Sisters Baking Day, Part One

Every one in a while you should really take a day off work. For no reason. Not for an appointment, not for anything you HAVE to do. Just one day, preferably a Friday, stretching out your weekend and giving you some down time to just relax and do something just for you. Something fun and carefree. That's exactly what we did, my "sister" Jessica and I. We took a day off of adult life and had a Baking Day.

We didn't totally fly by the seat of our pants, we did write up a list and a loose plan. We started with the ingredients we already had on hand and built from there. We managed to scrape together quite a few solid ingredients to build off: cake mix, flour, sugars, a can of raspberry pie filling, a couple fresh peaches, canned blueberries, a little bit of leftover granola, some cherry chips, an assortment of extracts. We headed off to Aldi to get a last few things- we needed fresh citrus fruits for zests and juices, grabbed some cream cheese just in case, some nuts, real butter, and we were in business.

Not gonna lie here, we did grab a brownie mix at Aldi. Brownie mixes are just too easy and really very good to mess with all the melting and mixing of scratch brownies, especially when Aldi had a special buy on Ghirardelli brownie mix. We baked the brownies in mini muffin cups for the perfect two bite brownie treats.

The first recipe we put together was a super easy recipe you're going to want to remember. You start with a cheat item- cake mix. This is the easiest recipe to switch up to suit your tastes and ingredients on hand. Any cake mix, and add-ins. When using a white cake mix, you want to stick with egg whites only, so we used three. If you're using other cake mixes, two whole eggs are perfect. Here is what we did:

Almond Cherry Chip Cookies

1 box 2 layer size white cake mix

1/2 cup oil

3 egg whites

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

1/2 cup mini cherry chips*

1/2 cup toasted sliced or slivered almonds

*We used Gurley Golden Recipe brand mini chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the cake mix, oil and egg together.

Stir in the chips and almonds. 

Use a cookie scoop to make evenly sized cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet. Jessica's scoop is about a perfect rounded tablespoon.

Bake for 10 minutes until just lightly browned on the bottom. Let the cookies set on the cookie sheet for 3-4 minutes before removing to a rack to cool. 

We dusted them generously with powered sugar. So so so delicious!!

Up next we were thinking about things that could also go into the freezer, so we'd have treats for future road trips or busy mornings. Naturally muffins were the first thing we thought of! A while back we had a road trip to Boone and visited the Dutch bakery there where we got the most delicious cranberry orange muffins. That's what we decided on. Jessica had some dried cranberries in the cupboard, and fresh oranges and nuts were newly purchased so here is how we made them:

Orange Cranberry Mini Muffins

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

zest of one orange

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Use a mixer for this, it's so much easier. Beat in the eggs and vanilla, the zest and then stir in the milk. 

Combine with the dry ingredients, mixing just enough to combine. Don't overmix or the muffins will be tough. Fold in the cranberries and walnuts.

Use a scoop to fill the mini muffin pans. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until muffins are done. Remove from pan and cool on a rack. Dip tops of cooled muffins into orange glaze, or drizzle over them.

Simple Orange Glaze

3/4 cup powdered sugar

freshly squeezed orange juice

Mix together with a whisk until desired consistency. Dip muffins or drizzle over.

The glaze adds just the perfect sweetness and is a great way to use the orange left over after zesting. It's the ultimate topping for these tasty little muffin bites and sets up well so you don't have a sticky mess.

We had plenty more baking on the agenda, so stay tuned!! You won't want to miss the Bars part of our Sisters Baking Day. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Lunch Date- Gusto Pizza

Ya know, a girl has to work to support this cookbook and foodie habit of mine, and a working girl needs to have lunch so recently my friend and co-worker Belinda and I decided to go have lunch. After a couple months of training in our home office, about an hour away from home, we have finally settled into our remote office location here in the city and while we do miss the convenience of having a big cafeteria and coffee bar in the corporate office, we have the freedom to get out and check out nearby restaurants at lunch time. It's nice to get out of the office, and helps build friendships when you can get out and socialize and Belinda and I have become quite good friends since starting our job on the same day back in February. We share the same sense of humor, are the same age, bot have grown kids and grand kiddos and enjoy a lot of the same things outside of work too.

