Bourbon Pecan Tart

It was a great Thanksgiving weekend. Great might even be an understatement. I can tell it was a great weekend because it was hard to leave home to come back to the windy city on Sunday. I love a holiday centered around great food. I love cooking with leftovers. I love getting together with family. I love getting out the Christmas decorations and putting up the tree on Friday. I love making my to-do list for December. I love the decision I made to take a week of vacation after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

There is a new addition to my apartment - a homemade nut wreath a la Martha Stewart. It was a great Sunday project to wrap up the holiday festivities that took place over the weekend. Our basement at home is practically a mini Home Depot. Dad has a tool for just about any Martha Stewart project you might want to do.

Make a wreath-shaped circle out of plywood. Spray paint the wreath a dark color. Using a glue gun, attach nuts to the wreath. (I used walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and red pecans. I also attached fake red berry clusters). Use colored ribbon to form a bow. Attach a hook to the back of the wreath so that it will hang on the wall. Pose for picture. Hang wreath.

Ben is famous for his Bourbon Pecan Pie. Well, maybe he's not publicly famous for it, but in my eyes he is. He even makes 2 pies so that he and I can each have a leftover bag of frozen slices throughout the months of December and January. If I run out of pie at my apartment, I will just casually peek in his freezer when I am over at his place to see if he has any of his pieces of left. Obviously, there is no question what to have for dessert at night when this pie is one of the options. I don't dare mess with his recipe, nor do I try to repeat it.

Pie in general is not one of my favorite foods - and I don't get a real craving for pumpkin pie. For Thanksgiving this year, I wanted to have another pie option besides the traditional pumpkin variety. I found a recipe for this bourbon pecan tart in the November 2009 issue of Bon Appetit - same concept but tart, not pie.

Halfway into the project, I realized that pie/crust/tart making just really isn't my thing for the following 2 reasons:

1. I made the dough for the crust - no big deal. Immediately after making the crust, I started to roll the dough out on the marble board. Hmmm....this dough feels so soft and the chunks of butter are starting to melt before I've even formed it into the tart pan. I completely disregarded the part of the instructions in the recipe that require you to refrigerate the dough until completely chilled. I ball the dough back up, form it into a disc and let it chill.
2. Once the crust baked, I started to add the filling to the tart pan. As I bring the tart pan to the oven, I notice a few drops of filling liquid on my pot holder. No big deal - I must have spilled just a bit. I place the tart pan in the oven. As if almost in slow motion, I start to see the filling pour from the bottom of the tart pan onto the bottom of the oven- it wasn't a drip, but more of a steady stream - thanks to one tiny hole in the crust. I was just plain mad at the tart in general by that point - but luckily Dad acts pretty good under pressure and quickly went for the baking sheet to set the tart pan in. Ahhh yes.....it did say to put the tart pan on a baking sheet in the directions - I must have missed that part too.

So if you tasted the tart on Thanksgiving Day you wouldn't have known that any of this occurred. In conclusion, the tart still tasted amazing - crust rolled out twice and minus a little filling. The flavor of pecans, a thick sugary syrup, and bourbon go so well together. This process is much easier than making an actual pie, despite the descriptions I gave above. Make this tart for your upcoming holiday party - it won't disappoint. Or have Ben deliver you some frozen pieces of his pecan pie - either way you win.

Bourbon Pecan Tart

adapted from Bon Appetit - November 2009

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Crust:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/4 inch cubes

1/4 cup (or more) ice water

Filling:

3 eggs

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup dark corn syrup

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons bourbon

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups pecan halves

For Pie Crust:

(recipe makes enough dough for 2 crusts)

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a mixer. Blend on low until combined. Add butter - mix until crumbly. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup water - mix until dough clings to paddle. Add more water by the tablespoon if the mixture is dry. (I needed to add 2 additional tablespoons) Gather the dough together. Divide dough in half. Flatten each into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill completely.

Preheat oven to 375.

Roll out the dough so that it will fit in your 10-inch round tart pan. Flour both the surface of your board and the rolling pin to prevent sticking. Press the crust into the pan - trimming the overhang. Chill crust for 30 minutes in the tart pan.

Line the chilled crust with foil. Fill the crust with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until crust is set, pale and golden - about 3o minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake until crust is golden brown - about 10 minutes. Place tart pan with crust on a baking sheet.

For Filling:

Using a mixer, beat the eggs and sugar. Beat in corn syrup. Add bourbon, butter, vanilla and salt. Beat until blended. Stir in pecans. Pour filling into hot crust. Bake until the filling is set - about 30 minutes. Cool tart on rack for 1 hour, then remove sides. Serve at room temperature or slightly warm.

