Saturday, May 4, 2013

Spring is Sprung, Lots of Books. Bowling Venue.

ForsythiaWe have finally been getting some decent weather, boy has it ever taken a long time this year but at long last the trees are sporting young, fresh green leaves, the daffodils are nodding their heads and the forsythia bushes are all displaying their golden flowers. It makes you feel good to see it and gives a lift to the heart. This year it seems to have taken so long. Not only that, the asparagus is beginning to sprout. Having checked with Barrie’s Asparagus Farm they are talking possibly Sunday, cross your fingers for me everyone.

I am feeling a tad overwhelmed by literature at the moment. A Blood of Dragonsfriend sent me a copy of his book (excellent) which I am reading and enjoying, another friend lent me a couple of books, then right in the middle of this comes a Robin Hobb book which I have been awaiting from the library for quite a while. Blood of Dragons, volume 4 of the Rain Wild Chronicles. If you haven’t read any of the Rain Wild Chronicles I can highly recommend them, not only that, you won’t have to wait for any of them like I have had to. Great stories. They are so good I think I might do something about acquiring them in Kindle form if they are available. I guess I have been enjoying them for a number of years now, way before Kindles came on the scene.

We have now been given some new tales about the bowling alley, but will, no doubt, hear the full story at our banquet on Monday.

Here’s another dessert, not chocolate this time though. I just thought it looked and sounded really good. I found it on Cooking.com. I would probably cheat with the pastry, I guess if you are using bought pastry you could add grated orange zest to the crust before baking it.

Orange Chiffon Tart

Source: Dessert - The Grand FinaleOrange Chiffon Tart
Serves 10

INGREDIENTS

Pastry
2 cups all-purpose flour
11 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon cold water
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 egg white, beaten
Orange Filling
6 juice oranges
6 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
Topping
4 oranges
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
Heavy cream, for serving

DIRECTIONS

Pastry:
Combine the flour, butter and sugar in a food processor and process to a coarse meal. Add the egg yolks, water and orange zest (rind) and pulse until the mixture comes together. Remove from the processor and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Roll out the pastry to line a 10-inch tart pan that has a removable base. Place a piece of foil, parchment or waxed (greaseproof) paper over the pastry and scatter with baking weights, dried beans or rice.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove the tart shell from the oven and remove the weights and paper. Brush the pastry with a little beaten egg white and return to the oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Orange Filling:
Juice the oranges and strain the juice through a sieve to remove all of the pith. Place in a a nonaluminum saucepan with the eggs and sugar. Whisk together over low heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
Place the mixture in a food processor. With the motor running, add the butter cubes, piece by piece. When all of the butter is worked in, pour the mixture into the pastry shell. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Topping:
Slice the oranges as thinly as possible and remove any seeds. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and stir over low heat to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat.
Using a pair of tongs, dip each slice of orange in the syrup and place on a wire rack. Allow to cool slightly.
Remove the tart from the refrigerator, remove plastic wrap and arrange the orange slices decoratively over the top. Serve immediately with cream.

Have a great weekend
Jo_thumb[2]

20 comments:

  1. I'm always looking for a good fantasy!
    Spring hit us a few weeks ago in the form of green pollen covering everything.

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    1. Alex, you can't possibly have time to read books as well.

      I remembedr the pollen from when we lived in NC. It was the right weather for open windows but you couldn't because everything inside would be covered as well.

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  2. I hope Hobb's Rain Wild Chronicles is half as good as her Farseer Trilogy. She set the bar fairly high with that.

    NC pollen is a menace. A year or two back, everything truly was a blanket of green. Everything! I don't recall ever seeing it that bad.

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    1. Yup,I loved her Farseer Trilogy, but the Rain Wild Chronicles have ended up as a series of trilogies. As a dragon afficionado, you really should read them.

      Do you live in NC then Jeff? We lived near Morehead City for 12 years.

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    2. CA-born, NC-raised. I work in Greensboro and live a half-hour or so south of there. I like calling North Carolina home. :)

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    3. We love the Crystal coast and return most years for our vacation in September. We rent a place on Emerald Isle although these days we don't make much use of the beach. What town is half an hour south of Greensboro, I can't think. L. Diane Wolfe lives in NC too, nearer the mountains I think.

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    4. Ah! Just 20 or so miles from our last stay (Topsail Island / Surf City) though Carolina Beach is our usual choice. We tend to go down for a week during September each year.

      South of GSO is Asheboro and Randleman. We've got the zoo and race car drivers galore (including King Petty) down here.

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    5. We stayed in Asheboro once, many years ago. We go to Emerald Isle from Sept 7 to 21 (I think) would be fun if we could meet up.

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  3. What a wonderful thing. Spring, dragons and orange tart. The one in the picture looks delicious! :D

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    1. Doesn't it, but not something for anyone who can't eat sugar I'm afraid.

      It occurred to me this morning, neither your nor Jeff realise my email address is the name of an Anne McCaffery dragon.

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  4. I havent read that series of books (Rain W.C.) I will have to check them out. I love to read series and havent found one in a while. I have actually made something close to this recipe if not the same one as Im sure it came from Cooks.com. It was great. We also do one with lemons the same way. We have a pastry snoot in our house so no store-boughts here. At least I dont have to make it.

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    1. They actually start with Ship of Magic. There are several books before the Rain Wild Chronicles which would be good to read first. They really are a great read. I though my current book was the last, now I'm beginning to wonder.

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    2. I forgot to mention, I'm glad I don't have a pastry snoot in my house, I have trouble with my weight as it is LOL. Useful for dinner parties though. Do you want to loan (I assume him) out?

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  5. Orange Chiffon Tart, mmm mmmm mmmmm!

    Sounds wonderful, I imagine it tasting like somthing like those old fashioned orange sherbert push up pops -- but better!

    Spring has definitely sprung here and the pollen with it. I take Tylenol Sinus daily, and scrubbed the green powder from the porch with soapy water. But the sun is out and the temp perfect, I can't complain!

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    1. Pollen is a pain isn't it? Even if it doesn't give you allergies. Luckily it used not to, but these days I am not so sure. We sat out on our balcony yesterday, it was lovely.

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  6. I've just finished ?Blood of Dragons and loved it. Your talking about asparagus makes me jealous. Asparagus season here is still months off - mid September at the earliest. There's always imported stuff available but it doesn't compare.

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    1. I'm so glad someone else I know has been reading Robin Hobb, I love these Rainwild books.

      Well you're going in to winter, we are barely creeping out of it. I have to phone the asparagus farm this morning.

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  7. Thanx for the award. Mine is up today.

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