In October, Mama Cream Puff and I bought a bushel of the most beautiful Jonagold apples we’d seen in a long time. Locally grown, their gorgeous colour was enough to tempt us, nevermind how delicious they were!

For the first month or so we ate so many out of hand that I didn’t give much thought to baking with the apples. We’re down to the final apples and while they’re still delicious, they’re not quite as firm and crisp as they were in the fall.

This was a signal to me that it was time to bake with the apples. We’ve enjoyed quite a few of them baked simply with a bit of butter and cinnamon, but last week I had the urge for apple pie and remembered a recipe that I’d bookmared in an old copy of Cook’s Illustrated. It’s from a special issue published in the fall of 2007. The recipe is for Free-Form Apple Tartlets (you can find the recipe on the Cook’s Illustrated site, unfortunately, you have to pay for it).

The crust for the tartlets was made with butter and cream cheese which makes for a tender pastry. But to be honest, while the tartlets were very good when they first came out of the oven, I found that the tartlet dough softened quickly and lost that lovely flakiness that all-butter doughs or butter and shortening doughs are better at maintaining.

The filling, on the other hand, was delicious. The magazine recipe called for Granny Smith apples but I put our Jonagolds to good use instead.

I think it just proves that delicious apples make delicious pie filling. End of story. While I wasn’t thrilled with the end result, the tartlets were still pretty good. Next time, though, I’ll use my usual pie crust dough.

This is my entry for Magazine Mondays and I’m happy to say I have quite a few other bloggers who joined me this week in keeping that magazine pile in order! Here’s who joined me:

Dawn from Doable and Delicious made Sauteed Mushrooms with Lemon Cream from Bon Appétit.

Bonita of Bon Eats made Broccoli Bisque from Food & Drink.

Janie of Panini Girl made a Lemon Crostata from Gourmet.

Tina of Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor made Beef Stew from Cook’s Illustrated.

Rebecca from A North London Kitchen made Marmalade and Ginger Cream Sandwich Cookies from Sainsbury’s.

Sarah of A Taste of Savoie made Churros and Hot Chocolate from Homes and Gardens.

Jeanna of Whispering Pines Bed & Breakfast made Hearty Chipotle Chicken Soup from Taste of Home and Healthy Cooking.

Poppyseed of Poppyseeds and Tiger Lilies made Porcini and Spinach Risotto from Olive.

Tia from Buttercream Barbie made Zuccini Bread from Canadian Living and Multi-Grain Bread with Sesame, Flax and Poppyseeds from Bon Appétit.

Have a fabulous week, everyone!

Ciao!

Apple Filling for Tartlets or Pie

Note: This makes enough filling for 6 tartlets or one 9-inch pie.

6 Jonagold apples, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch slices.
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
pie crust of your choice

Combine the sliced apples, the lemon juice, the sugar and the cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl. Let sit while you roll out your pie crust. Bake pie (or tartlets) according to crust directions.

Enjoy!

And on the eigth day of the 12 Days of Cookbooks I give you Domenica Marchetti’s Big Night In: More Than 100 Wonderful Recipes for Feeding Family and Friends Italian-Style.

Domenica Marchetti is a cookbook author of Italian background who has very quickly become one of my favourites. I also own her book The Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy and believe me when I say it has kept me company during the chilly fall!

Her recipes are excellent and well written and Big Night is no exception. This is a big, warm book about feeding a crowd of people, something that’s good for all of us to do from time-to-time, especially over the holidays!

The book is geared to cooks of all sorts with a heavy emphasis on bright flavours, abundance and comfort. It’s traditionally laid out as it starts with Appetizers and Soups and Salads. It’s followed by Pasta, Rice and Savory Tortes and then Main Courses. The content is rounded out with Vegetables and Side Dishes and then Desserts. There’s even a brunch menu at the end for those who entertain large crowds early in the day!

I, of course, decided to showcase a recipe from the Desserts section. Because you can never make enough crostata in your life, I made the Jam Crostata using strawberry jam.

A simple and rustic tart, this is a perfect example of the kind of cooking and baking that Marchetti offers with her recipes. This was a most satisfying crostata and I look forward to making it again.

I’m also really looking forward to having some people over and trying more of the recipes.

Hope you pick this up for the person in your life that loves to feed a crowd!

Ciao!

And on the seventh day of the 12 Days of Cookbooks I give you Carole Bloom’sBite-Size Desserts: Creating Mini Sweet Treats, from Cupcakes and Cobblers to Custards and Cookies.

Carole Bloom is yet another brilliant pastry chef and cookbook author who I am lucky enough to “know” through her books. I own several of them including The Essential Baker: The Comprehensive Guide to Baking with Chocolate, Fruit, Nuts, Spices, and Other Ingredients (which is another one that I highly recommend).

Bloom’s books help you to create baked goods of the very highest standard. Her latest helps you to create mini baked goods of the very highest standard.

Honestly. Every little thing in this books is so adorable. So cute. So adorable!!!

I’ve tried many of the recipes, all with great success, but my most favourite so far has to be the Nectarine and Walnut Galettes on p. 97 (I used plums instead of nectarines). The pastry for these galettes completely blew me away. It has ground walnuts in it. It is, without question, one of my top five favourite new things that I made this year.

As I mentioned, I’ve tried numerous recipes from the book but another favourite is the recipe for Toasted Pecan Shortbread Bites. The picture isn’t great but trust me these cookies are so cute and so good.

This would make a great gift for a seasoned baker. The recipes do tend to be a bit involved and usually involve several stages so it might not be the best book for a beginner baker.

I’m off to bake something mini …

Ciao!

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada and next to Christmas, it is my favourite holiday. Even though our background is Italian, we have embraced this North American holiday to the fullest!

Turkey. Stuffing. Squash. Cranberries. Gravy. Lots o’ gravy. Pecans. Brussel sprouts. Potatoes. Rolls. Pie.

You name it, it’s on the table.

This year, among other things, I took the ubiquitous Canadian butter tart and made Butter Tart Bars. Look at the oozy goodness!

I think what I love most about Thanksgiving is that it is stress-free in a way that Christmas and some other holidays are not. You don’t have to worry about gifts or anything like that. Just belly up to the table and enjoy.

I also love Thanksgiving because it occurs just as the Harvest comes to an end. To me it symbolizes truly being thankful for everything that the good Earth gives us. And of course, it is a time to be thankful for family and friends.

As always, I am thankful for so many things, especially for my family, my dear friends and my sweet little blog that gives me so much pleasure. And you … I am thankful for you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ciao!

P.S. The recipe for Butter Tart Bars that I made is from Dish Entertains: Everyday Simple to Special Occasionsby Trish Magwood. But there are many recipes around for this type of dessert including this one for Butter Tart Squares. Enjoy!

P.S.S. Every year, just prior to Thanksgiving, I go on and on about my coworkers and what great cooks/bakers they are. Just as previous years, we had our annual Thanksgiving potluck at work but silly me forgot her camera, which means no pictures. Ah, well! Suffice it to say that everything was delicious and a fun time was had by all. I definitely work with some serious gourmands!

I love Cath of A Blithe Palate for many, many reasons, not the least of which being that every now and then, unto my life, she will bring joy in the form of a cookbook.

That’s what I call a fabulous virtual friend. Were I ever to meet her in person, I just might smother her with hugs. (Be forewarned, Cath. Be forewarned.)

Late in July, she contacted me to let me know that she, Stephanie of Dispensing Happiness (I’ll say!) and the fabulous folks at Cook the Books would be hosting another edition of The Edible Word, an event that celebrates delicious cookbooks.

The selection for this edition is a book called Confections of a Closet Master Baker: One Woman’s Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Bakerby Gesine Bullock-Prado.

Now if there something about that name that seems slightly familiar, it should. The Bullock part is Bullock as in Sandra Bullock. As it turns out, her younger sister Gesine, a lawyer and Hollywood executive, nursed a secret passion for baking until one day, tired of her L.A. life, she decides it’s time to downsize in the truest sense of the word. She downsizes all the way to Vermont where she opens her own bakery.

I know. You think you’ve heard it all before. Sounds like the script for a Hollywood movie starring some starlet who hasn’t eaten in 11 years much less baked.

People, trust the Cream Puff.

This is a good book. It’s a good book because Ms. Bullock-Prado is honest, often brutally so. She doesn’t sugarcoat (pardon the pun) her old life, or her new one for that matter. She offers full disclosure when it comes to the rigours of operating your own bakery, and believe me there are rigours.

Yes, there is the pleasure of being your own boss. Yes, there is the pleasure of spending ridiculous hours doing something you love.

But it’s still damn hard.

Ms. Bullock-Prado is honest, funny and real, as in sometimes, her cakes come out lopsided too.

And the recipes, tucked in between each chapter like chocolate tucked into a croissant, are delicous to read so imagine how they taste.

I don’t have to imagine because I made two of them: Espresso Cheesecake and Apple Pie (made with a puff pastry crust).

Verdict: Even more delicious than Alexander Skarsgard.

When Cath explained the goal of this event, she indicated that we should talk about how the book inspired us.

I will be very blunt: this book just makes you wonder. Can I do it, too? Can I give up the fear and the worry and “buts” and “what ifs” and just go out there and do what I really really want to do?

Yes, I can. Yes, we all can!

Ciao!

I’m a bit late posting my piece for this event. You can read the round-ups on Cath’s blog here, here and here.

You can also read a review of the book at The Daring Kitchen.

Cream Puff is back! I had an amazing vacation in Italy. I spent three weeks enjoying my family and friends, all the while surrounded by the most incredible food and wine.

And best of all, I got to stay in our little house that we finished renovating last year.

It was truly a magical vacation.

Being away meant no activity on this blog and that was a good thing. I had a lot of time to recharge and restore myself so I’m looking forward to a new season of baking and cooking, and sharing it all with you.

Of course being away also meant that I missed a Daring Baker’s challenge and today, I’m also missing the Daring Cook’s challenge for September 2009. I promise, though, that I will catch up in the coming weeks!

In the meantime, I just wanted to take a moment to say hello again to all of you and to my sweet little blog. I missed you!

Ciao!

I blogged about the plum tart pictured above here. Now that we have our very own kitchen in Italy, I took a handful of recipes with me to try and this was one of them. I made two mini tarts instead of one big one. It was delicious.

Okay.

That’s not a true story. For starters I don’t have a dog and secondly, there was no skate to be eaten.

And by skate I’m referring to the fish and not the footwear.

Don’t be afraid. I have not gone crazy.

I speak of the July 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge that you may have noticed is missing from this blog.

For the first time in “Daring” history, I’ve missed a challenge. My apologies to Sketchy, our host for the month, but this just wasn’t meant to be. I was intrigued by his challenge, which would have had me dipping my kitchen utensils into the untried waters of molecular gastronomy (untried in our household).

There were, however, some brave souls who did give it a try and you can check them out here.

I feel really badly about this. So badly that I felt I had to give you something so instead, I give you this Fresh Fruit Tart that is also dedicated to my good friend Nazca.

Many of you will remember Nazca (Mr. Nazca as I like to call him) from his blog.

Funny guy.

But he stopped blogging and this has made women everywhere very disappointed.

Silly guy.

But Mr. Nazca did something very sweet about a month ago and I promised to thank him very publically.

After an offhand remark about cheesecake crusts and cookies (like who doesn’t talk about that all the time?), Mr. Nazca mentioned HobNob cookies to me and I immediately asked, “What’s that?”

Well as fast as you could say “call me British” a package arrived on my doorstep filled with crumpled bits of English newspaper and four (count ‘em four) supersized packs of HobNob cookies.

My first reaction was to fly to England and thank Mr. Nazca in person but then I thought that such precipitice action could a) result in stalking charges and b) be slightly too expensive.

My second reaction was to squeal and clap my hands and rip the packages open and start eating.

My third reaction was to take a picture. Strangely, the urge to eat the cookies beat out that third reaction and by the time I convinced myself to take the pictures, the cookies were all gone.

All gone, Mr. Nazca!

I am nothing if not selfish when it comes to cookies. Whle I did spare a few for Mamma Cream Puff, the vast majority were savoured by me.

So last weekend I was in the kitchen, glorying in the abundance of fresh berries and looking for a dessert to bake when I remembered this beautiful tart that I used to bake all the time. For some reason I haven’t really made it the last few summers, but it popped into my mind and I had the overwhelming urge to try it again.

This is a very basic fruit tart. It has three components: a butter crust, a vanilla custard, a berry topping. You can make the tart and custard in advance and then assemble the tart quickly before serving.

I have yet to meet anyone that doesn’t like it.

Mr. Nazca, I wish I could have sent it to you, but I don’t think it would have survived the flight. I took it to a friend’s house (she’s a new mommy) where we each enjoyed a generous serving.

But rest assured, Mr. Nazca, that I was thinking of HobNobs while I was eating it!

Ciao!

My Fresh Fruit Tart is based on the Classic Fresh Fruit Tart with Pastry Cream from the Cook’s Illustrated site. It was featured in the … issue of the magazine. It is one of my most treasured recipes. Unfortunately, as I have never adapted the recipe in any way, I don’t feel comfortable reproducing it here since I don’t have permission. You can find the recipe on the Cook’s Illustrated site but you have to pay for it.

Fresh Fruit Tart from Food & Wine.
Tarte aux Fruits from Pretty Tasty Cakes.
Fruit Tart from Joy of Baking.com.

Oh, people!

Get thee to Food & Wine and print thee a copy of this recipe now! (Don’t forget the Vanilla-Caramel Sauce and the Mocha Fudge Sauce).

This is a winner by every standard that I use to judge recipes. Delicious. Beautiful to look at. Easy.

The only warning I give you is that you should prepare yourselves for arguments and possibly violence, as people will fight over this incredible dessert.

If you can make your own dulce de leche ice cream, great. If not, just buy the best quality ice cream you can find (you can also make this with lots of other ice cream flavours like vanilla or coffee).

While the original recipe yields one pie, I made four individual tartlets, which limited the arguments (to a degree) since we all had our own tartlet. The only problem as that we then founds ourselves coveting our neighbours tartlets.

Ah, the glory of sin!

Here’s a look at who joined me for this week’s edition of Magazine Mondays:

Janie of Panini Girl made Grilled Turkey Burgers with Cheddar and Smoky Aioli from Bon Appétit and “Le Cake” Aux Olives et au Reblochon from Gourmet.

Tamy of The Krazy Kitchen made Chocolate Upside Down Cake.

Wandering Coyote of ReTorte made Herbed Focaccia from Canadian Living.

Margaret of Tea and Scones made Chicken Parmigiana from Taste of Home.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Ciao!

My submission for this week’s Magazine Mondays is from the July 2005 edition of Food & Wine: Dulce de Leche Ice Cream Pie.

I’m back with one of my favourite Magazine Mondays post in a long time.

This recipe hasn’t been bookmarked for very long. I was sitting on the subway a few weeks ago, on the ride home, trying not to nod off. I pulled out the April 2009 issue of Bon Appétit and on page 23, saw a recipe for Strawberry-Rhubarb Tarts with Crème Fraîche Sorbet. I immediately knew I had to try the recipe for two reasons: 1) I still had a package of frozen strawberries and rhubarb from last summer in the freezer and 2) I was recently looking through David Lebovitz’s Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments
and had my eye on a recipe for Crème Fraîche Ice Cream. That same night I was happily rolling out tart crusts and making the custard base for the ice cream.

I have a thing for strawberry and rhubarb. I’m always looking for the perfect strawberry-rhubarb tart recipe and I think I may have found it. These were delicious and the tangy ice cream was the perfect complement.

A bit of bad news though … I can’t seem to find the recipe for the tarts on-line! It’s on p. 23 of the magazine but it’s not on-line yet. And even worse … I don’t know what I did with the magazine!!! I’ll keep looking for the recipe on-line and link to it if it shows up.

While this wasn’t by any means one of the oldest magazine recipes lingering in my pile, I’m sure glad I tried it! Fingers crossed that I can find that recipe.

