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Nikko

Pineapple Fluff Cake Recipe

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I've seen many recipes for this recipe, but this is the one I like best. Most you will see out there call for cream cheese and milk? I'm not sure if you really need that in this recipe - actually I'd call shenanigans on using them in it... This recipe is super light and tasty. If you want a nice and easy dessert - this is the one to try!

1 Can (20 oz.) Crushed Pineapple, in juice, undrained

1 Pkg (1.5 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Pudding

1 Tub Lite Cool Whip

1 Angel food cake, cut horizontally into 2 layers

10 Strawberries

Mix pineapple and dry pudding mix in medium bowl with whisk until well blended. Stir in the cool whip. Put bowl in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. Separate the two layers of the angel food cake. Add some of the pineapple mixture to the bottom layer then place the top back on the cake. Use the rest of the mixture to 'ice' the cake. Refrigerate 1 hour. Top with berries just before serving. Eat & Enjoy!

Happy Baking!

~Nikko

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Mango Strawberry Salsa

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This is such a versatile salsa - very good on chicken, fish, shrimp, scallops, pork etc... You can add finely diced up jalapenos and sweet onions if you wish - Just remember that both the mango and strawberry are very light flavors and adding to much will kill the taste!

Mango
Strawberries
Cilantro
Pineapple juice (or orange or lemon)

Dice the mango, and slice the strawberries - I would go with equal amounts of each. If you use a cup of each you will need about half a bunch of cilantro finely chopped added. If you have some lemon, orange, pineapple juice it would be good to have a few tablespoons in there to help bring everything together. Mix and let sit for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Salsa on!

~Nikko

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Pizza Roll Recipe

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I'm going to assume you've had a pizza roll before - They're good, but making them is half the fun. These are so easy your kids can help make them. One thing I learned about making these at home is that you want to precook your pepperoni (if you decide to add it) a bit to get rid of some of the grease. You don't have to do this but be warned! The best part of making these at home is due to their size you can add whatever you want to the center of them.

1 Pkg Egg Roll Wrappers (or you can roll your own sheet pasta)
1/4 Lb Provolone Cheese, sliced or diced
1/4 Lb Mozzarella Cheese, sliced or diced
Pizza Sauce
Mushrooms
Green Peppers
Onions
Whatever you like on your pizza
Dried Oregano
Water

Place one of the wrappers in front of you. In the center add a slice of the provolone cheese. Top the cheese with 8 or 9 slices of the pepperoni (if using small rounds). At this point you can add whatever else you like but don't overload the roll! Top with some pizza sauce, a pinch of oregano, and a slice of the mozzarella cheese. Now it's time to roll! Wet the edges of the wrap with a smudge of water. Start with one of the corners and fold over to almost the middle of the wrap. Start rolling until you get to almost the half way point, then fold in the sides of the wrap. Continue rolling to the end of the wrap. Place in a pan seem side down. You have two methods you can use to cook these. You can fry them in oil, or bake them in the oven. If you bake them spritz them down with olive oil and bake them at 375 until they are brown - you will need to keep turning them so they don't burn. Once done, Eat & Enjoy!

Pizza on!

~Nikko

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Hallsy's Kithcen's Hot Dog Sauce

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I found this recipe on YouTube from a guy name Hallsy... He says it came from a famous hot dog company that you should probably know. It did remind me of one I like. I thought they used cinnamon instead of curry powder. It was ok but the house smelled like curry and the STBW didn't like that too well...

1 Lb Beef, minced
3.5 tsp Chile Powder
2.5 tsp Curry Powder
1 tsp Nutmeg
2 tsp Onion Powder
.5 tsp Black Pepper
1.5 Cups Water

Brown the beef in a skillet. Once the beef is done, drain off most all of the fat. Add the chile powder, curry powder, nutmeg, onion powder, and black pepper and mix into the beef well. Cook for 1 minute over medium heat then add the water. Bring mixture to a simmer, cover and let sit for an hour. You can add more water if the mixture gets too thick. Load on top of a good hot dog, Eat & Enjoy!

Happy Dogging!

~Nikko

If you would like to make it a bit healthier you can replace half the beef with a half pound of turkey - If you want to use all turkey then you need to kick up the spices a bit. I've never tried it but if you really wanted to you could use a tofu Hot Dog and replace the meat with tofu crumbles.

