Gutsy Cooks is pulling me kicking and screaming into the land of dough.  And hollandaise.  It is so much fun!

I'm starting to like this pie dough/tart dough stuff.  On the menu this week were mushroom tarts and vanilla custards.  Both turned out to be delicious!  Next time, and there will be a next time, I plan to skip the hollandaise and top with grated cheese.

The custards were perfect and couldn't have been simpler to whip up.  I thickened a can of sour cherries with sugar and cinnamon.  Big hit!  Highly recommend both recipes.

Empanadas and White Bean Soup

This week's Gutsy Cooks made empanadas and white bean soup.  Both were a first for me.  

The soup came together easily, especially since I took a shortcut with canned cannelloni beans, only because I forgot to soak them overnight.  I'll make it again with dried beans and maybe not puree it so much with an immersion blender.  The texture was ultra silky.  Being a vegetarian, I left out the pancetta.  It had a nice mild flavor.

I've always wanted to give empanadas a try.  The dough didn't look promising at all after I pummeled it but surprisingly rolled out quite easily.  I opted for spiced potatoes.  I'll try this recipe again using a recipe for samosa filling, which is a favorite thing to order at Indian restaurants.  I think it will work well with this dough.

So this was a fun challenge for me working with dough!

Ricotta and Basil Roulade and Quindim

My first meal with the Gutsy Cooks gang!  This was so much fun to make. I was surprised how utterly easy the recipes were to put together.  The dessert takes literally minutes.  The roulade a bit longer, but still quite easy.  Except for spilling the chopped spinach and sun dried tomatoes all over the floor.  Plan B.  Go pick the last of the basil in the garden. It was fantastic. This is definitely a do again recipe.

I opted for toasting regular, not fresh, coconut.  It was fine. We all loved these. I'm making another batch
with only the cream of coconut for my coconut phobic husband. He likes the flavor but not the texture of coconut.

Already Gutsy Cooks has gotten me outside my macaroni and cheese comfort zone.

Gerard's Mustard Tart

 The Queen of Hearts,
    She made some tarts,
All on a summer's day;
    The Knave of Hearts,
    He stole the tarts,
And took them clean away.

    The King of Hearts
    Called for the tarts,
And beat the Knave full sore;
    The Knave of Hearts
    Brought back the tarts,
And vowed he'd steal no more.


I have wanted to learn to make tarts forever.  French Fridays with Dorie this week made Gerard's Mustard Tart, so there it was.  Time for me to pull up my boot straps and make tart dough.  It could not have been simpler.  I opted for mini tart shells because A) I've lost my large one B)Couldn't be bothered to go buy another because C) Three granddaughters under the age of ten and two puppies under the age of six months were cavorting underfoot.  D) No tomato. It was a tad bit CHAOTIC.


After making the shells last night, I was too exhausted to mix up the filling and fell into a comatose state by seven o'clock.  French Friday is now moved to French Saturday.  This morning, after sending my husband off to the store for a tomato, I am happy to report that these tarts came out of the oven in one piece, not burned and smelling delicious.  Plus they were just plain cute in all their miniature glory.
And I even remembered to leave the mustard out of said husband who has a life threatening mustard allergy.  I was even so clever as to remember which of his specifically didn't contain the mustard.  I wasn't so clever when I mixed them up on the cooling rack.  

This tart was incredible!  I can't describe the excitement I feel at being able to now make a tart.  Let's pack them in a wicker hamper and head over to Napa for general frolicking through the wine country.  Or up to the mountains for apple picking and fresh air.  The possibilities are endless. They're also great after raking leaves, which is how we enjoyed them.

French Fridays with Dorie Goureges

French Fridays with Dorie started off with lovely Goureges.  I had such high hopes for them even though my track record with choux pastry leaves a lot to be desired.  It seemed to mix up easily and did all the right pulling away from the pan.  Each egg addition incorporated easily.  I used all cheddar cheese.  The dough looked wonderful.  Coming out of the oven they smelled wonderful but cut open, revealed dense, not airy texture like the picture.  I don't know what I'm doing wrong with choux pastry mixing.