Summer Hiatus

I'll be on summer hiatus around here so I won't be baking and posting on the ole blog.

We will be travelling and I will mostly be unplugged from the matrix, er, I mean, the internet.

Wish you all a great summer. Feel free to go through the archives!

I'll be back on the blog by September!

Ciao,
Maki

Caramelized Onion & Blue Cheese Phyllo Tart

Growing up, my mom often using phyllo pastry, so it I am quite accustomed to it, but truthfully, I don't use it often enough myself. Thus, I pulled out a box from my freezer and was inspired to try out different fillings and techniques to use it in savory dishes. I absolutely love the flakey goodness when a phyllo pastry is brushed with butter and baked.

I had recently made my kale and feta phyllo pie and this time I had a block of blue cheese sitting in my fridge needing attention. Blue cheese is quite strong in flavor but I absolutely love it and I found that it was a nice juxtaposism to the sweet caramelized onions.

I opted for an open tart, so that you could see the beautiful caramelized onions and filling. Usually, I try to limit frying larger amounts of onions to the weekends so that I don't have to leave the house smelling like fried onions (because you really do, trust me) but I just didn't care give a damn this time around. Feel sorry for the folks in the aisles of the grocery store that I walked past :)

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Caramelized Onion & Blue Cheese Phyllo Tart
makes a 9 inch tart

2 tbsp oil
2 large red onions, sliced thin
1 tsp brown sugar

4 eggs
3/4 cup cream (I used 10% cream- but you can use a higher % if you prefer.)
1 cup blue cheese, crumbled


4 phyllo sheets
1/4 cup melted butter


To a large nonstick pan, add the oil, onions and brown sugar. Cover and cook, over low heat, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 45 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, stir together the eggs and add cream and crumbled blue cheese. Slowly add the onions to the mixture and set aside while prepping the tart pan.

Butter or spray the bottom and sides of the tart pan.

Take out a phyllo sheet, brush butter on half of the sheet and then fold it width-wise against its self. Butter the top and lay it into the pan, allowing the ends to hang over the tart pan edge. Continue in the same manner for the other 3 sheets, overlapping the sheets.

Fill the tart shell with the onion/egg mixture. Fold the overhanging phyllo leaves onto the tart filling. Brush butter on the tops of the phyllo leaves.

Cover the tart pan loosely with foil. Bake in the oven at 375F for 45-50 minutes, taking the foil off the last 15 minutes so the top phyllo sheets brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 8-10 minutes on a rack. Remove from tart pan and serve.

V Sandwiches - Eating Out

A friend and I checked out V Sandwiches over a week ago, when The Works was on downtown. I'm quite impressed with this novel idea. Vietnamese subs! Seriously, how great is that?

There was so many tasty options to choose from which made it hard to choose. I ordered the sate beef sub and I was surprised by the plentiful amount of beef and vegetables. Let's not forget the Vietnamese iced coffee! Sweet and tasty good.

I'll definitely be back to try other flavors AND their new vermicelli bowls!

V Sandwiches has new whyte ave location opening soon but I really think they should also consider getting a food truck or trailer! Vietnamese subs on the go, would that not be an incredible idea?

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V Sandwiches - downtown location
10135 100A Street
Edmonton, AB

Long Lake Provincial Park, Alberta - Photo Friday

We went camping for the long weekend to Long Lake Provincial Park.

The beach and surroundings was a beautiful thing.

Camping, not so much.

Shortbread Tarts filled with Lemon Curd

Lemon curd. Blueberries. Whip cream. Tarts.

HEAVEN.

They taste as good as they look! Love that summer brings out all the fresh berries and fruits. So much more fun to photograph.



Though, next time I'd probably try a tart shell that is a bit more softer and flakier. This one is good but a little bit harder to eat with a fork.

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Shortbread Tarts
makes 8 mini tart shells

500g white flour
100g icing sugar
250g cold butter, cut into small cubes
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

Sift together the flour and icing sugar into a food processor. Add the cubed butter and pulse until course crumbly.

Add the eggs and vanilla extract and pulse only until combined.

Split dough into 8 pieces and press into the tart shells. Poke fork holes in the base of the dough. Fill each filled shells with pie weights or foil with beans.

Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes at 350F. Remove the pie weights or beans and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes, so the crust is lightly browned.

Lemon Curd

Lemon curd has always been on my to-do list. I had first thought it was like a marmalade, which I dislike, with zest and chunks of peel, but it is quite the opposite.

Curd is a creamy spread, the base made with eggs and butter, and of course citrus juice! You can use it on toast, scones, as a filling in tarts or other desserts.



Next blogpost, I'll show you what I did with it!

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Lemon Curd
makes just under 1.5 cups

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tbsp butter
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1/2 sugar

Place the butter and lemon juice into a microwave safe bowl and heat until the butter is melted and mixture is hot.

In a saucepan, whisk together the eggs, egg yolk and sugar. While continually mixing, slowly drizzle in the hot lemon/butter mixture into the eggs/sugar mixture until all blended.

Heat the mixture over medium heat for about 5 minutes, mixing frequently, until the mixture thickens.

Remove from heat and strain the mixture. Place in an airtight container and chill before use.