Monday, June 21, 2010
Well, It Looked Great...
About that tart...No way did it want to come out of the pan. It was stuck on there like suction cups, and that crust didn't want to budge. I didn't use any baking spray on the tart mold, and possibly overworked the dough. I've never had that much trouble with pastry sticking before, but now that I think about it, it didn't have that much butter in the crust. Oh well! Next time. There's always a next time...
Sunday, June 20, 2010
How Nice When Something Goes Right For A Change!
I offered to bring dessert to a gathering this weekend, and I pulled out several recipes that I thought would be good, and selected "Almond Plum Tart". Since our presence wasn't required until 4pm, I figured I had time after church to put this thing together and get it into the oven and chilled on the day of. Pastry always tastes better on the day it is baked.
As I was working on the ingredients, I had a vision of the last time I had made this tart. We were in Indiana for New Year's, and I was cooking dinner while our hosts were at work, and I was alone in the house. I pureed the plums in their blender, which diabolically unscrewed itself from its base, and bright red plum went all over their white tile floor, and right up their lovely yellow painted walls, looking just like the blood spatter patterns that they are always analysing on CSI. Of course, the lady of the house chose that moment to call home just to "see how I was doing..." Luckily, it all washed off the walls, and the tile floor suffered no stains. Agita!
Today was much better, it all went together without any hitches, and I even prettied it up a bit with the spider webbing design on the top. At first I thought I had chosen too shallow a pan, and that all the filling might not fit, but it went nicely and didn't overflow when it baked. I also thought that the pattern might obliterate itself in the oven, but when it finished it looked good enough to hand to the judges on a reality cooking challenge show. The people who will eat it won't be nearly so hard on me though, and we are going to enjoy eating it as much as I enjoyed making it!
As I was working on the ingredients, I had a vision of the last time I had made this tart. We were in Indiana for New Year's, and I was cooking dinner while our hosts were at work, and I was alone in the house. I pureed the plums in their blender, which diabolically unscrewed itself from its base, and bright red plum went all over their white tile floor, and right up their lovely yellow painted walls, looking just like the blood spatter patterns that they are always analysing on CSI. Of course, the lady of the house chose that moment to call home just to "see how I was doing..." Luckily, it all washed off the walls, and the tile floor suffered no stains. Agita!
Today was much better, it all went together without any hitches, and I even prettied it up a bit with the spider webbing design on the top. At first I thought I had chosen too shallow a pan, and that all the filling might not fit, but it went nicely and didn't overflow when it baked. I also thought that the pattern might obliterate itself in the oven, but when it finished it looked good enough to hand to the judges on a reality cooking challenge show. The people who will eat it won't be nearly so hard on me though, and we are going to enjoy eating it as much as I enjoyed making it!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Where Ya' Been?
I know, I know--haven't posted anything in a long time. So I'm guilted into writing this, even though I don't have much to say. Maybe it's our lovely warm weather--and note that today is cooler, so maybe my brain cells have started working again. Last week at WW I stepped up to the counter for the weigh-in, and the person asked me what I did on the weekend, and my mind was totally blank. I'm thinking, portents of things to come...
So--where have I been? Where haven't I been? We did two big trips--one to Hawaii, and then a cruise to Bermuda. Hawaii was amazing--landscapes that we have never before experienced (acres and acres of blac
k lava fields), and much beauty (jungles with huge plants). Bermuda was lovely (all that gorgeous green water) with old buildings and lots of history. In Hawaii we stayed in a condo, so had a very laid back week, eating out when we wanted, cooking in a time or two, or just having munchies and happy hour for the evening. We had a view of the sunset from our supersized lanai, and we were on the third floor and could watch the birds fly by.
The ship docked in Bermuda for three full days, so we had time to experiment with the public transportation, and were able to travel the entire island on their equivalent of a MetroCard. We picked up lunch one day when we were too far from the ship, but the other days caught our meals at the buffet for lunch and dinners in the dining room. I guess we didn't leave a lot of dollars behind aside from our sight seeing. Sailing out of New York was a wonderful experience that I certainly would repeat. Of course, you have to choose your season carefully--too early and it is cold, too late and you are in hurricane season. We met some folks who had come on a different ship that had left a couple of days behind us, and they hit storms in the Atlantic and were sick. I would have been very unhappy with that...We were so lucky, with a smooth sail in both directions.
I've said before that my brain checks out on vacation, and stays awol for days after we come back. I still seem to be stuck in puttering mode, spending time doing crosswords and reading bubble gum books. Our schedule is due to change to summer mode--I'll be playing in various churches on Sunday mornings, and my exercise classes will end due to excess heat in our facilities. I don't want anyone collapsing while we're there.
We won't be travelling so much this summer, but maybe we can get together with the grandchildren at the beach or the park after school ends. That would be nice. We don't see them as much since they all started school. It seems like the calendar has nothing on it, but then I start to tally up where we have to be, and looka-dat--there's plenty on there already, starting this weekend with a trip to Albany for a fine wedding. Plus, we get to catch up with our faraway relatives that we love, but don't see very often. Okay--sign off here, and pack up that suitcase once again!
So--where have I been? Where haven't I been? We did two big trips--one to Hawaii, and then a cruise to Bermuda. Hawaii was amazing--landscapes that we have never before experienced (acres and acres of blac
k lava fields), and much beauty (jungles with huge plants). Bermuda was lovely (all that gorgeous green water) with old buildings and lots of history. In Hawaii we stayed in a condo, so had a very laid back week, eating out when we wanted, cooking in a time or two, or just having munchies and happy hour for the evening. We had a view of the sunset from our supersized lanai, and we were on the third floor and could watch the birds fly by.
The ship docked in Bermuda for three full days, so we had time to experiment with the public transportation, and were able to travel the entire island on their equivalent of a MetroCard. We picked up lunch one day when we were too far from the ship, but the other days caught our meals at the buffet for lunch and dinners in the dining room. I guess we didn't leave a lot of dollars behind aside from our sight seeing. Sailing out of New York was a wonderful experience that I certainly would repeat. Of course, you have to choose your season carefully--too early and it is cold, too late and you are in hurricane season. We met some folks who had come on a different ship that had left a couple of days behind us, and they hit storms in the Atlantic and were sick. I would have been very unhappy with that...We were so lucky, with a smooth sail in both directions.
I've said before that my brain checks out on vacation, and stays awol for days after we come back. I still seem to be stuck in puttering mode, spending time doing crosswords and reading bubble gum books. Our schedule is due to change to summer mode--I'll be playing in various churches on Sunday mornings, and my exercise classes will end due to excess heat in our facilities. I don't want anyone collapsing while we're there.
We won't be travelling so much this summer, but maybe we can get together with the grandchildren at the beach or the park after school ends. That would be nice. We don't see them as much since they all started school. It seems like the calendar has nothing on it, but then I start to tally up where we have to be, and looka-dat--there's plenty on there already, starting this weekend with a trip to Albany for a fine wedding. Plus, we get to catch up with our faraway relatives that we love, but don't see very often. Okay--sign off here, and pack up that suitcase once again!
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