Saturday, February 14, 2009

Seasonal activities, out-of-season fruit UPDATED

Holidays that revolve around desserts are always the best, which is why, although I'm a Jew who stubbornly refuses to go in for Christmas, I am all for Easter. So, to be timely: Is Valentine's Day stupid, as in, depressing if you're single, awkward and forced if not? Not if you use it as an excuse to make pastries! (For the best commentary on how sensible women view the day, see Prudence's answer to this week's first question, a more articulate version of what I'd been trying to express here.) The plum (local/seasonal be damned) tart I made this afternoon (as in, it took the whole afternoon), a mix of various recipes gathered online and off, required that whole dough-made-from-iced-water extravaganza, not to mention the dirtying of exactly all the dishes we own, so it had better be good. In fact, it will be good, as I know from trying each of the component parts (custard, plum goop, crust) individually. If it does not fall apart upon removal from tart pan, and there is a charged camera someone in the apartment, there will be a photo. After muffins, muffins, and more muffins, baking that requires no technique whatsoever, this counts as progress.

UPDATE

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice looking tart. Anything with plums is always good.

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Though you might enjoy this SNL routine from last night, in light of your "difficulties" regarding your inauguration day post.

As the SNL skit has a Republican Congressman saying, "Unless I'm politically tone-deaf, going after the Obama girls is political gold."

kei said...

That looks amazing. Can I ask what made you want to combine recipes?

Phoebe Maltz Bovy said...

I already had a custard recipe I wanted to use, but no plum tart went with it.

Although what I made tasted quite good and indeed looks like a real tart, there ended up being far too much liquid, some of which will forever be on our dining room table. Next try will be straight from a recipe, from a Belgian cookbook Jo's brother got us. That tart will, ideally, come a bit closer to the tart of yore I was attempting to replicate.