It is an unusual week for me and it feels rather odd.  I am not having Thanksgiving at my house.  Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday.  I love buying the groceries.  I love being in my kitchen for days.  And I love having friends and family to share in the feast.  But this year a very dear friend of ours has invited us to her home for dinner, and we accepted.  My friend extended the invitation long before we knew that my father would have a major surgery last month.  Being somewhere else for Thanksgiving is perfect timing.  I have just returned from another extended week with my father and am trying to accomplish many things at home.  I just don't think I could pull it off this year. 
       Since I don't have the pressure this week of preparing an entire Thanksgiving meal, I spent my day making a savory Leek & Goat Cheese Tart.  It's dinner tonight with the addition of a salad made of greens, dried cranberries, toasted walnuts, and Maytag blue cheese.  Glass of wine optional.

                    Leek & Goat Cheese Tart
                       adapted from a recipe in Wine Spectator Magazine

• 10-inch tart shell, placed in freezer for 15 minutes before baking
• 3 large leeks, white part only, sliced thinly and rinsed in a colander
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 8 ounces fresh goat cheese
• 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 3/4 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• black pepper
• pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1.  Preheat the oven to 400˚F.  Line the tart shell with aluminum foil, and weight down the foil with beans or rice.  Bake the shell for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 375˚, remove beans and foil and return tart shell to oven.  Bake until crust is a pale, golden brown.  Remove from oven and set aside. 
2.  Melt the butter in a medium skillet and cook the leeks over moderate heat until soft; about 10 to 15 minutes.  Do not brown.  Transfer the leeks to the tart shell, spreading evenly over the crust.
3.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.  Pour this mixture over the leeks and return the tart to the oven to finish baking for approximately 30 minutes or until the top surface is lightly browned.  Let the tart cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

   I served this tart alongside bowls of Cream of Carrot Soup.  A tasty, simple fall meal.

                            Pear and Gorgonzola Tart
                                     a recipe by Giada De Laurentiis

• 1 9-inch tart shell, baked and slightly cooled
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 2 ounces Gorgonzola, or other good blue cheese
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 small pears, cored and sliced
• 2 ounces prosciutto, cut into thin strips

1.  Combine the cream cheese, Gorgonzola, thyme, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.  Using a hand blender, whip the cheeses together.
2.  In a large, heavy skillet, melt the butter over medium-hi heat.  Add the pears and cool until golden on both sides, about 5 minutes.
3.  Gently spread the whipped cheese mixture evenly over the bottom of the slightly-cooled tart crust.  Place the pear slices over the cheese mixture.   Sprinkle the thin strips of prosciutto over the pears.

    I was prepared to make a plum tart I had made many times before.  The recipe calls for almond paste which I had purchased and was ready to chop into small pieces. It would cover the crust and be the base for the plums.  But, at the last minute, I decided to return the almond paste to my pantry and instead grind sliced almonds that I store in my freezer.  Why I did that, I don't know; but I was perfectly happy with the end result. 
    I can't say that this plum tart is the most beautiful fruit tart I have ever made.  It's very basic and rather plain looking.  But the taste was just what I was after; topped with a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, you've got one delicious dessert (or, how I finished off the remaining slice -- one delicious breakfast the next morning).

                          
                                        PLUM TART


Preheat Oven to 425˚F

• 1  9-inch round or rectangular tart pan with removable bottom, lined with almond tart pastry and kept chilled until ready to fill
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 3 to 4 plums, sliced
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 cup currant jelly
• splash of brandy, if desired
• vanilla bean ice cream, or sweetened whipped cream for serving

1.  In the bowl of a food processor, finely grind the almonds along with 2 tablespoons of the sugar.  Evenly distribute the almond mixture over the top of the tart pastry.
2.  Place the sliced plums in an overlapping pattern on top of the almond mixture.  Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the plums.
3.  Bake on the middle rack of the oven at 425˚F for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375˚.  Bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes, or until the crust is a deep golden color.
4.  Meanwhile, heat the currant jelly in a small pan over a low flame.  Add a splash of brandy to the jelly if desired.  When melted and smooth brush the jelly mixture over the hot plum tart.  Cool slightly and serve with vanilla bean ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.

   In my mind, nothing comes close to the beauty of a pear.  A plate of pears rivals any floral bouquet, as far as I'm concerned.  And this time of year, there are always pears in my house.  I chose to go sweet in the kitchen with this pear tart.  Pears and almonds are a match made in heaven.  The chocolate is an added bonus.  And, when I'm not baking with pears, they go into salads for our evening meals.

