egg white

A Parisian Double Smack on Both Cheeks- Pear & Almond Tart

19 Nov 2010
Pear & Almond Tart

Vous êtes magnifique. Vous êtes beau, vous êtes tres joli.

Sorry for slipping into French, I do that when I feel overwhelmed. Not that I'm French. It's just an affectation I picked up in high school (to make me seem more interesting). That's a different (long, dull and pathetic) story altogether. Still, overwhelmed is the word for the day. Je suis accablé et suis humilié.

Oops- there I go again.

But I do feel the need to thank you for keeping me in the FoodBuzz Food Blog 2010 Competition. I actually feel I need to get down on my knees and thank you. Though that affectation I mentioned earlier makes me think that something more continental is in order. Like a kiss on both cheeks. So very French, n'est-ce pas?

But this is a food blog, right? So my thank you this week really needs to be an edible metaphor, don't ya think? I mean food is my oeuvre (sorry, I couldn't resist).

May I present the very French and very edible version of a kiss on both cheeks. It's a classic Parisian Pear Almond Tart. Merci beaucoup!

Sippity Sup Continues »
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Pear & Almond Tart

Pear & Almond Tart
By jgreghenry Published November 19, 2010
Prep time: 5
Yield:1 ()

Ingredients:

  • 4 firm bosc pears
  • 4 c water
  • 1.5 c sugar, plus 2 teaspoons for filling
  • 1.5 T lemon juice
  • 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
  • 0.5 c powder confectioners sugar
  • 0.25 t coarse salt
  • 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
  • 1.25 all-purpose flour, plus 2 teaspoons more for filling
  • 0.5 c blanched almond slices, divided
  • 13 T butter, cubed
  • 6 oz almond paste
  • 1 egg, at room temperature
  • 1 egg white, at room temperature
  • 2 t almond liqueur

Directions

Prepare the pears: Peel the pears and halve them lengthwise. Using a melon baller remove the core. Bring 4 cups water, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and lemon juice to boil in large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add split vanilla bean and pears. Cover with a round of parchment paper, with a small hole cut in the center. Keep the liquid at a very low boil and simmer the pears until cooked through, 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the pears. Remove from heat and let the pears cool in their liquid. Prepare the crust: Pulse the powdered sugar, 1/4 cup almond slices, and salt in a food processor until nuts are finely ground. Add 8 tablespoons butter and process until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Mix in egg yolk. Add 1 1/4 cup flour. Pulse the machine several times until dough comes together in clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.) Prepare the almond filling: In a stand mixer, beat the almond paste with the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar and the remaining 2 teaspoons flour, until smooth. Gradually beat in the remaining butter, until smooth, then beat in the egg and the egg white, and the liquor. Cover and chill at least 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.) Bake the tart shell: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Roll out chilled dough on floured sheet of parchment paper to 12-inch round, lifting and turning dough occasionally to free from paper. Using paper as aid, turn dough into 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom; peel off paper. Seal any cracks in dough. Trim. Pierce crust all over with fork. Freeze crust 10 minutes. Line crust with parchment paper, then fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake crust until sides are set, about 20 minutes. Remove parchment and beans. Bake crust until sides are golden and bottom is set, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 10 minutes longer. Cool crust in pan on rack. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Pepare the tart: Spread almond filling evenly in crust. Cut each pear half lengthwise into thin slices. Gently press each pear slice in an attractive pattern slightly overlapping each other in places into the almond filling. Sprinkle the top with the remaining almond slices. Bake tart until golden and tester inserted into center of filling comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool tart in pan on rack. Push pan bottom up, releasing tart from pan. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) Cut tart into wedges; sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired, and serve.

Notes:

serves 8 Source: I stole a little from David Lebovitz & a little from Paule Caillat, so sue me!

TomatoMania- Fried Spaghetti and Epilogue 2009

28 Sep 2009
fried spaghetti

Well, this is it! The last TomatoMania for 2009.

