So the other day I asked some non-food blogging friends what they would enjoy seeing on my blog. One of them said a Lemon Meringue Pie. I hadn’t made one in a long time so that sounded good. I then remebered when I made Triple Chocolate Cookies that the cookbook(the Pastry Queen) had the most cool looking lemon-lime meringue tarts on the front cover. So off I went to make them. Little did I know it would suck away an entire day. Oh my…and I still haven’t cleaned the kitchen!
What intrigued me most about these were the fact that the meringue was everywhere. They call them Texas Big Hairs because they resemble the big hair do’s that the love so much in Texas. Now, mine did not turn out nearly as good as theirs, but I did not use as much meringue either. I mean I like meringue but this was over kill. It is fun making them since you have to play with the meringue with your hands(fingers).
Mine were pretty tart because I chose to make mine with key limes instead of regular limes because I wanted them to have a little more punch.
I will say they are time consuming, but I had the time today so why not?

Texas Big Hairs Lemon-Lime Meringue Tarts

Crust
1 ½ cups pecans or sliced almonds(I used walnuts because that is what I had)
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
¼ tsp salt

Lemon-Lime Curd
10 extra-large egg yolks(reserve the egg whites for the meringue)
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
Zest of 2 lemons
2 TBSP unsalted butter

Meringue

10 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
3 cups sugar

To make the crust:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Arrange the pecans on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast them in the oven for 7-9 minutes, until golden brown and aromatic.(If using almond slices, toast for 5-7 minutes). Coarsely chop your nuts.
With your fingers, butter eight 4 3/8 inch, 1 cup capacity disposable foil tartlet pans(I used real ones, using about 2TBSP softened unsalted butter total.
Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add the vanilla, then gradually add the flour and salt and combine on low speed until incorporated. Add the nuts and mix on low speed just until they are incorporated. Form the dough into a ball-it will be sticky(mine was not at all)-and cover it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, divide into 8 equal portions and press into the prepared pans, making sure it comes up to the top edge of the pans. If the dough sticks to your hands, dust them with flour as often as necessary.
Bake the crust about 20 minutes, until golden brown(mine took 23 minutes). Remove from the oven and cool for at least 30 minutes before filling with lemon-lime curd.
To make the curd:
Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, lime juice and zest in the top of a double boiler. Add the butter to the egg yolk mixture and whisk until melted and smooth. Cook about 40 minutes, stirring about every 15 minutes. The curd should be thick, resembling the consistency of loose custard. Transfer the warm mixture to a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap onto the surface of the curd, sealing it and leaving no air between the wrap and the curd. Refrigerate the curd for at least 4 hours and up to 3 days. For express cooling, freeze it for at least 1 hour.
Making the meringue:
Set a large, perfectly clean metal bowl over a pot of simmering water. Pour in the egg white and sugar. Heat the egg whites and sugar while whisking constantly until the sugar melts and there are no visible grains in the meringue. Take a little meringue mixture and rub it between your fingers to make sure all sugar grains have melted. Remove the meringue from over the simmering water and whip it with a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on low speed for 5 minutes; increase the speed to high and beat 5 minutes longer, until the meringue is stiff and shiny.
Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the broiler. To assemble the tarts, spoon the chilled lemon-lime curd into the crusts, filling them about three-quarters of the way to the top. Pile the meringue on top of the curd. Style the meringue with your fingers by plucking at it to tease the meringue into jagged spikes.
Set the tarts on the middle rack of the oven and broil until the meringue topping turns golden brown, about 1 minute. Watch the tarts closely, as they can turn from browned to burnt in a matter of seconds.

Source: The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather

You probably have a friend. A great friend. One who can’t find a boyfriend/girlfriend to save their life. The one that you try and set up all the time. They don’t really have “luck” with the opposite sex because maybe they are shy or a little homely. But when people get to know them they love them. Sadly no one really ever gets to know them.
Clafouti’s are the “unlucky at love” friend of the culinary world. Plain, not really sweet, not pretty and totally absent of the “WOW” factor. You can never find their good side to photograph, I know I tried all afternoon with little luck.
But if people took the time to know the clafouti, like the friend you love so dearly, you too would fall in love with it. I rarely serve them for dessert I will admit. Since they are very oven pancake like they are wonderful with brunch. It is so versatile, working with pretty much any fruit you can throw it’s way. I chose apples and dried cherries since I had leftover from making the salad.
So people of the world get to know this homely “dessert”.You will be sure to make a friend.

