Satsuma Plum Tart

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 Beautiful Satsuma plums went into the making of this simple plum tart.

A little sugar and a touch of fortified wine to deepen the flavors is all I added.

The plums wanted to shine.

Farmers market plums from Neukom Family Farm:  Local.  Organic.  Meaty.  Plump.  Juicy.  Deeply red inside and out.  Aren't they sweethearts?  They're even shaped like hearts.  And they taste every bit as delicious as they look, whether eaten out of hand or in this tart.  I used all ten of these in the filling.

As you will see in the recipe, I made this tart with a flour-based crust and regular white sugar.  But since I more often than not espouse using gluten free flours and little to no sugar, I've included measurements for those as well.

Not much more to say.  I'll let the plums do the talking.

Satsuma Plum Tart
Christine's original recipe
Makes one 10-inch tart

For the dough:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (or 140 grams gluten free flour)
• 2 teaspoons sugar (or 1 packet Splenda)
• 1/3 cup salted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon cold water

For the filling:

• 10 or so Satsuma plums, sliced 1/4-inch thick (should make 3-4 cups sliced)
• 2 tablespoons sugar (or 1 tablespoon Splenda-Sugar Blend)
• 2 tablespoons Dubonnet Rouge (optional)
• Tapioca starch if needed

To make the crust, pulse the flour and sugar together in a food processor.
Add the butter and pulse until the butter is the size of peas and incorporated into the flour.
Using the feed tube, add the cream while pulsing.
Add the water a small amount at a time while pulsing until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Gather up the dough in plastic wrap and make a ball to bring it all together.
Roll the dough out on a floured cloth to a 12-inch diameter.
Gently roll the dough onto your rolling pin and unroll over the tart dish.
Gently push the dough into the dish; you should have a 2-inch overhand all around.  Trim this to 1-inch then tuck under so the edge is now just inside the tart dish and about a quarter-inch higher.  Gently push the edges into the scallops of the dish.
Place into the fridge to chill for at least one-half hour.

To make the filling, toss the sliced plums, sugar and Dubonnet Rouge together and allow to sit at room temperature for at least one-half hour.
If your plums make a lot of juice in the bowl, toss them with a teaspoon or so of tapioca starch.  The starch will become clear upon baking and will not discolor the finished tart.

Bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the plums are cooked through and bubbly.  I had to lower the heat to 350 after 50 minutes to finish baking the tart without over-browning the crust.

When the tart is done, place it on a wire rack and allow it to cool to room temperature.

Slice and serve simply, as is, or adorn with whipped cream, creme Anglaise (vanilla custard sauce), or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

Copyright 2005-2012, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Strawberry Galette with Triple Sec and Bananas

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Bananas? Not seeing bananas?

My secret ingredient. Keep reading...

First, the strawberries: So sweet and tender from Neukom Family Farm, we gobbled up a bunch of them within hours of purchase from the farmers' market, had barely enough leftover, getting a bit soft, not enough for a pie, not for ice cream, not enough, really, for much.

But a galette, now, might have just enough for that.

Turns out, I needed a bit more than the 2 scant cups of sliced strawberries in the center of the galette. When I looked around the kitchen, I saw only bananas.

Taking an idea from cheese-stuffed pizza crust, I put the sliced bananas in a ring around the strawberries, which gave me just enough fruit substance to make this work.

Slather the top of the dough with well-beaten egg whites then sprinkle with a bit of sugar.

I keep a small jar of vanilla sugar around for just such an occasion.

Just out of the oven. Slice while warm or at room temperature. Serve unadorned or with your favorite ice cream.

Still wondering about those bananas? Look closely.

Strawberry Galette with Triple Sec and Bananas
Christine's original recipe (galette dough inspired by the recipe in
Rustic Fruit Desserts)Ingredients:for the pastry dough (be sure to give yourself time for the dough to chill 1 hour)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons Splenda sugar blend
1/2 teaspoon fine kosher salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter (divided) cut into 1/2-inch cubes (See Cook's Notes)
4-6 tablespoons ice water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (I pretty much always use Meyers)
1 egg white, beaten
1-2 teaspoons vanilla sugar (See Cook's Notes)