Here are all the people that joined me in making a dent in their magazine piles:

Wandering Coyote of ReTorte made Ricotta Cookies.

Tamy of 3sidesofcrazy made Glazed Green Beans.

Emiglia of Tomato Kumato made Spring Peas, Two Ways.

Mandi of Red Dirty Mummy made Currant and Hazelnut Baked Apples.

Elizabeth of The Waspy Redhead came in with two posts this week: Lemon Ginger Mini Cheesecakes and a Spinach and Leek Rolled Omelet.

Simone of Junglefrog Cooking made Ricotta and White Bean Salad.

Saliha of Hayat Binbircesni made Crackle Cookies!

Debbie of Taste of Sweetness made some incredible Gnocchi with Wild Mushroom and Sage Ragu.

Janie of Panini Girl made an Italian Chicken Salad.

Georgia of Oh Kitchen, What Won’t You Do? made a Chipotle Chicken Sandwich.

Joy from The Cooking of Joy made Coconut Lime Cakelets.

Nurit of 1 family. friendly. food. made Peas and Tarragon Soup. Gorgeous!

Have a great week, everyone!

Ciao!

Wait. What?! 2009 … already … but where did 2008 go???

Okay … well … while I try to figure that question out I hope you’re all enjoying yourselves with much good food and drink.

I had a heck of a time trying to figure out what the official goodbye to 2008 dessert would be so I settled on something old-fashioned, yummy and comforting: butterscotch! It’s what all the cream puffs are eating this New Year’s Eve!

Pictured above are some awesome Butterscotch Tarts from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito.

I’m not sure what to say about 2008. It whizzed by. As always, the year brought some highs and lows but we made it through. My family is safe and healthy and with me and I have another year of good memories with friends.

Wherever you are for the New Year, please be safe. Take care and please know that the Cream Puff wishes all of you many blessings, much good health and lots of laughter in 2009.

Buona fine e buon principio!

Ciao!

Cream Puffs in Venice readers, meet my new favourite French Apple Tart.

French Apple Tart, meet Cream Puffs in Venice readers.

I was introduced to my new favourite French Apple Tart in the whole wide world by Ina Garten, author of the brand new Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics.

When I write reviews, I try to be very thorough. I try to include as many details as possible about how the cookbook is written and presented, what sort of recipes you’ll find in the cookbook and if they work or not and and what my overall sense of the cookbook is.

But sometimes, brevity is best.

Just go buy this cookbook.

I mean it’s Ina, for heaven’s sake! It’s Ina in all her full-colour glory with recipes that just make you want to write her a letter begging that she adopt you.

I want to eat at her house every single day forever.

And now that French Apple Tart is in my life, I want to eat that at her house every single day forever. Puff pastry, sliced apples, sugar, butter and rum.

And now I have a new best friend!

But enough of this useless writing. Go buy the book or go put it on your Christmas list or go bug someone to buy it for you and then go to the kitchen and cook and bake.

Go!

Ciao!

It’s Thanksgiving Day in Canada and like so many other Canadians, we’re enjoying the beauty of the harvest.

It’s been a beautiful holiday weekend, certainly one to make you remember that inspite of the strange times we find ourselves living in, there is much to be thankful for.

As always, I’m most thankful for my family and friends. I feel blessed to have so many people in my life who put a smile on my face every day.

I’m thankful for this blog as it is a constant source of discovery, fun and opportunity for me.

And even though the Leafs totally sucked on Saturday night, I’m thankful that hockey has begun again. Right, Peabody?!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ciao!

Note: Pictured above is a delicious Pumpkin Banana Mousse Tart. Click here for the recipe.

Thanksgiving 2007: Pumpkin Cheesecake
Thanksgiving 2007: Butter Tarts

You’ll have to forgive me but the fall brings out both the best and the corniest in me. I just love this time of year and I’m not afraid to get all mushy about it. Go ahead. Mock me if you must. But this is MY time of year and I’m going to enjoy every single bit of it.

These are days of apples followed by chilly nights where you have no choice but to snuggle. You can snuggle with your loved one, with your teddy bear or with your favourite book. Whatever.

While I can’t come to help you with the snuggling part, I can help out a bit with the apple part.

For today’s edition of Magazine Mondays, I give you one of the very best apple crisp recipes that I have ever tried. In fact, it has become my favourite apple crisp recipe. Am I ever glad I rescued it from the magazine pile.

Vanilla Bean Apple Crisp appeared in the March 2002 issue of Bon Appétit magazine. It’s only taken a little over 6 years for me to try it. I am now prepared to snuggle with this apple crisp for the next 6 months of fall/winter.

Have a wonderful, snuggly week!

Ciao!

If you have a recipe that you’ve tried recently from a magazine, send it along and I’ll link to it in my Magazine Mondays post.

This week I’m joined by Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction who pays tribute to her father-in-law with Ginger Pear Muffins; Lori of Lori’s Lipsmacking Goodness tempts us with Green Onion and Cheddar Biscuits; Jen of Chocolate Shavings made Mushroom and Roquefort Tartelettes; Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies makes me want to swoon with Eggplant Parmesan with Crisp Bread Topping and Wandering Coyote of Retorte made a luscious Deep Chocolate Pound Cake.

Click here for the Vanilla Bean Apple Crisp recipe. For my version, I baked the crips in 6 individual ramekins as opposed to an 8-inch square pan. I also added vanilla ice cream and a generous application of caramel sauce.

While I’m still trying to hold on to a bit of summer, I’m also happily welcoming my favourite season of the year, Autumn.

What can I say? I’m a sucker for leaves changing colour, frosty mornings, cool but sunny days and that feeling of winter, just around the corner. Oh yes … and HOCKEY!!!

Just as I savoured my homemade lemon gelato, I’m also looking ahead to the best of the fall and for me that includes figs.

I adore figs and while I can’t say that the figs that we get here in Toronto are the best in the world, we are lucky enough to have access to some good figs. We even have neighbours who have managed to grow their own figs!

For today’s edition of Magazine Mondays, and this being the first day of fall, I couldn’t help but choose a recipe featuring figs. I settled on a Fig Frangipane Tart from the Fall 2008 issue of Ricardo magazine.

This tart was fairly easy to make and so delicious. It’s a great way to use any fresh figs that you can get your hands on. And figs and almonds compliment each other so well. I made the tart for the occasion of my godson’s birthday and brought it as part of a dessert tray. It was very elegant and quite the crowd pleaser.

Magazine Mondays, for those that aren’t familiar with it, is a very informal event that I’ve started as a way to put those magazine recipes that I’m constantly collecting to good use. If you have a magazine recipe that you’ve finally tried, let me know and I’ll link to it in my post.

In the meantime, enjoy those figs and have a great week!

Ciao!

I’m always happy to be joined by other people in the food blogging world who are tackling that magazine pile! Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies (a real MM pro!) comes to us with two recipes: Curried Cauliflower Soup with Coriander Chutney and Watermelon, Feta, and Olive Salad; my dear Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction made a gorgeous Lemon Olive Oil Cake and Wandering Coyote of ReTorte made (drool) Shrimp in Ginger Butter Sauce. Remember, if you post any magazine recipes, let me know!

Fig Frangipane Tart
From the Fall 2008 issue of Ricardo magazine.

Note: This recipe is similar to the Peach and Almond Tart I made during the summer. This is a lovely fall dessert so I encourage you to try it.

Equipment: 9-inch tart pan (round or square) with a removable bottom.

For the crust:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar and mix with the paddle attachment until well blended.

Add the lightly beaten egg and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the flour, cinnamon and salt and mix until just combined.

With your hands, pat the dough into the tart pan making sure you pack the dough up the sides of the pan and into all the corners evenly.

Refrigerate the crust while you prepare the frangipane filling.

Frangipane filling:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/4 cups ground almonds
3 tbsp. all purpose flour
8 to 10 figs, quartered (depending on size)
icing sugar (for garnish)

Before you start the filling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place a rack in the centre of the oven.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and mix until combined.

Add the extracts and mix for another minute.

Add the eggs and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the ground almonds and flour and stir in with a wooden spoon until smooth.

Scrape the frangipane filling into the prepared tart shell.

Arrange the quartered figs over the top of the filling.

Bake the tart for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the middle of the tart comes out clean. The crust will be golden.

Let the tart cool on a wire rack. Once cool, dust with icing sugar.

Enjoy!

Saturday August 2, 2008; 3:37 p.m.

That is the exact time that my vacation started. That is the time of the last e-mail I sent (to Lis, for the record). Right after that e-mail, I turned off my computer, and shortly thereafter left for the airport.

And so began three weeks of computer-free living in Italy, surrounded by my aunts, uncles and cousins.

It was bliss.

It’s difficult for me to describe the feeling of returning to Italy to my father’s family. It’s beautiful and warm and reassuring and healing and exciting and emotional and fun and nerve-wracking and stressful and transforming all in one.

My father was the second last of six children. And when I’m there, my aunts and my uncle surround me in a way that makes me feel like my father is always with me. Always, I am amazed at how much they look like him, how much they sound like him, how much they make me remember him.

For me, it’s like being in a cocoon and when my vacation is over, I emerge renewed and restored by the energy and caring of my relatives. Of course, add to the mix the fact that it’s Italy.

Gorgeous, sexy, stunning, breathtaking Italy.

Since I’ve been back people have been asking me for photos but the truth is I took very few pictures while I was there. I had no desire to operate anything more technically challenging then a fork and knife (both of which I operated quite a bit thank you very much).

For three weeks, almost no camera, no computer, no cell phone.

I love my blog and I love the Daring Bakers. Both of these entities have found a significant place in my life. But I would be lying if I didn’t say that it was nice to put the pause button on blogging.

So while I was away, I filled my free time with lots of observation.

I observed all the food that was put in front of me. I tasted everything. I smelled everything. I listened to the sound of everything cooking. I touched the fruits and vegetables and cheeses that touched my plate.

Best of all, I spent as much time as I could with my aunts. While I have spent very little time with them in the grand scheme, still, they are a major force in my life. They have become the standards to which I aspire. They are the most incredible women and everyday I feel blessed that they are a part of my life.

And I miss them terribly.

It was a small blessing then, that upon my return from vacation, I found a copy of a book called Olives & Oranges waiting for me.

Written by Sara Jenkins and Mindy Fox, it’s a book dedicated to the food of the Mediterranean. This beautiful book has been a great source of comfort over the past weeks. That’s why I chose it as the Flavour of the Month for September 2008.

For the first recipe, I couldn’t resist trying the Plum Galette. Just outside of an aunt’s house in Italy, there is a beautiful purple plum tree. Everyday I walked by that tree and stared in awe at its branches, absolutely laden with plums.

But they weren’t ready. Everyday I knew that I’d be leaving without tasting one of those plums this year. So as soon as I got back, I went to the farmer’s market and bought myself a basket of gorgeous purple plums. Some of them I’ve baked into this lovely tart.

And I imagine myself sitting under my aunt’s tree, staring up at those plums.

Ciao!

Plum Galette
My version of the galette in Olives & Oranges written by Sara Jenkins & Mindy Fox.

I did not adapt this recipe in any way so I’m not going to share it with you here. However, if you’ve ever made a fruit tart or a fruit galette, then you shouldn’t have any problems recreating this recipe. Alternatively, I suggest you buy the book!

For the galette dough: It starts with a basic tart dough or pâte brisée. This is an excellent pâte brisée so I highly recommend using this one if you don’t want to buy the book. Instead of dividing the dough into two disks, gather it into one large disk and refrigerate it for about half an hour.

For the filling: While the dough is refrigerating, take about two pounds of plums or any other fruit you like. If using a stone fruit like plums, then simply cut them in half. If using peaches then cut the fruit into slices. Toss the fruit with a bit of lemon juice and a few tablespoons of sugar.

Assembling the galette: Once the dough has chilled, roll it out into a 13-inch circle. Arrange your fruit in the centre leaving a border. Fold the edges of the border over the fruit and then brush the border with egg wash. Sprinkle with a bit of brown sugar for caramelization.

Baking the galette: Start off by baking your galette for about 25 minutes at a high temperature (I recommend 425 degrees C.). Then lower your temperature to 375 degrees C and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until your galette crust is golden and the fruit filling has released a lot of juice and has thickened. Let the galette cool on a rack before serving.

Happy August, my friends!

This is a short post to let you know that I’m heading to Italy to visit my family for three weeks! I will be gone for almost all of August.

While I am Canadian in every sense, I cannot deny the bond I feel with the country where my parents were born. As beautiful as Canada is, there is something deeply satisfying and comforting going back to Italy and knowing that it’s the place where my history lies.

I will miss you! Take care and be sure to enjoy as much cooking and baking as you can while I’m away. I expect to have tonnes of posts to catch up on.

For the Flavour of the Month, I leave you with the same cookbook that I chose last month just because I loved it so much.

And to whet your sweet tooth, I leave you with this glorious Rose and Orange-Scented Honey-Nut Tart.

Un grande bacio! A big kiss!

Ciao!

Go figure!

For this week’s edition of Magazine Mondays, I’m featuring a recipe that I came this close to dumping in the food waste bin.

When I bought the 2007 April/May issue of Taste Italia, I immediately bookmarked a recipe for Apricot Almond Shortbread (Frollino di albicocca e mandorla).

For starters, the title is slightly misleading. This dessert is a cross between a cake and a pie of sorts. While the photo was very enticing, I disliked the recipe almost as soon as I started making it. To begin with, there are a lot of steps and I found the directions a bit confusing.

The worst part of the recipe for me was the topping, which was disastrous. The topping is a meringue of sorts that you spread on the dessert after baking it a for a bit. You then put it back in the oven to bake the topping. My topping spread all over the place and it just came out of the oven looking like a disaster.

After letting it cool, I took a long look at my creation and thought, “There is no way I can serve this to anyone.” I almost threw it out but then remembered that there were quite a bit of almonds, egg whites and fresh apricots in there and tossing it didn’t seem very cost-effective.

So I let it cook completely, did some damage control to the topping and filled in the top with apricot jam.

Feeling somewhat better, I brought the dessert into work on the same day that I brought in the Peach and Almond Tart from a few weeks ago. I expected everyone to like the peach tart much better but in one of those strange twists, it seemed most people actually preferred the apricot dessert.

Go figure!

To be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever be making this one again, but it just goes to show, you never really do know how a dessert may turn out.

Have a great week everyone!

Ciao!

Note: Click here for the recipe for the Apricot Almond Shortbread. This week, I’m joined in my Magazine Mondays post by Oakley Rhodes of the blog Lemonbasil with her gorgeous White Chocolate Panna Cotta with Dark Chocolate Sauce.

I love peaches.

Love ‘em.

And any time I can find a dessert that showcases them I’m always game. I’ve said before and I’ll say it again that one of my very favourite summer experiences is the chance to eat a sun-warmed peach and have all those sweet juices running down your hand.

It’s truly one of nature’s lovely gifts.

And to be able to bake with such a beautiful fruit is yet another gift that always makes me so happy.

I hope you have a tremendous week and I hope this Peach and Almond Tart from the July 2007 issue of Olive magazine helps you along the way!

Ciao!

Note: This is a brilliant recipe! It’s been in my magazine box for so long so I’m glad that I finally gave it a go for Magazine Mondays. You can find the recipe here. I used Ontario ice wine to cook my peaches and I can’t tell you how delicious it was. This is definitely a keeper!

Check out who else has been putting those magazine recipes to good use: Over at Retorte, Wandering Coyote has been making some delicious Blueberry Corn Bread and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies made a drink that I need to have right now!

Monday was a great start to the week, but sometimes you need a little something to help you cope with the rest of it.

Here’s a sweet little strawberry tart from Lori Longbotham’s incredible Luscious Berry Desserts. I bought this cookbook last year and indulged in some recipes both here and here.

This one is a gem and comes together quite quickly. All you do is roll out some puff pastry and bake it. Make up a batch of your favourite pastry cream and spread it over the cooled tart base. Then top with some beautiful, fresh strawberries and some melted strawberry jam for a quick glaze.

Here’s hoping you make it through the rest of the week!

