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Today, we’re putting the past three days of kitchen work together. Here are assembly tips and tricks to make a delicious tart that has the distinct taste of Saffron, mingled with the sweet and familiar brightness of lemon, and topped off with a smooth butter cream. I was really pleased with the outcome.

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Ingredients:

• one jar lemon curd
• one cooked tart shell
• one batch (about 2 cups) Saffron Crème Pâtissière
• two cups Italian Meringue Buttercream
• Candied Lemons* (optional) to garnish

 

I generally assemble the same day I bake the tart shells, once they’ve completely cooled. They should be assembled while in the pans to maintain support on the sides, and then plated before serving.

Start by spreading a layer of lemon curd on the bottom of your shell. Using the back of a spoon, smear it around so it’s level throughout.

To loosen the cold Crème Pâtissière, melt one Tablespoon of butter and drizzle it into the Crème while stirring.

If you try to put this directly on the curd, it’ll stick and pull both up and out of the shell. Instead, use a pastry bag to pipe a thick cylinder of Crème on top of the curd.

Fill a new pastry bag with Italian Meringue Buttercream and using a star tip, pipe a decorative trim or dollop on top of the Crème.

If desired, top your tarts with quartered Candied Lemons.

Plate and serve. These will keep in the fridge for 2 days. I’ve got to say, I liked this a lot. It was fresh and unique and totally satisfied the “foody” in me.

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*Instructions for Candied Lemons coming soon! I just couldn’t wait one more day to get to the tart…

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This is by far the most smooth, cloudy, sweet-but-not-sickly-sweet, no-shortening-real-butter butter cream I know how to make. The flavor is delicate and pairs best with cakes and fillings that want to stand out on their own.

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup egg whites
• 1 lb. unsalted butter (4 sticks), at room temperature
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Using a double boiler, whisk the egg whites and sugar together over medium heat until they’re steaming and hot to the touch.

 

You’ll want to stir constantly so the eggs do not curdle, but don’t whisk too vigorously or you’ll start to stiffen the egg white. Just keep it nice and frothy…

 

A little tip via run-on sentence: keep a wet dishcloth nearby so that when you stick your finger in the egg/sugar mix and it’s slightly under scalding and it sticks to your finger and you can’t get to the sink cause you’re still stirring your egg whites and you don’t want to teach the kids new swear words, you can just quickly wipe it off. (Yes. I speak from experience.)

 

Quickly transfer the HOT egg whites to a mixer and crank it up to high.

 

Keep whisking until the egg whites have reached stiff peaks.

Turn your mixer back on to medium and incorporate the butter in chunks (make sure the butter is soft).

Then add your flavoring and whisk on high for one minute until the butter smooths out.

Store what’s left (I know you “sampled.” I’m not judging.) in the fridge until tomorrow.

 

…We’re going to put it all together.

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A sweet, short paste is a standard dough that can be used as the base for sugar cookies, tarts, pie crusts, and quiches. It has just enough sugar to get a hint of sweet, but is not exclusive to desserts. It’s also not as high in fat or sugar as a sugar crust, so it holds up well and gives a sturdy structure to its filling.

Today we’re making this as a tart shell to house our Saffron Crème Pâtissière and some other delicious elements that we’ll make tomorrow.

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Ingredients:

• 3 c pastry flour
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• ½ tsp. salt
• 10 Tablespoons COLD unsalted butter
• 4 ½ Tablespoons COLD shortening
• ½ c to 3/4 c ice-cold water

(This recipe will yield enough dough for two 7”-9” tarts or a full top & bottom enclosed pie crust; the recipe can be halved if needed.)

Preheat the oven to 400°

Grease your tart pans well and set aside.

Combine your dry ingredients

cut your butter and shortening into 1/2″ cubes

and plop them into the flour mix.

Pinch the fats in by scooping them up with the tips of your fingers and squeezing them into the flours. Try to keep the dough away from the middle of your hands where you emit more heat. You want the butters to stay in tact.

