Spork or Foon?

TWD: Classic Quick Berry Tart

   
You know the term, "I'd lose my own head if it wasn't attached?"  That was me making this tart. 

I had such high aspirations for this tart.  I was going to make two different tarts - one for me to take to work and one for Jack to take to work.  I wanted to make the classic version with strawberries and blueberries and then a tropical take with a coconut rum pastry cream and kiwis, papaya, and mango. I hit up the fruit stand and $15 later, I walked away with two pints each of strawberries and blueberries, a mango, a papaya, and four kiwis. 

Have I mentioned that I love NYC fruit stands?

Because I think I'm so super good at baking, I decided to double everything up at the same time. I put together two separate pots with the cornstarch, sugar, and egg yolks whisked together.  In one 2-cup measuring cup, I poured in 2 cups of whole milk for the plain tart. In the other, I pour in 1 1/4 cups whole milk and 3/4 cup coconut milk for the tropical tart. Of course, I then realize I don't have a third (and a fourth) heavy bottomed saucepan to boil the milk. So what do I do?  I decide to heat the milk up in the microwave. 

This is where I should have known it was all going to go downhill. Strike one.

The milk didn't heat up. I remember that I had a third saucepan that I rarely use because liquids take forever to come to a boil, but I had no other option. I poured one of the glasses of milk in and turned on the burner. I didn't think anything of the fact that the milk wasn't boiling due to the non-boiling properties of said pot, until, of course, the kitchen began to smell of burnt eggs. Why did it smell like burnt eggs, you ask?  Because I lit the wrong burner and cooked one of my two egg/cornstarch/sugar mixtures.

Strike two. 

I cracked open 6 more eggs (leaving me with a total of 18 egg whites to make lots of my crappy, epic fail macarons with) and made more of the mixture.  

Finally, I finished my two pastry creams (the second of which - the coconut rum version - I slightly overcooked because I left the heat on medium high as I thickened the pastry cream, but saved before it turned to scrambled eggs. Also, I couldn't taste any coconut or rum when it was finished - strike two and three-quarters), and began to slice my fruits.

First, I took out the kiwis. They felt slightly hard, but I convinced myself it was due to the slightly freezing temperatures in New York City today (seriously, May, what's going on?).  Nope. Unripe. Mangoes? Beautifully golden and red on the outside? Unripe. Papaya? Well... I hate papaya.  It always looks so delicious and juicy, but really just tastes like feet.

Finally, I baked my first tart shell to a beautiful golden brown. I put that to the side, washed out my tart pan, and pressed in the second dough. 

Fifteen minutes later, I looked at the clock timer, which I never set. Great, I thought. A burnt tart dough. Strike three and three quarters. I'm so bad, I'm over-striking out. 

I approximated that I put the tart in roughly 12 minutes earlier, so I set the timer for 13 more minutes.  12 minutes later, I worried about the tart that I thought was burning in the oven, so I ran to the oven door and whipped it open, apprehensive that I would be greeted by a dark brown, crumbly mess. Instead, I was greeted by... an empty oven.

I looked around, utterly confused.  Did I take the tart out of the oven? I checked the kitchen counter. No tart there. I opened the oven again, thinking I missed it. Empty. 

I was seriously stunned. "Jack," I yelled out. "Did you eat my tart shell?"

"What?" he asked, confused?

"Did you take my tart shell out of the oven and eat it?"

"Yes," he answered sarcastically.  "Because that's what I do. Eat hot tart shells straight from the oven."

A lightbulb went off.  I never put the tart in!  I placed it in the freezer to firm up the dough a bit after pressing it into the pan. I laughed to myself. Typical Teanna. 

So no tropical fruit tart for me.  Nor was this a quick tart by any means. In fact, it took me two hours of frustration and confusion, but all for my own faults. I'm sure that this tart is very quick. And easy. But I can assure you, it's really tasty. A great summer tart to make in a pinch. 