Ciao!

For this Monday’s edition of Magazine Mondays, I bring you not one but two desserts with strawberries!

Is there anything better than a locally grown, perfectly ripe strawberry? I would argue that among all the gifts that the garden gives us, the strawberry ranks as one of the very best.

We’ve been indulging in fresh strawberries for a few weeks now and I finally got to try two recipes that were begging for fresh strawberries.

The first is from the May 2008 issue of Martha Stewart Living. It’s a Strawberry Galette served with Basil Cream and Fried Basil (that’s also sugared). While I skipped the fried and sugared basil leaves, I did make the galette and basil cream (twice) and both times it was a huge hit.

The pastry is a very standard butter dough made in the food processor so it comes together in a snap. The hardest part of this recipe is trying not to eat all the strawberries as you slice them. I must say, though, that I think the basil cream was even more popular than the galette. A mixture of heavy cream and mascarpone with a hint of basil to it is really captivating. Overall, a very successful dessert that’s worth the effort of trying to create perfect strawberry slices!

The second recipe is one that I’ve wanted to try for a very long time: Lattice-Topped Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie from the 1997 issue of Bon Appétit magazine!

Again, this is another winner. The pastry is a combination of vegetable shortening and butter so it’s both tasty and tender. The filling is pure strawberry and rhubarb heaven. The only caution for this recipe is that you definitely want to let the pie cool completely before serving as you may get a lot of juice running out otherwise.

All in all, I’ve had two lovely experiences with magazine recipes featuring strawberries.

Here’s hoping everyone out there has a lovely week!

Ciao!

Click here for the recipe for the Strawberry Galette.

Click here for the recipe for the Lattice-Topped Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie.

Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies sent me her own contribution. She made a gorgeous Zucchini Tart with Feta and Mint. Thanks so much, Natasha! Remember, send me your posts about recipes from magazines and I’ll link to them in my posts!

I just can’t help myself!

The weather has been so gorgeous lately as spring finally begins to show itself, little by little.

Perhaps it’s the long winter that we had or the fact that for a good two months I had almost no time to think about anything outside of work, but I’m just so happy that it’s spring.

Or perhaps it’s the fact that the Daring Bakers were mentioned by Nick Malgieri in an article in the Washington Post … let’s hear it for the Daring Bakers and all the other incredible bloggers mentioned in that article!

So to celebrate sunny days and good news, I thought I’d share the lovely lemon tarts that I made for Easter dessert (can you believe Easter happened already?!).

For the Daring Bakers out there who had some difficulties with the Perfect Party Cake and for those of you that read about those difficulties, here’s one to restore your faith in the great Dorie! Not that our faith was ever weak, mind you.

This tart recipe comes from Dorie’s Baking: From My Home to Yours. It’s a lemon cream tart that is made in a very unique way. Usually when making lemon curd, you cook it until it thickens and then add butter off the heat. Once cooled, the curd is ready to use.

This particular filling is made by putting the lemon base in a blender or food processor and adding the butter with the motor running. What you end up with is almost like a lemon butter rather than a lemon curd.

However you want to describe it, it’s beyond delicious. To read about the tart straight from Dorie, you can check out her post (and recipe) on Serious Eats.

So open those windows, let some sunshine in and enjoy the rest of the week!

Ciao!

Welcome to the first Daring Baker challenge for 2008! Wow! It seems like yesterday that we were just getting ready for the holidays and it’s hard to believe that the first month of the new year is already almost over.

This month’s host is one of our longest standing members, the lovely Jen of The Canadian Baker. As those of you who follow the Daring Bakers’ exploits know, we’ve had some significant challenges in the past including croissants and bagels. I was understandably quite pleased when I saw that Jen had chosen the lemon meringue pie as the challenge for January 2008.

I’ve made lemon meringue pies many times before but I’m always happy to try a new version. Jen’s version was quite straightforward as it featured an all-butter crust, a creamy lemon curd and a very light meringue topping.

Jen gave us the option of making a large pie or smaller tartlets. I, of course, chose the tartlets because I’m always happy to try something mini.

All the separate elements of the tartlets came together very well for me. So I instead set my mind to the challenge of assembling the tartlets and decorating them.

Once I’d baked my pastry rounds for the base, I decided to create a shell border on each one with the meringue. Not only would this be decorative, but it would help keep my lemon curd in place.

I carefully spooned as much lemon curd as I could into the confines of each meringue border and then, using a pastry bag, I decorated the tops of the tartlets with various designs in meringue.

Once the tartlets came out of the oven after browning the meringue, I thought they looked cute but that they needed an extra touch. During the week, I’d visited one of my favourite Toronto stores, Harvest Wagon, which just happens to sell edible flowers. I splurged and decided that the flowers would look lovely with the tartlets.

But I wanted to give them some sort of extra touch so I sugared them. If you’ve never sugared fruit or flowers, it’s very easy. All you need is a clean paint brush, an egg white and some sugar. I beat the egg white until frothy and then used the paint brush to dab egg white on the petals of the flowers. I then very gently sprinkled them with sugar and let them air dry for a couple of hours.

Not only were the flowers a tasty and unusual treat, I thought they looked very pretty with the tartlets.

So how did the tartlets taste? They were pretty good. While I don’t think this version of lemon meringue pie is as good as the one I like to make, it was still tasty. And best of all, working with the bright taste and scent of lemon just reminded me that spring isn’t all that far away.

Was it the most daring of challenges for me? Not really. Was it fun? You bet. And that’s what baking is supposed to be about.

Thank you to Jen for a wonderful challenge. Please take a moment to visit the other Daring Bakers to see how they did. Have a wonderful week!

Ciao!

For the lemon meringue pie recipe, please visit Jen’s site.

While I don’t have a Magazine Mondays entry this week, I’ve been a bit too busy to hit the magazine pile recently, I did think it a good idea to keep the general housekeeping theme for Mondays with this catch-all post. I’ve got some news and a tart that will make your mouth water!

First off, the news.

Zorra of Kochtopf is hosting the November 2007 edition of DMBLGIT and she has very kindly asked me to be a judge. I still shake my head and laugh whenever people ask me anything to do with photography as I don’t consider myself a photographer in any sense of the word. However, I am greatly honoured by Zorra’s request.

So if you have a photo from October 2007 that you think might earn you some accolades, please do submit it. All the details can be found here. Good luck!

The second bit of news that I have to share has a bit of apology mixed in. Lydia of The Perfect Pantry has been championing a wonderful cause and event and invited bloggers to participate with her. Five years ago, Lydia created the idea for Drop In & Decorate Cookies for Donation. After hosting a cookie decorating party, the cookies are donated to a charity. A simple act of generosity on Lydia’s part transformed the holiday season for some people who needed it. Lydia has continued the tradition and this year has partnered with King Arthur Flour. Lydia asked bloggers to post about this event between November 4th and 10th. Unfortunately, I was unable to get my post up. But I wanted to spread the word anyway and to let everyone know what a worthy cause this is. Lydia, count me in for next year!

And finally we get to the tart! I was cleaning out my photos folder and realized that I’d never shared this gorgeous Bacon and Onion Tart with you. The recipe is from the Stonewall Kitchen Harvest book which is an absolute gem. A buttery crust holds a creamy onion and bacon filling flavoured with thyme. Yummy! While I took the photographs of this tart, I must give credit to Mama Cream Puff who actually made it.

But I got to eat it and in the end, that’s the best part! Have a wonderful week everyone!

Ciao!

Technorati tags: tart, bacon, onion, drop in and decorate cookies for donation, dmblgit

To be sure, one of the highlights of the fall are apples. I could go on and on about the beauty of this fruit (and yes … of course … the temptation of it all), but I’m sure you all know that there’s not much better than a juicy, crisp apple.

While we enjoyed our mini pumpkin cheesecakes for Thanksgiving dessert, we also enjoyed one of the best and easiest apple pies that I’ve ever made. It’s a favourite of mine and what would dessert be if you didn’t make your own personal favourites … especially when you’re the baker!

This is a pie that can showcase the beauty of any apple you choose, although my personal favourite is the Royal Gala. The crust is a cinch to make. While I prefer all butter crusts this one is a bit sturdier thanks to a mixture of butter and vegetable shortening. There’s a hint of orange, a sweet crumb topping and a surprise.

What’s a bite of apple without a surprise?!

Ciao!

Cream Puff’s Apple Pie

Note: This is a very forgiving pie so feel free to use any crust you like, including a favourite one if you have it. I usually make this with Royal Gala apples but you can use whatever apples you wish.

For the crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for dusting)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into very small pieces
1 cup vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup to 1 cup ice water

In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt.

Add the butter and shortening and with your fingers, gently begin working the fat into the flour mixture. Rub the butter and shortening into the flour until you have a mixture that is very coarse and looks like large flakes of oatmeal.

Begin adding the ice water by adding 1/2 a cup. Start gathering the dough into a ball. If it comes together, you can turn it out onto a well-floured surface. If not, add a bit more water (a tablespoon at a time) until it comes together.

Turn it out onto a well-floured surface and knead lightly 2 or 3 times, until it comes together into a ball. (Do not knead the dough for too long or it will be tough!). Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, but you can refrigerate it for up to 2 or 3 days.

This one recipe will yield two single 9-inch pies or one double 9-inch pie.

For the filling:

6 or 7 apples, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. finely grated orange zest
2 tbsp. Grand Marnier
1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces

Combine all the filling ingredients (except the butter) in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide in half. Put half in the refrigerator for another pie.

Flour a work surface and gently roll the dough into an 11-inch round (it should be about 1/8th to a 1/4-inch thick). Use a light touch with the dough as you don’t want to overwork it.

Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie plate or pie tin. Trim the excess dough and crimp the edges decoratively or simply roll them under so that you have an even edge.

Take the prepared filling and pack it into crust. Dot the filling with the butter and then put the pie in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

For the crumb topping:

1 cup flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

While the pie is in the refrigerator, mix all of the topping ingredients together, rubbing the butter into the flour/sugar mixture until you have a very crumbly topping.

Once the pie has chilled, sprinkle the topping evenly over the pie.

Bake the pie in the centre of the oven on a baking sheet to avoid any spills. The pie usually takes about an hour and ten minutes to an hour and fifteen minutes. It’s done when the crust and topping are golden and the apple filling begins to bubble through the topping.

Let cool for at least 30 minutes for slicing and serving.

Enjoy!

Ciao!

Technorati tags: apples, apple pie

It is my great honour to announce that I am the host of the 35th edition of Sugar High Friday!

Created by Jennifer of The Domestic Goddess over two years ago, Sugar High Friday is an event to celebrate all that is sweet in our lives.

Every type of sweet imagineable has been explored over the previous 34 editions of this event, so when Jennifer e-mailed me to let me know that I would be able to host in September 2007, I had to make a decision.

What to choose as a theme?

After mulling it over for awhile, I decided it was time to give the glorious fig its due.

To this day, I am always amazed by the number of people who have never tried a fresh fig. While many people are familiar with dried figs, fresh ones are much harder to come by. Here in Toronto, I know many people who go to great lengths to cultivate fresh fig trees. I know some people who have built greenhouses in their backyards simply for the trees!

While it is usually referred to as a fruit, the fig is actually the flower of the fig tree. Cutting into the pear-shaped fruit is such an experience! The fruit is filled to bursting with tiny seeds and when you cut into a perfectly ripe fig, it’s as though it secretes its own honey.

And the flavour! How to describe one of the truly great flavours in this world? A fresh fig is sweet and soft. It is somehow warm and refreshing at the same time.

For SHF #35, I want all of you to go out there and explore the world of figs. You can submit any dessert you like featuring figs in whatever form you like: fresh figs, dried figs, fig preserves, fig honey, fig sugar, fig extract … surprise me!

If you’ve never had a fig, then look at this as an opportunity to discover something new.

Here are the details for SHF #35:

Prepare a sweet featuring figs in any form that you like.

Post your creation by midnight on Monday September 24th. (The roundup will be posted on Friday September 28th).

E-mail me (creampuffsinvenice {at} gmail {dot} com) the permalink to your post, as well as your blog name and a photo of your creation.

The fig is a truly beautiful food. I hope that you enjoy exploring the many ways it can be enjoyed and I cannot wait to be inspired by the results!

Ciao!

Here are some resources for useful facts about figs:

BBC Food - Figs
California Figs
Wikipedia - Ficus
Fig Fruit Facts
Fresh Figs, Anyone?
Fine Cooking - Figs

And for a bit of fun, here are some books and cookbooks that present the fig in an interesting light:

The Sweetest Fig
Stolen Figs: And Other Adventures in Calabria
Figs, Dates, Laurel, and Myrrh: Plants of the Bible and the Quran
The Girl & The Fig Cookbook
From the Lands of Figs and Olives: Over 300 Delicious and Unusual Recipes from the Middle East and Northern Africa
Fig Heaven: 70 Recipes for the World’s Most Luscious Fruit
Fig Pudding
The Fig Eater: A Novel
Roast Figs, Sugar Snow: Food to Warm the Soul

Technorati tags: sugar high friday, figs

Some months, I wait anxiously for the day to post the Daring Baker challenge. And then other months, like this one, I wake up one morning only to find that the month is almost gone and the Daring Baker challenge is about to escape me.

My friends, it has been a busy and frenzied month to say the least.

Luckily, however, things have calmed down just in time to celebrate another Daring Baker challenge. And this time around, we’re getting all tarted up!

The hosts for this month’s challenge are the lovely Veronica of Veronica’s Test Kitchen and Patricia of Technicolor Kitchen. They took pity on our Daring Baker souls and decided to choose a challenge recipe that didn’t feature forty steps and didn’t require that we start baking a week in advance.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve loved all the challenges up until now, but they have been quite involved. It was more than pleasant to settle down to baking a most elegant and simple Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart.

As with most tarts, this one begins with a great tart base. The tart pastry consists of butter, icing sugar, ground hazelnuts, cinnamon, eggs, cake flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. I usually make crusts by hand but I decided to try this one in the bowl of the stand mixer and it worked out very well.

After creaming the butter, sugar, ground hazelnuts and cinnamon together, I added the eggs and then the dry ingredients. I gathered the dough into a ball and refrigerated it for eight hours (the recipe instructs you to refrigerate overnight but I made the dough in the morning and baked the tart late in the day).

When it came time to roll out the tart dough, I ran into a few problems in that the pastry cracked quite a bit. It seemed a bit on the dry side. However, after a bit of work I managed to line all my tart pans with the lovely cinnamon-scented dough. The recipe yields quite a bit of pastry so I was able to make a 9-inch tart and six 4-inch tarts.

I blind baked the tart shells (baked them with parchment paper filled with dried beans) for 15 minutes before removing them from the oven while I made the caramel filling.

Usually when I make caramel I begin with a sugar and water mixture. This particular recipe calls for a dry caramel, which means that you simply put sugar into a pot and slowly melt it until it turns the desired colour. I’d never made caramel this way before and was a bit worried as caramel can be tricky.

However, it worked out very well. I had to really watch it as it would have been quite easy to burn the caramel. As soon as it reached the desired colour, I added heavy cream and butter and set it aside to cool a bit. While it cooled, I mixed together eggs and flour, which I then added to the caramel mixture. This was poured into the waiting tart shells. I then put the tarts back into the oven for another 15 minutes.

By this time, the tart shells were a lovely golden colour and the caramel filling was firm. I could have easily dug in at this point but the tarts weren’t quite finished.

After the tarts were completely cooled, I put together the final layer which was a milk chocolate mousse. I whipped heavy cream and poured in melted milk chocolate. I spread the mixture over the tops of all the tarts and then refrigerated them for several hours.

Wanting to decorate my tarts simply yet elegantly, I drizzled the tops with melted white chocolate and made some chocolate curls with some leftover milk chocolate.

Finally, it was time to try one.

The first sensation I experienced when I sampled the tart was the deep flavour of cinnamon against the lighter, sweeter flavour of the chocolate. At first I didn’t notice the caramel but after a few chews, the caramel texture came through. Combined with the lightness of the mousse topping, it was a very interesting flavour experience. The tart was spicy and cool all at the same time.

