Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Hot Kitchen Mess
So I am pretty sure I jacked up when I named my blog Journey Through Food and Wine. Let's be honest it should have been Hot Kitchen Mess....hmmm oh wait, is it too late to change the name? Because seriously I am truly a hot kitchen mess!!! And since I am being honest I am pretty dang proud of it and I find my kitchen disasters to be pretty darn amusing. And so tonight was absolutely no different!!
Tonight I decided to make Corn and Basil Tart and I read the recipe carefully...well carefully for me...aka. I scanned it and skipped every 3rd word. However, I did catch the part where the recipe called for a tart pan with a removable bottom. And hence this is where my problems started. I did not have a tart pan with a removable bottom...oh yeah wait I did not have any tart pan at all. So I went to Williams and Sonoma's web page and I purchased a tart pan with a removable bottom. And guess what I saw when I took it out of the box? A warning label that tells me the tart pan has sharp edges, really? Is this what our world has come to? Like I couldn't figure that one out on my own? Or if I had cut my finger, would I have ever considered suing Williams and Sonoma for my finger laceration?
Anyway after reading the warning label and picking up the tart pan oh so carefully I made my cornmeal crust. This part was easy!!! Throw the ingredients in the mixer, put it in plastic wrap for 30 minutes and gently put the dough into the tart pan without touching the razor blade edges and eviscerating my fingers with the sharp edges surrounding the tart pan of death!!! Sure the recipe says to use a glass to roll the dough into the tart pan...lets be honest I used my fingers and it worked just fine!!! But I pretty much risked all 10 digits by doing this!!!
Next I made the mixture that goes inside the crust which is in the tart pan...and this is where my troubles began. Take 2 eggs and whisk them together with half and half. My half and half went bad so I used heavy whipping cream...sure it made it less low cal but I figured same idea, works fine and saves me a visit to the store. Win/win!!! Then add 1 1/2 cups corn cut off the cob...definitely improving in this area. The corn did not end up on the floor this time. Sure my knife did slip a few times...nearly committing hary-cary with my knife into my abdomen but alls well that ends well...or whatever that Shakespearean saying is. Added the basil, salt and pepper and followed the recipe precisely...it said to pour this mixture into my crust.
So I had my crust sitting on the stove in my tart pan with the removable bottom. And as I poured, the mixture started to slowly ooze out the bottom of the tart pan via the removable bottom. WTF is pretty much what I was thinking as I saw the disaster spread across the stove!!! And it was kind of like watching a car wreck because as I poured I saw it seeping out of the bottom of the pan, however did I stop pouring? Hmmm, yeah no!!! I continued to pour and watch and the mixture continued to spread across the stove top which resulted in my stove looking like this:
I put my tart on a cookie sheet so as not to destroy the inside of my oven and voila this was my finished product!!! Very light and flaky crust with a nice creamy mixture with a subtle hint of basil and a summery corn egg mixture. But since this is my blog let me be honest...do not and I repeat do not use a tart pan with a removable bottom!!!
Here is the recipe:
Ok so it might not be the prettiest tart you have ever seen but it really does taste good. The basil gives it great flavor and the fresh tomato makes it scream summer!! This would be the perfect recipe for a summer brunch and a great mimosa. Not that its brunch-o'clock and not that I am drinking mimosas but that is the image that this recipe conjures up for me. I do think this recipe would have been a little better with a little more filling...oh wait that's right it was supposed to have more filling..it just oozed out the bottom. Because the way it turned out the cornmeal crust is a little overpowering but still good.
And finally I want to say thank you to Carolyn for making my Chicken Piccata recipe and taking a picture!!! Its beautiful and I am so glad you, your family and Matt G. liked it!!! Thank you!!! Btw, the picture is gorgeous!!
Tonight I decided to make Corn and Basil Tart and I read the recipe carefully...well carefully for me...aka. I scanned it and skipped every 3rd word. However, I did catch the part where the recipe called for a tart pan with a removable bottom. And hence this is where my problems started. I did not have a tart pan with a removable bottom...oh yeah wait I did not have any tart pan at all. So I went to Williams and Sonoma's web page and I purchased a tart pan with a removable bottom. And guess what I saw when I took it out of the box? A warning label that tells me the tart pan has sharp edges, really? Is this what our world has come to? Like I couldn't figure that one out on my own? Or if I had cut my finger, would I have ever considered suing Williams and Sonoma for my finger laceration?
