This tart is from one of my favorite cookbooks, Patricia Wells At Home in Provence.  I purchased sweet Bing cherries for this tart, but have also used sour cherries.  I'll eat it either way.  This is a wonderful way to use fresh summer cherries and has an amazing almond crust!  I do, however, find myself always baking it longer than suggested in the recipe below.  I like my crust brown and the base well-baked!  Every time I look at this cookbook, I promise myself that some day I must take a class with Patricia Wells at her home in Vaison-la-Romaine.  Some day...

                                           CHERRY-ALMOND TART
                 adapted from a recipe in Patricia Wells At Home in Provence

PASTRY:
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled; plus additional butter for the tart pan
• 1/2 cup sugar
• pinch of fine sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons finely ground blanched almonds
• 1 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose unbleached flour

THE FILLING:
• 5 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose unbleached flour
• 2 tablespoons finely ground blanched almonds
• 1 tablespoon brandy or kirsch

• 4 tablespoons finely ground blanched almonds
• 1 pound fresh cherries (sweet or sour), pitted
• Confectioners' sugar, for sifting onto the tart before serving

1.  Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
2.  Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch tart pan.  Set aside.
3.  In a medium-size bowl, combine the butter, sugar, salt, the almond and vanilla extracts and 2 tablespoons ground almonds.  Stir with a spoon to blend;  gradually add enough flour to form a smooth, soft dough.  Place the dough in the center of the tart pan.  Press the pastry dough evenly on the bottom and sides of the pan.  (I always lay a piece of plastic wrap on top of the dough when pressing with my finger tips.  I also like to chill the pastry dough, after it is pressed into the pan, for about 30 minutes before baking).
4.  Place the pastry-lined tart pan in the center of the oven and bake until the dough is slightly puffy and turns a pale brown, about 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and set aside.  Do not turn off the oven.
5.  Make the filling by whisking together the cream, egg and almond and vanilla extracts in a bowl.  Stir in the sugar, flour, 2 tablespoons ground almonds and brandy or kirsch.
6.  Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of ground almonds on top of the prebaked pastry shell and arrange the pitted cherries in a single layer.  Pour the filling over the cherries.  Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of ground almonds.  Place the tart pan in the center of the oven and bake until the filling is firm and the pastry is a deep golden brown, about 45 minutes.  Remove to a rack to cool.  Sprinkle with the confectioners' sugar right before serving. 

   If you are a frequent visitor of Passions to Pastry, you are probably aware of my great love of espresso.  I start off each and every morning with a strong, flavorful and rich cappuccino.  This Espresso Ice is another wonderful way to enjoy coffee -- especially on a hot summer day.  I top it off with freshly whipped cream that is sweetened with confectioners' sugar and a touch of brandy.

                                           Espresso Ice
                          adapted from a recipe by Lee Bailey

• 3 cups of hot, freshly brewed, strong coffee
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 5 strips of organic orange peel

   In a medium bowl, combine the hot coffee with the 3 tablespoons sugar.  Stir to combine.  Add the strips of orange peel; cool.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate until cold.  Freeze in an ice cream machine.  Serve with whipped cream that has been flavored with brandy, Grande Marnier, or Kahlua.

   I was recently "back home" visiting my father in Amana, Iowa.  Originally a communal society from the mid-1800's to 1932, things have changed there, drastically.  It's not the same as when I was growing up... but nothing stays the same, does it?  I went out with my camera one morning to shoot photos of places that still seemed like the Amana I remember.

   I am a rather new cilantro convert.  I had not been crazy about the taste of cilantro (altho' it never tasted like soap to me as it does to some people).  But recently something triggered a love of this little green, and that led me to plant cilantro seeds this spring.  I am now inundated with the herb and am searching far and wide for recipes to utilize my expanding crop.
   Salsas naturally come to mind when I think of cilantro, and I plan to make some stone fruit salsas to eat along with grilled fish.  But I have a lot of cilantro, so I spent the morning online searching for additional recipes using this pungent herb. 
   I settled on this recipe for Falafel With Cilantro Yogurt in Pita Bread.  Now, I loved it, but my family's reaction was a little different; probably because it was unfamiliar to them.  They take comfort in predictable food.  I loved the flavors, but yes, it was hot (great contrast to the cool yogurt).  Next time, I will cut back a bit on the cayenne (for them).  It's an inexpensive meal, which is a plus; and, a great way to use my cilantro and garden lettuce.

                       Falafel With Cilantro Yogurt in Pita Bread
               recipe by Moshe Nov, Bon Appétit | December 2000

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 5 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 2  15-ounce cans garbanzo beans, drained
• 3 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 large egg

• Olive oil
• 4 warm pita breads, top third cut off
• Sliced tomatoes
• Crisp lettuce leaves

1.  Whisk yogurt, 1/2 cup cilantro, 1/4 cup onion, 1 garlic clove, lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne in medium bowl to blend; season with salt and pepper.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.
2.  Blend garbanzo beans, 3 tablespoons flour, cumin, remaining 1/2 cup cilantro, 4 garlic cloves and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne in processor until almost smooth.  Add egg and remaining 3/4 cup onion and blend, using on/off turns, until onion is finely chopped.  Transfer mixture to bowl; sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Shape mixture into four 1/2-inch-thick patties.  Turn patties in remaining 1/2 cup flour to coat on both sides.
3.  Pour enough oil into heavy large skillet to coat bottom; heat over medium-high heat.  Add patties and cook until crisp and golden, about 8 minutes per side.  Open pita breads; slide 1 patty, sliced tomato and lettuce into each.  Spoon in some of the yogurt mixture.