I decided to bring the tarts to work for my coworkers and judging by how quickly they were gobbled up, I knew they were a great success.

I enjoyed making a layered tart using caramel having never made a tart like this before. It was a straightforward recipe and the results were more than worth it. I would like to thank Veronica and Elle for choosing such a classy recipe!

Ciao!

For the recipe for the Milk Chocolate Caramel Tart, please visit Veronica’s blog or Patricia’s blog.

To see what all the other Daring Bakers did with their tarts, please check The Daring Bakers’ Blogroll over the next day or so!

Technorati tags: daring bakers, tarts, milk chocolate, caramel

While many people are familiar with the City of Toronto, I often feel that not enough people know that Toronto is located within the province of Ontario (Canada is divided into ten provinces and three territories).

For those of us who live in Ontario, we’re blessed to be in a location where both urban and rural settings are easily accessible. That means we can enjoy the best of both worlds. I love living in a multicultural, modern city. But it’s also very nice to get in the car and know that in a relatively short time, you can be driving by picturesque farms or visiting any one of the province’s beautiful parks. I’ve always felt especially lucky that here in Ontario, we grow a variety of fruits and vegetables that should not be missed.

For this month’s edition of Sugar High Friday, the event started by Jennifer of The Domestic Goddess, Johanna of The Passionate Cook has chosen the theme of Sweet Specialties. She’s given us the opportunity to prepare a dessert that features what’s truly special in our neck of the woods.

I’m not sure how many people would consider a peach a delicacy. I can say in all honesty, however, that a juicy summer peach is unsurpassed as far as I’m concerned. When I visited the farmer’s market last Wednesday, I couldn’t help but buy a basket of fragrant Redhaven peaches grown in my very own province.

I thought about a simple preparation for the peaches, like grilling them to caramelize the tops and then topping them with a scoop of perfect vanilla ice cream. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to compliment the peaches with some sort of buttery crust. I perused my cookbooks but didn’t really find anything that struck my fancy. I visted Epicurious and came across a recipe for a peach tart that featured an almond spread as a base for the peaches.

I began the dessert by making the dough which came together very quickly in the food processor. While the dough chilled, I prepared the almond base, which consisted of blanched almonds, butter and almond extract.

My beautiful Redhaven peaches were a joy to slice. I loved the hint of colour on each thin slice of peach as they waited to be layered on the tart. After slicing the peaches, I quickly rolled out the dough and used a 4-inch fluted cookie cutter to cut out rounds. I pricked the rounds with a fork before putting them in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.

I spread about a tablespoonful of almond cream on each round and then topped each with several slices of peach. The tarts baked up beautifully.

Once cooled, I took an extra step not included in the recipe. I melted some apricot jam with a bit of water and then strained it. I used a pastry brush to spread some of the apricot glaze over the cooled tarts. I then sprinkled some sliced, blanched almonds over the glaze. Just before serving, I lightly dusted the tarts with icing sugar.

These tarts were delicious! The dough was buttery, flaky and perfectly cooked while the peaches were a lovely combination of tart and sweet. The apricot glaze gave them a pretty sheen.

I would like to thank Johanna for coming up with this wonderful them for SHF #34. It was a joy to use one of Ontario’s greatest delicacies: the beautiful summer peach!

Ciao!

Peach Almond Tarts

Note: I used this recipe for peach tarts from Epicurious. However, I have reproduced the recipe according to how I made it. I added an extra step. I doubled the recipe and made 32 4-inch tarts. The recipe below is for one batch of tarts.

For the crust:

1 stick plus 2 tbsp. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into tiny pieces
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
a small bowl of ice water

Place the flour, sugar and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine.

Add the butter pieces and pulse 15 to 20 times, until the butter has been incorporated into the flour and the mixture is very coarse.

With the machine running, begin pouring water through the feed tube, a tablespoon at a time. You will need 5 to 6 tablespoons to make the dough come together. The dough will gather in a ball around the blade of the processor.

Stop the machine and turn the dough out onto a well-floured counter top. Knead gently for a few seconds, gathering the dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

For the almond base:

3/4 cup sliced and blanched almonds
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/2 tsp. almond extract

Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of the food processor and process until smooth. Set filling aside until ready to use.

For the peach topping:

4 to 5 large ripe peaches, pitted and sliced thinly
1/2 stick unsalted butter
sugar for sprinkling

When you are ready to bake the tarts, remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out to a thickness of about 1/8th of an inch. If you’re countertop isn’t large enough, divide the dough in half and roll it out in two batches.

Using a round cookie cutter or a dish, cut circles out of the dough. I used a 4-inch round cookie cutter.

Place the rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Once you’ve filled the sheet, prick the rounds with a fork and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

While the rounds are chilling, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Once the rounds have chilled, assemble the tarts by spreading about a tablespoon of almond base on each round. Leave a slight edge around the corners of the round so that the almond base doesn’t leak over.

Layer your peach slices over the almond base in whatever design you wish.

Bake the tarts in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes (begin checking after 25 minutes to ensure your tarts don’t burn). You can bake the tarts one sheet at a time or you can bake them two sheets at a time with one sheet in the top part of the oven and one in the bottom, but be sure to rotate the sheets halfway through baking.

Once baked, let the tarts cool on a wire rack before glazing.

For the glaze:

1/2 cup apricot jam
a few tablespoons of water
sliced and blanched almonds (optional)
icing sugar (optional)

Melt the apricot jam with the water in a small saucepan.

Once melted, pass the jam through a strainer.

Brush the cooled tarts with the resulting glaze. If you wish, sprinkle on some almonds and dust with icing sugar.

Enjoy!

Technorati tags: peaches, Ontario, Redhaven peaches, sugar high friday, shf #34, peach tarts, tarts

Today is the great Julia Child’s birthday!

To honour this day, Lisa of Champaign Taste is hosting the second annual food blog event to honour the birth of one of the most influential women in food history. Not bad for someone who didn’t start cooking seriously until she was in her 30s!

What else can I possibly say about Julia Child that hasn’t already been said? She was glorious. On her birthday, I wish simply that we would all take a page out of her life book. Let’s get into the kitchen. Let’s cook. Let’s bake. Let’s enjoy!

Ciao!

To celebrate Julia’s birthday this year, I decided to finally try a recipe that I’d had bookmarked for many years. It’s the Pizza Rustica from the book Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan. It’s essentially a slightly sweet pie dough that’s stuffed with a ricotta filling dotted with prosciutto and basil. Delicious!

For Julia’s birthday last year, I made Cantuccini.

Technorati tags: julia child, pizza rustica

The glory of strawberry season is profound, yet so fleeting!

Just as quickly as the lovely red berries make an appearance, they’re gone, leaving behind a deep longing that will last for another year.

Several years ago, I began cultivating a strawberry plant in our backyard garden. Happily, that one plant has now multiplied into at least ten plants that provide us with some luscious berries indeed.

Ontario strawberries are truly delicious and I feel lucky to live in a region that produces so many beautiful strawberries. No matter how many I eat, I always feel like I haven’t eaten enough. And once they’re gone, I inevitably find myself staring disappointedly at those monster strawberries in plastic containers that you find at the grocery store. They may be huge, but they don’t have any of the flavour of a freshly picked strawberry.

Last week, I was fortunate enough to buy a container of the very last of the strawberries from the farmer’s market that I attend every Wednesday during the summer. I knew immediately that I would be making the Strawberry Sunburst Tart from Lori Longbotham’s Luscious Berry Desserts.

The picture of this dessert was one of the reasons why I bought the book!

Imagine, if you will, a giant shortbread cookie shapped like a starburst. On top of this cookie imagine spreading a luscious cream made of raspberry curd and whipped cream. And then imagine dotting the cream with some perfect strawberries.

If you can imagine all of this than you can imagine that you have before you one of the
very best summer desserts I have ever made! I didn’t adapt the recipe at all so I’m not going to share it here. However, I’ve provided some ideas on how you can recreate the dessert if you don’t own the book.

To you I say, enjoy the tart!

To the strawberries I say, until next year!

Ciao!

Strawberry Sunburst Tart

For the crust, you can use the recipe for your favourite shortbread or try the recipe for the shortbread base located here. It’s similar to the recipe in Luscious Berry Desserts.

For the cream base, you can mix a few cups of whipped heavy cream with raspberry curd, or you can puree some fresh strawberries, strain them and mix the puree in with the whipped cream. Spread your cream over the shortbread base (once it’s baked and cooled).

Decorate the cream with 10 to 15 perfect strawberries that have been hulled. Use any leftover cream to pipe a pretty design in between the strawberries.

It’s best to serve this tart immediately.

Technorati tags: strawberries, tarts

… in a sea of blueberries!

And I can’t imagine a better place to be.

I’m off to Montreal for a few days but I leave you with this incredible blueberry tart. I hope it helps get you through the weekend.

Naturally, it’s from Lori Longbotham’s must-have cookbook: Luscious Berry Desserts.

Bon weekend!

Ciao!

During the winter, I wrote a post about rice pudding and how I find it one of the most comforting dishes imaginable. A mere spoonful of rice pudding will cure whatever ails me and I suspect that it’s the same for so many other who enjoy this dish.

For this reason, as I looked through Jamie Oliver’s beautiful cookbook, Jamie’s Italy, I could not help but be drawn to the recipe for Torta di Riso. Imagine a rice pudding or risotto baked in a tart shell and you will begin to see what Torta di Riso is. I’ve seen recipes for rice cakes as dessert before, but I’d never seen a recipe for rice baked in a tart shell. And of course I knew right away that I’d have to try it.

What I did not know, nor could I have foreseen, was how quickly April would fly by! While I had initially resolved to try so many recipes for Jamie’s Italy, the fact is I’ve only been able to try a handful. But no matter. That handful has more than convinced me of the beauty and worthiness of this cookbook.

Never mind the gorgeous photos, the book is filled with recipes that sing of Italy and all that is great about Italian food. While many of the recipes were not possible for me to try as at this time of year we simply don’t have access to the fresh fruits and vegetables the recipes called for, I already have a list as long as my arm of dishes that I look forward to trying in the summer when we are overwhelmed by fresh produce from our gardens.

I remember watching Jamie Oliver’s first programs on The Food Network. It’s interesting to see how this chef has grown and matured. Jamie’s Italy is a very clear sign of that growth. While many would look at the recipes and call them simple or plain, I believe that he has succeeded in capturing the essence of some of the best dishes representing the various regions he visited.

Italian food is so varied that it’s impossible to encapsulate regional cooking in one book. But with Jamie’s Italy, Oliver features some of the most beautiful and worthy dishes out there. And of course the photos are tremendous. It’s not just the food that stars in the photography, but it’s also the people.

I wanted to end April, and my focus on Jamie’s Italy as the Flavour of the Month, on a very high note and I’m happy to say that the Torta di Riso accomplishes that. Like so many of Jamie’s recipes this one is open to improvisation. Essentially you’re making a sweet risotto that you partially cook and then pour into a par-baked tart shell. After baking until firm, you end up with a very unique Italian treat - a firm rice filling in a buttery crust.

I followed this recipe to the letter and did not make any variations so I won’t post the recipe. However, I invite you to pick up a copy of Jamie’s Italy and see firsthand that no matter where you are, Italy is close at hand.

Ciao!

Technorati tags:torta di riso, jamie oliver

I certainly hope Jamie Oliver doesn’t mind, but I’ve been cheating on him with Giada De Laurentiis.

Can you blame me?

While I rarely watch her television program, Everyday Italian, I am a fan of her cookbooks. I don’t think anyone would disagree when I say that they very clearly fall into the category of food porn and who can resist a little food porn every now and then?

I thought I’d finally take the chance to pull her second book, Giada’s Family Dinners, off The Overburdened Bookshelf and spend a few weekends enjoying an abundance of comfort food Big Fat Italian Family Style!

Giada’s Family Dinners is divided into chapters that include Soups and Sandwiches, The Italian Grill, Family Feasts and Family-Style Desserts. Being a good Cream Puff, I naturally started with the desserts section as you can clearly see from the Apricot Crostata above.

As one would expect, the cookbook is full of gorgeous full-colour pictures depicting Giada and her family enjoying a lot of good food. While many might find this ever-so-slightly annoying, I actually like the pictures because they remind me of my family.

Minus the designer plates, stain-free linens, and glowing faces of course. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family. But were we invited to Giada’s you know we’d be the slightly embarrassing second cousins. This fact notwithstanding, the photos in this book truly are beautiful and you’d be hard-pressed to resist the urge to run into the kitchen and start cooking based on the pictures alone.

As with all cookbooks, my final opinion rests on the recipes. Say what you want about Giada, her recipes are inviting and they work. Dishes like Tuna and Artichoke Panini, Herbed Cheese Polenta, Garlic and Citrus Chicken, Baked Mashed Potatoes with Parmesan Cheese and Bread Crumbs and Chocolate Ricotta Pudding with Strawberry Sauce will have you salivating as soon as you read the titles. But upon close inspection, the recipes are clearly written and well organized. The instructions are helpful and accurate, without being too long.

Oh. And did I mention the gorgeous pictures?

But the proof, as they say, is in the pudding so I decided to get into the kitchen and start cooking. I tried a number of recipes from this cookbook and was happy with all of them, and particularly impressed by two of them, the first being her lovely Apricot Crostata.

A crostata, in Italy, is akin to a a tart. While in many parts of Italy crostatas can be formal desserts where the pastry is fashioned in a decorative way, Giada’s crostata is more of a free-form tart and is both easy and delicious. As with many of her recipes, she has no problems turning to the tools of the modern kitchen, namely the food processor. After pulling together the crostata dough very quickly in the processor (you can just as easily make it by hand in a bowl), I refrigerated the dough for a bit before rolling it out to an 11-inch round. I opened one of the last jars of the lovely apricot jam my mother and I made last summer and used that as the filling for the tart. After 40 minutes in the oven, I had a beautiful golden tart that was delicious and impressed everyone. The effort for this dessert was minimal and the end result was more than worthwhile.

In this regard, I have to give Giada a lot of credit. Her cookbooks are filled with easy recipes that end with a big pay off when you sit down to enjoy them.

After trying the Apricot Crostata, I decided to try her version of Pasta e Fagioli. I don’t think I know a single Italian family that doesn’t have a traditional recipe for pasta e fagioli. Giada’s version is quite straightforward and calls for canned beans, which certainly saves time (for those of us that don’t want to soak our beans overnight). The resulting soup does not suffer in flavour in any way. As Giada emphasizes over and over, simple fresh ingredients combined with the winning combination of olive oil and Parmigiano Reggiano will take you far!

Eager to try another pasta recipe, my eyes fell on a recipe for baked pasta. The dish is called Farmer’s Pasta but I like to refer to it as the Incredibly Delicious Union of My Favourite Cheeses. This is because the dish features fontina, mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano. Oh yes and heavy cream.

Heaven!

While you’ll have to excuse the poor quality of my picture, take my word for it when I say that this was truly delicious. I had several requests for it after making it the first time and it will most definitely become part of our fall and winter repertoire of comfort dishes!

In the department of foods baked with lots of butter, cheese and cream, we enjoyed an incredible Broccoli and Cauliflower Gratin followed by some amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies with Hazelnuts.

But after the Apricot Crostata, the dish that we loved most was a gorgeous Roasted Red Snapper with Parsley Vinaigrette. This one was a winner from the moment I pulled it out of the oven! Unlike some other cookbook authors who focus on Italian cuisine, Giada truly does justice to fish and seafood as all her cookbooks include a lot of recipes that use these ingredients. I love red snapper but find that I don’t eat it as often as I’d like. This recipe has changed that. After rubbing red snapper with olive oil and seasoning with salt, pepper and paprika, the fish is roasted at high heat. While it’s roasting, a delicious vinaigrette of parsley, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, olive oil and salt and pepper is mixed in the blender. Once the fish is out of the oven, drizzle with the vinaigrette and you’ve got a showstopper of a main course. I can’t say enough about how impressed I was by this dish.