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Pimento Squeeze Errrr Cheese

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1/4 teaspoon Cayenne
1/2 cup mayonnaise
.5 cup grated Monterrey jack cheese
1.5 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1.5 oz cream cheese (half of a 3 oz package)
2-3 tablespoons pimentos, diced
Black Pepper

The easiest way to make this dish is to bring everything to room temperature, through all but the pimentos into a food processor and blitz it all up. Add the pimentos and fold them in. You can put it into a bowl and use your hands or a spoon to bring it all together. It's an easy dish to make and you can be somewhat creative with the cheeses you use. Make sure you let it sit for a bit after you bring it together so everybody can get happy with each other. It makes a great grilled cheese sammy, or it's good in mac n cheese...

Happy Cheesing!

~Nikko



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Ok this is one of the first cooking videos I ever made. It may say it's episode 13 but really it was the second video I ever did... I'll admit it's pretty bad, and it's not the one I made for this recipe, but it did make a good pimento cheese... I will be doing another video with this (my new fav recipe).

Grilled Cheese & Tomatoes

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Who doesn't like a nice grilled cheese? Ok I know a few people who don't eat cheese (and I don't trust them)... You can add a lot to a grilled cheese to take it up a notch, but a simple tomato adds wonders if you ask me. For some reason since I started cooking I've been the one to always make the grilled cheese in my family. The best thing about a grilled cheese to me is that they don't have to be fancy to be good - white bread and American cheese is good - so is homemade wheat bread with English cheddar...

Bread
cheese
tomato
butter

Bring a pan to a medium heat. Butter one side of each of your pieces of bread. Place the butter side of one down on the pan, add the cheese, the tomato, and a bit of cheese on top then top with the other piece of bread (butter side up). Cover and let cook checking the bottom every so often so it doesn't burn. Once the bottom is nice and grilled, flip the sammy over and cook again. Once finished let sit for a minute or so so the cheese can set up a bit then Eat & Enjoy!

Happy cooking,

~Nikko

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Thai Beef Salad

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Dressing:

3 Limes - juice of
1/2 tsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp serrano chili, minced
1 Tbsp peanut butter
pinch sugar

Salad:

Salad greens
Cucumber
Radish
Green onion
Fresh mint, minced
Cilantro, chopped to your liking

Steak:
1 Lb flank steak cut into long strips against the grain (then pounded thin)
1/2 tsp fish sauce
1 Tb soy sauce
1/2 tsp Penzeys Bangkok seasoning
salt
pepper

Other:

1/4 Cup crushed peanuts

Mix the fish sauce, soy sauce, Penzeys Bangkok seasoning, salt and pepper in a bowl and add the steak. Coat the steak well in the mixture and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl add the juice of 3 limes, fish sauce, soy sauce, ginger, serrano chili, peanut butter, pinch of sugar and mix well. Set aside. Mix the salad fixins, and plate.

Heat a saute pan to medium heat. Remove the beef from the marinade and pat dry with a paper towel. Cook the beef for a few minutes on each side (or to you preferred doneness). Prepare the salads to your liking and arrange the steak on the salad and top with the dressing - Eat & Enjoy

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

Whole Wheat Bagels version 1

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(They tasted better than this photo makes them out to be!)

This recipe is to be made in a KitchenAid type stand mixer...

1.5 Cups AP Flour
2 Packets Active dry yeast (5 tsp of yeast if you buy in bulk)
1.5 Cups Water, at 110 F
3 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Salt

3 Cups Flour (1 Cup AP, 2 Cups unbleached white Whole Wheat)

1 Gallon Water
1 Tbsp Baking soda


In your mixing bowl add the 1.5 cups flour and yeast. Dissolve the sugar and salt in the 110F water then pour over the flour and yeast. Beat at low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat for 3 minutes on high speed.
Add the rest of the flour and mix on a medium low speed until incorporated. Let the mixer knead the dough for 4-5 minutes until you get a moderately stiff dough. You might have to add a bit more flour - maybe a few tablespoons. you don't want it to be overly sticky. It will end up being smooth and elastic. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and allow to rest for fifteen minutes.
Cut into twelve portions - try not to totally flatten out the dough too much. Shape into smooth balls. Punch a hole in the middle of each with a floured finger, and pull gently to enlarge hole to about two inches. You really want a big hole in the middle because the hole will become much smaller as the dough proofs. Place on a greased baking sheet; cover; and allow to rise for twenty minutes.


