Perfect Potluck or Picnic Pastry

Key Lime Tarts

Picnics and potlucks…friends and family…stress over succulent selection (yes, I seem to be in an alliteration kind of mood!).  I love going to picnics because it always means a relaxed time with family and friends.  But I also get stressed because there are so many ways to go with choosing a dish to bring!  Even when we’re just talking dessert!  Do you bring a cake, a pie, cookies, petit fours?!  The stress of the selection!!!!  Lucky for me, I stumbled upon Paula Deen’s Key Lime Tarts recipe a couple of years ago and after just a few minor tweaks, it has easily become my go-to picnic and potluck sweet.  The tart lime flavor bursts in the mouth, but the creaminess from the cream cheese and the fluffiness of the whipped cream tame it to just the right level.  What makes it perfect for a picnic is that it is bite-sized, which means guests can try multiple desserts without the guilt!  A sampling of sweets = picnic perfection.

Ingredients

Crust
1 Package graham crackers

5 – 6 Tablespoons butter, melted

Filling

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 Egg

½ Cup sugar

1 Teaspoon lime zest

2½ Tablespoons key lime juice

Topping

½ Pint heavy whipping cream

Confectioner’s sugar

Lime zest

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  A single recipe will make 24 tarts, but the recipe can be easily multiplied to make as many as you need.  Place mini cupcake wrappers in your mini muffin tins.  Save yourself some gray hairs and use the wrappers!  For the sake of the photos, I did not use them and they were a BEAST to get out in one piece!  So please learn from my mistake! J  Lightly spray the wrappers with cooking spray.

Step 2

Fine Cracker Crumbs

Adding Butter

Perfect Consistency

A food processor makes a graham cracker crust super simple, but if you don’t have one, you can just put the crackers in a plastic zip bag and crush them with a rolling pin.  I pulsed them in the processor until they were fine crumbs.  Then I melted the butter and poured the butter in until the crumbs would stick together when I pressed them.  It will take 5 – 6 tablespoons.  When it is perfect, place about a teaspoon of crust mixture into each muffin tin and pack it down.  When they are all pressed down, bake the crusts for 8 minutes.

Step 3

Key lime juice.  The first time I made a key lime pie, I bought a bag of key limes and juiced them by hand.  If you have never seen key limes, they are about the size of a ping pong ball and are a little tough to juice.  My hand was so cramped and tired by the time I had enough for the pie!  The second time, I bought a bag of key limes and made my husband juice them for me.  That was the last time we juiced key limes.  We discovered Nellie & Joe’s Key West Lime Juice and have never looked back.  If you aren’t hankering for your hand to look like a claw for an hour, do yourself a favor and pick up some Nellie & Joe’s.

The filling is really simple.  Go ahead and zest your lime so it’s ready to go.  Then just beat the cream cheese, egg, sugar, lime juice and zest until it is fluffy (about 3 minutes).  Fill your tart wrappers about 2/3 full with the filling mixture.  The tarts need to bake for 10 – 12 minutes, until the tarts are set.

Step 4

Let your tarts cool in the muffin tins or they will fall apart when you try to remove them.  When they are cool, whip the heavy whipping cream.  When it is almost whipped, add confectioner’s sugar to your own taste.  Then let it finish whipping.  You can pipe the freshly whipped cream onto your tarts using a pastry bag or a zipper plastic bag.  I like to top them with some lime zest, so people know what they will be eating before they even take a bite.  Plus, it just looks so darn pretty.

Keep them in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat them...or just eat them and don't worry about them making it to the fridge!  They're small, so they don't count in the calorie department, right? :-)

Caprese Turkey Burgers

Caprese Turkey Burgers

Tis the season for fresh tomatoes and basil…so I made me some Caprese Turkey Burgers!  I absolutely love the flavors in a Caprese Salad…the fresh juicy tomato, the slightly salty and oh so delicious fresh mozzarella, the bright taste of the basil and the sweet and tangy from balsamic vinegar make the perfect summer pairing!  I decided to take this perfect little salad and use it as a burger topping.  As per my usual, I used ground turkey, but this could certainly be made with ground beef or chicken and be equally delicious.  Here is what I did:

Ingredients

1 Pound ground turkey

2 Teaspoons Italian seasoning blend

3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

½ Cup balsamic vinegar

1 Tomato, sliced

Fresh mozzarella, sliced

Fresh basil

Buns

Step 1

I began by making a balsamic reduction, so I could drizzle it over my burgers after I assembled them.  I wanted to reduce the balsamic vinegar so that it would deepen the flavor while thickening it so it would stick beautifully to the burger.  I used ½ cup of balsamic vinegar, but feel free to use more and refrigerate the leftovers!  It’s great drizzled on all sorts of things – I have even drizzled it over roasted beets…YUM!  Anyway, back to the reduction.  Heat your balsamic vinegar over medium heat and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes.  You will want to stir it occasionally to make sure it doesn’t burn.  It’s ready when it just begins to cling to a spoon when you pull it out of the reduction.  Then set it aside for later.

Step 2

Before we go to the burger making, we need to prep the ingredients.  Slice your mozzarella and tomato (approximately ¼ inch thick for each).  If your basil needs to be washed, go ahead and do that and then dry your leaves.

Step 3

We’re ready for the burgers!  Combine the ground turkey, Italian seasoning, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  Mix the meat until it is just combined…over mixing will just result in tough burgers.  Form the meat into equal patties.  I formed them into six patties, but four would make lovely quarter-pound burgers.

Step 4

I cooked the burgers in a little olive oil in a sauté pan, but if you have a grill pan, please use it (and I will be jealous, but happy)!  That would be perfect for these summery burgers.  I cooked them over medium-high heat for five minutes on each side.

Step 5

It’s time to assemble the burgers!  Place your burger on the bottom half of the bun.  Put a slice of tomato and then a slice of mozzarella on top.  Then place a couple of fresh basil leaves on top.  Finally, drizzle some of your balsamic reduction over the sandwich and then top with the other half of the bun.

Buon appetito!