It's Tart but Very Sweet

I hope you are having a lovely week so far! Unfortunately, I got a sore in my mouth over the weekend, so I haven’t been able to eat any of my Halloween candy yet (real torture). But luckily it’s slowly going away, so I’m going to eat my fill of candy soon enough~! Anyway, today’s recipe is a Fruit Tart! This recipe is really simple, doesn’t take long, and it’s so delicious you won’t be able to stop at one piece! I’ll be going through the recipe for both the crust and the filling, but feel free to buy pre-made dough or crust if you’re limited on time. And as for the fruit decorations on top, you can use whatever your heart desires on top. I change it up every time I make it because it’s more fun to come up with different patterns!

Ingredients:

·      CRUST

o   5 tbsp cold unsalted butter

o   3 tbsp cold vegetable shortening

o   1-1/3 all-purpose flour

o   1 tbsp sugar

o   ¼ tsp salt

o   4 tbsp ice water

·      FILLING

o   1 cup cold mascarpone cheese

o   ¾ cup cold heavy cream

o   ¼  cup confectioners’ (powdered) sugar

o   1 tsp vanilla extract

o   Whatever and however much fruit you would like~!

FOR THE CRUST: Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Scatter the butter and shortening over the flour mixture, place in a pastry blender, and blend until the mixture forms large crumbs (I prefer to use a stand mixer with a dough paddle fitted in, but you can use whatever you’d like to evenly mix the ingredients to form a dough). Sprinkle the ice water over the crumbs and mix until the dough comes together to form a ball. Form the ball into a 6-inch disk, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to overnight. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Lightly grease a tart pan/round pan, roll out the dough disk until it’s about 1/8-inch thick, and gently lift the dough to line it on the greased pan. Line the crust with aluminum foil (do not press the foil down too hard onto the dough, or the dough will stick when baking) and fill with dried beans, uncooked rice, or ceramic/metal pie weights. Bake the crust for about 15 minutes or until the crust dries out (if the foil still sticks after the 15 minutes, return the crust to the oven and continue to bake, checking every 2 minutes). Reduce the heat of the oven to 350ºF and remove the weights and foil from the crust. Continue to bake until the entire crust is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and allow it to cool completely.

FOR THE FILLING: In a large bowl, combine the mascarpone cheese, heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract using a whisk or hand mixer on medium speed until firm peaks form. Spread the filling evening in the cooled crust. Arrange the fruit on top however you’d like, and you have completed it!

It’s funny how making the crust takes a whole lot longer than putting together the tart itself, but it is well worth the effort! I hope you enjoy~

A-Hi there, Tuna!

Haha, I hope you appreciate my silly title puns! And I hope you had a spooky, scary Halloween full of delicious tricks and treats~ I apologize for not being able to put some fun Halloween treats for you, but hopefully these pictures will make it up to you.

Anyway, the recipe for today is Seared Ahi Tuna with Sesame Ginger Glaze! This recipe is wonderfully light yet filling, and is very easy to make, so you should definitely make this if you’re planning on having a rich and heavy dessert.

Ingredients:

·      ¼ cup teriyaki baste and glaze (thickened teriyaki sauce)

·      1 tsp finely grated fresh gingerroot

·      1 tbsp rice vinegar

·      2 tsp sesame oil

·      2 tsp vegetable oil

·      1 skinless Ahi tuna steak (8 oz), about 1-1/2 inches thick

·      2 tbsp sesame seeds

·      1 tbsp thinly sliced green onions

Spread the sesame seeds in a single layer on a small frying pan and toast the seeds over medium heat until they begin to brown. Remove the seeds from the pan to cool completely.

Combine the teriyaki baste and glaze, gingerroot, vinegar, and sesame oil in a small bowl for the glaze, whisk until blended, and set aside.

Heat the vegetable oil in a medium-large pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the tuna with salt and roll it in the toasted sesame seeds, coating it completely. Place the tuna in the heated pan and sear on all sides until the sesame seeds are evenly toasted, about 30-45 seconds per side. The inside of the tuna should still be raw; make sure NOT to overcook it. Remove the tuna steak from the pan and let stand for 5 minutes.

Thinly slice the tuna, drizzle with the glaze, and sprinkle with green onions. And then you are all done~! Enjoy the food and have fun cooking or baking!