Hollywood Mess (in a basket)

Hello! I hope your new year is off to a great start! 2013 finds me living with friends in the Hollywood hills and (still) looking for work! In honor of my current home, I've created my own take on an Eton Mess. My recipe is similar to Martha Stewart's but I made mine with fresh chopped mango and lime juice and served it in a filo shell. If you're lucky enough to live near a Trader Joe's  . . . they sell the perfect vanilla meringues to use in this recipe. Since I should be filling out job applications, I'll make this post short and sweet and end with a few pictures of the Hollywood Mess!

I used six butter brushed layers to make six full-sized tart cups . . . or if you're in a hurry just buy the pre-made ones from Athen's in the freezer section of your local grocery store.

 My over-baked (but still edible) tart shells!

A light and lovely afternoon dessert!

The Italiano

Happy New Year! The final filo post of the year is a simple little bite size morsel, just perfect as a nibble for your end of year cocktail party!

Here's what's you'll need~ 

• Cherry tomatoes 
• Buffalo mozzarella(fresh, in brine) 
• Fresh basil
• Balsamic glaze or reduction 
• Fresh cracked pepper 
• Sea salt

. . . and of course filo sheets and butter or olive oil.

First cut your tomatoes in half. I would also suggest cutting the ends off as it makes it easier to stack the other bits on top. Cut the mozzarella and basil into small pieces as well.

Brush 5-6 sheets of filo with butter or olive oil. Then cut the sheets into 15 squares. Dot each middle with a drop of balsamic followed by the tomato, then the basil, the cheese and finally a dash of black pepper and a sprinkle of salt.

To fold them, pinch the straights sides as if you are going to fold the square in half, making the corners almost meet.

Then rotate it 45 degrees and pinch the other straight sides so that the corners are pointing up like and open box. It helps to press down a little as you pinch the sides to keep the bottom flat.

I suggest baking them close together so that they keep their shape. 350-375F should be sufficient heat and they are done when golden brown and the cheese is all melty!

Serve warm! If you can't find fresh basil, a small dollop of pesto would work too. 

Wishing you all the best for 2013!!! x

Don't Over Bake the Tart Shells!

All right! So here's a little post about how to make your own tart shells. Of course if you're lazy you can simply buy Athens pre-made shells. I've never used them, but I'd imagine that they're pretty good, since their filo dough sheets are the best I've used. Anyway . . . I wanted to make some tart shells for a future experiment. I made six tarts using six sheets of filo. I did one layer of three sheets of in each cup (do you call the divots in the muffin tin a cup?!) and then at right angles I did the second three layers so that there were more pointy bits around the edges.

I popped them in a preheated 350F oven for fifteen minutes . . . or so I thought!

However, I sat down to play a game of Bananagrams (which I totally love and of course got absorbed in the game) forgetting all about the tart shells for at least twenty-five minutes! Oops!!

Needless to say they were a bit extra brown, crispy and puffy. On the plus side, they didn't taste burnt at all and were perfectly edible, if slightly sunburnt looking! So, lesson learned . . . no Bananagrams while things are in the oven!

Spanakopita (Part I)

Ok, so this isn't my end all, be all recipe for spanakopita . . . it was actually quite tasty, but I think I can do better, especially since some of the experimentation was based on what was in the cupboards! I'd say it feeds 4-6 people (should you decide to make it).

Here's what you'll need.

• 1 Onion (medium-large-ish)
• 1 Package of spinach (10oz frozen and chopped)
• 2 Eggs
• 4 Tbsp Greek yogurt
• 4 Tbsp grated parmesan 
• 4 oz Feta
• Salt
• Pepper
• Dry dill
• Nutmeg
• Fresh basil (small handful, chopped)
• Olive oil

First I chopped and sauteed the onion in some olive oil over a medium heat.

While the onion was sauteing, in a separate bowl, I whisked the eggs adding the yogurt, salt and pepper (to taste). The spinach should be thawed and drained of most of its liquid (you can rush this process in the microwave if necessary). After the onions became translucent I add the spinach, dill and nutmeg to the pan and cooked for a few more minutes to remove more of the moisture from the spinach (you what the mixture quite dry).

I set the spinach mixture aside to cool. Next I prepared the filo. I alternated brushing with butter and olive oil to make it a bit healthier and was quite happy with how it tasted.