End with some Nutella Ravioli and you’ll be smiling as happily as Giada and her family!

I really can’t say anything bad about this cookbook. Every recipe I tried turned out wonderfully and I recommend it highly. While the serving sizes of the recipes are large (remember the book is geared towards large family gatherings), I had no problems whatsoever halving the recipes.

I must give credit where credit is due. This is a well-written, beautifully photographed cookbook that is bound to yield a number of recipes that you’ll love. Buon Appetito!

Ciao!

Apricot Crostata

Adapted from Giada’s Family Dinners by Giada De Laurentiis.

Note:  I used homemade apricot jam for this crostata but feel free to use any jam or preserves that you like. Raspberry and strawberry would be particularly good choices. Be sure to refrigerate the dough before rolling out as it will be much easier to handle.

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2-1/2 tbsp. vanilla sugar (or you can use regular sugar)
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1-1/4 sticks (10 tbsp.) cold unsalted butter, cut into tiny pieces
• ice water
• 1 cup apricot jam or preserves
• sliced almonds for garnish
• icing sugar for garnish

1. In the bowl of the food processor, mix together the flour, sugar, lemon zest and salt. Pulse a few times to combine.
2. Add the pieces of butter and pulse again (10 to 15 times), until the mixture looks like coarse oatmeal and the butter has been processed into very tiny pieces.
3. With the mixture running, slowly add in some ice water, a tablespoon at a time. Mix just until the dough comes together in a ball. You’ll likely have to add between three and five tablespoons of ice water.
4. Remove the dough from the food processor and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
6. Once chilled, remove the dough from the refrigerator and begin rolling it out on a well-floured surface. You want to roll the dough out into a circle that is roughly 11 to 12 inches in diameter.
7. Once your circle of dough has been rolled to the correct size, transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
8. Spread the jam or preserves over the dough, leaving a two-inch border all the way around. Once the preserves have been distributed over the dough, begin sealing the crostata edges by folding the border up over the jam. Continue until you’ve folded all of the border up and over.
9. Bake the crostata for 35 to 40 minutes, until the edges of the crostata are golden. Remove the crostata from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
10. Once cool, transfer the crostata to a serving plate. Sprinkle centre with sliced almonds and dust the edges of the crostata with icing sugar.
11. Enjoy!

Technorati tags:crostata, apricot crostata, giada de laurentiis

Those rumours that I kept hearing about the Easter Bunny being spotted in our neighbourhood proved to be true. The house is full of baskets of eggs and Easter lilies. At the moment, my mother is in the midst of working her magic as the incredible meal that we will be enjoying this afternoon begins to take shape. Soon, the house will be full of hungry people, myself included, as another Easter celebration begins.

From Cream Puff’s family to all of you, Happy Easter! Buona Pasqua!

Ciao!

Lemon Meringue Tart

Note:  In Toronto’s Bloor West Village, there used to be a lovely restaurant and catering spot called Lemon Meringue. As the name would indicate, the place was famous for its lemon meringue pies. While the location is now closed (the owners still provide catering services), I was fortunate to catch a show on the Canadian Food Network that demonstrated one of the members of the Lemon Meringue team making a lemon meringue tart. Ever since then, this pretty tart has become a staple at Easter time.

Click here for the recipe. Enjoy!

P.S. Lord, if you’re reading this, please let the Leafs make the playoffs!!! (Yes, even at Easter-time we here in Toronto are thinking of hockey!)

Technorati tags:  easter, lemon meringue tart

Ah, the joys of a sugar high!

January’s sugar high is being hosted by none other than David Lebovitz who clearly knows that chocolate is king … and queen for that matter. The theme for SHF #27 is Chocolate by Brand.

When I bake, I generally use Lindt chocolate, which is easy to find in my neck of the woods. It’s affordable and I like the way it tastes in baked goods. When I can find other types of chocolate like Valrhona or Scharffen Berger, I will occasionally splurge and use those as well. But for the most part, Lindt is my baking chocolate of choice.

For SHF #27, however, I hoped to try a type of chocolate that I wouldn’t normally bake with. As luck would have it, the gods of baking presented me with such an opportunity when I happened upon Amedei chocolates in one of my favourite gourmet shops.

I first came across Amedei when I read about the company in an issue of Food & Wine magazine. Amedei is an Italian chocolate company started in 1990 by the brother and sister team of Alessio and Cecilia Tessieri. If I started a chocolate business with my brother we’d likely end up hurting each other in an effort to gobble up the chocolate so right off the bat, I am a huge admirer of the Tessieris ability to work together! Located near Pisa, Amedei has become renowned for creating some of the best chocolate in the world.

The Tessieris make chocolate from scratch, travelling widely to find the best cacao available. Their hard work has paid off in droves as they have been the recipients of many awards including several gold medals at the World Chocolate Awards for their outstanding creation, Amedei Chuao, which is a single-plantation chocolate made from the cacao of the Chuao plantation in Venezuela. This is a limited edition chocolate that is actually hand-numbered.

Something else you need to know about Amedei chocolate:  it’s not cheap. I bought three (small) bars, two of which cost $9 and the third cost $12. I suppose my wallet should be happy that this is difficult to find. I’ve only ever seen it in one store here in Toronto and the selection available is very small.

Cost and availability aside, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to both taste Amedei chocolate and of course, bake with it. I would normally not bake with such an expensive chocolate, but for SHF I’m willing to try anything. I sold a kidney, bought some more Amedei chocolate, and off I went to the Cream Puff kitchen.

While I’d initially entertained ideas for all sorts of intriguing chocolate desserts, I instead decided to make something simple that would allow the quality of this chocolate to shine through. I decided to try a recipe for a "Perfectly Simple Dark Chocolate Tart" from Lori Longbotham’s (love her!) Luscious Chocolate Desserts. Longbotham is, in my humble opinion, one of the best cookbook authors out there. I own most of her cookbooks and woe to anyone that tries to take them from me.

Lori’s recipe is straightforward. You begin by making a crust of flour, cocoa powder and butter. The crust also includes a bit of icing sugar and ground, toasted walnuts for flavour. The tart filling is made of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, butter, eggs, sugar and vanilla extract. The final product is dusted with cocoa powder for that perfect last touch.

I decided to use Amedei Tuscan Black chocolate, which has 63 per cent cocoa solids. The chocolate was strong and not too sweet. The hardest part about making this dessert was trying not to eat the chocolate before I could melt it for the tart filling. Because this was my first time trying the chocolate tart, I haven’t had the chance to adapt it or make it my own. Consequently, I’m not posting the recipe.

[Update:  A wonderful reader by the name of PinkPoppies alerted me to the fact that Lori Longbotham has actually posted this tart recipe on her site:  http://www.lorilongbotham.com/index.html. Not only that, apparently the original recipe in the book’s first edition had an error. The filling is missing 1 cup of cream. The recipe on her site includes the corrected version. I ended up making the version without the correction and the tart was amazing. I can imagine how good it will be with the cream! Here’s the recipe my friends:  http://www.lorilongbotham.com/choctartrecipe.html. Thanks so much, PinkPoppies!]

Ciao!

Here are some links for more information about Amedei chocolate:

Amedei (Italian site)

Amedei (International site)

"The World’s Best Chocolate" from Food & Wine magazine

Technorati tags:  sugar high friday, shf, chocolate, amedei, chocolate tart

After the success that I had with Dorie’s Buttery Jam Cookies, I decided that I would try one more recipe from her cookbook, Baking:  From My Home to Yours, for the Cookbook Spotlight that I was invited to participate in by Sara of I Like to Cook.

Instead of randomly choosing a recipe, I decided to make something that I was craving. So this past Sunday, I looked out the window at the chilly fall weather and thought one thing:  apples. I didn’t particularly care what form they came in, but I wanted hot, cinnamony apples to comfort me.

I checked the cookbook index and was immediately drawn to to the recipe for Flaky Apple Turnovers. While I love apple pie, I’ve always been slightly resentful of having to share. After all, a pie is meant to be shared. But why should I share my delicious apples wrapped in buttery, golden crust. Is it wrong to want them all to myself?

This is why I think that the inventor of the turnover deserves our never ending gratitude. Instead of having to split it eight or ten ways, like a pie, you get your very own little pie. All for yourself.

Or in this case … myself.

The dough for the turnovers was a snap to make. And interestingly, the dough called for sour cream which added a slight tangy flavour, but also made the crust super flaky. While the recipe called for Granny Smith or Fuji apples, I used a combination of Granny Smith and Cortland apples because that’s what I had on hand. I put the filling together in minutes and before I knew it, I was rolling out the lovely dough and cutting circles out to make my turnovers.

I cannot even describe how wonderful the house smelled while these little babies were baking. It was like the union of butter and sugar and cinnamon all rolled into one incredible aroma. While the recipe recommend baking the turnovers for 20 minutes, I baked them for 25 to develop a really golden crust. They were plump and gorgeous when they came out of the oven!

I will confess that I ate most of them.

But I did save a few. While I’m not given to sharing my pies, especially apple pies, I did save a few turnovers for my sweet friend Lisa of La Mia Cucina who celebrates her birthday today (Happy Birthday!!!). Lisa, you better hurry over. The turnovers are calling my name and I don’t know how much longer I can hold out!

Ciao!

Flaky Apple Turnovers

Adapted from Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

For the turnover dough:

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into tiny pieces

1. In a bowl, combine the sour cream and sugar and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour and salt.
3. Add the butter pieces and with a pastry cutter or your finger tips, mix in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse oatmeal and has a crumbly texture.
4. Add the sour cream/sugar mixture and gently mix together with a fork or your hands.
5. You want the dough to come together into a ball. If the mixture is still a bit too dry, add a bit of cold water to help bring it together. Be careful not to overmix or overwork the dough.
6. Once you can gather it into a ball, divide the ball in half, flatten each half into a disk and refrigerate (wrapped in plastic) for about an hour.
7. When you’re ready to make the turnovers, remove one-half of the dough and roll it into a rectangle shape that is roughly 9 inches by 18 inches. You’ll need to flour your work surface well as you roll out the dough. Once you’ve rolled it to 9 by 19, fold the dough in thirds (like a letter) and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. Follow the same procedure for the other half of dough.

For the filling:

• 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• a pinch of nutmeg
• 4 medium-sized apples of your choice, peeled, cored and cut into small pieces
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into tiny pieces
• 1 egg, beaten with a bit of water for the egg wash
• granulated sugar for dusting

1. Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Add the apples and mix well to ensure the apples are completely coated.

To assemble the turnovers:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and be sure to have a rack in the top third of the oven and a rack in the lower third of the oven. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Roll out one piece of dough to a thickness of about 1/8 of an inch. With a cutter that is about 4 to 4-1/2 inches in width, cut out circles. You will probably get between 6 and 8 circles from the dough you have rolled out. You can reroll the scraps to cut out more circles. In total, from both pieces of dough, you shouldn’t have more than 16 circles or you may not have enough filling.
3. Once you’ve rolled out both pieces of dough and cut out your circles, take one circle and put a tablespoon or two of apple filling in the centre. Dot with a few pieces of butter. Wet the edges of the dough with a bit of water and then fold one half over to meet the other half. Seal with your fingers and then use the tines of a fork along the edges of the dough to further seal the turnovers. Poke a few holes in the turnover to allow the steam to release. Lay the turnover on the cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough and apple filling.
4. Once your turnovers are complete, brush each one with egg wash and sprinkle with a pinch of granulated sugar.
5. Bake the turnovers for 20 minutes, rotating the trays from front to back and top to bottom half way through.
6. If you can resist, let the turnovers cool slightly on a wire rack (for about 5 or 10 minutes) before eating them.
7. Enjoy!

Note:  Depending on the thickness of the dough and the size of your cutter, you could get anywhere from 12 to 16 turnovers. If you don’t want to bake them all, you can freeze the turnovers once you’ve assembled them and before baking them. Then you can just pull them out of the freezer whenever you want to bake them. You can bake them frozen, just be sure to bake them for a bit longer.

Technorati tags:  apples, turnovers, dorie greenspan, cookbook spotlight

For my birthday, I would like the best gift that a foodblogger could possibly ever receive.

I would like for all of you to come to my home this evening, and share this White Chocolate-Raspberry Tart with me.

What better way could a Cream Puff possibly celebrate her birthday?!

Ciao!

White Chocolate-Raspberry Tart with Almonds and Pistachios

Adapted from The Chef’s Table by Lucy Waverman, James Chatto and Tony Aspler.

The original recipe for this tart comes from Robert and Lucia Martella, owners of my favourite Italian restaurant:  Grano. It’s like being in Italy, except you’re in the middle of Toronto.

If you’re ever in Toronto, be sure to visit Grano and end your meal with a slice of this tart. The book describes the filling for this tart as truffle-like and it certainly is. The raspberries and nuts compliment the white chocolate very well.

I was introduced to Grano by a wonderful Italian professor of mine from the University of Toronto, who would arrange for her students to enjoy a meal at Grano at the end of each school year.

Professoressa Pasquarelli-Clivio, la ringrazio!

For the tart crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1-1/2 tbsp. cold water
• an 11-inch tart pan with removable bottom

1. While you can mix this in a food processor, try doing it by hand as it’s very easy. In a large bowl, combine the flour and sugar and add the butter pieces.
2. With your fingers or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour until it resembles fine crumbs.
3. In a cup, mix together the beaten egg and the water.
4. Add to the flour/butter mixture and begin gathering the dough together with your hands. After a minute or two, the dough should form a ball.
5. Transfer the ball of dough to a floured surface and knead for about a minute until you have a smooth dough.
6. Shape the dough into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
7. While the dough is in the refrigerator, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
8. After 30 minutes, remove the dough from the refrigerator and on a well-floured surface, roll it out to a 13-inch circle.
9. Carefully transfer the dough to the tart pan and fit it into the pan. Trim any overhang. Keep in mind that this dough will crack rather easily, but you can simply piece it back together.
10. Chill the crust for 20 minutes.
11. After 20 minutes, line the crust with foil and then fill the foil with pie weights or dried beans.
12. Bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the pie weights or beans and foil. Continue to bake the crust for 5 minutes. It should be golden. If any air pockets form on the bottom, gently pierce them with the tines of a fork.
13. Remove the tart from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.

For the tart filling:

• 1 pound white chocolate, broken into 1-inch pieces
• 6 tbsp. butter
• 2/3 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1-1/2 cups raspberries (fresh, not frozen)
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup pistachios, roughly chopped
• icing sugar for dusting

1. Once your tart crust has cooled, begin making the filling.
2. Spread the raspberries over the tart crust. Sprinkle half the almonds and pistachios over the raspberries.
3. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and the butter. Stir to ensure that the mixture is smooth.
4. Add the almond extract and the cream and combine.
5. Immediately take the white chocolate/butter/cream mixture off the heat.
6. Let it cool for 30 seconds.
7. Quickly pour the white chocolate/butter/cream mixture over the raspberries and nuts. Work quickly as this will set. With an offset spatula or a spoon, smooth the mixture if it’s not even.
8. Immediately sprinkle the remaining almonds and pistachios over the top of the filling.
9. Refrigerate the tart for at least 4 or 5 hours.
10. Remove the tart from the refrigerator 30 minutes before you plan to serve it to give the tart filling a chance to come to room temperature. Just before serving, dust with icing sugar
11. Enjoy!

Note:  Serves 10 to 12. A small slice of this tart goes a long way as it is quite sweet. It’s a favourite at Christmas time. Be sure to use fresh raspberries, not frozen. You can also try it with blueberries.

Technorati tags:  white chocolate, raspberries, tarts

As much as I love Christmas, Thanksgiving is the holiday I look forward to most.

For me, Thanksgiving Day is like a perfect photograph … crisp colours, happy faces and clarity.

I love that the sun always shines and that the air is cool on Thanksgiving Day. I love the colours of the leaves and the harvest. I love the smell of the turkey and my mother’s chestnut stuffing. I love the feeling of sitting at the table, with my family, completely stress-free. No worries about presents, greeting cards, what to wear, eating too many cookies, packed shopping malls, traffic … no worries at all.

