Coconut Blackberry Tartlets

Juicy, ripe blackberries bursting with tart flavor harmonize perfectly with subtle coconut cream- and in one convenient bite.  All you need is an incredibly good looking man to feed them to you one by one.  And no need to even feel guilty about the situation, these babies are practically healthy*. 

"Tart" shells

• 4 cups sweetened shredded coconut
• 4 egg whites

Coconut filling

• 1 14oz can coconut milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 48 blackberries

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Gently whip egg whites in a bowl, and add shredded coconut.  Press a spoonful of coconut mixture into each well of a greased mini muffin tin.  
2. Bake tart shells for 9-12 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.  Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan.
3. Meanwhile, in a saucepan whisk together 1 cup water, coconut milk, and sugar, and bring to a boil.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the corn starch and 1 cup water.
5. When the coconut milk is boiling, reduce to a simmer and slowly add in the cornstarch slurry whisking constantly.  Continue stirring over low heat until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes.
6. Spoon or pipe the coconut filling into cooled tart shells, and place one blackberry on each tartlet.  Refrigerate for at least a half an hour.

Yields 48 tartlets.

**Absolutely no math involved... but there is no added butter or oil so in dessert world, that means healthy.

Mini Chocolate Coconut Tartlets

Don't you love bite-sized morsels that make you instantly feel classy upon eating?  Nothing like a petite tart loaded with chocolaty coconut goodness to up your country-club-o-meter.  And if the sudden urge to tie a Ralph Lauren sweater around your neck isn't your cup of tea, how about a seemingly gourmet dessert that takes all of 25 minutes to assemble?  I'm sold.

"Tart" shells

• 4 cups sweetened shredded coconut
• 4 egg whites

Chocolate coconut filling

• 1 14oz can coconut milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 2 cups semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Gently whip egg whites in a bowl, and add shredded coconut.  Press a spoonful of coconut mixture into each well of a greased mini muffin tin.  
2. Bake tart shells for 9-12 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.  Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan.
3. Meanwhile, in a saucepan whisk together 1 cup water, coconut milk, and sugar, and bring to a boil.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the corn starch and 1 cup water.
5. When the coconut milk is boiling, reduce to a simmer and slowly add in the cornstarch slurry whisking constantly.  Continue stirring over low heat until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes.
6. In a glass bowl melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in increments of 30 seconds.
7. Stir the chocolate and coconut mixture together, and spoon or pipe into cooled tart shells.  Refrigerate for at least a half an hour.

Notes:

• Whipped cream and grated chocolate add an additional tasty touch
• Milk can be subbed for the 1st cup of water added

Yields 48 mini tarts

Baklava

 Everything so wrong and so wonderful about dessert comes together in this tasty creation.  Crispy, delicate layers of phyllo dough, loads of buttery goodness, crunchy aromatic nuts, and then in case you weren't already salivating, a sticky, sweet glaze coating the entire morsel.

Whether you've had baklava, or don't even know how to pronounce it- this is a simple and decadent dessert.  Just whatever you do, plan on giving some away, because it is tasty enough to eat a few squares too many :)

• 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
• 1 pound chopped nuts- I use walnuts
• 1 cup melted butter
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup honey

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a bowl mix the chopped walnuts and cinnamon. Unroll phyllo dough and cut in half to fit the pan. Cover the phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, brush thoroughly with melted butter. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
3. Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
4. Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes. 

Notes:

• Cool the glaze as much as you can before coating- it keeps the baklava crispier.
• Serve in cupcake or mini-loaf papers for more convenient eating.
• Use any mix of nuts you like including almonds, pecans, walnuts, or pistachios. I wouldn't recommend peanuts.  Also dried chopped apricots or golden raisins make a delicious addition to the nut filling.
• If time permits, roast the nuts in a dry skillet a few minutes before layering the baklava.  Keep a careful eye on them though- nuts burn quickly and you can't salvage a burnt nut.
• Store loosely or uncovered, storing it airtight causes it to get soggy.

Yields 3 dozen.

Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baklava/

Festive Green Beans

I have a soapbox I admit I frequently stand upon.  I HATE casserole.  If a recipe has condensed soup, sour cream, or any other slooshy, gushy condensed canned wanna-be food I refuse to eat or cook it.  So, come holiday time when green bean casserole is at every event I get a little queasy.  This fresh, colorful green bean dish is my answer to green bean casserole.

• 1 lb green beans, ends trimmed
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• ~6 strips bacon
• 1 clove garlic chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste

1. In a large dry skillet,  roast walnuts until aromatic.  Set aside in a bowl.
2. Add bacon to the same skillet and cook until crisp.  Remove bacon strips to a paper towel, and roughly chop.  Over medium heat, add green beans and garlic to bacon grease.  Saute green beans until they reach desired tenderness (if you like your green beans extra tender you may steam them first to ensure they get very done).  Add cranberries, walnuts, bacon, and maple syrup, stirring to coat.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from heat, and serve.

Classic Cranberry Sauce

 Nothing like a tart, tangy cranberry sauce to top off all that Thanksgiving goodness.  I grew up with a family who thought those canned cranberries (the kind that you dump out of a can and are still shaped like a can...) were a sufficient compliment to turkey.  After leaving home, and discovering there were bigger and better options for cranberry sauce, I now apologize to all those turkeys I have disgraced with gelatinous cranberry solids. 

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup orange juice
• 12 oz fresh cranberries
• 2 cinnamon sticks

1. Sort through cranberries removing any stems or bad berries, set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, dissolve sugar in orange juice over medium heat. Add cranberries and cinnamon sticks.  Cook for about 10 minutes, or until cranberries pop.
3. Remove from heat, and transfer to a serving dish to cool.  Sauce will set upon cooling.

Yields ~2 1/2 cups.