             PEAR TART with CHOCOLATE and ALMONDS

• 1 partially baked 9-inch almond tart shell, cooled (recipe follows)
• 2 large eggs
• 6 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1 cup half & half
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons blanched almonds
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, grated
• 3 organic Bartlet pears, peeled, sliced in half lengthwise and cored with a melon-baller or small spoon
• Toasted, sliced almonds for sprinkling, if desired

Preheat oven to 325˚F.
1.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, 4 tablespoons of the sugar, the half & half and the vanilla.  Set aside.
2.  In the bowl of a food processor, finely grind the almonds with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.  Spoon the ground almond mixture evenly over the top of the partially baked tart shell; sprinkle the grated bittersweet chocolate over the almonds.
3.  Take a pear half and using a sharp knife, make thin slices across the width of the pear, keeping the shape of the pear intact. (See photo above).  Once the pear is entirely sliced, gently press on the pear to slightly spread the slices apart.  Using a metal spatula, carefully transfer the pear half to the tart shell and lay atop the almond and chocolate mixture with the stem end of the pear pointing to the center of the tart.  Repeat with the other pear halves, placing the sliced pears to create a spoke pattern.
4.  Place the tart pan onto a baking sheet and then, very slowly, begin pouring the reserved egg mixture onto the pears.  Pour in just enough so it is easily transported to the middle rack of the oven.  Once inside the oven you can add a little more of the egg custard.  After about 5 minutes of baking, I will very carefully add as much of the remaining custard as I can to the tart shell.
5.  Bake the tart for approximately 45-50 minutes.  If, within the last 5 minutes of baking, the custard still has no color to it, increase the oven temperature to 350˚ and watch closely at this point.  Remove to a cooling rack when custard just begins to turn golden.
6.  Sprinkle with toasted sliced almonds if desired.
  
   
                            ALMOND TART PASTRY

• 2 tablespoons blanched or sliced almonds
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 5 1/3 tablespoons COLD unsalted butter, cubed
• 3 tablespoons ice water

1.  Place the almonds in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground.  Add the flour and salt and pulse to combine.
2.  Add the cubed butter to the flour mixture and pulse briefly, just until small pieces of the butter remain.
3.  Slowly add the ice water while pulsing, until the dough just begins to come together.  Do not over process.
4.  Empty the tart dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, flatten and wrap.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
5.  Remove from refrigerator and roll dough to fit a 9-inch tart pan; trim edge.  Place lined tart pan in freezer while preheating oven.
6.  Preheat oven to 400˚F.  Line the tart shell with foil and beans or rice.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove the foil and beans and continue to bake until pastry just begins to turn golden.  Remove and let cool.

   It has been the perfect end-of-summer, holiday weekend.  The weather has been glorious -- warm, dry days and cool, good-for-sleeping nights.  And I've been spending all of my time in the kitchen, which isn't a bad thing.  One day, it was all about pastry.  I made everyone's favorite -- a lemon meringue tart.  And the meringue was so billowy and beautiful, I just had to photograph it.  This is what I consider a basic meringue (or French meringue).  It is made by whipping the egg whites and slowly adding sugar.  Swiss or Italian meringues  involve heating the egg whites or making a cooked sugar syrup that is whipped into the egg whites and are considered a "stable" meringue.  The basic meringue is what I use to  top my lemon or chocolate pudding tarts.
   I start by placing 5 egg whites, at room temperature, in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and start beating with a whisk attachment.  Once frothiness has been achieved, slowly start adding 1/2 cup granulated sugar and a large pinch of cream of tartar.  Continue to beat at high speed until the egg whites just begin to hold stiff peaks.  Do not overbeat or the whites will become dry and start to separate.  Mound the billowy, cloud-like meringue onto the tart and bake in a preheated 375˚F oven.  I will not give you a length of bake time.  Stand guard at the oven door and keep an eye on the browning meringue.  Pull when it looks as it does above. 

   Here it is... the Tarte aux fruits recipe that is made with the delicious vanilla pastry cream I told you about yesterday.  The tart recipe is from a September 16, 1984, New York Times Magazine article by the late Craig Clairborne and Pierre Franey.  As was the case with Mr. Clairborne, this type of tart was the first true French pastry I ever sampled.  He described the flavors as "haunting".  It is hard to beat a dessert such as this, made with fresh, local berries, a crisp, buttery crust, and of course, the vanilla pastry cream.  It is a classic.  The one thing I would suggest -- assemble right before eating, or refrigerate after assembly if not serving immediately.  Humidity is not kind to this dessert and will result in a soggy crust.  Also, I am including Craig Claiborne's recipe for the pastry shell.  I used my favorite almond pastry for my tart.