So Belinda and I decided to head over the Gusto for a little lunch time get away from the office. I have had Gusto Pizza on several occasions but Belinda, having just moved back to the city a couple months ago, is a first timer. I knew she was in for a treat. Literally a block away from our office building Gusto is in a prime location in the Clocktower Square shopping center- loads of parking, sunny and spacious patio for nice days, and a bright and contemporary dining room filled with cool art.

The staff greeted us right away and were happy to help Belinda go through the menu options. They do have a $9.00 lunch special that includes your own 7 inch pizza, choice of side and a drink. This is a great deal!! I had been craving just cheese pizza for the last week prior to this lunch so that's what I went with, the Fromage a Trois. Thin cracker like crust topped with a delicious and oh so slightly sweet marinara sauce, topped with Mozzarella, Provolone and Romano cheeses, sprinkled with red pepper flakes and fresh basil. Our server went over all the other options with Belinda and was in no way trying to rush her. He explained all the different pizza options ad she finally decided on the Spartacus- same crust, red sauce, Graziano's Italian sausage, pepperoni, mozzarella, banana peppers and cremini mushrooms. We both chose a side salad- she went with the creamy Italian dressing and I had sun dried tomato vinaigrette, and the salads were fresh, served right away, a nice serving of baby lettuces, tomato and red onion. Other side options were pasta salad or Panzanella. 

Pizzas made it to the table in just about 5 minutes, excellent timing for a lunch out. My Fromage a Trois- perfect. That crust though. Little teeny charred bits, so crispy, perfectly done. Fantastic sauce and cheese portions, this was the perfect lunch sized pie. Belinda's Spartacus was generously topped with everything and I was just a little bit jealous that I didn't choose that one!

Gusto has an impressive list of topping options if you'd like to build your own, things like Peppadews, kimchi, shrimp, maple glazed ham, chipotle bacon, Korean marinated pork and so much more. They also serve sandwiches and desserts so there is something for everyone, including vegan and vegetarian options.

Overall our experience in this new Clocktower Square location was top notch. Clean dining room, NO dirty tables, attentive staff and fantastic and fresh food makes Gusto a great date spot, lunch spot or place to meet friends for a casual dinner. Hurry over and try it- you won't be disappointed!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

The Wine Experience

It recently occurred to me that we haven't paid a visit to The Chef's home away from home, The Wine Experience. Tucked inside of the large department stores at Jordan Creek Town Center, The Wine Experience offers a unique spot for lunch or dinner while shopping, a place to duck in for a quick glass of wine or two after work, or a breezy patio chair to sit, have dinner, sip from a great bottle of wine and people-watch. The restaurant is a very cozy little spot with a winding wave of a wine bar, and a creative menu with something for everyone. I've always thought it was a great date night spot- quiet, inviting and no wall of tvs blasting the game of the day. Owners Tom and Layne have amassed an eye-popping collection of wines, which changes often so you always have something new to try.

Most of the time I don't actually eat at the restaurant in which The Chef is working. He thinks it's not necessary since he can truly recreate every dish for me at home. While that is true, I thought it was about time we visited the unique little restaurant that has been his home base for the last couple of years. Bonus- one of the gals who works there is a former high school classmate of mine, and we literally have not seen each other since high school! How fun to run into someone after all these years and get to know them again.

I wasn't there for a full on dinner- just a visit and meet the girls who work there, and maybe have a glass of wine. Since I would have to drive home, I reluctantly passed on the wine but stayed to visit and snack on some kalamata olives, goat cheese stuffed Peppadews and a very delish and simple grilled cheese. The menu boasts a great selection of sandwiches made with fresh ingredients. The Chef roasts whole turkey breasts in-house and slices them himself, fresh every day. Pizzas feature a cracker like crust and some interesting toppings, such as charred broccoli, nduja, arugula, pear, different cheeses, truffles, and more. Entree salads are creative and fresh with lots of tasty ingredients.

Stopping in for a couple glasses of wine? There is a fantastic selection of small plates for sharing, or not sharing!! Seared ahi tune, crusted with sesame seed and served rare is delicious and light. Deviled eggs seem to be making a big comeback in restaurants and The Chef has his own recipe here. Goat cheese stuffed Peppadews, drizzled with balsamic glaze, and blue cheese stuffed dates are tasty one bite nibbles that won't ruin your dinner later and pair beautifully with many of the wine choices. Nduja is featured on this menu as well, as a crostini. If you haven't tried this spicy spreadable pepperoni you need to!

