Recipe Roundup

Our new normal leaves a lot to be desired on the food front. We miss dining with friends at UB Preserv and attending the foodie event of the year, Raising the Barre. But where one door shuts, a window opens in the kitchen, allowing a gust of wind to knock off the dust on the food processor sitting in the cabinet. We’ve rounded up recipes from our dancers for some kitchen creativity, and stick around for an inspirational Cacio e Pepe photo from Trustee and Raising the Barre co-chair Mignon Gill.

Homemade Pop Tarts | Allison Miller
Spring Rolls | Madison Russo
Carrot Top and Coconut Pesto | Oliver Halkowich
Chae’s Korean Sweet Potato Mousse Cake | Chae Eun Yang

FOR BREAKFAST (OR DINNER. NO ONE’S JUDGING)

Homemade Pop Tarts

Courtesy of Allison Miller

“If you saw my HB at Home video, you saw me working on homemade pop tarts. I got my recipe and techniques from Bon Appetite TV’s Gourmet Makes, the pop tart episode. Gourmet Makes is such a fun show, and this project was one of the few that you can recreate at home. Check it out if you plan on making these! Making the dough is fairly simple, so for all this work, I would recommend doubling the dough—making it 4 times rather than 2. You’ll be glad when you have twice as many of these delicious pop tarts to eat! Another tip: save the three egg yolks for another recipe, like lemon curd.” – Allison

Ingredients (makes about 6 pop tarts)

Sprinkles:
1 egg white
1 1/2 or more cups powdered sugar
Food coloring of choice

Filling:
1 jar of jam, any flavor

or to make cherry jam
1 cup of canned tart red cherries
1 cup of frozen dark red cherries
1 cup of sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest

Dough: 
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp of salt
4 tsp of sugar
20 tbsp of butter
6 tbsp of ice water

Icing:
2 egg whites
2 1/2 or more cups of powdered sugar
1/2 tsp of almond extract
Food coloring of choice

Instructions

For the sprinkles: In a medium bowl whisk together 1 egg white and 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar. You want the mixture to be thicker than Elmer’s glue, so add more powdered sugar if needed, tablespoon at a time. Add food coloring and whisk to mix in. For my cherry pop tarts to have a classic look, I went with bright pink. 

Spread the icing in a thin layer on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and leave to air dry overnight. If it’s not dry enough by morning (so humid in HTX!), dehydrate in a 200 degree oven for an hour or so. When the icing layer is completely dry, flake off of the parchment, then chop into small sprinkle-sized pieces. Put this through a fine mesh sieve to get rid of the dusty particles, and you are left with more uniform sprinkles. Store sprinkles in an airtight container.

For the filling: To get a thick jam filling, you can either make your own jam or start with store-bought jam. I made my own cherry jam by combining 1 cup of tart red cherries from a can, 1 cup of frozen dark red cherries, 1 cup sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice. Bring to a boil then put on medium-low and simmer for at least 20 min. 

Whether you make or buy jam, to get it thick enough for the pop tarts, we need to dehydrate it. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour the jam onto the sheet and dehydrate it in a 200 degree oven for up to two hours, stirring occasionally until it has thickened to your liking. Transfer to an airtight container, mix in the zest of one lemon, and store in the fridge. Don’t worry about having too much—this thick jam is great on toast or as part of a cheese plate later on.

For the dough: In a food processor, process 1 1/4c flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp sugar, 10 tbsp butter until you have a coarse meal. Sprinkle 3 tbsp of ice water over mixture, and process until a ball forms around the blade. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic and chill.

Repeat this process a second time. Let the dough chill at least one hour before moving on to the next step.

For assembly: Preheat oven to 315 degrees. With the first batch of dough, roll out to 1/8” thick or thinner, using flour as needed, and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with second batch of dough. Chill until firm, about 20 minutes. 

With one batch of dough being the top pieces and the other the bottom pieces, cut the rolled-out dough into 3” by 4.5” rectangles. Dock the top pieces with a fork (so steam can escape when baking), then return the tops to the fridge to chill.

To neatly add jam to the bottom pieces, you *could* cut a stencil out of an old silicone baking mat so the opening is a window about 1/2” from the rectangle’s edge…You can also just wing it! Spread jam on the designated bottom dough rectangles, with or without stencil help, starting at the center, leaving 1/2” of edge all around free of jam.

Using a pastry brush, carefully egg wash the exposed edge of dough— this is the glue that will sick the bottom and top pieces together. 

Get the top pieces from the fridge, and carefully place the top rectangles on the jam-filled bottoms. Using a chopstick or another crafty kitchen tool, gently press the outside edges together just so they adhere and won’t separate when baking. Trim edges with a sharp knife for clean edges. If the dough gets too soft at any point in assembly, return the pop tarts to the fridge and let the dough get cool again.