Dried Cherry-Apple Clafouti
1 cup flour
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp salt
1 ¼ cup milk(I used whole)
5 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup dried cherries
1 green apple, peeled, cored, diced

1.Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl.
2.Combine the milk, eggs, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Gradually stir the liquid into the flour mixture to make a smooth batter.
3.Grease a pie pan or 9 inch cake pan.
4.Pour the batter into the pan. Distribute the cherries and apples over the batter.
5.Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes or until set and browned.
6.Serve warm and cut. Dust with powdered sugar.
Serves 12.
This was a little cakey for me. Next time I would use less flour with this recipe.

Ah, Summer.
Heat. Bugs. Sweat rolling down my knees.
Beautiful bright red tomotoes…I’m allergic to raw ones. Beautiful bright blue blueberries…I’m allergic to raw ones. Endless peppers and onions….I’m allergic to raw ones. It does produce many other nice foods that I can indeed eat but….
Needless to say I am not a huge fan of Summer. I play an indoor sport(ice hockey), I watch an indoor sport(ice hockey), we don’t own a BBQ(because we live in an apartment) and there is no real pourch for us to linger on. The last time I went barefoot in the grass I was bitten by some giant ant. So Summer is a un-needed season for me. It used to be extrememly important when I was a teacher, but since that is not the case anymore, I would like to fast forward to the Fall please.
So when I saw the Summer Salad Recipe Event over at My Life as a Reluctant Housewife I started going through my cookbooks. All the truly pretty salads had vivid red tomatoes in them and this just made me sad. I kept being drawn to all the more “fall” salads. I love Fall. Everything about Fall is the best. Hockey season starts again and I can grasp on to the hope that the Flames will win the Stanley Cup. The weather is ideal for baking. I get to wear coats(I love coats). And I love all the Fall fruits and vegetables.
So this is my Summer salad. It is a Summer salad in the fact that it is a salad and I made it today and it is technically Summer. Therefore by definition it is a Summer salad.

Apple, Dried Cherry, and Walnut Salad with Maple Dressing

Maple Dressing
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 TBSP Champagne vinegar or other white wine vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Salad
1 5-ounce bag of mixed baby greens
2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into matchstick-sized strips
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

For Dressing:
Whisk mayonnaise, maple syrup, vinegar and sugar in a medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in oil until mixture thickens slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For Salad:
Toss greens, apples, cherries, and 1/4 cup walnuts in a large bowl to combine. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Divide salad equally among plates. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup walnuts and serve.

Makes 6 servings

Source: Bon Appetit, R.S.V.P., Septemer 2002, Mountain Town Station Brewing Company and Steakhouse

Since I made something that my husband wouldn’t eat(peaches-n-cream) I had to find something to make him so that he would be happy too. I pulled out my the Pastry Queen cookbook since there was chocolate cookie recipe that was interesting to me since it used hardly any flour. Though it says it is a cookie, which it is, it really is more of a hybrid of a cookie and a brownie and let me just say….well done.
I did deviate slightly from the recipe. We only had walnuts so I used 1 1/2 cups of those and used 1/2 cup of flour instead of 1/3 cup. I also substituted semisweet for the bittersweet and I chose to use the milk chocolate chips.
These babies are extreme chocolate overload but well worth your 30 minutes on the treadmill.

Triple-Threat Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped walnuts
6 TBSP unsalted butter
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 TBSP vanilla extract
1/3 cup all purpose flour
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ cups semisweet or milk chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350F. Arrange the pecans and walnuts on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast for 7 to 9 minutes until golden brown. Cool the nuts completely.
Grease baking pan generously with butter or cooking spray.
Melt the butter, bittersweet chocolate, and unsweetened chocolate in a small saucepan set over low heat. Stir occasionally, watching carefully to make sure the chocolate does not burn. Remove the pan from the heat to cool.
Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until fluffy. Add the vanilla and melted chocolate. Beat on medium speed about 2 minutes, until the dough is thick and glossy. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the chocolate mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes, which makes it easier to scoop.
Use a 1 ¾ inch diameter scoop to drop spoonfuls of dough on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them at least 1 ½ inches apart. Wet your fingertips lightly with water and gently flatten the cookie dough(no need to press hard, just press out the hump) Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the tops begin to crack and look glossy. Cool the cookies for 10 minutes before removing them from the baking sheets.

Source: The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather