This year Alex and I were responsible for bringing dessert for dinner on Christmas Eve with his cousins. Given Alex's love of all things bourbon and my love of all things chocolate, this dessert seemed like the natural choice. Note to self - next time I decide on a "simple" dessert recipe based purely on the number of ingredients, I should also take a gander at the steps. Because this recipe wasn't hard, but it took a LONG time to put together. First you make the pastry for the tart shell, then you chill, then you blind bake, then you cool, then you bake some more, then you chill again... It goes on more like that for awhile. But, this tart has one of the best tart shells that I have ever tried. It has a lot of steps, but it is totally worth it. It has great rich, chocolatey flavor and just the perfect amount of sweetness/saltiness. It also had a really lovely texture - flaky, without being dry. I know that I'm not doing it justice, but I honestly can't think of the right words to use to describe it. Pastry just isn't my forte. I am definitely going to save it for future tart-making experiments. I was a little nervous that the filling would be too bourbon-y, but it wasn't at all. The filling was darkly chocolate-y and the bourbon added a nice smoky flavor and depth. If I didn't know that the bourbon was in there I'm not sure I would have recognized it, but I would have known that it was definitely not a straight-up chocolate filling. The filling isn't too sweet and it has nice smooth texture. Some tart fillings are too ganache-y, while others are too custard-y. This filling was almost like a textural cross between a custard and a brownie. It was interesting. I didn't like the filling quite as much as I liked the crust, but it was quite pleasant and I would make it again. It would be a really good addition to any potluck or holiday dinner with multiple desserts. I might try it with other flavors and/or liquors - some orange zest or Grand Marnier would be an interesting twist. And stout could work with a few minor modifications. We served the tart with vanilla ice cream, which provided some additional creaminess and sweetness. I thought it was a really nice and festive combination.
Recipe after the jump!
This post is almost ridiculously overdue. But I forgot my camera at home when I went down to Maryland for Thanksgiving so I had my father take pictures of our dinner. He helpfully uploaded all of the pictures to my trusty external hard drive, which I then promptly forgot to bring back to NYC with me. So the pictures languished in Maryland until Dad came up to visit for Christmas and brought my hard drive with him. Yay! So I am finally ready to post about the dishes we made for Thanksgiving this year. Better late than never, right? And I guess that having a picture of at least one of the items, is better than not having any pictures at all. Oops.
This salted chocolate pecan pie was my first attempt at making my own pie crust and I think that I really should have added a little more water to make it hold together. My pie crust needs a little work. I need to practice making the crust itself and then folding the edges so they are pretty. For the record, the pie crust looked a little better before we packed it in the car for the drive down to Maryland and Alex squished it with his laptop bag. Twice. The filling was really tasty (and rich, which pecan pie should be), although I didn't really get the salt as much as I wish I had. Also, the pie never really set up. We baked it for the recommended time and then added a tiny bit more time, but when we cut into it that evening there was some serious oozing. As for the peanut butter cup pie, I don't think I have ever served a richer dessert. If you think pecan pie is rich, you have never experienced this peanut butter cup pie. It was good but it was really sweet and really really rich. The crust also didn't hold together as well as I would have liked - perhaps I need more butter if I ever make it again? The lemon curd tart was perhaps my favorite of the desserts. The lemon curd filling was lovely and I loved the flavor of the olive oil in the dessert. I thought it was a really nice touch. But if you are looking at the recipe and thinking about using a 10-inch tart pan instead of a 9-inch tart pan, don't do it. We unwittingly made that mistake and then had to double the filling because the amount the recipe produced just wasn't going to cut it. And then our crust was too thin. Of the three recipes I would be most likely to make the lemon curd tart again (and make it exactly as written). If I were to make the salted chocolate pecan pie again it would take some additional cooking time and perhaps a different crust... If I am being entirely honest, I probably wouldn't make the peanut butter cup pie again. I just think there are better peanut butter pie recipes out there.
Recipes after the jump!
I wish every season was fresh asparagus season. I love asparagus. And as much as I love the concept of eating seasonally, I can't restrain myself from indulging in asparagus year round (provided that the asparagus at the grocery store looks ok). This time it looked pretty good, so I decided to go ahead and make an asparagus tart recipe from Gourmet for a potluck Fakesgiving dinner (one of those pre-Thanksgivings you have with your friends before you go home to have the real Thanksgiving with your family). As a side note, I really think of this dish as more of a quiche than a tart, but to each their own.
My favorite thing about this tart by far was the crust. Even without blindbaking it stayed buttery and flaky. It managed not to get soggy at all. I was shocked. And it is even more impressive when you consider that I ate that slice above after it sat in the fridge overnight in a tupperware. And the crust was still flaky. The custard itself was nice and creamy and had a really nice, fluffy consistency. Fluffy sounds weird, but it kind of was. I thought the asparagus and leek combination was really nice, but I think I would add some grated Gruyere cheese or something to the custard the next time. I don't want a ton of cheese, but I think a little nutty flavor from the cheese would be a nice touch. The tart does take a little while to make. First you have to make the crust, then you have to let it rest, then you have to roll it out and so on and so forth. I might try the crust and the custard with different vegetable fillings (and cheese). I wonder how the same recipe would taste with zucchini or spinach. It also might be delicious with some heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil.
Recipe after the jump!
This dish is something that I have been waiting to make for some time now. I'm not really sure why it took me so long. A restaurant called Recipe on the UWS serves a Tomato and Buffalo Mozzarella Tart (with basil pistou, brioche and grape tomatoes) that gave me the idea for this tart. Actually, I have never even tried their version of the tart, but everytime I go I want to order it (and somehow end up ordering other things instead). Last night I finally decided to go ahead and make a tart, but then I couldn't decide whether I wanted to make an asparagus and gruyere tart, or a tomato mozzarella tart like Recipe's. After some consideration, I decided that I was feeling more tomato mozzarella than asparagus (which makes sense considering I pounded my way through an entire bunch of asparagus on Friday). Aside from defrosting the puff pastry, this entire dish comes together very quickly. And if you just take the puff pastry out of the freezer and throw it in the fridge the night before or the morning of, the defrosting is a snap.
I liked the tart. I didn't love it. Alex and I both thought that it was good, but it was missing something. I liked how the bufala mozzarella melted and oozed down over the tomatoes. It was deliciously creamy. In the future I might add a little finely minced garlic on top of the tomatoes for another layer of flavor. Or instead of bufala mozzarella I might try some goat cheese for a different flavor and texture. Or maybe I would smear a thin layer of ricotta or something on the puff pastry before baking. Alternatively, I could try out a different type of crust and see how that affects the recipe. I will have to think about it for a little bit. In the interim, I would consider this recipe as satisfactory, but needs improvement.
Recipe after the jump!
