Egg Tarts, Tarts Full o' Sunshine!

While the labbits hunker down and ride out the Nor'easter (and hope for 16+ inches of snow!) Captain Holly joined the warren's special Guest Chef Jimmy to make something warm, tasty and sunshine-y.

It'll be a couple days before the labbits see the sun again, so why not make these happy looking Egg Tarts? Sunday is also the Chinese Lunar New Year - the Year of the Snake. So the labbits will be busy cleaning the warren, and enjoying all the Asian inspired delights that Chef Jimmy has shown them.

Captain Holly took over making his favorite tart crust from the mini Green Tea Cream Pies and Chai Tea Cream Pies he made in the fall. Chef Jimmy made the sunshine-y egg custard filling. It's quite simple, and here's how it's done! Click here to print the recipe.

Egg Tarts

Crust Ingredients:
1 cup flour
¼ tsp salt
¼ lb cold butter, cut in small pieces
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp ice water
up to 1-½ Tbsp granulated sugar (optional, Captain Holly didn't use any) 

Note: This is enough dough for 6 Egg Tarts, but there is enough filling for a full dozen. Double up the crust recipe if you'd like to make a full dozen tarts, or half the filling recipe below, or make crustless Egg Custards (variation below) in addition to the Egg Tarts.

Egg Tart Filling Ingredients:
1-½ cup Water
¾ cup Sugar
4 Large eggs
¼ cup Evaporated Milk
½ tsp Vanilla

Crust Preparation:


Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large bowl, sift together flour and salt, and up to 1-½ tablespoons of sugar if you want to sweeten the crust slightly. Cut in the butter with your paws (wash them first!) or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal or tiny peas.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolk and ice water together, add to the flour mixture, and blend until the pastry is smooth and holds together in a ball. Wrap ball of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

Remove plastic and sandwich ball of dough between two pieces of wax paper and roll the dough into a disk about 1/8" thick. Use a 4" cookie cutter to cut out a circle of pie crust dough. There should be enough dough for 6 mini pie crusts. Take all the leftover pieces of dough for the last circle, and roll it out with your paws. Press the disks into a lightly greased muffin tin. Place the muffin tin in the fridge while you prepare the filling. Putting the tin in the fridge helps the filling keep its shape when it bakes.

Filling Preparation:
Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and set it aside to cool.

Next beat the eggs in a large bowl and add the evaporated milk. Pour in the cooled sugar water and mix thoroughly. Finally, mix in the vanilla.

Pour the custard through a sieve. This ensures a smooth filling with no lumpy, hard egg bits. Pour strained custard into the pie crust shells, until the filling almost reaches the top.

Bake the tarts at 425ºF for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the egg mixture has risen and the crust is golden brown. 

Allow to cool slightly before removing from muffin tin or tart pans. Serve while warm, and keep uneaten portions in an airtight container.

Variation: 
Watching your labbity figure and wanting to save on calories from the oh-so-buttery-flaky-crust? (Sorry.) Well, you can lightly spray ramekins and pour 1/2 cup of the egg tart filling in each ramekin and bake for 20 - 25 mins at 425°F. Same custard goodness, minus the crust. This is also a great option for those with gluten allergies/sensitivities.

Yields: Six mini sized egg tarts, plus four 1/2 cup ramekins. There is enough egg custard filling to make one dozen egg tarts, so remember to double up on the crust if you'd like a full dozen. This would also make six 1/2 cup ramekin servings.

Sweet Potato and Shiitake Mushroom Wontons

The labbits are still enjoying having special Guest Chef Jimmy with them in the warren. Tonight, Chef Jimmy wanted to make some steamed wontons, and he decided he would stuff them with sweet potato and...oh, how about shiitake mushrooms? Pipkin assisted in the kitchen and loved making these tasty wontons. Where does Jimmy come up with these flavor combinations? (Mostly by picking blindly in the refrigerator.) Print out the recipe for these wontons here.

Little wontons all in a row - ready for the steam basket!

Sweet Potato and Shiitake Mushroom Wontons

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato
1/2 cup Shiitake mushrooms, chopped
2 or 3 stalks scallions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic (Jimmy forgot to photograph the garlic, whoops)
White pepper
Salt
Wonton wrappers

Preparation:
Chef Jimmy doesn't think it's all that practical to heat up an oven just for one potato, so he's going to microwave his potato. In less time than it takes to pre-heat the oven, you can cook a potato in the microwave. So grab your sweet potato, poke a bunch of holes in it with a fork, and throw it in the microwave for 6 or 7 minutes, until you can pierce it through with a fork and it is soft.

Meanwhile, chop your shiitake mushrooms, and finely chop the scallions and garlic. Saute the garlic for a minute, then add the mushrooms and saute until they soften and release their juices. Set aside in a medium bowl.

Let your potato cool a little, then peel the skin and discard. Toss your potato into a bowl and mash. (Jimmy calls it the Monster Mash *groan*) Add the mushrooms, garlic and scallions and stir to mix. Add in a little salt and white pepper and give it a final good mix.

Scoop a ball of the potato mixture into the center of a wonton wrapper. If you like wonton triangles, fold the wrapper in half, wet a finger with some water, and seal the edges. Jimmy want his to look kind of like shumai, so he's going make a soft fist and wrap the edges up around the filling. Easy, quick, and looks kinda cool!

Fill a large pot with an inch of water and fit in your steamer basket. Once the water's near boiling, turn the heat on low-medium. You want steam, but you don't need the water at a hard boil. Steam the wontons in the steamer basket in batches, if necessary, making sure the wontons don't touch eachother in the basket. Steam 15 minutes or until the wrappers are soft and translucent.

Remove wontons from steamer basket and enjoy as an appetizer, as part of a dim sum spread, or in a soup with noodles (for wonton noodle soup you will want to make folded and sealed triangle wontons so the wonton don't fall apart in the soup).

Yield: About 16 wontons