And I am so thankful. I am thankful for my family because they are beautiful and make me laugh.

I am thankful for my friends who are always there for me, no matter what.

I am thankful for the food on my table.

I am thankful for the place that I live in and the memories that it holds.

I am thankful for this blog, and for you, and for the difference it has all made.

I am thankful for this life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Butter Tarts

This is perhaps the quintessential "Canadian" sweet. My version is based on recipes that I’ve gotten from friends and acquaintances and also a cookbook by Wanda Beaver called Wanda’s Pie in the Sky.

For the pastry:

Use your favourite recipe for butter crust. I always use the recipe from The Joy of Cooking which never fails. If you don’t have a favourite butter crust recipe, try this one from www.epicurious.com.

Once you prepare your pastry, roll it out to about 1/4-inch thick and then cut it into 4-inch circles to fit a standard-sized muffin pan. The dough may bunch up a bit as you fit into the muffin pan but this is part of the charm of the butter tarts.

Refrigerate the dough while you prepare the filling.

For the filling:

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1-1/4 cups light brown sugar
• 1 cup dark corn syrup
• 2 tsp. vinegar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• walnut halves (24 to 36)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Place a walnut half in each prepared pastry-lined muffin cup.
3. In a bowl, whisk together all the other ingredients.
4. Carefully pour the mixture into each muffin cup, being careful not to fill them more than three-quarters of the way to the top (if you fill them more than that they may overflow).
5. Put the muffin tin on a baking tray just in case there are spills.
6. Bake the tarts in the centre of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Keep an eye on them to ensure that the crusts don’t burn. The crusts should be golden and the filling should be just set.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
8. Enjoy!

Note:  This recipe will  yield enough filling for 24 butter tarts. If you make a butter crust recipe that yields two 9-inch pie shells, then you should have enough dough to fill the 24 muffin tins. If not, make two batches of the butter crust.

I sometimes add raisins to my butter tarts. If you want to add raisins, soak about a 1/4 cup of raisins hot water and then divide among the muffin cups before you add the filling. You can also use cranberries or dried cherries for a special twist.

Technorati tags:  butter tarts, thanksgiving day

When I think back to the summers of my childhood, some of my most pleasant memories are of peaches. I can still distinctly remember the feeling of biting into a ripe peach and enjoying the contrast between the juicy sweetness that would inevitably trickle down my chin and that fuzzy peach skin that would tickle my my upper lip. When I think of joy or happiness, it’s those moments that first come to mind … the pure childhood pleasure of enjoying a delicious treat!

Thankfully, enjoying ripe peaches is a pleasure one can experience at any age! And as the fragrant and beautiful Ontario peaches begin rolling in, I am ever so thankful.

Of all the summer fruits, peaches are the ones that I rarely bake with. While I do make the occasional peach pie, I prefer peaches au naturel. I’ve made an exception, however, for the peach pie pictured on the cover of the August 2006 issue of Martha Stewart Living. While I admire the vast baking repertoire and design ability of the team of people behind Martha Stewart Living, I have often found many of the recipes from the magazine slightly disappointing. It’s not that they turn out badly. It’s just that they never turn out as good as they look in the pictures.

I could not, however, resist giving this peach pie a try. The pie turned out quite well the first time I made it, but I did make some adjustments for the next go-round. I used the same pie crust recipe from the magazine, but I increased the amount of crème fraîche I used. I also increased the amount of sugar by adding vanilla sugar to the pie filling. I love vanilla sugar and always keep a jar of of it going. It’s a wonderful way to make maximum use of vanilla beans which are quite expensive.

This is a delicious pie. The sweetness of the peaches and the tang of the crème fraîche are an incredible combination. The other advantage of this pie is that it’s quick to put together and it’s a nice way to use any peaches that are on the verge of being slightly overripe.

But best of all, it captures that wonderful summer flavour of juicy peach!

Ciao!

Fresh Peach and Crème fraîche Pie

Adapted from the August 2006 issue of Martha Stewart Living.

For the pie crust:

• 1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg yolk
• 4 to 5 tablespoons ice water (or more as needed)

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt.
2. Add the butter and cut it into the pastry with your fingers or with a pastry blender. The mixture should like coarse oatmeal and have a crumbly texture.
3. Lightly beat the egg yolk and mix into the flour with a fork.
4. Begin adding the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time and work into the dough. Keep adding ice water until you can gather the dough into a cohesive ball.
5. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead a few times. Shape into a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
6. After an hour, roll the dough out on a well-floured surface. The dough should be between 1/4 and 1/2-inch thickness. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim off any excess dough and crimp the edges decoratively.
7. Prick the base of the dough with a fork.
8. Put the prepared pie crust in the freezer for 30 minutes.
9. While the pie is in the freezer, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
10. After the pie has been in the freezer for 30 minutes, line the crust with parchment paper and using pie weights or dried beans, fill the pie shell. Blind bake the pie for 10 minutes.
11. After 10 minutes, remove the parchment paper and pie weights or dried beans and bake for another 5 minutes.
12. Remove the pie crust and let cool while you prepare the rest of the filling.

For the streusel topping:

• 1/4 cup icing sugar
• 3 tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. With your fingers, work the butter in until you have a crumbly topping. Set aside.

For the pie filling:

• 5 to 6 peaches, pitted and quartered
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar (if you don’t have vanilla sugar use regular sugar)
• pinch of salt
• 6 tablespoons crème fraîche

1. Place the quartered peaches, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix well. Let stand for 15 minutes.

To complete the pie:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Remove the pie crust from the freezer.
3. Spread 2 tablespoons of crème fraîche over the base of the pie crust.
4. Sprinkle 1/3 of the streusel topping over the crème fraîche.
5. Arrange the peaches over the streusel topping.
6. Spread the remaining 4 tablespoons of crème fraîche over the peaches and top with the remaining streusel.
7. Bake the pie for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until the crust is golden and the peaches are cooked and bubbling.
8. Let the pie cool on a wire rack.
9. Serve warm or at room temperature.
10. Enjoy!

Note:  If you can’t find crème fraîche, you can use sour cream. This pie serves 6 very hungry people or 8 not-so-hungry people.

Technorati tags:  peaches, creme fraiche, pie

Fine Cooking is my favourite food magazine and this tart, from the August/September 2005 issue, has captured my heart. I’ve made it four times in the past week alone! Each time I’ve made a different version, but the apricot/raspberry is my favourite.

I hope it captures your hearts as it has mine.

Wishing all of you the very best of weekends (and an especially good long weekend for my Canadian friends)!

Ciao!

Apricot/Raspberry Rustic Tart

Adapted from the August/September 2005 issue of Fine Cooking.

For the tart dough:

• 1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2-1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3 tablespoons milk

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar and salt.
2. Add the butter pieces all at once and mix on low speed for a minute or two, or until the butter breaks up into tiny pieces and the flour becomes crumbly.
3. In a little bowl, combine the egg yolk and the milk and whisk.
4. Pour the liquid into the flour mixture all at once. Mix on low speed until a ball of dough forms around the paddle.
5. Remove the dough and transfer to a well-floured work surface. Knead a few times until you form a ball. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
6. After 20 minutes, roll the dough out on a well-floured surface. Have extra flour available in case you need it. Roll the dough into a circle that’s about 12 or 13 inches wide in diameter.
7. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

For the tart:

• 3 cups of apricots, washed, dried, pitted and thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup raspberries
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Place the sliced apricots in a bowl and sprinkle with the lemon juice (the lemon juice will help stop the apricots from turning brown). Add the raspberries.
2. Add the sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, orange zest and extract all at once. Mix well (but carefully so as not to break or bruise the fruit). Let rest for 10 minutes.
3. While the filling is resting, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and remove the tart dough from the refrigerator to soften a bit.
4. Once you can handle the dough (if it’s too hard it will break), pile the fruit filling in the centre of the circle of dough. Spread it carefully being sure to leave a 2 to 3-inch border all the way around.
5. Starting at one point, begin folding the border of dough up over the filling. As you go along, fold the dough over itself so that you’re creating pleats of dough.
6. Once you’ve completed the border, beat an egg in a small dish and brush the egg over the border of dough. Sprinkle with 2 or 3 teaspoons of sugar. This will give the dough a golden, crunchy look and texture.
7. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour or until the dough is golden and the filling is bubbly.
8. Place your tart on a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
9. Enjoy!

Note:  The tart will serve 6 to 8 people. I like to serve it with ice cream or with a dollop of creme fraiche. You can use any combination of fruit as long as it all comes to 4 cups. I’ve also made it with 3 cups of apricots and 1 cup of blueberries. But you can also try it with peaches, plums, blackberries or whatever summer fruit you like. Just remember to always use 4 cups of fruit.

Technorati tags:  apricots, raspberries, tarts, fine cooking magazine

Oh … I’m a tired and sore Cream Puff! I’ve spent the entire day in a frenzy of baking. After pulling the last item out of the oven, I surveyed the destruction in the kitchen, quietly removed my apron, turned and simply walked away. I am now comfortably ensconced in our very cool basement, hoping against all hope, that a kitchen sprite will appear and clean what is the disaster otherwise known as our kitchen. Hey … it could happen!

The summer brings so many glorious gifts to us in the way of fresh fruit. But when they land at your doorstep, in the space of two hours, in the form of pounds of apricots and blueberries, suddenly it doesn’t seem all that glorious. Besides the fact that we have limited space for storage, fresh fruit tends to be highly perishable. If you don’t freeze it, turn it into jam or bake with it, you’re faced with consuming pounds of it quickly or watching a good part of overripen or worse, rot. That is a terrible thing to do to local, fresh fruit. To any fruit for that matter.

So this hot hot hot Sunday morning (curse you, July!), I dragged my Cream Puffiness out of bed, slung on an apron and got to work. Apricot tarts, blueberry coffeecake, apricot upside down cake, apricot jam … it’s all a blur. All I know is that I used a lot o’ butter, a lot o’ sugar and a lot o’ apricots and blueberries. The mountains of fruit that were sitting on our table this morning have now been whittled down to manageable hills that we’ll make short work of during the week as we grab handfuls of the stuff to enjoy for breakfast, for an afternoon snack or for a simple, sweet dessert after dinner.

While I baked, I had an interesting question on my mind. As I kneaded tart tough, I thought about it. As I whipped cream and sugar, I thought about it. The question came from Chris and Lea who run a wonderful new blog called Canada Eats. And the question is: what does Canadian food mean to me?

This type of a question, for me, is on par with the question, "What does it mean to be Canadian?" While I was born in this country and have lived here all my life, the answer is:  I’m not sure. Canada is a beautiful country and I am proud to call myself Canadian. While we’re not perfect, generally speaking I love the way we live. Proud, free, modest, hard-working … these are all adjectives that apply so well to Canadians. But when it comes to food, I must be quite honest, I don’t think there is such a thing as Canadian food.

Growing up, the food on my table was exclusively "Italian." And what I mean by that is that we ate a diet very similar to what Italians eat. Pasta almost every day, fresh vegetables and fruit in the summer and preserved vegetables and fruit in the winter, bread, olive oil (lots of it), fish on Fridays, veal and chicken cutlets, meat stews, wine, milk and espresso for the kids and just espresso for the adults … this was how we ate every day. While I’m somewhat ashamed to say this, "Canadian food" was an almost derogatory label in our household and this is because "Canadian food" was reserved for food served in fast food establishments. Highly suspicious of fast food, my parents never allowed us to eat at those places. And in the grocery store, items like potato chips and pop were the sorts of things that never made an appearance in our shopping cart.

Despite their disapproval of fast food, fortunately, my parents were very open-minded when it came to trying food prepared by friends of neighbours of different cultures. A few times a year, a co-worker of my father who was Chinese would provide our family with a home-cooked feast of Chinese specialties. Regularly, my father would visit an Austrian restaurant close to work and that night we knew we’d be eating an Austrian feast. Vietnamese, Indian, Thai … we tried so many types of cuisines. But only if the food was prepared by a person my parents knew or by a restaurant that was authentic in its approach to cooking. This was because my parents knew that their Chinese and Austrian friends used fresh ingredients, many of them grown in his own garden, just like we did.

And through it all, I never once wondered what Canadian food really was. Food was food. It wasn’t the complicated affair that, in certain ways, it has become today. I didn’t actually begin to think about what defined Canadian food until the late 1990s, when some cousins visited from Italy. In our efforts to entertain them, we brought them to various Italian restaurants in Toronto that we considered to be of the highest quality. While they were pleased and enjoyed their meals, I could tell that they were a bit confused. And finally one day my cousin asked why we don’t ever go to Canadian restaurants. That question was followed by another question about what our national dish was. National dish? Canadian restaurants?

I was stuck. I tried to explain that we didn’t have a national dish. While there are certain foods that are closely related to Canada, like maple syrup or smoked salmon, we didn’t have any restaurants that served "Canadian cuisine." But as I talked, I began to realize that while we may not have one, unified type of cuisine that distinguishes us, we do have an enormous variety of ethnic cuisines that have flourished in a nation far away from the ones from they originated.

Canadian cuisine is the food of all people who are able to grow and raise the ingredients native to their homelands in their new homeland. When I survey my own neighbourhood, there is not one family in the 50 or so houses that surround mine that can trace their Canadian roots back more than two generations. That’s because most of them weren’t even here two generations ago. And yet every night, when I get home and get out of the car, I can smell the pungent spices our Vietnamese neighbour is using to get dinner ready. And I can smell the faint scent of cinnamon that my Italian neighbour has used in her almost daily round of baking. And I know that on the weekend, I will smell the distinct aroma of barbecue as the Argentinian family across the street from us uses their homemade backyard oven/barbecue that is truly a sight to see!

And while we may use different spices or ingredients, what we all of have in common is our desire to grow our own food. Every family on my street has a backyard garden where they grow vegetables. And almost all of us have at least one fruit tree. The predominant one is pear, but my neighbours also have cherry, apple, apricot and even peach. No matter where we have come from, we have all been united in Canada by our love for the land, and our desire to enjoy its gifts. And what a rich and bountiful land this country is!

The bounty that appeared on my doorstep was grown in rich, beautiful Canadian soil. My Italian neighbours a few houses down graced us with their apricots. In turn, I’ve tried to do the beauty of those apricots justice by baking them simply, in a tart shell, where their flavour will be complimented by a nest of apple sauce and an embrace of butter.

What is Canadian food? What does Canadian food mean to me?

Canadian food is the food of the world. And it means everything to me.

Ciao!

Fresh Apricot Tart

Adapted from Once Upon a Tart … by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau.

For the tart crust and the apricot glaze:

Follow the recipe for the tart crust and the apricot glaze used in the Alsatian Apple Tart.

For the tart filling:

• 1 par-baked tart shell
• 1/2 cup applesauce (homemade is best but if you use store bought be sure that it’s not too sweet)
• 15 to 20 small apricots or 10 to 12 large ones, washed, dried, cut in half and pitted, with the skins on (if you can, try to use fresh local apricots)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup apricot glaze

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Spread the applesauce over the base of the tart crust.
3. Arrange the apricot halves over the applesauce layer. Fit the apricots in tightly so that there are no gaps.
4. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the apricot halves.
5. Bake the tart for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the apricots have cooked through. Some of the apricots may blacken a bit due to caramelization. Don’t worry about this … it’s all sugary goodness!
6. Remove the tart from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove the tart from the tart pan and let cool for an additional 10 minutes.
7. After 10 minutes, with a pastry brush, glaze the tart with the apricot jam.
8. Serve warm or at room temperature.
9. Enjoy!

Technorati tags:  apricots, tarts, canada eats, eat local

While I haven’t spent a lot of time blogging about selections from my Flavour of the Month, The Berry Bible, it’s mainly due to the fact that I’ve been having so much fun blogging about recipes that I either consider classics or ones that I simply must try for the first time like the Cherry Mascarpone Tart. And I must say that the same goes for Jumbleberry Pie, a recipe I’ve been wanting to try forever.

