Berry Tart

Took a trip to costco this week and came home with lots of raspberries and blueberries at a incredible price. I ended up freezing lots of it to bake with during the winter months and left some for my favorite berry tart, filled with pastry cream with lots of fresh vanilla bean.

Ingredients:

Pastry dough:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces

2-3 tablespoons ice cold water

Pastry cream:

1 cup milk

1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise

1/3 cup sugar

3 egg yolks

4 1/2 teaspoons all purpose flour

4 teaspoons unsalted butter

Toppings:

1/2 cup apricot preserves

2 teaspoons brandy

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 cup fresh blueberries

Sift flour, salt and sugar. Place it in a food processor and add butter. Pulse it a few times and then add water, 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough crumbles up. Do not overmix. Pour mixture into your surface and form a ball of it. Wrap in plastic film and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400F.

On a lightly floured surface roll out dough to fit a 10in tart pan with a removable bottom. Press dough into pan. Line with aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove weights and paper and bake for another 10 minutes. Set aside to cool on a rack.

In a medium pot combine milk and vanilla bean, scraping the seeds into the pot. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat.

In a large bowl mix the sugar and flour. Add the egg yolks and beat until pale yellow ( it will be a thick mixture) Whisking constantly, add 1/4 cup of the warm milk to the egg mixture, and then pour the whole mixture back into the warm milk. Cook over medium heat , always stirring until thick, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and discard vanilla bean. Stir in butter. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic film, pressing down against the surface to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

In a small saucepan heat together preserves and brandy until dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside.

Spread the cold pastry cream over the pastry crust. Arrange the fruit evenly over the cream and brush the fruit with the preserve glaze.

Refrigerate any leftovers.

Pork Tenderloin with figs, balsamic, shallots and port

As everyone knows by know, I love for pork! No matter how it's cooked or served, i will always choose pork over any other meats. Now when pork is slowly cooked with figs and balsamic, a couple of chopped shallots and delicious port wine, my heart and stomach truly smiles.
I love serving pork with risotto and with this dish i made a Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Risotto that was perfectly paired with the fig sauce and a glass of Chianti.

Ingredients:
1 small Pork Tenderloin (about 2lbs)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon dry thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
1 cup dry mission figs, roughly chopped
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup water
1/4 cup of port wine
2 tablespoons honey

Rub tenderloin with salt, pepper and thyme.
Preheat oven to 425F.
Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan, dutch oven is best. Add shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add pork and cook on all sides until browned.
In a large bowl whisk together figs, balsamic, water, honey and port.
Add to pork, cover and cook in preheated oven for 25 minutes , turning once half way thru the cooking time. When cooked, remove from sauce and let it rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes. While the pork is resting reduce the sauce by half. Slice pork and place back in sauce. Serve hot on top of risotto, noodles or sauteed kale.

Roasted Cauliflower and Leeks Risotto

I woke up with the feeling of smelling and tasting roasted cauliflower. This amazing vegetable releases a lovely fragrance while roasting. It warms my heart and makes my belly happy. And then there are leeks... slowly cooked in olive oil... with a little of the onion flavor with an added sweetness to it. Those 2 vegetables when together make it to a terrific combination. And then there's carnaroli or arborio, which slowly cooked with warm broth and dry vermouth or a dry white wine, makes the glue for both vegetables to be together in love.

Ingredients:
For cauliflower:
1 head of cauliflower, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon each salt and pepper

For leeks:
1 bunch of leeks, thinly sliced ( white and light green parts only, discard the rest)
1 tablespoon olive oil

For risotto:
2 cups carnaroli or arborio rice
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
6-8 cups of warm chicken stock (homemade,canned, bouillon... your choice)
1 cup dry vermouth or dry white wine
cooked cauliflower and leeks
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded (optional)

Preheat oven to 425F.
Toss cauliflower, olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
While cooking cauliflower, heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Add leeks and cook on low for 10-15 minutes, until soft.
In a large heavy bottomed pan, heat olive oil and onions, cook for 5 minutes until translucent. Add rice and cook for 5 minutes. Add vermouth and stir until dry. Add warm stock, a ladle full at a time, stirring constantly until dry and in need of another ladle. You might not need all the stock, so after it doubled in size, start tasting the rice to make sure it's soft, and that's when it will be ready.
Remove from heat and add butter, stirring until melted. Add veggies and cheese if using. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add chopped parsley and serve it hot.

Chicken Stroganoff

Stroganoff was always a staple growing up in our home in Brasil , at least once a week we would have either chicken, fillet or shrimp stroganoff.
I loved getting home from school to a plate of this hearty meal. We serve it with rice and homemade french fries or potato sticks, sooooo goooood!!!! But another great choice as a side dish is egg noodles.

Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless chicken breast cut into 1 inch pieces.
2 + 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup brandy
1 cup corn
salt and pepper
2 cans of cream, i use the nestle usually found in the spanish section of grocery stores, it's thicker than heavy cream and i like the taste, but you can use heavy cream and thicken with extra corn starch

1 cup of ketchup
2-3  tablespoons mustard
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch( if using heavy cream, use 2-3 tablespoons cornstarch, depending on how thick you want it)
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

flambé

Sprinkle salt and pepper and rub 2 finely chopped garlic cloves all over chicken pieces, set aside for 30 minutes, for flavor and to bring chicken to room temperature. ( Don't forget to wash hands and all utensils used with raw chicken in hot water and soap)
In a heavy bottomed pot, heat olive oil and onions until translucent, add 2 chopped garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken and stir until cooked, about 10 minutes. Add brandy and being careful, light a match and thrown in pot to flambe the chicken. The fire goes off in a few seconds. Remove match stick. Add corn and keep cooking on low.
In a separate bowl mix 2 cans of cream, ketchup, mustard, worcestershire sauce, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper. Mix cornstarch into milk well and add to cream mixture and whisk it well. Add mixture to chicken and stirring frequently, cook for another 8-10 minutes, until cream is cooked and thickened. Taste for flavor and if needed add more salt and pepper. Serve it hot with white rice and fries.