Simple Pleasures......

Fresh berries and fruit are in abundance at all the grocery stores. Just look at the size of these sweet blackberries and the gorgeous green color of my juicy kiwi.. This was my snack when I came home from work today.  So simple so delicious.  I love this time of year.

Brussel Sprout Beauty....

Fruit and vegetables have always been a theme in my Christmas decorating.  Each year I decorate the mantel with pineapples, oranges, apples, artichokes and grapes along with cedar and pine roping.  This year I'm adding these beauties.  

I'm curious if anyone else likes to decorate for the holidays with fruit and vegetables.  If you do, which fruit and vegetables do you prefer and how do you use them?

Belleau Kitchen Dessert Challenge

These challenges of Dom's Belleau Kitchen are so much fun.  We had to once again go to our bookcase and pull out all our dessert cook books. Then randomly choose a book (I closed my eyes) and plucked The Good Housekeeping Illustrated  Dessert Cookbook out of the pile. I need to be honest here.  The first page I opened to had so many decorations on the cake I knew my skill level for decorating cakes was not anywhere near that level.  I flipped again and opened to The Berries and Custard In Coconut Shell Tart.  Off to the specialty kitchen to buy a tart pan.  I have only made one tart in my life and I had to borrow the pan from my sister.  Tarts are not in my comfort level either, but at least I knew it wouldn't look like a kindergartner made it. Here's the recipe with a few fruit changes.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup shredded coconut
• 6 tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 large lemon
• 6 tbsp. butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 1/2 pints raspberries
• 1 pint blueberries

1. Prepare Coconut Pastry dough, measure flour, coconut, butter, sugar, and egg yolk.  With fingertips, mix together just until blended.
2. Press dough onto bottom and up sides of 10-inch tart pan. With fork, prick tart shell in many places to prevent puffing and shrinkage during baking.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line tart shell with foil: bake 10 min.  Remove foil; again prick dough.  Bake tart shell 10 to 15 minutes until golden.
4. While tart shell is baking, prepare Lemon-Custard Filling. From the lemon grate 1 tsp. and  squeeze 2 tbsp. juice; set aside.  In heavy 2 qt. sauce pan over medium- low heat, heat butter, sugar,  and cornstarch, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils; boil 1 min.
5. In small bowl with fork, beat egg yolks; stir in small amount of hot sugar mixture.  Slowly pour egg yolk mixture back into sugar mixture in pan, stirring rapidly to prevent lumping.
6. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and coats spoon, about 170-175 degrees.  Remove from heat.
7. Stir lemon peel and lemon juice into custard; cover custard and refrigerate about one hour.
8. In small bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat cream until stiff peaks form.  With rubber spatula fold whipped cream into custard.
9. Evenly spoon Lemon Custard Filling into cooled shell.
10. Topped with berries.

I used blackberries, strawberries, raspberries and mangoes.

Simple Pleasures, Simply Delicious...

What a delicious afternoon snack.  No fussy ingredients needed for this simple pleasure. Just fresh mango and strawberries.  Fruit, one of Mother Nature's best gifts.