Shrimp and Pancetta on Polenta

This picture is of the Thanksgiving Family that usually sits on our kitchen island at home; they make for the perfect fall centerpiece. The family makes their appearance on the table right after Halloween and now that it is already November 27th, they have been put away for the year. I should really start keeping a tally of how often these statues get knocked over throughout the month of November - you would definitely need an extra set of hands for counting. We all hold our breath hoping they don't break as they make contact with the counter. This isn't even the kitchen I'm usually cooking in, yet I seem to knock them over like it's my job. I'm also good at knocking over the little glass bottles that sit behind the kitchen sink.

I love the tradition of getting out the holiday decorations for both Thanksgiving and Christmas - even though I'm not usually the one doing the decorating at the house. I've done my part by hanging the lights at my apartment and putting out my glass turkey candy dish that counts as my one an only Thanksgiving decoration. It was an impulse buy at Williams Sonoma that I continue to be happy with.

I have another delicious, easy, weeknight meal for you in this post. In the final edition of Gourmet, their November 2009 issue, I was immediately drawn to a Shrimp and Pancetta on Polenta recipe. Mom and I stumbled upon the dish as we were enjoying a morning at Starbucks, sipping coffee, watching the world go by on a chilly winter day, while paging through the holiday cooking magazines, making lists of things we wanted to try. I know what you are thinking - didn't I just post a recipe about Marinara Poached Eggs over Polenta? The answer is yes, but I'm posting this version because I just can't seem to get enough of the combination of polenta and tomato sauce together. These two recipes have a slightly similar concept, yet taste completely different.

The dish comes together so quickly. Cook your cornmeal or polenta in a pot and put your tomato sauce together in another. I bought frozen, peeled, uncooked shrimp from Trader Joe's and they worked perfectly in this recipe. I don't think you necessarily need fresh shrimp for a dish like this. It's a perfect winter meal - a great recipe from the final issue of Gourmet. Give it a try.

Shrimp and Pancetta on Polenta

adapted from Gourmet - November 2009

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1 cup cornmeal

4 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 pound pancetta, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 28 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes

Tomato paste, as needed

1 pound cleaned shrimp (I used Trader Joe's, frozen shrimp, uncooked then thawed)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

To make polenta: Dissolve cornmeal into 1 cup cold water. Stir to combine, eliminating any lumps that form. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Season with salt. Reduce heat to medium. Gradually pour in cornmeal mixture. Season with pepper and red pepper flakes. Whisk more often than not for about 10 minutes, until the mixture has thickened and the cornmeal is cooked through. Cover and keep warm.

Cook pancetta over medium-high heat in a large pan until browned. Remove pancetta from pan and set on a plate lined with paper towel to catch any excess grease. Pour off the excess fat from the pan. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan over medium high heat. Add the pancetta back to the pan. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and let simmer for about 10 minutes. If the mixture is too thin, add a touch of tomato paste to thicken it up a bit. Add the shrimp and cook at a bare simmer for 5 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

Spoon polenta into shallow bowls and ladle the shrimp/tomato mixture over the polenta. Top with chopped cilantro. Feel free to add a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese as well.

Apple Quick Bread with Oatmeal Walnut Crumble

My favorite part of the Martha Stewart Living magazine is the section titled Good Things. Just as I immediately turn to Molly Wizenberg's Cooking Life column in Bon Appetit or immediately dig for the big cookie pieces in the carton of Edy's Cookies 'n' Cream Ice Cream, I always turn to Good Things first. I love the sometimes deceptively simple, seasonal crafts, home decorating tips, and gift giving ideas that she gives her readers. Martha Stewart may have a dry, somewhat awkward sense of humor and might be painful to watch on TV, but I love her monthly magazine. My Grandma was a Martha Stewart Living fan and I think that is where I caught the bug for it. My Grandpa continues to get my Mom a yearly Martha Stewart subscription and my Mom in turn gets one for me. It's a tradition that I won't begin to question.

From the magazine, I've been known to make the wax paper crayon hearts, the jingle bell wreath, the turkey place cards, the tree place cards, the braided rug made from bath towels (a complete disaster), the button Christmas tree and the glitter nuts. You might think I'm joking, but I'm not. I could devote an entire blog entry to the craft projects I've attempted, the number of trips I've made to the craft store for supplies and the successes and failures of the final products.

As you can tell, I'm big on Martha's crafts but have not tried a lot of her recipes. I was glancing through the latest November 2009 issue and a recipe for this Apple Quick Bread with Oatmeal Walnut Crumble jumped out at me as a great Made for Monday treat idea. I can't figure out why this recipe has the word quick bread in the title. The ingredient list does not call for yeast and if I were to pick a word to describe the process, quick wouldn't be the first adjective to come to mind.

