Fresh Fruit Tart with Vanilla Pastry
Ingredients:
For the tart dough:
1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
For the pastry cream:
2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch salt
5 large egg yolks
3 tbsp. cornstarch
4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
For the glaze:
1 (6 Ounce) can of frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar (add more if you like less tartness in the glaze)
Whipped Cream for garnish.
Directions:
To make the tart shell, whisk together the egg yolk, cream and vanilla in a small bowl; set aside. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Process briefly to combine. Scatter the butter pieces over the flour mixture; process to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about fifteen 1-second pulses. With the machine running, add the egg mixture and process until the dough just comes together, about 12 seconds. Turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a 6-inch dish. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 48 hours.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. (If refrigerated for more than an hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable.) Unwrap and roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a 13-inch round. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch tart pan. Mold the dough to the sides of the tart pan and remove the excess off the top. Set the dough-lined tart pan on a large plate and freeze for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to middle position. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Set the dough-lined tart pan on a baking sheet, press a 12-inch square of foil into the frozen shell and over the edge, and fill with pie weights. Bake for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through the baking time. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the foil and weights. Continue to bake until deep golden brown, 5-8 minutes longer. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
To make the pastry cream, heat the half-and-half, 6 tablespoons of the sugar, and the salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat until simmering, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl and whisk until the sugar has begun to dissolve and the mixture is creamy, about 15 seconds. Whisk in the cornstarch until combined and the mixture is pale yellow and thick, about 30 seconds.
When the half-and-half mixture has reached a simmer, slowly add it to the egg yolk mixture to temper, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula. Return the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a few bubbles burst on the surface and the mixture is thickened and glossy, about 30 seconds. Off the heat, whisk in the butter and vanilla. Strain the pastry cream through a fine mesh sieve set over a medium bowl. Press plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate until cold and set, at least 3 hours and up to 2 days.
To assemble the tart, spread the cold pastry cream evenly over the bottom of the tart shell. Arrange the fruit on top of the pastry cream as desired.
For the glaze, Combine the Limeade, cornstarch, lime juice and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over med / med-high heat. constantly stirring. Tip: Take some of the liquid mix out of the pan and add to a separate cup of the cornstarch to avoid lumps and then add the corn starch back to the saucepan. Keep heating/stirring til it becomes clear and thick. Let cool a little, want it slightly warm when you apply to tart to make it easier to glaze with a BBq brush. You will not use all of the glaze.
Keep in refrigerator til ready to serve an hour before take out.
Don't forget to add the whipped cream (*optional) 
OS X hangs during boot and you’ve run SonicWall NetExtender
In the last year I've had an issue where OS X refuses to boot. It's happened to me 2 or 3 times in the last year or 2. Each time I would try the usual steps to resolve it (reset pram, disk check, etc...) and nothing ever worked. I would boot in "text mode" and the system would hang after initializing/displaying the Ethernet port info. Even if I restored from a time-machine backup the problem would still be there. I would either have to restore from later backups (keep trying older ones) or just install from scratch and transfer my apps/data from time-machine.
So, two days ago I lost power and my computer shut down unexpectedly when the UPS's battery ran out. When the power came back on I once again had the "can't boot" issue appear. Just like the previous times, nothing in the 'usual steps' would fix it. Luckily, this time I had a new suspect as to what has been causing the issue all along so my strategy changed.
Lately I noticed an issue when running SonicWall NetExtender. I seemed that if NetExtender crashed for whatever reason, I would lose DNS resolution until I restarted and closed it. It would also sometimes happen if the connection was dropped for some reason. It seems that NetExtender changes some system configuration while it establishes a VPN connection and if it doesn't "clean up" when it closes the connection, the system's network configuration becomes "broken".
