4th of July Dessert: Berry Tart with Ginger Cream

Ingrediants:

2 large egg yolks
4 tablespoons water
4 (17 1/4-oz) packages frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed but kept chilled
2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger (4 oz)
2 pt strawberries (1 lb), hulled, then halved or quartered if large
3/4 cup red currant jelly
4 pt blueberries (2 1/2 lb)

Garnish: confectioners sugar
Special Equipment: parchment paper and a large flat board (at least 20 inches square) for serving

Prepare and bake pastry in 4 quadrants:
Stir together yolks and 2 tablespoons water for egg wash. Put a baking sheet in freezer.

Unfold 1 pastry sheet on a 12-inch square of parchment and brush all over with egg wash. Prick entire surface evenly with a fork.

Unfold a second pastry sheet on a cutting board and cut out a 1 1/4-inch-wide right-angle strip along 2 adjacent edges with a sharp small knife, reserving remaining square for another use. Place right angle on 1 corner on top of 2 adjacent edges of pricked pastry to form first quadrant of tart. Transfer pastry on parchment to baking sheet in freezer and chill until firm, about 10 minutes.

Transfer pastry on parchment from freezer to cutting board and trim a 1/4-inch-wide strip from all 4 edges using tip of small knife and a ruler and cutting all the way through pastry. Make 1/4-inch-long vertical cuts through double layers of edge about 1/2 inch apart (to help sides rise evenly).

Return pastry on parchment to baking sheet in freezer and chill until firm but not solid, about 10 minutes more.

Preheat oven to 450°F and heat another baking sheet on lowest rack in oven until hot, about 2 minutes.

Remove baking sheet from oven and transfer pastry on parchment from freezer to hot sheet. Bake pastry on lowest rack of oven until puffed and deep golden brown (a little darker than usual so double edges are cooked through), 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer pastry on parchment to a rack to cool.

Repeat procedure with remaining 3 packages puff pastry to make remaining 3 quadrants of tart.

Make Ginger Cream:
Blend cream cheese and granulated sugar in a food processor until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth. Add ginger and pulse until finely chopped and mixture is combined well.

Prepare Fruit and Assemble Tart:
If very puffed, gently flatten inner parts of pastry (single layer) slightly with your palm. Fit quadrants together on flat board to form a giant square tart shell, trimming inside edges of each quadrant slightly with a serrated knife to help quadrants fit together smoothly. “Glue” inner edges together with a little ginger cream, then spread remaining ginger cream evenly over tart, leaving double edges as a border.

Arrange strawberries in a decorative pattern over cream. Bring jelly to a boil with remaining 2 tablespoons water, whisking until smooth, then simmer glaze 1 minute. Toss three fourths of glaze with blueberries in a large bowl and spoon blueberries onto tart to cover cream between strawberries, mounding slightly. Brush strawberries with remaining glaze.

Cooks’ Notes:
·All 4 quadrants of pastry can be prepared (but not baked) 1 day ahead and stacked in freezer between sheets of parchment paper. Let each section stand at room temperature until no longer frozen solid but still firm, about 5 minutes, before baking.
·Ginger cream can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
·Assembled tart can be kept at cool room temperature 3 hours before serving.

From: Epicurious.Com

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Happy Birthday America!!!

Perfect hostess gift to bring to a barbecue are Sprinkles Cupcakes with Decorative Stars! 
Soo Cute and Delicious!

4th of July Arts and Crafts




It’s been a while since I’ve shared a project with all of you and the coming holiday seemed like the perfect opportunity to get crafty. Hopefully this set will make your 4th of July just a bit more festive! This downloadable PDF includes sparkler cards, matchbook wrappers and straw tags. Simply print, cut, tape and voila – instant party!

What You’ll Need:

8.5 x 11″ 80lb white card stock (like this from Paper-Source)
8.5 x 11″ 80lb white text paper (like this from Paper-Source)
Color Printer
Paper Cutter
Double Sided Tape
Ruler
Standard Hole Punch
Sparklers
Straws
Matchbooks (found at my local grocery store)

Instructions:

1. Download the Matchbook and Straw Tags Template and print onto white text paper. Download the Sparkler Card Template and print onto white card stock. ( To download Clip Art Visit TwigandThistle.com ) Print using the highest quality settings on your color printer to ensure that the patterns and text are clear.

2. Trim out all the shapes using scissors or a sharp blade and making sure to trim off all the black edges. Use a standard hole punch and punch where indicated to allow the straws to be thread through. Carefully trim out the small rectangles in the Sparkler Holders to weave the sparklers through.

3. Secure the wrap around the matchbooks with double sided tape, making sure not to cover up the striker strip. Crease the edges with your fingers or using a bone folder so that they are crisp. Thread the straw through the holes and position towards the top of the straw. Thread the sparklers through the slots.

I hope you all have a fantastic and joyful holiday! Cheers!

*For personal use only (non-commercial use). Thank you.
www.TwigandThistle.com

Patriotic Tote for the 4th of July Weekend

Red and Navy Superior Labor Paint Tote Bag
www.Utilitycoop.Com

Don’ts For Wives

Words of wisdom for a happy marriage from nearly a century ago…The advice comes from a set of guidebooks on marriage written on the eve of the First World War…Penned by Blanche Ebbutt in 1913, they were first published at a time when women stayed at home while their husbands went out to work. Times have changed since then, but the advice could be considered as relevant today as ever.

I was so thrilled when I read an artical about these very fascinating books in Vanity Fair last year. And was actually shocked when I found them on amazon.com over the weekend. ( and very cheap a little over 4.00 for each ) These Books paired would make an amazing engagement or wedding gift. I’m still searching for first editions of both.

DON’TS for Wives:

DON’T let him have to search the house for you. Listen for his latchkey and meet him on the threshold.

DON’T try to excite your husband’s jealousy by flirting with other men. You may succeed better than you want to. It is like playing with tigers and edged tools and volcanoes all in one.

DON’T expect your husband to be an angel. You would get very tired of him if he were.

DON’T bother your husband with a stream of senseless chatter if you can see that he is very fatigued.

DON’T forget to wish your husband good morning when he sets off to the office. He will feel the lack of your good-bye kiss all day.

DON’T moralise by way of winning back the love that seems to be waning. Make yourself extra charming and arrange delicious dinners which include all your husband’s favourite dishes.

DON’T be jealous of your husband’s bachelor friends. Let him camp out with them for an occasional weekend if he wants to. He will come back all the fresher and full of appreciation for his home.

DON’T say, “I told you so” to your husband, however much you feel tempted to. It does no good and he will be grateful to you for not saying it.

DON’T let breakfast be a “snatch” meal. Your husband often does the best part of his day’s work on it and the engine can’t work if you don’t stoke it properly.