Over the time that The Chef has worked at The Wine Experience he has made some great friends, a number of fans and quite a few really memorable dishes for Friday Night Specials. He has prepared some traditional Italian specialties, perfectly seared steak dinners, an incredible selection of homemade soups, and even stepped out of his comfort zone with a few requested dishes that weren't part of his normal repertoire. Let's take a looks at some of those.

When it comes to Italian, it's hard to beat a meaty and cheesy lasagna stacked high with tender pasta. The Chef's trattoria-style red sauce layered with ground beef, Italian sausage, ricotta, Parmesan and Mozzarella cheeses make a lot of happy tummies when that's the Friday feature. 

Garlicky Steak de Burgo is a famous Des Moines specialty that many restaurants serve, and each has their own recipe. The original was created at Johnny and Kay's Restaurant in the Hyatt House Hotel way back in the 1950s and still is wildly popular around the city. The Chef paired his with a simple baked potato and steamed green beans to keep all the focus on the steak with the garlic and herb butter drizzled over. This is one of my favorite dishes!!

Another local favorite in Chicken Marsala. The Chef has his own version of that classic as well and he is not skimpy with the mushrooms. He likes to serve it over pasta with some toasted crunchy garlic focaccia alongside. 

In the summer months The Wine Experience partners with a local heirloom tomato grower who supplies the restaurant with some truly beautiful fruit and gives The Chef a lot of opportunities to showcase these sweet and juicy Iowa treasures. Caprese Salad is a favorite in the restaurant, and at home, where sometimes this IS dinner! 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

She Bakes- Very Vanilla Pound Cake

As a hoarder of cookbooks, I don't find myself gravitating to any one particular kind of cookbook, or theme,  cuisine or food type. I'm pretty much equally obsessed with it all. I've said before, in a way cookbooks are like textbooks to me. I read them like other people read best sellers, and I learn from them. I know techniques I haven't used yet, how to cook vegetables I've never seen all because I've read about it. A lot. In the past couple years though it seems like I have really been feeling a pull towards vintage cookbooks more so than current ones. I'll buy the newest release from my favorite cookbook author, for sure, but I've been enjoying time in thrift stores and antique shops, browsing through old home ec cookbooks, church cookbooks, and some really cool old cookbooks in the neighborhood of 100 years old.

One of the highlights of my collection is the Presidential Cookbook, adapted from the White House Cook Book. This gem was published in 1896!! Inside the cover, a previous owner, Isabelle Yost from Oakland, California signed and dated the book December 1, 1906. Besides wondering about Isabelle, I wonder how this book from Oakland ended up in an antique store 100 years later in West Des Moines, Iowa. I plan on spending some serious time with this book and maybe we'll even see a future post with some of the recipes prepared from this one. I think that would be a lot of fun!

I recently acquired a small collection of what must have been free gift cookbooks- small paperbacks from food companies like Jenny Wren Flour and Royal Baking Powder. Included are a couple cookbooks for home canning, published in 1927! Wow, how I loved flipping through that one and seeing how differently home canning is done today. This particular booklet was a gift for customers from the Bank of Dallas Center, in Dallas Center, Iowa. There were recipes for canning foods we rarely see these days- like gooseberries. It's been a long time since I've seen any gooseberries in any store, although on a rare occasion you might find them in farmers markets. Cauliflower made an appearance in there, and these days it's not recommended, but still fun to see how housewives once preserved it. 

What really got to my heart about these booklets were the newspaper clippings and handwritten recipes tucked inside the pages. Many were held together with straight pins, or pinned to a page in the book. Clipped from long-gone newspapers, they were dated 1930-1935. The handwritten recipes were on scraps of paper, then pencil so faded I could barely make out the words. I'm not kidding when I say my eyes teared up a little, wondering about the woman who originally owned these books, who she was, what her life was like.