Anyway after reading the warning label and picking up the tart pan oh so carefully I made my cornmeal crust. This part was easy!!! Throw the ingredients in the mixer, put it in plastic wrap for 30 minutes and gently put the dough into the tart pan without touching the razor blade edges and eviscerating my fingers with the sharp edges surrounding the tart pan of death!!! Sure the recipe says to use a glass to roll the dough into the tart pan...lets be honest I used my fingers and it worked just fine!!! But I pretty much risked all 10 digits by doing this!!!
Next I made the mixture that goes inside the crust which is in the tart pan...and this is where my troubles began. Take 2 eggs and whisk them together with half and half. My half and half went bad so I used heavy whipping cream...sure it made it less low cal but I figured same idea, works fine and saves me a visit to the store. Win/win!!! Then add 1 1/2 cups corn cut off the cob...definitely improving in this area. The corn did not end up on the floor this time. Sure my knife did slip a few times...nearly committing hary-cary with my knife into my abdomen but alls well that ends well...or whatever that Shakespearean saying is. Added the basil, salt and pepper and followed the recipe precisely...it said to pour this mixture into my crust.
So I had my crust sitting on the stove in my tart pan with the removable bottom. And as I poured, the mixture started to slowly ooze out the bottom of the tart pan via the removable bottom. WTF is pretty much what I was thinking as I saw the disaster spread across the stove!!! And it was kind of like watching a car wreck because as I poured I saw it seeping out of the bottom of the pan, however did I stop pouring? Hmmm, yeah no!!! I continued to pour and watch and the mixture continued to spread across the stove top which resulted in my stove looking like this:
I put my tart on a cookie sheet so as not to destroy the inside of my oven and voila this was my finished product!!! Very light and flaky crust with a nice creamy mixture with a subtle hint of basil and a summery corn egg mixture. But since this is my blog let me be honest...do not and I repeat do not use a tart pan with a removable bottom!!!
Here is the recipe:
ingredients
- 1/3cup butter, softened
- 2tablespoons sugar
- 1/2teaspoon salt
- 3eggs
- 2/3cup yellow cornmeal
- 2/3cup all-purpose flour
- 1cup half-and-half or light cream
- 1 1/2cups fresh corn kernels (about 3 ears)
- 1/2cup coarsely snipped fresh basil
- 1/2teaspoon salt
- 1/4teaspoon ground black pepper
- Chopped tomato and basil (optional)
directions
1.For cornmeal crust, in medium bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Beat until combined. Beat in 1 egg until combined. Add in cornmeal and as much of the flour as you can with the mixer; stir in any remaining flour. Form dough into a disc and wrap in plastic. Chill 30 to 60 minutes or until easy to handle.
2.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pat dough onto bottom and sides of 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Press evenly onto bottom and sides with a small glass (see note). Line pastry with double thickness of foil and bake 10 minutes; remove foil. Bake 4 to 6 minutes more.
3.Meanwhile, in medium bowl whisk together 2 eggs and half-and-half. Stir in corn, basil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Pour into pastry shell. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until set. Let stand 10 minutes. Remove sides of pan to serve. Sprinkle with tomato and additional basil. Makes 8 servings.
 |
| Yup, it continued to ooze in the oven!! |
Ok so it might not be the prettiest tart you have ever seen but it really does taste good. The basil gives it great flavor and the fresh tomato makes it scream summer!! This would be the perfect recipe for a summer brunch and a great mimosa. Not that its brunch-o'clock and not that I am drinking mimosas but that is the image that this recipe conjures up for me. I do think this recipe would have been a little better with a little more filling...oh wait that's right it was supposed to have more filling..it just oozed out the bottom. Because the way it turned out the cornmeal crust is a little overpowering but still good.
And finally I want to say thank you to Carolyn for making my Chicken Piccata recipe and taking a picture!!! Its beautiful and I am so glad you, your family and Matt G. liked it!!! Thank you!!! Btw, the picture is gorgeous!!
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OMG, I *totally* slashed my finger once years ago on a tart pan! Really! Almost needed stitches. And mine did NOT come with a warning label.
ReplyDeleteIf you want a good use for your new pan, try this - it's SO good -http://mcfarlanddesigns.blogspot.com/2007/05/best-vegan-dessert-in-world-period.html