Key Lime Bars

I've been craving lime for the past little while. At Metrotown, I recently had a Key Lime Pie flavored Yogen-Fruz: natural lime flavored extract and graham cracker crumbs.It reminded me of the time in California where Rebecca, her mom, and I had Key Lime Pies (twice.. maybe three times) for dessert in the course of a week. Haha.

And when Daddy was scheduled for a visit, it seemed the perfect thing to make.
He apparently likes tart things.

The bars turned out wonderful - thanks to the fresh lime juice and zest, I think.
But it was too sweet for Daddy :(

Key Lime Bars
from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

Crust
5 oz (2 1/2 cups) graham crackers
3 tbsp light brown sugar
pinch of salt
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Filling
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp grated fresh lime zest
pinch of salt
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (from 3 limes)

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with a foil sling and grease the foil.

For the crust: Process the graham crackers, sugar and salt together in a food processor to fine crumbs, about 15 seconds. Drizzle the melted butter over the crumbs and pulse to incorporate, about 10 pulses. Sprinkle the mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer with the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake the crust until fragrant and deep golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.

For the filling: Stir the cream cheese, zest and salt together in a medium bowl until combined. Whisk in the sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Whisk in the egg yolk and lime juice until combined. Pour the filling evenly over the crust. Bake the bars until set and the edges begin to pull away slightly from the sides of the pan, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

Let the bars cool completely in the pan, set on a wire rack, about 2 hours, then cover with foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours. Remove the bars from the pan using foil, cut into squares.

Variation: Triple-Citrus Bars. Reduce the amount of lime zest to 1 1/2 tsp and combine with 1 1/2 tsp each grated fresh lemon zest and orange zest. Reduce the amount of lime juice to 6 tbsp and combine with 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice and 1 tbsp orange juice.

Richard Bertinet's White Dough

 

There's a story behind this.

The book was a library book. I had borrowed it during the school term but as papers and exams came crept up on me, I never got around to baking anything from it. But I didn't want to return it - just yet. I ended up renewing the book 3 times: the maximum number of times I recently realized (and probably would have renewed it again had I been allowed).

What intrigued me was Richard Bertinet's "kneading" technique. He explained that American bakers knead their dough on a "lightly" floured surface, ending up with much more flour than as stated in the recipe,  altering the final product. His method was to repeatedly stretch the dough and trap air inside, eliminating the need for any extra flour. It made perfect sense. The complementary CD made it look so simple.

On the day I finally got around to baking bread, I was ecstatic. I had the CD playing on my laptop in front of me while I was "kneading" my dough. I admit, it was a bit of a challenge. I had to replay the clip 3 times to finally get the dough to the state it was supposed to be in. But I knew all that work would be worth it in the end. So you see how frustrated I was when the dough failed to rise (at all) even after an hour and a half in a warm place. I called the book stupid. I blamed the author. I was not impressed.

I didn't want to waste my bread flour that I bought for the first time and since I was halfway to the finish line, I decided to continue on and see what happened. Afterall, as long as it was edible... right? So I divided the dough in two and waited another hour. And when I flipped back my tea towel, I was in shock. The bread had risen! It had worked. Who knows what happened during the first rising but... in the end, all turned out well. When the oven timer went off and I pulled my bread out of the oven, it was love at first sight. I might even buy the book now. Unless I find another bread book I fall in love with.

This might be my favorite bread recipe - yet.

chewyyy

White Dough
from Richard Bertinet's Dough: Simple Contemporary Breads

10g (1 1/2 tsp) fresh/active dry yeast
18 oz (3 3/4 - 3 7/8 cups) white bread flour
10g (about 2 tsp) fine-grain salt
13 fl. oz in a measuring cup (1 - 1 1/2 cups) water

Rub the yeast into the flour using your fingertips as if making a crumble. Add the salt and water. Hold the bowl with one hand and mix the ingredients around with the other for 2-3 minutes until the dough starts to form.

Make the dough according to this method: 1) Slide your fingers underneath with your thumbs on top 2) Swing the dough upwards then slap it down away from you 3) Stretch the front of the dough towards you 4) Lift it back over itself in an arc to trap in the air. Continue until a smooth dough forms.

Form into a ball by folding each edge in turn onto the center of the dough and pressing down well with your thumb, rotating the ball as you go. Turn the whole ball over and stretch and tuck the edges over. Put in floured bowl and sprinkle flour on top. Let rest for around 1 hour, until it is roughly double in volume.

To shape into loaves: flatten the ball of dough a little with the heel of your hands. Fold on edge into the center and press down with the heel of your hand. Fold the other edge over into the center and press down again. Fold over in half and then press down again firmly to seal the edges. Turn over and place (seam-side down) in a greased loaf pan and let rise 1 - 1 1/2 hours until the loaves have nearly doubled.

