Almond Tart a la Lindsey Shere

This caramel-y, nutty tart will knock your socks off!

Lindsey Shere was the pastry chef at Chez Panisse for 25 years and made this tart on their opening night. I stumbled upon this recipe that was posted on the LA Times website earlier this year, and it was printed from the "Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook" (Random House, 1982). Lindsey also published the recipe in her "Chez Panisse Desserts" (Random House, 1985). Like many things that were popular in the 80's, recipes  won't necessarily stand the test of time, however this one is a keeper!


Perfect Tart Crust





TART PASTRY

1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3 to 4 drops almond extract
3 to 4 drops vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cold water
FILLING
1 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch salt

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
1 tablespoon kirsch
2 drops almond extract
1 cup blanched sliced almonds

TART PASTRY
Cut butter into bits and let soften slightly. Mix flour and sugar in bowl. Cut butter into flour with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Combine almond and vanilla extracts with cold water in small bowl, then quickly stir mixture into flour. Gather dough into ball and flatten slightly. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour.
Allow dough to stand at room temperature briefly until it is malleable. Roll out dough and press into 9-inch tart form with removable ring, reserving small amount. Press dough evenly over bottom and sides of pan, about 1/8-inch thick, and extend dough 1/8 inch above top of ring. Prick shell lightly and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Dough may be refrigerated 8 hours or frozen.
Partly bake tart shell at 400 degrees until shell begins to set and brown, about 10 minutes. Remove shell to cake rack and cool to room temperature. Patch any holes in shell by smoothing very small bit of reserved dough over tears.
The pastry I made for this tart came out perfect! I've had my share of failures when it comes to tart pastry. Once, when attempting an apple pie, the butter was too soft and the crust came out mealy like sand. Make sure your butter is chilled and you're using ice water! Work the dough as little as possible and chill it in a flat disk. I did have to patch up a few tears, but it stayed together nicely after the tart was baked. Practice tarts on your family and friends to get the hang of it.


FILLING
Bring whipping cream, sugar, salt, Grand Marnier, kirsch and almond extract to full rolling boil in large, heavy saucepan. Cook until liquid bubbles thickly and has silky texture, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add almonds. Set aside 15 minutes to steep, then pour into prepared tart shell.
I didn't have Grand Marnier in the house, which was a shame because it's my favorite after dinner drink. I substituted the Mamajuana my sister brought back from the Dominican Republic--it's at least the 2nd or 3rd time it's come in handy as a sub for another liqueur on which I didn't feel like spending $40. It had a more caramel-y taste as opposed to GM's orange-y, but still complimentary to the Almond Tart. Oddly enough, I did have just a tablespoon of kirsch left, probably from making a cheese fondue.

Boiling creamy filling

Line floor of oven with aluminum foil and bake tart on center rack at 350 degrees 20 to 30 minutes. Filling will bubble up and may overflow, then settle and begin to caramelize. Rotate tart frequently during last 15 minutes of baking so top is even deep golden brown. Remove tart to cake rack and let cool to room temperature before cutting.

Bake little Tart, Bake!

Very hard to wait for the tart to cool before digging in.
It smelled WONDERFUL.

Only 1 piece?

a la mode optional. I preferred it plain.

Boozy Cherry Gratin

This year I decided not to purchase a share of any Community Supported Agriculture. This is not because I didn't enjoy the amazing fresh, organic product or because I don't support the local programs. This year I want to explore more local farmer's markets and roadside stands...not to mention I don't want to feel pressured to eat arugula every day for 2 months. Right around the corner from where we live, Protinick Farm Stand that sells the best cherries. They have both black cherries, which are actually dark red, and Rainier cherries which are yellow and red and while they're never at a bargain price, they're entirely worth it! I tend to enjoy my fruit fresh and raw, and Chris is not crazy about cooked fruit, but I found a recipe on Lara Ferroni's blog for Boozy Cherry Gratin. Boozy. Cherry. Gratin. All three words conjure up irresistible thoughts of an addictive, gooey summer dessert that I just had to try! I followed the recipe exactly and here are the fruits of my labor:

Macerating Cherries
The Grand Marnier is so fragrant!

Whisking the custard. Custard is amazing along or
layered with raw macerated cherries as Lara suggests.

Gratin from the oven. Be patient and let it cool!
Sweet Cherry juice is hot straight from the broiler.

Pretty, layered in a glass dish.

The final product is light, not too sweet, creamy and tangy. The Grand Marnier and rose' wine gives a lovely boozy flavor in the back of your throat. This savory dessert is a stellar finish to any summertime meal!

eScape your routine and discover new flavors!

Few people I know dislike the flavor of garlic. It's widely used in many cuisines across the globe and it's great for your immune system. Not to mention keeping pesky vampires away! When we had our 1/2 CSA share last year, we enjoyed fresh garlic. The bulbs you find in your local grocery store are not fresh, they're dried. And they're often old and close to sprouting themselves. When selecting garlic close your eyes (or just look away so people don't think you have some weird relationship with garlic) and feel the weight. If it feels heavy for it's size, then it's probably in good shape. I'm often comparing similarly sized bulbs with one in each hand to find the best one. Hey, it's better than walking down the aisle with a cantaloupe in each hand like I did the other day...why did I park my cart so far away?!

This year I decided to skip the CSA and explore some different Farmer's Markets in the areas I work and live. Plus, Mom and Dad have planted wonderful veggies this year so I'll reap the benefits of their garden too. Last weekend I found garlic scapes. I thought they were snake beans which I had seen in the Asian Market or maybe some type of super scallions. The woman at the farm stand said you can use them just like the bulbs, so I bought a bunch!

Recently I've chopped them into vinaigrette for salads, sauteed them with mushrooms and roasted them with green and wax beans. In each method of preparation they're delicious! Raw they have a bite so you know it's garlic, but it's a much earthier, grassier flavor than the bulb. When sauteed or roasted they become caramelized, sweet and crunchy. This article about garlic scapes is great and I'll be trying the recipe as soon as I get a hold of another bunch tomorrow! The roasted beans, from Mom and Dad's garden, came out pretty tasty though:

Wash the beans and snap off the plant end--I used about 3 handfuls of beans. Dry them and place them in a medium bowl. Drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Chop 2 garlic scapes and toss them in with your beans. Set the toaster oven on broil and let it heat up a bit. (I use the toaster oven more frequently in the summer if I can. It's 90 degrees and we live on the top floor of a condo building. Saves on sweat and energy!)

Roast the beans until they become soft and brown in spots. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and return to the toaster oven until the nuts begin to brown. Remove the beans and use a microplane to zest a tablespoon of lemon on top and give the dish a squeeze of lemon juice. Toss and serve!

The photo's blurry, it's not your eyes.
I'll do better next time; I guess I was hungry.