Saturday, March 10, 2012

Sometimes life gets a little crazy....

....and that's exactly what's been going on here lately!!! Some days there's just not enough time to get everything done....and on top of that I've got a major case of cabin fever!!! 
We've been taking the simple approach in the kitchen...just kind of going with easier, less time consuming meals...it's been kind of nice and it's given us some time to think about some other projects that we've got coming up!!!


So, even though I haven't done alot of cooking I've still got a couple of sweet recipes for you today....the apple tart was soooo good and the crust is super simple to make (thanks to Pioneer Woman) and the orange olive oil cake, may sound kind of strange but it is really yummy!!!


Apple Tart

For the crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, cold
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 egg
5 Tblsp. cold water
1 Tblsp. distilled white vinegar

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl.  Add the butter, shortening.  Using a pastry cutter, gradually work the butter and shortening into the flour until the mixture resembles tiny pebbles.  This step should take 3 or 4 minutes.

Lightly beat the egg with a fork and add it to the flour mixture.  Next, add in the cold water and vinegar.  Stir the mixture together until it's just combined (I prefer to use my hands), be sure not to over mix.  Remove the dough from the bowl and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

For the filling:

4 cups apples, peeled,cored and sliced (I used Empire), but use what you prefer
Sugar, to your taste
Cinnamon, to taste
2 Tblsp. flour, enough to thicken the apples

Mix all ingredients together.

Roll out pie crust to approx. 9 or 10 inch round and put on baking sheet.  Pile apples in center of crust leaving enough crust to fold over the edges of the apples about 3 or 4 inches.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, until crust is nicely browned and apples are tender.

Glaze:

2 cups confectioners sugar
Milk, enough to make a drizzle consistency
1 tsp. vanilla

Whisk all ingredients together and drizzle over cooled tart.



Orange Olive Oil Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tblsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Zest from 3 oranges
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Generously spray a 10 inch bundt pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whish together flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In another large bowl, beat egg yolks until they are pale and light; slowly pour in 2 cups sugar until it's completely incorporated.  Add the yogurt and olive oil and mix thoroughly combined.  Add the orange zest and vanilla, mix thoroughly.

Add the flour to the wet mixture in 2 parts, beating well after each addition, until just combined, scrape the sides of the bowl and beat an additional 5 seconds.

In a seperate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, Scoop 1 cup of the egg whites into the batter and using a rubber spatula fold into the cake batter, until combined.  Add remaining egg whites and continue to fold into the batter.

Pour the batter into the bundt pan and bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Transfer pan to cooling rack and cool for 10-15 minutes.  Gently loosen the sides of the cake from the pan and turn onto the cooling rack. Cool completely.

Dust with powdered sugar or using the glaze recipe above, drizzle over the cake.
I wish I'd taken a before pic of this...
it started life as a very plain pine lazy susan that cost $7.95 from IKEA....it's amazing what a little paint can do!!!  :)

Next thing on my "To Do" list is my Spring/Easter Decorating....I'll let you know what I come up with!!
'Til Next Time....

8 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your project Patti. WHere did you inspiration come from for the lazy susan? Please note that, as that is part of the challenge and we love to hear about it. Thanks for joining me. Hope to see you next week as I resume my weekly newbie party.

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    1. Thanks Debbie...I appreciate your help...I know I saw it on one of the blogs I read....I will try to find it! Where should I mention it??

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  2. Hi Patti....I like your cute Lazy Susan. Each of us has probably had a plain one in our kitchen at some point. I like how you gave yours personality. Each of your desserts liiks yummy. I'd love to try your olive oil cake. It looks very moist, and I bet it tastes great. Sorry I am so late on commenting....busy week for me...but I wanted to stop by to thank you for adding your post to my party!

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  3. Cute idea with the lazy susan and the food looks delicious! Thank you for joining me at Home Sweet Home!
    Sherry

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  4. That Lazy Susan is so pretty, and I can't wait to try the Orange Olive Oil cake - It sounds so interesting!

    Thanks for linking up at Beautify It Monday! We were thrilled to have such a great turn out for out first party! Features will go up on Saturday and we hope to see you back again on Monday for week 2!

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  5. Patty that is a great project! I loved how it turned out. Thanx for joining THT!

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  6. I love this! Hi I am a new follower from http://craftyhousemom.blogspot.com would love it if you visited

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