Martha Thinks

Friday, March 16, 2012

Excellent Adventure - Pear and Dried Cherry Tart


Today's lesson, while quite important, did not offer as glamourous result as the cream puff swan of last week's class. This week was pie and tart dough - pate brisee and pate sucre. Whew. That's a tough one. I realized I had been making pie dough incorrectly my whole life! It's a relatively thankless task - until you get to to take a bite and realize you've done it well. Cutting in the butter, stretching out the dough, refrigerating, gently rolling out the dough, 1/4 turns every time and blind baking with parchment paper and beans on top.

Then while the crust is baking, preparing the pie filling. Take crust out, place filling in...bake some more. I was worn out by the end of class! I chose the Pear and Dried Cherry Tart with a little cognac and a dash of rosemary added for flavor. Very good and a little unusual.

I forgot my camera (again!) so I didn't get to take the wonderful how-to photos that I saw in my head every 30 seconds of the teacher rolling out the dough, placing it in the tart pan and expertly cutting off the ends and shaping the crust. Some other pies made my classmates made were blueberry & white chocolate, tomato and pesto quiche, sweet potato pie and a visually lovely fresh fruit tart.

I'm still having fun.
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2 comments:

  1. Heather B. SchultzMarch 19, 2012 at 9:38 PM

    Hi Martha! I just got a recommendation to check out your blog by a gentleman you might know pretty well, and who I went to Locust Valley High School with! I love your pix, topics and writing! How very cool! Just wanted to let you know I checked it out! Best, Heather (Bow) Schultz

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  2. Oh what a nice compliment, thank you. I kept emailing my friends little stories and pictures and one of them said more than a few times..."you should start a blog". It's a great outlet if you have things to say.

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