When you bite into the bread, the surprising factor here is that the bread is incredibly moist. The texture is better than any banana bread I've ever made. I think the combination of the flavorful cider with the cubed apples, really make this one a keeper. The oatmeal walnut crumble gives it that irresistible crunchy topping. I'm sure you will find yourself going for the crumble topping first, just as I go for the big cookie chunks in my ice cream. The original recipe calls for a caramel sauce, but I didn't make it. I couldn't get through the logistics of bringing a recipe to work that calls for a hot caramel sauce - we don't even have a toaster that works in our break room - let alone a burner for heating up a caramel sauce. I went ahead and included the recipe for it, just in case you want to make it.

Tip: make sure you press the crumble topping into the batter so that when you go to cut the final product, you don't lose most of the topping to your cutting board.

Apple Quick Bread with Oatmeal Walnut Crumble

adapted from Martha Stewart Living, November 2009

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Unsalted butter, for pan

2 cups flour, plus more for pan

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup fresh apple cider

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 small apples, preferably McIntosh, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a 5 x 9 inch loaf pan. Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix together oil and sugar in a mixer on medium speed until combined. With machine running, add eggs, 1 at a time. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the cider. Add vanilla and fold in the apples.

Pour the mixture into pan and top with oatmeal crumble. Push crumble into batter so that it sticks. Bake for 50 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes. Invert pan to remove bread. Let cool completely, crumb side up. If using the caramel sauce, drizzle over bread just before serving.

Oatmeal Walnut Crumble

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup walnut pieces

1/4 cup old fashioned oats

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Combine flour, sugar, walnuts, oats and salt in the bowl of a mixer. Add butter and beat on medium speed until mixture forms small clumps.

Caramel Sauce (Optional)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 heavy cream

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Bring all ingredients to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium high heat and cook for 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Cake

One of my favorite memories growing up is the weekend routine of my Dad and I doing the weekly grocery shopping on Sunday mornings together. Even if we were just shopping at the local Dominick's, it was something that I always looked forward to. The good thing about shopping with Dad is that I could usually talk him into buying something that wasn't on the list. Mom would have been a little more strict about those things.

We also loved to see how big of a bottle of something we could get. If ketchup was on the list, we got the biggest size possible, insisting that we could just refill the smaller bottle. Olive oil - of course we went for the enormous gallon tin; paper towels - we never came home with less than 36 rolls; cereal 10 for $10 - we came home with 10 boxes. One of my favorite not-on-the-list purchases was a large, plastic beer bottle shaped coin bank with a Chicago Cubs clear sticker on the outside. The bottle, which stood about 2 1/2 feet tall, was originally filled with peanuts - which Mom was just going to love I'm sure. We got through the peanuts, and quickly starting using it for storing coins.

Over the past 15 years, that has been the jar in which everyone throws their loose change. It somehow just fills itself up. Every so often we take it to the bank to cash in the coins, and are constantly amazed at how much money can add up. Last weekend when I was home, we cashed in the most recent bottle. It's a job that always requires 2 people, especially since I am useless when it comes to carrying heavy things. After making a lowball guess of $284 (it's a rule you have to make a guess), I was pleasantly surprised with the total of $462. That money was graciously donated to my checking account to help with holiday spending. Watch out family - this year I'm buying nice Christmas presents.

For the Made for Monday treat last week, I was searching for something pumpkin related. I haven't overwhelmed the office folks with pumpkin recipes, and with it being this time of year, I thought it would be appropriate to spread the Thanksgiving love. I came across a recipe for a particular pumpkin brownie recipe on Smitten Kitchen, Martha Stewart Living and many other food blog sites. It's amazing how one recipe can spread amongst the various food sites on the internet. It seemed as if I was the only one that hadn't tried this recipe. The reviews were not overwhelmingly positive on any site- more just comments on how the brownies didn't actually taste like brownies.

The dessert comes together without too much fuss. You do have to work with 2 separate mixing bowls - one for the pumpkin mixture and one for the chocolate. You also have to melt chocolate over a double boiler. I do not own a double boiler or a set of glass mixing bowls so I improvised - using one of my salad bowls set over a small pan of simmering water - it worked out completely fine. You alternate the layering of the mixture in the pan to create the orange and brown swirling effect.

After tasting the final product, the result is both a chocolaty and fall scented pumpkin cake. The cake is moist and pairs perfect with a cup of coffee or hot tea in the afternoon This is where people go wrong - if you go in expecting a brownie and you get cake - of course you are going to be disappointed. Confession: this recipe doesn't taste like a brownie, it tastes like cake. Therefore, I have changed the name of the recipe so that no one is fooled by the results. Make this as a dessert for the week leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday and you won't be disappointed.

Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Cake

adapted from Martha Stewart and Streaming Gourmet

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For the chocolate batter:

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate

1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

For the pumpkin batter:

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray. Using a double boiler, melt the chocolate with the butter. Set aside to cool slightly. Once cool, stir in the brown sugar and 2 eggs.

