Zucchini Leek Tartlets: Guest Baker, René LaVoie

We here at Tales of Three Bakers welcome René LaVoie of The Savory Life who brings us a glimpse into her culinary talents! For more of René's recipes, also check out her personal recipe page at GroupRecipes ~Luisa

Hello! I'm René, and Luisa graciously asked me to be a guest blogger. Her culinary creativity is an inspiration to me and my kitchen adventures, so it is truly a pleasure :)

Now on to the Zucchini Leek Tartlets!

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These babies could rival a chocolate ganache over the meaning of the word "decadent." Plus, you can feel good about eating a few veggies while indulging. Another plus: you don't have to wait for the dough to rest! But you could make it ahead of time if you must, just keep it in the fridge.

I used rich homemade ricotta by Smitten Kitchen for the filling~yum! but a good quality store-bought would work just fine.

I did have a bit of dough leftover, not quite enough to make another tart, so I flattened it into shapes with my hands and baked it into "crackers" that my son and I dipped into some extra ricotta :)

Ingredients:

for the crust:

adapted from Paule Caillat via David Lebovitz

12 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 Tbsp canola or safflower oil

6 Tbsp water (I used the whey leftover from making the ricotta)

1/4 tsp finely ground sea salt

1 tsp minced fresh rosemary

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

for the toppings:

about 2 cups ricotta cheese

1 large zucchini, thinly sliced

1 leek, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp minced fresh rosemary

freshly shredded pecorino romano

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 410 degrees Fahrenheit and arrange seven 5"

spring form tart pans on a large baking tray.

Add the butter, oil, water (or whey), salt, and rosemary to a small pan and bring to a low boil.

Mix the flours in a heat-proof bowl and add the liquid mixture. Stir until the dough just comes together.

When the dough is cool enough to work with, separate it into seven equal balls, and press each ball into a tart pan. Reinforce the sides with your fingers or a fork, and poke a few holes in the bottom of each with a fork.

Reserve a small piece of dough in the bowl for patching up holes or cracks after the first bake. Bake for 10 minutes, then set aside.

While the crusts are cooling, saute the leeks in a bit of oil, then toss in a bowl with the zucchini. Add s&p.

When the crusts are cool, add a generous dollop of ricotta in each, and spread it into an even layer.

Sprinkle the garlic & rosemary over the ricotta. Arrange the leeks and zucchini on top any which way, and top it all off with the pecorino romano.

Bake for 10 minutes. If they're not as golden as you'd like, stick 'em under the broiler for a minute or two, but make sure those crusts don't burn! Serve hot and enjoy :)

DIY: Glittered Ombre Deer



{Glittered ombre deer in candle display}

Every Christmas, as busy as the season can get, the kids and I try to do at least a few crafty projects.  Last year, I had seen a few crafty folk glittering up plastic animals and placing them in displays and terraniums. Ever the glitter fanatic, I made a mental note to attempt a similiar project this year.  With ombre being all the rage from hair color to fashion and homewares, I decided to somehow tie it in and put my own spin on glittered animals.


This is what you'll need:

plastic toy animals (deer, penguins, etc.)

(Schleich is the brand name I used; about $3-5 each)

Mod Podge or other craft glue

small paint brushes

glitter in varying hues

Next, you'll want to decide what color family you'd like to use.  I chose white, gold, copper and brown glitters so that you could really see the gradual light to dark contrast, but any color that suits your fancy will work.  Three to four colored glitters should do the trick.

Next, this is where the glue comes in...brush the very bottom of the animal with glue and shake some glitter on it.  I let mine dry to the touch before I attempted the next color.

The lighter glitters, such as the white glitter, I had to do about three times so the markings wouldn't show and I could get a decent coat.

I chose to go from light to dark, but you could play around with the color placement 

and be as creative as you like...

As you glitter each section, take your brush and blend downwards so that the color change naturally blends into the color below it. 

And here is the finished ombre deer!  It's an easy, kid-friendly project that doesn't cost very much money and the glittered animals are sweet to tuck in little nooks and crannies around your house.  As with any glitter project, it is a bit messy (we're okay with it!), but if you'd like a less messier medium to work with check out Martha Stewart's line of acrylic glitter glue.

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial and

we'd love to hear what crafty holiday projects you've been doing!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

When one thinks of bread pudding, one usually thinks of a very heavy, sweet and dense dessert---not this one! This bread pudding has an almost "souffle-like" texture - so light and not too sweet! Fresh pumpkin puree is so easy to make - just skip the canned stuff! Great combination with the caramel sauce, which I adapted from Thomas Keller's "Ad Hoc" cookbook.

For the pumpkin bread pudding:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup half & half
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large organic eggs
• 3 large organic egg yolks
• 2 cups cooked pumpkin puree, fresh
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 6 1-inch-thick slices of brioche http://www.grouprecipes.com/65955/simple-brioche-loaf.html or challah, cut into cubes

For caramel:

• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, warmed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• pinch of fleur de sel

For bread pudding:
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly butter a 9x11 baking pan.
Combine creams, eggs, sugars, pumpkin and spices in a large mixing bowl with a whisk. Place the brioche cubes in another large bowl and pour pumpkin mixture over tham, tossing gently to combine until almost all liguid is absorbed. Pour into prepared baking pan and place into a larger roasting pan, with enough boiling water to come up halfway sides of the baking pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until custard is set.

For caramel:
Combine the sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan and stir in the water. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Then adjust the heat as necessary to continue simmering. Cook without stirring, for 30 to 35 minutes, until the caramel is a rich amber color. If you want to check the color, use a small spoon to drop a small amount on a white plate. (You want a dark caramel so the finished sauce will be a rich color.) Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the cream, being careful because the mixture will bubble up. If the sauce seizes, stir it over the heat to slowly remelt any hardened caramel. Whisk in the butter.

To serve: cut bread pudding into cubes and spoon warm caramel sauce over each serving. We also served ours with vanilla bean ice cream.

Posted by Luisa