Unless you're me, of course.

Check out Cooking with Christine for the recipe and don't forget to check out the rest of TWD for more tarts! 

Glazed Fresh Strawberry Tart with Champage Sabayon

 

I'm back!

Last week was a bit hectic due to the passing of my grandmother and preparing for a new job at the same time. But I'm slowly getting a grip on things and getting ready for this new change in my life.

I also want to thank everyone for your kind words regarding the passing of my grandmother.  It was so sweet to receive such beautiful messages from everyone.  What a great community we have, huh? 

I'm writing this as I have my morning coffee and prepare my things because I'M GOING TO WORK TODAY!

I feel like Ross in the Friends episode where he is getting married to Emily and he runs around screaming "I'M GETTING MARRIED TODAY! WOO HOO! I'M GETTING MARRIED ... TODAY!"  I, however, will not be leaving the room only for my best friend and sister to reveal themselves as having slept together the night before. Mainly because I don't have a sister.

Anyway.

Lately, I've been reaching for one of my many cookbooks that I never use (seriously, I have over 40 cookbooks, yet I usually only refer to 3 or 4 of them). I grabbed Dede Wilson's Unforgettable Desserts, a mouthwatering compilation of showstopping dessert recipes.  A few months back, I attended a food Demo with Dede herself and the folks at Driscoll's Berries (many of Dede's desserts call for fresh fruits) and was lucky enough to receive a copy of this book.  As I flipped through the pages, I couldn't wait for the spring and summer to roll around so I could take advantage of the fresh (and cheap) fruits to make the desserts. And now, fruit and vegetable carts on the street corners in Manhattan are now selling strawberries for 2 pints for $3.00, so I often feel as if I hit the jackpot each time I purchase the pints of blazingly red, ripe strawberries. Holla!

 

Well, this dessert is the perfect dessert to highlight these fresh, spring strawberries.  Strawberries are placed in full form in a crisp, buttery tart shell, as more strawberries are cooked down to create a deliciously sweet glaze that really makes the red color pop.  Pistachios, the strawberry's nutty pair, add a bit of crunch and color contrast, and a topped with a deliciously light and bubbly (from the champagne) sabayon (which I made for the first time and will make again and again because WOW is it good!). Unfortunately, I did not photograph the sabayon on the tart, as I served it at night and the camera flash is a food's worst enemy.

Make this tart.  It is an absolutely show-stopper and it just screams spring.

 

Check out Driscoll's website for the recipe!

TWD: Samoas Coconut Custard Tart

 
I remember memories of my childhood where I wished I was a Girl Scout.  Not because I wanted to wear the earth tone brown uniforms adorned with tens of merit badges awarding me for such accomplishments as successful knot tying, mind you, but because I wanted to sell Girl Scout Cookies.  I wanted to be the type of door - to - door sales girl that people were thrilled to see, as I toted around a bag filled with green boxes decorated with photos of smiling girls and delicious cookies.  Thin Mints, Tagalongs, Lemon Cream, even the boring Shortbreads were the items beloved by all, but my favorite were Samoas.  The chewy cookies covered in caramel and toasted coconut and drizzled with chocolate were a cookie-lover's dream.  

Unfortunately, as a child, I was... how do you say it nicely? Fat.  And if I was allowed boxes of cookies, you'd be sure that I'd eat them all and the only thing I'd have to show for it would be plenty of empty boxes and a hefty bill to the Girl Scouts.  

 

Maybe it was a better thing that I wasn't a Girl Scout. 

You can imagine the wheels that were turning when I decided to turn this coconut tart into a giant Samoa Cookie.  I recently saw a post on Baking Bites linking to YumSugar's take on Samoas, turning them into an ice cream treat.  I knew that Dorie's creamy coconut tart would have been a perfect drawing board to turn them into my favorite childhood treat.  

