As many of you have ascertained by now, I Love, Love, Love to make tarts. I am truly happy when I'm rolling little, individual crusts. When I saw this recipe in the Balthazar cookbook I put it on my list of "must-makes". (If you're ever in NYC, stop by Balthazar in Soho for lunch, cocktails, dinner, or if for nothing else, just to see the restaurant.... Trés French.) This will be dinner tonight with a salad of greens, dried cherries and goat cheese (yes, more goat cheese). The vinaigrette will have bacon. Goat cheese tarts, a salad, glass of wine, and crank-up-the-heat ! It's cold tonight in St. Paul. Goat Cheese Tart with Caramelized Onions adapted from the Balthazar Cookbook by Keith McNally, Riad Nasr & Lee Hanson Crust: • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour • 1 teaspoon salt • 10 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces • 2 large egg yolks • 3 tablespoons ice-cold water Filling: • 1/4 cup olive oil • 3 large yellow onions, halved through the stem end and thinly sliced into 1/8-inch half-moons • 1 sprig of thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried • 1 bay leaf • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper • 8 ounces fresh goat cheese, at room temperature • 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature • 2 large eggs • 1 large egg, separated and yolk beaten 1. To make the crusts, combine the flour, salt and chilled butter in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal. With the machine running, add the egg yolks and ice water through the feed tube. Continue to process until the dough forms a ball. Shape the dough into 1 disk if making a 10-inch tart, or into 6 equally sized disks if making 4-inch tarts. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour. 2. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. 3. Over a low flame, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions, thyme, bay leaf and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Stir occasionally, cooking the onions until soft and golden, reducing their volume by nearly half; this can take up to 1 hour. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, draining off any excess oil. Discard the thyme (if using fresh) and bay leaf. 4. Meanwhile, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Fit the dough into the pan (or pans), pressing it firmly into the bottom edge and fluted sides. Trim the excess and prick the dough several times with a fork. Place the tart pan(s) on a sheet tray for easy handling. Line the dough with aluminum foil, and weigh down with raw rice or beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and continue to bake a few minutes more, until the crust takes on a light brown color. Remove from the oven and allow to cool while the filling is completed. 5. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the goat cheese, cream cheese, 2 whole eggs, the egg white from the separated egg, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Mix until smooth. 6. Spread the caramelized onions evenly over the bottom of the prebaked tart shell and pour the cheese mixture over the onions, filling to just below the rim. Using a wide pastry brush, gently brush the beaten egg yolk over the top of the tart. Try to cover completely. 7. Bake for 12 minutes, until set. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.
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My most memorable meal took place many years ago when we lived just outside of New York City. Several of us were being treated to dinner out by my husband's boss. The restaurant was called THE BOX TREE and was located inside of an old townhouse near the United Nations Building. Every detail of that evening for me is unforgettable. When we arrived at the address for the restaurant we were unsure whether or not we had the right location. There were no signs showing the establishment's name. The door was locked. When we knocked, a little curtain over the window was pulled aside and we were asked our name. Once they confirmed our reservation, the door swung open and we were shown to our table in one of the two very small dining rooms. The beautiful, old silver flatware was French. The menus had no prices on them. Only our host knew what this meal was going to cost. The fois gras I ordered as an appetizer was delivered to the table by two waiters - one to hold the giant French porcelain tureen, the second to remove the lid and scoop a portion onto my plate. I was informed afterwards that the veal with truffles, my entrée, had been the most expensive on the menu. (Sorry.... I didn't have a menu with prices listed. I tend to low-ball if I know what things are costing.) I have never had an experience equal to that in a restaurant again. I don't even know if the Box Tree still exists. And, when I thought that fairy tale night had ended, I walked toward the exit and on a little table near the door was a dish of Meringue Mushrooms. I had never seen a Meringue Mushroom, let alone eaten one. I now make my own. Since this is the first year we will ever be in our own home for Christmas, I plan to make a Buche de Noel (another first) for Christmas Eve dinner; and of course, it will need to be surrounded by mushrooms! • MeringueMushrooms • • 3 egg whites • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar • 1/8 teaspoon salt • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract • 1/2 cup superfine sugar • 2/3 cup (4 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted • 2 teaspoons cocoa 1. Beat the first 5 ingredients at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves (2 to 4 minutes). 2. Spoon mixture into a decorating bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe 1 1/4-inch-wide mounds for mushroom caps and 1-inch-tall columns for stems (approximately 32 of each) onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. 3. Bake at 200˚F for 1 hour and 30 minutes; turn oven off. Let meringues stand in closed oven 2 hours. 4. Spread a thin layer of melted chocolate on the flat side of the caps. Trim rounded end of stems to make flat (I found a micro-planer works great.); press against chocolate to attach to caps. Sprinkle with cocoa. Susan and I have just returned from our visits to France and Germany. It was an incredible trip, first staying with our friends Maria and Dieter in Germany, and then flying to Marseilles for a week in the south of France. It is hard for me to say what my favorite part of the trip was....waking up each morning in Maria and Dieter's beautiful home, full of light, amazing collections, Provencal furniture and good food was definitely a highlight. Jumping into our car each morning in Provence and heading out to markets in breathtakingly beautiful hilltop villages was a dream (plus, Susan did a superb job of driving our rental car each day, many times under stressful conditions and on the edge of perilous drops to nowhere!). The weather was perfect with extremely cool nights and warm, sunny days. I took hundreds of photos, as I had planned, and am torn between which ones to use for my first post on my return. Right before we left on our trip, my friend Maureen sent me an article from the May 18th issue of the New York Times Magazine, titled PROVENCE PROFOUND, and it mentioned CHEZ SERGE, located in Carpentras, the town we made our home-base. It did not disappoint! We were the first ones waiting that noon at the iron-gated entrance, and were able to be seated on the picturesque outdoor patio.
My entree consisted of guinea fowl in a morel mushroom sauce, potatoes and a molded carrot puree. My daughter dined on French pizza. I chose the lemon tart for my dessert (I always choose lemon if it's on the menu), but the winner was my daughter's choice; panna cotta with fresh strawberries that Serge had purchased that morning at the Carpentras market. We all agree that our meal at Chez Serge was our favorite meal that week in France. I just returned from southern California where I spent the past week. The one thing on my to-do list while in L.A. was to dine at Nancy Silverton's newest restaurant Osteria Mozza. The year-old restaurant, where she partnered with Mario Batali and Joesph Bastianich, is the hottest reservation in town and is located next door to Pizzeria Mozza which Nancy opened the previous year. Osteria is located on trendy Melrose Avenue within sight of the Hollywood Hills and just a few blocks from the La Brea Bakery where she built a world-wide reputation with her incredible sourdough breads and then sold for a tidy sum. It's a beautifully designed space. The center of the restaurant has chairs placed at a marble counter that wraps around the Mozzarella Bar where Nancy is at work nightly preparing various Italian cheese appetizers. Of course, an incredible wine list. I started off with a salad of butter lettuce and hazelnuts, bacon, gorgonzola dolce and egg. This is an appetizer of Buttata with grilled asparagus, brown butter, guanciale and Sicilian almonds that Nancy made at the Mozzarella Bar. My main course was Fresh Ricotta and Egg Raviolo with Browned Butter. When I sliced open the raviolo the most brilliant orange egg yolk poured out onto the browned butter sauce. I was told by our waitress that the hens are fed a diet of chrysanthemums to achieve these dazzling-colored eggs. My daughter finished off her meal with Cioccolato Amaro, warm chocolate cake and bourbon gelato, in celebration of her 15th birthday. And yes, everything tasted as good as it looks! |
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