Strawberry Tarts
Prepare the tart shells in advance, then add the pastry cream, strawberry wedges and apricot glaze just moments before serving.
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
2 tablespoons cold shortening (recommended: Crisco)
1/4 cup ice water
2 cups Pastry Cream, recipe follows
2 pints whole strawberries, hulled and halved
1/3 cup apricot jelly
3 tablespoons shelled pistachios, halved, optional
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a small bowl and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Put the flour mixture in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and shortening and pulse about 10 times, or until the butter is in the size of peas. Add the ice water and process until the dough comes together. Dump on a well-floured board and form into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Roll out the dough and fit into 4 (4 1/2-inch) tart pans with removable sides. Don't stretch the dough when placing it in the pans or it will shrink during baking. Cut off the excess by rolling the pin across the top of each pan. Line the tart shells with a piece of buttered aluminum foil, butter side down, and fill them with dried beans or rice. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the beans and foil, prick the bottom of the shells all over with a fork, and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
Before serving, fill the tart shells with the pastry cream. Arrange the berries decoratively on top of the cream. Melt the apricot jelly with 1 teaspoon of water and brush the top of the tarts. Sprinkle with pistachios, if using, and serve.
Pastry Cream:
5 extra-large egg yolks, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups scalded milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Cognac
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon heavy cream
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks and sugar on medium-high speed for 4 minutes, or until very thick. Reduce to low speed, and add the cornstarch.
With the mixer still on low, slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture. Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens, 5 to 7 minutes. Don't be alarmed when the custard comes to a boil and appears to curdle; switch to a whisk and beat vigorously. Cook, whisking constantly, for another 2 minutes; the custard will come together and become very thick, like pudding. Stir in the vanilla, Cognac, butter, and heavy cream. Pour the custard through a sieve into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the custard and refrigerate until cold.
Yield: 2 cups
You've Got Power
Every word we speak is a seed. We are constantly planting those seeds that will, in turn, produce a harvest in the future. When we speak words of life and blessing, we will see life and blessing in the future. When we speak words of defeat and failure, those seeds produce defeat and failure. It’s that simple. The life you are living today is the harvest from the seeds you planted in your past; and today, you are planting seeds for your future.
The good news is that no matter where you are today, God has given you the power to change your future! You can begin, right now, to plant seeds of blessing, strength, victory and joy for your future. If you’ll be proactive and consistently declare the Word of God, even if it’s just five minutes a day, you are setting yourself up for victory, freedom and blessing.
Today, choose life for your future by choosing God’s Word. Put Him first place because through Him, you have the power to embrace the life of blessing He has prepared for you!
"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."
(Proverbs 18:21, NIV)
These words hit home hard this past week. I lost someone very dear to me, someone very young. We spoke about words of life last week. So this week in my grieving I chose to put my pain aside and bless others. It's not about me attitude but about you, how can I lift you up today attitude. God will heal my hurting heart.
Find the Good
Does Your Heart Need Healing
Friend to Friend
A friend of ours has struggled with heart problems for years. He has gone through seasons of wellness and seasons of strain. Recently, his health challenges moved from the back burner of his life to the front when his doctors recognized the need to operate.
He didn’t just need a simple procedure. He needed open heart surgery to the max. I mean we are talking valve replacements, ablations, hole repairs and more. You name it – and the surgeon pretty much had to do it.
In the wee hours of the morning prior to his surgery, our friend’s heart decided to cause problems that led them to the Emergency Room instead of the Operating Room. Thankfully, his surgeon rushed to the scene and took him right into surgery.
Hours later, his heart was repaired. In the days that followed, scary set backs came and went. Each one was dealt with head on. Thankfully, after 8 days in the hospital, our friend was able to go home yesterday.
I asked his wife how I could pray for him. Was there anything specific?
Her answer surprised me. “Just pray that he will have the will to press on through the healing process because it is going to be a long, hard hull.”
When I hung up from our conversation, I paused and reflected on her request.
In essence, I will be praying for him to have the heart {the strength, the guts, the determination} to fight for his heart to heal fully.
Wow. I know that struggle well.
Week after week, friend after friend, loved one after loved one, struggle after struggle, conversation after conversation… this is one of the biggest challenges we face. Having a heart fixed on healing. To press through to a place of wellness and strength: spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically. To not back down from the resistance before us in light of the rewards that await us. To run the race of faith well!
I’ve asked God for forgiveness, but I just don’t know how to forgive myself.
I know the Bible says God loves me, but I feel invisible. I don’t FEEL loved and adored.
I believe that God has a plan for my life, but I’m so tired of waiting for it to develop.
I want restoration in my relationship, but I will not be the one to make the first move.
I’ve lost my love and hate being alone. I no longer have the will to live or dream.
I know my eating patterns are unhealthy and they undermine my wellness, but God loves me just the way I am!
I worry all the time and struggle with anxiety. I really want to trust God, but often fail.
After we go through initial heart repairs with Jesus, many of us find ourselves as wounded believers. Close to whole, but still broken. We want healing but won’t or don’t know how to move forward in the direction of the Healer toward the complete wholeness He has for us.
This is hard stuff. I know. I struggle too. We all do.
Ultimately: every one of us is a work in progress. Our challenges and failures are real and should be acknowledged and confessed. But our faith that God can and will tend to our wounds must be greater.
So I join in prayer as our friend faces months of therapy, doctors appointments, medicine changes, financial strains, emotional exhaustion, and unseen struggles.
And I am grateful that we pray to the one, true God who loves, sees, hears, purifies, answers, comforts, protects, forgives, provides for, refines, restores, redeems and heals those who cry out to Him. He is the great Surgeon who rushes to us in our emergency rooms and takes us to the operating room of His presence.
The One who knows how to care for every wound, burden and bruise we bear.
So, when your heart needs healing: PRAY.
Pray when loneliness, laziness, or depression takes up residence in your heart. Pray when you are tempted to anesthetize with food, wine, exercise, shopping, or pain pills. Pray when the arms of that man seem more attractive than the purity you are called to in Christ. Pray when your doubts seem stronger than your faith.
Press through barriers in the strength of Jesus. His plan is good. His power is unending. His faithfulness is unwavering. His presence is accessible 24/7.
Move in His direction and give Him the burdens of your heart.
Pray.
Believe.
Trust.
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.Isaiah 40:28-31
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.Isaiah 40:28-31
Let’s Pray
Lord, As they say, “the struggle is real!” Thank you for allowing me to be honest about the challenges that tangle me up. Please move in my heart and in my circumstances today so that I can move forward in faith as I hold tight to the hope I have in Christ.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Amen.
Today’s Truth
Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. (Isaiah 40:31)
Grilled Vegetable Salad
Use the best seasonal fresh vegetables you can find, such as eggplant, peppers, onions, chilies, and radicchio. A great healthy side dish for all of your BBQ's
Olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Preheat a grill to medium-high.
Cut all the vegetables into similar sizes and toss liberally with olive oil, salt, and pepper, in a bowl.
Place the dressed vegetables on the grill and/or in a vegetable grill pan and grill for 15 to 20 minutes, turning as needed, until the desired doneness.
Remove the grilled vegetables to a serving platter and serve warm.
Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
"New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)
I am Linda, busy like most I'm always looking for good deals, easy recipes, and decorating ideas. Check out our family's favorite weekly recipes and The Shoppe for exciting deals, seasonal decor, fashion, home & kitchen decor, and more.
Featured Post
Other Posts
For Stopping Bye - Come Back Soon