The original recipe is from Epicurious, which is a continual source of inspiration in the cooking and baking department. I particularly appreciate the recipe review section on Epicurious, where anyone can rate a recipe and recount their experience giving it a go. While you will often run into some strange comments, for the most part, it’s interesting to read other people’s reactions to recipes.

In the case of this pie, I’m certainly glad that I took the time to read the reviews. As the name suggests, Jumbleberry Pie is a jumble of berries baked together in a buttery crust. When baked, berries will generally release a lot of liquid, especially if you’re using frozen berries. The original recipe for Jumbleberry Pie calls for an amount of cornstarch that isn’t nearly enough to compensate for the amount of liquid the berries release. I mean we’re talking about almost 8 cups of berries for this one pie! Thanks to the reviews, I knew ahead of time to increase the amount of cornstarch.

I used a half cup and could have probably used a bit more. While my pie wasn’t soupy, it was generally a bit more liquidy than I like. However, that minor nuisance was negated by the incredible flavour of both the filling and the crust, which was a cinch to make.

So what lesson did Cream Puff learn in making her very first Jumbleberry Pie? Always read the recipe first … and the reviews if there are any!

Ciao!

Jumbleberry Pie

Adapted from www.epicurious.com.  For the original recipe, click here.

For the crust:

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 sticks cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• ice water

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt and mix well.
2. Add the butter and shortening and with your fingers or a pastry blender, cut the butter and shortening into the flour until it resembles oatmeal or coarse crumbs.
3. Add 3 tablespoons of ice water to the mixture and begin to gather into a ball. If it does not easily come together, add another tablespoon of ice water. Do not overwork the dough. Once it has come together into a ball, knead a few times on a floured work surface. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

For the pie:

• 3 cups blueberries, washed and dried
• 2 cups blackberries, washed and dried
• 2 cups raspberries, washed and dried
• 1-1/2 cups red currants, washed and dried
• 1/2 cup cornstarch (I used a half cup but I’d recommend using a bit more.)
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
• a few tablespoons of heavy cream (to brush the top of the pie)

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine all of the berries.
3. Add the cornstarch, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and cinnamon and mix well.
4. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and divide in half. Roll half the dough out into an 13-inch circle. Fit the dough into a 9-inch deep dish pie plate or pan.
5. Scrape the berry mixture into the pie plate and refrigerate while you roll out the top portion of dough.
6. Roll out the second half of the dough into an 11 or 12-inch circle. Remove the pie from the refrigerator and sprinkle the butter pieces over the berries.
7. Carefully transfer the rolled out dough to the top of the pie plate. Trip the edges of the dough so that you have a one-inch overhang. Seal the edges of the dough all the way around and crimp decoratively.
8. Slash the dough a few times to allow steam to escape.
9. Brush the top of the pie with the heavy cream.
10. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the crust is golden and steam is coming out of the vents in the pie. You will notice the juice bubbling up as well.
11. Serve the pie warm or at room temperature.
12. Enjoy!

Note:  If you’re using frozen berries, let them thaw completely and drain off any juice. This will help prevent the pie from being too liquidy. Use any combination of berries that you like!

Technorati tags:  blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, red currants, pie

Pa rum pum pum …

I once read that the tango is a dance where opposing emotions, like love and hate are inextricably intertwined.

Pa rum pum pum …

Each summer, I engage in what I like to call the Humidity Tango in my very own kitchen. Except there is no love in this tango. There is hate. Lots of it. And frustration. Lots of it. But definitely no love.

Pa ra ra ra ra ra rum pum pum …

Each summer, without fail, I dance the tango of hate with Humidity. For each summer, like a shadow, the Humidity creeps in and settles over the City of Toronto, blanketing everything in its sticky, suffocating self.

You step outside and within seconds your clothes are stuck to you like a second skin. Your hair, no matter what you do to it, settles itself into a massive, unshapely poof. And your useless attempts to sit outside and read, all the while pretending to ignore the soupy air around you, are laughable at best.

Pa rum pum PUM …

But the worst part of the Humidity, is that you simply cannot stand to turn on the oven.

Pa rum PUM PUM …

A bereft Cream Puff, you walk by your little stove everyday and sigh wistfully. To turn it on would be to turn the house into a stifling pit, in spite of the central air conditioning. And all the while you just know the Humidity is laughing at you. You curse. You shake your fist. And then, with shoulders bent, you walk away from the kitchen … beaten.

Pa ra ra ra ra ra rum PUM PUM …

But inevitably, the pendulum shifts. Clouds move in and in the distance you see the lightning and hear the crackle of thunder.

PA RUM PUM PUM …

The blessed storm comes and washes the Humidity away. You can breathe again. And even better … you can bake again.

PA RUM PUM PUM …

You rush like a mad person. Eggs, whisks, flour, bowls … in a frenzied flurry you cram as much baking into one afternoon as humanly possible. And you know that for just a moment, you have won the latest round of the Humidity Tango.

PA RA RA RA RA RUM PUM PUM!

Ciao!

Mascarpone Tart with Berries

Adapted from www.epicurious.com.

While the original recipe for this tart uses a pastry crust, I like to use a crumb crust. I like the way the mascarpone plays off the texture of the graham crumbs. For the original recipe, click here.

For the crumb base:

• 1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• a pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the crumbs, sugar, salt and melted butter. Combine until all the crumbs are wet and begin to clump together.
3. Pour the crumbs into a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. With the back of a spoon or your fingers, press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
4. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely. (I prefer to refrigerate overnight but you don’t have to).

For the tart:

• 1 cup mascarpone, room temperature
• 1/4 cup cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons sugar (to taste)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 4 to 5 cups mixed berries, washed and dried
• 2 tablespoons apricot jam or jelly
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons fruit liqueur (kirsch or cassis are my favourites)

1. In a large bowl, mix together the mascarpone, cream cheese, sugars, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix until you have a smooth, creamy mixture. Taste for sweetness and add more sugar if desired.
2. Spread the cream over the base of your crust and refrigerate until ready to serve.
3. In a small pan, combine the jam, water and liqueur. Bring to a boil and stir until you have a smooth mixture. (There may be some lumps if the jam has large pieces of fruit in it.) Once it’s come to a boil, remove from the heat and let cool. Once the mixture has cooled, strain it.
4. Combine your berries in a large bowl and pour the strained jam mixture over the berries. Arrange the berries on the cream layer of the tart. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
5. Enjoy!

Technorati tags:  berries, mascarpone

… the precious sweetness of the very last of the local cherries.

As cherry season ends, Cream Puff hopes that the beginning to your weekend is as sweet as this tart.

Ciao!

Cherry Mascarpone Tart

This recipe comes from the June 2006 issue of Food & Wine. I followed the recipe exactly, except for the equipment used. Rather than using a straight-sided tart pan, I used a fluted one. The results were incredible.

Click here for the recipe.

Enjoy!

Technorati tags:  cherries, mascarpone

As fairytales do, this one has come to an end. June bids everyone adieu as July waits impatiently to be the star of the show.

Of all the months, July is my least favourite. I know many people will nominate the oft-gloomy November or the very unpredictable March as the months they can do without. But for me, it’s July.

And the reason is very simple. Without question, July is the most humid and muggy month of the year in Toronto. And I absolutely detest humidity. I’m a fall/winter girl to begin with, so while I enjoy aspects of spring and summer including the garden, fresh fruits and vegetables and long days, I do not enjoy the excessive heat. I survive, but I don’t enjoy it. Add to that the heavy layer of humidity that settles over the city in which I live and I generally become a cranky Cream Puff in July. Not a pretty sight.

But it isn’t quite July 1st yet so until then, I will enjoy the last of June. I had great plans for this month in terms of baking and cooking and the Flavour of the Month … Once Upon a Tart by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau. But some computer woes and a decision to paint our entire house put a dent in my well-laid plans.

Ah, well … such is life.

Do not, however, be surprised if you see a Once Upon a Tart creation popping up now and then during the summer. There were quite a few recipes that I wanted to try from this lovely book and never had the chance. While the book is rich with recipes for savoury and sweet tarts, it has so much more. Salads … soups … muffins … cookies … the list goes on. If you have the opportunity, I urge you to pick up the book and peruse its charming pages. You’ll be smitten, I guarantee.

To further entice and tempt you, I leave you with this lovely Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Tart. What a lovely way to end the fairytale!

Ciao!

Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Tart

Adapted from Once Upon a Tart … by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau.

The picture at the beginning of this post is one of the tart prior to being baked. It looked so beautiful that I just had to snap a photo.

For the tart shell:

Follow the same recipe as the tart shell in the Roasted Red Pepper Tart with Olive Tapenade.

For the tart:

• 1 large eggplant, sliced about 1/4-inch thick
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)
• 6 plum tomatoes, sliced about 1/4-inch thick
• 1/2 cup basil leaves, washed and dried
• 1/4 cup parmesan, freshly grated
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup light cream (10%)
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 par-baked tart shell (recipe link above)

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Place the eggplant in a colander and sprinkle generously (a few tablespoons) with salt. Let sit for 1/2 an hour. This draws out any excess moisture from the eggplant.
3. After 1/2 an hour, place the eggplant in a bowl (shake off any excess moisture) and add the garlic, olive oil and dried oregano. Mix well and spread the eggplant on the baking sheet. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes. Be careful not to burn the eggplant.
4. While the eggplant is roasting, place the tomato slices in the colander and allow to drain.
5. Once the eggplant is done, remove the baking sheet from the oven and place on a wire rack. Let the eggplant cool to room temperature.
6. Place your par-baked tart on a baking sheet (this helps when it’s time to transfer the tart to the oven and also helps in case your tart leaks).
7. Line the bottom of the tart with the basil leaves. Sprinkle the parmesan over the basil.
8. Alternating between the eggplant and the tomato slices, layer the items in your tart shell. You can be fancy in your design or not … it’s up to you!
9. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and cream. Add some freshly ground black pepper to taste (I used 1/2 a teaspoon).
10. Pour the custard mixture carefully over the tart. You may have to stop every now and then to allow the custard to flow down into the tart shell as the eggplant and tomatoes will be piled high. The custard should come up to within a quarter of an inch of the top of the tart shell.
11. Carefully transfer your tart to the oven. Bake for an hour or until the custard is set (doesn’t jiggle) and the vegetables are golden and roasted. Let the tart cool before you serve it.
12. Enjoy!

Note:  The original recipe calls for the basil and parmesan to be blended together in the food processor until they form a paste. I left the basil leaves whole and lined the tart base with them and it turned out lovely. I also increased the amount of basil from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup. The original recipe also calls for 8 or 9 plum tomatoes. I found that to be too many so I cut back to 6 plum tomatoes.

Technorati tags:  eggplant, tomatoes, basil, tarts

Lest you get the impression that I only eat sweets, I’d like you to know that this Cream Puff also eats her veggies. Of course it helps if they’re roasted with lots of garlic, basil and olive oil, enrobed in a custard of cream and egg, and then baked in a golden tart.

Not that I’m picky or anything.

Ciao!

Ratatouille Tart

Adapted from Once Upon a Tart … by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau.

For the tart crust:

Follow the same recipe as the tart crust used for the Roasted Red Pepper Tart with Olive Tapenade.

For the tart:

• 1 large eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 large green zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large yellow zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup light cream (10%)
• salt
• freshly ground pepper
• extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Set a rack in the centre of the oven and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. In a colander, sprinkle the eggplant pieces with salt (2 to 3 teaspoons) and let sit for about 1/2 an hour. This will draw out any of the bitterness from the eggplant.
3. In a large bowl, combine the green and yellow zucchini and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and mix well. Spread on the baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Scrape the zucchini into a large bowl and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, combine the red and yellow bell pepper pieces, the red onion and the garlic and two tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper. Spread on the baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Scrape the peppers and onions into the bowl with the roasted zucchini.
5. In a large bowl, combine the eggplant with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. There’s no need to add salt as the eggplant has already been salted. Add a 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Mix well. Spread the eggplant on the baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes or until the eggplant becomes golden. Scrape the eggplant into the bowl with the roasted zucchini, peppers and onion.
6. Add the garlic to the mixture of roasted vegetables and mix.
7. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and the cream. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour this custard over the roasted vegetables and mix well.
8. Pour this mixture into the par-baked tart shell. The vegetables will be piled high in the centre of the tart.
9. Bake at 350 degrees F for an hour or until the custard has set and doesn’t jiggle.
10. Allow the tart to cool on a wire rack before slipping off the outer ring. Slide the tart off the base. Serve this tart warm or at room temperature.
11. Enjoy!

Note:  This recipe will yield one 9-inch tart. Leftovers should be refrigerated. The original recipe also includes 4 plum tomatoes roughly chopped. If you want to include those add them to the peppers when you roast them.

Technorati tags:  roasted vegetables, tarts, ratatouille

So there I was, happily navigating the Cream Puff Highway when out of the blue … computer woes.

Talk about getting kicked in the pâte à choux!

June was supposed to be a fairytale, but it’s turned into a bit of bad dream with my inability to post regularly. Admittedly, I’ve felt somewhat lost and it’s made me realize how important this blog has become to me. I’ve met so many wonderful people and on a daily basis, I’m presented with the opportunity to "virtually" feast on the most incredible food. I’ve missed it all terribly!

But it’s time for this Cream Puff to snap out of the bad dream and return to the food fairytale. This was made considerably easier by the incredible Alanna of A Veggie Venture. After I posted my first recipe from Once Upon a Tart, Alanna dropped me a note and mentioned that she too owned the cookbook. Alanna suggested that we have a Once Upon a Tart cross-post where we make the same recipe and blog about it.

Intrigued, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I got to choose the recipe and my choice was a Roasted Red Pepper Tart with Olive Tapenade. Why this particular tart?

Quite simple, my friends. Roasted red peppers and olive tapenade are two of my favourite things in the world. In fact, I briefly contemplated chucking the tart shell and just eating up the peppers and tapenade! But that would not do. I’d hate to deny anyone the pleasure of a buttery and flavourful tart shell embracing red peppers roasted in olive oil and some pretty luscious homemade olive tapenade (if I do say so myself).

I would never deny any of you that!

The ever-creative Alanna decided to turn the recipe into mini tartlets. I warn you now. You will be drooling all over your keyboard.

I’m glad to say that the tart I made was a hit on all counts. To begin with, the pastry recipes that Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau present in Once Upon a Tart are among the best I’ve tried. They have several recipes for pastry covering both sweet and savoury. Even if you have very little experience with pastry, you will find these recipes easy to follow and worth the little extra effort they may take.

While I have an olive tapenade recipe of my own that I use frequently, I decided to test the recipe in the cookbook. I was not disappointed. I used oil-cured black olives, lots of fresh basil, garlic, capers and lemon. The tapenade was thick and luscious. And the best part is that you only need a few tablespoonfuls for the tart. The rest is all for you to consume as you wish. My personal favourite method of consumption is to stand by the open refrigerator with the container of tapenade in one hand and a spoon in the other. Simplicity can be truly blissful.

Interestingly, the recipe does not require you to remove the skins of the roasted peppers. I’m so used to eating roasted peppers without the skins that I was a bit taken aback by this idea. Well you could have tipped this Cream Puff over with a feather when I finally tried the tarts. Since the peppers had been julienned, the skins were not unpleasant at all. In fact I enjoyed the bits of skin that became ever so slightly caramelized and even charred. It was a nice contrast to the sweet, roasted flesh of the pepper. Pair this tart with a refreshing summer salad and you have the perfect summer lunch. Add some figs and cheese and now you’re in exceptionally satisfying dinner territory.

It turns out that both Liza of the charming French Toast and Maura of the enviably beautiful Egg Hunt also count themselves among the proud owners of Once Upon a Tart. They too decided to try the roasted red pepper tart. Please read about Liza’s experience making the tart and Maura’s account of buying the book and also baking the tart.

As for me, the June fairytale is back. And if I’m not mistaken … I do believe that somewhere there is a frog turning into a Prince … or a Roasted Red Pepper Tart with Olive Tapenade. Whichever you prefer!