Dough preparation:Use 3/4 cup butter for the pastry and keep it in the fridge (cut up) until ready to use. Reserve the rest of the butter for finishing the galette (Instructions below.)
Combine the lemon juice with the ice water and set aside.
In a bowl, combine the flours, sugar and salt until well mixed.
Sprinkle the butter pieces over the flour and quickly toss to cover each piece in flour.
Transfer flour mixture to a food processor and pulse in short bursts until the butter is cut into small pieces about the size of peas. Don't over process.
Pulsing in short bursts, drizzle the ice water through the feed tube 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Pinch a small amount of the dough between your fingers. If it holds together, that's enough processing.
Dump the dough onto a pastry cloth and knead a few times to bring it together. Shape it into a ball then press it down into a flat round.
Cover in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
For the strawberries:2 cups (more if you have them) sliced sweet, ripe strawberries
1-2 tablespoons Triple Sec
1 teaspoon splenda sugar blend (if needed)
Preparation for the strawberries:
Toss the sliced berries with the sugar and liqueur. Set aside to let the juices form.
For the bananas:3 small, ripe bananas, sliced
1 tablespoon (heaping) splenda brown sugar blend
1/2 teaspoon Meyer lemon juice
2 teaspoons Triple Sec
Preparation for the bananas:Toss the bananas with the lemon juice as you are slicing them, this will keep them from turning brown.
Toss with the brown sugar and liqueur and set aside.

Putting it all together:Bring the galette dough out of the fridge 15 minutes before rolling so it can soften.
Using a pastry cloth and long rolling pin sprinkled with flour, roll the dough into a circle 14 to 16 inches in diameter. The dough should be about 1/4-inch thick.
Transfer the rolled dough to a parchment-covered large pizza pan or baking sheet (dough will overlap sides).
Mound the strawberry mixture in the center of the dough, spreading it out slightly, then sprinkle the banana mixture evenly around the strawberries to within 2-3 inches from the edge of the dough. Be sure to include all the fruit juices when you do this.

Remember those extra 2 tablespoons of butter? Sprinkle them evenly over the strawberries and bananas now. (This is optional but will make the galette richer. As if it wouldn't be already without the butter.)

Begin folding the outer edges of the dough over the bananas and some of the strawberries, pleating the dough as you go around so it will look rustically beautiful like the photos above.
Using a pastry brush, brush the beaten egg white all over the top of the dough, then sprinkle generously with the vanilla sugar.
Bake in a 425-degree oven for 30 minutes then turn the oven down to 350 and bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown and the fruit filling is bubbly.
Remove from the oven and place the entire pan on a rack to cool.
Cook's Notes:Vanilla sugar may be made by placing a vanilla bean in a jar of baker's sugar (superfine), closing the lid, giving it a shake, and storing it until you need it. I leave the bean in until the sugar is all used up; for me, that can be a year or more.As I've said before, use a really high quality butter for your pie or galette dough and you almost can't go wrong. I use Strauss Family Creamery unsalted butter for its high butterfat-low moisture content. It doesn't fail me. Keep it very cold until you're ready to use it.

Copyright © 2005-2009, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Basic Pie Crust with Whole Wheat Flour

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For years I made my mother's pie crust: 3 cups flour, 1 cup shortening, 1 teaspoon salt, 3-4 tablespoons cold water.

Then, yuk!, we found out about what shortening can do to the arteries and I switched to butter.

Then we found out how darned important fiber is and I switched to whole wheat flour.

Over the years I kept tweaking the recipe until it no longer resembled my mother's.

Sadly I stopped making pies altogether because the crust just didn't come out right.

Then along came a really nice whole wheat pastry flour and I started experimenting with pie crust again.

And now, finally, I think I've got it.

I'm convinced that it all comes down to the butter. Use an unsalted butter that is high in butterfat and low in moisture, and keep it very, very cold when you use it.

Whole Wheat Pastry Flour Pie Crust

Christine's original recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup unbleached, organic all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon sugar

2/3 cup COLD unsalted European or European-style butter, cut into small cubes, keep cold

1 tablespoon cold cream

3 tablespoons cold water (more if necessary)

Preparation:

Place the flours, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor.

Pulse a few times to mix.

Add the cubes of butter all at once and use small pulses until the butter resembles small peas. Don't over process.

With the feed tube thingy removed, pulse as you add the cream, then pulse as you add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl and is no longer crumbly.

Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic, flatten into a disc and refrigerate for 1 hour (can be left in fridge for a day or two).

Remove from the fridge and allow to rest for about 15 minutes.

Cut the ball in 2 equal pieces.

Flour a flat surface and your rolling pin then roll out one piece of the dough into a circle 12 to 14- inches in diameter and 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick.

Roll the dough onto your pin and drape over a pie plate, settling the dough into the plate.

Trim to a 1-inch overhang.

Fill with your favorite filling.

Repeat the instructions for the top crust.

Here is a good link for learning how to crimp pie crust.

Cook's Notes:

I made a strawberry-rhubarb pie using this crust recipe. The crust was flaky and buttery but not oily. Moreover, it passed the discerning guests taste test, making it a crust to blog about.

Copyright © 2005-2009, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

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Although it's still chilly here on the northern California coast, flowers are blooming, leaves are greening, swallows are nesting, and our local food co-op is bursting with strawberries and rhubarb. What's a girl to do?

It took some years before I attempted to make strawberry-rhubarb pie. Something about rhubarb. . . Peel it first? Cook it before combining with strawberries? Look at a recipe for guidance?