Second? Third? I don't know what step I'm on, but anyway . . . after the filo was ready (10 layers or more) I decided I would try to roll the filling in the filo like a large strudel (oh yeah, first . . . when the spinach was cool, I added it to the bowl with the eggs/yogurt mixture and mixed in the two cheeses and basil!).

This "strudel" construction seemed like a good idea . . . however, there was a bit too much filling, so I turned it over and put the open side down in a small casserole dish. I brushed the top with olive oil and sprinkled it with fresh cracked pepper and sea salt.

I baked it at 350F, but I think it would be better at a slightly higher temperature. As my Dad would say when he's being facetious, "it was edible!"

Three Cheese Mushroom Triangles

In the busyness that is painting a house and moving to Hollywood, I haven't had a chance to post a filo blog! In the past couple of weeks I have experimented with a mushroom and cheese dish, worked on my twist of an Eton Mess . . . which I may call a Hollywood Mess in a Basket (or Handbag) . . . tried to create my own version of spanakopita and made the lemon tarts (again, with different yogurt). I haven't typed up the recipe for the mushroom dish, but I do have pictures that I can share of the making process!

First I sauteed some onions and garlic in a little olive oil. I then added some chopped crimini mushrooms.

 While that was cooking, I whisked together some eggs and grated or crumbled three different cheeses.

Oh and I almost forgot! I found some fresh parsley in the fridge so I chopped a bit of that and added it to the lightly sauteed mushrooms.

Finally I combined all the ingredients, buttered my filo, folded them into little triangles and popped them in the oven.

Here is the finished product . . . in rather golden light for some reason . . .

As always, if you're dying for the recipe, just give me a shout and I'll be happy to get it to you!

Black & White Raspberry Bombs (or Bon Bons)

Hello there! Here is the latest filo adventure. I can't make up my mind about the name, but other than that (and some minor filo technical difficulties) these little raspberry and chocolate treats need no tweaking! As simple to make as one-two-three.

One. Take each raspberry and put one white chocolate chip inside and one dark chocolate chip.

Two. Butter three sheets of filo, then cut them into eighths. Place one stuffed berry in the middle and sprinkle with sugar.

Three. Wrap them up in little bundles and pop them in the oven!

. . . and voila! Here they are . . . actually these are the few that stayed together! Suffice it to say, there is a technical difficulty in the presentation department. However, in the eating department they were aces, with not a single one left at the end of the night. 

Also presenting some technical difficulties that evening was the fact that I had not thawed enough filo dough . . . rushing the thawing process is nearly impossible. So, always, always remember to let your dough thaw for at least two hours before attempting to work with it!

Low-fat Lemon Tarts

Yep! You heard me, low fat!! These little lemon tarts were made with fat free yogurt and not too much sugar. I modified a recipe I found on the side of the yogurt carton for ginger tarts, since lemons were on hand and ginger was not, lemon tarts it was!

I took half a cup of sugar and whisked it with one egg, plus one egg yolk, until it was thick . . . next time I may use the electric mixer . . .

In a separate bowl I combined three tablespoons of lemon juice, one cup of vanilla nonfat yogurt and one teaspoon of vanilla. Then I added this yogurt mixture to the eggs and sugar. Once those mixtures were combined I sifted in a third of a cup of flour (I might try reducing this to a fourth of a cup).

I used six sheets of filo. I buttered three sheets and cut them into sixths and did the same again so that I could have more pointy bits around the edges of the tart, but if you're not that fussed you could just butter six sheets together. Putting the filo dough butter side down in a muffin tin, I then brushed the pointy bits with butter too. The recipe made six tarts that each held about half a cup of the mixture. Into the oven at 350F, for what I think was twenty minutes!? . . . and voila! Low-fat Lemon Tarts!

They were very nice warm. Once they were cool I served them with a bit of sour cream (or creme fraiche) and lemon curd mixed together, topped with raspberries (or blueberries would be good too)! The toppings filled in the little divot that appeared after the tarts had cooled and deflated a bit. Surprisingly, I preferred them warm . . . I was sure I would prefer them cool . . .

The recipe is there for you to follow, I just haven't put it into recipe form yet . . . happy to oblige should anyone want the recipe!