Ciao!

Roasted Red Pepper Tart with Olive Tapenade

Adapted from Once Upon a Tart … by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau.

For the tart shell:

• 2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, finely chopped (optional)
• 12 tablespoons (1-1/2 cups) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cut into small cubes
• a bowl of ice water

1. Combine all of the dry ingredients (flour, salt and rosemary) in a large bowl and mix with a whisk.
2. Add the butter and vegetable shortening and cut into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or your fingertips. You want the mixture to resemble coarse oatmeal.
3. Add 4 tablespoons of ice water and begin gathering the dough together into a bowl. If the dough does not come together, add more ice water one tablespoon at a time.
4. As soon as the dough comes together into a ball, knead it a few times on a floured work surface.
5. Cut the dough in half and flatten each half into a disc. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
6. When your ready to make your tart shell, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
7. Roll out one of the discs into an 11-inch circle and gently fit the dough into a 9-inch pan. Press the dough firmly into the pan and remove any excess dough.
8. With a fork, prick the base of the dough.
9. Line the tart with aluminum foil and place either pie weights or dried beans on the aluminum foil. This is called blind baking the tart. Bake for 10 minutes.
10. After 10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights/dried beans. Bake for an additional 5 minutes.
11. Remove the tart and let cool while you prepare the filling.

Note:  This pastry recipe will yield two 9-inch tarts. You will need a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom.

For the olive tapenade:

• 2 cups black olives (preferably oil-cured)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 5 tablespoons capers, drained
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper (optional)

1. Combine all ingredients, except the olive oil, in the bowl of a food processor.
2. Process until a thick paste forms. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pulse several times to combine.
3. With the motor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube until combined.
4. Taste and add black pepper if desired.

Note:  The tapenade can be stored in the refrigerator until ready to use.

For the tart:

• 5 red bell peppers, julienned
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 a yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive tapenade
• 1/2 cup parmesan, freshly grated
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup light cream (10%)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
• parmesan and fresh basil to garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place a rack in the centre of the oven.
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
3. In a large bowl, combine the peppers, garlic, onion, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix well and spread on the the baking sheet.
4. Roast for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the peppers are golden. Keep an eye on the peppers as they can burn.
5. Once the peppers are done, scrape the entire mixture into a bowl and set aside.
6. Spread the olive tapenade over the base of the tart shell.
7. Sprinkle the parmesan over the tapenade.
8. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, light cream, salt and pepper. Pour into the bowl with the red peppers. Mix well and pour the mixture into the tart shell. Don’t worry if it appears that there are more peppers than the tart shell can hold. Pile them in the centre.
9. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour. The tart is done when the custard is set and doesn’t jiggle.
10. Let the tart cool on a wire rack.
11. Once cool, carefully remove the outer ring and slide the tart of the base.
12. Garnish with parmesan and basil before serving.
13. Enjoy!

Note:  This tart is best served warm or at room temperature. Store leftovers (if there are any) in the refrigerator.

Technorati tags:  olives, olive tapenade, roasted peppers, tart

I seem to have misplaced my lemon tart! How very embarrassing.

Should you find it anywhere please let me know. I miss it desperately!

Ciao!

Lemon Tart

Adapted from Once Upon a Tart … by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau.

For the tart crust:

Follow the same recipe as for the Alsatian Apple Tart. In this case, once you’ve lined the tart pan with the crust, you must par-bake the crust.

To par-bake it, heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prick the bottom of the tart crust with a fork. Line the crust with foil paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Let cool.

For the lemon tart:

• 1 par-baked tart crust (see above)
• 3 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• zest of 1/2 a lemon
• 3/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Whisk the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together for 2 minutes. Add the remainder of the ingredients and mix well.
3. Pour carefully into the par-baked tart crust. If you have extra, Frank and Jerome recommend pouring it off into ramekins and baking it along with the lemon tart.
4. Carefully place the tart on a baking sheet.
5. Bake for 25 minutes or until the tart doesn’t jiggle when shaken.
6. Let cool completely.
7. I recommend serving with slightly sweetened whipped cream.
8. Enjoy!

Note:  Yields one 9-inch tart.

Technorati tags:  lemons, lemon tart

It is the month of June,

The month of leaves and roses,

When pleasant sights salute the eyes,

And pleasant scents the noses.

– Nathaniel Parker Willis, "The Month of June"

What is that in the air? Do you smell it? Close your eyes and breathe in deeply … there it is … the soft, sweet smell of June. May was lovely, but June is here now and what does it hold for us?

With any luck it will be a month of beautiful weather that we can all enjoy. Hopefully it will be a month where we will watch our gardens grow and begin to see all the familiar faces at our local farmers’ markets. We have so much to look forward to … bright and sunny mornings, hot afternoons made more bearable with a mint julep, and let’s not forget the pleasure of June nights spent with a gelato or a mojito.

But as lovely as June is, it needs something more. It needs a slight sprinkling of fairy dust to make it just that much more magical. As luck would have it, Cream Puff’s Overburdened Bookshelf has just the thing … a June fairytale called Once Upon a Tart.

In the enchanted land of New York, there is a lovely, little place called Once Upon a Tart, owned by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau. As much neighbourhood gem as it is fine bakeshop, Once Upon a Tart is a place where sweet (and savoury) dreams come true.  Frank and Jerome began their business to fulfill the lifelong dream of owing an establishment that produced the best food, both savoury and sweet. I just knew that this was the book with which to entice everyone’s tastebuds during the month of June. As a result, it is the Cream Puffs in Venice Flavour of the Month for 2006.

Will it be a month of tarts? A month of salads? A month of sweet snacks? Or a little bit of everything? I don’t know where this fairtyale will take us. But I have a Cream Puff hunch that it will all end happily ever after …

Ciao!

Alsatian Apple Tart

Adapted from Once Upon a Tart by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau.

For the tart crust:

• 2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 5 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• a glass of ice water

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, salt and sugar. Pulse a few times to combine.
2. Add the butter and shortening all at once. Pulse the mixture until it becomes crumbly (between 5 and 10 pulses).
3. As soon as the mixture is crumbly, transfer the mixture to a bowl. Sprinkle with 4 tablespoons of ice water.
4. Either with your hands or a spoon, begin mixing. If the mixture is too dry and does not come together, add the ice water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together.
5. The dough is ready when it just comes to together. Do not overmix or your tart crust will be dry and hard. As soon as the dough forms a ball, divide into two pieces, flatten each piece into a disk and refrigerate for 1/2 an hour.
6. Remove one of the disks from the refrigerator and on a floured surface, roll to a thickness of a quarter inch. Using a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom, carefully transfer the tart crust to the pan.
7. Adjust the dough to fit the pan and trip any excess dough from the sides. Refrigerate the tart crust until ready to use.

For the apple tart:

• 4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced thinly (1/8 inch)
• 1 prepared tart crust (unbaked)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light cream (10% cream)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup apricot jam
• warm water

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and position a rack in the centre of the oven.
2. Arrange the apple slices in the prepared tart crust in concentric circles, with the slices overlapping.
3. Transfer the tart to a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil (just in case there are any spills).
4. In a bowl, combine the eggs and sugar and whisk until the eggs are pale yellow (2 to 3 minutes).
5. Add the cream and milk and mix well.
6. Carefully pour the liquid mixture over the apples. The mixture will come very close to the top of the tart edge.
7. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake the tart for 1 hour and 15 minutes. The tart is done when the crust and apples are golden and when the custard has set.
8. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Once cool, remove the tart ring and carefully slide the tart off the bottom of the tart pan and onto a serving platter.
9. In a bowl, combine the apricot jam and 3 or 4 tablespoons of hot water. Stir to combine.
10. Strain the jam into a bowl. You should have about a 1/4 cup of apricot glaze. Pour the glaze over the tart. Serve immediately or cover the tart and serve when ready.
11. Enjoy!

Note:  The tart crust recipe yields crusts for two 9-inch tarts. If you’re not using the entire recipe, refrigerate half the dough for later use (within 3 days) or freeze for up to a month.

Technorati tags:  apple tart, once upon a tart

On the menu for week 2:  pie dough and apple pie.

The second week of baking class began with a demonstration of pie crust and the preparation for apple pie filling. Having practiced making pie dough in our first class, we were all ready to put our previous lesson to the test.

After a rush to weigh and measure out ingredients, we started by peeling our apples for the filling. I was very impressed with how easily I was able to peel my apples with my brand new peeler. While I’ve always used a paring knife, our instructor suggested using a peeler. His reasoning was that often with a paring knife, too much of the apple flesh is removed along with the peel. This results in the loss of valuable pectin, which is a natural thickener in apples. While the peeler isn’t necessary, I removed far less apple flesh than when I usually use a paring knife. So either I become more skilled with the paring knife or I embrace my new peeler!

Once the apples were peeled and sliced, we mixed them with sugar, cinnamon and a substance I had never encountered before:  modified cornstarch. More on that later.

Because I nicked myself slightly while slicing my apples, I was a bit hampered when it came time to put the dough together. My partner (we’re paired up in baking class) and I both tried to get involved in pulling together the dough but this only resulted in us adding a bit too much liquid and over mixing. That’s the other important tip for that day’s class:  don’t over mix your dough! While our dough had come together, it was too moist.

Our instructor quickly noticed our dilemma and helped us out by throwing in a bit more flour. We were then able to proceed without any other significant problems. But the resulting pie, while tasty, did have a tougher crust than I would have liked. This is a result of over mixing and having to add more flour.

Overall I was pleased with my apple pie. I’m not used to making pie crusts with shortening, but with practice I know I can get better at it. We used Spartan apples for our pies and this was another revelation. At home we’ve always used a combination of Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and McIntosh apples. I was pleasantly surprised by how good the Spartan apple filling was and by how well the apples held together. I missed the hint of nutmeg that we always add to our pies, but that’s a matter of personal taste.

I really enjoyed this class and am looking forward to trying my new pie crust recipe and technique this summer when berry season hits. I was, however, disappointed in one aspect of the class. As I mentioned above, the apple pie filling recipe that we followed required modified cornstarch.

I had no idea what modified cornstarch was so I pulled down my new favourite book in the world, On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee, and did some reading. Cornstarch is a type of starch made from the maize grain. It’s often used as a thickener in cooking in the same way that people would use flour. When a starch like cornstarch is modified, it means that it has either been made from corn that has been purposely bred to yield a grain that will result in a more reliable form of cornstarch, or that the cornstarch has been treated, possibly with chemicals, to alter the structure of the starch molecules in order to make it an even better thickener.

Our instructor explained that modified cornstarch is widely used in commercial baking because it’s so reliable and produces a consistent filling every time. When a few students noted that they had used flour in the past, the concern was raised that using flour may result in your filling having a flour-taste, even after the pie is cooked.

While the apple filling tasted good, its consistency was very different from that of the pies that we usually bake at home. My mother has been baking apple pies for 30 years and she’s always used a bit of flour in the filling. And I have never tasted the flour after the pie has been cooked. Never.

With my pie, I found that the modified cornstarch made the pie filling taste a lot like the filling you get from a can. While the apple flavour was enjoyable, the texture was sort of weird. There was a gel-like consistency to it that was slightly unpleasant, especially once the pie cooled. At the risk of sounding immodest, I’ll take my mom’s apple pie filling any day over one made with modified cornstarch.

Now don’t get me wrong. I understand that all sorts of ingredients are used in baking, especially commercial baking, that we wouldn’t necessarily use at home. But having tasted a lovely pie filling where the apples still taste like apples without being suspended in a thick, goopy sauce, why would I ever want to change that?

I’m really happy with the new pie crust recipe that I learned, as well as the mixing and rolling techniques that I’ve practiced over my first two classes. But as for the modified cornstarch … I’ll pass, thanks.

See you next class.

Ciao!

Technorati tag:  apple pie

On any given day, you will find a large basket of fruit on my kitchen table. This is for two reasons. First of all, it encourages my family to eat more fruit. And secondly, it’s pretty to look at. A perfectly ripened mango, an elegant pear, a juicy orange … all of them begging to be eaten. There’s just one problem. In their midst, you will always find an apple or two approaching a brown, shrivelled end.

Now don’t get me wrong, we like apples. Come the Fall we’re the first to load up on the bounty that Ontario’s apple harvest provides. It’s just that by the time Spring rolls around … well … the apples start to get a bit boring. Already I find myself daydreaming about strawberries, wild blueberries and the most fragrant peaches from Niagara-on-the-Lake. But the daydream inevitably comes to an end as I take a bite out of another apple. So many apples. Months of apples.

So you’ll understand why, last Saturday, I just knew I had to do something. A family of McIntosh apples was withering away in that aforementioned fruit basket. There was no way they’d make it to see another week of lunches. I needed a solution; something new and different that would help me solve the apple surplus.

That’s when I remembered a little trip that I’d taken to Ina Garten-land a few weeks ago. I had been flipping through a copy of her book Barefoot Contessa Parties! looking for a coffee cake recipe, but had instead come across a recipe for apple crostata. Essentially, it’s a recipe for a free-form apple tart.

The pastry consisted of flour, sugar salt and a lot o’ butter. It came together in a snap as I got to use the food processor. I usually make pastry dough by hand, but I wanted to follow Garten’s recipe as closely as possible. After refrigerating the dough for an hour, it was a dream to work with. I had no problems rolling it out and within minutes I was ready for the filling.

Preparing the filling consisted of peeling the apples and cutting them into chunks. I added grated orange zest and piled it all on to the dough in a glorious mass, being sure to leave a good 1-1/2 inch border all around so that I could fold the dough over the apples. A quick topping of flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and more butter was the final touch.

While Garten’s recipe doesn’t call for an egg wash, I made one anyway. I brushed the border with the egg wash to ensure that as I folded the pastry over the apples, it would stay in place. I then brushed the egg over the dough so that it would take on a lovely golden colour.

Twenty-five minutes letter I had the most beautiful tart. Some vanilla ice cream and a lovely cup of coffee and all of a sudden we were a family of apple lovers all over again.

Ciao!

Apple Crostata

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties! by Ina Garten.

For the pastry (this recipe will yield enough pastry for 2 tarts)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1/2 cup ice water

1. Put all of the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor, fitted with the dough attachment. Pulse 2 or 3 times to combine.
2. Add the butter all at once and pulse 12 to 15 times, until the butter is the size of peas.
3. Add a 1/4 cup of the ice water all at once and pulse the dough until it begins to come together around the blade. If the dough doesn’t come together, add a tablespoon of ice water at a time until the dough comes together.
4. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead it a few times until you form a smooth ball. Divide the ball into two pieces and flatten each piece into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. If you’re making one tart, place one disk in the refrigerator for an hour and freeze the other disk. Otherwise, if you’re making two tarts, refrigerate both disks of dough for an hour.

For the filling:

• 4 or 5 McIntosh apples
• grated zest of a small orange
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 a stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1 egg, beaten with a tablespoon of water

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
3. Peel the apples and quarter them. Cut each quarter into three pieces. Toss the apples with the orange zest and set aside.
4. On a well-floured surface, roll your disk of dough into an 11-inch circle. (If the dough is too hard from being refrigerated, let it sit for a few minutes.) Once you’ve rolled out the dough, fold it into quarters or roll it around a rolling pin and transfer the circle to the prepared baking sheet.
5. Pile the apple mixture on the dough, being sure to leave a 1-1/2 to 2-inch border all the way around.
6. Combine the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour the topping into a bowl and, with your fingers, work the butter until the topping starts to hold together. Sprinkle the topping on the apples.
7. Brush egg wash over the border of dough. Carefully begin folding the border up and over the apples. The dough should partially cover the apples all the way around.
8. Once you’ve folded the dough up and over, brush the egg wash over the dough.
9. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. The apples will be tender.
10. Enjoy!

Note:  This tart serves 6, although I could have very easily eaten one on my own. Instead of McIntosh apples, you can also use Macoun or Empire.

Technorati tags:  apples, crostata, tarts