L will come Later

Me and Mrs. ALPHAbiteICAL are leaving for the beach.

I promise a lavish lunch blog post that isn't lame, doesn't lack... luster or leave you wanting more.

Later!
-J

K can also be for Kale

 Knock your socks off good!

 Im keeping K alive this week, mainly bekause of the Mrs. After my previous post she told me that the tart was one of her least favorite things that I have ever made. It was a texture thing with her, but not having my number one kustomer happy was a problem for me. Konsequently there is a part II for K, and we went from one end of the kontinuum to the other. She told me after dinner, that this was one of the best things that I have kreated in the kitchen.

My other goal in posting this was to help all you readers out. I don't know about you, but after a holiday with my family there is always so much food left over. We end up eating the same thing all week, and that can get just plain stale! So here is a way to use the left over barbecue from all your 4th of July celebrations. You're welkome!

Barbecue Egg-rolls with Kale

• 2 cups of barbecue, finely chopped
• 1 1/2T of ginger, minced
• 3T oyster sauce
• 4 large carrots, cut into matchsticks (julienne)
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 1/2 cups of Kale, chopped
• 1T white wine vinegar
• salt and pepper
• Vegetable oil for frying

 First pull the stems off of the Kale. You only want to use the leaves. The stems are too tough to eat. Place the leaves in a bowl and fill it with cold water. Let is sit to allow all the dirt to wash off the leaves and settle in the bottom of the bowl. After a few minutes, lift the leaves out, and set them out to dry. While they dry, chop the rest of your veggies.

In a large skillet,on medium high heat, combine the barbecue, ginger, and oyster sauce. Stir for ~1 minute to incorporate the flavors. Add the carrots and onions and cook until they are soft (~4 minutes). Toss in the kale, the white wine vinegar, and salt & pepper and let the kale just wilt down. Stir constantly. Turn the heat off after the kale has wilted and allow the mixture to cool down before rolling your egg-rolls.

 How to roll an egg-roll

Place mixture in the middle

Fold up the bottom

Tuck in the sides

Wet the top flap with a bit of water and roll it up

Once you have all your egg-rolls rolled, it's time to fry. Pour in your oil and get it hot, 350 degrees. You should see a little smoke come over the top, and the oil will look like it is swirling in the pot but not bubbling. Put in your egg-rolls and fry them 'til they are krispy.

Make sure to flip them so you get an even browning

They will be bubbly and golden brown. let them kool down for a second on a paper towel lined plate.

For a kwick dipping sauce, mix 2T soy sauce, 1T white wine vinegar, 1t sesame seeds, 1t of peach jelly, and a dash of sugar together. Microwave for 20 seconds and stir again. So easy and very delicious.

 

K is Komplete.

Kudos to me!

-J

K is for Kiwi

Keep your pants on...

I'm posting, I'm posting.

To tell you the truth faithful reader, I have had these pictures loaded on my computer for almost a week. The bakery has just been so busy. Holidays are madness! Everyone wants cupcakes and they all want them with extra decorations for the 4th. Anyway, I finally found a little down time, and here is the recipe.

Kiwi & Strawberry Tart

For pastry: 

• 1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1/8t of salt
• 1/2 cup of butter, softened
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2t of vanilla

 Cream the butter and sugar. Sift flour and salt together. Whisk the egg and vanilla together. Gradually add the flour and salt into the creamed butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla slowly and mix until a sticky dough ball forms. Empty the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, wrap it up, put it into the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

After 1 hour roll out the dough on a well floured surface to 1/4" thick.

Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and line up the tart pans in a straight line.

Lay the dough over the pans.

Press the dough into the sides of the pans and then roll the rolling pin over the pans to cut off the excess.

Place the tart pans on a sheet pan and place in the freezer for 15 minutes. While the tart pans are in the freezer cut squares of parchment paper 5"x5" and pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

 After 15 minutes, place the parchment papers into the tarts and fill the shells with kidney beans. Bake the tarts for 5 minutes at 400 degrees and then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 15 more minutes. 

Brush the tart shells with a mixture of Apricot Jelly and water to keep them from disintegrating when you add the cream to the tart shell.

For pastry cream:

• 1 1/4 cup of whole milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 2T of all-purpose flour
• 2T of corn starch
• 1t of vanilla
• 1/4 cup of pureed strawberries
• 1/2 cup of whipping cream

Begin by scalding the milk on medium heat. Scalding is just a fancy term of heating up the milk just before the milk boils. A bit of steam will come up from the milk and small bubbles will form around the edge of the milk in the sauce pot.

While you are waiting on the milk to scald, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, flour, and corn starch. Make sure everything is combined. It should be thick, but runny.

Once the milk is scalded, pour a little bit of milk into the egg mixture and whisk. (If you pour it all in at once, your eggs will scramble and you'll have to start all over.)

Slowly pour the rest of the milk into the eggs and whisk vigorously for 1 minute.

 Pour the mixture back into the sauce pot, and on medium low heat whisk until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in strawberry puree. I added a drop of pink food coloring at this step. You don't have to and I won't blame you if you don't.

Cover the cream with plastic wrap by pressing the surface of the plastic to the surface of the cream and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Before serving, whisk the cream and whip up the whipping cream until fluffy. Fold in the whipped cream into the pastry cream.

For topping:

• 4 kiwis sliced
• 1T of apricot jelly
• 1t of water

Assemble the tarts by filling the pastry shell with the cream and arrange the sliced kiwi on top. Brush the sliced kiwi with the jelly mixture. 

  

Full disclosure: the Mrs. was not too Keen on the Kiwi-Strawberry Tart. She said that the tart filling was more like yogurt consistency than the thick tart cream that you want. Her mother said that her 6th grade teacher "ruined her from liking yogurt" by telling her she was eating bacteria. Knowing this, I will probably not put in the whipped cream the next time I make this. It is a tasty light summer dessert that can also be a delicious breakfast if you have a little left over. 

I'm going to try something else for K... who knows what will happen. Anyway, Happy 4th of July everyone!
and

Wish me lucK.

-J