Root Beer BBQ Chicken

One of the things we love about living in El Paso is being able to grill year round. Nathan loves to grill and does it a few times a week. I usually mix up the marinades/sauces and he cooks all the food. We make a good team and he is a grill master. Everything is always so moist and cooked perfectly.

This root beer chicken is fantastic! The chicken is marinated in a mustard/root beer mixture and then is basted with a root beer BBQ sauce during cooking. It was so fantastic! We will definately be making this one again!

Root Beer BBQ Chicken
Recipe from Prudence Pennywise

2 cans root beer, divided use
1/2 cup smoky barbecue sauce
1/2 cup Dijon mustard, plus 1/4 cup more for marinade
brown sugar, if needed
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken (I used thighs)
1 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1 tablespoon each paprika and garlic powder
2 tablespoons olive oil

In a small saucepan, boil one can root beer until thick and syrupy, about 30 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup each smoky barbecue sauce and 1/2 cup Dijon. Taste this sauce and add brown sugar if the sauce needs a little sweetness. (Notes: you should have plenty of extra sauce for dipping-just reserve half of it before spreading it on the chicken.)

Meanwhile, smear chicken with Dijon. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder; drizzle with olive oil. Place in zip top bag. Pour root beer over chicken, cover and marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.

Grill or broil chicken  until outside is nicely browned and inside is no longer pink. Baste with BBQ sauce while cooking.

Dorie's Lemon Tart with Blueberry Topping

If you didn't already know that Dorie Greenspan is the queen of all baking, consider yourself told. :) This woman just keeps knocking recipes out of the ballpark. And her tarts? Oh... my... word! When I hosted for TWD back in May, I chose the Classic Berry Tart and fell in love. It is probably one of my favorite Dorie recipes of all time. Enter this amazing lemon tart (TWD made this before I joined the group) and I am now confused because it is so incredibly delicious!

The lemon filling is so creamy and so lemony and so good. This tart was fantastic plain but I couldn't resist adding some blueberries to a few slices. Lemons and blueberries are a match made in heaven.

I really hope you'll give this tart a try because you won't be disappointed!

The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart
Dorie Greenspan

1 9-inch tart shell, fully baked and cooled (recipe below)

1 cup sugar
finely grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 4 to 5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into tablespoon-sized pieces

Getting Ready: Have an instant-read thermometer, a strainer and a blender (first choice) or food processor at hand. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.

Put the sugar and zest in a large heatproof bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water. Off the heat, rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs, followed by the lemon juice.

Set the bowl over the pan, and start stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. Cook the lemon cream until it reaches 180 degrees F. As you whisk—you must whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling—you’ll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as it gets closer to 180 degrees F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Heads up at this point—the tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don’t stop whisking or checking the temperature, and have patience—depending on how much heat you’re giving the cream, getting to temp can take as long as 10 minutes.

As soon as it reaches 180 degrees F, remove the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of the blender (or food processor); discard the zest. Let the cream stand, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140 degrees F, about 10 minutes.

Turn the blender to high (or turn on the processor) and, with the machine going, add the butter about 5 pieces at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed as you incorporate the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going—to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to blend the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.

Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. (The cream will keep in the fridge for 4 days and, or tightly sealed, in the freezer for up to 2 months; thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.)

When you are ready to assemble the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell. Serve the tart, or refrigerate until needed.

Sweet Tart Dough

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 tablespoons)
very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk

Put the flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in—you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas. Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses—about 10 seconds each—until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change—heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

To press the dough into the pan: Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan, using all but one little piece of dough, which you should save in the refrigerator to patch any cracks after the crust is baked. Don’t be too heavy-handed—press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.

To bake the crust: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. (Since you froze the crust, you can bake it without weights.) Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. For a partially baked crust, patch the crust if necessary, then transfer the crust to a cooling rack (keep it in its pan).

To fully bake the crust: Bake for another 8 minutes or so, or until it is firm and golden brown. (I dislike lightly baked crusts, so I often keep the crust in the oven just a little longer. If you do that, just make sure to keep a close eye on the crust’s progress—it can go from golden to way too dark in a flash.) Transfer the tart pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature before filling.


Blueberry Topping

1 cup fresh blueberries, divided
1/4 cup sugar
2 TBSP water
1 tsp lemon juice

Combine 1/2 cup blueberries, sugar, and water in saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until berries pop. Remove from heat and strain out syrup; stir in lemon juice (discard cooked berries). Pour syrup over remaining 1/2 cup berries. Serve over tart.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

I won't go on and on about my love for pork tenderloin. I say it so much that I am becoming a little like a broken record. I will say here is another fantastic pork tenderloin recipe that my hubby so sweetly grilled up for dinner. Delicious, delicious, delicious!

Pork Tenderloin
Smoky Mountain Cafe

2 TBSP grill seasoning
2 TBSP honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Drizzle of vegetable oil
Pork tenderloin

Combine marinade ingredients and place in ziploc bag with meat. Marinate for at least an hour. Grill until cooked through.

What's the Scoop? - Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

Strawberry ice cream is definately one of my favorites and it is Anya's hands down favorite ice cream. Whenever we go out for ice cream, Anya always gets strawberry. A few days ago, my best friend and her girls were visiting and it was her daughter's fifth birthday. The birthday girl requested strawberry ice cream and I was more than happy to fill her request!

I have made strawberry ice cream before using Ben & Jerry's recipe and I loved it (as I have loved most of their recipes!). However, I was really wanting to try something new and this strawberry sour cream recipe from David Lebovitz (which I saw posted by Eliana from A Chica Bakes) was calling out to me. It is the creamiest ice cream EVER. I love the slight tang the sour cream gives it and the strawberries really stand out. The added bonus is that it is an egg free recipe, so no worries about raw eggs or having to make a custard base. Easy peasy and super delicious!

Enjoy!

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream
David Lebovitz

1 pound (450 g) fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1 tablespoon vodka or kirsch (I omitted this)
1 cup (240 g) sour cream
1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

Slice the strawberries and toss them in a bowl with the sugar and vodka or kirsch, stirring until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, stirring every so often.

Pulse the strawberries and their liquid with the sour cream, heavy cream and lemon juice in a blender or food processor until almost smooth but still slightly chunky.
Refrigerate for 1 hour, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

TWD: Gingered Carrot Cookies

I love pretty much any and all baked goods that include carrots. Carrot cake, carrot muffins, carrot cookies... it doesn't matter. Just pass the carrots!

These cookies were phenomenal! They are full of delicious spices, raisins, and carrots. These are definately a cookie that I will make again!

Thanks to Natalia of gatti fili e farina for hosting this week. The recipe (which you know you want!) can be found at her blog.