Holidays | Eat Your Heart Out

Homemade Easter Egg Dye {and a Le Creuset giveaway!}

March 20, 2013 by Stephie 5 Comments

Here comes Peter Cottontail, hoppin’ down the bunny trail; Hippity-hoppity, Easter’s on it’s waaaaaay…

I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself. I am my mother’s child, after all.

Those of you who know both of us are shaking your heads in exhausted agreement right now.

I have an early Easter surprise for all of you: Today on Food Fanatic, I am sharing some recipes for homemade Easter egg dyes, free of mystery chemicals that we want to keep away from those precious little hands.

And guess what? In celebration of their gorgeous French oven colors, Le Creuset also developed three homemade Easter egg dyes to match their Caribbean blue, Cassis purple, and {new!} Soleil yellow. I recently received one of their 5 1/2-quart French ovens in the beautiful new Soleil, and let me tell you – it is gorgeous. Would it be wrong to set it on my coffee table and call it art?

And the best news! Le Creuset wants YOU to have one of their French ovens as well! They are giving three lucky readers the chance to win one of their 5 1/2-quart French ovens, one in each of the aforementioned colors. Head on over to Food Fanatic to find out how you can enter to win and to learn how to dye your own Easter eggs!

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Food Fanatic, Giveaway, Holidays

Chocolate-Covered Mango and Coconut

February 13, 2013 by Stephie 20 Comments

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I hope you remembered to plan ahead with your dessert…but with all of that planning ahead, you may have woken up in the middle of the night and realized that you forgot to make treats for someone! Maybe it is your child’s teacher, your hair dresser, your personal trainer, or just your favorite co-worker.

Or maybe your cousin slipped on some ice and shattered her wrist, and you simply want to make her a little something to say, “I love you!”

Never fear, these chocolate-covered dried mango and coconut strips are the perfect treat to pull together at the last minute. Not to mention that they’re pretty (I just love how the freeze-dried strawberries add such a beautiful pop of color!), tasty, and much lighter than the super rich chocolate desserts that most people are surrounded by this time of year.

This is really one of those “non-recipes”: Just take some dried mango and dried coconut (or any dried fruit of your choice), dip the pieces in some melted chocolate, and sprinkle with some crushed freeze-dried strawberries. Let the chocolate set in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes and you’re ready to package them up in cute heart-covered bags (it’s those details that count!) and give them out!

No one will ever guess that these were a last-minute creation.

Ps: To all of my single-lady comrades out there today, this one’s for you. Or, alternately, this one. You’ve got your girlfriends, homemade treats, and Beyoncé. That’s all you need.

Chocolate-Covered Mango and Coconut

Ingredients

8 ounces dried mango slices
8 ounces coconut strips
6 ounces chocolate chips, melted
2 tablespoons crushed freeze-dried strawberries

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Dip each piece of dried fruit in the melted chocolate. Shake slightly or use a butter knife to remove any excess chocolate. Place the dipped fruit on the baking sheet, and sprinkle with a small amount of the crushed strawberries.
Once all of the fruit has been dipped and sprinkled, place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes, until chocolate has set. Package and give away!

Filed Under: Candy, Snacks Tagged With: Chocolate, Fruit, Healthier, Holidays

Blood Orange and Almond Tart

February 6, 2013 by Stephie 12 Comments

Hey. Y’all. Valentine’s Day is in a week.

Were you aware?

I mean, anyone who shops at Target on a regular basis has been bombarded by heart-shaped everything since January 2nd…

Have you decided what you are making for your sweetheart yet?

I know that chocolate and heart-shaped desserts are traditional for Valentine’s Day, but we all know that chocolate isn’t exactly my best friend and I posted my favorite cut-out cookies last year…so I decided to go a slightly different route this year.

This year, blood oranges were just screaming Valentine’s day to me. It’s that deep red color, ya know? And who doesn’t love a pretty tart?

I think this is just about the prettiest tart I’ve ever seen. Certainly the prettiest tart I have ever made. How could your sweetie not love something this pretty, made just for them?

And it only gets better: I know that Valentine’s Day falls on a weekday this year, so maybe you have to work and don’t know how you’re going to have time to pull together a beautiful dessert. Here’s your answer: You bake this tart straight from the freezer! So put it together this weekend, store it in the freezer, and bake it up next Thursday night. Your romantic evening just go that much less stressful.

You don’t have to tell me: I know you love me.

Adapted from Food & Wine

Blood Orange and Almond Tart

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

¾ cup flour
¼ cup almond flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, chilled and divided
3-4 tablespoons ice water
6 medium blood oranges
5 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 tablespoons sliced almonds, divided
1 egg yolk whisked with 2 tablespoons water