Instead of the Sweet Tart Dough, I used Dorie's Chocolate Tart Dough.  I kept the rest of the recipe the same, but I drizzled the top with both chocolate and dulce de leche atop the tart. 

 

This tart was HEAVEN.  Do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight heaven.  The rich chocolate tart was the perfect vessel for the creamy, crunchy coconut custard, the pillowy whipped cream, and the delectable duo of caramel and chocolate. Incredible. And a fun little take on a classic cookie. 

Check out Beryl of Cinemon Girl for the recipe and check out the rest of TWD for more tarts! 

 

Mmmm... messy, delicious tart. 

Thanksgiving Central

 

Oftentimes, I go onto websites such as Epicurious.com or MyRecipes.com around the holidays and am bombarded by huge, flashing letters stating (Insert Holiday Here) Central.

Who made them Thanksgiving Central?  Christmas Central?  Presidents Day Central?

It's a little presumptuous, no?

Well, I am declaring Spork or Foon this year's Thanksgiving Central.  I may not have many Thanksgiving recipes in my archive, but if you are looking to have a Thanksgiving dinner comprised of 1 side dish, some rolls, and two pies, then this is the place to be, people. 

We all know my love for the Chocolate Pumpkin Pie (photo above).

But did you see the mess that was my Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie with Chocolate Almond Bark and Toffee Sauce from last year?

 

Please hold your laughter, because beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  And I was using flash under yellow lighting with my point and shoot before I knew how to take photos.  

Or how about my butterhorn rolls.  These were pretty as a peach. They didn't taste like anything, because I forgot to put salt in the dough. But I gave Pillsbury a run for his roly-poly money right here. 

I remember being very happy with this photo last year. But then Tastespotting and Foodgawker both rejected it and rained on my Thanksgiving Day Parade.

 

And finally, the most amazing Thanksgiving side that ever existed in the history of man. This sweet potato casserole.  Words cannot express the wonder that is this casserole. I am making two this year because one is not enough.  

May I present to you the Sweet Potato Casserole with a Cinnamon Cashew Streusel. Heaven in a casserole Dish. This was finished in about 5 minutes at my house last year. 

Again, don't judge my poor photography skills from 2008.

 

So there you have it, folks!  Happy Thanksgiving and you're welcome! 

 

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

I didn't get to talk much about the desserts I posted in the Halloween Desserts post.  The pumpkin spice cupcakes were fantastic, the lollipops were fun to make (although slightly stressful), the cookies soft, sugary and delicious.  But one dessert really stood out: this chocolate pumpkin pie.

Chocolate and pumpkin are a beautiful marriage, albeit on that can raise eyebrows if people are not familiar with the combination.  

I saw this cake in Martha Stewart's Halloween Issue and doggy-eared it to make. And I actually made it and didn't lost it in a pile of other doggy-eared recipes!  

First thing is first.  I am IN LOVE with this chocolate tart recipe.  Sweet,tender, with hints of spice, it is topped off beautifully with a layer of melted bittersweet chocolate that adds the perfect, unexpected layer of chocolate delight.  The tart is a perfect vessel for the creamy, spicy pumpkin pie, the recipe of which is my favorite recipe to date. I did not use the Martha Stewart Recipe, as I did not have sour cream on hand, so I found a recipe on Joy of Cooking, and yes, it was a joy to cook this. 

Bad joke? OK. Sorry. 

Let me tell you a little secret: I had never even tasted a pumpkin pie until last year, because throughout my childhood pumpkin pie seemed unnatural to me. Pumpkins were for carving on Halloween, not for eating! You all must be mad, I thought! Actually, the whole concept of pie seemed unnatural to me. Why have pie when you can have cake, I thought?  And why have cake when you can have Carvel Ice Cream Cake?  It has crunchies in the middle!