Broil five inches from heat for about 90 seconds on each side.

Bring 1 gallon water and 1 tablespoon baking soda to boiling; then reduce heat. Boil the bagels a few at a time, for 6 minutes, turning once in the middle. Drain and place on greased baking sheet.


Bake at 500F for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to 450F and bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from pans and move to a wire rack to cool. Eat & Enjoy!
Happy Baking,
~Nikko
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Sorry no video for this one - will do one next time I make them!

Oatmeal, Craisins & Walnut Cookies

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These are my dad's favorite cookies. He doesn't like raisins so I make them with craisins - they are actually a lot better with the craisins!

1 Cup Butter, 2 sticks at room temp
1 Cup White sugar
1 Cup Brown sugar, packed
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
3 Cups Quick cooking oats
2 Cups Craisins
1-2 Cup(s) Walnuts - depends on how much you like them



In a large bowl, cream together white sugar, butter, brown sugar, and vanilla with a wooden spoon or beaters (the easier option). Once that is brought together add the eggs one at a time fully incorporating the first one before you add the second. In another bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Beat the flour mixture into the creamed mixture in batches. By hand, mix in the oats, Craisins, and walnuts. Cover the dough and put in the fridge for an hour. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease your cookie sheet, and place rolled balls of dough about 2 inches apart. Now we like them a bit crispy at my house so I bake them for 15-20 minutes. Normally I would start checking them around 8-10 minutes. After baking, allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Eat & Enjoy...

Happy Baking!

~Nikko

Sausage Dip Recipe

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This is just what the name says - Sausage Dip. It's not a cheese dip because there's not much cheese in there - It's a Sausage Dip!

1 Tube Hot Sausage, Win Dixie brand works best here
1 Large Onion, diced fine
1 tsp Red Pepper flakes
.5 Box Velveeta Mexican Cheese
.25 Cup Pickled Jalapenos, diced

Heat a saute pan to medium high heat, and add the sausage. Cook the sausage till it's about half way cooked then add the onion, jalapenos, and red pepper flakes. Once the sausage is all browned off, drain off all the fat you can. Return the mixture to the pan and reduce the heat to a medium low. Dice up the Velveeta Mexican Cheese and add it to the pan. Cook stirring well until the cheese is melted. Serve with Tortilla chips. Eat & Enjoy!

Happy Cheesing,

~Nikko

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Blue Moon No Knead Bread Recipe

Strawberry Cheesecake Chocolate Cups

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Strawberry Cheesecake Chocolate Cups...

This fancy little treat couldn't be any easier. Thanks to my buddy Steve The Tortilla guy I have some fancy Tumaro's Tortillas Chocolate Wraps (you can find these in many stores and if you don't see them - ask the manager to order them in!). I wanted to do something a bit off the reservation with them so I decided to turn the wraps into cups and add a nice filling.

Tumaro's Tortillas Chocolate Wraps, cut into rounds
Philadelphia ready made Cheesecake filling
Strawberries, fresh and quartered (or smaller if desired)

Cut the Tumaro's Tortillas Chocolate Wraps into rounds that will fit into an individual cupcake pan - you will want them smaller than the full cup - maybe to go up about half way. Once you have the pan filled with the rounds bake at 350 for 10-20 minutes, or just until they turn firm. Once the rounds are finished let cool in the pan then remove to a wire rack. Put a few tablespoon fulls of the cheesecake filling into each cup. Top with the strawberries and serve. Eat & Enjoy!

Happy Wrapping!

~Nikko

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Cheese Danish Recipe

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So we were on vacation in Clearwater Florida and went to Lenny's for breakfast one morning. Lenny's is known for their breakfasts and some would say the best breakfast available in Florida (or the world). The best part about the breakfast is that you are treated to a nice basket of homemade pastries when you order your food! OMG they are delicious! One of the pastries in our basket was a cheese danish. I decided it was about time for me to try my hand at making them so I went to Ina Garten (she's my go to when it comes to sweets) and got a recipe. I adapted this version a bit from hers...