In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) for the chocolate batter and set aside. In another medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) for the pumpkin batter.

In a mixer, beat together the 3/4 cup white sugar and the 2 eggs for the pumpkin batter. Mix for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin and vanilla. Mix until combined. Add the melted butter to combine.

Now you are ready to mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add the dry chocolate batter ingredients to the melted chocolate mixture. Stir just to combine. Add the dry pumpkin batter ingredients to the mixer. Mix just to combine.

Pour half of the chocolate batter into your pyrex baking dish. Layer half of the pumpkin mixture on top of the chocolate. Repeat with remaining 2 layers. Using a spatula, swirl the two batters together, using an S shaped stirring motion. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan.

Green Pozole with Chicken

November 15th. At first glance it might seem like a date that is a bit premature to be hanging Christmas lights in my apartment. I'll admit it is still a little bit early in the holiday season, even though the Lite has already switched to their 24/7 Christmas music playlist. I have good reasons for this though, I promise. As I sit here in my cozy apartment, the lights that have been strung along the border of my 2 big picture windows, make the early evening darkness bearable. It is a comforting glow throughout my living room and it makes winter hibernation a little more enjoyable. I was waiting for someone else in one of the neighboring high rises put up their lights first, but since no one was taking the first step, I wasn't going to hold out any longer. I'm secretly hoping that my neighbors are enjoying the view of my white lights.

Stringing lights wasn't the easiest job in the whole world. I was prepared with small 3m hooks that I bought at Walgreen's on my way home from work earlier in the week. I unpacked the 4 new boxes of lights that I had - so that everything would be set to go. I plugged them in to make sure they all worked and then stretched them out so they didn't look like I just pulled them out of a 2 x 2 square box. No one wants to spend time hanging lights just to find out that they don't in fact all light up. I probably stood on a few objects that weren't the sturdiest pieces of furniture in the whole world, but I was on a mission. With the heat blasting and Christmas music playing in the background, I started to sweat just a little bit more with the addition of each new strand. But in the end, it was completely worth it.

The other day, Heather over at the Chik n' Pastry blog posted a recipe for Chilaquiles. It wasn't so much the recipe that jumped out at me, but instead it was the giant can of hominy in one of her pictures that stole my heart. Hominy - which I think tastes like unroasted Corn Nuts - goes great in soups and is well known for being the star ingredient in a dish called Pozole.

According to the Food Lover's Companion, pozole is a thick, hearty soup usually eaten as a main dish. It consists of pork (sometimes chicken), broth, hominy, onion, garlic, dried chiles and cilantro.

I went to the store to purchase all of the ingredients. Jalapenos were originally on the list. I did purchase them but somehow came home without a trace of pepper. To improvise, I added red pepper flakes, cumin and cayenne pepper to spice up the dish. I don't think you could tell the difference with the lack of jalapenos. This soup is a perfect fall meal and is extremely satisfying. I served mine with one of Heidi Swanson's Yeast-raised Cornbread Rolls - as usual - and called it a meal. I even had enough leftover to get about 3 bags of soup stored away in the freezer.

Green Pozole with Chicken

adapted from Epicurious.com

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9 cups of chicken stock or water

1 bay leaf

1 onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

2 teaspoons of salt

2 1/2 pounds total of boneless skinless chicken breasts and thighs

1/2 cup green pumpkin seeds, untoasted

1 pound tomatillos, husked

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large can of hominy, rinsed and drained

Bring 8 cups of water/broth, bay leaf, half of onion, half of garlic and 1 teaspoon of salt to a boil in a large soup pot. Cover, reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the chicken and poach at a bare simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer chicken to a cutting board to cool. Strain the stock into a large bowl and reserve. Discard the bay leaf. Add the onions and garlic from the pot to the cutting board with the chicken to cool. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, chop it into small pieces along with the onion and garlic.

Preheat oven to 350. Toast pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet for about 7 to 8 minutes. Let them cool and them grind them in a spice grinder - I used my mini prep food processor.

Simmer the tomatillos and the remaining onion with the 1 cup remaining broth. You can use the same soup pot you used for the chicken. Cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain tomatillos and onion. Transfer to a food processor. Add red pepper flakes, cumin, cayenne pepper, oregano, cilantro, remaining garlic and remaining salt. Puree until smooth.

Heat vegetable oil in your soup pot over medium high heat. Add the tomatillo mixture to the pot. Cook, uncovered, stirring constantly until thickened - about 10 minutes. Stir in ground pumpkin seeds and 1 cup of the reserved broth - simmer 5 minutes. Stir in chopped chicken, hominy and 5 cups of reserved broth. Simmer partially covered for about 30 minutes. Stir in chopped fresh cilantro. If your soup is too thick - add additional water or broth to your desired consistency.