It's been a great tomato growing season. I learned so much from Scott Daigre. I hope his guest posts here were helpful for you as well.

But the hightlight of these past many Monday's (for me) was our tomato recipe contest. I so enjoyed cooking the 6 winning entries and posting them here for you. It was a great way to step out of my culinary box, stretch my tongs and try new things. That's what life is all about isn't it? The new and the exciting wrapped around and mingled amongst the comfort and love of things familiar. Because with out one, the other just seems hollow!

Speaking of adventure mingling with comfort. I have the last of the winning recipes for you today. It's certainly adventurous, but has all the comfort of a delicious slow-roasted tomato sauce too.

eric rivera recipe cardThis is a recipe for Fried Spaghetti with a Roasted Tomato Sauce. It comes to us from the mind of Eric, the soon to be chef behind the amazing blog, Eric Rivera Cooks. I saved it for last because I wanted to end this series with a smile. Anything Eric cooks you know is made with a smile. That man loves life in a way that makes his blog a joy to read. He is smack dab in the middle of culinary school and he is sharing his love for this adventure almost everyday. So go read him and smile.

As far as his recipe goes, I'll let it speak for itself. So click here and read it. I admit to making one rather large change though. Eric fried his spaghetti strands one at a time. I don't have the patience, so I opted to form my cooked noodles into nest shapes before coating them in his flour mixture. It's a nod to one way dried Italian pasta is often sold, sure. But it also makes a great bowl to hold the sauce. I love the way the nest keeps friedspaghettibowlsthe chunky tomatoes safely nestled inside, but still allows some of the sauce to leak out over the bottom of the bowl. Making for a very pretty presentation.

So that's it for TomatoMania 2009. All that is left is for Scott to bring you a few parting words! Take it away Scott...

 

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Fried Spaghetti with a Roasted Tomato Sauce

fried spaghetti
By jgreghenry Published September 28, 2009
Prep time: 180
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 3 roma tomatoes
  • 1 clv garlic cloves, peeled and minced
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 2 aji mirasol pod, ground and seperated
  • 2 t salt
  • 3 fresh basil leaves
  • 1 pn fresh oregano leaves
  • 1 cn fresh rosemary leaves, minced
  • 1.5 c flour
  • 0.25 c paprika
  • 2 T garlic salt
  • 1 T cayenne pepper (or to taste)
  • 4 egg whites
  • 0.5 lb died spaghetti

Directions

Prepare the sauce: Place the tomatoes, garlic, 1/2 of the Aji Mirasol and olive oil in an oven safe pan and cook covered at 225 degrees F. for 2 hours Remove them from the pan and carefully peel away their skins, adding them to a small sauce pan as you work. Place the pan on the stove and mix in the salt, basil,oregano, rosemary, and a couple tablespoons water. Cook until a chunky sauce consistency is achieved. If the pan is too dry add a bit more water, you want both chunky and saucy. Prep the dredging mixture: Mix flour, paprika, garlic salt, the remaining Aji Mirasol and cayenne together in a medium bowl. Mix the egg whites together with about 1 tablespoon water in a separate bowl. Fry the spaghetti: add the cooked and cooled spaghetti to the bowl with the egg whites. Mix well so that all the strands are well coated. You may work with individual strands of spaghetti dredging each one into the dredging flour and getting it well coated before dropping it into the deep fryer. Or you may do what I did (this was not in Eric original recipe) and divide the noodles into two portions and form a nest shape of cooked noodles. Add each nest separately to the flour mixture and get it well coated with flour. Drop the entire nest into the oil and fry it until golden brown. Whichever method you choose, move the fried spaghetti to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Serve with the tomato sauce immediately. I liked the nest method because after adding the sauce the the center of the nest the chunky tomato stayed in the nest and the saucy liquid seeped out forming a pretty presentation.

Notes:

serves 2

Source: Eric Rivera Cooks