Probably the biggest thrill in this collection is the paperback Kerr Home Canning Book. Published in 1944 this book is totally geared to the war effort consciousness of the day. With tag lines like "Food is a weapon" and "Food fights for freedom" you can really get the sense of patriotism that World War II era America was living. There were some really wild recipes in there. Canning milk, which we now know you shouldn't do, has full directions. Sweetbreads and other organ meats? Yep, housewives canned those back then. I suppose because literally nothing was wasted during the war years they found ways to preserve as much food as possible. Even artichokes made the list. This booklet was so fun to read through and the 10 cent price tag made me laugh. Times sure have changed.

The lady who sold me the cookbook collection had a couple other incredible foodie collectibles that are now Property of Me- prize ribbons from the Iowa State Fair, one dated 1922, the other 1923. Both were for prize winning fruit or vegetables grown in someones garden. I'd give anything to know who the person was who won these ribbons, and what their entry was. I've entered and won many ribbons in county fairs but never entered the state fair. What a thrill that would have been. The ribbons are very fragile now, after nearly 100 years, so they are going to be framed and given a place of honor in my cookbook room and hopefully I can do some research on past fair winners and maybe get close to finding who these were awarded to.

This stroll down memory lane made me want to dig up an old recipe and give it a new twist. I almost always have the basic ingredients for a cake, and pound cake is a wonderful, and old, recipe. My version uses half and half for richness and double the vanilla of most recipes, half of it being vanilla powder. I use a dark vanilla powder so you get those lovely vanilla specks throughout.

Very Vanilla Pound Cake

2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons half and half or milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon vanilla powder*

* You can find vanilla powder in most spice aisles. I prefer a dark powder, it looks like vanilla bean flecks. I don't remember the brand name because I put it in a different container!!

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Generously grease a standard size loaf pan and set aside.

Look at all the vanilla flecks in there!

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs on at a time. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until smooth.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, smooth the top.

Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until pick tests clean. Cool for 30 minutes on a rack before removing from pan, then remove and cool completely before slicing.

Sliced berries and a little drizzle of caramel sauce

This cake is the perfect snack just as it is, sprinkle with powdered sugar, drizzle with a glaze- lemon is really lovely! Top slices with fresh berries and whipped cream or ice cream. Use to make trifle or ice cream sandwiches. Pound cake is so versatile and goes with just about any flavor you can pair with it. I love a slice, just plain, with a cup of hot matcha, it's the perfect late night snack.

Another way we love serving pound cake is with boozy macerated berries. Grab some strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries- whatever you like. Slice the strawberries. Toss the fruit with a little bit of sugar and a generous splash of Gran Marnier, Framboise, Cahmbord, or Ste. Germain liqueur. Allow to rest at room temperature for at least an hour. Spoon fruit and juice over cake slices, and top with whipped cream. Sooooo luxe and delicious. Try it!!

Project Cookbook and the Weeknight Gnocchi

Guys, it is actually happening!!! The writing has begun. The cookbook is officially underway! I'm really excited about this project, and believe me it's been a long time coming. As a very young newlywed I knew nothing about cooking, literally nothing. Everything I know today I learned from reading. Reading cookbooks, and magazines, piles of recipes and articles. Long before the days of 24 hour food shows on television I spent many hours poring over books. The first real cookbook that shaped my cooking skills was the old 1980s red and white checked Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. I never understood why it was called the "New Cook Book' really, but it is the one book every newly independent adult needs to own. Besides some pretty impressive recipes it also covers the basics- how to cook rice, make plain pastry, roast times and temps for meats. It's literally the elementary, junior high and high school of cooking compiled into chapters. 

As the years went by, my collection grew and I began to grow my skills in the kitchen and I started entering contests. I started to think to myself, hey I can do this, I can write recipes, I should write a cookbook! I kept folders of notes, and bought blank journals and wrote page after page of recipes I made up in my different kitchens. I was writing and still reading, new cookbooks come out all the time so I never ran out of things to read. Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines began to pile up at my house too. Scraps of paper became bookmarks and I learned more techniques and entered more contests and then friends started saying "you should write a cookbook!" The time wasn't right, but still I saved and filed and wrote, and cooked and baked.

Then several years ago I met my friend Ray. We had a mutual interest in food and started throwing around some ideas. We put together a group of writers and set out to launch an internet magazine about food in our state. We collaborated on a few social media groups focused on Iowa food, historical foods and eating out. We eventually started talking about cookbooks. Writing cookbooks, to be exact. Ray knew I wanted to write my own, and he encouraged me to do it! He was secretly hoping I'd go down the Iowa recipes path but that's not what I had in mind, and even he thought about writing an Iowa-centric cookbook, or compile one anyway. 