But I digress. I do now love pie (although I still prefer Carvel Ice Cream cake. Seriously. I have no shame). And I do love this pie. It was perfect for Halloween, decorated with a festive chocolate spiderweb (my first successful spiderweb decoration!).  But sans spiderweb, this will make a fabulous Thanksgiving dessert. Unless you have some weird Scary Thanksgiving theme going on.  If so, web away. 

Click here for the pie recipe.  Click here for the tart recipe. 

TWD: Chocolate-Crunched Praline Tart

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post.

My beloved camera, my baby, my heart, my love... is in the hospital.

Yes, I have entrusted my baby with the good doctors at the Best Buy Geek Squad.

Let's rewind.  I had made a delicious dish of Korean Skirt Steak with grilled scallions that I wanted to photograph.  I placed the dish on it's "set" (AKA, a wooden TV table set by the windows in my apartment. There. You know my secret), checked my lighting, and started to photograph. Everything looked blurry. I didn't panic, but instead again reminded myself that I really need to study more about photography and camera settings to get a good picture.  I tried to adjust the focus of the camera. The lense wouldn't budge.  No worries, this happens often. I took off the lense for a moment and replaced it back on the camera. Jammed.  I started to slightly panic.  I took off the lense and pute it back again.  Nothing.

Full on panic mode set in. 

"Baby!" I called to my boyfriend, Jack.

He ran into the living room, thinking I had cut, burned, or dropped something on myself, which is not out of the ordinary.

"My lense is jammed!" 

He stared at me, blankly.  

"I can't take pictures! It doesn't work!"

"Take it in to get it fixed." He said. 

"It'll be at least two weeks to repair!" I exclaimed, feeling my heart rate rise and tears burning my eyes (I really am super dramatic). 

He looked at me, still confused, still silent. 

"It's my blog! I'll lose all of my readers! They'll never come back!"

"You'll be fine." He reassured me. "Take it in to get it fixed and it'll come back good as new.  We'll find you another camera to use in the meantime."

Thank God for Jack, because otherwise, I'd constantly run around fretting and crying and shouting.  I blame it in my background in theatre.  I need to be in touch with my emotions! It's my excuse for everything.

I took my camera to Best Buy and showed the Geek Squad the damage.  As I was talking, I placed my iPhone on the counter.  My iPhone, by the way, is completely shattered from when I dropped it on the floor in Pier 1 because I was checking Facebook as I was shopping.  

"Did you get that here, too?"  the Geek Squad-der asked.

"No." I answered sheepishly, knowing that he probably thought I was just some girl who dropped things and broke things with wreckless abandon, which wouldn't be far from the truth.

"So what's the damage?" I asked, apprehensively.

"Two weeks. Probably three." He said sympathetically.

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooo." (Really. I did say that. With that many "o"s.) 

He laughed.  "We'll call you when it's ready."

I sighed, collected my paperwork, and headed over to the Play Station "Rock Band" display, picked up a guitar, and drowned my sorrows with some kick ass guitar licks.  Maybe people were judging me - an almost 28 year old girl (woman? I refuse to admit I'm an adult) rocking out to ACDC on a Saturday afternoon, but my heart felt no shame. Just sorrow for my dearly departed camera.

So here you see the last photos taken by my camera. And unfortunately, they are not that good.  But what is that good? This tart. This tart is good.  REALLY good. Like, I've made this three times in the past month, good.  Amazing good.  

I replaced the peanuts with hazelnuts and put a ring of candied pralines around the edge of the tart by melting 75 grams of sugar with 30 mL water and pouring it over 1/3 cup hazelnuts and then pulsing it in the food processor.

This tart is rich, velvety, and so luxurious and is definitely a top 5 Dorie dessert.  If there was any dessert for my camera to go out on, this would be the one. 

Check Carla of Chocolate Moosey for the recipe.  Check TWD for more tarts.  And keep my camera in your hearts.

La Palette's Strawberry Tart

This tart has been on my mind since I started my blog a little over a year ago.  You see, this tart was chosen as the dish of the week on June 10th, 2008.  

