite directions so that there is overhang on all 4 sides.
2. In food processor, pulse together flour, cornmeal, confectioners’ sugar, salt and butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.
3. Press onto bottom of baking dish and 1-inch up sides.
4. Bake about 20 minutes, until golden brown.

While the Crust Bakes Make the Filling:
5. Whisk together eggs, sugar, flour and zests.
6. Whisk in juices, milk and a pinch of salt.

7. When crust has baked, pour in filling and bake 15 minutes.
8. Toss blueberries and apricot jam
9. Gently spoon berries over top of filling and bake an additional 4 minutes.
10. Transfer to baking rack and cool for about one hour.
11. Chill, covered for about 6 hours.

When ready to eat, lift dessert out of dish and cut into squares. Squares can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days.

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Seafood Soup

Many a rotten day can quickly be turned around after feasting upon food which brings us comfort. These foods are generally carbohydrate and/or sugar laden, but boy do they please. And even though many soups are healthy, it can still be the sort of comfort food which powerfully transforms our moods, ranking right up there with mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, and ice cream. This seafood stew can be assembled in less than 45 minutes and you will be rewarded with a lively, flavorful broth which will please your senses. I've loosely adapted this recipe from The Gourmet Cookbook; it's a lot less fussy and far quicker to prepare than the original version. Frozen fish is a staple in my freezer, especially those bags of talapia or mahi-mahi from Costco. The convenience of this dish allows you to simply pull fish from the freezer and throw it into the simmering, fragrant broth.

Seafood Soup

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped

1 large carrot, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

5 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon saffron threads

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced

Salt to taste

1 pound plum tomatoes, chopped

1 cup dry white wine

8 oz clam juice

4 cups plain water, or seafood stock, or vegetable stock, or chicken stock

1/2 cup frozen corn

3/4 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined

4-6 fish fillets (I have had success with talapia, mahi-mahi, and snapper)

Method:

1.) Make broth: heat oil in large, heavy pot over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Add onion, celery and carrots; cook, stirring, for approximately 5 minutes, until vegetables begin to soften. Add garlic and mushrooms, continue to cook additional 3-5 minutes. Add saffron, bay leaves, crushed red pepper (optional), salt (I generally use approximately 3/4 teaspoon of Kosher salt); cook another 3-5 minutes. Add plum tomatoes and continue cooking, stirring occasionally for another 3-5 minutes. Add wine, clam juice, and water or stock; lower heat to medium-low and continue simmering until liquid is reduced to your preferred thickness.

2.) Add corn and seafood. Put lid on pot, and allow steam to cook seafood through, approximately 8-10 additional minutes. Discard bay leaf. Ladle into bowls and enjoy.

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