One day, when we thought we still had a lifetime to work on these things, my friend was gone. His passing left a lot of people heartbroken, and made me value the time we did have even more- talking about crazy food ideas, his hobo dinners and the time he ate some "wild peppers" he found and ended up nearly poisoning himself. I knew if there was ever a time in my life to make this project a reality, it was now, for my friend. For myself.

So here we are. Project Cookbook is a go and I'm working on it almost daily. In my head I have a vision, how I want the photography to be, the outline is working. I've got chapters decided and have been sorting through my journals and scrapbooks looking for the right recipes to include in the book. Because I am "The Baker" around here, of course there will be some pretty fantastic cakes and pies and pastries included, but lots of great entrees and appetizers too. I am really going to focus on things my family loved me to cook.

So let's talk about this recipe. It's definitely going in the book, and it's one of my favorite things to make. Weeknight gnocchi. Why weeknight? Because we are using a big time shortcut which shaves a LOT of time off the prep of this dish and makes it something that's totally doable on a weeknight. Who  doesn't love that? These are so easy to make you can even get your kids in on the fun, rolling and cutting into little dumplings. Let's make this!

Easy Herbed Gnocchi

1 cup dry instant mashed potato flakes

1 cup boiling water

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon dried thyme

salt and pepper

1 egg, beaten

butter

fresh thyme for serving

Combine the mashed potato flakes and boiling water in a medium bowl. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl stir the flour, salt and pepper and thyme, crushing slightly in your fingers. Add the prepared mashed potatoes and mix in, using a fork or a pastry blender, until mostly combined, looking like small peas. Add the egg and mix in well. Knead once or twice.

On a floured board, roll out egg sized portions of the dough into half inch diameter ropes. Cut into bite sized pieces with a knife. Place on floured parchment on a sheet pan to hold until all dough is rolled and cut.

When ready to cook, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the gnocchi in batches and boil until they float, maybe 3 to 4 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and continue to cook all. 

In a large skillet melt a couple tablespoons of butter. Add the cooked gnocchi and heat, stirring only occasionally until the gnocchi are golden brown in spots and coated in butter. Sprinkle with fresh thyme and serve.

I served my gnocchi with some pan-roasted chicken breasts, and it was easy to do. Using a cast iron or other oven safe skillet, heat a couple tablespoons of oil and butter until foaming. Season 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts with salt, pepper and fresh herbs of choice. I used thyme. 

Brown on both sides then pop in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes to finish. I removed the chicken, added another tablespoon of butter to the drippings and browned the gnocchi in the delicious chicken drippings. Oh. Em. Gee. Talk about luxurious. We will be making this again!!

Honey Roasted Springtime

My friend Janet has a MASSIVE rhubarb patch that
is decades old and still produces year after year.

If you grew up in the Midwest, like I did, chances are you have memories of Gramma's house, with a big garden in the backyard, many times an apple tree or some other fruit tree, and way in the back of the yard, the ever popular rhubarb patch. It seems to have gone the way of the dodo- not many people are growing rhubarb patches anymore, and that's really sad. This perennial treat is perfect in sweet or savory recipes and makes such a striking display of giant leaves and huge spikes of teeny flower buds. I suppose the suburbanites don't want to dig up a section of their perfectly sodded lawns but even if you don't eat it, it's still a gorgeous plant to have around. Build a flower bed around it, it's really lovely. Back to when I was a kid- everyone and I mean everyone had rhubarb in the backyard. Some of those plants/clumps were decades old. Strawberry rhubarb pie was a very popular dessert when I was growing up, along with rhubarb crisps, crunches, cobblers- you name it. I would imagine simple economics had a lot to do with the popularity of rhubarb back then- thrifty housewives were making good use of what was available in her own backyard.

David Tallman has two different varieties of rhubarb in
his northern Iowa rhubarb patch.

Tastes change over the years and so do lifestyles. People didn't garden like our parents and grandparents did. They didn't have to. Giant supermarkets sprang up all over with huge produce departments that took all the work out of having fresh fruits and vegetables. People embraced this convenience, and the strawberry patches, raspberry bushes, rhubarb patches, apple trees, and vegetable gardens slowly disappeared from our little landscapes.