It was my second week as a member of Tuesdays with Dorie, and I wanted to be a little experimental. So I had the brilliant idea to use blueberries instead of strawberries, and then make a lemon cream instead of using jam.  Little did I know, in my nascent baking days, that this was a completely different tart altogether and that I was not as brilliant as I thought I was because I didn't invent lemon cream and blueberries. 

This was my tart (you may want to look away for this part):

Not my proudest achievement.  What a difference a year makes, no?  

1 year, two months later (to the day), and a Nikon D40 later, I have now redeemed myself.  This simple, yet elegant dessert was the perfect summer treat, using sweetened, ripe strawberries, a mixed berry jam, and topping it with some homemade almond whipped cream.  

So simple, so elegant, and now I know not to mess with perfection.

Click here for the recipe.

Late TWD: Parisian Apple Tartlet

Here it is. Finally.  My Parisian Apple Tartlet.

The suspense is over. You can all breathe a sigh of relief now.  And then grab a tissue for my sob story.

I had such big plans for this one. Jessican of My Baking Heart chose Dorie's Parisian Apple Tartlet (click for recipe). I was going to "tempura" the apple slices and serve this with a dipping sauce.  But my plans got derailed.  And I am going to tell you why.

This Tuesday, we had our friends Chelsea and Chris over for our weekly dinner party.  As usual, they brought their adorable son, Kip, and this time, we had a special guest - Chelsea's sister.  So I wanted to make a big meal - something fun, different, summery... you get the point.

Well, it was a disaster.  Problem one: I bit off more than I could chew.  I decided to make an appetizer, an entree, and two desserts, all of which needed the oven.  I had two hours to cook. Problem 2: I was experimenting with a cuisine I am not all too familiar with - Southern.  Problem 3:  I wanted to make David Lebovitz's Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream to go with Dorie's apple tartlet.  I forgot to freeze my ice cream canister.

Disaster all around.

The biggest disappointment?  I wasn't crazy about this tart.  This was the one thing I was holding out for.  But to me, it was kind of plain.  So I obviously did something wrong, because everyone else loved it.  And it couldn't have been any easier. Cut apples. Place apples on puff pastry. Add butter (of course). Add sugar. Bake. 

HELLO!?!?  What is wrong with me?

I did end up making the ice cream the next day and paired it with another pastry and I will say, it was MUCH better.  But this ice cream would make even brussel sprouts better.

Later, I read a quote from Top Chef Winner Hosea in July's issue of Food & Wine magazine:   A dinner party is not the time for experimentation.  Cook what you know.

Thanks.

I think I need to go back into my pantry closet.

Check out TWD for more of this tart done the right way!

TWD: The Tartest Lemon Tart and Bob Ross's Dirty Lies

Bob Ross is a dirty liar.

He was a man who painted pretty pictures with sprawling mountains, lush green plains, and "happy clouds".

Heh.

"Happy Clouds" my a**.

There is no such thing as a happy cloud.  There are bitter clouds.  Angry clouds.  Clouds that have kidnapped my sun.  They have taken the sun hostage along the eastern seaboard.  The sun has not come out for days. Weeks even. Months, it feels like.  

In elementary school, we used to sing a song that went a little something like this:

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

Won't you please shine down on me?

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

Won't you please shine down on

Please shine down on

Please shine down on me.

I have been singing this song as I do my own little "Sun Dance".  It is miserable.  Depressing.  Frustrating. 

Gloomy.

Don't be fooled.  It may be sunny today, but the next 10 days are predicted to be nothing but rain clouds. RAIN CLOUDS.

The only thing to compliment the bitterness that I feel is Dorie's Tartest Lemon Tart, chosen by Babette of Babette Feasts  (click for recipe).  This is the type of tart that makes you pucker your lips and contort your face into all different manners.  But this tart lemon tart actually has done something amazing for me.