                                  Tarte aux fruits
    from a 1984 NY Times article by Craig Claiborne and Pierre Franey

• 1 baked tart shell (see recipe following)
• 2 1/4 cups pastry cream (see recipe)
• 2 to 3 pints fresh raspberries, strawberries, or blueberries
• 1/4 cup apricot preserves ( I used currant jelly)
• 2 tablespoons water (I used brandy)
1.  Bake the tart shell and let it cool.  If a removable-bottom pan was used, remove the shell from the rim in which it was baked.
2.  Fill the tart shell with pastry cream and smooth over the top.
3.  Garnish the top of the pastry cream, placing berries as close as possible to completely cover the cream. 
4.  To glaze the berries, combine the preserves with the water in a small saucepan.  Bring to the boil, stirring.  Put the mixture through a sieve to remove the seeds.  Dip a pastry brush into the glaze and brush the tops of the berries with it.

                                       Baked Tart Shell
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 12 tablespoons very cold butter
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 to 4 tablespoons ice water
1.  Place the flour, salt and sugar in the container of a food processor.  Cut the butter into small pieces and add it.  Add the yolks.  Blend briefly and gradually add the water.  Add only enough water until the dough pulls away from the sides of the container.
2.  Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and chill for one hour. 
3.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400˚F.
4.  Roll out the dough and use it to line a 10-inch tart pan.  Line the dough with foil and fill with dried beans or rice.
5.  Place a baking sheet in the oven.  Place the pastry shell on the baking sheet and bake 20 minutes.  Remove and discard the dried beans or rice and foil.  Reduce the oven heat to 375˚F.
6.  Continue baking until the tart shell is golden brown on the bottom.  Remove and let cool.

   I know... I'm doing this all backwards.  The berry tart I made, with a thin layer of vanilla pastry cream beneath blueberries and raspberries, should come first; not what I did with the left-over pastry cream.  But this was so good!  Another proven case of -- the simplest turns out to be the best.  I've been in my kitchen non-stop during the "French Boy" visit and will have a slew of recipes and photos of what we ate during his week with us.  For breakfast one morning, I took the pastry cream left-over from the tart I made the night before (about 1 1/3 cups) and  folded in ripe, fragrant, diced peaches (about 2).  We ate it along with toasted bread and French salted butter.  The peaches and pastry cream would also be fantastic with a good granola on top.

                                    Crème Pâtissière (Pastry Cream)
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1.  Blend one cup of the milk and the cream in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
2.  As the mixture is heated, put the egg yolks and sugar into a mixing bowl and beat until pale yellow.  Add the cornstarch to the yolk mixture and beat well.  Add the remaining one-half cup of milk and beat until blended.
3.  When the milk and cream mixture is at the boil, remove from the heat.  Add the yolk mixture, beating rapidly with a wire whisk.
4.  Return to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring constantly with the whisk.  When thickened and at the boil, remove from the heat.  Add the vanilla and let cool, stirring occasionally.
YIELD:  About two and one-quarter cups.

   Finally, the day I've been waiting for -- TOMATOES!  And, of course, the first thing I did with my just-picked tomatoes, was make my favorite Tomato Tart.  It's a recipe that I posted during tomato season last year, but a recipe that is worthy of re-posting. 

   I used Cherokee Purple, an heirloom tomato from my garden, but any freshly-picked, vine-ripened tomato will do.  I also tossed on several halved yellow pear tomatoes for the color.  We will be eating this tomato tart at least once a week during tomato season.  And... as far as I'm concerned, that isn't enough.
                              Get my favorite Tomato Tart recipe here.

A friend lent me his stack of Saveur magazines and this tart caught my eye.  The creamy lemon curd and whipped cream filling topped with any fresh berries you choose, just screams summer.  The only change I would make next time around, is to roll the crust instead of pressing it into the pan, as the recipe calls for.  I like my crust a bit thinner.  If you choose to use all of the dough and press it, make sure you bake it until it is a nice,  golden brown. 

  

I had a small luncheon on the patio one afternoon during Renate's stay, which included other local friends of mine.  I made Salade Nicoise for the main dish, and a  Raspberry Clafoutis Tart for dessert.  The Goat Cheese Gratin, pictured above, was an appetizer along with glasses of French Rosé.

                                       Goat Cheese Gratin
                        adapted from a recipe by Patricia Wells in
                            Patricia Wells at Home in Provence

• 6 to 7 ounces soft goat cheese, broken up with a fork
• 1 to 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• a sprinkling of fresh or dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 cup homemade Tomato Sauce, room temperature
• a scattering of black olives
• several leaves of fresh basil, chopped
1.  Preheat the broiler.
2.  Scatter the goat cheese on the bottom of an 8-inch gratin or baking dish.  Sprinkle with the rosemary and thyme.  Spoon the tomato sauce over the cheese and herbs.  Scatter the olives on top.
3.  Place the gratin under the broiler.  Broil until the cheese is melted.  Scatter the fresh basil on top.  Serve with crackers or slices of baguette.