Using a mixer or food processor, slowly add the water into the flour/butter mix until you have a thick, but combined dough.

The final blending or “fraisage” is what smooths the butter into the flour to create a paste.

Using only the heel of your hand,

press down,

and smear the dough in 6” runs across a lightly floured surface. Turn the dough and repeat until the butter is well combined.

Flour your dough and seal it in cling wrap to chill for a minimum of 3 hours. (I usually leave it overnight.)

Once it’s fully chilled, roll out your crust to 1/4” thickness and place in your pans.

If you’re making mini-tarts, use a biscuit cutter to fit the pan

and depress into the cavity.

For a full size tart, gently press the edges without letting them get too thin

and flatten the edge with your thumb while slicing the excess dough.

To prevent the crust from rising, line with crumpled parchment paper

and fill with uncooked beans (or pie weights)

or another cake pan that’s one size smaller.

Bake for 8-9 minutes and remove from the oven.

Take out the weights (you’ll see the shell is not fully cooked)

 and poke holes with a fork throughout the bottom.

Return to the oven for an additional 8-10 minutes until the crust is thoroughly cooked and starting to turn pale gold.

When it has cooled, remove it from the pan to cool and crisp up and receive your fillings.

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To be continued…

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I woke up this morning with one, singular thought on my mind: Saffron Crème Pâtissière needs to exist. And thus, a recipe is born…

Saffron is an extraordinary spice. It is actually the stamen of a Crocus flower that grows in Greece and is used in Indian and some Middle-Eastern cooking. It’s earthy and aromatic and is often found in breads or rice. I’ve had a precious little vial of it, sitting on my counter for a couple of weeks. But this is what I do when I want to create a new thing: I let it stare at me from a kitchen shelf until voila! I wake up with its new identity in mind.

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups milk
• 1 ¼ teaspoon saffron threads
• ½ teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sugar
• 5 egg yolks
• ½ cup pastry flour
• 1 Tablespoon butter

Begin by measuring your saffron threads,

and putting them in a sauce pan with your milk.

Bring your milk to a boil slowly, letting the saffron infuse until the milk is golden.

This will take some time, so while you wait…

 

Prepare your flavorings and butter so they’re ready to go into the pastry creme as soon as you remove it from heat (later).

And beat the egg yolks with the sugar on high

until it turns soft yellow and thick, about 2-3 minutes.

Beat the flour into the egg yolk/sugar mix and let it sit while you…

 

Prepare a pouring vessel with a sieve

and pass the boiling milk through to collect the saffron threads.

In a SUPER slow drizzle, over a medium-high mixer, gradually add the boiling milk to the egg/sugar/flour mix.

Then transfer it into a medium sauce pan and whisk the bejeezus out of it over a med-high heat. Don’t Stop! Once it comes to a boil, put the heat to low and continue whisking for 2-3 minutes. This is the forearm workout of the month, but don’t give up or your creme will curdle and burn.

Remove it from the heat and quickly whisk in the butter and flavorings.

Put it in a container and cover the top of the creme with cling wrap so it doesn’t form a skin. Throw it into the fridge for at least 4 hours, but preferably over night. It’ll keep for a week in the fridge, but can also be frozen after it chills.

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This is Day One of a three to four day dessert, so stay with me…

see you tomorrow.

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The harvest is washed. It’s time for pie.

Now, admittedly, I’m sort of particular with apple pie. It can’t be too sweet, or it looses autumnal spice and doesn’t set off vanilla ice cream. It can’t be too mushy, or it’s just applesauce with crust. And it can’t be too tart, or it puckers the lips and requires too much sugar to get it down. I give you my (Goldilocks’) favorite recipe…

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Ingredients:

• 1 Top and Bottom Pie Crust
• 6-8 Large Haralson Apples (Firm and Tart is key)
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves
• 2 Tablespoon flour
• 2 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 4 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• Turbinado sugar for sprinkling the crust

 

Preheat your oven to 350°.