This spring I was gifted a nice bagful of rhubarb from my very good friends Paul and Jennifer Quick. You might remember Paul from Quick's Hot Spice- he is my Pepper Professor and makes this crazy delicious spice blend. They have a beautiful backyard garden with a large clump of rhubarb and they always give me as much as I want. 

Like fashion, food trends have their cycles and rhubarb is no different. As chefs and food industry insiders began focusing more on locally grown foods and less on what they can have delivered from far away, foods like rhubarb started to appear on menus and in recipes, in cookbooks and magazines, all over again. Kitchen gardens planted with lots of delicious things like herbs, lettuces, radishes, beans and rhubarb as the anchor are popping up all over. Home cooks and restaurant chefs alike are planting gardens to have access to the freshest ingredients possible. I hope this trend continues for many years to come- I've seen so many of my favorite "old" foods come back in style and on plates and I'm loving it. Rhubarb has always been a favorite of mine. It's not a true fruit, but it's most often used as one with some added sweetener to tackle the puckering tartness. Chefs are coming up with all sorts of inventive ways to use rhubarb. Soups, slaws, sauces and even salads get a puckery kick from this leafy plant. I'm most likely to use rhubarb in a pie, but I thought why not try something just a little different this spring, and ROAST the rhubarb. A little drizzle of honey brings the sweet and orange zest adds a bright citrus pop. Hibiscus joins the party as a very unexpected guest and brings a fruity and floral tea-like note to the rhubarb. The key to success with roasted rhubarb is not to OVER roast it. You want the rhubarb to retain its shape and not cook into a watery soft blob. Check your rhubarb at 15 minutes, it should be JUST tender but not mushy. If it's still a bit crunchy keep checking every couple minutes. Rhubarb contains a lot of water and can go from crunchy to soft very quickly. Since we will be using our rhubarb in a baked tart, I'm going to under-roast it a bit to keep some crunchiness so it will hold its shape.

Honey Hibiscus Roasted Rhubarb

3 cups red rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2-3 tablespoons honey

4 tablespoons orange juice

zest of one orange
hibiscus petals, crushed, or hibiscus powder

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spread the rhubarb pieces onto a rimmed baking sheet, lined with foil. Stir the honey, the zest and orange juice in a small bowl, mixing in some of the hibiscus to taste. Drizzle the honey mixture evenly over the rhubarb. 

Place in oven and roast for 15-30 minutes. You want the rhubarb to be barely tender but still hold its shape. Drizzle with additional orange juice if needed.

Now that we have this beautiful roasted rhubarb, what are we going to do with it? Make tarts of course! Now you can make any size tart you like. I am going to make individual tarts this time. Don't worry if you don't have individual tart pans. Most people don't have a bunch of fancy miniature tart pans sitting around but it's EASY to find a dozen wide mouth canning jar lids! They are cheap, and the perfect size. 

For the filling I decided to go with the traditional French pastry filling frangipane. Made with ground almonds or almond flour, this creamy filling has a delicate almond flavor and goes well with almost any fruit or nut combo. I love it with fresh red raspberries and ripe pears. It just seemed natural to pair it with the fragrant hibiscus and honey roasted rhubarb. I'm using almond flour from Trader Joe's that is 100% almonds. No fillers or sweeteners or additives. That's it. It was perfect.

Frangipane 

1 cup almond flour

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

big pinch of salt

Use a mixer to cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy and light. Add the almond flour and mix in completely, scraping the sides of the mixing bowl often. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until well incorporated.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Set aside. 

Roll out pie pastry (purchased or homemade) and cut out circles about one half inch larger around than the rings. Fit the pastry into mini tart pans or canning rings with the lids inside. Fill generously with the frangipane. Top with the rhubarb, arranged in a decorative pattern. 

Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a rack. Remove the tarts from the rings or tart pans to serve. Serve topped with whipped cream if desired.

Guys, these were delicious little bites of heaven. The flaky crust cradles the creamy almond filling that isn't overly sweet. The roasted rhubarb has the teeniest hint of honey, a touch of hibiscus and orange flavors. It's a great combination and a new and unique way to add rhubarb to your dessert menu. Give these a try with red raspberries or dark sweet pitted cherries too.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."