Chocolate Banana Tart

More snow week recipe. This time a very quick,yummy dessert.

1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
6 firm-ripe bananas
1/4 cup apricot preserves


Preheat oven to 350°F.

Blend crumbs, butter, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt in a food processor until mixture begins to hold together and pat onto bottom and up side of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Bake in middle of oven until side of crust is firm to the touch, 14 to 18 minutes.

Sprinkle chocolate chips into hot crust and let stand 5 minutes to soften. Spread evenly over bottom of crust. Beat cream with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and rum until it holds soft peaks. Cut bananas into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Whisk preserves and add bananas, tossing to coat. Spoon banana mixture into crust and top with whipped cream.


The only problem with the crust is that it shrunk up quite a bit during baking and was not as tall as the sides of the tart pan. Fortunately, it is not really needed to hold the filling in.
Also, I used semi-sweet baking chocolate since I was out of chocolate chips. I just melted them ahead of time in the microwave. They did harden much harder than chocolate chips would have. The result being that it was a bit harder to cut. But it did give the crust a cookie-like consistency.

Shrimp and Grits with Roasted Red Pepper

We've had about 4 1/2 feet of snow here this past week. This is the perfect weather to spend time in the kitchen and create lots of comfort food.

I tried this dish this week to share with all of our snowbound neighbors. I've never made grits before but this has got to be the easiest and most delicious recipe. This was first published in Bon Appetit magazine.


Grits with Shrimp and Roasted Red Bell

Yield: Makes 6 main-course servings


2 large red bell peppers *

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 green onions, chopped **
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 cup quick-cooking grits ***
3 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
3 tablespoons whipping cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

30 uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 cup crumbled feta cheese ****
Fresh thyme sprigs


Butter 11x7-inch glass baking dish. Char peppers over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag; let stand 10 minutes. Peel, seed, and coarsely chop peppers.

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, green onions, and chopped thyme. Sauté until onions wilt, about 2 minutes. Add grits and stir 1 minute. Whisk in broth and cream. Simmer until liquid is absorbed and grits are thick and tender, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Whisk in salt, hot pepper sauce, and black pepper. Fold in roasted bell peppers. Spread grits in prepared dish. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Press shrimp, on their sides, onto top of grits in single layer. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake until grits are heated through, shrimp are just opaque in center, and cheese begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Garnish with thyme sprigs.

*I am sure jarred roasted red peppers would work equally as well. But, I did roast my own.
** I used regular yellow onions
*** I used long-cooking grits and used the cooking time recommended on the package. About 20 minutes.
**** I used a mixture of shredded cheddar and parmesan cheese. My husband cannot STAND Feta cheese. I think any combination of cheeses would work equally as well.