Blue Cheese and Walnut Crackers

Happy New Year!

Thank god she had her red cup with her for the ride.  It may have been in Jersey, but it’s all I can ask for.

So anyways, let me impart on you something delicious.  These are shortbread-like crackers with a strong blue cheese flavor.  Delicious served alone or with a sweet jam and a glass of wine!

Ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
• 8 ounces blue cheese, crumbled, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash
• 1/2 cup walnuts

Slightly altered from a recipe from Ina Garten. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/blue-cheese-and-walnut-crackers-recipe/index.html

In food processor fitted with steel blade, coarsely chop walnuts.  Transfer nuts to a bowl; set aside.

Place butter and blue cheese in food processor.  Process 30 seconds, stopping once to scrape down sides of bowl, until mixture is smooth.

Add flour, salt and pepper to bowl.  Pulse 10 to 15 times until mixture is in large crumbles.

Add 1 tablespoon water and pulse until mixture forms a ball.  This happens very quickly.

Dump the dough onto a floured board, press it into a ball, and roll into a 12-inch long log.

Brush the log completely with the egg wash.  Spread the walnuts on one side of a cutting board and roll the log back and forth in the walnuts, pressing lightly, and distributing them evenly on the outside of the log. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or for up to 4 days.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the log into 30, 3/8ths-inch thick, slices, with a small, sharp knife and place the crackers on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silpat. Bake for 22 minutes until golden brown. Rotate the pan once during baking.

Cool on wire rack.

Serve at room temperature.  Makes 30 crackers.

 

To make without a food processor:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and Stilton together for 1 minute, or until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour, salt and pepper and mix until it’s in large crumbles, about 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon of water and mix until combined. Proceed as directed above from step when you shape mixture into a log.

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Caramel Nut Tart

I’m a klutz.  I have always been ready and willing to admit I’m a klutz.  I never learned how to crawl as a kid and it took me until I was 15 months old to learn how to walk.  My parents were so afraid of my lack of coordination that they enrolled me in dance lessons as soon as they could–and until probably middle school, I was STILL a wreck.  Klutzy girls like me are not only bad at walking, but severely afraid of making pie crusts.  I’ve always been nervous to make one, thus shamefully resorting to using premade or frozen ones since homemade ones seemed so complicated.  However, Little Mommies showed me how to make pie crusts in a food processor, and I’ve been a champ ever since.  Below is one of my favorite klutz-proof recipes, that actually held its weight after the last time I made it and accidentally added too little butter and too many nuts.  Whooops.  Anyways.

What I like most about this is that it’s not too sweet.  Rico “isn’t a fan of dessert,” yet enjoyed this tart.  It makes a great presentation, is easy to make, and has cream cheese in it.  What more could a girl ask for?

Gently stolen from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine

Ingredients:

Tart Shell:

• 1 ¼ Cups Flour
• 1/8 Teaspoon Salt
• 3 Ounces Cold Cream Cheese
• ¼ Cup Cold Butter
• 2-3 Tablespoons Ice Water
• 1 Tablespoon Cider Vinegar

Filling:

• 1/3 Cup Butter
• 1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Light Corn Syrup
• 1 ½ Cups Mixed Nuts, Salted or Unsalted
• ½ Teaspoon Vanilla

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In bowl, stir together flour and salt. Cut in cream cheese and ¼ cup butter until pieces are pea-sized. Using a fork, stir in ice water and vinegar until all of the dough is moistened.

I did everything before this step by just pulsing the ingredients in the food processor.  I win.

Gently knead dough just until a ball forms. Flatten dough into a disc.

Roll dough into a 16×6-inch rectangle. Transfer pastry to a 13-3/4×4-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. (Or roll dough into a 10-in circle and place in a 9-inch tart pan.) Press pastry into fluted sides of tart pan. Trim edges well.

Line pastry with double thickness of foil. Bake 10 minutes. Remove foil. Bake an additional 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Decrease oven temperature to 375 degrees.

In heavy saucepan, combine 1/3 cup butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup. Over medium heat, bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add nuts and vanilla. Pour filling into crust, spreading evenly. Place tart on cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove sides of pan. Cool completely. Makes 10 servings.

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