    How I wish I were able to superimpose a scoop of ice cream onto this photo of the rhubarb crisp I made.  While visiting my father in Amana, Iowa this past week, we ate it with vanilla bean ice cream after dinner one night.  It wasn't until the next morning that I thought about taking a photo, and at that point, there was no ice cream left. The recipe is from the Union Square Café Cookbook, and it has become a favorite of mine.  It's a snap to assemble and the best part, at least as far as I'm concerned, is the toasted walnuts on top.  Make this soon, as you should, ideally, stop cutting rhubarb after the 4th of July.

                                           Rhubarb Crisp
                    adapted from the Union Square Café Cookbook
                           by Danny Meyer and Michael Romano

• 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons unbleached flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/4 tablespoons sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 5 1/3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
• 2 pounds rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup sugar
• vanilla bean ice cream
1.  Preheat oven to 400˚F.
2.  In a bowl, combine the first 4 ingredients.  Work in the butter until the mixture is crumbly.  Add the toasted walnut pieces.
3.  In a 10-inch pie plate or an ovenproof serving dish, toss the rhubarb with the 3/4 cup sugar and remaining 3 tablespoons flour, to coat evenly.  Scatter the crisp topping evenly over the surface of the rhubarb.  Bake for 35 minutes, or until the rhubarb bubbles at the sides and the topping is crisp and brown.  Serve warm, topped with vanilla bean ice cream or a drizzle of heavy cream.

   We happened to be in the Marais on Gay Pride Day June 2006.  We usually stay on the Left Bank when visiting Paris, but had just returned for one night after a week in Provence and decided to stay near the Gare de Lyon.  That way, we would be able to walk to our hotel from the train station, eliminating a costly taxi ride.  I expected a quiet night, having dinner near our hotel and turning in early since we were catching our flight back home the next morning.  What was I thinking??  We were in Paris, and when you are in Paris, and when it's your last night in Paris, YOU DO NOT TURN IN EARLY!  We arrived at our hotel, threw down our luggage, and we were out of there. 
   Once on the streets, the crowds in the Marais seemed unusually large.  In fact, the streets were packed!  We had been in Provence for a week, had not read a newspaper, had not seen a television, had not remembered it was Gay Pride Day. 
   Had we stayed on the Left Bank we most likely would have been oblivious to this totally happening event.  It was quite the festive atmosphere.  The Bastille no longer looked like a monument, covered as it was with bodies gyrating along with music blaring from the massive speakers surrounding it. 
   As we stood in queue for gelato at Amorino, 31 rue Vieille du Temple, I asked to snap this stunning photo.  I love it for the contradictions... and there are many; but especially the chiffon against the graffiti.  Certainly a memorable evening in Paris.  And if you ask my daughter what her favorite part of the trip was, without pause, she shoots back -- What do you think?  Gay Pride Day, of course! 



 

  I hadn't planned to post this cake.  It was just published in the June 2009 issue of Gourmet magazine and I have seen it on several other websites.  I didn't think you needed me to pass on this recipe to you.  But I happened to have a half pint of organic raspberries, and my husband asked me yesterday morning if there were any muffins for breakfast -- there weren't, and I felt pretty bad about that.  I decided to make this cake that had looked so good on Smitten Kitchen's website.  We would eat it for breakfast.  It came out of the oven last night, but this lone piece of cake in the photo was all that remained this morning.  How good was it?  Well... I'm going out this morning to buy more raspberries so I can make another; loved it!  And it's an easy cake to put together.

                               BUTTERMILK RASPBERRY CAKE
                             adapted from Gourmet, June 2009

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 1 cup (or more!) fresh raspberries
1.  Preheat oven to 400˚F.  Butter a 9-inch round cake pan; line with a piece of waxed paper, butter and dust with flour.
2.  Whisk together the dry ingredients.  Place the butter and 2/3 cup of sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until pale and fluffy.  Beat in the vanilla, add the egg and beat well.
3.  On low speed mix in the flour alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour.  Spoon batter into the pan.  Smooth the top and scatter the fresh raspberries over the batter.  Sprinkle the top of the cake with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoon sugar.
4.  Bake about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out dry.  Cool in the pan 10 minutes; turn out onto a plate and invert onto a cooling rack.
                            

                                          Asparagus Risotto
                            adapted from Bon Appétit, May 1995

• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed to 2-inch lengths
• 5-6 cups organic chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cup arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 4 tablespoons butter
• lemon zest, optional
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1.  Blanch asparagus in boiling, salted water for 2-3 minutes; drain.  Rinse asparagus under cold water; drain.
2.  Simmer chicken broth.  In a large saucepan, heat olive oil.  Add the onion and sauté until translucent.  Add rice and stir to coat the grains evenly with the oil.  Add the wine and cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid evaporates.  Continue to cook in this manner, adding warmed  chicken broth, 1/2 cup at a time, and stirring constantly. Do this until the rice is creamy and tender, with a bit of a bite remaining.  Stir in the reserved asparagus and cook until heated through.  Add the butter and lemon zest, if using.  Stir in the Parmesan.  Taste, and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

                 I'm sure we all have out favorite.  This one is mine.

                CHOCOLATE CHIP-DRIED CHERRY-PECAN COOKIES

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dried sour cherries
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

1.  Preheat oven to 375˚F.
2.  In a large bowl, combine the granulated and brown sugars and butter.  Mix well.  Add the egg and vanilla and continue to mix until smooth.  In another bowl combine the flour, soda and salt.  Add this to the sugar-butter mixture and mix until it is just combined.  Fold in the chocolate, cherries and pecans.
3.  Drop small mounds of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake on the oven's middle rack for 10 to 12 minutes.  Transfer to a cooling rack