Grease and flour a 9” deep dish pie plate.

Fill a large bowl with cold water and add the lemon juice.

Peel, core, and slice your apples. And cut them in halves.

If you have a handy, old fashioned apple peeler, this goes super fast.

Soak the peeled apples in the lemon water to prevent browning.

Add the remaining ingredients (except the butter) to a mixing bowl

and combine until they look like this:

Drain the apples,

and add them gently to the ingredient crumble, folding them in so they don’t break.

Roll out your bottom crust,

lay it in your greased pan,

fill it with apples,

plop the butter on top in ½” cubes,

cover it with your top crust, (crust pinching instructions here)

whisk an egg white until frothy

to give the crust a nice coat,

sprinkle with turbinado sugar,

cut steam vents,

bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes, until the juices are bubbling at the vents,

and serve* (preferably with vanilla ice cream)…

The apples are still crisp,
the spices are pronounced,
the gravy is butter,
and the crust cracks at the fork.
O joy.

 

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*This pie stays quite liquid until fully cooled. I have luck when I let it cool, refrigerate it, slice it and heat the individual slices in bowls. If you cut into it right out of the oven because you can’t wait (I do this EVERY year), you’ll have apple soup. It’s really good apple soup…

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As rewarding as the First Harvest of the season, the Last Harvest comes, and is just as sweet. Where spring-cut rhubarb promised the first of fresh-fruit-bakery, ripe, red apples beg you to come in, come home, come be warm and full.

For fall is upon us, and the best kind of heat emits from ovens that perfume the air with cinnamon and spice.

From the tree…

to the bushel…

to the bowl upon the shelf…

Any guesses on tomorrow’s good thing?

 

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I make Boxty Bread once a year, on St. Patrick’s Day. Did you know that St. Patrick’s Day doesn’t come until MARCH?!?!? I couldn’t wait. Apparently, I now make this twice a year. (until I can’t wait again…)

So, what is boxty bread? It’s a bread common to Irish cuisine, and unlike the more well-known Irish Soda Bread, it uses potatoes to create a dense and moist interior and is usually made savory with Caraway. It is an un-yeasted bread that rises with baking powder. This is good in that it reduces rising time. However, it is far more time intensive than most breads because the only rest YOU get is when it goes in the oven. That said, it’s totally worth it.

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Ingredients:

• 2 pounds gold or yellow potatoes (about 7-8)
• 2 Tablespoons Irish butter (or one Tbl. salted/one Tbl. unsalted)
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 ½ teaspoons caraway
• 3 cups flour
• 5 teaspoons baking powder
• butter for serving
• orange marmalade for serving

 

Preheat your oven to 375°.

Lay parchment paper on a baking sheet or you can use a baking stone that’s been preheated with your oven.

Peel your potatoes

cut 5-6 of them (1 ½ pounds) into ½” chunks and boil them in water for 10 minutes.

While they’re boiling, grate the remaining 2-3 potatoes. You can use a traditional grater or food processor with grate attachment.

Wrap them in cheesecloth

and ring out the excess moisture.

They will be damp to the touch, but no longer wet.

When your boiled potatoes are soft, drain the liquid and put them back in the pot.

Add your butter and let it melt.

Using a mixer or beater, mash those ‘taters until they’re smooth.

Combine the milk, 1 teaspoon of your salt, pepper, and caraway in a mixing bowl

add the grated potatoes

and the mashed

and mix.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and remaining 1 teaspoon of salt,

and mix it into the potato dough.

Time to get your hands dirty –

Knead the bread until it’s well combined, but don’t be concerned about developing gluten structure. Your goal is to have a sturdy dough to shape.

Once kneaded, flour your hands and divide the dough into four (my picture has 8 as I’m making a double batch). Make them into balls and flatten them into discs on your parchment or stone.

Make a ¼” slit in the shape of an X to keep out the evil spirits.