Armed with this knowledge I decided to boot the system in single-user mode (this always worked). After many google searches and checking different files I found these 2 files in /System/Library/LaunchDaemons:
-rw-r--r-- 1 root wheel 931 Jul 2 09:18 com.apple.mDNSResponder.plist
-rw------- 1 root wheel 897 Jul 2 09:18 com.apple.mDNSResponder.plist.nxbak
Turns out that NetExtender changes the com.apple.mDNSResponder.plist file and (luckily for me) makes a backup of the original file.
While stil in Single User mode I replaced the file with the backed up version (nxbak) and rebooted. The system came up perfectly and I was back in business. Since NetExtender changed the file, the time machine backups also had the "bad" changes. This was the reason restoring from a time machine backup didn't work either. It all made sense now.
I run NetExtender all the time to connect to a VPN so this will probably happen again to me. Atleast now I know how to fix it.
Stick Family Generator :)
I thought this would be fun. If it comes up. LOL
My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com
Smoked Sausage, Butternut Squash and Wild Rice Soup
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Season the squash with 1 tablespoon of the oil, salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until tender. Remove from the oven and cool completely. In a blender orfood processor, puree the squash with 2 cups of the chicken stock. Puree until smooth and set aside.
In a saucepan, over medium heat, bring 4 cups of the stock and 1/2 cup of the chopped onions to a simmer. Stir in the rice and cook until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 1 hour, stirring occasionally with a fork. Remove the rice from the pan and cool. In a large saucepan, over medium heat, add the remaining tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot, add the sausage and brown for 3 minutes. Add the remaining 2 cups of onions and corn. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for 3 minutes. Add the remaining 6 cups of stock and squash puree. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.Skim off any fat that rises to the surface. Stir in the rice and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the half-and-half and reason with salt and pepper. Stir in the parsley and serve.
Pecan Pie
- 1 9-10" pie crust (whatever recipe you prefer)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3/4 cup Lyle's "Golden" or Steen's cane syrup (or light corn syrup)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Grated zest of one orange (2-3 tablespoons)(optional)
- 1 cup pecan pieces (toasted or raw)
- 1 cup raw pecan halves (or more, if you like, and they fit)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Lightly toast the pecan pieces (not the halves) on the top shelf of your oven. It should take no more than about 3 or 4 minutes, depending on how hot your oven is when you put them in.
- Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and stir well. Stir in the syrup, salt and zest, if using.
- Fold in the toasted pecan pieces. Pour into unbaked pie shell. There is no need to pre-cook the shell.
- Cook at 400 degrees for ten minutes. Turn down the heat to 350 degrees, remove the pie and place the pecan halves on the top, in a pattern if you like. I usually run them in concentric circles, with the pecan halves placed lengthwise perpendicularly to the circumference.
- Put an aluminum foil or other frame over the crust and return the pie to the oven for another 35-40 minutes. Check the pie after about 20 minutes. If the pecan halves seem to be browning too quickly, very loosely place a small piece of aluminum foil over them.
- Let the pie sit for at least ten or fifteen minutes before cutting. We usually serve this with a small scoop of French vanilla ice cream on each slice.
Chocolate Cake
For the cake
6 oz. (3/4 cup) unsalted butter; more for the pans
13-1/2 oz. (3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour; more for the pans
3/4 cup canola oil
4-1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 cups granulated sugar
2-1/4 oz. (3/4 cup) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
2-1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2-1/2 cups heavy cream
3 oz. (6 Tbs.) unsalted butter
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 cups granulated sugar
6 oz. (2 cups) natural unsweetened cocoa powder; more for decorating
1/2 cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
Three 1/4-oz. envelopes unflavored powdered gelatin
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 Tbs. confectioners’ sugar; more as needed
Make the cake
Position racks in the bottom and top thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Butter three 9x2-inch round cake pans and line each with a parchment round. Butter the parchment, then dust with flour and knock out the excess.
In a 3-quart saucepan, combine the butter, oil, chopped chocolate, and 1 cup water. Heat over medium heat until melted.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, and cocoa powder. Pour the hot chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture and whisk until combined.
Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then whisk in the buttermilk, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans.