8 Oz. Cream cheese, at room temp (that's one large box)
1/3 Cup + 2 Tbsp Sugar
2 Extra-Large Egg Yolks, at room temp
2 Tbsp Ricotta cheese
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp Lemon zest, grated (about 2 lemons) you can use Penzey's lemon zest reconstituted
2 Puff pastry sheets, defrosted
1 Egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water

Put the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl and cream them together gently until smooth. You do not want to do a fast whip on anything here! You can use a mixer to do this or by hand. Once they are creamed nicely, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix just until combined - do not over work the mixture.

Unfold one sheet of the puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10" x 10" square. Cut the sheet into quarters with a knife. Place a heaping tablespoon of the filling into the middle of each square. Brush the border of each square with the egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center - overlap the fold a bit and pinch together well. Brush the top of the pastry with the egg wash. Repeat this step with the remaining pastry sheets. Place the pastries on a parchment lined sheet pan and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

While the pastry is in the refer, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Eat & Enjoy!

Happy Banking!

~Nikko

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Video coming soon!

Everything Bagels - St. Augustine, FL

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They don't do much marketing but the little hand written 'Bagels' signs I see around my office caught my eye. I love a good bagel so I had to stop in and check them out. I'm really glad that I did and now go there a few times a week for breakfast or lunch.

(Bagel selection)

They have a variety of good bagels and flavored cream cheeses (the cucumber-dill is my favorite). The bagels are nice and fresh - they're really good toasted! The BLT on a poppyseed is one of my favorites along with a turkey and brie on the whole wheat!

The staff is very friendly which is very important to me.

(Toasted sesame with scallion cream cheese and bacon!)

Every time I go in there is a good crowd, and I've started noticing some regulars.

I would highly recommend trying Everything Bagels next time you are in the area!

Cheers,

~Nikko

Business 2 Blogger

Ever notice that some blogs get all the action? They always have amazing gifts to give their readers and get to try out brand new products. I've done the occasional review, but there are some blogs that are always introducing us to some new things. I just discovered an awesome tool for both bloggers and businesses, it's called Business 2 Blogger - http://www.business2blogger.com . Business owners understand the influence that bloggers can have on their business and this site hooks businesses up with bloggers for FREE! So whether you are a blogger looking to make a few bucks on your writing or you have a business (such as an etsy store owner) that you are trying to advertise, this is the place for you!

I'm going to give this website a chance and see how I like it. Let me know if you decide to give it a shot and we can share our experiences!

Carmelo's Marketplace Pizza - St. Augustine, FL

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If great service and good food is important to you I'd suggest trying Carmelo's Pizza out next time you're in St. Augustine. My favorite is the Hot Pig (bacon and jalapeños) or their Veggie Supreme. The only thing I would add is to make sure and ask them to make sure the crust is crispy!

Location:Lemon St,St Augustine,United States

Kenny's Key Lime Pie

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I was at Carmelo's Market in Downtown St. Augustine, FL having when I found these 'mini' key lime pies. I had just had a slice of Carmelo's meat lovers pizza and something sweet sounded good. I would give these a solid B for effort... I thought the filling was nice and tart but the crust was not my favorite. The crust is extremely crumbly and hardly held together. You will need a fork unless you think you can shoot it like a jello shot!




Happy Eating!

~Nikko

Chicken Shawarma Meatballs

Chicken sawarma is all about the spices and the paper thin cut chicken. I didn't feel like going through the process of cutting up chicken breast, the overnight marination, and trying to roast them correctly, so I decided to make this dish into meatballs and go from there. The process was quite simple and the great flavors of the dish come out in every bite.

1 lb Chicken, minced
1/2 Lemon, juice only
2 Tbsp Greek yogurt
1/4 tsp Allspice
1/4 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Cardamom
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Paprika
dash Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Salt
pepper

Pita Bread
Tzatziki Sauce (video on this site)
Lettuce
Onion
Tomato

Add the minced chicken to a large bowl. Squeeze in the lemon, and add the yogurt and spices. Mix everything together until well incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap, and let sit in the firdge for at least an hour (a few hours would be better). With moist hands, take a heaping tablespoon of the chicken mixture and roll into a ball (about the size of the golf ball). Place on a cooking sheet a few inches apart. Place the cooking sheet under the broiler for 10 minutes. Remove and turn the meatballs over and place under the broiler for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest under a foil tent for 10 minutes. To build your sandwich - put down the pita bread and spread on some tzatziki sauce, add 4/5 of your chicken shawarma meatballs, then lettuce, tomato, and onion. Eat & Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

~Nikko

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Pumpkin Spice Muffins

I've been wanting to bake something with pumpkin since carving my little sisters Halloween pumpkin this year. I looked at a few different recipes and couldn't find anyting that really jumped out at me. I took a few different recipes and put them together to create this recipe. They came out really dang good - I hope you try them and like them as well as we did...

