Be still, my tart

Note to self: assemble before drinking

I used my sister and brother-in-law as guinea pigs last Friday night. I made a dessert that could have either been really great or terrible. The strawberry basil tart video on the PBS website is a wonder in itself, but I just had to make it.

I created my own version of it. I needed time to cook a 3-course Chinese themed meal, so I took some short-cuts on the pastry. I used store-bought pastry dough, thus skipping the part when I'd put basil in the dough (but also, that didn't sound too tasty.) Using my sister's fresh chicken eggs gave the custard a nice richness. I infused my milk with basil and strained it. Then very carefully whisked my ingredients, but STILL had a slightly broken custard. It wasn't noticeable in the tart, but alone, I felt defeated.

This tart, I think, was a success. However, I think only the flavor really was successful. I didn't spend the time I wanted to on the presentation (and I was three glasses deep into a bottle of Champagne.) I'd make it again, but use a homemade almond infused dough and egg beaters to mix the custard to create a smoother consistency.

What the cluck?

Different shades of brown indicate different chickens

Feeding them leftover salad!

A lot has happened recently so I've been away from my blog. I've started a new career and I’m currently moving into a new apartment, but that hasn't stopped me from making tasty meals and sweet desserts. To see what I've been up to, check out my Twitter Danielle_Cooks.

Since I've been staying with my sister, I wanted to share photos of her chickens and their eggs. Her chickens are all different colors with different personalities- and they lay different eggs! Molly can always tell what chicken laid which egg. Although I can’t tell a difference in taste, she insists the white chicken, Fro, lays the best tasting egg. They are all good in my opinion because they are the perfect size for accurate baking and they have a rich orangey-yellow yolk that improves any dish!

Now THAT'S a yolk! Salmon & eggs with dill mustard.

I've used her eggs in everything from simple fried eggs to cinnamon toast crunch cookies. Molly wants to make a cake with them so I suggested pound cake because it takes lots of eggs. They produce so many eggs that it’s hard to keep up!