Bloody Tarts!

Here we go again. Bloody berries. And NO, I’m not calling them “cheesecakes”. Criminy.

My Dad wants “something raspberry” when I go visit him tomorrow. I’m not in the mood for pie or a cake, (I had an unfortunate incident in the pantry with a full bag of flour and I’m not over it) and besides, I’m cleaning out the freezer to make room for all the delights that will be coming forth in the warm, green months. So I figured something with one of the several hundred frozen puff pastry packages clogging up the freezer. And all the bags of frozen berries that have seen me through the winter.

Like a squirrel, I load up in fall, anticipating months of chill. Well, that, and the fact that my metabolism slides way down in the winter and I’m not about to venture out to the market in my flannel pajamas from 1984 unless someone caught double pneumonia and needs a prescription. And who needs a prescription anyway? What happened to the days of a Vick’s Vapor Rub poultice stuck on your chest and an afternoon of Jerry Springer? Gee….kids, these days! Did I complain when I walked 12 miles in snowdrifts just to volunteer in the nursing home when I was 6 years old? No way! Suck it up, Gen X, Y, and Z and quit sending people to get your antibiotics!

(See what happens when you take antibiotics???)

Warm Raspberry Mint Puff Pastry Tarts

Serves 6

1 (10 oz) package frozen puff pastry shells, thawed
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh mint
Milk for brushing shells
Turbinado sugar for sprinkling shells

½ cup granulated sugar
1 ½ cup frozen raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease or parchment a baking sheet
2. Beat the cream cheese with electric beater until fluffy. Add the sugar and beat again until fluffy. Stir in the vanilla and mint. Set aside.
3. Place the pastry shells on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with milk and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
4. Bake in preheated oven for about 12-14 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove shells from oven. Use a fork to remove the top for each shell. Set tops aside.
5. While shells are baking, place 1 cup of the raspberries into a small saucepan with ½ cup granulated sugar. Heat over medium high heat until bubbling. Reduce heat slightly and cook, reducing raspberries to a syrup, about 7-8 minutes. Remove from heat, and strain mixture into small measuring cup or bowl, pressing with back of spoon to extract syrup. Discard seeds.
5. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese into each shell, while still on baking sheet. Top with 3-4 raspberries. Place the tops back onto baking sheet (along side of shells), top side down, and return to oven for about 5 minutes, or until filling is warm and shells and tops are completely golden brown.
6. To serve, place warm tartlet onto plate and drizzle warm raspberry syrup around, as you see fit. Top with a sprig of fresh mint.

*When I take this tomorrow, I’m just serving them cold, with the syrup drizzle over the top. I think they’ll be just as good. And anyway, my Dad’s oven makes a weird noise, and I’m afraid it’s going to blow up. And THEN where will we be, uh, Pops??? The days of pies are OVER!

Party Like It's 1989

For this week’s Papa Dale Pie Project, I’ve made a pecan tart. It’s a 1989 Martha Stewart recipe, from a calendar. Evidently, back in 1989, I needed calendars to bake. From what I remember, each month of this calendar had a recipe below a photograph of the benignly smiling Martha, baking whatever was the month’s specialty with absolute authority and perfection.

Back in those days, I also made my own curtains (and matching Easter dresses for my girls and bow ties for the boys…they still haven’t forgiven me), roasted a leg of lamb every weekend (with mint that I grew in the garden, of course!), stenciled the garage door, put up a Christmas tree decorated with handmade birds nests (by me, not the birds), and painted the hamster cage with pastoral scenes (he died…from lead poisoning, I suspect). In short – I was out of my ever-loving mind. I spent much of those Martha years, running around making bunny rabbits out of radishes. Boy, was I glad when she went off to prison…I needed a REST.

I much prefer these years of sloth and unrelenting self-indulgence. Ice cream right out of the carton with a spoon! Bisquick! Brownie Mixes!! There’s not a damn homemade placemat in sight! The crystal French sorbet dishes? Martinis!!!! And I didn’t even go to prison!

To her credit, this pecan tart of Martha’s is just the bomb. It’s not as sweet as a traditional pecan pie, and the hint of citrus is just perfect. And, I get to use my beloved rectangle tart pan. I just love that pan. I bought it especially to make this tart back in 1989. I don’t know if it just looks…tidier…or what. If I can cram a pie crust into it, I’ll do it. The servings just look so elegant. Not all pie-y with fruit guts spilling out all over the plate. Nice and neat.

Just like 1989 me and Martha.

Martha Stewart’s Pecan Tart – circa 1989

Makes one rectangular tart (or a plain ol’ pie…but, really…would Martha do that????)

1 unbaked pate brisee (or basic pie crust) tart shell
4 large eggs
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup light corn syrup
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Grated rind of 1 lemon or orange
1 ½ cups chopped pecans
About 1 ¼ cups perfect pecan halves (and when Martha says “perfect”, you better get perfect!)
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Put the eggs into mixing bowl and beat with a fork. Blend in the sugar, salt, molasses, and corn syrup. Stir in the butter, vanilla, and lemon or orange rind, mixing until thoroughly blended. Add the chopped pecans.
3. Pour the filling mixture into the pastry shell and neatly arrange the pecan halves in rows on top. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the pastry is lightly browned and the filling is set. Let the tart cool on a rack before cutting and serving.