Set two pans on the top rack and the third on the lower rack. Stagger the pans on the oven racks so that no pan is directly over another. Bake, swapping and rotating the pans’ positions after 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on racks for 10 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the racks, remove the parchment, and cool completely.
Make the frosting
In a 4-quart saucepan over low heat, combine the cream, butter, and vanilla bean and seeds and stir until the butter is melted. Remove the vanilla bean and whisk in the chopped chocolate until melted. Whisk in the sugar, cocoa powder, syrup, and salt until smooth—be sure the cocoa powder dissolves completely. Pour into a 9x13-inch pan and freeze until firm, about 2 hours, or refrigerate overnight.
Make the marshmallows
Pour 3/4 cup cold water into the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Attach the bowl to the mixer and fit it with the whisk attachment.
Clip a candy thermometer to a 3-quart saucepan; don’t let the tip of the thermometer touch the bottom of the pan. In the saucepan, boil the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 3/4 cup water over medium heat without stirring until it reaches 234°F to 235°F, about 10 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, pour the hot sugar mixture into the gelatin in a slow, thin stream.
Add the vanilla, carefully increase the speed to high, and beat until the mixture has thickened and cooled, about 5 minutes (the bottom of the bowl should be just warm to the touch). Line a 9x13-inch pan with foil, leaving an overhang on 2 sides. Sift 1 Tbs. of the confectioners’ sugar into the bottom of the pan, then pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan and sift another 1 Tbs. confectioners’ sugar on top. Let sit at room temperature until set, at least 2 hours.
Assemble the cake
Remove the frosting from the freezer or refrigerator. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes to soften. Change to a whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Put a cake layer on a flat serving platter or a cake stand lined with strips of waxed paper to keep it clean while icing. Top the layer with 1-1/2 cups of the frosting, spreading it evenly with an offset spatula to the cake’s edge. Repeat with another cake layer and 1-1/2 cups frosting. Top with the last cake layer.
Put 1-1/2 cups of the frosting in a small bowl. With an offset spatula, spread this frosting in a thin layer over the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate the cake until the frosting firms enough to seal in the crumbs, 20 to 30 minutes.
Spread the remaining frosting in a smooth layer over the top and sides of the cake. If necessary, you can rewhip the remaining frosting to loosen and lighten it. Remove the waxed paper strips.
Use the foil overhang to lift the marshmallow from the pan. Using a knife that has been dipped in cold water, cut along the edge of the marshmallow to release it from the foil. Transfer to a cutting board and remove the foil. Put the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Cut the marshmallow into cubes of different sizes, from 1/4 to 3/4 inch (you will need to continue to dip the knife in cold water as you cut the marshmallows). The marshmallows will be very sticky—dip the cut edges in the confectioners’ sugar to make them easier to handle. As you work, toss a few cubes at a time in the sugar to coat, then shake in a strainer to remove the excess. Mound the marshmallows on top of the cake (you’ll need only a third to half of them). Sift some cocoa powder over the marshmallows.
Coconut Cake
8 oz. (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened; more for the pans
13-1/2 oz. (3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk, well shaken and at room temperature
1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup sour cream, at room temperature
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 cups heavy cream
3 large egg yolks
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbs. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes, toasted
1 oz. (2 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened
1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
Pinch kosher salt
3 cups granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups egg whites (about 10 large), preferably pasteurized, at room temperature
Position racks in the bottom and top thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F.
Butter three 9x2-inch round cake pans and line each with a parchment round. Butter the parchment.
In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a 1-cup liquid measure, mix the coconut milk with the vanilla.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add about one-third of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add half of the coconut milk and mix until incorporated. Continue adding the flour mixture and coconut milk, alternating the two and ending with the flour. Add the sour cream and mix until incorporated. Pour the batter into a large bowl.
In a clean mixer bowl and using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a spatula, gently stir a large spoonful of the whites into the batter to loosen it, and then fold the remaining egg whites gently into the batter.
Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Level the batter with a spatula. Set two pans on the top rack and the third on the lower rack. Stagger the pans on the oven racks so that no pan is directly over another. Bake, swapping and rotating the pans’ positions after 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes total. Cool on racks for 10 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the racks, remove the parchment, and cool completely.
In a medium bowl, whisk 11/2 cups of the cream and the egg yolks.
Combine the sugar and flour in a medium saucepan. Add the cream mixture and cook, whisking, over medium heat until smooth, 2 minutes. Bring to a simmer and cook, whisking, until thickened to a pudding consistency, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the coconut, butter, vanilla, and salt and let cool to room temperature.
With an electric hand mixer, whip the remaining 1/2 cup cream to soft peaks. With a spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the filling.
Put a cake layer on a flat serving platter or a cake stand lined with strips of waxed paper to keep it clean while icing. Top the layer with half of the filling, spreading it evenly with an offset spatula almost to the cake’s edge. Repeat with a second cake layer and the remaining filling. Top with the last cake layer.
Put the sugar and egg whites in the metal bowl of a stand mixer (make sure it’s clean) and set over a pot of simmering water. Whisk constantly until the sugar melts completely, 3 to 4 minutes. Rub a small amount between your fingers to make sure all of the sugar grains have melted.
Transfer the bowl to the mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, and whisk at low speed until the mixture becomes completely opaque and begins to thicken, about 4 minutes. Raise the speed to medium and beat until thickened to soft peaks that barely hold their shape and flop over when the beater is lifted, 5 to 7 minutes. Finally, raise the speed to high and beat until glossy and thickened to medium-firm peaks that stand up stiffly but curl slightly at the tip when the beater is lifted, about 4 minutes more.
Using an offset spatula, apply the meringue thickly over the entire cake—don’t worry about spreading it smoothly or you’ll overwork the meringue (you may not need all of it). Then, repeatedly poke your fingertips into the meringue, pulling it into spikes all over the cake. Remove the waxed paper strips.
Using a kitchen torch, brown the meringue by holding the torch 2 to 3 inches from the meringue and waving the flame over the cake until it’s browned all over.
Make ahead: You can bake, cool, wrap, and store the cake layers at room temperature for up to 1 day or freeze for up to 1 month. You can refrigerate the assembled cake (without the meringue topping) for up to 4 hours before decorating it. Wait to make the meringue until you’re ready to finish the cake.
Calories (kcal): 700; Fat (g): 32; Fat Calories (kcal): 290; Saturated Fat (g): 21; Protein (g): 9; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 8; Carbohydrates (g): 96; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 1.5; Sodium (mg): 250; Cholesterol (mg): 145; Fiber (g): 1;
Yard work
Our new project is redoing the front yard landscape. Here's a "before" picture.
Hopefully more to come...
January 2010
So what will Jan 2010 hold for us here at the Gonzalez compound? Well, to be sure there will be more Pandora Charms. (Well I hear they are Pandora Wood Charms and Leather bracelets) Miami Lakes Jewelers did well this season, I heard they sold out of a lot of the Pandora Inventory of Beads and Bracelets. Whoot Go Miami Lakes Jewelers.
Mr. Elio and I are getting married this month, and like so many couples before us, all I can say is "So many things to do so little time" Apparently we are going to Honeymoon in Hawii, can't wait for the vacation, think that will be the best part.
Other than that, its cold out, Christmas was fun, but back to work!
Finding cache & session memory usage from w3wp.exe dump file
- Load the dump in WinDbg as usual.
- Find the MT for System.Web.Caching.Cache
!dumpheap -type System.Web.Caching.Cache
- Now loop through all cache entries and get the sizes
.foreach (Cache {!dumpheap -mt -short}_{!objsize ${Cache}} - For Session state it's the same thing. Find System.Web.SessionState.InProcSessionState MT
!dumpheap -type System.Web.SessionState.InProcSessionState
- Loop getting obj sizes
.foreach(Session {!dumpheap -mt -short}){!objsize ${Session}}