Bake on two stacked baking sheets until lightly golden brown on edges, about 40 minutes. Keep an eye on them!

For the icing: Whisk 2 egg whites, 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, and 1/2 tsp of almond extract until smooth. For this icing, Elmer’s glue is the consistency we want. Add powdered sugar to reach this if it is too thin. Add food coloring until you reach desired color. For my cherry pop tarts, I used pale pink. Transfer icing to a piping bag or zip lock bag.

When the pop tarts are completely cool—your icing will run if they are warm at all— pipe a rectangle about 1/2” from the edges and flood to fill, spreading evenly with an icing spatula or butter knife. Scatter sprinkles on top before the icing dries completely. 

These are toaster safe, so enjoy just as you would a pop tart (but I promise you’ll enjoy them far more)!

A HEALTHY SNACK

Spring Rolls

From the kitchen of Madison Russo

If you’ve been keeping up with HB at Home on Instagram, you’ve probably seen Corps de Ballet Dancer Madison Russo whipping up delicious spring rolls while delicately balancing in an arabesque in her video. Madison shares her spring roll recipe – arabesque optional.

Ingredients

Spring roll rice paper wrappers
1/2 cup of frozen shelled edamame
1/3 cup of sliced green onion 
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1-2 tablespoons of sesame oil
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
1 package of broccoli slaw (I used HEB’s)
3 cups of semi-warm water
Coconut aminos or soy sauce
Sweet chili sauce

Instructions

1. Sauté broccoli slaw in a pan with sesame oil on medium-high heat
2. Add in minced garlic, salt, and about a tablespoon of coconut aminos/soy sauce and cook covered for about 5-7 minutes
3. Add in edamame and green onion, and cook until the frozen edamame has thawed out (about another 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally), add in sesame seeds
4. Take spring roll filling off the heat and set aside
5. Fill a saucepan/skillet, with a circumference big enough to be able to lay the rice paper wrapper flat in, with about 3 cups of semi-warm water or just enough to be able to dip your rice paper wrappers in
6. Dip rice paper wrapper in water, covering entire sheet for about five seconds, place onto a large clean dinner plate and let it sit for another 5-10 seconds 
7. Spoon filling slightly off center of the rice paper sheet, and fold like a burrito
8. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers (can double up on rice paper wrappers if they become too flimsy and start to fall apart) 
9. Combine 1/3-part soy sauce to 2/3 sweet chili sauce for dipping and enjoy!!!

SPICE UP DINNER

Carrot Top and Coconut Pesto

Á la Oliver Halkowich

“Pesto pasta has been a weekly occurrence for me for as long as I can remember. The sight of my mother at the food processor going to town on the bright green basil and tangy garlic and pecorino will always be a fond memory. I have spent a lot of time in the kitchen and at the food processor over the last two months, and I’ve made a few batches of pesto. This riff was created in an effort to use what was in the refrigerator but ended up being a surprise delight. I served it as a topping for roast beef, but I bet it would be great in a soup or of course on pasta.”– Oliver

Ingredients

1 bunch of carrot top greens (blanched and rung dry in a kitchen towel)
2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh coconut meat shredded
1/3 cup pine nuts (or other nuts you have on hand) toasted
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt

Instructions

Throw everything in the food processor and blitz. With the machine running stream in the oil. I think for this pesto a paste is more desired so err on the light side with the oil. Season with salt to taste.

FOR DESSERT

Chae Eun Yang’s

Korean Sweet Potato Mousse Cake

Last but not least, Corps de Ballet dancer Chae Eun Yang brings us a decadent dessert recipe as seen on Tea with HB.

Ingredients

2 medium-large baked sweet potatoes (chilled)
3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
Drizzle of honey
Pinch of salt
Vanilla extract

Whipped cream:
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Honey syrup:
1 tbsp honey + 1 tbsp warm water

Sponge cake/genoise cake cut into rounds to fit a cup for serving

Nuts or black sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions

1. Smash sweet potatoes with fork
2. Add condensed milk + honey + salt + vanilla to sweet potatoes and mix
3. Fold ½ of whipped cream into mousse & put into piping bag (or ziplock!)
4. Assemble by placing slice of pound cake at the bottom of a cup and brush with honey syrup. Pipe sweet potato mousse on top of cake. Repeat cake, syrup & mousse and top final layer with whipped cream
5. Garnish with nuts or sesame
6. ENJOY!

Dinner Inspiration from Trustee and Raising the Barre Co-Chair Mignon Gill 

Trustee and Raising the Barre Co-Chair Mignon Gill has been in the kitchen cooking up tasty treats while staying home including this delicious Cacio e Pepe dish with a recipe courtesy of Rosie Cannonball chef Felipe Riccio. Let this photo serve as inspiration for your own Cacio e Pepe recipe!

Recipe Roundup by Jasmine Fuller