Bake for 35 minutes until they’re golden and firm, and then rotate them. If you’ve been using a cookie sheet, lift them with a spatula and place them directly onto the oven rack.

Bake for an additional 5-15 minutes, until they’re deeply golden. You’ll know they’re done by inserting a metal skewer or knife into the center of your loaf and having it come out dry.

These are absolutely best served hot. The crunchy crust will disappear once cooled. If you need to make them in advance, just reheat in the oven before serving.

Cut them into quarters. Butter. Orange marmalade. Happy (not quite) St. Patrick’s Day.

 

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There is only one appropriate response to finding a product called “Coffee Syrup” at your local Trader Joes: you purchase it, let it sit on your kitchen counter for a week, and allow your mind to subliminally conjure up recipes with it. Dousing pancakes in it is clearly not enough…

I concocted this little ditty inspired by autumnal campfires, conceptual seven-layer bars, and of course, the love of coffee.

I give you:

Sh’Mocha Bars

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Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter (8 Tablespoons)
• 1 ¼ cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 26 (ish) Marshmallows, cut in halves or fourths*
• ½ cup Coffee Syrup

 

Heat your oven to 325°

Put the butter in a 9” deep dish pie plate and put it in the oven

until it’s all melty.

Toss the graham cracker crumbs on top of the butter

and combine them with a fork until there’s no dry crumb remaining.

Press the crumbs down into a crust with the back of your fork

top with chocolate chips and sprinkle with salt,

then evenly distribute the marshmallows,

and drizzle with coffee syrup.

Bake at 325° for 20 minutes. Watch it though, as marshmallows do like to puff up, and if you see they’re about to spill over the edge of your pie plate, just open the oven door and they’ll deflate a bit.

When they’ve baked for 20 minutes and they look gooey, turn on your broiler to 500° and broil for 2-3 minutes.

Watch this the whole time… you know when your campfire marshmallow ignites in flame and you quickly bring it to your face to blow it out??? Yeah, you don’t want to do that with 26 of them in your oven. Just saying.

Take the pan out of the oven and let cool completely. Chill for at least an hour.

Cut with a very sharp knife. If the marshmallow is sticky, spray cooking oil on your knife.

Serve.

O good grief. This is ridiculous.

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*Fresh marshmallows are easier to cut than old, sticky ones. You can still break the sticky ones though, by spraying cooking spray on your finger tips and pulling them in to pieces. Cutting them is an exercise in futility. Work smart.

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I recently attended a casual concert. It was a small gathering and there was a pot-luck style dinner for all to enjoy while hearing some stellar musicians jam. One of the dishes served was made by the guitarist Billy McLaughlin. (His Chicken Makhani was gone by the time I got through the line…) This boy can play, and this boy can cook.

He shared his Thai inspired cole slaw with me in exchange for my Naan recipe. This cole slaw is quite unlike the American version; not creamy, but tangy and spicy and fresh and I loved it. I’ve done my best to recreate it here and it’s good – don’t get me wrong – but I think he held out a secret or two. It’s not as good as it was that night. Maybe there’s not enough live music in my kitchen whilst I whip it up…

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup shredded red cabbage
• 2 cups shredded green cabbage
• 1½ cups matchstick carrots
• ¼ cup chopped scallion
• 4 Tablespoons lime juice (approximately two limes)
• 2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• ½ Tablespoon sesame oil
• 1½ teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 1½ Tablespoons Thai Sweet Chili Sauce*
• salt and pepper to taste

Ready? This is so easy….

Juice your limes,

Combine the lime juice with the sugar, oils, ginger, chili sauce and salt and pepper.

Chop and shred your veggies,

throw it all together,

and chill for 20 minutes before serving.

This is delicious.
Add this to a fish taco and we’re in business.

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*the brand of Thai Sweet Chili Sauce will greatly effect the taste of this dish. They’re not all alike and range in flavor. I used Full Circle Organic, but I think there are better choices. Try Mae Ploy if you can find it.