You're kidding, right?

That's like a guy asking for directions.

Doesn't happen.

So I simply didn't make one.

I guess with age comes the desire to be more daring (she says wryly): Yesterday, after bringing home super-sweet strawberries and ruby-red rhubarb, I just plunged right in. I must say, for a first time it's a pretty tasty pie. And yeah, I did look up how to deal with rhubarb. And I'm not too awfully embarrassed about it. I've never claimed to be the baker in the family, although I swear I could feel my mother, the pie baker extraordinnaire, smiling as she looked over my shoulder during this process.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Christine's original recipe (with help about rhubarb from my old Joy of Cooking)
Ingredients:
Enough crust to make a double-crust pie, divided in half (post will be is linked here)
3 and 1/2 cups strawberries, washed, hulled and cut in half
3 and 1/2 cups rhubarb, washed and cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/2 cup Splenda granular
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon Meyer lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or cardamom
3 tablespoons Minute Tapioca
pinch kosher salt
1 egg white, beaten
2 teaspoons sugar for the top crust of the pie
Preparation:
Pre-heat the oven to 400-degrees.
In a large bowl, using clean hands, mix together the berries, rhubarb, sugar, Splenda, lemon juice, spice, salt and tapioca.
Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes to allow juices to form and the tapioca to soften.
Meanwhile, roll out 1/2 of the pie dough into a 13-inch round. Fit into an 11-inch glass pie plate and trim crust to a 1-inch overhang all around the edges.
Pour the fruit mixture into the bottom crust, allowing it to mound in the center.
Roll out the second half of dough in the same dimensions and gently place over the fruit mixture.
Tuck under both bottom and top crusts together all around the pie plate and pinch or crimp to your liking. Here is a good place to start if you don't know how to do it.
Cut slits in the top crust then brush the beaten egg white all over the top, including the crimping. Sprinkle with the 2 teaspoons sugar.
Place the pie on rack in the middle of the 400-degree oven and bake for 1/2 hour. Immediately lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 25 minutes more or until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling out.
Remove from the oven and place the pie on a rack until cooled.
Enjoy!

Copyright © 2005-2009, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Meyer Lemon And Mascarpone Tart In A Whole Wheat Pâte Sucré

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"Eat dessert first," George always said. "Life's too @#!*%ing short!"

So I'll begin my summer posting with dessert and a recipe inspired by and adapted from my regional French cooking guru, Chef Alex Begovic, executive chef of the posh and rather exclusive Ingomar Club in the Carson Mansion.

I love Chef Alex's approach to food and teaching: Simple, fresh, organic, local whenever possible, a little cooking lore thrown in with a bit of opinion, and the ingredients messed with as little as possible to get the best results. I don't know if he would agree with that sentence, but it's how I see him. It's also why I enjoy taking his classes.

This creamy lemon filling (recipe below) made with my beloved Meyer lemons is a perfect accompaniment to fresh organic berries, and really you could stop right there and bring it to the table.

But make a pâte sucré with whole wheat pastry flour,

spread with mascarpone cheese,

topped with Meyer lemon filling and a ring of raspberries, and you've just outdone yourself.

Ta da!

Meyer Lemon and Mascarpone Tart with Raspberries

Lemon filling recipe adapted from Chef Alex Begovic, pâte sucré recipe adapted from Food Network (yes, I actually go there once in a while). Inspiration, my own.

Whole Wheat Pâte Sucré

(pronounced paht soo-cray, equally accented syllables, it means sugared dough)

Makes one blind-baked pie shell

Ingredients:

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons Splenda Sugar Blend (can use 2 tablespoons sugar if preferred)

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup sweet butter cut into small pieces, keep cold

2 tablespoons cream or half 'n half

(1 cup mascarpone cheese for later. See instructions below.)

Preparation:

Combine the flours and sugar and place in a food processor. Add the cold butter pieces and pulse a few times until mixture is like coarse bread crumbs.

Add the egg and the cream and pulse until the dough begins to leave the sides of the bowl. You may have to add a bit more cream, depending on the type of flour you're using. The dough can look a bit ragged at this point.

Gather the dough together in waxed paper to form a ball, then gently press it into a circle. Put it in the fridge for at least 1 hour. At this point, the dough can be in the fridge overnight (well wrapped) to be used the following day if desired.

To bake, using a well-floured rolling pin, roll the dough out on a floured board to about 1/8-inch thickness. Place it in a tart pan (removable bottom optional), gently patting and manipulating until it fits snugly into the pan, trim the edges even with the top edge and prick the bottom of the dough all over with a fork.

Line the dough with a piece of parchment paper cut a bit larger than the tart pan, then fill with pie weights or beans.

Bake for about 20 minutes in a 375-degree oven or until the crust is golden brown.

