Apple Tart - A - Alphabet Challenge

Welcome to my new idea, the Alphabet Challenge. Over the next 26 weeks I plan to make a dish that starts with a letter of the alphabet. It can be any type of cuisine but it MUST start with the letter of the week. I hope you follow along with me until the end of the year!

To start us off I decided to make an apple tart for the letter A. This tart is made in the French style and was super easy to make. I've modified this recipe a bit from one of my favorite chefs Ina Garten. If you're in a hurry, you can skip making the pie crust from scratch and utilize frozen puff pastry or frozen pie crust. 

Ingredients:

*Pie Crust Recipe Below

For the apples:

4 Granny Smith apples 1/2 cup sugar 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, small diced 1/2 cup apricot jelly or warm sieved apricot jam 2 tablespoons brandy Directions 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. 2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into squares or rounds of your size choice. I suggest 4-6 inch pieces so each guest gets their own tart for a fancier feel. Place onto the parchment lined sheet pan and place in the fridge while you prepare the apples. 3. Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores with a sharp knife and a melon baller. Slice the apples crosswise in 1/4-inch thick slices. Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart and continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices. (feel free to have some fun here and make your own design with the apples). Sprinkle all tarts evenly with the full 1/2 cup of sugar and dot with the butter. This will caramelize the apples in the oven. 4. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. Don't worry! The apple juices will burn in the pan but the tart will be fine! When the tart's done, heat the apricot jelly together with the brandy and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Loosen the tart with a metal spatula so it doesn't stick to the paper. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature. I highly suggest serving this with a scope of ice cream. If you want to get really fancy, you could do a creme anglaise sauce. You can also be lazy and melt some premade vanilla ice cream which is also creme anglaise and drizzle over the top.

Pie Crust Recipe can be found using my Apple Pie Recipe.

Lobster Spaghetti with Champagne Cream Sauce

This is an incredibly luxurious dish and is time consuming to make. Definitely be picky about who you make this for. For the champagne you could substitute white wine but I like the champagne so it’s extra fancy and you can drink the rest of the bottle with dinner. The cooking of the lobster and making the cream sauce can be done earlier in the day and reheated at dinner time. 

Ingredients: 

2 lobster tails 

1/2 lb spaghetti (or long noodle of your choice like fettucine or linguini) 

1 large lemon

2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped 

5 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole 

2 cups heavy cream 

1/4 cup champagne 

2 Tbsp chives, finely diced

1 tsp. tarragon, finely diced 

1 stick butter 

Olive oil 

Parmesan

Salt and pepper 

Directions: 

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Squeeze in half a lemon and put rind into water along with 1 roughly chopped shallot. Add lobster tails and boil until just cooked (3-5 minutes depending on the size). If you’re unsure, lean towards cooking them less since we’ll reheat the lobster meat in butter later. 

2. Remove the lobster tails and add to an ice bath to stop the cooking. Leave in ice bath for 2 mins max then place on a cutting board. Gently remove lobster meat doing your best to keep the tail intact. (This is mostly for presentation so if it comes out in chunks, don’t worry). Place meat to the side and cut the lobster shells into 1 inch pieces. DO NOT GET ANY SHELLS IN THE LOBSTER MEAT. 

3. In a sauté pan over medium low heat add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add in the remaining shallots and garlic. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add the lobster shells and cook together for 3 minutes. Finally add the champagne and allow everything to reduce by half. 

4. Once lobster champagne mixture is reduced add in the cream. Add in another pinch of salt and pepper and allow everything to continue to cook together over medium low heat so the lobster infused into the cream sauce. After about 10 minutes strain the cream sauce into another sauté pan. Make sure all shells are removed! (I recommend using a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth). 

5. When you’re ready to serve dinner bring a new large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in the pasta of your choice and cook following the package directions. 

6. While pasta cooks, reheat cream sauce over low heat. In a small pan over medium heat melt about 1/2 stick of butter. Once melted add in the lobster meat and baste with butter. Remember this is to warm up the lobster since it is mostly cooked. If you cook the lobster too long during this step it can become rubbery and chewy. 

7. Once the pasta is cooked through drain and add directly to the cream sauce. Add a little parmesan cheese, chives, tarragon and lemon zest. Cook pasta and sauce together for about 2 minutes to combine the flavors. If any lobster meat came out in chunks instead of the full tail, add the lobster chunks to the pasta now. 

8. To plate put a nice spiral of pasta onto a plate. Top with a little more parmesan cheese and herbs if you'd like. Place the warmed lobster tail on top of the pasta and serve! 

BLT Salad

This salad is inspired by the classic BLT sandwich (Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato). It’s a very hardy dish so it can be served as a main course for a summer dinner or as a side dish at a picnic. It’s best to make this salad when tomatoes are in season for the tastiest results!

 

Ingredients:

For Croutons:

1 slice sourdough bread, cut into cubes

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. black pepper

 

For Dressing:

1 Tbsp thinly sliced shallot

1/8 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. sugar

 

For Salad:

1 head of romaine lettuce, cut into large chunks

1 tomato cut into cubes

4 pieces of bacon, cooked crispy then cut into large chunks

 

Directions:

1.  Make the croutons: add the melted butter, salt, and pepper to a small bowl. Add in the bread cubes. Toss until all bread is coated with butter. Bake in a 350 oven for about 3-4 minutes or until the croutons are lightly browned and crunchy.

