Mushroom Ricotta Tart

Are you sick of me talking about leftovers yet?  I had a few leftovers in the fridge and googled what I could do with them.  This is what I came up with--turned out great!

Note on the pie crust: I bought a Trader Joe's two-crust box.  When I took it out and unrolled one, it crumbled into big pieces.  Not happy.  I pinched the pieces together and rolled it out again.  All said and done, it turned out awesome for a savory type pie.  It's a bit more dense than the Pillsbury prepared refrigerated crust I usually buy.  (Update: don't fiddle with what brand of crust to buy--if you have 15 minutes to spare you simply must make this one instead!)

Mushroom Ricotta Tart

1 single uncooked pie crust--you decide if it is store bought or homemade

Mushroom Layer

8 oz. cremini mushrooms, diced

1/4 c. onion, chopped

1 t. minced garlic

2-3 handfuls of spinach

1 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

1/4 c. parmesan cheese, grated

Heat a tablespoon or so of oil in a skillet.  Add the chopped onions and saute until translucent.  Add the garlic toward the end.  Add the chopped mushrooms, salt and pepper.  Cook until the moisture in the mushrooms have evaporated. Add the spinach until wilted and set the mix aside to cool.  Once cooler, stir in the parmesan cheese.

Ricotta Cheese Mixture

8 oz. ricotta cheese 

1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

3 eggs

1 t. dried thyme 

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

Whisk together all the the ricotta, whipping cream, eggs, thyme, salt, and pepper.

Line a pie pan with the crust, pricking it with a fork.  Pre-bake it for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Remove from the oven and decrease oven temp to just under 350 degrees.  

Add the mushroom layer to the pie crust.  Then pour the ricotta mixture over that.

Bake at 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and an inserted knife comes clean.

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c = cup

oz = ounce

T = tablespoon

t = teaspoon

Caramel Apple Pie

 This one is for you, Caroline!  I'm afraid you'll have to do some converting from US measurements.   A good addition to any Thanksgiving dessert spread.

Caramel Apple Pie

A double pie crust, you can decide to make your own or buy premade.

1/2 c. brown sugar, packed

1/4 c. butter, melted

1/3 c. flour

5 c. thinly sliced apples

2/3 c. sugar

3 T. flour

2 t. cinnamon

1 t. lemon juice

2 T. milk

20 caramels, halved

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  

Combine the brown sugar, melted butter and 1/3 c. flour.  Mix well and set aside.

Apple filling:   Put the sliced apples in a bowl and add the sugar, 3 T. flour, cinnamon, lemon juice.  Toss until all the ingredients are mixed well and apples are coated.

Place one crust in a deep dish pie pan.  Spoon 1/2 of the apple mixture in the pie pan and top with 1/2 of the sliced caramels and 1/2 of the brown sugar/butter mix.  Repeat the layers.

Place the top pastry over the pie and seal well.  Cut steam vents in the top and brush it the milk.

Cover the pie with foil and bake for 25 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for another 20-25 minutes until the crust is golden brown.

Serve warm.

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c = cup

T = tablespoon

t = teaspoon

Campfire Beef Stew

 Friends said that they made beef stew over their firepit on a fall day.  I had to try it and immediately bought a cast iron pot.  So glad I did!  Super yummy and a feel good meal given that you have to sit by a fire with a drink of choice for two hours while it simmers.  Rough....I came up with this recipe by combining a few different ones I saw online.

Campfire Beef Stew

Amounts are general. You can change as you see fit!

6-8 slices of bacon cut small

2 lbs. beef stew or chuck roast cut in small bite-sized, generously salted and peppered

1/4 c. flour

1 onion, chopped

3 large potatoes, diced small

5 carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, chopped

8 oz. cremini mushrooms, diced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

12 oz. tomato paste

32 oz beef broth

1 1/2 c. dry red wine

1 t. rosemary

1 t. thyme

1 t. parsley

Season meat generously with salt and pepper at least a few hours ahead of time.  Toss in flour before browning.

Fry the bacon in the cast iron pot.  Add the seasoned, floured beef and brown it.  (I did both of these on the stove in the cast iron pot to make it easier, rather than over the fire.)

Then add all the other ingredients to the pot and move it outside to the firepit.  Cook over the fire covered, or mostly covered, on a simmer for about 2 hours.  Make sure the veggies are cooked through.

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lb = pound

t = teaspoon

c = cup

Macadamia Nut Cookies

 I had some macadamia nut pieces laying around and was looking for a way to use them.  I found this at Taste of Home magazine's site.  I was skeptical after the first tray came out more brown than I had wanted but cutting back in the baking time did the trick.   I got about 48 cookies out of this recipe.  Plenty to stick in the freezer for another time!

Macadamia Nut Cookies

2 cup butter, softened

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. packed brown sugar (I used light)

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla extract

2 1/4 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt (I used kosher)

7 oz. macadamia nut pieces

2 c. semisweet chocolate chips (other kinds would be fine too)

1 c. white baking chips

Cream together the butter and sugars and until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat on medium for 2 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt.  Add it to the mix and beat for 2 minutes.  Stir in the nuts and chips.  Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. (honestly if the batter is firm already, I'm not sure it is necessary but I did it anyway.)

Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.  The recipe says to bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  I like it better closer to 350 degrees for about 9 minutes.  

Cool for a minute before moving the cookies to a cooling rack.

Chocolate Cake

 Okay.  This is going to be the go-to birthday cake from now on!  Moist, chocolatey goodness.  it is the 'Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake' recipe.  It's a serious rival of Portillo's chocolate cake.

Chocolate Cake

Cake

2 c. sugar

1 3/4 c. flour

3/4 c. cocoa powder

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1 1/2 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

2 eggs

1 c. milk

1/2 c. veg oil

2 t. vanilla extract

1 c. boiling water

Grease and flour 2 9-inch round baking pans.  (I didn't have 9-inch so used 2 8-inch.  The batter rose during baking and it was a full pan!  I would probably do 3 8-inch layers next time.)

Combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.  Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla.  Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Add the boiling water (batter will be thin).  Pour batter into the prepared pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes and then remove from pans and let cool completely on a cooling rack.  

Once cooled frost cake.

Frosting

1 stick butter (1/2 c.) melted

2/3 c. cocoa powder

3 c. powdered sugar

1/3 c. milk

1 t. vanilla extract

Melt butter.  Stir in the cocoa.  Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.   Add small amount additional milk if needed.  Stir in the vanilla.  Makes about 2 cups frosting.

Lemoncello Cake

 If you like lemoncello like I do, here is a dessert for you! I found this one on allrecipes.com.

Lemoncello Cake

Cake

1 c. plain greek yogurt

2 eggs

1/3 c. oil

2 T. fresh lemon juice

2 T. lemon zest

1 c. sugar

1/4 c. lemoncello

2 c. flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

pinch of salt (optional)

Glaze

3/4 c. powdered sugar

3 T. lemoncello

Line 3 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper and/or cooking spray. (The original recipe called for only 1 pan but the sides on my pans were obviously way shorter than theirs--I had to use 3 pans!)

Whisk together yogurt, eggs, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, and lemoncello.  

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.   Gently add these dry ingredients to the wet.  Do not over mix or the cake will be tough.

Bake at 350 degrees until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes clean, about 35 minutes  Remove from oven and cool slightly.

For the glaze, combine the powdered sugar and lemoncello in a bowl until smooth.  Poke small holes over the top of the still warm cake with a fork or toothpick.  Spoon the glaze over the cake and spread with the back of a spoon.  The glaze will seep into the cake and add moisture.  (it might not seem like it is enough, but it is!)