The Dry Stuff:
3 Cups Bread flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Salt, table
3/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Ginger
1/2 tsp Cloves

The Wet Stuff:
2 Cups Sugar
3 Eggs
1 1/2 Cups Pumpkin, roasted and mashed, or 1 can
1/2 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Vege oil
1/4 Cup Butter, melted

The Optional Stuff (but highly recommended):
1 Cup Pecans, chopped

In a bowl add all the dry stuff and use a whisk to blend it all together - set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the wet stuff and mix for a minute or so until it is well mixed. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and combine until well incorporated. Stir in the nuts.

Cover the batter and allow to sit at room temp for 30 min to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 F

Put muffin cups into the muffin tray and fill 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick (or knife) comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Eat & Enjoy!

Happy Baking!

Nikko

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White Chicken Chili

This is a dish so easy even my dad can make it (and that's saying a lot!). The thing I like most about white chicken chili is that it's so light. It's rich and filling but not as heavy as regular chili...

1 LB Chicken, diced
1 tsp oil
1 Box Chicken broth
2 Garlic cloves, minced
Chili powder
Cumin powder
Adobo Seasoning
2 16oz can Cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Hatch Chilies, diced
1 Avocado, diced
Cilantro
Salt
Pepper, fresh ground
Tortilla strips

Heat the oil in a stock pot and heat to a medium high. Add a few tablespoons of chili powder, 1 tablespoon of the cumin and adobo seasoning and mix (you can adjust for taste later) to the chicken mix well and add to the pot - cook for 5 min or until done. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the Hatch chilies and Cannelloni beans - mix well. Add the stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Ladel into bowls, add some tortilla strips, avocado, and cilantro. Eat & Enjoy...

~Nikko

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The Apple Tart

Sadly to date the the best thing that I have ever baked besides pizza is nachos... For some reason I have the need to bake an apple tart?!? No specific reason - I'm not even much of a dessert person - I just wanna...

So this is a two part entry - the before and after...

The Before:

I'm told that tarts are not too hard to make at home - that is if you're not the baking blunder that I am.

I've looked at a lot of recipes and they're all pretty close - I've put together the simplest recipe for an apple tart that I could come up with

Ready-made pie crust
Apples
Sugar
Apricot jam
Dark Rum (but I'm not sure on that one yet)

I'm off to the store...

The After:

Well I'm glad to report the tart really wasn't that hard to make. I went as simple as simple could be - With a pre-made pie crust the only real work was processing the apples. It was edible but there's really no way you could make this that it wouldn't be. I was hoping it would be better looking but I'm not done working on mastering this.

What you will need

1 Ready-made pie crust
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced thin
3 Tb sugar
1/2 Cup apricot jam

Spray a sheet pan with some non-stick spray. Put down your pie crust. Take a fork and poke some holes in the pie crust about every 1-3 inches. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the sugar on the bottom of the crust. Add your apples leaving a 1 inch or so border - fan them out and make them look pretty. Roll the border of the crust over the rest of the pie. Will be a bit rustic looking but that's a good thing. Wet with a touch of water and sprinkle the rest of the sugar over the edges and on top of the apples. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes then move to a rack to cool. Put the apricot jam in a small pan and bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes - you can strain the mixture but I really don't see the need to (some might argue here). Using a pastry brush, put the jam over the crust and apples - you don't have to use it all just make it look all shiny and pretty...


The Next:

My next attempt will be made with a homemade pie crust (which is really easy to do) - I think this will take the tart to a new level. I'm also going to do something to with the apricot glaze. I think this time I might use a spot of the dark rum and before putting it on the tart I'm going to run it through a fine mesh strainer...

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

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