It has brought a little sunlight into my life.  It was as if Dorie and  knew that around April/May, the rogue clouds would steal my sun and terrorize my life, so they invented/chose this tart to pick up my spirits a bit.  Tart. Sweet. Delicious. 

Seriously. Amazingly delicious.  I know the recipe called for the entire lemon to be pureed into the mixture, but I read too many complaints of a bitter flavor due to the pith, and the only lemons I could find were standard lemons with thick piths.  Therefore, I peeled off the zest, and added that, along with the entire lemons after I removed the pith.  And WOW. This was AMAZING.  Sweet. Tart (but not too much so).  A creamy, lemon curd filling nuzzled a crisp, sweet crust.  Jack actually has forbidden me from taking this tart to share with my coworkers.

In addition to this, I have decided to take Dorie's Floating Islands and fill them with a delicious lemon curd from leftover filling.  These Floating Islands are a metaphor for the evil clouds swallowing my sun. However, in my scenario, I am able to take a delicious bite out of these clouds and let the sun free from its shackles.  

This is my weapon against evil, evil clouds.  Bob Ross, may you rest in peace, but I know you're in on this.  You've tried to change the psyche of people interested in painting everywhere by trying to convince us that clouds are our friends.  They are not.  But this tart is.  My new best friend. 

You can have your clouds, Mr. Ross. I'll slice myself a piece of this tart and dream of the day that the sun comes to shine down on me.  In the meantime, check out TWD for more of this glorious cloud-fighter. 

UPDATE:  As I read through the TWD posts, I have noticed that most of these tarts had a filling that was supposed to bubble while cooking, then have a beautiful golden top and a sugary crust and that there were supposed to be almonds in the crust.  None of this happened for me - the clouds have won yet again. 

CONSPIRACY!

TWD: Banana Cream Pie and Deconstruced Ice Cream Sundae !WOOOOOOOOOOOT!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!

Best. Dorie. Recipe. EVER!

I have never had banana cream pie. What was I MISSING?!  Up in NY, especially Italian land where I proudly grew up, I never even SAW a banana cream pie.   So when Amy of Sing For Your Supper (click for recipe) chose this, I was super excited. 

This recipe is amazing.

First, let's start with Dorie's ungodly good-for-everything-but-my-diet pie crust.  This is the best pie crust that exists in the entire universe.  It is unbelievably flaky and buttery.  I have actually been told that the crust is TOO good and sometimes will outshine the filling, like in the case of a pumpkin pie that I made back in October. 

I took it as a compliment to the crust rather than an insult to the pumpkin pie filling because I like to look at things positively.

Because I don't need an entire banana cream pie sitting around, I made six mini tarts.  I had a half of one, my boyfriend had the rest.  He LOVED it. He actually did a little dance when he tasted it.  The pastry cream is thick, rich, and wonderfully spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. I used little red bananas, which actually have a bit of a cinnamon taste as well.  If you can find them in your grocer, I suggest you try them.  They are wonderful.  The whipped cream was delicious and I loved the bit of tang from the sour cream. 

Because I wanted to try something a bit different, I also made a deconstructed banana pie... as an ice cream sundae! I made a no-cook vanilla ice cream (seriously, this recipe is dangerous for me and my willpower) base and split it into three flavors - banana, cinnamon and nutmeg to mock the pastry cream, and then I mixed homemade graham crackers into the third flavor (which I topped with a little pie slice of Dorie's awesome crust).

HOLLA!!!!

This tasted EXACTLY like the banana cream pie, but even more dangerous because it is ice cream and I can't resist ice cream. I did a dance when I tasted this.  In fact, all I heard was Katrina and the Waves' hit song "I'm Walking on Sunshine" as I danced around my apartment with a spoon in my hand.  I looked like I was straight out of a scene of Look Who's Talking in a room full of dancing babies and a once-upon-a-time sexy John Travolta.

Check out TWD for more of this amazing pie!