2.  Make the dressing: add the sliced shallot and cider vinegar to a small bowl. Allow to sit for 2 minutes so the vinegar ‘cooks’ the raw shallots. Add in the rest of the dressing ingredients and stir until combined into a thick and creamy dressing.

3.  Add the lettuce, tomatoes, and bacon to a large bowl. Drizzle with half of the dressing. Toss until everything is well coated, adding more dressing as needed. Remember – you can add more dressing but you can’t take it out. Toss in the croutons and serve!

Hash Brown Cups

This recipe is for a hash brown cup or nest. You could turn this into a savory appetizer with braised beef or pork inside but I chose to make this a breakfast dish. The potato cups can be made in advance and stored in an air tight container for 3 days. Make sure to heat them for about 5 minutes in a 350 oven before adding any toppings to warm the potato cups up and get them a little crispy. With the contrast of a runny egg yolk, crispy bacon, and rich hollandaise sauce this dish is a winner! 

Ingredients 

3 cups frozen hash browns, thawed and excess moisture removed 

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 

2 Tbsp. melted butter

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder 

1 tsp onion powder 

1 tsp paprika 

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 400. Grease a muffin tin with olive oil spray and set aside 

2. Combine all ingredients into a bowl and stir together until well incorporated

3. Take a 1/4 cup scoop and put into one slot of the muffin tin. Make a well in the center so there’s room for your filling of choice but make sure there are no holes and the cup is intact. Repeat with remaining potato mixture. 

4. Bake the hash brown cups for 30 minutes or until golden brown and delicious. Remove from oven and allow cups to set for 5 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of each cup to help remove them all in one piece. 

Frittata

Sometimes breakfast for dinner just sounds good. Plus this dish is really quick to make and can be changed up with all types of different toppings. I recommend making this when you have lots of veggie leftovers. This recipe makes a medium size frittata in a 6 inch oven proof sauté pan. If you're looking to feed a crowd you'll want to multiply this recipe. 

Ingredients:

3 Eggs

2 Tbsp Milk

1 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Pepper

2 Tbsp. Grated Gruyere or Cheddar

1/2 Tbsp. Butter

1/2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Toppings:

I used sauteed spinach, sliced mushrooms, feta cheese, and bacon

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees. Combine the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and grated cheese in a small bowl. Whisk until everything is well combined. 

2. Put an ovenproof non-stick sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in butter and olive oil and cook for 20 seconds or until butter has melted. Stir in your toppings of choice and cook for about 2-3 minutes until the spinach and mushrooms are partially cooked. 

3. Add the egg mixture to the sauté pan and gently stir for 20 seconds. Do not mix anymore. Cook for 1 minute while using a rubber spatula to gently scrape around the very edge of the pan to make sure the frittata does not stick. Top frittata with bacon bits and feta.

4. Place the frittata pan into the oven and cook until the eggs puff a little and the top is slightly browned, about 5-6 minutes. Remove from the oven (be careful, the handle will be hot!) and allow to cool in the pan for about 2 minutes. Run a spatula around the outside of the pan to loosen the frittata and put onto a cutting board. You can serve as is but I recommend cutting the frittata into wedges. 

Baked Potato Salad

This dish is a very non traditional potato salad. It's also a bit weirdly named. We'll use boiled potatoes but the overall flavors of a twice baked potato. I preferred to eat this a little warm or at room temperature as a nice side for some Tri Tip or other BBQ items. 

Ingredients:
1 lb red potatoes
3 strips of bacon, cooked crispy
2 Tbsp. grated cheddar cheese

Dressing:
4 Tbsp. mayonnaise
4 Tbsp. sour cream
1 Tbsp. finely diced chives
1 tsp. finely diced shallot
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper (if desired)

Directions:

1. Peel half of the skins from the red potatoes. Cover in cold water and bowl potatoes whole until fork tender. About 20 minutes. 

2. While potatoes cook, make the dressing. Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, chives, shallot, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper if using. Mix with a spoon until everything is combined. 

3. Drain potatoes and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Once they are cool enough to handle you can cut into 1/2 inch chunks and place in an empty bowl. 

4. Top warm potatoes with half of the dressing mixture. Stir gently to combine but not break up the potatoes. Add in the bacon and cheddar cheese. If the potato salad looks dry or not creamy enough, add some more of the dressing. 

5. Once everything is combined taste for seasoning and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Serve potato salad warm or room temperature. 

Pimento Cheese Sandwiches

This week is The Masters golf tournament so I tried recreating the famous Pimento Cheese Sandwiches. Now I'm not a fan of pimento cheese and I've never tried the real thing so recreating this dish was a bit tricky. I went ahead and analyzed a bunch of other recipes and used what was the most common ingredients. My husband Brian said it was decent so there you go.... :)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated Monterrey jack cheese
1/4 cup diced pimentos
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 load white wonder bread

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients (except the white bread) into a food processor. Pulse until everything is combined into an even mixture. 

2. Spread the pimento cheese mix onto slices of untoasted white bread. 

3. To serve you can wrap in parchment and cut in half like they do at the masters or just eat as is. Enjoy!