Preheat the oven to 475 F/250 C. Turn down the heat to 425 F/220 C and bake for 20-25min.

Homemade Chocolate Truffles

I didn't think it was possible.

For one thing, it didn't look possible.

on a bed of coconut

But these looked exactly like the French truffles sold at Costco - although obviously, they wouldn't taste the same.

Nevertheless, not bad - for a kid's book. Did I mention my new found craze for children's cookbooks? Not all of course, but some are nice and easy to follow with lots & lots of pictures - which I believe every cookbook should have. It really makes a difference. After all, how do you know what your finished product will look like? Step-by-step pictures are helpful but as long as there is one decent picture of the finished product, it has my seal of approval.  

Homemade Chocolate Truffles

by Angela Wilkes' Children's Quick & Easy Cook Book

¼ cup cream or curd cheese (I used cream cheese)
½ cup chopped nuts

½ cup confectioner’s sugar

¼ cup cocoa powder

[coating: cocoa powder, dried coconut, chocolate sprinkles]



Put the cream cheese, chopped nuts, confectioner’s sugar, and cocoa powder in a bowl and mix together. Put the cocoa, coconut, and sprinkles for the coating on three plates or shallow bowls. Roll the mixture into small balls. Roll the truffles in the cocoa powder, coconut, or sprinkles, to coat them. Put the truffles in paper candy liners (which I didn't bother with. They're fine in a zip lock bag)

Coconut Custard Meringue Pie

I've recently developed a trick: as I shelve away at the library, whenever a book catches my eye, I take it out and leave it on the side so I can grab it after my shift is over.

Since anything pie-ish has been on my agenda, a certain book full of scrumptious looking pies caught my attention. Called "Sweety Pies", the cover is "sweet" - no pun intended. It's nicely divided into sections: Berry Pies, Cream & Custard Pies, Fruit Pies... just to name a few.

Eye-catching cover, no?

When I asked my mom to choose something, the winner was.. (unsurprisingly)
"Coconut Custard Meringue Pie". What was surprising (which shouldn't have, if I looked closely at the ingredients), it tasted just like the Homemade Almond Joy.

Coconut Custard Meringue Pie
from Patty Pinner's Sweety Pies

One 9'' single Pie Crust

1 cup sugar (I halved this but even that was too sweet - for me, anyway)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups whole milk
3 egg yolks
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tsp coconut extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp butter

3 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
3 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare the pie crust and fully prebake. Set asdie.

Make the filling: in a large, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually whisk in the milk until well blended. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and begins to boil. Remove from the heat.

In a medium-size bowl, beat the egg yolks until thick and lemon colored. Slowly stir about 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture into the beaten egg yolks. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut, extracts, and butter until the butter melts and is thoroughly incorporated. Pour the filling into the pie crust.

Make the meringue: in a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually beat in the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, and the cornstarch, beating well after each addition. Continue to beat until shiny, stiff peaks form.

Mound the meringue in the center of the pie, then spread it evenly around the edge of the inner crust, sealing the meringue to the crust. Use a spoon to create a design of peaks and valleys all over the meringue. Sprinkle the coconut evenly over the meringue. Place in the oven and bake until the meringue is a luscious golden brown and the coconut is toasted, 8 to 10 minutes. (I'd say even shorter. Keep an eye on the pie!) Let cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

Quiche Lorraine

Quiche is one of my favorite dishes but I don't get to have it very often.
The frozen ones they sell at the supermarket don't look very appetizing either.
And I had one of those pie shells hanging around the freezer..
As much as it is fail-proof, I don't get the full satisfaction - just like my Lemon Meringue Pie
(Note to self: stop buying pie shells)

Working with ingredients other than the same old butter, sugar, and flour was fun.
Onions, gruyère cheese, and bacon.
Mmm... bacon...

One thing I realized though: quiche is pretty much Korean 계란찜 (gae-ran-zzim. steamed egg) + other ingredients on a pie crust.

Quiche Lorraine
adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

1 9-inch pie shell eg Tenderflake
1 cup heavy cream
4 eggs, beaten
4 slices of bacon, chopped
1 onion, minced
1 tbsp minced fresh chives
1 cup Gruyère cheese, shredded

Prepare pie shell using directions on box.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream and parsley; season with salt and pepper.

Fry chopped bacon in skillet over medium heat until crisp. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and pour off all but 2 tsp of the bacon fat. Add 1 minced onion to the skillet and cook over medium heat until lightly browned. Stir the cooked bacon and onion into the egg mixture. Add shredded cheese.

Pour the egg mixture in the cooked and cooled pie crust.

Place on a baking sheet, in preheated oven (375 F/ 190 C), and cook for 50 - 55 minutes. [Note: Pull the quiche out of the oven before it is completely set, as it will continue to cook and set as it cools] Let cool for at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.