Tarte aux Epinards et aux Oeufs / Spinach Egg Pie

My husband made dinner!! I was a little surprised that he chose to make this:

He chose a recipe from the January 2015 issue of Cuisine Actuelle. Yes, my friends, it looks strange, but it was actually quite tasty. It was cheesy and the golden, delicious, liquid egg yolk made it sing. We both agreed that this did turn out a little bland as is. If we make it again, I think a little onion or garlic added to the spinach would do the trick.  

Translated recipe:

Spinach Egg Pie

Serves 4, 30 min. prep time, 55 min. cook time.

1 refrigerated pie crust

250 g.(roughly 8 oz or 1/2 lb.)fresh, baby spinach*

4 eggs

50 g. of butter (about 1/2 stick)

30 cl. whole milk

125 g. (about 4 oz.) grated cheese**

2 tbsp. flour

salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oven to 210°C (~ 410°F). If your pie crust is the rolled kind, roll it out into your pie pan. Dock the dough with a fork several times and place it in the fridge.

Melt 30 g. of your butter in a sauce pan. Add in the flour and stir. Add in the milk, little by little stirring constantly until it thickens about 3 min. on low heat. Add salt and pepper.

Rinse your spinach and place them in a pan with a pinch of salt. Cook, covered about 3 min. or until wilted. Drain and squeeze out spinach. Give them a rough chop.

Place Spinach into the milk mixture. Mix in one beaten egg and the grated cheese. 

Pour this mixture into the prepared pie shell. Place it in the oven and cook for 20 min. Then, lower the oven temperature to 180°C (~350°F). Cook 15 minutes more. 

Remove the pie from the oven and top with the 3 remaining whole eggs. Return to the oven for about 7 min, or until the eggs reach the desired doneness. Salt and pepper the eggs to taste. 

*You can substitute 1 small pkg. of frozen spinach

**Pick a cheese you like. Usually in France, this would be Emmental. 

Experiment #33113B.....Blueberry and Meyer Lemon Dessert

Ok, this dessert was truly born from experimentation and necessity. I had a pint of blueberries and two Meyer lemons. I had found a forgotten package of croissant dough, and I needed to use them lest they expire.  

First, I cooked the blueberries with a bit of sugar, the zest and the juice from the lemons. It looked a little thin, so I threw in some cooked apple and some corn starch to thicken it. 

At first, I thought I would make cute little individual pies… but then, I got lazy. There, I said it. I didn’t want to stand there all day pinching closed little pockets of dough that may defy me in the oven and burst open…. 

Then I thought, this yummy fruit concoction I made would be delish on a slice of cheesecake. Then I thought about the “sopapilla cheesecake” a co-worker’s wife used to bring to us. 

Oh, boy, I have an idea. I brushed the bottom of an 8”x8” dish with butter then sprinkled on some cinnamon

sugar. Then, I lined the bottom of the pan with croissant dough. 

I mixed together: 1 (8 oz) brick of cream cheese, ½ c. sugar, 1 egg and a ¼ tsp. of lemon extract (I would have used zest, but it was all in my blueberry mixture).  I spread this mixture onto the croissant dough. I topped that with my cooled fruit mixture. 

I added another layer of croissant dough, brushed on more melted butter, and sprinkled with more cinnamon sugar. (My cinnamon is light because my husband doesn’t care for copious amounts like I do.) I popped it into a 375°F oven for about 30 min. oh, wow. I’m a genius! ;)  

When you first take it out of the oven, it will be puffed up a little. It will deflate as it's cooled. People asked for the recipe, so I thought I better write it down!

Blueberry & Meyer Lemon Cream Cheese Pie

You will need:

Croissant dough (homemade or one store-bought refrigerated tube)
3 to 4 tbsp. melted butter
4 tbsp. cinnamon sugar
Fruit Filling (recipe below)
Cream cheese filling (recipe below)

Butter an 8x8 baking dish. Sprinkle in about 1 tbsp. cinnamon sugar. Place one layer of croissant dough on the bottom. Spread in cream cheese filling. Spread on fruit filling. Top with remaining croissant dough. Brush with remaining melted butter. Top with remaining cinnamon sugar. Place in a 375°F oven for 20-35 min. or until golden brown.  Cool completely and store in the refrigerator.

For the fruit filling:
1 pint blueberries
1 Fuji apple, peeled and finely diced
The zest and juice of 2 Meyer lemons
½ to 1 c. sugar (more or less depending on the tartness of your fruit)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons water

Place blueberries, apple, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugar as it heats. Once your fruit is cooked, make a slurry of the cornstarch and water and add to the fruit. Simmer to thickened (at least one minute). Remove from heat and let cool.

For the cream cheese filling:

8 oz. cream cheese
½ c. sugar
1 egg
¼ tsp. lemon extract

Using a mixer, cream together cream cheese and sugar. Add in egg and extract. Beat to creamy consistency. If you have more lemon, add in some zest. 

Celebrating July 4th, Independence Day

Celebrating July 4^th, Independence Day

Celebrating the 4^th of July has always been important in our family. I’m thinking back on some of the Independence Days of the past, and I remember cook outs, fireworks, and family togetherness.

I remember making the flag cake that everyone makes with cool whip and berries.

Flag Cake with Real Whipped Cream and Glazed Berries

I don’t know that you can get more American than that, but I’ve made other goodies to mark the fourth.

We’ve made flag cakes with Fondant Star Cutouts:                    

                  

Star-spangled Pies:

Blueberry/Cranberry Flag Scones:

A few years back, my daughter and I had fun making our own 4^th of July  t-shirts. 

If you have kids this craft is really fun for them. All you need is a shirt, some fabric paint (glow in the dark is really fun!), Some pipe cleaners and paper plates. You bend the pipe cleaners to paint on the fireworks.  You dip them onto a paper plate where you’ve poured out your paint. Kids can paint messages on the front or sleeves with puff paint. Detailedinstructions are here.  Be sure to make them a day or two in advance to give them a chance to dry before wearing! 

Whatever you and your family decide to do. I hope you have a fun time building memories together. 

Happy 4th of July Everyone! and God Bless America!