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the flours, 2 tablespoons of sugar, baking powder and salt. Add in 1 stick of the butter, cutting it into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle in 3 tablespoons of the ice water, stirring together with a fork, until the mixture is crumbly but just starts to come together. Add in another tablespoon of water if your mixture seems inordinately dry.
Knead the dough 2-3 times on a floured surface, then wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel the oranges: Cut the rind off, making sure to remove all of the bitter white pith. Thinly slice 2 of the oranges and remove the pits; set aside. With the other 4 oranges, carefully cut between the membranes to remove the individual segments (you will need about 1 cup of segments); place the segments in a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl. Shake out the juice without smushing the segments. Set aside. Reserve the juice for another use.
Roll the chilled pastry dough into an 11-inch round. Place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill for an additional 15 minutes.
Arrange the orange segments in the center of the pastry dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Sprinkle with 1½ tablespoons of the sugar and 1½ tablespoons of the almonds. Fold up the edges of the dough, brush with the egg wash, and sprinkle with ½ tablespoon of the sugar.
Arrange the slices on the top of the tart, leaving a 1-inch border. Sprinkle with with remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar and ½ tablespoon of almonds.
Place into the freezer for at least 4 hours. Once frozen, tart can be wrapped in plastic and stored in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the tart on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with a rim to keep juices from going all over your oven…learn from my mistakes) and bake for about 1 hours and 15 minutes, or until deeply golden. Cool on the sheet for 30 minutes, then transfer the parchment with the tart to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Filed Under: Desserts Tagged With: Almonds, Baked goods, blood oranges, Dessert, Fruit, Holidays, tart

Treats for Santa: Peanut Brittle

December 19, 2012 by Stephie 3 Comments

Christmas is next week! Can you even believe it?

In the spirit of the season and of spending time with the ones we love, I am taking next week off – from work, from blogging, from generally using my brain (no comments about whether this is different from usual, please!). I will be back with new recipes in the new year, but before that happens, I want to leave you with one more of what I am sure has to be one of Santa’s favorite treats: peanut brittle!

I come from a long line of peanut brittle lovers. This is – not so surprisingly – another one of my great-grandmother’s recipes, and it might as well be called “Christmas Crack”. Make sure you have someone around to share this with, or else you will blink and realize you’ve eaten the whole batch!

This is one of those recipes that will require a candy thermometer. My friend just bought this digital one that is super snazzy, but this one is much more old-school and very, very similar to the old-as-dirt one that I use. Either way, knowing the temperature your candy is at while you’re working really takes the question out of candy making and makes it much easier.

I wish you all a merry Christmas! Make some peanut brittle, spend some time with your loved ones, and never forget the reason for the season.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. -Isaiah 9:6

Peanut Brittle

Ingredients

1¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon. vanilla
¾ cup light corn syrup
1½ cups sugar
¾ cup water
1½ cups raw peanuts

Instructions

Use butter to thoroughly grease a large cookie sheet. Set aside.
Measure out baking soda, salt and vanilla into small bowls. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, cook corn syrup, sugar and water over medium-high heat to soft ball stage (230 degrees F), stirring occasionally. Add raw peanuts. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, to the hard crack stage (300 degrees F). As the peanuts cook, they will start to make popping, cracking or whining sounds.
Remove from heat and immediately add the baking soda, salt and vanilla. The mixture will start to foam; stir vigorously until the foaming subsides. Pour the mixture onto the prepare cookie sheet, spreading it out to the desired thickness with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula.
Let candy cool. Once hard, break into pieces and store in a tin for up to a week.

Notes

You MUST use raw peanuts in this recipe! You won’t find them by the roasted peanuts, but can usually find them over in the produce section.

Filed Under: Candy Tagged With: Candy, Dessert, Holidays, peanuts

Treats for Santa: Coconut Cream Tarts

December 17, 2012 by Stephie 13 Comments

I love, love, LOVE coconut cream pie.

Did you get that?

Love it.

However, whole pies are not necessarily the most party-friendly food. These little tarts, on the other hand, are absolutely the perfect party food.

I whipped these up for a Christmas party this past weekend. Truth be told, they were mostly an experiment, so I wasn’t even sure if they were going to be “blog-worthy” or not. But, as it turns out, everyone went crazy for them! They really are the perfect little bite: sweet, creamy with just enough coconut flavor, and a flaky phyllo shell that keeps them light and delicate. They feel luxurious and fancy without being over-the-top fancy (or overly difficult).

Certainly they would be a wonderful addition to your dessert table this Christmas or New Year’s Eve.

Filling recipe adapted from Emeril.

Coconut Cream Tarts

Yield: 3 dozen tarts

Ingredients

For the coconut cream filling:

2¼ cups whole milk, divided
¾ cup sugar
3 egg yolks
¼ cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups coconut, toasted
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

For the tarts:

3 dozen phyllo tart shells
1 can full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
1-2 teaspoons sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Make the filling:

Heat 2 cups of the milk and the sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat until hot and steaming.
While milk heats: In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks; set aside. In a second bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and the remaining ¼ cup of milk to make a slurry; set aside.
Once milk is hot, very slowly stream about ½ cup of the milk into the egg yolks, whisking continuously. (This is called “tempering” the eggs, and will prevent them from scrambling later.) Slowly whisk the egg mixture into the rest of the milk. Add the cornstarch slurry. Continue to cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 4-6 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, all but 3 tablespoons of the coconut and the butter.

Assemble the tarts:

Spoon some of the filling into each of the tart shells (depending on the size of your shells, you will likely have some filling left over). Allow to cool.
Remove the coconut milk from the fridge. Spoon the hardened coconut cream into a bowl, leaving behind the coconut water (you can reserve this to use in a smoothie or in cooking later). Using an electric mixer, whip the coconut cream until thick. Add in the vanilla and 1-2 teaspoons of sugar, to taste. Whip again to incorporate.
Spoon a small amount of the coconut whipped cream onto the top of each of the shells. Sprinkle with the remaining toasted coconut. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.