Remove the pie weights and the parchment and allow the shell to cool completely on a wire rack.

When cooled, spread the mascarpone cheese over the bottom of the crust. Refrigerate while making the filling.

Meyer Lemon Filling

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Meyer lemon juice

4 eggs

3 tablespoons Splenda Sugar Blend (or 6 tablespoons sugar)

1/2 cup butter, cut into small pieces

lemon zest from 1 lemon

Preparation:

Place the eggs and sugar into a heavy saucepan, preferrably stainless steel, and beat with a hand mixer or whisk until the mixture is pale yellow and has thickened.

Whisk in the lemon juice and butter and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter has melted and the mixture reaches a simmer and thickens to the consistency of pudding.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the lemon zest, whisking a bit longer to help the cooling process.

Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and cool in the fridge until all the heat has been released.

Putting it Together:

Remove the mascarpone-filled pie shell from the fridge and pour the cooled lemon filling into it, spreading it smoothly to the edges.

Garnish with berries and take to the table so your friends and family can make all the appropriately appreciative murmurings before you begin to slice and serve.

Cook's Notes:

I hope it's obvious that you must prepare the different components of this dessert allowing enough time for everything to cool sufficiently. Pouring hot, or even warm, lemon filling over the mascarpone will result in a melted mess. Please don't do that.

Could you make the pie shell using just all-purpose flour? Of course you could. But this recipe works well with the whole wheat flour added, which adds fiber, which is healthier for you, so why not?

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Mincemeat Eggnog Pie And A Few Resolutions

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I staunchly don't make new year's resolutions. Too many failed promises to myself have made a non-believer of me. As is often done with the optimism of beginning a new year, we (I) set the barr too high, setting ourselves (myself) up for failure.

However, not only to contradict myself but in spite of my staunchness, two resolutions crept quietly into my brain on January 1st. Quiet being key. If I'm going to make resolutions that I never make, why would I let someone else know about them only to break them yet again or admit I made them in the first place?

So I let those resolutions sit there for a few days to see if they, or my mind, would change. Nope. I scrutinized them for built-in failure and found them to be sound. Baby-step resolutions I call them. I think I can do this. And now, in true blogger fashion, I will share.

The photo above is just one of the reasons I will be sitting around less (blogging), moving around more (gardening), and eating smaller, smarter portions in 2008. That's resolution number one. Notice I did not say "lose weight."

Resolution number two is to divest myself of clutter. The first step here is to admit that I'm a pack-rat -- and a rather messy one at that.

I'm happy to say that I've already begun the clutter-clearing endeavor: food that we won't be using has been delivered to the food bank; clothes that will no longer be worn have been delivered to the thrift shop with more to gather; a few cookbooks from my enormous library have been gifted as have a few knick-knacks that I find I can live without. As soon as I finish this post I will start on my very cluttered office.

As for resolution number one, sticking to resolution number two will keep me moving for quite some time this year, right into the gardening season. The smaller, smarter portion size? My new mantra is: If you're hungry you must be losing weight. Ok, I said it. Really though, eating less is the goal.

And the pie? Well, my sister made up the recipe and it was delicious, if a bit (alot) rich, sweet and gooey, so I'm putting it here, adapted to my preferences, to remind myself of my baby-step resolutions.

May you all enjoy sweetness and light in the new year and may all your resolutions be small ones.

Mincemeat Eggnog Pie
recipe adapted from my sister Cynthia's original (Thank you!)
Ingredients:
for the filling -
1 27-ounce jar good mincemeat pie filling
1 cup low-fat eggnog
1/2 cup egg substitute plus 2 egg yolks slightly beaten, or 3 whole eggs
1 Granny smith apple, peeled cored and chopped
1/2 cup slivered almonds
for the pie dough -
2 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup Earth Balance Buttery Sticks, or butter, cut into small pieces
pinch salt
1/4 cup Splenda-Sugar blend or 1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons ice water
Preparation:

Make the pie dough first.

In a food processor, pulse the flour, salt and Splenda-sugar blend a few times until blended.

Add the EB to the flour mixture and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

While pulsing, add the ice water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl. It will still be crumbly.

Pinch the dough to test it. If it holds together, dump it out of the processor and gather it all together into a ball then press into a disk shape. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

While the dough is chilling, combine all the filling ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well.

Roll the pie dough into a round big enough to drape over the sides of a glass pie plate. Trim and flute the edges.

Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust and bake in a 425 oven for 15 minutes then lower the temperature to 350 and bake an additional 45 minutes or until the filling has set.

Allow the pie to cool on a rack to room temperature. The filling will set further as it cools.

To serve:

Cut into very tiny slices and serve with Splenda or sugar-sweetened whipped cream (or not) to as many people as you can so you don't eat too much yourself. When the pie is all gone, resolve to not make it again for at least 1 year.

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved